Clara, I've been thinking.
That's good! What about?
Well, last night I couldn't fall asleep so I looked up at the sky and all the twinkling stars. Where did all this come from?
All this?
You know - you, me, the desert, this planet, the stars . . . everything!
That requires ALOT of thinking!
Right? It all seems so complicated. I wish we could go back and find The Giant Sacred Magic Clam and get some answers. After all, I did get my missing tusk restored after our last visit. Remember?
Yes, I do remember that . . . coincidence.
You're still doubting what happened? You still don't believe?
Let's just say I have some . . . reservations. Now about your question. Way back when I attended good old Camel University your question was actually part of a required course, "The Origins of Life and Other Annoying Concepts." It turns out that throughout history many civilizations pondered this question. Each had ideas, somewhat similar, as to how THIS all came about. For explanations, they created religions that stressed other-worldly design. Later on, science and technology tried to provide some answers. Strangely enough, all had as their final ending . . . The Doomsday Scenario. And, as you know, that scenario came to pass. So here we are now, minus the human race - just a few creatures left amid the beautiful, endless desert.
But what were the explanations as to how this all came about?
Well, the religions believed everything was created with a purpose by a Supreme Being. Science tried to prove all this happened by chance.
By chance?
Yes, all from a miniscule dense particle that exploded - sending off matter that became the universe - galaxies of stars, planets, moons, and asteroids. Our planet eventually had mixtures of air and water with just the right temperature, and from that mixture . . . a single cell of primitive life appeared. Those single cells evolved over milleniums to form well, you, me, plants, even those humans in the past. Fortunately, the humans are long gone.
All this by chance? That seems unbelievable. What came before that first dense particle?
That was never fully explained. After all, there were no eye-witnesses!
What about the religions - what were their explanations?
Well, in general, "all this" was created by, I guess what you would call, a Supreme Intelligence. Perhaps it was an interesting experiment to see what would happen after the "spark" was ignited. However, it made all creatures wonder about the purpose of the experiment. For instance, why thoughout history was there so much suffering inflicted on innocent forms of life? Why were some creatures predisposed to do bad things and hurt others? Why were ticks and scorpions created?
I've wondered about that myself - ticks and scorpions!
Don't forget mosquitoes!
Clara, now my head hurts from thinking about all this. I was much happier just watching the night sky.
Eliot, tonight just look up at the sky . . . and count your lucky stars.
Count stars?
It's an expression. Just consider yourself lucky to be able to see and appreciate the wonders of our universe.
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Riis Park, Rockaway Beach, New York
