It is said that this physical Space-Time was created in a single instant, a Big Bang if you will, as a grand experiment. And that in the end the Universe will be destroyed and replaced in a similar manner with a more perfected model. It has been prophesied that the "end is near."
To put things in perspective, the entire Universe appears to be expanding and rolling. With no outside reference point, there is no way to know just how fast! There are galactic eddies with groups of galaxies rotating around each other, and around concentrations of non-visible substance. Within these groups, a gravitational dance of various sized galaxies creates more spin. Within each galaxy, clumps of stars dance around in spirals or clouds, with smaller objects orbiting the stars. This also means that the relationship between any two stars is not fixed.
All of these motions are governed by gravity wells of various sizes, and cause all of the stars to travel through the universe at incredible, yet varying speeds. Everything in our section of the universe is currently in a mad rush for what has been called the "Cosmological Dark Flow," something like a big drain that we cannot see beyond. It is about 2.6 billion Earth light years away. This dance has been going on for some 13.7 billion Earth years. If that can be considered near, then the end is indeed near.
For the benefit of our local readers, this translation into Earth language and concepts, (by necessity,) will not present the actual proper names for people, places, and things. This has been done strictly in the interest of understanding what is written here; no one is being protected.
As a courtesy to Earth readers, advanced technology that is likely beyond the imagination of a low tech society will be either reinterpreted into a comparable reference of lower tech, or ignored entirely. Just the same, out of respect for your intelligence, we will not refer to a space shuttle as a flaming chariot, or other such obvious silliness.
Dates have been converted into local Earth time as possible, with the understanding that when places are separated by hundreds or thousands of light years, a necessary skewing is natural. This is due to the dance of the stars and the various travel times dictated by the different technologies used.
Now, as I was saying, prophets have been proclaiming that the "end is near" for many years. They may be saying that for many more years to come, who knows ... After all, what's a few thousand years in the face of 14 billion? Furthermore, what can anyone do about it?
This is the story of a few who are attempting to do something. A difference in ideologies and the general lack of cooperation that always seems to accompany such grand endeavors makes it difficult to determine who is right. But it still seems better to do something than to do nothing.
When viewed from the perspective of a few events here and there, it is easy to get wrapped up in the distractions. And when the facts are viewed as a whole, it is still a puzzle. Through this story, which is a selected history of our stellar neighborhood, maybe one of our readers will be able to understand the purpose of it all and share that understanding with the rest of us. This adventure through space and time is a quest for knowledge.
Please help if you can!
(Comments can be posted at: CrystalSciFi .com)
Steven Phillip