A vision of collective enlightenment

One of the most posthuman characteristics about the Ana-race, and the one I will focus on in this essay, is their transcendence of human emotions. This seems to be at the center of their highly evolved society, and can be viewed as an expression of a deeper understanding of life, which as Zee explains (p. 54), is deeply connected to the discovery of Vril.

Vril is described as the essence or an all-permeating fluid behind phenomena, that is of a neutral nature much akin to electricity. When discovering Vril they discovered that: “(…) the various forms under which the forces of matter are made manifest have one common origin (…)” (p. 45). It seems likely that a deep understanding of this common origin they call Vril, would be paralleled on a spiritual or existential level, and I argue that this is the most essential part of their posthuman society, and the thing that really distinguishes them as another race.

The reason why I think that the foundation of their posthumanity is of a spiritual nature, is because of the radically different way they relate to the world, one that seems impossible from the present level of human consciousness.
As the narrator explains, when talking about the ancient history of the Ana and the type of society before the discovery of Vril:

“(…) It was the age of envy and hate, of fierce passions, of constant social changes more or less violent, of strife between classes, of war between state and state (…)”. (s. 54)

This is in strong contrast to the way of being that the Ana-race represents, and is at the same time an all too accurate description of the situation aboveground. It clearly demonstrates that the discovery of Vril brought about a shift in consciousness so radical that it made all those previous evils obsolete.
Status and hierarchy are gone, crime unknown and hence also law-enforcement, competition and striving for superior wealth and rank is absent and so is poverty. (p.58-60)

“All the members of the community considered themselves as brothers of one affectionate and united family.” (p.61)

The discovery of Vril could therefore be likened to the realization of oneness – in other words enlightenment. A way of being that is described as so foreign to our normal way of perceiving reality, that it is hard to even imagine. This discrepancy in perception of reality, could be the source of the narrators mixed reaction to the Ana-race. They seem so non-human in their lack of emotions, so different in their calm and collected ways, that the narrator cannot help to feel a tinge of uneasiness and dread, despite their warm welcome and extreme consideration.

“(…) strangely enough, it seemed to me that in this very calm and benignity consisted the secret of the dread which the countenances inspired. They seemed as void of the lines and shadows which care and sorrow, and passion and sin, leave upon the faces of men (…)” (s. 21)

“The Coming Race”, although probably not originally intended to, could be read as a metaphor for what could be termed collective enlightenment – the realization of oneness, that inevitably dissolves the sense of separation and consequently changes all aspects of life. Only when the Ana-race discovered Vril did they evolve to something posthuman, characterized by the radically different perception of life. Therefore; the Ana race and civilization could only be possible due to a shift in consciousness – from a sense separation to the realization of oneness – and that is what mainly makes them posthuman.