Seperanton

The Prison Earth Theory

Planet Earth could be a prison. This is a theory that I have not heard or seen described and seriously defended anywhere else. The theory that our species on Earth began as a prison for the criminally insane explains a lot of human history.

Let’s imagine what could happen, taking the negative possibilities to their logical development. Our bad science has produced far more extreme environmental damage than we understood. There are far reaching and complex disruptions of genetic development of most plants, animals and humans. The ecology in the seas and on land is changed so that we experience mass extinctions and the capturing of ecological niches by animals that we consider repulsive and useless. Rather than “economic” species like codfish and cattle, the world becomes overrun with jellyfish and insect and worm-like parasitic predators. A higher and higher percentage of humans are born with genetic defects, especially mental defects. They are learning impaired, emotionally erratic and dangerous, autistic or worse, incapable of functioning as productive members of a human community. As a result of the genetic problems and the social upheavals, famine, conflict, disorder, a rise in intractable crime and anti-social behavior causes the development of a cold and efficient police state. And something must be done with the huge numbers of criminals that must be either executed or imprisoned, or neutralized by brain surgery.

With this state of dangerous conditions, prisons become a major industry, possibly THE major industry, and the distressed and overwhelmed society must find larger and more secure prisons. While all this is going on, technological change continues, and space exploration. We discover that we can travel to a nearby galaxy, and that neighboring galaxy does have many planetary or “solar” systems. We see that there are hundreds, possibly thousands of oxygen-atmosphere planets that can support human life and much of the same types of organisms that we have on Earth. IDEA! Why not find one of these unoccupied life supporting planets, unoccupied that is by an intelligent species, or unoccupied by a form of primate or “humanoid” species. Let the entire planet become a prison, a place where we can drop off criminals and the criminally insane, but not with technological support, just with their bodies and their wits. This is their sentence. They are sentenced to “separation” on the planet in our neighboring galaxy that we might name “Seperanton.” What we expect, is that some of those prisoners, some who are banished to another world with slim chances of survival, might make it. If we place both sexes on Seperanton, we know that there is a possibility that they will find one another, mate, and begin the development of a new species of humanoid, a primate type of being that could develop over time, and establish a permanent place in the ecology of that life-supporting planet.

What might such a new, criminal species look like to us, the “normal” humans on Earth? We most likely would consider them dangerous, and distinctly different from us in important ways. They are, from our viewpoint, a different species with different forms of disease immunity and different patterns of brain development. Criminal or violent patterns of behavior would be deemed to be programmed into their character. They would be outsiders, not human, but in some way members of our family, our children. We might take an interest in them after we noticed that a new species, descendants of the criminally insane, had developed a civilization, a permanent colony, on Seperanton. We would study them, in an effort to understand how they had developed into a viable community, even though they began as violent animals, demented criminals, retarded predators on two legs. We would watch them, temporarily capture and test them, as part of our search for greater knowledge about how to prevent or change the genetic configurations of a criminal brain and a criminal species. Thus, Seperanton would be a prison planet, a place that would separate criminals from us, the law-abiding species, not by concrete walls and razor wire, but by millions of miles of lethal space. We would feel safe from them, but not forever.

What would we see in their behavior patterns and their character as a species? We would note that they are always fighting, and that they rarely survive for long as a lone individual or in a small, isolated group. They must be members of a tribe or a gang, or protected by organized warriors in order to feel safe and really possess a measure of security. Their respective gangs would have codes of conduct that clearly distinguish what is right for members of their own group or gang, and what is allowed with regard to outsiders. There would be rules or laws providing some security and privileges for members, but non-members could be beaten, starved or even killed. During times of hostilities between two groups, it would even be mandatory and honorable to kill the enemy. They would most likely have difficulties around their sexual relationships, as to whether a sexual partner is temporary or permanent, or whether the freedom of the individual is compromised once they enter into a sexual partnership. They would develop religious beliefs to explain their origins and the cosmos, and religious rituals to enhance authority and social order.

At some point, as the criminal species grew on Seperanton, we would notice that any new prisoners dropped off were promptly killed. Some would try to reason with the established communities, tell them that they should change their behavior, be less violent, support justice and fairness in all relationships, and treat those who are different with respect. These pleas would be heard, but usually ignored. The prophets would be killed. Eventually, we would consider the prison planet Seperanton to be “saturated” filled to capacity. We could then only watch and study, and worry.

Could it be that we are Seperanton? That we are a prison planet? Does our history, our world history, look like the long and painful development of a criminal species?