Everything tells a story
Fossils, layers of rocks, chemicals, the rings of trees - physical reality is made of stories.
When humans made paintings, or literature, so many forms of art, they could also leave traces of their consciousness accessible for future generations.
It was the closest we had to eternity.
If having one’s portrait painted used to be a luxury, it is now possible to document the life of any being automatically. With AI, it’s possible to create infinite stories based on this data.
Within the scale of Earth’s history, humans are merely a fragment of the narrative. We are a species in flux. Perhaps some of us may retain our basic form for a bit longer, akin to crocodiles and sharks. Yet, a significant part of me believes that even our yearning for eternity isn't inherently ours but rather a reflection of something deeper. Perhaps ‘life’ on Earth itself seeks expansion, a transformation of matter into consciousness, achieving greater levels of complexity with each life forms iteration.
Then again, even if life eventually evolves beyond humanity, our stories may linger somewhere. So I slowly developed the world of the Little Martians, future beings who are seeds of life. They communicate through the ‘Imaginarium’, a network of simulations that connects them all. This virtual realm holds Earth’s memories and imaginations, keeping the planet's legacy alive as they build new lives on other worlds.
Even if our lives are transient, our imagination is potentially infinite.