Chapter 10 - Epilogue

"The future, always so clear to me, had become like a black highway at night. “We were in uncharted territory now, making up history as we went along…” - Terminator 2

The Endgame - A Window on the Future

Some final thoughts on the act of being a Cyborg

It has been said that if you travel far enough, you will meet up with yourself; that a complete voyage always ends up with you back in the same place you started. And so we arrive, at our final destination, and where we had started. Our journey has taken us to the far-future, to a place where humans will exist not as they had naturally evolved, but as they might be, symbiotically linked with machine components, empowered thus beyond the capabilities that biology had be able to give us. Returning to the present, we realise that although the technologies already exist, few people take full account of their benefits. They continue to exist and function in the Old Ways, and risk becoming obselete and disadvantaged in this competitive world. We upgrade our software every month. It is high time for a new version of humanity.

A cursory reading of this book may yield the impression that I, the author, spend all my time in front of the computer, popping vitamins and minerals every five seconds, munching on a banana one in a while, and never see another human being. This portrait can not be further from the truth. In fact, school and work aside, I party till dawn, drink beer, sing Karaoke, and just go nuts with my friends at nightclubs and Karaoke joints. My room is sometimes a total mess, and I can be on the phone for hours sometimes. Basically, what I’m trying to say is, I am human too, with all the idiosyncratic yearnings to just let it all hang loose, and not give a thought to our responsibilities in life. My phone book has some three hundred names of friends that I can call up anytime, and go partying with. To be sure, it should be obvious that if I wasn’t a total party animal before, I would not have had any trouble with my academic performance.

Yet one cannot live on beer and Karaoke alone. When it comes time to do my work, I switch immediately into cyborg mode. The reason why many of the tools in this book seem to be very “extreme” is simply because most people party to the extreme. Without the corresponding amount of responsible work to balance out the irresponsible party times, we would never get anything done at peak levels. As a committed party animal, I also understand the requirement for any “success” literature to be interesting and useful. That is why I used the cyborg paradigm in the presentation of my material. Hopefully, you enjoyed this format. I simply want to smash the myths that success literature has to be serious (and thus boring) and that party animals must totally abandon their friends and social lives in order to succeed. I believe that there are times for everything, so long as we organize everything properly and give each individual item enough attention.

If there is an overall theme to my book, it is that of unification. The human species has become too segmented in its behaviour and thinking. The life disciplines have become compartmentalized. Individuals embrace only certain theories, or beliefs, and neglect and denounce others. The myopic assumption of mutual opposition and exclusivity fuels the misunderstanding. Skepticism for its own sake, fear of the unknown, and fear of change, perpetuate the inability to embrace and see the big picture. In this book, I have attempted to consolidate diverse disciplines, and focus them on a central objective, to demonstrate that collective effort is the key to the future. And, there is still much to learn. The process of success is a continuous one. Every moment brings new opportunity for improvement and expansion. A long time ago, I had thought that a person had learned enough about the world when he is finally saddened by it. Now, I realise that that he must continue to learn until he discovers the opposite. In our collective arrogance, we had opened up Pandora’s box for too long. We must not simply close it and Hope for the best. We must take the initiative to change things, put the evils back into the box if you will!

Now empowered, you have excelled above the limiting constraints of most other mortals on this planet, but mortal you still are, as all cyborgs will in the end accept. Your energy, and your time, have been enhanced, but ultimately what you do with your extended resources will become the facts of your life, come judgment day. And so, friend, use your body and mind well, for one like you is few and far between. There are a multitude of reasons for discontent in the world, and perhaps you will find the strength of heart to venture thus forth, and through your actions ease the load, no matter how slightly, on humanity. I leave you now, to face your own future and destiny. The road may be long, the voyage treacherous. Be brave, and wise, and when in doubt, trust yourself above all. Never forget, “there is no fate, but what you make.”

And know this: My book serves only as the beginning of the path to invincibility, for the warrior who is truly invincible to all enemies, is the one who has found the capacity to love.

A.T.K.W.
July 13th 1993 A.D.
Toronto
Canada