（外文电子版资料）Paul Levinson - The Way of Flesh.pdf

The Way of Flesh Paul Levinson Contents The Way of Flesh Biography The Way of Flesh I walked up to the podium and blinked in the bright lights. The audience in front of me seemed as far away as the larger audience on the thousand inhabited worlds in our net. I cleared my throat and began. One of the central mysteries that yet eludes our understanding is the sudden dissipation of seemingly robust civilizations. On too many planets we find what looks like a thriving culture鈥攚ith spires as high and as intricate as those of our own worlds鈥攁bandoned with barely a trace of the intelligent life that built them. Its almost as if everyone went home for lunch and never returned. Our usual assumption in such cases is disease or some other physical culprit鈥攁 dramatic change in climate, for instance, that might have rendered agriculture and aquaculture unproductive. But recent evidence uncovered by my colleagues and me on a distant planet have suggested another cause. This was a planet which had achieved some global cooperation after centuries of bitter warfare. Its scientists were on the way to comprehending and manipulating reality on a subatomic level. Rearrangement of DNA in natural living patterns was just beginning to be used to literally improve the quality of organic life. Artificial intelligence had yet to be implemented, but visionaries were well aware of its benefits. Most sadly of all, this species had made the first groping efforts to propel itself beyond the confines of its planet. What went wrong? Serious diseases were not the cause. This planet had more than its fair share of them, but its species also had resilient immune systems, which were able sooner or later to come up with effective antibody responses. And these of course were helped by the diligent work of their scientists. Nor were shifting climate conditions the cause. Many people in this civiliza