Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.
Simone WeilRead
Henceforth the cosmos, once a swarm of blazing galaxies, each a swarm of stars, was composed wholly of star-corpses. These dark grains drifted through the dark void, like an infinitely tenuous smoke rising from an extinguished fire. Upon these motes, these gigantic worlds, the ultimate populations had created here and there with their artificial lighting a pale glow, invisible even from the innermost ring of lifeless planets.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the remnants of once-vibrant galaxies and the contrast between life and death in the universe.
Olaf Stapledon's quote evokes a deep sense of the universe's transformation from a once-thriving cosmos of stars to a realm filled with the remnants of those stars, emphasizing the transient nature of existence. It suggests that what was once filled with brilliance and life has now become a quiet, dark void, highlighting the cycle of creation and destruction. The artificial lights created by populations on some distant planets symbolize the fleeting nature of life and the attempts to find light within darkness.
Themes
UniverseTransienceLifeDeathDarknessCreationRemnantsExistence
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on the nature of existence and the universe.
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