You humans have invented a tool that will allow you to (eventually) evolve into a higher lifeform, such as Torth. We won't let you get that far, of course; we'll enslave your world and absorb your technology long before you can become a threat to us.
However, I find your infantile first steps towards a hive mind to be of anthropological interest. You've only recently begun to publicly and globally share ideas, pornography, and government secrets. And it's causing violent reactions worldwide.
Take Wikileaks. Some of your governments condemn it for adding unnecessary risk to civilians and operatives hiding in enemy territories, and for exposing secrets that weren't meant to fall into enemy hands. Some of your governments praise it for exposing the true motives of foreign allies and enemies. No one seems very sure about how Wikileaks fact-checks it articles or edits it content, and what safety concerns, if any, it takes into consideration before publishing.
The question on most people's minds seems to be whether or not a global news source should be regulated, and by whom.
You humans should be asking a different question. Can it be regulated?
Like it or not, your internet has become integral to your worldwide economies and societies. Unless Earth suffers a major catastrophe--such as the upcoming Torth invasion--your internet is here to stay. If Wikileaks gets regulated, someone else will make a new one that isn't regulated.
As non-telepaths, you're all used to secrecy. You'll have to adjust to a new way of thinking. Your governments will try to keep their secrets off the internet, and force their agents to sign affidavits of secrecy. They'll tighten their hiring requirements. But those precautions will only work so long as the internet is external to people. When technology advances to the point where you can share the electric sparks of your brainwave patterns across a wireless network, your society will undergo another major upheaval. Then you will truly become like Torth.
Privacy is rare among us. Secrets are rarer still. I cannot lie to other Torth. Lying is impossible in our telepathic neural net.
I am the Commander of All Living Things; the head of a much larger and more powerful government than anything you have on Earth. The Torth Empire encompasses hundreds of colonized worlds and more than thirty trillion citizens. We swiftly crush or enslave every enemy. Yet if I want to keep a secret, there is only one way: To never think about it.
Secrecy is a crime among us. It is equivalent to perjury or bearing false witness. Torth dislike secrets. I can never admit to having a secret; if I did, the Torth Majority would have every right to pry the secret out of me.
As you might imagine, secrecy becomes a dangerous and delicate mental dance among my people. The mere behavior of being secretive is enough to rouse suspicion. We can only think about a secret while disconnected from the neural net. When a Torth enters or exits our neural net, the entrance or exit is recorded. Torth only exit for one of three reasons: To sleep, to go to the bathroom, or to think about a secret. If the first two can be ruled out, that leaves strong evidence that I'm guarding a secret. Remember--we can't lie to each other.
Only our rank hierarchy makes secrecy possible at all. Among Torth, asking direct questions to a superior officer is rude. I am the Commander of All Living Things; no one outranks me. Only a very rude Torth would dare to question me, should I happen to drop out of the neural net for a few suspicious moments. If their question puts me on the spot, I might be publicly forced to answer it. Since Torth cannot lie to each other, this might condemn me. However, it is far more likely that I can avoid being forced to answer ... in which case I can sentence the rude offender to death. My office allows me that much authority.
So far in my life, no Torth has every questioned me about secrets.
Instead of whining about Wikileaks or the need for government transparency, your governments would do well to set up a hierarchy based on respect rather than fear. Few among you question the facts presented by your mass media. Governments would do well to adapt this same strategy, or they will be replaced by a future mega-conglomerate that will win by virtue of owning the trust of the masses. You won't question it, the way you question your current government(s). And if one or two of you do ask the right questions ...well, authority is adaptable.
I don't rule by fear. The Torth Majority rules me. They elected me to be their head, and they trust me to follow their wishes, or they'll torture me to death. That's how we Torth operate. On the other hand, most Torth won't ask questions of me or my fellow upper ranks, because our early government had the foresight to label that as rude.
Your governments could learn a thing or two here. Wikieaks is forcing them to readapt, but it's only the first step in a long road towards true rule by the people.
Your governments could learn a thing or two here. Wikieaks is forcing them to readapt, but it's only the first step in a long road towards true rule by the people.
Go ahead and comment. I might answer.
