[ Featuring Brian Cox ]
There are few certainties in science
But one fact of which we can all be
Certain is that one day we will die
Our atoms won't disappear
They will return to the Earth
Some will become parts of the living future
But they will carry no imprint, no memories
No knowledge of the pattern once known as you
In five billion years our Sun
Will cease to shine
Our planet will die in the searing heat
Engulfed by the dying star
The atoms once known as you will
Be ejected out into space
In billions of years they may
Become parts of new
Solar systems with their own stories to tell
The great cycle of stellar death and rebirth
Offers a sort of limited immortality
Whether that's comforting is up to you
But ultimately nothing will survive
It will all be gone
In the far future there will
Come a time when time has no meaning as the
Universe expands and fades
Our descendants isolated on an island
Drifting in ocean of dark will watch as the
Galaxies evaporate away
How does that make you feel?
Yet something remains in the darkness
An idea
Science is the ultimate exercise of reason
And our reason confirms deep down
What we've always known
Whether human or star
Life is precious and fleeting
We are collections of atoms that can
Think who discovered this deep truth
We must understand the Universe
Will spend an eternity
In darkness after a brief period of light
Meaning is not eternal
And yet meaning exists today because the
Universe means something to us
We must understand that life
Is precious and fleeting
In doing so we will come to
Recognize the true value of ourselves
Our fellow humans and our civilization
The choice before us is not
Between immortality and eternal darkness
The laws of nature have made that choice
But we do get to choose how
Long we want to survive
How long do you want the
Human race to survive?
There will come a time when we're forced to
Choose: do we destroy our planet or
Protect it? Do we live together or fight
Amongst ourselves? Do we expand, explore
Do we carry our shared hopes and
Dreams outwards to Mars and the
Moons of Jupiter and Saturn and
Onwards to the limitless stars
Or do we avert our gaze from
The Universe beyond and allow
All memory of our world will
Be lost too soon?
Do we close our minds and seek refuge
In the ingorant dark of the cave
Or do we embrace curiosity and love
Of knowledge of our fellow humans
Of our rare world and of the infinite
And wonderful things yet to be known?
That time is now
