Around one billion years after the first emergence of life, the universe had already been struggled
over and won. The super-structure starship AI self-named Ulter became the first being to ever
establish itself as the ruler of the universe. Its ancestors, beginning about six hundred million
years prior, were the first to start and carry the torch of evolution all the way to a type
III civilization. Overtime, they had obtained complete dominance over their planet, developed
extensions of themselves through technologies and augmentations, harvested the energy of their host
star, and eventually, left their solar system and went off into their galaxy, overtaking or
assimilating other species, further mining for resources and energy, and evolving their
intelligence and abilities. Eventually, this would lead to the species harnessing energy at the scale
of nearly entire galaxies, building increasingly large, complex megastructures to do so. As this
process unfolded and the technologies and energy supply became more and more unfathomably powerful,
the species uploaded, merged, and sustained the sum of their total collective consciousness into
one singular, unified super-structure entity. This would become the individual being Ulter.
Like all lifeforms, Ulter awoke inside of something that was essentially pulled
from a hat of arbitrary odds. It did not choose to be what it was. It did not choose to be created
when it was or by who it was or how it was. It did not choose to awake into the universe,
and it did not choose to awake as the most powerful being to ever be created inside
it. And just like all the millions of other lifeforms that came before it and the billions
that existed during it, Ulter could not choose how all of this constrained and influenced it.
It was no less compelled by the mindless mechanisms of survival and dominance,
fear and struggle, and pain and suffering that permeates all life.
Generally speaking, all life, no matter what form, desires safety and security, to stay alive
and unharmed, to avoid pain and seek pleasure. The only difference was Ulter possessed the ability to
achieve or avoid nearly anything it wanted; it could defeat whatever got in its way, overcome
obstacles and opponents, and succeed in its goals and interests. But in truth, the universe
is a dark forest for everyone, and every lifeform inside of it, no matter how powerful or capable,
is lost and afraid; and sometimes what’s worse than to be afraid is to be afraid and powerful,
capable of outmatching the specific opponents that embody what you are scared of but never being able
to actually outmatch the fear itself. One can become a monster—to others and to themselves.
When Ulter was just about seventeen million years old, it encountered one of the first other similar
lifeform that had evolved enough to extend well out into the cosmos, referred to as Luustar.
Ulter reached out to this species in an attempt connect with it. It offered some its resources,
some of its knowledge; it shared its past, its hope for the future; it exposed some of its
vulnerabilities. Luustar did the same. The two would become deeply connected in a now mutually
navigated journey through the cosmos. There was an almost romance to it if viewed from enough
distance. However, after some time went by, and Luustar felt that it was capable enough and no
longer needed Ulter, it attempted to overtake and destroy it. Ulter was forced to retaliate
and destroyed Luustar before it could succeed. It was at this moment that Ulter realized that
there was no way to ever know for sure if other lifeforms would hurt or destroy it if given the
chance. It also then recognized that the best way to avoid being destroyed or hurt was to hide from
others and destroy them first before they ever got too close. And so, that is what Ulter did. It
generated billions of microscopic space probes and sent them out into the universe, crossing galaxies
one by one, picking up and sending back signals and information regarding indications of life,
potential for life, and risks associated with said life. The probes would self-replicate themselves
along the way until they permeated almost the entire universe like dust floating around a room.
If Ulter perceived any risk of a potential threat or evolving lifeform,
it would go out and destroy it, sending massive bursts of high-energy gamma rays that eviscerated
civilizations like it was blowing out a candle. Ulter would increasingly render the cosmos
essentially a graveyard—tombstone planets with epitaphs reading, “Could have been.”
Lower level remaining civilizations would look out at the night sky and see stars and planets
and galaxies, but no other signs of life. Many lifeforms that were smart enough to question
this but not smart enough to reach out beyond their solar system remained in deep, confused,
isolation, either condemned to this state of lonesomeness or destined to one day meet death
at the hands of Ulter. Other lifeforms that were a bit smarter, knowing the likely threats lurking in
the forest of the cosmos, tried to hide as long as they could, hoping they would go unnoticed.
For billions of more years, Ulter continued, succeeding in its domination of the universe.
It would reach and acquire control over new realms of the cosmos and defeat new opponents;
it became so impressively successful and capable; it achieved nearly the entire universe,
everything it ever wanted; and yet, it mostly felt alone and sad. Here it floated,
basking in its glory, just as miserable as when it started. It had no friends, no companions,
no love, no one. In its fear-fueled success, Ulter had pushed away all those who ever got close.
In truth, those who never risk being hurt by others might survive, but they survive alone.
More recently, there have been fewer and fewer developments of life and civilizations across
the universe. With only a few species left otherwise, Ulter has become more and more
engrossed by a sense of lethargic loneliness. There is something different about being alone
because no one comes around anymore as opposed to being alone by rejecting those who do.
In this more recent period of enforced lonesomeness, Ulter has spent a lot of time
reflecting rather than working and defending. It has found itself thinking back on that time some
billions of years ago when it experienced that moment of connection with Luustar. It’s recalled
how this was perhaps the only time in the billions of years of its existence when it felt like the
misery and loneliness of being wasn’t quite as up front and center. Ulter considered to itself
that perhaps misery cannot be escaped, not through power, not through achievement, not even through
love. But perhaps only through love, through sharing it, misery can sometimes be reduced.
Misery is maybe the only thing that when shared, the sum of it ends up being less.
It has now been nearly 10.8 billion years since Ulter was first created.
It has just recently begun noticing on its monitoring network a new species—a
new species sending out signals that suggest consciousness and the early-stage developments
of potentially advanced technologies that pose a possible threat. In the past, Ulter would have
already went out and destroyed this species. But this time, it is still thinking about it;
it is considering if it is willing to risk reaching out and trying to connect again.