The first part of this book sought to identify the historical drivers, principles and logic that might support an argument for the evolution of a planetary brain. We now set our course in a more speculative direction, to consider the form and functions of the planetary brain (Gaiacephalos) and nature of the planetary conscious mind it will birth (Gaianous); what “peace,” the economy, and politics might look like if Gaianous emerges; and what it all means for a universe in which planets themselves are becoming sentient. For now, let us focus on the first question: Assuming Gaianous does emerge, what will it look like? How will it behave and function? What will its interests be?

My response to these questions, which I first sketched in the Introduction, involves a portrait of Gaiacephalos as a kind of digital government: a hierarchically organized society of AI entities evolved to facilitate analysis and global decision-making at tremendous speeds and without resorting to violence. But I cannot hope to offer definitive answers to these questions. My conceptual framing of Gaianous is part thought experiment. In sketching out a portrait, I necessarily beg questions of structural parameters. At best, I can try to let my imagination roam within those parameters, but even they are poorly discerned. Some I think I know exist, but don't fully understand: organizing principles or limitations I believe apply at multiple scalar levels.