How do you tell a Believer?

[atiguhya padma]

Aliens from some far away planet realise they are becoming, over time, sterile. They have produced a unique and beautiful culture, but within a millenium they will all die out and the culture will die with them. However, they realise they must now look outside their community, away from their planet, elsewhere in the wide Universe. They hear a story about how, somewhere in the far extremes of the Universe, there is a race that has found immortality. But here's the problem: this intelligent race is made up of some mortals and some immortals. And furthermore, immortality is only bestowed on those of a certain mindset that make a certain belief-decision, for some obscure reason. And who is to tell who is an immortal and who isn't?

Nevertheless, some intrepid voyagers venture forth and duly discover this race, known as humans. They realise it will be easy to tell the immortals from the mortals. Not by listening to rhetoric. Nor by observing religious custom. Nor by undertaking any rigorous scientific tests. The simple way to tell is this: those who believe they are immortal will behave in ways of great heroism and courage, knowing full well that, though their fleshly bodies may wither and die, they will still live forever; they will be the ones that lay their physical lives down for others; they will be the ones that will consider wealth, luxury, status and pleasure as something worthlessly transient, a mere blink of an eyelid, compared to the life of eternal happiness they shall inherit, and as such, they surely will be the ones whio will forego wealth, luxury, status and pleasure in order to help those less fortunate than themsevles, ie the mortals. As you can see, it will be very easy to spot the immortal in the human crowd.

So the aliens tour the world, closely observing the behaviour of these humans. And to their dismay, they realise the dreadful truth that has emerged from their anthropological study: humans behave the same. The set of humans who claim to have immortality behave statistically like the set of humans who do not believe in immortality.

Needless to say the alien voyagers return home, disappointed with their mission results, and convinced that immortality is merely a myth.

[Il Penseroso]

Great post, and very well written.

[subterranean]

Yes, AP, that's a very well written. Like Jesus clearly said, 'Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.'

It's not the words that are spoken, it's more on the deeds.

[Pendragon]

Actions speak much louder than all the words you say...

[mono]

We could turn this into quite a riddle or lateral question: aliens come to Earth in search for immortal beings; they only have one millenium to find them. Who do they find immortal and who mortal?


Just kidding, AP - a brilliant post! You have really sent me deep into thought.

[andave_ya]

That was Fascinating. Thanks for that! I'm a believer...and I was excited and happy about the "immortals" being courageous and heroic and strong, but it's very true...very disappointing...that the human race, myself included, act pretty much the same as everyone else.

Happy Birthday, by the way .

[laidbackperson]

I'm a believer...and I was excited and happy about the "immortals" being courageous and heroic and strong, but it's very true...very disappointing...that the human race, myself included, act pretty much the same as everyone else.

I fully understand what you are trying to say. But then, there have been others like Mahatama Gandhi, Mother Teressa, Albert Schwietzer etc. They should have been in the list of immortals. Did not the aliens met them when they visited earth.
Its only a fable. isn't it?

[blazeofglory]

This is really interesting to read the lines of this title. And of course if we can rise a little higher, transcend lines of pettiness and forgo certain cheap attribute, embrace humanity and values such attributes as essentials we will be really happy lots.

And of course these ideals will lead us towards immortality.