If it were possible to explore the vastness of the UNIVERSE...

[Cygnusx2112]

If you could fly anywhere,
Go to any galaxy,
Land on and explore any planet,
Contact, live among whatever non-human life may be out there,
Learning to your hearts content.

BUT -

You had to leave now,
You could not say goodbye to anyone,
You cold not let anyone know where you went
or
Ever see them again if there *IS* an afterlife...

Would you give up all present and future human contact, now and in death
for the understanding and exploration of the mysteries of the universe?


Would you take that opportunity?


(each point of light in this picture represents a galaxy,
and the area of the sky surveyed is approximately the size
of a dime held 30ft. away...)

[Cygnusx2112]

1. Jeez...

tough question ... :)

[petronius]

2. This is a fucking awesome question

I stared at that picture for 15 minutes this afternoon, while my wife was in the other room, and I just don't know the answer...

(Great post!)

[Cygnusx2112]

21. Thanks...I don't know what I would do either...

I go back and forth...

But this video definitely makes an interesting case for "exploring the universe".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpkSeVgvA0o

(Try to ignore the 15 sec. of the NumaNuma guy that somehow made it into this video
Kinda breaks the mood but the rest is amazing)...

[LynzM]

3. Oy....

But no, I don't think I could. You know what gets me? Not being able to say good-bye. People might be able to understand, if they knew what was offered, but to leave without explanation and cause that kind of pain....

[Haole Girl]

4. No

I wouldn't hurt my loved-ones that way. The not knowing, when someone disappears, is like a slow and painful death...I couldn't do that to my husband or other family members.

[Chan790]

5. No...

I'm just not that interested in the bounds and contents of the universe.

[Fox Mulder]

6. Yes.

[Shine]

7. No. Living life here on earth provides me with ample opportunities

to live life fully and grow in wisdom and awareness.

Cool picture, though. :thumbsup:

:hi:

[Jamastiene]

8. Nah, I'd rather play games on the compter and

laugh at my cats when they cut up and watch television with my aunt. The universe is out there. I'm in here and basically content with the things I love now.

[gkdmaths]

9. I would go

to bed.

g'night!

:)

[LSK]

10. no

[SoyCat]

11. No. I love my husband, mom, cat, and the beach too much for that.

[Kutjara]

12. Yes, in a cold second.

There's nothing holding me here and I certainly wouldn't miss most of the human race. The chance to learn and explore all the possibilities of life out there is ample compensation for the occasional pang of nostalgia about Earth.

[TheBaldyMan]

13. yes, undoubtably.

[femmocrat]

14. No. I have everything I need right here on Earth.

[hippywife]

15. No.

I love my husband, family, and friends too much to do that to them.

But if I didn't have those connections, my answer would still be no because the most wonderful thing about the wonders you would see and learn would be the ability to share them with someone. If you can't share them, even something so little as to just turn around with a shit-eating grin on your face and say to someone "Wow! Did you see that?!!," they lose their luster.

[Deja Q]

16. I'll admit, I'd be tempted.

[datasuspect]

17. She packed my bags last night pre-flight

Zero hour nine a.m.
And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It’s lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone


Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it’s cold as hell
And there’s no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don’t understand
It’s just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man


And I think it’s gonna be a long long time...




Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

Ground Control to Major Tom
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God's love be with you

(spoken)
Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Liftoff

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

"This is Major Tom to Ground Control
I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles
I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much she knows"

Ground Control to Major Tom
Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you hear me, Major Tom?
Can you....

"Here am I floating round my tin can
Far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do."







yeah, i'd do it . . . in a heartbeat.

[qnr]

18. Yes. In fact, that is the way I would prefer it n/t

[InvisibleTouch]

19. I would give up all HUMAN contact in a heartbeat....

...but I wouldn't want to leave my animals.

[Guava Jelly]

20. no i wouldnt

i would miss my friend/family

[lizziegrace]

22. I wouldn't either

how would I explain my disappearance to my daughter? Putting someone you love through that agony would be cruel.

[Mendocino]

23. No, but perhaps the same chance to time travel,

and see the world before the advent of technology and human overpopulation, would interest me more.
Maybe go back a few thousand years, think of the vast forests, clean water, abundant wildlife, with night skies so clear, they would resemble the picture in the original message.

[Cygnusx2112]

24. Interesting responses All...

Something to consider:

To those who say they could not leave without saying goodbye to their loved ones...

People die abruptly all the time.

Often, they do not know what is waiting for them on the other side.

And none of us know how much time we have...will we have 20, 40, 50 more years here on earth
or 3 more days?

In this scenario, you are (unfortunately) making an abrupt death, but the trade-off is, you know you have an "afterlife".
Not one in a "heaven" but rather, one in the universe.

A difficult choice, nonetheless. :)