They Looked About Under Rocks, Then, In Holes; But The Snake Wasnt There. He Mustve Gone Further Up.

“They looked about under rocks, then, in holes; but the Snake wasn’t there. He must’ve gone further up. And so they climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and found nothing, it was just them in the universe, and they were still miserable.

[...]

“Your species - mine, once, too - we must be the only creatures allergic to happiness. We ruled the galaxy a long time ago, and still quibbled over who got more ice cream for dessert. Still wanted to pretend we didn’t come from the mud; still couldn’t accept that meaning and solace aren’t to be found in the heavens, but in the trenches of everyday living.

‘We’ll know everything, and then we’ll be okay.’

‘We’ll kill everything, and then we’ll be okay.’

‘We’ll forget everything, and then we’ll be okay.’

‘We’ll live forever, and then we’ll be okay.’

‘We’ll cling to everyone, and then we’ll be okay.’

“And even then, we weren’t okay. Because that’s not how the game works. Go home. Don’t try to be a hero, or a sage, or a warrior. Just exist for a while and be decent. That’s heroism enough. That’s how it’s always been done.”

- and then we’ll be okay (my favorite video ever)

unused paragraph for my homework assignment

I submit to you that the most iconic feature of any animal is either unlikely or impossible to fossilize.

If all we had of wolves were their bones we would never guess that they howl.

If all we had of elephants were fossils with no living related species, we might infer some kind of proboscis but we'd never come up with those ears.

If all we had of chickens were bones, we wouldn't know about their combs and wattles, or that roosters crow.

We wouldn't know that lions have manes, or that zebras have stripes, or that peacocks have trains, that howler monkeys yell, that cats purr, that deer shed the velvet from their antlers, that caterpillars become butterflies, that spiders make webs, that chickadees say their name, that Canada geese are assholes, that orangutans are ginger, that dolphins echolocate, or that squid even existed.

My point here is that we don't know anything about dinosaurs. If we saw one we would not recognize it. As my evidence I submit the above, along with the fact that it took us two centuries to realize they'd been all around us the whole time.

No Man’s Sky

or: You Can’t Save The World, And That’s Fine

i fucking love this game. i love how unique its story and theme is relative to almost all other major games. its fundamental purpose is to gently instill in the player the impermanence and insignificance of everything.

let’s talk about the ATLAS.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

it is so easy to misconstrue the ATLAS as malevolent. after all, its Sentinels are hostile to those who transgress upon the sanctity and purity of creation - by necessity, the player. but later we learn that this is a self defense mechanism. the universe is the ATLAS, and the ATLAS is dying. and like any of us would be… the ATLAS is terrified. its internal hostility is a desperate bid to save itself from being terminated. to fix itself.

so what is the player meant to do?

you cannot fight the ATLAS. nobody can. the ATLAS is literally God in every theological sense. you can’t fight AI-God – just ask TELAMON, they tried. the ATLAS cannot be harmed by any action of the player.

but there is also nothing you can do to help the ATLAS. not even all the Travellers in the game can fix the ATLAS; its composition is far beyond your comprehension. the ATLAS cannot be saved by any action of the player.

the moral of the Atlas Path is acceptance: of mortality, of impermanence, of insignificance. everything ends, and that’s okay. enjoy it while it lasts. you cannot save the universe, but you can experience it for as long as you live.

most other games carry the central theme of “you can save the world!” and yet, NMS presents you with a universe where the reply to that typical attitude is an unequivocal “no, you can’t.”

it’s not your burden. it’s not your duty. it’s not your purpose. you can’t save the world. all you can do is enjoy it while it lasts, and understand that this is enough.

44 Mag vs Gel Block

If this ain't me

adding to this: space exploration can also help manage and even reverse industrial climate change! in addition to satellite monitoring, there’s a very effective atmospheric carbon recapture process called accelerated weathering, where a soft silicate mineral is exposed to air and rain and uptakes massive amounts of carbon as it reacts with the water and air during erosion. the best mineral for the job is olivine. guess what most asteroids are predominantly made of? olivine!

WE CAN FIX THIS IF WE TRY!

it’s a huge investment, sure. but cost is nothing when you’re investing in the future stability of the planetary environment.