This implies that evolution has a goal and that we are that goal. This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of evolution of natural selection that is common.
Who is to say that viruses won't be the end result of life on the planet earth?
Complex life <> more evolved life. It's just differently evolved.
I know that evolution doesn't have a goal. I may have antropomorphosized it too much, but my goal was to follow a sort of temporal/casual trail that we find interesting.
The way I imagine my idea is that, if you pick a species and its interesting descendants, and order on a timeline like such:
A --> B --> C --> D
What really happens is more like:
[bunch of other spinoffs]
^
|
A --> B --> ...
And that some of those spinoff could be viruses. Imagine a mutation to A causes a bunch of functionality in the organism to shut down (and in subsequent generations disappear), while leaving a viable organism. For a sufficiently uncomplicated A, the result of such mutation could be a bundle of genes wrapped in a shell with an injection mechanism. That's a virus.
Who is to say that viruses won't be the end result of life on the planet earth?
Complex life <> more evolved life. It's just differently evolved.