The culmination of the process of evolution ends in what Chardin called the omega point, the point at which the complexity of the universe has reached its maximum function and has become organized in the most optimal way possible. The omega point is nothing less than the purpose of history, the agonies and ecstasies of which are redeemed in a single moment of supreme meaning. Other 2012 theories, like McKenna's vision of a transcendent moment of infinite novelty at the end of time, owe a great deal to Chardin's idea of the omega point.

Ontology Versus Teleology

The processes of history are normally figured to start with a defined moment, like the big bang of modern physics or the biblical seven days of creation. Cosmologies organized in this way are called ontologies.

In Chardin's cosmology, it is the other way around. The omega point is the strange attractor drawing us toward it. Belief systems that are based on a defined end point rather than a start point are called teleologies. The five attributes of the omega point are:

• Already existing. This attribute explains the power of the omega point to draw us to itself.

• Personal. The omega point must complement and integrate individuality rather than annihilate it. Otherwise, the law of complexity/consciousness is broken.

• Transcendent. It must not be a product of the universe, but a pre-existing condition from which the universe arises.

• Autonomous. The omega point is not subject to the laws of space and time.

• Irreversible. It must be attainable and permanent.

At the omega point, the perfected noosphere becomes synonymous with the “Christosphere,” or collective Christ consciousness of humanity. Chardin's philosophy of the noosphere, despite his rejection by the Catholic Church in his lifetime, is a profoundly religious, if unorthodox, vision. In the perfection of the noosphere, humanity redeems itself and achieves transcendence.