In the series Cosmos, which originally aired on PBS in 1980, Carl Sagan explained that the universe is expanding, and he said that one of two things might happen. Matter could become so dispersed that all the magical chemical processes that produce and sustain stars and life would cease and the cosmos could become cold and dark. Or at some point the expansion could reverse itself and all the matter in the universe could revert to that pre Big Bang singular point.
If the latter should happen, there could be another Big Bang, and a new universe could come into existence. This process could have happened an infinite number of times already.
There could be other dimensions to reality so that all possible outcomes are given their due course. And black holes might instantly take us to the other side of the galaxy or even the universe, or they might lead to other universes. Our entire universe might work as a single atom in another universe.
It’s amazing and more than a little scary. We’re so small, so vulnerable, and we blink in and out so quickly. Life is a mystery.
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