Prometheus Unbound

Here is an oldie from last June.

Post Prometheanism

The Myth

One night, when Zeus was away, Prometheus crept to Olympus along a secret path and stole the God's precious fire, hiding it in a hollow reed, which he concealed in his cloak. This he then gave to man, teaching him how to use fire to warm, to cook, to make bricks, tools and earthenware, everything needed to give people a more comfortable life.

But when Zeus returned to Olympus, so great was his rage that he ordered Prometheus to be chained forever to a lonely rock in the Caucasian Mountains. There he bravely endured for thousands of years until Zeus, in admiration and pity, freed Prometheus to help and champion humanity once more through his forethought and love.

In another version of the myth. Hercules (humankind) frees Prometheus while on his 11th labor:

Then, in the search for the Golden Apples of the Hesperides (spiritual knowledge), the Hero frees our benefactor and our trickster. Prometheus, the Titan, the giver of Fire, the bringer of woes, is freed from his rock. He is liberated not by gods or Titans, but by the mortal Hero who is strong in stature and beautiful in spirit. Prometheus, the Titan, who would trick Zeus, the God of men and gods, is released where he too can join the gods on Olympus.

Post Promethean technologies therefore are not based on fire.

Coal plants, automobiles, highly efficient combined cycle gas plants, are all fire based.

Nuclear technology is fire based too. Only here, the fire does not come from oxydized carbon. The fire in matter itself is released as the atoms are split, liberating energy as some of the mass of the single nucleus is lost as it divides into two nuclei.

Solar technology which uses the photovoltaic effect predicted by Einstein is decidely not fire based. The same can be said for Wind Energy.

Humankind has the potential to move beyond the gift of Prometheus.

We can begin to use the very energy of the creation itself

to power our tools, and our shelters,

if we choose to do so.

We simply must put down our old sticks of fire.

We have been using fire for perhaps 500,000 years,

So you can understand why we would have a tough time changing.

A Post Promethean world would be very different from this world.

Energy would not be something

that some multinational corporation finds.

Energy would be everywhere,

not at the bottom of some great hole in the sea.

Energy would be infinite,

Not some finite pool of dead fish oil in some capitalist colony,

or some scraped up pile of carbon laying under the soft skin of the earth.

With advanced power paints,

Every house, every building will become energy transducers.

Every time a photon strikes a human made structure,

some of that energy will be turned into electronic energy,

where it will be used on site or exported to the grid.

With advanced power plant designs,

and electromagnetic solar energy refractors,

Energy that falls in one area will be redirected to another.

We will be able to cool our cities by intercepting that energy,

and redirecting it to post promethean power plants and food crops.

Our personal devices will run on the energy of our warm bodies.

Our homes will move energy around from room to room,

from light to heat, heat to light, light to light.

Our cars will not be cars anymore,

And our 5000 year old love affair with our ancient chariot of fire

will finally be laid into a much deserved and welcome grave.

We will fly on the electromagnetic spectrum instead of the air.

We will often fly at the speed of light as we project our holographic image,

instead of stressing our corporal form.

We will join forces with our friends, our family, and our cybercommunity.

And we will look back at these days of plunder and ignorance,

Like a father remembers his mispent youth.

Like the mother remembers the difficult child.

And we will be an earthfamily.

With Vision,

And Hope.

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drawing courtesy of Marxist.org