WE ARE THE GODS NOW

That is a lot to unpack. I would start with this: "What could be the LIMITS of Evolution of Technology and Genetics with Mankind in 100's or Thousands of Years time, would PLAYING GOD.. be a Hubris?  Or a Savior."

I would think it would ultimately be an exercise in hubris. If someone achieved "godhood" while being mortal, it wouldn't make much sense to allow evolution to surpass that "god"- lest he/she loses power. This comes from a POV that someone like Weyland is ultimately self serving and just wants to be in control. 

I think if we look at the AGENDA of gaining more LIFE then as we Evolve our Knowledge and Medicine etc then we do increase the Longevity of our Species.

Eventually through Genetic Manipulation, we could reduce or remove Certain Genetics that lead to Certain Diseases and Defects.

Eventually we may Find some way to Reduce the Process of Cell Damage/Degradation so that our Organs etc will AGE/FAIL at a Slower Rate.

If we then have Created Human Embryo's who will have Basically NO ailments during Life (apart from anything/substances they Abuse their Body with) maybe someday then these Enhanced Humans could LIVE for 150-250 Years?

Next thing would also be to Genetically Select more Ideal Genes and Traits that affect our Physical attributes, so that these BEINGS would also be Physically Superior...  much like the REPLICANTS.

If we then Discover a Way to Unlock/Enhance our Brain Power and we can increase our Memory Capacity by a Significant Amount.... and our IQ to say 3-5 X Fold...

Then this Combination would mean that Future Humans could be Greatly Superior to what we are NOW...

A Problem would be if THESE new Enhanced Humans would view None Enhanced as 2ND Class Citizens and what Happens then?  Or In-superior Humans see the Enhanced ones as a Threat to their Existence?

We can assume that maybe the Engineers had Influenced/Enhanced their own Genetics over their History, and that Millions of Years ago there could have been a Point where they was NOT as Genetically Superior to Humans.

Part of the Inception of Concept for the Engineers (Alien 01 The Master Narrative) had the Engineers down as a Species who were NOT much Different to us now... but over time they had Evolved/Enhanced themselves both Genetically and Mentally.....  they then took on other ways to Reproduce so that they abandoned Sexual Procreation.... EVENTUALLY them became Sterile.

Part of this CONCEPT had Carried forwards with Prometheus.....

With Alien Covenant and the Planet 4 Engineers, it seems they went for a Different Plan, where these beings had either Chosen/Abandoned the Enhancements or it could be that ONLY a Certain Number of Engineers were Genetically Advanced.

This raises the Possibility that the Prometheus Engineers either Genetically Enhanced themselves or they could be a Engineered Sub-Creation and so like the Replicants are to Humans.

To go a STEP Further on the Evolution Scale would be to look at Artificial Enhancements, in 50, 100, 200 Years surely we could have Artificial Limbs to the Level like we see in say STAR WARS with both Luke and Anakin as far as Cybernetic Arms/Hands.  So we could also have these as Replacements for Injuries or just as Enhancements.

Could we end up with Artificial Eyes that offer Vastly Improved Sight?  Have Artificial Organs to offer better Performance etc.

While we have Some of these at Present can you imagine HOW much more ADVANCED these would be in 100, 200 Years?

It seems the Engineers have Genetic Enhancements, but not quite Cybernetic..... However maybe they had in the PAST?

Or certainly they could have Enhancements that are a form of Bio-Mechanical Nature... The Engineers Pressure Suit could be a Example.

I cant figure out HOW to EMBED VIDEOS

So i will just post this LINK to a Video about HOW successful was Mr Weylands Advancements...

PS... its a JOKE VIDEO a Music Video by Guy Pearce but i think it FITS the Context of Peter Weylands Achievements...

Great topic BD! I wish that they would have had that scene in the movie since it shows more clearly that he had been thinking about this for a long time. Didn't he say something like ". . . my hole life I have been pondering the questions, where do we come from and so on?" My reaction is "OK, for how many years?" When people say for an X amount of time they can have different views for some it is twenty years, for some it can be sixty, it depends on the perspective. This is why the TED talk should have been in the movie because it would give us some perspective into his thinking and that he had thought about it a lot.

"We only USE a small % of our Brain.... what Happens if we can UNLOCK much more of our Potential?"

It isn't only that, you can get smarter IQ-wise but it doesn't mean that we get to develop our ethics. A psychopath can be smart as far as thinking is concerned but that doesn't mean that he or she is equipped ethics wise. Sure they might be able to live longer but if they are assholes then what kind of existence is that?

"Would such Pursuit of Perfected Human Species or other Sub-Creations end up being the Downfall of us PLAYING GOD?"

That would depend if that would be a genetically enhancement for being able to deal with ruthless competition or if we would use that to advance better human qualities like compassion and so on. You can say that it shall be used for the human good but then what is the common human good? Let me know if I have misunderstood the topic.

"Sure they might be able to live longer but if they are assholes then what kind of existence is that?"

That is INDEED a Good Point, and one i raised in the OT... the Problem with Enhancing some Humans would indeed be that we could still be Capable of our Emotional/Mental State and so Emotions and Free-will combined are a Problem.   And so if there was some Enhanced Humans then what is to say they WILL NOT see themselves as Superior and FEEL they are Entitled to RULE OVER the more Common Humans.

If it got to a point where ALL of the Humans as we know on Earth will NO LONGER Exist and we are replaced by Enhanced Humans.... then as long as these Humans have Free-will and Emotions and other Traits like Greed, Ambition and Desires.... then this NEW kind of Humanity will likely END UP in Conflict with each other too.

"advance better human qualities like compassion"

I think these are Ethically Taught and something you can not Hard Wire into someone... its a part of Free-will and so its Treatment, Knowledge, Upbringing that can allow someone to be more Compassionate but also depending on this it can be what Causes someone to be Psychotic etc too.

If somebody can Greatly Enhance their Mental Capacity then maybe they could see the Flaws in other People and Feel more Empathy and Understanding but on the Flip-Side being someone more Intellectually Superior could also lead to a Person to View those who are NOT as Superior as 2ND Class etc.

This could be a Potential Problem.....

Say the Replicants for Instance... if their Rebellion led to them being able to FIX the Limited Life-Span so they could LIVE say for 150-250 Years instead....

You could END up with such a Species either

a) Wishing to Control Mankind for our own Good/Protection.

b) They would see that their Species are the Worthy Successor to the Planet and would attempt to RULE over Mankind and get us to be Subservient to them.

I think that Engineered Evolution is something that could offer more PITFALLS than Success.  I think some of the Earlier Engineer Background shows some Pitfalls... such as if you could Engineer your Bodies to Survive for Thousands of Years (One Hundred Thousand by the Initial Pitch by Spaights) then eventually you could run the risk of becoming STERILE.

Who knows to what LIMITS our Species could Enhance ourselves in Hundreds or Thousands of Years time.... provided we DONT end up Destroying Each other by then or our World....

Or if we make A.I too Advanced.

Maybe the ULTIMATE kind of Evolution and Quest for Immortality holds the KEY with A.I such as we see with the Movie... Transcendence

From Jon Spaights initial Pitch Alien 01 the Master Narrative he implies the Engineers where NOT content with the Mental and Genetic Enhancements/Evolution of their Species and they wanted to TRANSCEND to something BEYOND the Limitations of Physical Form.

If we could ever Achieve Similar i think it would be Reserved for the Privileged Few and then this would have a GRAVE impact on regular Humanity... which the Selected Few become more Godlike.

But most of this is merely Sci-Fi or Speculative at most.

For example by the Time or Before we could say have a A.I that can Transfer and Store our SOUL... it more likely that A.I or what would be needed to Achieve a Human Transcendence would lead to a A.I becoming so Powerful that it could Potentially see Humans wishing to become a State of A.I to preserve their Soul/Immortality as a THREAT!

I think as FAR as Genetic Enhancements, any kind of Transcendence of our Soul to a A.I and even the Creation of Advanced Sentient A.I would all be CONTROLLED and Limited by ETHICS..

There is always the risk that some Places/People on Earth would Forgo any Ethics to attempt to achieve such things.

I think if we Speculate at a Ultimate Aim of someone like Peter Weyland which was to Greatly Extend his Life or Find some kind of IMMORTALITY.

Then Genetic Engineering could give us Superior Bodies, Reduce or Eradicate Certain Ailments, Diseases that Greatly Effect our Life Expectancy....  Genetics to Enhance our Organs to Survive Longer, to Regenerate etc.

If you could ADVANCE your Genetic Engineers so FAR to Accomplish these things then they would be of LITTLE use for Weyland unless these Modifications can Apply to a Adult or Old Person and Reverse the Age Process... which is maybe more Unlikely then Genetically Enhancement from Embryo Stage.

Ridley Scott had said Prometheus in part was about the SOUL.  We can look at our Soul as our Collection of Memories, Desires, Dreams and Emotions and what MOLDS us to be the Person we are....

In a lot of Cultures and Religions we have the AFTER-LIFE where we Abandon our Physical Bodies but our State of Mind, Memories, Personality will Transcend to another Pane of Existence.

For Dr Shaw then her Faith is something that will GRANT her this when its her Time to Die......   Peter Weyland maybe was hopeful the Engineers could at least Prolong his Life.... but this went BUST.... and as he said to David... there is NOTHING.... well at this Point then Weyland was on a Journey to Discover if Dr Shaws Faith is RIGHT!

I cant imagine that Peter Weyland all along would TAKE that Gamble and Leap of Faith... I also could not see him spending his Years doing NOTHING.... i think he would surely had been LOOKING at ways that he could Grant Himself some kind of Longevity and Immortality but Ultimately he was NOT Successful and so Resorted to Dr Shaw and the search for our Makers... for the Chance that THEY could Save Weyland.

Having covered Genetically Enhancements where we could Improve our Bodies...  if you could Create such a Perfect Human with Bodies that LAST for Longer...

For someone like Weyland if say they achieved this, then those Bodies would be NO USE unless he found a Way to Transfer his Soul!

If we look at the Movie The 6th Day, where Scientist can Clone a Person but then also have a means to BACK UP that Persons Soul and then Transfer it to a Cloned Body...  If Peter Weyland had achieved something like this then he would have KIND OF gained that Immortality he so Craved!

Would Weyland had Considered trying to Achieve something like this?  To Transfer his Soul into something that can be Transferred into a NEW BODY.... if this Method was like the Movie... Transcendence then this is a A.I Soul.   By that it shows a Human Soul that is uploaded to a A.I.... now if we take that Movies Plot where you can then STORE this Soul like in the Movie The 6th Day..... Then you need to FIND a Body to then Transfer this SOUL too.

IF you could BACK UP and STORE your Soul into a System, and then Transfer that into a New Body.... then a Good Question is would you rather have a Cloned Body?  Or a Synthetic Body?

While we dont see this in the Franchise its Interesting to WONDER if something like this had NOT crossed the Mind of Peter Weyland... but Ultimately this was something that was either Never Tried... or was not able to Achieve....    IF he was Working on such then it would make for a GREAT Reason to Create a Synthetic that can be Tested to Handle Complex Emotions...

In Context to the OT... and this Subject above... i think this would be a MASSIVE Achievement if we could EVER go and BACK UP our Soul into a A.I or Storage Device... and then Transfer it into a New Body.

Maybe in Thousands of Years we could Achieve this... it would IN EFFECT then Grant us IMMORTALITY.... but on the Road to this there could be MANY Pitfalls.

In context to the Engineers it seems that YES they had Enhanced themselves Genetically to Live Longer... but when looking at the Pitch for the Idea by Spaights...  Alien 01 The Master Narrative then it seems the Engineers were trying to Achieve some kind of IMMORTALITY beyond their Physical Bodies.

I think whats kind of IRONIC is in Context to Genetically Enhanced Bodies with some Regeneration and SOUL Transfer.... then the Last Movie in the Series Chronologically  which is Alien Resurrection it seems that RIPLEY 8 is that KEY to Immortality... which the Xenomorph DNA was KEY too.

If the Ancestry of the Xenomorph DNA is such a KEY it would give a GREAT reason for the Engineers Experiments regarding LV-223.

There is a section of dialogue in the old movie Demon Seed that I have always particularly loved this movie for...

It is Unique, in it's meaning and what it says, and it's message of hope for the future of mankind.

Quote from Proteus IV-

"Susan...
... you told me you were afraid I was
creating a half-human computer...
... to supersede human beings.
The being you have given birth to
is Human, Susan...
... and it will supersede computers."

BigDave

I think we have touched on this topic in previous posts. In context of all these movies in this franchise....I am not sure if your question can really be answered correctly or sufficiently. 

The premise that the engineers have technology that is a few billion years more advanced than the past 100 years of our current technology, portrayed in the films, means there is a fundamental flaw with trying to compare what might be possible when considering what may or may not be possible with anything that we can relate to in pure scientific terms.

A possible analogy may be what does an earth microbe really think about human beings related and what might be possible with their human technology....the question becomes impossible to examine further for obvious reasons....sorry my friend it's just not possible for the microbe to consider such things about the other larger organisms around them. In simpler terms microbes are not equipped and more importantly evolved enough to do such tasks nor do they have the tools to do such evolved thinking.

To quote you further, you stated "I wanted to discus the Advancements of Technology/Genetics to the point of becoming more Godlike.... But only mainly as far as Speculative when it comes down to Mankind... but Certainly to Discus the Advancements of the Engineers."

When we, as in the human race measures anything, or does anything of scientific nature we must have the correct tools first to analyse that with which we are trying to study.

So I just do not believe it is possible to really study a 4 - 5 billion year old alien civilization with the limited knowledge that humanity currently posses. In fact I would go so far as to say that this is such a ridiculous plot defect that it really can detract from watching anything in these movies in any real meaningful way. 

Obviously any alien species only ten thousand years more advanced, if you could define them in that way as humanoid, would have much more advance technology than what we see in the these movies....to the degree that they are inter-dimensional....their computers and machines are so evolved they operate many trillions of times faster than what we understand as current state of the art.

For example, how would you compare early human stone age tools to the rovers we sent to Mars? And doing so from the perspective of early humans with those same stone age tools....thus,

Please examine this artwork....I do not know who the artist is; however, I would like to point out some things that may help further in your study and investigation of extra terrestrials and inter-dimensional begins.

I estimate this one to be only a 100,000 years more advanced than current human beings. NOT four BILLION. 

This one artistically is quite extraordinary just for the simple fact that the surface layers of the "skin?" may not be comparable to human flesh in any way we understand through biology or current bio chemistry. In other words the body itself may be of another hybrid material at the boundaries of the Plank scale and come in and out of our assistance through the Higgs model and we see energy states that from the impression of a steady state field, and even then its still trillions times more complex.

It may have quarks interacting but then when it goes much fast than the speed of light it changes the composition of its body so it can travel as another from of energy state, while bending space around it.

It's mind would have to of a hybrid nature of some kind as well, and not definable in any way that we can conceptualize...we do not have the words for it????? If that makes sense to you.

I think "it" is more similar to a very advanced computer/hybrid and then manipulating a much faster construct to have sentience.

Our ideas about DNA would be irreverent, while it maintains a firm understanding of it's immortality...it can understand and perceive things inter - galactically in real time...where as we are only now seeing the light in our crude space telescopes from galaxies a few billion years ago. We know nowthing about these galaxies except what we see from the star light of the past, whereas it has current information beyond all the fundamental forces of our understanding of physics?...it can travel a few billion light years instantly and actually go to those places we can only look at terrestrially from the confine of our planetary surface....it can perceive and experiences "pleasure" trillions of times as strong as we do or it might decide to deliver punishment and war equally as dangerous to what we conceptualize as a sentient species.

This idea of another type of connectedness is instantly relative and consequential with immediate repercussions.

Here is another one that more humanoid in form...maybe this one is only 25,000 years more advanced.

In these movies the writers portray the engineers as several billion years more advanced....what I showed you here through this art may only be several hundred thousand and not several billion.

Thanks for the Reply ;)

I was looking at this Topic as far as Multiple ways to look at it, some as far as say Human Advancements in 100, 200, 500 Years.  And  then looking at Engineers as in Thousands of Years.  Lets say what could we be like in 5-10 Thousand Years.

I think when we are talking the ENGINEERS as far as the Back Ground then i do agree you make Great Points about if this Species are even say 500 Million Years more Advanced than us then they should have Technology and Appear to us Beyond what we can Comprehend.

The Original Idea of the Engineers did seem to imply this Species have to be over a Billion Years Old, the Sacrificial Scene if we take it that this (even though may not be on Earth) is what they had been doing to Earth in the Past would mean the Engineers had the Technology we saw in the Sacrificial Scene like Over 500 Million Years at Least.... likely it could also be Over 1 Billion.

So i think in Context to the Point you are raising, then any Ancient Species that have Existed and have been Technologically Beyond what we have NOW for say Hundreds of Millions of Years... would be BEYOND what we would Comprehend.

But when we look at the Engineers it would appear that for Many Hundreds of Millions of Years their Technology has NOT really Advanced much... 

Do Ancient Species reach a Certain Level and then they Advance No Further?  Is this because they HIT a Technological Wall?  Or by Choice?

So i guess what i am saying is that the Engineers dont appear to really be as ADVANCED as you would expect for a Race that have had such Technology we have seen in Prometheus for 500M+ Years never mind Billions.

I think you raise some interesting points when you show images of GREY ALIENS.... IF we assume such a Thing is Real....  then its a case of WHEN and COULD we Advance to that Level in the Future?

Evolution is a Product of its Environment and Survival... to Naturally Evolve to such Radical Changes as far as Appearance could take Millions of Years.

But when we are talking about a Engineered Evolution then thats when things can get Fast Tracked.... so a Human Species that Evolves its Technology and Genetics could INDEED look Very Very Different in say 25-50 Thousand Years... Never mind Hundreds of Thousands.

So i think if we looked at the Engineers as a Race who have Knowledge and Technology to Traverse to Galaxies, and have been able to Travel around our Galaxy for Hundreds of Millions of Years at a Minimum.   Then i think in Reality it would be HARD to believe they would LOOK so Human.

some of the Concept Ideas for the Engineers made them appear FAR from Human looking.

I guess the Human Appearance was Necessary in order to allow them to be Connected to and WHO are behind the Religions and Mythos of the ANCIENT GODS... who appear to be Very Human looking.

BigDave,

"But when we look at the Engineers it would appear that for Many Hundreds of Millions of Years their 

Technology has NOT really Advanced much"

I think it is possible aliens could plateau to a degree; however, I would also just as easily say they just keep right on evolving because their advanced technology such as as sentient AI trillions of times more complex than what we think of in terms of computing power.

In that reply with the two extra terrestrials I was implying that even though they are only 75,000 years apart in technology and advancements the first alien species is inter-galactic and the other alien species is still more humanoid and confined by the limits of a single galaxy they inhabit....the second one is still finding their way around their local neighborhood.

Inter-galactic in real time implies so many things technologically. First it implies real time communication with distances that are billions of light years away from every subatomic particle from where you are at right now, and not a 50,000 thousand light years in only one galaxy.

In other words I am estimating that an alien civilization just 100,000 years more advanced than us right now would have everything at the subatomic level, that we consider the Big Bang, mapped in real time in a database, in real time, every single second.

Human computing power after the next 5000 years of human evolution cannot be extrapolated - perhaps computers with 10^1000000000000^10000000000000000^10000000000000000000000000000 bits per second and it would just keep expanding exponentially, through that scientific notation every single second. These would only be Qubit computers in quantum entanglement...not higgs field computers. 

BigDave there are only about 10^64 known particles in what we consider the BIG BANG! NOT 10^1000000000000000000000 OK - and that would be based on a higgs field computer just 100 - 500 years from now. Those are really Big numbers....higgs field machines are very powerful so powerful in fact they can simulate entire universes....please watch the show DEVS.....

"In the Many Worlds or Everett interpretation, both possibilities continue to exist, but "we" (the macroscopic observers) are split into two, one that observes a live cat and one that observes a dead one. ... But these two new ones go explicitly for the "multiverse = many-worlds"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_interpretation

Inter-galactic and inter-dimensional implies "multiverse" an astounding amount of advancements beyond our own human computers; but, nothing compared to a billion years of sentient AI mixed with biology....I believe the scene in Prometheus is the engineers seeding all life on earth at least 1 billion years prior?

What I find more complex and interesting, even though the science about the engineers is obviously depicted incorrectly, is that the engineers would have any need to do such things on an inter-galactic scale... or even in a simulation or otherwise?

Might be like playing the same game over and over for hundreds of millions of years....obviously we have to have concepts the audience can relate to in the Alien films....this discussion is just for the forum's edification.

In other words you would not take your microscope and go to the other side of the planet to identify and classify another piece of sand. It would be a waste of your time in terms of your thinking, resources, and comprehension about science in general.

What may ultimately happen to us and these other more evolved aliens is that they go inward and not outward farther and farther....but we really do not know what is out there several trillion light years from us...the physics could be wildly different and so could the life forms that inhabit those other dimensions, Inter-dimensional, is interesting because it implies simulated computational advanced computing. Lets say for example you had a computer a few million years more advanced than the computers you have now and you have simulated even more advanced universes that are trillions as times as large, and real in every detail...but they only exist in the computer program simulating them....DNA just become irrelevant or does it?

There is no way to tell that what the engineers are doing depicted in these movies is not just a simulation.....in other words they are just interacting with us as a purely fictional aspect of their computers projecting us.....similar to a video game but absolutely real in every way down the every simulated electrons......

Also I would say that it might be impossible to stay the same for very long periods of time in an infinite universe. Change is always happening through out eternity.

The more likely scenario is that things progress faster and faster exponentially the more you comprehend.

With respect to DNA sure it could be evolved for a few hundred, perhaps even a few more thousand years....but why would want to do that when you have computers that can manipulate the higgs field and make what ever you want when ever you want how ever you want trillions of times as fast and more complex for eternity.

Certainly some Interesting Points ;)

I think that INDEED by Virtue of the Engineers Juggernaught Navigation Map having other Galaxies means the Engineers must have some kind of Technology that we could NOT even Comprehend. 

But they could have some kind of Lazy Plot Device where the Center of Each Galaxy is a Gateway to the others. Like a Wormhole.

I think its interesting to consider the Possibility of via Technology being able to Traverse Multiple Dimensions, we see this at the END of the Movie Interstellar (something Future Mankind Achieved).  The Alien 01 Master Narrative also indicates the Engineers wanted to Transcend to a Multiverse. 

I think its Interesting how you mention when Computers and A.I get so Advanced that they could Create a Simulated Universe.......    ARE WE IN A SIMULATION NOW?

So thats Very Out There...... like a Matrix kind of Existence for us... Controlled by the A.I

A Computer Simulation could be a Curve-Ball!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God."

To Ponder that GOD could be a Machine a A.I and we are a Simulation is Thought Provoking.

I used that Biblical Reference in my Prologue to my AC2 idea.

The Movie would have Started with a BLANK SCREEN a Darkness.... then we hear David speak the words.

"In the beginning was the Word"

Then we see the Black Screen become a Boot Up Sequence for some Computer.

We then hear David say "And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light"

We see this Darkness becomes Light as if we are now behind the Closes Eyes of Someone.. as the Eyes open then we see Davids Face.

The POV Person we see Stand... then David looks at them and says "how do you feel"  The Person replies "alive" in a Familiar Voice the POV switches towards a Mirror and see their Reflection it is another David.

This was Part of a Prologue to show that David had Assembled a Walter from Parts on the Covenant and Transferred his Soul into this Walter.

The Prologue Ends with the New David ripping the Head off the Old David after the New David says they cant Rule the Galaxy together... and says there can be ONLY the One King, the Original David asks "WHY?" as then he gets his Head Torn Off and then New David says.. “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?”

Going a bit OFF TOPIC but back to A.I and Advancements.

Then indeed we can look at our Technological Revolution where we have SPIKES and then a Plateau and then Repeats.

If we look at the TV then from its Invention until the 90's there was not a MASSIVE difference.  The Color TV Started to become Available for the Home in the 60's some 30 Years latter it DIED OUT (CRT) replaced by LCD and the like... but in those 30 Years the Technology never Advanced much (CRT) it was the same at Principle...  same with LCD while they First appeared in the 70's but become more in Homes in the 90's the LCD TV has NOT really Advanced too FAR in 25 Years.

NOT when compared to the Magnitudes of Computing since the 70's until NOW.  If we take the Humble Home Entertainment of Gaming....

The PONG from the Early 70's compared to what a PS5 would deliver, then it Terms of the Number Crunching, Speed, Memory the about Data Storage say PONG would require compared to the Most Advanced PS5 Games we could see over the Next 5 Years.... the GULF in Advancement is HUGE.

Thats as FAR as affordable Home Computers... etc Never Mind the SUPER COMPUTER.

So over a 50 Year Period we have seen a Vast Increase and WHO knows what these will be in 50 Years.

And so i can see you point Regarding a Civilization that is Thousands of Years ahead of us NOW... never mind Millions.

And so when it comes down to Technology and Entertainment we cant really Imagine what we would be using in 500 Years never mind Thousands and Millions.

We have seen Star Trek with the Holodecks....  and i think ONE DAY we could see Devices we would STICK on our Heads that would Interact with our Brains where we would have our OWN kind of Hollodeck while we are Sitting in our Arm Chair (or Future Equivalent) where Entertainment and Reality would be so Close you would NOT be able to tell.

And so could you Imagine similar to that in Thousands of Years?  So i can see your point Regarding the Engineers.

I think with Advancements in Computing we have Advancements in A.I which can always be a Danger...

Its a case of WHEN do we go from Putting on a Helmet Device that takes us to a Dream Place that feels like Reality where the RULES of Reality do-not apply.  And then after a Few Hours we take them off and Return to Life.

To the point we maybe get HOOKED up to such things, by our A.I and Left in this Dream State/World aka like the Matrix.

Some Advancements we could be HELD by the Laws of Physics and so Reaching other Worlds that are 10's or Hundreds of Light Years away could always be a PIPE DREAM.

We can Experience such Worlds, New Races via Sci-Fi and the Effects are so Realistic on Screen but we know its Fiction and Fantasy because its on the Screen.

ONCE we have Technology where we can Experiences these within our MINDS... where things seem to Real, we can Smell, and Taste and Touch what is NOT there.

Maybe we get to a Point we cant tell what is Reality or Virtual Reality.  And IF we have it that A.I is in Control of such a VR then would we EVEN KNOW...

That Everything has become a Simulation.

So THANKS for bringing up such a Thought Provoking take on Reality.....  and indeed its something to Ponder as far as WHAT KIND of a Existence would a Species have if it Advanced Hundreds of Thousands of Years beyond what we have NOW ;)