christianity – Mine Quick Voice of Aquarius

The Beginnings of Man -Part 4

God is credited with knowing everything before it happens, but it is clear from what God is said to have done He made a mistake.! And then with the help of the Archangels, He punishes the ‘fallen Watchers’.

If you haven’t read Part 1 -here it is The Beginnings of Man -Part 1 – Mine Quick Voice of Aquarius and part 2 is here The Beginnings of Man -Part 2 – Mine Quick Voice of Aquarius and part 3 is here The Beginnings of Man -Part 3 – Mine Quick Voice of Aquarius

Some will describe Adam’ fall from grace after eating the apple as a loss of innocence. Innocence as the dictionary defines it means someone who is not guilty of a crime. A person not having much experience of life and not knowing about the bad things that can happen. It can also describe someone who is righteous, who is free from fault, it can even be used to describe a simpleton or idiot. According to the OED the word innocence is occurring only 7 times in modern written English, or to put it another way, is saying almost never does our consciousness consider its meaning as important or relevant.

And then when it does get used it mostly occurs to highlight the antonym guilt or faintly praise the idiot!

I am focussing on the meaning of innocence because neither Adam nor Eve were aware of the consequences from eating the apple. That is saying their psyche prior to eating the apple did not include the animal nature. They are described in Jewish literature as the first Man and Woman -and conceived by ‘God’, and as I have already given reason ‘the sons of God’ in fact was the ‘Watchers’ as named by Enoch, and they are shown to have produced sons, which initially was the Nephilim and then after the fall of Adam and Eve the patriarchal line of Men succeeded and that includes Enoch.

The names of men given in Jewish Literature prior the great flood are singular but are they? They are more likely names of populations. The cycle of time from Adam, Cain, Abel, and Seth is recorded in hundreds of years, but given these are names of populations, more like thousands of years.

The Garden of Eden as created by God for Adam appears to be a utopian paradise but on closer examination suggests otherwise. Animals lived there and they are subject to life and death, as indeed are all other forms of life, so the garden couldn’t be called a paradise. Adam is created immortal to live in this so-called Eden and given ability to name the animals and care for the animal’s well-being. At this point in the story God has created a world which is subject to change -conflict that includes all other forms of life supporting the existence of animals.

God then highlights to Adam two trees; the tree of life and the tree of knowledge. Clearly He doesn’t mean physical trees. Symbolically trees represent a life-giving entity connecting earth to the heavens. Adam was directly related to the tree of life and warned not to connect with the tree of knowledge. The tree of knowledge was the enablement of the tree of life; its function was God’s business alone. Provided Adam didn’t question his immortality by knowing of the tree of life the Garden would continue to be his abode.

Then it appears that God made two errors, firstly he realised Adam wasn’t entirely happy without a mate, and secondly on creating that mate as Eve He made her separate from Adam, which caused Eve to see Adam as another form of immortality, and to gain awareness of the difference between them sought that understanding from the knowledge tree. On receiving that knowledge (the apple), she shared it with Adam, and then all hell breaks loose.

The story blames the serpent for causing Eve to eat the apple and beginning the fall of Man, but NO the action of the serpent is the action of the id force in the body otherwise called the kundalini force and was caused by eating the apple; the knowledge of how the tree of life functioned in vertebrates. The introduction of Eve in the story is describing the juncture of change that brought about the separation of the male and female forces, that in turn destroyed the harmony which had been established initially by offsprings of the Watchers.

As advised in Part 3, Adam must have been some kind of androgynous conception, not unknown in the early development of life of Earth. Many other earth-life forms exhibit androgynous traits through sequential sex changes, including fish, mollusc’s, amphibians, and invertebrates.

Science emphasises the androgyne functions of its male and female nature in humans are by choice and for all other forms of life instinctually driven by the need to survive as a species.

Before proceeding further we should recognise that the writing of Genisis and the Book of Enoch is still subject to scholarly debate. Genisis is thought to have been composed during the lifetime of Moses, between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE, others suggest the 5th century BCE, whilst others say even later, influenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls 2nd century BCE. And the Book of Enoch between 300- and 100-years BCE. All scholars agree input to either would have been created by orally informed information. Which, to put it mildly, means we don’t know the source nature of these writings.

Given we now look at the creation of man story in Genisis through the words of Enoch 1 (as translated by Andy McCraken in 2023 ) which is based on the Ethiopian text and including some corrections from the surviving fragment found in Aramaic and Greek, a different story emerges.

Enoch begins by saying his words are a blessing to the chosen and righteous who must be present on the Day of Distress, which is appointed for the removal of all wicked and impious. What Enoch means by the Day of Distress is a final reckoning at which the righteous will be saved and the wicked will be destroyed in a distant generation to come. He then goes on to say, “And all will be afraid, and the Watchers will shake, and fear and great trembling will seize them, unto the ends of the Earth”. He is not saying they will be destroyed.

After advising the destruction of the Earth and how the righteous will be saved, in chapter 6 he says, “And it came to pass, when the sons of men had increased, that in those days there were born to them fair and beautiful daughters”. And then goes on to say, “And the Angels, the sons of Heaven, saw them and desired them. And they said to one another: “Come, let us choose for ourselves wives, from the children of men, and let us beget, for ourselves, children.” He clearly means the Angels are the Watchers and the sons of Man are an evolution of Homo Erectus. Enoch specifies 20 Watchers by name and their leader is Shemyaza. Each named Watcher leads nine others, and there are more Watchers, but he doesn’t quantify how many or give them names.

At this point in his narrative the Watchers are able to interact with the physical world as he further describes the knowledge and skills they taught Man. From sexual union with the daughters of men there were born giants, describing them as 3’000 cubits tall that’s as tall as a mountain! As they obviously couldn’t be, he is either saying the number of giants, or he referring to their powers to control nature. They were certainly controlling as they ‘devoured’ men and all other forms of life and are further described as the ‘lawless ones’.

In chapter 8 we are told that Azazel, one of the named Watchers, “taught men to make swords, and daggers, and shields, and breastplates. And he showed them the metals of the earth, and the art of working them, and gold and silver bracelets and ornaments, and the art of making up the eyes with antimony and eye-paint, and of beautifying the face, and the most precious and choice stones, and all kinds of coloured dyes. And the world was forever changed”. (my italics).

He goes on to say. There was great impiety and much fornication, and as if Azazel hadn’t done enough, “their leader, Shemyaza, taught spells against the mind, and the use of cut roots of plants, and Armaros magical skills and the release of spells, and Barakel taught astrologers, and Kokabel portents of the stars, and Tamiel taught portents of the weather, and Shahariel taught the path of the Moon. And they all began to reveal these mysteries to their wives and their children. And, at the destruction on the Earth, men cried out, and their voices reached Heaven”.

At this point let me summarise what Enoch is saying.

He begins by saying there will be a final reckoning when the Earth will change dramatically because the rebellious sons of God (the Watchers) will bring about destruction because they have caused their offsprings, the giants to teach men eternal truths. And the world is forever changed because of their ‘destructive’ actions. Thereafter some men who are not in league with the Watchers and their Giant offsprings complain to ‘God on High’ (my italics).

In chapter 9 we are introduced to Archangels Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabrial. Michael is chief, protector of humanity, and appointed to bind the ‘fallen Watchers’. Uriel is humanities guide warning Enoch to instruct Noah of the impending flood. And Gabrial is the divine judge who will condemn the ‘fallen Watchers’ and enforce heavenly order on Earth.

We should now remind ourselves that the first five chapters of Genisis records how got made the Earth, created Man on the fifth day and concludes by telling us that Man was expelled from the Garden of Eden because he ate the ‘apple’ of the Knowledge Tree. Then in chapter 6 to 11 we are told the Sons of God took women to become their wives, birthed a race of giants who behaved badly, despite describing them as heroes and men of renown, where everyone spoke the same language.

Now God admits he made a mistake and vows to wipe them from the face of the Earth, which he apparently does by causing a great flood after deciding that Noah and the animals can be saved. When the ark finally settles in the mountains of Ararat humanity can begin AGAIN.

What Enoch and Genisis is telling us is the creation of Man begins with a sexual union between women and ‘Angels’ which turned out badly and a higher form of angels, namely Archangels put matters right by destroying all that went before by causing a great flood. As it is stated in Enoch chapter 9, “Shemyaza has made known spells, he to whom You gave authority to rule over those who are with him”. YOU can only mean “Lord of Lords, God of Gods, King of Kings!”.

God is credited with knowing everything before it happens, but it is clear from what He goes on to say, with the help of the Archangels, He made a mistake and the ‘fallen Watchers’ will be punished. Note Enoch is now using the term fallen Watchers which implies not all Watchers behaved badly!

Enoch underlines this division of Watchers in chapter 12 where he states the Watchers called and said to him, “Enoch, scribe of righteousness, go and inform the Watchers of Heaven, who have left the High Heaven and the sanctuary of the Eternal Covenant, and have corrupted themselves with the women, and have done as the sons of men do, and have taken wives for themselves, and have become completely corrupt on the Earth. They will have on Earth, neither peace, nor forgiveness of sin, for they will not rejoice in their sons. The slaughter of their beloved ones they will see; and over the destruction of their sons they will lament and petition for ever. But they will have neither mercy nor peace.”

Make no mistake, what Enoch is telling us is the Archangels are the holy ones and also they were part of the Watchers. Some good came out of the Watchers interaction with the emergence of physical man.

Where did it go wrong?

We need to answer that question and by doing so look at other creation myths to understand how compatible they are with the biblical narrative. Why for example was Cain the first son of Adam condemned to wander for ever? Birthing the concept of what we call the Wandering Jew?

The Beginnings of Man -Part 3

How and when was Man physically created? Homo erectus (“upright man”) appeared around 1.9 million years ago and persisted until at least 110,000 years. Homo erectus is widely considered an ancestor of later humans.

If you haven’t read Part 1 -here it is The Beginnings of Man -Part 1 – Mine Quick Voice of Aquarius and part 2 is here The Beginnings of Man -Part 2 – Mine Quick Voice of Aquarius

According to science reflective consciousness is the capacity to be aware of and critically evaluate one’s own mental states, enabling self-reflection, metacognition, and intentional behaviour, which is a human definition of itself. We further distinguish reflective consciousness from primary or phenomenal consciousness which involves raw sensory experience.

I have said that reflective consciousness, albeit that is inclusive of phenomenal consciousness, is a feature of all vertebrates -we can go further than that! For example, plants don’t feel pain, but they can sense damage and respond with complex chemical and electrical signals. In short; all forms of life have consciousness that is reactive to change and that is because we live in a light reflective world. So, Man defines it for himself but chooses not to recognise it as consciousness in other forms of life. The issue of understanding here is that Man thinks of himself as the only form of vertebrate life that has consciousness -at least of the kind he defines for himself. Yet again, Man is myopically viewing the universe through his rationally minded ego, which is uniquely present in Man.

How and when was Man physically created?

Homo erectus (“upright man”) appeared around 1.9 million years ago and persisted until at least 110,000 years. Homo erectus is widely considered an ancestor of later humans, including Homo heidelbergensis, which in turn gave rise to Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens. Homo heidelbergensis lived approximately 700,000 to 200,000 years ago across Africa, Europe, and possibly Asia. Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo sapiens were closely related human species as a result of interbreeding, with distinct physical, cognitive, and cultural adaptations, but only Homo sapiens survived to populate the modern world. Homo sapiens have demonstrated remarkable adaptability and innovation. The earliest homo sapiens (according to Anthropology) were hunter-gatherers, and around 13,000 years ago, the Neolithic Revolution introduced agriculture and permanent settlements -and that is the beginning of the Flood period that ended approximately 9’000 years BCE.

Homo Sapiens (Latin) means ‘wise man’. Clearly an egocentric definition. Neanderthals existed from roughly 430,000 to 40,000 years ago, coexisting with early modern humans for tens of thousands of years. Both Neanderthals and Denisovans demonstrate the complexity of human evolution and the interconnections among archaic humans. DNA studies have looked for ‘strings’ that have remained relatively stable for eons but had exploded into evolutionary action since we and chimps diverged from our common ancestor.

When we look to see what might have changed us into Man there are many references in so-called mythical writings which refer to a union between god-like beings and ‘Men’.

The acceptance of God(s) creating Man is fundamental to the concept of all major religions, but they cannot tell you why God(s) chose to do so. Myths are accounts of events and the actions of peoples, gods and forces, from periods of time before the ‘discovery’ of writing, the earliest form of which was Cuneiform, developed by the Sumerians around 3400–3100 BCE. However, the historicity of ancient stone structures and of symbols engraved upon them can be carbon-14 dated, as for example the construction of Stonehenge shows its origin was approximately 10’000 years ago.

The intelligence of peoples who built these ancient structures encompassed knowledge which accedes in some respects the knowledge we have today. How they came of this knowledge is mystery, as is their accurate detail of the solar system and star world known thousands of years prior to Galileo. Myths are records of a past memories verbally passed down by succeeding generations in different parts of the world, showing comparable events and God-like Beings in prehistory, which cannot be explained historically by global interaction of information. Even as late as the 20^th century there were families in Asia who attested to a historical line of ‘story tellers’ who faithfully passed on their knowledge to subsequent generations -stories that cannot always be dated to have occurred after the creation of writing.

What we are told in the Old Testament e.g., in Genisis 6:2 is … the sons of God saw the daughters of Man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose…. And in the Book of Enoch, the “Sons of God” are often identified as angelic beings, specifically referred to as the Watchers. They are described as descending to Earth and becoming enamoured with the daughters of men, leading to the birth of the Nephilim. The Nephilim are also mentioned primarily in Genesis 6:1–4 and Numbers 13:33. In Genesis, they appear in the context of the “sons of God” mating with the “daughters of men,” producing offspring described as “mighty men of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4). . In Numbers, spies report seeing the Nephilim in Canaan, describing them as so formidable that the Israelites felt like grasshoppers in comparison.

Interpretations of the Nephilim vary widely across religious and academic traditions. One influential view, preserved in Second Temple literature such as 1 Enoch and Jubilees, identifies the Nephilim as the offspring of rebellious angels (the Watchers) and human women, portraying them as destructive giants whose corruption contributed to the moral decline preceding the flood. Another major interpretation, found in some early Jewish and Christian commentaries, describe the Nephilim as powerful human rulers or warriors, possibly arising from intermarriage between the righteous line of Seth and the unrighteous line of Cain. A third approach views the Nephilim as legendary or symbolic figures reflecting ancient Near Eastern traditions about semi-divine heroes or primordial beings.

The concept of gods mating with men is a common theme in various mythologies and religions, for example, in Greek, Indian, and Islamic Mythology. Human Science has found it’s impossible to date even approximately by tens of thousands of years when this era could have occurred. Modern man can be estimated as beginning his cycle of development some 300’000 years ago, but we have no archaeological dating of discoveries or Human Science that can reliably advise existence of the ancient civilisations previously referred to.

However, what we can say is some basis of attraction enabled the union of Gods and men, It’s reasonable to suppose that Gods expressed that need, which also suggests that whilst myths show their interaction was to ‘make men wise’ (Homo Erectus?) it also must mean they were not entirely self-contained, having a balance of energies eternally present . There is a tendency amongst scholars to suggest the actions of Gods was arbitrary and at best to suggest humans were ‘engaged’ to facilitate and further the warring of Gods between themselves.

The Hebrew bible refers to these Gods as the Elohim, which means many gods. And Enoch calls them the Watchers, a group of Angels who rebelled against God and fathered the Nephilim. Less the ideological interpretation it means an intelligence (not necessarily an entity in human form) mated and influenced development of the DNA in early man.

There are many creation myths. The most widely known account by English speaking people is the Garden of Eden story told in Genesis, often interpreted as a theological narrative explaining humanity’s transition from innocence to moral awareness, introducing concepts of sin, suffering, and mortality.

According to Genesis, God created the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him, forming the first human being (Genesis 2:7). God then created the Garden of Eden, a lush paradise in which the tree of knowledge of good and evil was at its centre. Adam was directed to tend the garden, name and care for all the animals. Seeing that Adam needed a companion, God took one of his ribs, and created Eve, the first woman (Genesis 2:21-24). Naked and unashamed they enjoyed the harmony of the garden, until that is, the appearance of a serpent, who deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She then shared the fruit with Adam, and upon eating it, they became aware of their nakedness and felt shame, symbolizing the loss of innocence and the acquisition of moral knowledge. God punished them for their disobedience causing Eve to experience the pain of childbirth and be subject to her husband, while Adam would ‘toil the ground’ for sustenance. Clothed in animal skins they were expelled from the garden and prevented from returning.

And where was this Garden of Eden? Traditionally it’s believed to have been located in Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but there is no archaeological evidence to suggest it was. The only evidence we can be certain of was it could only have existed prior to the great flood, perhaps even 100’s of thousands of years before.

And what exactly is the story telling us?

In simple terms, less the theological interpretation, the story is saying God created the first man for the task of managing the Garden of Eden. Initially all was hunky dory with Adam doing exactly what he was born to as a caretaker, until God decided Adam needed a mate and created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. Now the trouble starts. God warns them not to eat from the Tree of Life, but Eve doesn’t take God seriously and eats an ‘apple’ from the Tree. Adam doesn’t do anything to stop her and worse still actually eats an ‘apple’ as well. God is furious and causes Adam to seed her with his sperm causing Eve ever after to suffer the pangs of childbirth. They both became aware of themselves being naked. Adam has to ‘husband the soil’, which means he and Eve needed food to survive and that involved killing animals which hitherto he had been friendly with. Not content with lowering their status God banishes them from the Garden and for good measure posts an Angel at ‘the gates’ with the express purpose of denying them entry should they attempt to.

I think you have to agree things didn’t go according to plan. We have to seriously question who God is in this story because as told He is clearly not omnipotent. As told He either intended to cause disunity, or He simply cocked it up!

Who is this God? In other creation stories the advent of Man is described as caused by divine or supernatural beings. Nowhere do these myths admit to omnipotent powers making mistakes. The blame for the outcome is firmly placed on the Serpent. Now, if we look at the Garden of Eve story, less its theological interpretation. where ‘God’ is an ‘intelligence’ that could be described as a group of beings with interest in ‘creating ‘ human beings, a different story emerges.

Could these ‘beings’ be the Watchers referred to by Enoch?

The Royal Train

I conceived this poem over 50 years ago. Dissatisfied with the initial draft I did no more but over the years one or two key lines continued to haunt me. Early in June 2024, I managed to fall out of a tree I was pruning. My injuries included my left broken arm, hand, and wrenched neck. As a left-handed person that put a stop to many activities, including writing. Trolling through a listing of unfinished poetry the old draft came back in view. Unable to do much else without help, with one unsteady right-handed finger I began to rewrite it.

The Royal Train is now finished. There are two words in the poem you may not be familiar with, they are Djinn and Yama. Djinn is an Arabic plural noun meaning elemental earth-bound spirits hidden from sight. Yama is the Hindu God of death and justice, son of the Sun God Surya, who judges the souls of the dead and depending upon their deeds, assigns them to the realm of the Pitris, (their soul heritage) or to Naraka, (Hell) or to be reborn on Earth.

Humming gently, whistle muted

The Royal Train arrives,

Auto enabled

and expectant of deaths

it screeches driverless to halt

at Rebirth Platform number one.

Doors open.

Into the darkened interior

you float

light as a feather, half asleep,

jostling to get a window seat.

Dreaming, so you believe

The tangled web you often weave.

You’ll not hear the whistle keening

the train restart

Or know its full and wide within

But you will hear, and feel

the pulsing coupled driving wheels

relentlessly rhyming

abba du by abba du by

Cyclical sounds dispelling time

unfolding memories, child-like

motivating youthful desires.

Easily thoughts become creative

Manifesting a desirous world

pulsating independent forms,

life needy forms that gratify,

satiate, and has you wake

and expostulate

to the rhyming wheels

♫ do what you will, do what you will♫

Is this dying you ask of me

travelling free able to see,

testifying

life doesn’t end?

To begin it’s all picture postcard

Dolby Sound and technicolour

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

You, righteously urging the Self

undo, make up, inwardly heal.

Elemental forces enter in;

purpose forms and whispers Djinn.

Unreasoned giving thoughts arise,

happiness spreads like blood within.

Onward and-upward you spiral

the ego cries unwise!

Fear of God enters in:

knowledge dissipates.

♫ Hinder me not, hinder me not

Hinder me not, hinder me not ♫

Hallelujah, God is Great!

Here you reign between the points

of destination and departure

coerced to play the part of king

to this extension of your mind:

pieces and pawns, two of a kind

aboard the Summerland express,

resolved to undo, clean the slate,

begin anew:

entrained upon the ever long

never-ending pointed track. Yama the Jailer God.

Where will it end?

You ask yourself.

No sooner said

the melody of chiming wheels

cease their singing.

Doors slide back,

the Station Master speaks

”rebirth platform number two!”

A dream of people disembark.

No such place but it feels like home

But why you ask, and where am I?

Here unknown smiley people sing

and have you fear the child within.

No walls here and no pearly gate.

The old and young in ragged trews

torn uniforms and winding sheets

or dressed like you, in Sunday best

congregate and await their fate.

Loved ones you believed were dead

appear glowing with health, saying

do what you will, you’re free, enjoy!

Youthfully love, rest from the world

time-out, reinvent and explore.

Your thoughts cease to justify need,

love bearing energies bond with

outpourings of the giving self.

Harmony prevails,

the Way becomes known. Hallelujah, God is Great!

Seeds of union germinate,

love unfettered starts to grow,

your mind enjoins to many lives.

Reason no longer governs form

upward as mustard seeds you flow

all and everything

in a spiral flow.

Doing better

more of what was done before.

The Way becomes your inner state

Divine reason commands the soul.

Karmically you accept your fate.

How can I suggest you differ?

Little do you know, its checkmate

another game must now begin. Hallelujah, God is Great!

And then behold the train appears

gleaming blue royal gold and red.

And there you are

on platform three

crowned royally,

purposed yet again to steal

the apple from the knowledge tree.

Driverless it stops with open doors

and into the lighted carriage

you float

light as a feather, soul elite,

jostling to get a window seat.

Knowing how you now believe

why the tangled web deceives.

You’ll not hear the whistle keening

the train begin,

but you will know

why its wide within.

Omnipresent is your soul

purposed to achieve its goal.

As expected you can hear

the pulsing coupled driving wheels

relentlessly rhyming.

Clock ticking cyclical sounds

Birthing memories

motivating earthly thriving.

♫ Abba du by abba du by ♫

♫ du by du by abba du by ♫

♫ Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve ♫

♫ Abba du by abba du by ♫

♫ du by du by abba du by ♫

The trains’ jingling rhyme

Is birthing the earthly mind.

Conscience conflicts with

needy newborn voices, that

proclaim their immortality.

And in their chatter promise dies

has you fear the child within

will depart

and hollow out your heart.

Another self is looking on:

Singular and base.

You query why it doesn’t speak

wrapped up, curled in sleep.

Elemental forces enter in, and

your single purposed soul divides

further from the source you ride.

Every now and then

the whistle blows,

wheels hiss and grind.

Coaches shudder.

Train doors open to a void.

The station master’s voice

is indistinct.

You cannot tell when or where.

Bemused, benumbed, and apathetic,

coerced to play the Chess of Life.

Be you Bishop, or be you Rook

be you Knight or be you Queen.

Be you foolish, or be you wise,

believe or not

you will survive.

The Royal Train will call again.

Here you reign between the points

of destination and departure.

Once a prince of past endeavour,

bodies forming whispering Djinn

Are serving you, the absent king.

Now conscious of the daylight

weaving anew the tangled web.

Predestined to rhyme in miles forecast

ever purposed to the pointed track

the never-ending pointed track.

Yuma the Jailer God.

Tony Ashenden 2026

A Remarkable Man

I was as you proverbially say at a loose end, walking the high street, gazing absent mindedly into shop windows and people passing. Thinking, or rather over thinking my place in the world, questioning my purpose. The smell of coffee paused my stride and banished my thoughts. I entered the café. It was busy all tables occupied. Turning to go out I noticed one table only occupied by a big, bearded man who sat motionless with his eyes closed. The plate before him was empty.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” I asked, smiling to myself.

“Be my guest”, came the immediate reply.

Somewhat disconcerted, as he didn’t open his eyes to look at me, I sat down to await service expecting him to leave. He didn’t move or speak again. Eyes stayed closed. For all intents and purpose, I wasn’t there. He wore a fur lined jacket over a mottled coloured tea shirt and jeans. Hair and beard were well trimmed, suggesting a recent visit to a barber. Appearing not to breathe he sat motionless. As I began to be concerned some kind of health issue was in progress, the waitress tapped me on the shoulder.

“What would you like?”

“Latte please, and…. Would you like a drink?” I said loudly. The man opened his eyes and inclined his head and smiled. “Very kind of you -yes please I’ll have a Mocha”.

Surprisingly for a big man his voice was higher toned than expected. Feeling a bit sheepish, I placed the order. She smiled laughingly at me. “You’re the third one this afternoon.”

I wrinkled my brow, “What?”

She shrugged her shoulders and smiling walked away.

In askance I looked at him. “She’s referring to the man and woman who have shared their company with me.” He said.

“Oh… so you’ve been here a while then?”

“A couple of hours maybe… not in any hurry. And thank you again for the coffee, much appreciated.”

I looked at him with interest. Unlike many I know he clearly enunciated his words, and the deliberate way he spoke conveyed the impression of an intelligent educated person. I’d say he was in his sixties. His dark hair and beard were lined with grey, yet his face was strong, and he looked fit.

“Do you come here often?”

He chuckled. “First time for a long time. And yourself?”

“No. The other side of town is my usual stamping ground.

“So, what made you change your habits?”.

“Oh, I don’t know, change is as good as a rest.”

“At a loose end, are you?”

“Not exactly”, I lied

“Do you work?”

“I teach. Don’t have any classes this afternoon.”

“And what may I ask do you teach?”

“Digital and Social media courses.”

“Very much a modern man then… do you find that rewarding?”

I looked at him curiously, his question touched a soft spot. “Yes and no. I come from a computing background, so this is something like a second career. The digital world of today is outpacing me. I often find my pupils have an intuitive grasp of applications and with aspirations to engage with AI, which is not something I feel particularly comfortable about.”

“A subject of much debate from what I read, which I find amusing.”

“Amusing, how so?”

“It’s championed as new age invention, but in essence it’s as old as the hills”

“How do you make that out? Digital technology and AI is a modern invention.”

“In machine terms -yes, but what in essence does digital technology enable? It simulates human intelligence for the purposes of doing tasks and giving directions. Do you agree?”

“Simplistically speaking, yes, I can’t argue with that”.

“A task which say takes me one hour to complete, involving decision from a host of variables can be digitally programmed to achieve the same result in a matter of seconds. Even more AI can predict outcomes from inputs that would take you or me many exhausting hours to assess and produce the most advantageous results in real time. Would you say?

“Yes I would, and that gives rise to ethical outcomes as well, which is one reason why I think such development is problematical.”

“I guess concern or care depends on which side your bread is buttered on”, he said with a laugh. “For example, as no doubt you know, many investors who earn in the stock markets do so on trading platforms which use AI to determine the intrinsic value of stocks and currency and advise accordingly. If I were to use such earned money charitably, would you agree the use of AI is for the betterment of others?”

“I guess so.”

“And if only to line my own pockets?”

His line of questioning was making me think. Was he trying to catch me out?

At length I replied. “Obviously some people make money to personally advance themselves, but if the money earned was from ethically sourced shares, surely that is a more acceptable way of earning?”

He sighed and shook his head. “Money is an outcome which gets dressed up to suit the purpose of its use. When I said digital technology and AI is not new, I was referring to its function. The ways in which man’s mind works to increase fortune, care for and better themselves in today’s world is essentially no different to the man of the past. Now we program machines to think for us. Some do it to benefit others, and some do it to benefit themselves. Whether the purpose is laudable or not, someone loses what another gains.”

“True. But I don’t see how you contend that AI is not new. Surely you are not saying our ancestors exhibited a similar form of intelligence to AI?”

“Oh, but I am!”

At this point our coffee’s arrived and for a moment or two the conversation gave way to tasting our drinks. I took this opportunity to introduce myself and ask his name.

“When you must just call me Joe. Allow me to explain John. Digital technology and AI is all about making something happen quickly and by the same token being able to do many things at the same time. Ancient man’s psyche is no different from ours, he also wanted to do things quickly and get the best results. And strange as it may seem his method to get intelligence to direct and advise solutions advantageous to himself is a practise still prevalent today.

Having no idea what he could be referring to, I just stared.

He continued. “Do you know what a Jinn is?”

“Some kind of devil?”

“You can be forgiven for thinking that. There are views in the Islamic world which agree, however in pre-Islamic times the Arabians believed they were intelligent, morally responsible beings in the afterlife they were able to commune with. Throughout history in all parts of our world there have been beliefs and communication practises with the afterlife. In our present world where migrations of peoples have occurred on a large scale, you only need to look at this country to see the practise of many beliefs, and in respect of what I’m talking about those who accept an afterlife as a reality.

I can see by your expression you are wondering why on earth I am talking about spirits and people who commune with them. Let me continue before you make judgement. Man has often found himself in situations where he is at loss to understand what the outcome should be. That could be the need for a practical solution, or a requirement to solve a mental problem, and yet again it might be, more high-mindedly, the need to be guided on a moral or ethical issue.

The oracles in the Hellenic world were not only providers of spiritual guidance. People wanted to know outcomes which would support their ambitions, or cures for illness. The Shaman of Eurasia and those of South America, Medicine Men in the North and in Canada were not simply spiritual guides to their communities, they provided practical help on request. People of power often consulted such people. Saladin who is mostly remembered for his conquests to unite Muslim territories in the Middle East and the capture of Jerusalem in the 12^th century was first and foremost a religious man who took advice and guidance from Sufi exponents. And of course, not all guidance and predictions were heeded. A case in question is Saul, the first king of Israel. Despite his own edict to banish sorcerers from his kingdom, he consulted a woman of Endor on the eve of an important battle against the Philistines (disguised of course) and asked her to make contact with Samuel who informed him if he went into battle not only himself, but his three sons would die.

Whether Saul thought he was invincible, or didn’t believe what the woman had told him, we will never know. The outcome of course was as the woman predicted.”

I listened with interest. He spoke quietly with authority, but nonetheless I was not entirely convinced of the view he was projecting.”

“If I understand you right, you are saying some people, who I would call psychics, have the ability to forecast the future?”

“That depends on what you mean by future. I think the poet T.S. Eliot should be remembered for best saying this about that. “Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past.”

“So, are you saying psychics, or by whatever name they go by, don’t predict!”

“I waited while Joe savoured another draft of Mocha. Carefully replacing the cup back in its saucer, he looked me straight in they eye, and said. “Of course they do, though bear in mind some do by reading body language and the mental character of their clients. And Astrologers interpret the signs in the heavens. A few and only a few will hear from their jinn, their familiars, their afterlife inspirers.”

“I’m confused. If I’ve got this right you are, as you quote from Eliot, not believing in a future, yet you say psychics can predict it. I thought you were arguing the practise of consulting psychics is essentially no different to the functions of AI and digital technology in general.

“That’s right. Eliot goes on to say, ‘if all time is eternally present, all time is unredeemable. What might have been is an abstraction, remaining a perpetual possibility only in a world of speculation.’ If you look very carefully at what digital technology and its AI offspring is doing all outcomes are based on present knowledge. When it predicts a solution, which for arguments sake, is forward in time, it is conducting specific actions based entirely upon present knowledge. When you use that intelligence to action a need in time hence, you are doing so in present time.

A psychic able to channel higher frequency communications advising events does so in present time and the source of such communications are also present. Futures, as we conceive them, and as AI determines, are present minded speculations. When a program is written to perform certain functions accurately 100% of the time, as for example for computer hardware and their applications it can be said to function predictably, and that as I’m sure you can agree is a present process.”

Joe looked at his watch. “I have to be off John. It’s been a pleasure talking with you. I’ve no doubt we could have gone on talking for much longer. I can only hope something of what I’ve said has meaning to you. When you next order something on the internet, like me and everyone else, you’ll make decisions from the first page of suppliers shown you. And we are aided in making our decisions by the algorithmic functions which propose best buys -and it even accounts for where you live!

And before I could respond he stood up, shook my hand, and swiftly left the café.

What a remarkable man!