A Parable
"Master," the student asked. "The Universe
is so complex, surely the Creator could not have used volition alone to set it in motion.
In crafting His design, and in commanding the angels to carry out His will, He must have
used computers."
The great savant contemplated this for several spans before
replying in the negative.
"You are mistaken. No reality can be modeled completely by a
calculating engine that is contained within and partaking of that same reality. God did
not use a computer to create the world. He used mathematics."
The student pondered this wisdom for a long time, then persisted
in his argument.
"That may have been the case when it came to envisioning and
creating the world, Master--and to foreseeing future consequences in revealed destiny--but
what of maintenance? The cosmos is a vast, intricate network of decisions. Choices are
made every femtosecond, and living beings win accordingly, or else lose.
"How can the Creator's assistants carry out these myriad
local branchings, unless they use computer models?"
But once again, the great savant turned his gaze away in rebuke.
"It is Ifni, the chief deputy,who decides such things. But
she has no need for elaborate tools for deciding local events.
"In the Creator's name she runs the world by using
dice."
From Infinity's Shore, book 2 of a new uplift trilogy by
David Brin.
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