“‘Dear Sir, poor sir, brave sir.’ he read, ‘You are an experiment by the Creator of the Universe. You are the only creature in the entire Universe who has free will. You are the only one who has to figure out what to do next and why. Everybody else is a robot, a machine. Some persons seem to like you, and other seem to hate you, and you must wonder why. They are simply like machines and hating machines. You are pooped and demoralized,’ read Dwayne. ‘Why wouldn’t you be? Of course it is exhausting, having to reason all the time in a universe which wasn’t meant to be reasonable.’” - Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions. As Vonnegut states in the latter, some people fail to realize that we have the power to take control of our lives. If we end up being cynical, we will end up being, “Everybody else…” Although our lives might be bounded by factors we cannot control, we do have the ability, the free will, to do what we want based on what we are given by fate.



Life doesn’t always work the way we want it to. There’s no knob that lets us change the weather from hot to cold or from rainy to sunny. In this apparent fixed world, our ability to do what we want to do comes from the information given to us. Information or our knowledge, lets us distinguish what we can or cannot change. We know that we cannot change what’s going to be on a test, but for sure we know that studying might increase the odds for a better grade. The author of Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut states, “I have told my sons that they are not under any circumstances to take part in massacres, and that the news of massacres of enemies is not to fill them with satisfaction or glee.” Vonnegut’s whole book encompasses the main character, Billy Pilgrim and his acceptance of fate. However as Vonnegut states in the latter quote, he tells his son they shouldn’t take part in bloodshed. One may be required to go to war but it’s the soldier’s option to massacre the innocent.The more one can know of their options, the better one can make decisions. Knowledge and choice can be tested in a more simple, hypothetical way. Stephen Hawking in his piece “Is Everything Determined” states, “I would guess that most of you will have a meal this evening, but you are quite free to choose to go to be hungry.” Everyone knows they have to eat sooner or later (or face fate), but that’s why we can make choices.

Whether we side ourselves with a god or not, most people have superstitions. Without question, there is proven scientific information on how humans came to be, but where this idea come from? Our universe, “may have been chosen by God, or it may itself have been determined by the laws of science. In either case, it would see, that everything in the universe would then be determined by evolution according to the laws of science, so it is difficult to see how we can be the master of our fate,” (Hawking.) As he stated, the universe isn’t a concrete idea. God perhaps could have formed the idea of science as a rationale to all other mystic ideas or human evolution. itself, gave us the brain power to develop ideas. One cannot change the laws of science, human made, and God given. A simple way to see this is looking at our birth. Although, a simple example, it can determine one’s place in life. A life perhaps born into the rich or poor lifestyle, laid-back countryside or the vibrant city. I was born into as a male into a Filipino family living in small town America. God and science could have decided anyone’s conception. Will God tell me what to type in this piece or what to do every second? It’s not foreseeable, but God can guide us. Vonnegut states in Slaughterhouse-Five, “Derby raised his head, called Campbell a snake. In a heartwarming manner, Derby spoke of the American form of government, with freedom and justice and opportunities and fair play for all.” Standing up for what is right and protesting what is wrong comes from our sense of ethics. People are given the options to be ethical. If God controlled all of us, the need of prisons would end. We are, by character, cautious people, we don’t want to be robbed or abused. This tells us that people aren’t always ethical. Our beliefs or lack of them, tells us that fixed outcomes are from choices people made.

Fate and free will are subject to interpretation. One can live being dictated by what is given to themselves. But as humans who were once cave men and now digital beings, we have the ability to change. Humans that are knowledgeable of their options in life can make smarter decisions. Even if God has a roadmap for all of us, at least we have to the option on which road to take.