Galactic Exploration

by Peter Cawdron

“Life’s funny, isn’t it?” Anderson continued. “Here we are, surrounded by the majestic glory of billions of years of galactic evolution. We’re surrounded by an intricate cosmic ballet, and yet we appreciate its beauty for what, in comparison, is just a fraction of a second. Like a mayfly, we’re set free in the universe but for a day, we’re overwhelmed with the color and diversity of an ecosystem we can never fully comprehend. Like a mayfly, we see but one sunrise, one sunset.”

For billions of years, there had been stars and galaxies, nebulae and black holes, but for her, personally, there was nothing but the dark silence. In the trillions of years to come, she would experience nothing. All that awaited any of them was the darkness, but now—for now—there was the brilliant white light of consciousness.