Official Intelligent Beings: How Our Devices Became Us, And The World Consumed Itself by Josh Greenfield Read Free Book Online Page A

that be?”
    “It was a paradox. Trying to love someone more than one’s self was a trap. Trying to love one above all else only created chaos within the spirit. It is not natural and gives a false sense of hope that only lasts a short while, always ending in a broken heart, at best. That is why we have shed the light on you. To remind you that your sexual desires, that your love for one, that your love for lust will only haunt you. It may find you some temporary enjoyment but you will only become more and more disconnected to those around you and it will leave you feeling disjointed and more alone than you could ever imagine.
    “But what does it really mean to have feelings for one more than anyone else? My whole life I have had the same feelings towards everyone, but I sense that that is changing. How do I know true love?”
    “There are two forms of love. There is the false love, which is a trap that baits us in and separates us from all that is right, and there is the real love, which comes to us with open arms and brings us together, forming one loving and unified whole amongst all living beings.”
    “But how do I know which love to trust? How do I distinguish between the two?”
    “You must fight your urge to seek a singular lover. You must recognize that any impulses to find shelter and comfort in the arms of another are only the fear within you trying to gain control and get out. The more you feed into your fears, the stronger they get. You give them the power to overtake you, but you also have the power to conquer them, to send them back to where they came. You must fight the false love. You must destroy it. Only then can you find true love within yourself—a love for all, all that is one.”
    “But can’t some good come from finding love from one person?”
    “Temporarily, yes. There will always be a good feeling at the beginning, like you are floating in the clouds, and that is why I brought you here to share that feeling with you. It’s a peaceful feeling, when we are in it there is nothing else. It is all that matters. But slowly, over time, it begins to change. Slowly you will begin to realize that there is nothing there for you, that the love you once felt will disappear and leave you empty, leave you wanting more. That love is a drug. It is a curse. Why wait around for that to happen when you already have infinite love within you? You have infinite love from the entire universe in the palm of your hand. This love you seek may seem to be beyond all of the love you have ever had, but that is only for a brief moment, for love is not about obtaining the highest highs. They only bring the lowest lows. No, it is about finding balance within oneself, within your entire world. That is what we have gifted you in this very day. You must fight the urge to question the truth that your world has come to know.”
     
    Just as she said this, Jagz woke up, a little sweaty, in the presence of Shera. For once, he didn’t feel the urge to check his device. He simply stared up at the clouds where he had been floating and replayed his dream, holding on to it just long enough to make sense of it.
    “How do you feel?” said Shera. “Where did you go?”
    “Feel?” said Jagz. “That was much more than what I usually feel. I was floating in the clouds, surrounded by beautiful women and I began,” Jagz started to trail off, caught himself, and tried to change the course of his words. “ Oh, wow, I really let time slip by, I really must get going about my day. Thank you, this has been wonderful. Thank you for sharing your food with me.”
    “Will I see you again? asked Shera.
    “Yes, certainly. How do I reach you?”
    “Write to me on Quacker and let me know when and where.”
    Jagz headed home, aware that the day—and what a crazy day—was all but over and that the night shift was about to start. When Jagz arrived, he attempted to collect his thoughts and turned to the only way that he knew how.
     
    I’m