A DAUNTING UNIVERSE

 

A DAUNTING UNIVERSE

 

Nighttime.  Look up at the heavens and try to imagine how vast it is, not just our galaxy, but the immense vastness that stretches beyond it.  Even astronomers have a difficult time grasping dimension and we’re talking billions of lightyears, not human years.  It is highly doubtful that human beings will ever travel beyond Mars.  Physically it is near impossible with conventional spacecraft.  There is no space infrastructure; no rocket repair shops, no refueling stations, no supply stores.  Nothing.  Even if alien craft have ever come near to Earth they would either have been probes or if anything left alive inside, hopelessly lost in the same ludicrous quest that occupies the minds of space fanatics; are there planets out there with lifeforms similar to ours and can we get there?  It is a dilemma faced by all intelligent life that has evolved along the same lines as ours.  We’re screwing up big time, so why wouldn’t they.  Why go in search of alternatives if life on your planet is just hunky-dory?  The universe that surrounds us is hostile, cold and volatile.  We don’t even know how big it really is, whether it is still expanding or whether it is kept in check by parallel universes.

Billions and billions of years of celestial fireworks and we’re but a spark within its infinity.

In my novel Energy & Origin I explain how everything in and around us never stops or stands still.  We can’t stop or slow down any of the universal processes that relentlessly move everything along.  You can’t stop your breathing, your brain from processing or preventing blood from flowing through your veins.  Within the greater scheme of things—time is meaningless in the cosmos that we’re part of—our presence means very little.  We’re not in control and never will be.

The universe doesn’t feel.  It has no compassion.  No emotion.  It simply is.  It only responds to its own laws of physics, with energy and momentum the stirring sticks in a constantly evolving toxic mix that on occasion will spawn something unique like a planet capable of sustaining life as we have come to experience it.  Even the brightest astrophysicists can barely scratch the surface of the mysteries of the cosmos.

Where do we fit in?  Humanity’s quest for answers will never cease.

In typical human fashion we have tried to define our role within the cosmos, as in looking for an explanation.  The questions range from, how did we get here and why?  Why are we the only species to have evolved with a superior intelligence?  Opinions and potential answers are all over the place.  A fluke of evolution—a mistake if you like—or created by design?  We like to put things in a box, with a bow and a label.  An insane need for answers.  One of my psychology professors had a wonderful take on not knowing; ‘it is so refreshing to admit not knowing, not having an answer.  There are mysteries in life that will always remain a mystery.  Learn to live with it.’  Our obsession with life and explaining origin has spilled over in all religions.  It is a lot easier to imagine in religion than in science.  Science has to answer to proof beyond a shadow of a doubt, hence religions’ aversion to all things scientific.  In our quest for explanations we have embraced some pretty strange ones, some bordering on the bizarre and macabre.  We can’t seem to accept life for what it is.  Homo sapiens emerged from a species that over time evolved into what we are today.  But we follow the same laws as everything else in nature.  Life is simply finite.  Everything in and around us is finite.  Nothing stays the same forever.  And as far as eternal life is concerned?  In my humble opinion eternity has to be a nightmare and I don’t even want to go there.  It’s one of those things imagined when defining our role.  An attempt at least.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

The universe has no consciousness.  It doesn’t care.

At some point, all life ends.  We all die.  Leave the corpse alone and a natural decomposing process takes over and it will continue until all that remains has been reduced to matter.  At which point it once more becomes part of the universe from which all life came.  Atoms absorbed and redistributed.  Not that you would care at that juncture and neither does the universe.  The universe has no awareness and it doesn’t keep score or keeps track.  History and historians are an earthly preoccupation.  Even in our absence the universe will continue to unfold according to its own erratic plans because the forces of energy and momentum never take time off.

Earth is a special place.

We don’t belong in the cold and barren environment that makes up the bulk of the universe.  Exposure for even a split second would be lethal.  Even if alien life existed somewhere within the vastness of the cosmos, they would be surrounded by the same toxic soup as we are.  In previous articles and in my novel—they were like angels—I have discussed how slim the odds are for a similar planet like Earth to exist elsewhere.  It has something to do with odds.  It is difficult enough to win a lottery on Earth with only 5 or 6 numbers to pick.  The cosmic lottery that spawned Earth is a win consisting of hundreds, even thousands of numbers.  Truly astronomical odds (no pun intended, literary license).  It could have happened elsewhere within the billions of lightyears spanning the universe, but for anyone to positively identifying such a miracle is highly unlikely.  The space enthusiasts will continue to float that lure in front of us, because their skepticism and doubt would kill any funding.  It is in their very best and selfish interests to keep the possibilities alive!  Yes, space exploration has given us new technologies, but none of those rockets going up has ever come back with a payload that actually provided a return on investment.  Promises galore of space mining and extracting precious minerals.  The space Stormtroopers are counting on government handouts and financing to keep the rockets going up.  Few are willing to acknowledge that physical space travel using conventional rockets and propulsion is a non-starter.  We don’t have the technology to effectively and safely explore the universe in a meaningful way and to provide a return on investment.

Despite our fascination with unidentified flying objects, alien spacecraft and potential extraterrestrial encounters, it is highly unlikely that we will ever hook up with other intelligent lifeforms in a meaningful way.  I don’t discount sightings and I have never paid much attention to what has been published on the subject.  We have sent out probes and why wouldn’t they—if they exist?  If they have reached earth it would likely be unmanned and functioning on remote through artificial intelligence.  They would be as lost as our probes as we lose touch with them.  Probes would follow preprogrammed instructions, and on the host planet engineers would keep their fingers crossed and hope to reestablish contact.  Our behavior at mission control would mirror theirs.  And why would they send out probes?  If they follow in our intellectual footsteps—technology and intelligence growing in strength and intensity—they would turn out as destructive as we are.  Absorbing energy and momentum at an increased pace and desperate to find a way out.  We’re looking at space and alternative planets as a potential answer, so, why wouldn’t they?

I have explained in previous articles and in my novel Energy & Origin, that intelligent life is not kind to its own species.  With a fair degree of certainty I will state that all superior intelligence is inherently self-destructive.  We will continue to extract and exploit until it all falls apart.  It is nothing something I wish for, but something I fear, based on fact, based on how we act and how we take advantage of the planet and all its resources and lifeforms, to serve our own selfish purposes.  The universe is a daunting, inhospitable place.  Earth would be our safest bet, as in taking better care of the only place we can call home. 

Space.  Nothing resembling a living lifeform would survive in cramped quarters, faced with supply issues and hundreds, even thousands of years of space travel.  Space is daunting and rescuing what is left of planet Earth is daunting, but I would rather face that challenge than pin my hopes on hurtling myself into space with a few other well-meaning souls, embarking on a one-way journey into nowhere.

Feel free to comment or share.  If you have been abducted I don’t want to hear about it.  If you are an alien, welcome home, brother.

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