Nothing. An absence of matter, of light, of
information. Energy, entropy,
nonexistent.
The
first conceptual object to come into being is a sound.
BOOM
One
bombastic chord, a cataclysmic catalyst.
And instantly, the universe is set in motion. For a short time, matter is pressed tightly
together, millions of times denser than any earthly object. But the seeds of galaxies are soon expanding
across the empty caverns of nothingness, and as they accelerate, they form
light years in the blink of an eye.
As
matter is spread out, order becomes chaos.
In the infant days of the universe, matter diversifies and invites
conflict. Movement happens without
purpose, and all matter is aimless. It
is a confusing time.
Energy,
on the other hand, is growing exponentially and conglomerates into floating
entities. These entities are pinpricks
in the scope of the ever-expanding universe, but in this age, scale is
irrelevant. These new stars are rumbling
with activity, giant furnaces that produce many important elements that will
one day form the basis for life. Some
stars reach the end of their lifespan and explode, releasing these elements
into space.
It
is not long before many stars gain followers, who traverse wide circles around
them. In some cases, these followers
increase in size until they themselves gain followers, irresistibly pulled into
orbit by an invisible force.
Conditions
on these star-followers vary widely. The
concept of weather is new, and it is very much unsure of its identity. Temperatures are fluctuating rapidly in the
scale of cosmic time. The planets
orbiting closest to their star are hot and fiery, while those farther away are
eerily still, cold, and equally inhospitable.
A very small number of planets in the universe orbit at a distance that
guarantees a moderate temperature, an even smaller number of these planets has
solid matter on the outside, and only one of this select group has a thick
atmosphere: Earth.
At
this point, change begins occurring so rapidly that the universe sees it pass
in a moment. The newly-trapped air
surrounding Earth contains all the necessary ingredients, and soon much of the
planet is covered with water. These vast
aquatic spaces provide a safe haven for the formation of the first life. These life forms are microscopic and
non-thinking. They don’t comprehend how
or why they are here. They are minuscule
in comparison to the vast oceans of Earth, which is minuscule in comparison to
the fiery mass of the star Earth orbits, which is minuscule in comparison to
the panoramic white blanket that is the Milky Way galaxy, which is minuscule in
comparison to the unfathomably vast expanses of what our universe has become.
These
tiny life forms evolve and diversify until they are spread out across the
oceans, forming ecosystems teeming with organisms desperate for survival. As these organisms increase in size, their
functions also become more diverse. In
an evolutionary instant, plants come about, and even simple animals. As the animals grow more and more complex,
some venture onto the land, where there is already an entire world of
plants. The planet is swept up in the
inexorable sweep of evolution, and before long life is everywhere.
The
animals that come into being are hugely dependent on both the surrounding plants
and friendly climates. Many extinctions
occur when one of these is thrown out of balance, but animals always come back
in some form after a while. Intelligence
increases with each new iteration, but the most important leap is the
incalculably precious gift of self-awareness.
This gift transforms these early humans from barbaric animals to
thinkers, planners, and innovators.
Through this newfound ability, these humans will master fire, build
sophisticated shelters, and even begin to farm.
Weapons are fashioned from whatever was readily available. It is a time of great experimentation.
Abruptly,
bronze bursts onto the scene, pushing the already-hurried development of humans
into overdrive. Civilizations sprout up
all over the world, bound together by another astonishing development: written
language. Oral communication is finally
standardized into something that can be represented in simple scratch marks.
For
millennia, while these humans were making great strides, they had a desire for
understanding. They felt that there was
something Beyond, something that they did not yet understand. And from this desire, religion was born. It was something to hold onto amidst everyday
struggles, and it caught on quickly. New
religions now spread like wildfire, serving as a bridge across cultures and
interweaving itself through the dense fabric of trade. Religion and government are soon so closely
linked that governments misuse religion as a means for punishment. This distrust of government and religion
leads to a revolution of science and of the arts, a period that sees literary
and visual works coming to the forefront.
Individualism and reason soon experience a comeback, leading to the
colonies of imperialistic empires to rise up in the face of perceived
tyranny. Monarchy is no longer the norm,
and democracy becomes more and more prevalent.
Chaos
ensues in the years after these revolutions, as sophisticated technology allows
for mass production while composers and writers rail against a logic-driven
world. The economy booms and collapses
under its own weight. Wars break out,
and the world is left confused and fearful of the future, setting the stage for
the rise of modern technologies. The
Information Age has begun.
New
machines arise that can receive and display data, and these machines grow more
and more complex by the year. Soon they
can do complex calculations and display information from across the world. They can eventually fit on your desk, and
then on your lap, and finally in your pocket.
The knowledge of millions of books can now be carried with you and accessed
at any time. In the business world, data
and analytics are paramount. Information
can be shared at the touch of a button; everyone can see what everyone else is
doing. New ways to express yourself and
share activities make their way into the mainstream in a matter of days. Art made with nothing but a digital camera can
be viewed by millions of people in a matter of hours. We are more interconnected than ever, but
never have we been more disconnected from reality. Our digital lives occupy virtually no space
in the scale of the all-encompassing universe, and our biological lives are an
evolutionary blink.
In
the end, all we have is our desire. Our
desire to push history forward and to challenge what was thought to be
impossible. Our desire to learn, to
connect, to understand how insignificant we are in this universe. And our desire to see Beyond, to comprehend
an underlying purpose behind that which started with a single sound.
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