“And why exactly do we have to do that?” I inquired aggressively.
“Because,” Maika said significantly, “the human race is becoming galactic. How do you see the human race in a hundred years?”
“How do I see it?” I shrugged. “Probably just like you do… The end of biological evolution, breaking through the galactic barrier, entry into the null-world… Contact vision becoming common, realization of P-abstractions…”
“I am not asking you about your ideas about the human race’s achievements in a hundred years. I am asking you, how do you see the human race itself in a hundred years?”
I blinked, confused. I wasn’t understanding the difference. Maika looked at me victoriously.
“Have you heard of Komov’s ideas?” she asked. “Vertical progress and all that?”
“Vertical progress?” I began
