Page 165 - TruthAboutLyingCoverFlipAmazon20

Nicholas Boothman
"Because intervention prevents growth. A species that is saved cannot learn to save itself. Free will requires the freedom to fail.”
"That's monstrous," Vincent said. ”You're talking about billions of lives..."
"I'm talking about the survival of consciousness itself," the Curator said. "Individual lives are brief. Species are eternal, or they are nothing. We preserve the possibility of eternity. What you do with that possibility is your choice.”
The Curator spoke with a voice that carried something like sadness. "In a universe of infinite matter and finite meaning, consciousness is the only thing that creates purpose. Without it, the universe is only physics. With it, the universe can know itself. Love itself. Become more than the sum of its particles.”
It gestured again, and the space filled with stars: billions of them, stretching into infinity. “We are the Consortium. Four hundred and twenty-two species that survived their developmental crises and joined together. We explore. We create. We preserve. We are what consciousness becomes when it learns to cooperate instead of compete.”
"How many fail?" Henry asked.
The holographic display shifted, showing thousands of data points where the vast majority glowed a terminal red. Of the seven thousand four hundred and twelve preserves
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