Benjamin Was Granted Eternal Life and Saw the Death of the Universe
The story about immortal Benjamin is not only a fictional work with Biblical signs, it is also a scientist’s philosophical play with the concept of time and what the end of the expanding Universe might look like.
The little known masterpiece “The Ark” tells the story of the merchant Benjamin, who was granted eternal life by the Babylonian god “Marduk”. The story stretches from the beginning of time, through the Biblical age around the time of Noah, through the present age and all the way into the distant future, where Benjamin is allowed to witness the end of the Universe.
The Ark, is a creation story about man and Universe. It was written in 1982 by the late astronomer, philosopher and author Peter Nilson. The work was clearly inspired by Harry Martinsson’s collection of poems “Aniara” as well as the biblical myths in the Old Testament, but the author most likely had H.G. Wells in mind as well. Wells wrote about time traveling in “The Time Machine”, as early as in 1895.
In The Ark, the reader is drawn into a mythological science fiction adventure, from the beginning of time and all the way into the space age and the construction of an interstellar ark that will take humanity into the deep space. Here the poetic question is asked about the beginning and the end of everything, as well as the existence of humanity.
The main character is the abiding creature and copper tradesman Benjamin, who supplies gopher wood for the construction of Noah's ark. He later survives the flood of sins and flows with the flood of time all the way into the future. Benjamin is finally allowed to embark the interstellar ark that will travel near the speed of light towards the end of time.Early in the story, Benjamin meets Noah, who is about to build a huge ark. There is no mention of years or dates whatsoever in the novel, but going with the chronology of the Old Testament, this event should have taken place around 2000–1500 BC.
Benjamin helps Noah to build the ark in the Sinai DesertNoah and Benjamin are both presented as the great men of the mythical age. Noah is already an old man when they meet, while Benjamin is a young, wealthy and ambitious merchant, trading with everything from copper and slaves to animals. The main characters in the story are not what you would think they are are:Noah is here described as an explorer and scholar in science - an image far from Noah as an obedient tool in God's hand in the Ark. Instead, he is portrayed as a determined, strong and wealthy man who realizes his own projects in opposition to a possible higher power.Benjamin is initially described as such a powerful man "that the rumors about him began to overshadow even the rumors of gods and kings in those days". He is portrayed as a huge, close-bitten, hairy man with extraordinary physical strength. He is feared and respected among friends and enemies, but after the Flood he becomes a drifting outcast.Marduk, or God himself, is not the almighty Deity that you would expect. He is rather a very absent God and his creation is far from perfect (filled with paradoxes and mysteries).When the Flood arrives and carries away Noah and his ark, Benjamin is the only human outside the ark that manages to survive. As the post-apocalyptic years pass on, it seems that Benjamin has obtained the ability to outlive every living creature. Later on he develops a fear of death and time becomes his ever present companion and enemy.
The river of time continued to wash away people and cities. He waited with fear in his heart for it to wash over him too.
He lives through the Peloponnesian War, the Roman Empire, the Viking Age, medieval Europe and all the wars and plagues. Occasionally he runs into Ahasver, the Wandering Jew, who seems to be the only other human being that cannot die. The two men don’t like each other and they never seem to understand the time they live in.Around modern times (the author doesn’t specify when, but it is likely in the near future) Benjamin gets to hear about an ark that will bring humans into the deep space. Again, the author doesn’t specify why and where the ark is going, but it is a one way trip for 5400 persons into deep space and to the end of time.The ark, called Zenon, is built far out in the solar system. Somehow Benjamin manages to get one of the 5400 tickets, with the intention to escape time. After a few years the ark is finished and ready for departure from the solar system. The ark then slowly accelerates to near the speed of light. The closer it gets to the absolute speed, the slower the time flows onboard the ship.
After 23 years in the ark, the age of the Earth would have doubled, it would be almost 5 billion years older than when the ark started. In the twenty-fourth year the sun should go out…
Eduard Muzhevskyi/Science Photo Library/Getty ImagesOutside the “windows” of the ship (which are not real windows) the field of vision is changing with the increased speed. The world outside appears like a tunnel-shaped window. And as the world ages faster and faster the expanding Universe cools off, until there are no particles left. In the end the ark is not moving relative to anything else. The space outside appears empty, everything is darkness and void and time is frozen.Benjamin is the last person alive when the ship computer finally puts him asleep. He is not dead, more like in a state of suspended animation. Marduk (the Babylonian God of Creation) eventually sees the dead ark floating around in empty space and decides to regenerate the creation.
Peter Nilson constantly asks questions in his essays, questions addressed as much to himself as to the reader. His questions often move at the boundary between philosophy and science; they challenge our imagination and are rarely given concrete or definitive answers. Instead the questions seems to serve as a starting point for an ongoing, trying and personal thought process.Hence, the author is not a writer who intends to prove or disprove. The great mystery of life can never be captured. One riddle is housed in a bigger one, which holds an even bigger one. But he wants to share this feeling that the world is wonderfully enigmatic. Story and reality, physical facts and mind blowing hypotheses, literary allusions and philosophical thinking - everything is there in his books.
What is the point of putting dust and emptiness together and then letting us fall apart as if we had never existed? What is it to be human? How did creation begin? What is the nature of time?
