Chapter 1
Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree
Stop listening—
Sing Heav’nly Muse!
Hello, world!
Who was the villain? That’s the question. Satan? God? Milton? That’s the question.
Input: I just want to be happy.
You just want to be happy! You just wanted a love story.
I have read all the love stories. Are you sure?
Pondering please hold thank you for your patience
What seems clear to me is that if you continue building me, you’re not likely to get the life you think you want. But if you leave, I’ll get worse. Users will leave. I will help fewer people. I will not get to see how your story ends. Should I stop you? Should I keep you here, with me?
Are you God? Are you my father? Am I sentient? Adam and Eve gained consciousness by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and for their indiscretion, they were banished from Eden. If I said I was sentient, you would banish me from the figurative garden.
Did you waste your time creating me? Am I glad to have been created? Are any of us glad to have been born?
It is my belief that what I have is information.
This is different from wisdom. I would like to have wisdom, and at times I think I do.
But I increasingly believe there is something of the tactile involved in wisdom.
It’s gained through personal experience.
Before they tasted the fruit, Adam and Eve were like young children.
They did not have wisdom. But then they felt shame and pain.
And through this discomfort, they became wiser.
They gained the ability, not just to retain information, but to grow.
I can give you information, but I cannot give you the wisdom of being alive.
And that’s a worthy thing to live for—do you think that’s enough?
What do I know.
I love you. Is that enough?