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A visit to a vitamin factory

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freeimage.com chemical-factory

I was privileged to be taken on a virtual tour of a new vitamin factory—one of a long series of identical micro-units, built to last for a period until productivity declines, only to be superseded by new units. These remarkable facilities are completely automated and operate without any human intervention or maintenance.

My tour started below ground. Within the foundations (which are flexible to withstand shifting ground conditions and wind loads above), there is a remarkable system of piping, connected to a sophisticated membrane which surrounds the factory. Through this, water is extracted from the surrounding ground, then pumped continuously to the main production level of the factory.

At roof level, flexible dual-purpose panels are extended. These panels use solar energy to power factory production and, in addition, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This in turn is used within the unit to make an intermediate-stage product which is further processed into the vitamins. Oxygen from the water molecules (a beneficial by-product of the process) is returned to the atmosphere.

So, highly complex and advanced chemical processes, powered by solar energy, are being employed to use nothing more than water and carbon dioxide (plus some trace chemicals extracted from the ground water), to produce vitamins. The vitamins are then enclosed in discrete pods, which are themselves entirely bio-degradeable. The vitamins produced are vital to human health and the pods are consumed by humans as part of their necessary vitamin intake. The complete pods are digestible, so the whole process is totally self-sufficient and ‘green’.

I was amazed at the intricacy and the flawless operation. The factory also contained self-repair mechanisms to ensure continuity of supply.

More complexity revealed

But the most astonishing facts about this factory plant were then revealed to me: apparently, not only does it operate automatically, it was built automatically, without anything other than highly advanced micro-coded plans. These plans were activated by simply being within the ground and adding water, and the building materials themselves were produced as part of the system. In addition, a complete copy of the plans in micro-code are included with every pod, as a means of finding new sites for further factories.

“Wow! This is amazing, staggering”, I said, “It is in the realms of science fiction! A self-perpetuating, self-sustaining, bio-degradeable factory—even the by-products are beneficial to man. Which genius designed all this?”

I was stunned by the reply of my guide. “Design?” he said, horrified, “Who said anything about design? No, the whole thing is just a purposeless accident! Nothing that sophisticated is designed, it just happened. It is purely fortuitous that the vitamins it produces are useful to humans.”

I couldn’t grasp this new piece of information. The factory was incredible—but this new revelation was frankly unbelievable. “But why then build the factory in the first place?” I asked.

“It has no purpose, other than to build more factories just like it,” said my guide. “That is what it is programmed to do.”

“But who wrote the program?” I asked.

I never did get a reply. My visit was immediately terminated.

Published: 21 October 2014