“Houston, We have a problem!”
Ricart on the planet below hails the Enterprise, ‘Ricart to Picard,.. We have
a problem! … It?s worse than we suspected, the Matocans are beginning to believe
in a God!’
This third season fourth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation ran in the early 1990?s and was curiously titled, ?Who Watches the Watchers?? The episode opens with a series of cascading technical and human mishaps that result in a scientific observation post becoming exposed with its advanced technology and watchers of a primitive culture; a culture who by happenchance assume that Captain Picard is a God.
Meanwhile, there are debates on the Enterprise over how to handle the God problem. One scientist poses that ‘God’ (Captain Picard) confront the people and give them a sign, a set of commandments to live by as a solution.
Capt Picard raises the question, ‘Sanctioning false beliefs?’
Ricart queries, ‘You mean this belief will become a religion?’
The scientist argues that without sage human guidance these people will eventually deteriorate into inquisitions, holy wars, and chaos.
‘Horrifying.’ Picard retorts then argues, ‘Dr … your report describes how rational these people are; millennia ago they abandoned their belief in the supernatural. Now you are asking me to sabotage that achievement, send them back into the dark ages of superstition, ignorance, and fear!’ Picard exhorts emphatically, ‘NO!’
Meanwhile Counselor Troy on the surface argues with the Matocans, ‘The problem with a supernatural being is trying to determine what he wants. No one knows.’
The point of Star Trek is humanism and appeals to those who are outside the community of faith. The point behind this episode was to discredit God, faith, and religion while trying to anecdotally explain the otherwise unexplainable.
Particle physics has developed the concept of quantum computing. In this notion, the physical universe deconstructs to a particle of discrete length and mass known as Planck?s length and Planck?s mass. This realm also known as the Planckian Realm occurs at 10 to the minus 35th meters. When this discrete particle is cut or smashed into what one would think to be smaller particles, it does not. The particle vaporizes into energy; mass and length no longer exists. If mass and length no longer exist then space-time no longer exists. This is in effect a boundary limit to the physical and physical science can no longer extend itself. More importantly these discrete particles come in and out of existence in this realm through a little known process called compactness where in string theory waveforms come together forming a particle of mass. Hence, we arrive at the wave-particle theory of light.
This smallest discrete particle is a key point in quantum computing and relates directly to a bit in information theory. Matter is either exists or does not exist. Matter is on or off. In addition, we find that thermodynamics and information theory use the same mathematical equations and are in fact the same thing. So we have a trail linking matter to energy (light, waveforms, heat) to information theory. This leads to a notion that the physical universe, human reality, is the outcome of an irreversible algorithmic computation from the natural viewpoint.
However, Genesis 1:3 NIV ?and God said, ?Let there be light? and there was light.? The Judeo Christian God spoke the universe into existence and it was light. Speaking is the act of communicating information. Is science discovering what a message from beyond the boundary limits has been telling us all along about the origin of our reality? Could it be that our reality is the outcome of information? Could it be that we are bound to a matrix-like reality of sorts where our essence, our awareness, our souls are from another reality? Could the information we speak be connected to our souls?