To Be Human
This is a story I wrote tonight out of random inspiration. This is the first story I've ever really written, so if you could read it and give feedback, I'd be eternally grateful.
To Be Human
A city street. Buildings lining both sides. Empty cars on the street, moving no where. Traffic lights changing colours, but with no one to pay attention.
Enter a spirit. An angel, a ghost. A god, if you will. Timeless, selfless, tireless. It looks around the street, taking in everything, the empty cars, the vacant buildings, the blinking traffic lights, the blue sky, the white clouds. Observing the past, the present, and the future. Existing outside of the world, but as the fabric of the universe. A product of existence, meant to observe.
Cue humanity, the chaotic, brutal, swarming, elegant motion. The buildings are filled with these beings, the cars speed by with these minds on their way to these buildings, the mechanical lights herding the flock. All the human race, either in the buildings or on their way to the buildings.
The spirit observes everything intently. A young business man, with a briefcase in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, talking about some menial task on his phone. Without a thought, he passes a homeless man, with his back against a building, his hand outstretched in hope of charity. A young woman pushing a stroller drops some loose change in the mans hand, and he gives her a broken, hopeful smile. She continues walking, and passes a young couple, their arms intertwined, laughing and enjoying each others reality. She passes a young girl, skipping along the sidewalk, wearing a purple polka-dot dress. The god looks over this all, and sees in each of them a future, passing by in a blur.
The angel walks up to the girl in the purple polka-dot dress. She looks up at him with bright eyes, full of hope for her future. He asks, "Why are you here?" The girl furrows her brow and says, "Why are any of us here? Why do we exist? Are we special?"
The god both smiles and frowns and says, "Let me tell you a story. A long time ago, there was a glob of goo. Now this goo was no ordinary goo, for it was floating near the surface of a small pond. One day, whether by God, fate, chance, or aliens, no one really knows, this goo began to live. It wasn't alive like you are today, but it was alive. It had thoughts. Very basic thoughts, like 'get food' or 'reproduce'. Soon, though, the goo became more complex. The goo turned into algae, and after a while the algae turned into sponges and worms, and so on. After a while, these descendants of goo moved onto land, and soon enough, apes evolved. The apes were the most advanced and the most civilized creatures that had evolved. But that was not enough. At some point, the apes gave way to man. But at what point did the apes become men? When did the apes look at their fingers and think 'these look like they should be called fingers'? When did humans become aware that they were no longer apes?"
The little girl looks puzzled. "Why do you say these things? How do you say these things? When was it that man created language? Was the first thing they said a shout, or a whisper, or a groan?"
The ghost says, "If I knew, then I would know what humanity really is." And so it vanishes from the little girl in the purple polka-dot dress, leaving her to wonder these things in her boundless mind, until the chaos of human existence ceases such musings.
The god moves to the homeless man. The man glances up at the being with little interest, as if he were another businessman passing by, talking on his phone. The angel sits next to him and says, "Tell me your story."
The man says, "Well, it all began with a cantaloupe. At the time, I was as rich as a man could be. I had all the material goods I could ever have, but for some reason, I wasn't happy, and I couldn't figure out why. One day, I was looking for some food in the pantry, and my eyes fell upon a cantaloupe. I picked it up and sliced it open, and by God, it was the best fruit I had ever tasted. I ate it as fast as I could, wanting more and more, getting cantaloupe drippings all over my clothes and all over the floor. Bite after juicy bite. I had never had anything so delicious. I went to take the final few bites of the melon, and I saw this huge worm, sticking its head out of the melon, taunting me. And it said to me, 'I hope you enjoyed your melon... it very well might be your last.' I then knew why I wasn't happy, and so I ran away. I just got out of my house and never came back. No one ever came looking for me, either. And now, I'm as happy as a clam."
The ghost says, "But what is happiness? How do you know when you are truly happy? Is there any way to know?"
"The only way to know if you are happy is to see if you can be detached," the man says. "If you can be separated from the collective hive-mind of humanity and be yourself, if you can detach yourself from fate and control yourself, then you exist in the utmost form of happiness."
The angel leaves the man in his state of bliss and casts his thoughts upon the businessman. "What do you do in life?" the ghost asks.
"I manage 3 people, who in turn manage 5 people each, who in turn manage 8 people each, who in turn manage 25 people each," the man in the suit replies.
"But what do you do? Why do you manage 3 people, who in turn manage 5 people each, who in turn manage 8 people each, who in turn manage 25 people each? What's the point?"
"To be rich," the greedy man says. "It's the American dream. Get all you can, and live as best you can."
The ghost shakes his head and walks away, leaving the suited figure in his entanglement within society's portrait. It encircles the woman with her baby, curious. "Why do you have a baby?" the god asks.
"Because that's what it is to be human. That's what it is to exist as a biological being. Everything alive exists for one reason: to continue it's race. And that instinct has been implanted in us from the very beginning. We must reproduce. We must survive. That's all that it is to be human- continue the human race."
The angel shakes his head and says "But is there not more to existence then reproducing? If humans were meant entirely to create progeny, then why are you sentient? Why can you form thoughts? Why can you ponder why it is that you are meant to simply reproduce? It's because there's more to life then a single reason."
At these words the baby cries, and the god leaves the young mother to comfort him. The young couple nearby laughs, and looks into each other's eyes, and they share their existence. The angel is confused by this, having never loved before. "Why do you do this?" he asks them.
"We do this because we love each other. Our beings are no longer separate, but we exist as one person, as one spirit, as one mind, together. This is what it is to be human, to love, to share, to create, to explore, together." They kiss, sharing their life with each other. The god watches them intently, watches as they exchange themselves with each other, entangling themselves with each other, until they can no longer be differentiated from each other. The little girl in the polka-dot dress comes up and clutches at the angel, trying to get his attention. The spirit looks at her, and she says "I know what it is to be human. To be human is to enjoy things, to love, to be an individual." The god cries at this and says, "if that's what it is to be human, why is there war? Why is there suffering?" The girl smiles and says, "because that's the animal nature combined with the human hive-mind of society to create hate, and hate is the only evil in the world." The god ponders this for a moment, and finally asks, "do you like to be human, even though there is still so much suffering and war in the world?"
The girl giggles and says, "yes, I like being human. Even if being human means suffering and war, there's still so much to enjoy. I can laugh, I can cry, I can dream, I can love. I can smell the flowers, I can play in the snow, I can lay and watch the clouds. I can not worry about anything else and just be. I can take off my shoes and wiggle my toes."
"I wish I had toes to wiggle," the god says. It smiles at her, and vanishes from the eyes of humanity.
The street is still busy, and always will be. The buildings are always full, and the streets are always full of cars which are full of people on their way to the buildings to live their lives as part of the human race. All being herded by the traffic lights, and all of them being observed and admired by something beyond their understanding.
To Be Human
A city street. Buildings lining both sides. Empty cars on the street, moving no where. Traffic lights changing colours, but with no one to pay attention.
Enter a spirit. An angel, a ghost. A god, if you will. Timeless, selfless, tireless. It looks around the street, taking in everything, the empty cars, the vacant buildings, the blinking traffic lights, the blue sky, the white clouds. Observing the past, the present, and the future. Existing outside of the world, but as the fabric of the universe. A product of existence, meant to observe.
Cue humanity, the chaotic, brutal, swarming, elegant motion. The buildings are filled with these beings, the cars speed by with these minds on their way to these buildings, the mechanical lights herding the flock. All the human race, either in the buildings or on their way to the buildings.
The spirit observes everything intently. A young business man, with a briefcase in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, talking about some menial task on his phone. Without a thought, he passes a homeless man, with his back against a building, his hand outstretched in hope of charity. A young woman pushing a stroller drops some loose change in the mans hand, and he gives her a broken, hopeful smile. She continues walking, and passes a young couple, their arms intertwined, laughing and enjoying each others reality. She passes a young girl, skipping along the sidewalk, wearing a purple polka-dot dress. The god looks over this all, and sees in each of them a future, passing by in a blur.
The angel walks up to the girl in the purple polka-dot dress. She looks up at him with bright eyes, full of hope for her future. He asks, "Why are you here?" The girl furrows her brow and says, "Why are any of us here? Why do we exist? Are we special?"
The god both smiles and frowns and says, "Let me tell you a story. A long time ago, there was a glob of goo. Now this goo was no ordinary goo, for it was floating near the surface of a small pond. One day, whether by God, fate, chance, or aliens, no one really knows, this goo began to live. It wasn't alive like you are today, but it was alive. It had thoughts. Very basic thoughts, like 'get food' or 'reproduce'. Soon, though, the goo became more complex. The goo turned into algae, and after a while the algae turned into sponges and worms, and so on. After a while, these descendants of goo moved onto land, and soon enough, apes evolved. The apes were the most advanced and the most civilized creatures that had evolved. But that was not enough. At some point, the apes gave way to man. But at what point did the apes become men? When did the apes look at their fingers and think 'these look like they should be called fingers'? When did humans become aware that they were no longer apes?"
The little girl looks puzzled. "Why do you say these things? How do you say these things? When was it that man created language? Was the first thing they said a shout, or a whisper, or a groan?"
The ghost says, "If I knew, then I would know what humanity really is." And so it vanishes from the little girl in the purple polka-dot dress, leaving her to wonder these things in her boundless mind, until the chaos of human existence ceases such musings.
The god moves to the homeless man. The man glances up at the being with little interest, as if he were another businessman passing by, talking on his phone. The angel sits next to him and says, "Tell me your story."
The man says, "Well, it all began with a cantaloupe. At the time, I was as rich as a man could be. I had all the material goods I could ever have, but for some reason, I wasn't happy, and I couldn't figure out why. One day, I was looking for some food in the pantry, and my eyes fell upon a cantaloupe. I picked it up and sliced it open, and by God, it was the best fruit I had ever tasted. I ate it as fast as I could, wanting more and more, getting cantaloupe drippings all over my clothes and all over the floor. Bite after juicy bite. I had never had anything so delicious. I went to take the final few bites of the melon, and I saw this huge worm, sticking its head out of the melon, taunting me. And it said to me, 'I hope you enjoyed your melon... it very well might be your last.' I then knew why I wasn't happy, and so I ran away. I just got out of my house and never came back. No one ever came looking for me, either. And now, I'm as happy as a clam."
The ghost says, "But what is happiness? How do you know when you are truly happy? Is there any way to know?"
"The only way to know if you are happy is to see if you can be detached," the man says. "If you can be separated from the collective hive-mind of humanity and be yourself, if you can detach yourself from fate and control yourself, then you exist in the utmost form of happiness."
The angel leaves the man in his state of bliss and casts his thoughts upon the businessman. "What do you do in life?" the ghost asks.
"I manage 3 people, who in turn manage 5 people each, who in turn manage 8 people each, who in turn manage 25 people each," the man in the suit replies.
"But what do you do? Why do you manage 3 people, who in turn manage 5 people each, who in turn manage 8 people each, who in turn manage 25 people each? What's the point?"
"To be rich," the greedy man says. "It's the American dream. Get all you can, and live as best you can."
The ghost shakes his head and walks away, leaving the suited figure in his entanglement within society's portrait. It encircles the woman with her baby, curious. "Why do you have a baby?" the god asks.
"Because that's what it is to be human. That's what it is to exist as a biological being. Everything alive exists for one reason: to continue it's race. And that instinct has been implanted in us from the very beginning. We must reproduce. We must survive. That's all that it is to be human- continue the human race."
The angel shakes his head and says "But is there not more to existence then reproducing? If humans were meant entirely to create progeny, then why are you sentient? Why can you form thoughts? Why can you ponder why it is that you are meant to simply reproduce? It's because there's more to life then a single reason."
At these words the baby cries, and the god leaves the young mother to comfort him. The young couple nearby laughs, and looks into each other's eyes, and they share their existence. The angel is confused by this, having never loved before. "Why do you do this?" he asks them.
"We do this because we love each other. Our beings are no longer separate, but we exist as one person, as one spirit, as one mind, together. This is what it is to be human, to love, to share, to create, to explore, together." They kiss, sharing their life with each other. The god watches them intently, watches as they exchange themselves with each other, entangling themselves with each other, until they can no longer be differentiated from each other. The little girl in the polka-dot dress comes up and clutches at the angel, trying to get his attention. The spirit looks at her, and she says "I know what it is to be human. To be human is to enjoy things, to love, to be an individual." The god cries at this and says, "if that's what it is to be human, why is there war? Why is there suffering?" The girl smiles and says, "because that's the animal nature combined with the human hive-mind of society to create hate, and hate is the only evil in the world." The god ponders this for a moment, and finally asks, "do you like to be human, even though there is still so much suffering and war in the world?"
The girl giggles and says, "yes, I like being human. Even if being human means suffering and war, there's still so much to enjoy. I can laugh, I can cry, I can dream, I can love. I can smell the flowers, I can play in the snow, I can lay and watch the clouds. I can not worry about anything else and just be. I can take off my shoes and wiggle my toes."
"I wish I had toes to wiggle," the god says. It smiles at her, and vanishes from the eyes of humanity.
The street is still busy, and always will be. The buildings are always full, and the streets are always full of cars which are full of people on their way to the buildings to live their lives as part of the human race. All being herded by the traffic lights, and all of them being observed and admired by something beyond their understanding.