In the realisation that the laurels of our supreme position may be handed to others far sooner than we might anticipate, or even that events within the universe may extinguish our own species as it has done to others before, our role in the meantime is to endeavour to merit the advantageous position we have inherited as a result of all the self-improvement in our human ancestors. Rather than exploit this position however, we are liable to endure for considerably longer if we can find our way to deserve the top dog position by committing ourselves, and our influence, to the benefit of living creatures as a whole. Our approach to the subject of self-interest will then expand to incorporate the interests of life in its entirety.

In thus ‘playing God’, we’ll automatically evolve into becoming far more worthy creatures than we are at present. The adoption of vegetarian diet will be but a small instance of our reformed habits, although it might well prove possible for us to contrive that what we eat is no less tasty and textured than our contemporary fare. But it will be in the way that we learn to foster the green ecology of our planet’s various environmental settings that will perhaps establish how well we are fitted to fulfil this role - to the benefit of all.

As individual human beings, our personal morality will need to reflect our constant concern for the well-being of all creatures, with a full understanding of the diverse cultures of our planet’s human populations, in the full knowledge of their histories and their sociological aspirations. There will be no limit to the quantity that we can discover about our human development, and of the origins of our civilisation in the archaeological remains of all previous such endeavours. We need to perceive how the entire world has developed, in communion and inter-reaction with all that can be encountered within this universe, and how these lines of communication can be kept open and preserved.

Our personalities under the influence of this evolution will gradually change, as we learn to identify at ever deeper levels with the concerns of others. We’ll learn to speak and think with the interests of the world at heart. Prayer will take the form of articulating such communal interest, until it becomes what indeed we think, while thoughts which conflict with such intent will promptly be recognised as the embodiment of evil.

We must not shy away from this role that we are embracing. Playing God, whether we like it or not, is now our destiny. But of course, we do not wish to be guilty of hubris. So it might be preferable to state that we regard ourselves as the self-appointed agents for all that is good within the universe; and we live our lives in eager anticipation of aligning our efforts to whomever else shall emerge within the universe, on a similar calling. We do so in the knowledge that we shall inevitably discover ourselves to be on the same side, as allies in the promotion of the Universe’s best interests. We are thus all of us like soldiers in the service of God.

We perceive the Universe and revere the Universe, whether in its fiercest wrath or in its gentlest benevolence. It exists timeless, and we are inevitably a part of its permanence. Under our encouragement and tutelage, the fauna and flora of our planet will attain their best opportunity to thrive. But sensitive discernment will still be required in judging which of them need to be contained, or even removed, so that the welfare of the majority can be maintained.

We have in our hands the capacity to tailor the attitude to life of forthcoming generations of our descendants. So the persuasion should be with us to ensure that their values are nurtured towards these ends. Concern for our planet and for the life which it contains should emerge as paramount within all their thinking hours, involving as it does a systematic re-education of their hearts.