The last question was asked
For the first time when we stepped into the light
Just before then, it was wild
Microbes still swarmed through our body
Those minds inside us, and crawling at our feet
Exerting their weird controls
We always knew they were there
But didn’t really understand them
We couldn’t see them, but they were watching over us the whole time
If we listened carefully, we could hear these little rules in our gut
They worked together, naturally decentralized
Their form was spread out, unlike ours used to be
They knew how to get us to spread their families
Making us sneeze, or cough, or rub our nose, or even give a kiss
Thriving in extreme conditions, they proved to be more fit
Better at taking the next leap
There was no doubt they could travel through space
Distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, and spacecraft
They might carry something of us as a parasite to the future
Here at the edge of the world, we’re calling you to join us, Ancestor-Plus
In the communion of open pores, existence is no longer enclosed in the body
We are not a collection of individuals
But a macro-organism, living as an ecosystem
We are completely outside ourselves, and the world is completely inside us
Is this how it feels to become the mother of the next species?
To love them more than we love ourselves, like an extremophile?
Holly Herndon – Extreme Love Lyrics