What if you experienced every human life in history?

譯者: Amy X 審譯者: 穎君 紀

Imagine that your life began roughly 300,000 years ago

請想像你的生命開始於約三十萬年前，

as one of the planet’s first humans.

你是這個行星上最早出生的人類。

At this time, you live in Africa near modern-day Morocco,

這時，你生活在非洲，接近現在的摩洛哥，

and your life isn’t too different from that of your hominid parents.

你的生活和你的祖先沒什麼不同。

You make crude tools, hunt, and gather food and materials,

你製作粗糙的工具，狩獵，蒐集食物和材料。

until, eventually, you perish.

直到你駕鶴西歸。

But this is only the beginning.

但這只是開始。

Because after dying, you travel back in time to be reincarnated

因為在死亡後，你回到過去，得到重生

as the second human ever to live.

作為世界上第二個人類繼續生活。

While you don't remember your former life,

即便你不記得自己的前世，

your previous actions affect you nonetheless.

之前的行為都會影響到自身。

And after dying once more, you return as the third person, then the fourth,

然後，你再一次死去，重生為 地球上第三個、第四個，

the fifth, and so on—

第五個人，不停重複—

living the lives of every single human that’s ever walked the Earth.

經歷每位踏上地球的人，他們的人生。

Strung end to end, these lives last almost 4 trillion years.

前赴後繼的，這些生命持續了大概4萬億年。

Since you only recall the life you’re currently living,

因為你只能記起現在的這一世，

your psyche doesn’t carry the entire weight of human history.

你的靈魂並不承載整個人類歷史的重量。

However, each of your lifetimes still has a profound impact on your future selves.

然而，你的每一世對 未來的自己仍有深遠的影響。

Sometimes your influence on the world is obvious,

有時，你對這個世界的影響相當明顯，

but these major historical figures only account

但是，這些重要的歷史形象只構成了

for a tiny fraction of your experience.

你的經歷中小小的一部分。

Instead, your existence consists mostly of ordinary lives,

反而，你的生活裡大多都是平凡的日子，

filled with everyday tasks like eating, laughing, working, and worrying.

充滿了平凡的日常活動， 比如吃飯，大笑，工作，和擔心。

For approximately one tenth of your 4 trillion years,

在你 4 萬億年長的人生中， 你有約十分之一的時光在當採獵者。

you’re a hunter-gatherer.

For 60%, you’re an agriculturalist, developing tools and techniques

有六成的時光，你是一個農學家， 把時間花在發展工具和技術，

which you employ over roughly 800 billion years of working on farms.

其中，在農場裡工作的時光 大概有 8000 億年之久。

Across your lifetimes, you spend 1.5 billion years having sex

在你的漫長人生中， 約 15 億年花在進行性行為，

and another 250 million years giving birth.

另外花 2.5 億年來生產後代。

In total, 20% of your existence is spent raising children,

你共花費兩成的時間養育小孩，

to whom you impart a variety of cultural values

給予他們各種各樣的文化價值觀，

that influence the trajectory of generations.

影響著後代的成長軌跡。

In some lives, you shatter those cultures through invasion and imperialism.

在幾輪人生裡，你通過侵略 和帝國主義破壞那些文化。

In others, you suffer as your lands and loved ones are taken away.

在其他幾輪人生裡， 你因家破人亡而痛苦。

In over 1% of lives, you’re afflicted with malaria or smallpox,

你有超過 1% 的時間 被瘧疾或者天花危及性命，

while, in others, you treat these conditions—

然後，在剩下的時間，你治療這些疾病，

saving countless versions of yourself.

解救無數個你自己。

In humanity’s early days, the average lifespan is fairly short.

人類文明早期， 平均壽命相當短暫。

There are fewer lives to live,

且你能活出的人生不多，

and your influence is usually limited to people physically near you.

你的影響也侷限於身邊的幾個人。

But as humans survive longer on average and Earth's population grows,

但人類越活越久， 地球人口也增加，

you start to spend more time reliving the same action-packed years.

你花更多時間度過 緊湊又千篇一律的歲月。

A full third of your existence comes after 1200 CE,

有三分之一的人生在 公元 1200 年後到來，

and a quarter of it takes place after 1750.

有四分之一在 公元 1750 年後來到。

At this point, technology and society start changing faster than ever.

此時，科技和社會以 前所未有的速度發展。

You invent steam engines, configure factories, and generate electricity,

你發明蒸汽機，配置工廠，並且發電，

which power the daily machinery of all of your later lives.

驅動未來的所有日常機器裝置。

You live through revolutions in science, the deadliest wars in history,

你經歷科技革命，歷史上最致命的戰爭，

and dramatic environmental destruction.

以及劇烈的環境破壞。

On average, each new life lasts longer,

平均上，每一個新的生命都持續得更長久，

but the pace of your existence keeps accelerating.

但你的存在的節奏不斷地加速。

Conversations that previously took months to unfold now happen in minutes.

曾經需要數月才能開啟的對話， 現在只要數分鐘就能開始。

Business ventures that you built over generations transform overnight.

曾需要花費數代經營的商業型態 在一夜間就完成轉型。

You enjoy luxuries you never could have sampled before,

你享受從未體驗過的奢華生活，

even in your past lives as kings and queens.

更甚於以前當國王和女王時 享盡的榮華富貴。

After living over 100 billion lives,

在經歷超過一千億個人生後，

you're finally reborn as the youngest person alive today.

你終於重生為世界上最年輕的人。

But despite living through 300,000 years of human history,

但即使你經歷了三十萬年的人類歷史，

your actions have more impact today than 99% of your past lives.

現在的你對世界的影響遠大於過往， 超過過去 99% 的時日。

High-speed air travel allows you to carry contagions and cures

快速的空中旅行 讓你能夠攜帶感染源和處方

across an ocean in hours.

在幾小時內穿越大海。

And the internet makes your personal sphere of influence global,

互聯網使個人的影響範圍擴及全球，

allowing you to collaborate with anyone, anywhere, without even leaving your home.

讓你不需踏出家門就可以 和別人合作，不管你在哪裡。

In recent lives, you’ve invented tools to rewrite the genes of living organisms,

在最近的人生中，你發明了 改寫活生物體基因的工具，

permanently altering their future generations.

永久地改變他們未來的世代。

And in this life, you might create even more technologies

在這一輪人生， 你可能還會發明更多的技術，

that make the world safer, kinder, and more equitable for countless future lives.

讓世界更加安全，友善， 對未來無數種生命更公平、平等。

However, one careless invention could just as easily be catastrophic.

然而，一項無心的發明 可能輕易造成災難浩劫。

Between nuclear weapons, lab leaks, climate change,

身處核武器，實驗室洩漏，氣候變化，

and other existential threats,

和其他存亡威脅之中，

humanity's risk of inducing our own extinction has never been higher.

人類文明自我終結的風險前所未有地高。

In this fast-paced, interconnected world,

在這緊湊、相通的世界，

it’s frighteningly easy to undo all of humanity’s progress,

抹去人類文明發展、斷送人類未來 都是易如反掌之事。

or potentially, cut short all your possible futures.

There's no way to know what will happen next.

我們無從得知接下來會發生什麼，

But what’s clear is that your potential is limitless.

但有件事情很清楚——你有無限潛力。

So, how will you spend this life?

那麼，你會如何度過這一生？

And what can you do to work towards a better future

為了更好的未來，為了無數次 將來的人生，你能做什麼？

for all your lives to come?