“DAMN IT!”

“DAMN THEM!”

“DAMN THE PROGRAMMERS!”

“DAMN THEM ALL TO HELL!”

Shatters the usually quiet serenity of the room-full of the best programmers in the universe.

A lowly programer turns to the control room and says quietly, “Mike, take a look at this”.

Mike, the A.A. and number two in command appears in the control room.  He has been assisting Him from almost the beginning so Mike has seen His wrath.

“Yes,” Mike answers. “What is it?”

Sir, look at the monitor.”

“Yes, terrible”.  

Beautifully brilliant reds, oranges and yellows swirling, moving, melting and reforming into multiple mushroom shaped clouds fill the screens.  Gone is the beautiful blue spheroid haloed with delicate white clouds. The screens go blank.

“I want new programmers.” Mike announces.

Old programmers disappear as new programmers appear.

In unison, “Sir!”

“The monitors, look at the monitors!” He shouts as he replays the beautifully brilliant reds, oranges and yellows swirling, moving, melting and reforming into multiple mushroom shaped clouds fading to a blank screen.

The programers In unison, “We see, Sir, very pretty.”

“No, it is not supposed to end like that.”  I want the program fixed, debugged, whatever it takes.  If you don’t fix it, you will end up like, like the “pretty” infernal you just observed.  I assure you He won’t hesitate, and you won’t find it “very pretty”.

Mike from the control room, “This is directly from the Boss.  If you don’t get the program to work this time, you will join all of your predecessors.  The failure of Project Genesis is not an option.  You are the best, your processors are the best, your operating systems are the best.  The goal is a program that runs continuously through eternity.  Begin!”

The clicking of their keyboards immediately fills the room.  Once Mike, the A.C. leaves, the programmers begin talking in a whisper among themselves:

“Such a fuss over an explosion.”

“It’s that it is self-destruction.”

“It’s the suffering of the people.”

“No, No, you’re all wrong.  Look!”  A programer hits a function key, and line upon line of code scrolls on their screen until ‘END’ appears. 

“Well, anyone see anything?”

Dead silence.  The programmers look from one to another.  Finally, a programmer raises his hand.

 

“For Christ’s sake,” Mike roars, “Just speak!  “We don’t have time to stand on formalities.”

In a whisper the young programer responds.  “It’s not the program.”

An audible gasp fills the room.  “It has to be the program,” they respond in unison.

The young programer timidly responds. “No, it’s the prime directive.  Given that directive, the program will always run the same and have the same results.”

Mike responds. “I’d be careful what you say.  Remember your predecessors.  Do you want to join them?  You could.  Just like that!” He tries and fails to snap his fingers.

Again the young programer, “If we don’t change the prime directive, the program will run with the same consequences; and we will be gone anyway.”

The others nod in agreement.

Mike orders, “Bring up the prime directive, and we’ll take a look at it.”

Immediately the prime directive appears on all their screens. 

Genesis 1:26 …Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness….”

“Who’s going to tell Him, Mike?’

The programmer’s heads hang in despair as silence guillotines their hopes.