A Pivot In Time (Alien Artifact, #2)

by Douglas E. Richards

I’ve long been disgusted by humanity’s many barbarisms. The ruthlessness of our species knows no bounds. We wage wars of conquest and kill others for sport. So many of us show a complete disregard for human life. We treat women as property, subjugate our fellow man, disregard human freedoms, and enslave millions. Cruelty and brutality is often more common than compassion. I could fill any number of parchments with a list of human atrocities, but I’ll stop here.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” —Albert Einstein

True courage is being scared out of your mind, having everything to lose, and acting anyway.”

“You’ve basically just restated what is called the fine-tuned universe argument for the existence of God,” she said. “It turns out that a large number of physical constants need to be almost exactly what they are for the universe to work, and life to be possible. If a proton was just one percent heavier, for instance, atoms would be unstable and fly apart. The fact that all of these forces and constants turn out to be in such exquisite balance is almost infinitely unlikely. Like winning the lottery a thousand times in a row.” Kelly paused. “Theologians seize on this as proof of the existence of God,” she continued. “Scientists explain it by positing an infinite number of infinite universes. If you have an infinite number of universes, one is bound to be lucky enough to get it right.”

unpredictability, not certainty, is what made life so exhilarating. That surprise was more valuable than predetermination.

Regardless, all he could do was continue to learn, live, and strive to the best of his ability. And love his wife with all his heart.

“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” —T.S. Eliot

Thomas Paine had written, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.” And this was true. The harder the struggle, the more fulfilling the success. Boyd had learned more about himself as a result of adversity than he had by any other mechanism. There could be no good without the contrast of evil. Likewise, success without struggle was hollow and unfulfilling.