Saturday 1 February 2003

Space shuttle crash

I know, I'm not a journalist, I'm a journaller. I don't usually comment on News Of The Day. Still, since you've probably want a break from all the anime-inspired stuff, here's my thoughts on today's loss of the space shuttle Columbia.

First off, I don't like it. And it wasn't my fault. Whatever you think about my supernatural powers, I'm not that eager to be proved right. Wait ... I did not put up that entry about space tourism? Oh. Just as well, I guess.

Terribly surprised, though, I am not. The space shuttles are relics of a distant past. Great advances have been made in metallurgy and ceramics since those days, and the computer software for design and construction is beyond measure better now. Realistic tests can be performed before you even buy the raw materials. These shuttles were designed in the late 1970es, when I was not even fully grown-up. How many cars from 1980 do you see driving around? How many cars from 1980 do you see driving 20 000 kilometers per hour??

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But of course, building new space shuttles is enormously expensive. We could perhaps reach the stars by now, if only we could afford it. But we can't. We could have cities in space now, if we did not have this pressing need to bomb each other down here on earth.

I believe this is built into the universe – I think all universes should be created this way – that a species cannot conquer space until it has conquered itself. This makes sense. You don't want violent and immature species flooding the galaxy. And I have a feeling that we are still pretty far from our ascension.

It is such a shame, that those who had seen Earth from outside – without the false borders and false colors of the maps – that they should have to die. There are too few with such a "heavenly" vision. We should all learn to see the world that way, before it is too late.