Galaxy is Cultivated

Galaxy is Cultivated

Even if think nobody has anything to learn from you because you’re technologically so backward, there are other merits to a civilization: music, lovingkindness, dreams… Humans are very good at dreaming. There may be cultures all over the Galaxy that would trade dreams.

We don’t care about rapacious, bloodthirsty civilizations which develop interstellar flight, because this never happens. In the long run, the aggressive civilizations destroy themselves, always. It’s their nature. They can’t help it. Just make sure that no one bothers them and let them work out their destiny.

Galaxy is cultivated. Who is all-powerfull should fear everything (Pierre Corneille, Cinna, 1640, Act. IV, Scene II). Image: © Elena

There certainly are cooperative projects between galaxies. We mustn’t think of the universe as a wilderness. It hasn’t been that for billions of years. We should think of it as cultivated.

The problem is that the universe is expanding, and there’s not enough matter in it to stop the expansion. After a while, no new galaxies, no new stars, no new planets, no newly arisen lifeforms – just the same old crowd. Everything’s getting run-down. It’ll be boring.

As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods – they kill us for their sport (William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV, I, 36).