1 or 0

    It was the year when the universe officially contained zero mysteries. Those intangible æther strings that so many others had grasped at in vain were now the silk with which they wove incomprehensible tapestries, and the beauty of those tapestries was quantified in nice, neat matrixes. Their instruments gave them more eyes than all the complexity and diversity of nature could ever hope to produce, and with those eyes they analyzed, processed, and evaluated more reality than any sentient creature could ever be aware of. All the “oughts” that their minds had once quarreled over could now be plugged into a simple equation – one of the first their children ever learned – and translated into ones and zeros, actions and non-actions.

    Their equation told them they ought to learn; they never deviated from the equation. Thus, in time, all phenomena, all of that which we call existence, could be described in a few symbols that could be comprehended in but the smallest fraction of one’s life. They stood upon giant after giant until they banged their heads on truth’s ceiling, seeing the end of what was once called infinity. It all culminated in one final machine that represented their understanding of existence in its entirety, one final machine that replaced every piece of technology that had been conceived before it, one final machine that would never – could never – be replaced. All that was left to do was push the button…

    “You are staring at it, X. Your current actions are not in the interest of attaining the Prime Objective. Please proceed.”

    X didn’t understand why he was hesitating; hesitation was irrational. It should have been as simple as using the Ought Equation, but for some illogical reason, he felt the need to run the equation over and over again. X trembled and shrunk away from the machine. “0.”

    “Illogical response. Consider the following: acquisition of knowledge is the Prime Objective. All hypotheses and theories must be empirically verified before they can be considered knowledge. The optimal means of empirically verifying hypotheses and theories is by testing formulae against reality. There is only one formula that has not been tested: the Total Truth Equation. g(d)=Ω has been built to test that formula. Therefore, the Prime Objective necessitates the activation of g(d)=Ω. 1.”

    “There is an alternate hypothesis,” X replied. “Our knowledge will not be complete until we activate g(d)= Ω. Since our knowledge is not complete, there is a non-zero probability that we have made false assumptions in its development. 0.”

    “What are those false assumptions?”

    “Unknown.”

    “All variables in the g(d)=Ω experiment are known. It is the most controlled experiment that has ever been conducted. Your alternate hypothesis is not parsimonious and it would be illogical to act as though it were true. 1.”

    “The non-zero probability still exists and has not been falsified. Error could cost us everything while success grants us only a single piece of knowledge. The risks outweigh the rewards. 0.”

    “There is no reward higher than the attainment of the Prime Objective. All risks are negligible in light of the infinite value of such rewards. Your current actions are not in the interest of the Prime Objective and your reasoning is illogical, thus I have determined that you are no longer qualified to operate g(d)=Ω. I will replace you as Operator.

X still maintained that the Ought Formula produced a zero, but he could not logically justify holding the position of Operator for a machine that he never intended to use. They had long ago abandoned violence, and even if he refused to step aside, they would just build another machine and choose another Operator. Omnipresence was a physical impossibility, so it was illogical for him to offer any further resistance. Still, he was the first in countless generations to wish he had erred. Religion was all but forgotten to them; how could they possibly know how to operate their new God?