According to the creation myths of several religions, Eve was the first woman, created from a rib of Adam, the first man, to be his companion. But Eve, being a weak and curious woman, was tempted by the serpent to taste forbidden fruit that could give her knowledge of good and evil. She shared the fruit, depicted in lore as an apple, with Adam which caused the downfall of man. Why did a woman satisfying her curiosity bring such a plague on humankind? That’s a long and complicated story. But this myth has been used for thousands of years as a tool for controlling women, punishing them, thinking them inferior and blaming them for everything bad, shameful, and/or evil.
I believe it’s time for an Eve update.
Since we still have a ways to go before we reach true gender equality, I’ve set my Eve 2.0 in the future and made her a cyborg. I expect we’ll reach gender equality before we can pull that off, but hey, it’s MY myth and I like sci-fi. Instead of a serpent, there’s a spider-bot and the apple he tempts Eve with has a port. She reaches her finger to plug in, but she hesitates before she “bites.” Knowledge is a good thing, especially knowledge of good and evil. But knowledge is only as good as it is factual. The moral of my myth? Get good information, be careful who and what you trust to be true. If we do that collectively, we help protect the future of humanity. Eve 2.0, a little smarter, a little wiser, a little happier with a much-needed update.