Latest news with #FermiParadox
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (Probably) Isn't an Alien Spacecraft, But Here Are All the Theories
The space rock 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object discovered by astronomers, following 'Oumuamua and the comet Borisov. While astronomers are still busily collecting data on the new discovery, they think it originated from the Milky Way's thick disk. If so, it may be as old as 7 billion years, a couple billion years older than our entire solar system. Its path through space will take it between the orbits of Earth and Mars before it heads back out toward interstellar space again. When it was discovered by NASA's ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) on July 1, 2025, it was traveling a blistering 137,000 miles per hour and getting faster. It will be moving faster than 150,000 miles per hour when it makes its closest approach with the Sun. The asteroid gets its name from a combination of its place in astronomical history (3I being short for third interstellar) and the ATLAS telescope which made the discovery. Astronomers know it's interstellar because its trajectory puts it on a hyperbolic orbit which will send it back into deep space after a close pass through the inner solar system later this year. The comet is traveling within 5 degrees of the ecliptic plane (the imaginary plane upon which the Earth and most of the rest of the solar system spin) and it will pass relatively close to Venus, Mars, and Jupiter during its visit. It's that same trajectory that astronomer Avi Loeb says may be evidence of alien technology. 3I/ATLAS, the Fermi Paradox, and the Dark Forest hypothesis Loeb suggests that 3I/ATLAS is on the sort of path an alien intelligence might chart if they wanted to learn more about us and our system. He also says that the probability of the trajectory so close to three planets has a combined probability of just 0.005% This isn't the first time Loeb has suggested alien origins for interstellar objects. He suggested that 'Oumuamua may have been an alien probe and he combed the ocean floor with a magnetic rake looking for debris from downed alien spacecraft. This time, at least, Loeb says his speculations about 3I/ATLAS are mostly a thought experiment. "As largely a pedagogical exercise, in this paper we present additional analysis into the astrodynamics of 3I/ATLAS, and hypothesize that this object could be technological, and possibly hostile as would be expected from the 'Dark Forest' resolution to the 'Fermi Paradox'," authors Avi Loeb, Adam Hibberd, and Adam Crowl wrote in a preprint paper posted to arXiv. The paper has not been peer reviewed. For More on Interstellar Objects: In 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi went to lunch and posed one of the biggest unanswered questions in the history of astronomy: Where is everyone? If there are so many stars and so many worlds, with so many opportunities for life to arise, why are we seemingly alone in the cosmos? With 14 billion years of universal history, it feels like the skies should be filled with spacefarers, uncrewed probes, and radio signals. In spite of all this, there are no apparent signs of life out there. With a sample size of one (Earth), it's impossible to draw conclusions about how common life is in the universe or why we haven't found it yet. Dozens of solutions have been proposed for the Great Silence including that we really are alone, that we're early in the evolution of the universe and one of the first intelligent species to arise, and that technological civilizations tend to destroy themselves. And then there's the Dark Forest hypothesis. Taking its name from Liu Cixin's 2008 science fiction novel The Dark Forest, in which there are many civilizations in the universe, but they are hostile and quiet. It's similar to the Deadly Probes scenario, also known as the Berserker hypothesis, which suggests we haven't found alien life because it has all been destroyed by killer self-replicating spacecraft. The Dark Forest compares the universe to an environment filled with predators in which the best way to survive is to be silent. Similar themes were explored in the 1987 novel The Forge of God in which author Greg Bear likens humanity to a crying baby in a hostile forest. In these scenarios, when the intentions of an alien civilization can't be known it might be best to shoot first and ask questions later. And, if the prevailing attitude of the cosmos is antagonistic, then the only way to survive long-term is stealth. Many civilizations may choose not to explore or communicate, instead remaining quietly and safely on their home planets. If you're going to explore, you might want to do it covertly. Disguising your probes as interstellar space rocks might be one way to do that. Loeb, Hibberd, and Crowl make the case that if 3I/ATLAS were an alien spacecraft, its current trajectory would allow it to access Earth easily. When it's behind the Sun and blocked from our view, it could secretly thrust to slow down and fall into orbit around the Sun. If it wanted to, it could then chart a course for Earth, arriving as soon as November or December. Of course, even Loeb thinks that's unlikely. 'By far, the most likely outcome will be that 3I/ATLAS is a completely natural interstellar object, probably a comet, and we await the astronomical data to support this likely origin,' Loeb said. Prepare for contact with ETs by watching Resident Alien, ! Solve the daily Crossword


The Irish Sun
23-07-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Mystery object zooming towards Sun may be ‘hostile alien probe' – but experts brand Harvard prof's claims as ‘nonsense'
THE mysterious interstellar object blazing through our solar system could be a piece of "possibly hostile" alien technology, according to a controversial new study. The research, from a small group of scientists including a renowned alien-hunting Harvard University astronomer, argues that object 3I/ATLAS is actually an extraterrestrial probe in disguise. Advertisement 5 An artist's impression of interstellar object ʻOumuamua Credit: ESA 5 On 1 July, astronomers spotted a highly unusual object zooming towards our Sun at roughly 245,000 kilometres per hour - or 68km a second. With a "short tail" and a "fuzziness" around it, Judging by its bizarre orbit, experts determined that the super-fast space traveller had come from outside our solar system. That would make it the third interstellar object to pass Earth on record, following the rare visits of the famous 1I/ʻOumuamua asteroid in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. Advertisement READ MORE ON SPACE But Harvard astrophysics professor Avi Loeb and his colleagues suggest it could be something more advanced than an interstellar rock. "In this paper we present additional analysis into the astrodynamics of 3I/ATLAS, and hypothesise that this object could be technological," they write in their The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, added that the technology could even be "possibly hostile". Loeb and his colleagues say this would "be expected from the 'Dark Forest' resolution to the 'Fermi Paradox'" - a theory that alien civilisations exist throughout the universe but are both silent and hostile. Advertisement Most read in Science 'Dark Forest' theorists believe aliens remain hidden for fear of being destroyed by other intelligent lifeforms. It is one of many possible explanations of the Fermi Paradox , which aims to answer why humans have not yet found alien life. Why We Haven't Met Aliens Yet: 9 Theories Loeb is a controversial figure among astronomers and astrophysicists, having previously suggested that interstellar object 1I/ʻOumuamua may have also been an alien craft in 2017. Now 3I/ATLAS is showing signs it could be of alien origin as well, according to Loeb. Advertisement 5 The object's orbit, for example, brings it suspiciously close to Venus, Mars and Jupiter, Loeb writes in his study Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The object's orbit, for example, brings it suspiciously close to Venus, Mars and Jupiter, Loeb writes in his study. Yet separate experts told They insist that the available evidence points toward the object being completely natural. Advertisement What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet? Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa... Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth) Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vaporizing) If it is natural like most researchers say, then 3I/ATLAS appears to be a comet older than our solar system - a whopping 7.6billion years old. The space rock is estimated to be up to 20km in size. Its current trajectory suggests it came from the Milky Way's 'thick disk' – a field of ancient stars. No comet from that region has ever graced Earth with a flyby, according to astronomers. Advertisement 5 'Dark Forest' theorists believe aliens remain hidden for fear of being destroyed by other intelligent lifeforms Credit: Alamy To figure out whether 3I/ATLAS really is an alien probe - similar to Earth's Voyager 1 and 2 - scientists will have to continue monitoring it. Radio waves coming from the object would be strong evidence that the object is of alien origin - assuming the probe was still in working order. Any signs of manoeuvring or propulsion would also be a good indicator that it's more than cosmic debris. Advertisement Plus, if it were to approach to Earth - a rare planet in the grand schemes of the universe - in a stable orbit. Our planet, with its water, healthy atmosphere, strong magnetic field and life, would be of great interest to other intelligent life. But for now, evidence mostly points towards 3I/ATLAS being an ancient, icy and speedy comet. 5 An artist's impression shows the first-known interstellar object to visit the solar system, 'Oumuamua, which was discovered on 19 October, 2017 Credit: Reuters Advertisement All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the


Scottish Sun
23-07-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Mystery object zooming towards Sun may be ‘hostile alien probe' – but experts brand Harvard prof's claims as ‘nonsense'
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE mysterious interstellar object blazing through our solar system could be a piece of "possibly hostile" alien technology, according to a controversial new study. The research, from a small group of scientists including a renowned alien-hunting Harvard University astronomer, argues that object 3I/ATLAS is actually an extraterrestrial probe in disguise. 5 An artist's impression of interstellar object ʻOumuamua Credit: ESA 5 On 1 July, astronomers spotted a highly unusual object zooming towards our Sun at roughly 245,000 kilometres per hour - or 68km a second. With a "short tail" and a "fuzziness" around it, astronomers declared it an icy comet - and the fastest rock our solar system has ever seen. Judging by its bizarre orbit, experts determined that the super-fast space traveller had come from outside our solar system. That would make it the third interstellar object to pass Earth on record, following the rare visits of the famous 1I/ʻOumuamua asteroid in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. But Harvard astrophysics professor Avi Loeb and his colleagues suggest it could be something more advanced than an interstellar rock. "In this paper we present additional analysis into the astrodynamics of 3I/ATLAS, and hypothesise that this object could be technological," they write in their paper. The study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, added that the technology could even be "possibly hostile". Loeb and his colleagues say this would "be expected from the 'Dark Forest' resolution to the 'Fermi Paradox'" - a theory that alien civilisations exist throughout the universe but are both silent and hostile. 'Dark Forest' theorists believe aliens remain hidden for fear of being destroyed by other intelligent lifeforms. It is one of many possible explanations of the Fermi Paradox, which aims to answer why humans have not yet found alien life. Why We Haven't Met Aliens Yet: 9 Theories Loeb is a controversial figure among astronomers and astrophysicists, having previously suggested that interstellar object 1I/ʻOumuamua may have also been an alien craft in 2017. Now 3I/ATLAS is showing signs it could be of alien origin as well, according to Loeb. 5 The object's orbit, for example, brings it suspiciously close to Venus, Mars and Jupiter, Loeb writes in his study Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The object's orbit, for example, brings it suspiciously close to Venus, Mars and Jupiter, Loeb writes in his study. Yet separate experts told Live Science that the new claims are "nonsense" and "insulting." They insist that the available evidence points toward the object being completely natural. What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet? Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa... Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth) An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth) Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vaporizing) If it is natural like most researchers say, then 3I/ATLAS appears to be a comet older than our solar system - a whopping 7.6billion years old. The space rock is estimated to be up to 20km in size. Its current trajectory suggests it came from the Milky Way's 'thick disk' – a field of ancient stars. No comet from that region has ever graced Earth with a flyby, according to astronomers. 5 'Dark Forest' theorists believe aliens remain hidden for fear of being destroyed by other intelligent lifeforms Credit: Alamy To figure out whether 3I/ATLAS really is an alien probe - similar to Earth's Voyager 1 and 2 - scientists will have to continue monitoring it. Radio waves coming from the object would be strong evidence that the object is of alien origin - assuming the probe was still in working order. Any signs of manoeuvring or propulsion would also be a good indicator that it's more than cosmic debris. Plus, if it were to approach to Earth - a rare planet in the grand schemes of the universe - in a stable orbit. Our planet, with its water, healthy atmosphere, strong magnetic field and life, would be of great interest to other intelligent life. But for now, evidence mostly points towards 3I/ATLAS being an ancient, icy and speedy comet. 5 An artist's impression shows the first-known interstellar object to visit the solar system, 'Oumuamua, which was discovered on 19 October, 2017 Credit: Reuters All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet How many moons does Mercury have? What colour is Venus? How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet How big is Jupiter? How many moons does Saturn have? Does Uranus have rings? How many moons does Neptune have? How big is Pluto? How hot is the Sun?
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A Scientist Says the Universe May Have a Memory of Its Own
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: A new hypothesis known as the Quantum Memory Matrix (QMM) could help explain some of the biggest mysteries of the universe, including the Black Hole Information Paradox. The idea is that space-time itself holds a history of quantum information in 'memory cells.' This is just one of many hypotheses that aim to explain the paradoxes that form when general relativity and quantum field theory collide. Paradoxes can be scary things in science, as they almost always represent some fundamental misunderstanding of reality and the universe. However, paradoxes can also present opportunities—chances to re-examine what we know and forge previously unimaginable paths toward new understanding. For example, the Fermi Paradox—which questions why there are so many extraterrestrial worlds, yet absolutely no signs of intelligent life—has pushed scientists to explore various reasons why the universe is so silent. Various temporal paradoxes, such as the Grandfather paradox, have allowed us to probe mind-bending concepts like the multiverse theory. And the same can be said for the Black Hole Information Paradox. First formulated in the 1970s by physicist Stephen Hawking, the paradox boils down to the idea that black holes appear to destroy information (via Hawking radiation) over incredibly long timescales. However, quantum field theory suggests that quantum information cannot be destroyed, and instead must be conserved. This has led to several theories, including that information is somehow encoded onto the event horizon of the black hole itself and released within the Hawking radiation in a way we simply can't detect, or that it even travels to a completely different universe. But for years, Florian Neukart—an assistant professor at Leiden University and the chief product officer at the quantum computing outfit Terra Quantum—has promoted another fascinating idea known as 'Quantum Memory Matrix,' or QMM. In a new article published in New Scientist, Neukart details how space-time itself could retain a 'memory' that recorded the history of the universe. In a sense, according to Neukart, space-time is a blanket of 'memory cells' that could not only solve the Black Hole Information Paradox, but could clarify other major space-time conundrums like dark matter. 'How can empty space hold information when there is nothing 'inside it' to change? The key is to realize that modern physics describes all particles and forces as excitations in quantum fields—mathematical structures that span space and time,' Neukart wrote in New Scientist. 'Space-time itself is, in principle, no different, and each of my cells of space-time would have a quantum state that can change. Imagine it as like a tiny dial or switch. There is also a more emergent kind of quantum information at play that describes the relationship of each cell to the others—this isn't held in any one cell, but in the sprawling network of relationships between them.' In the Black Hole Information Paradox, for example, as an object moves through space, it interacts with these 'dials' of space-time that imprint information. When a black hole evaporates—a process that takes around 1068 to 10103 years—the surrounding space-time will remain. 'Information doesn't vanish after all,' Neukart said. 'It has been written somewhere we hadn't thought to look.' Working with quantum computers to test this idea, Neukart said that they've extended the framework beyond gravity, insisting that QMM extends to all four fundamental forces of nature. Additionally, Neukart posited that the 'weight of information woven into space-time' could be an alternative explanation for dark matter—a weakly interacting form of matter that is one of the big missing puzzle pieces of the Standard Model. For now, QMM is just another radical-yet-fascinating potential solution to a long-standing paradox. It could be be far from the truth, or closer to reality than we might expect, but it undoubtedly stands as evidence of paradoxes being roiling cauldrons of scientific creativity. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?


Mail & Guardian
04-06-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Aliens, billionaires, swivel-eyed fake news cults and end times
The Fermi Paradox holds that there is a high probability of extraterrestrial civilisations, yet there is no evidence of this. It was far from coincidence that the Fermi Paradox evolved during the Cold War. The Mexican stand-off between ideologically opposed nuclear-armed superpowers to deep-fry the planet faster than baking bread favouring one answer to the existential question: 'So where is everybody (extraterrestrial beings)?' Italian-American scientist Enrico Fermi's 1950 cafeteria banter with colleagues at the atomic age's birthplace, New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory, crystallised the quandary of advanced 'alien' lifeforms' 'high-likelihood' but any conclusive evidence testifying to their existence was absent. Nasa moon-landing consultant, astronomer, planetary scientist and sage Carl Sagan gave the dichotomy perspective: 'The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.' The home-base Milky Way galaxy has about 300 billion stars and there are an estimated 70 sextillion others in the observable universe, while associated planets and moons flirt with infinity numbers, where possibility and probability collide. One calculation making the maths make sense was each grain of sand from all Earth's beaches represents 10 000 stars. The human body's raw material construction, and that of other species, is among the universe's most common and recurring elements contained by the incomprehensible scale that's yet hinted at hosting other intelligent beings. Sliding doors The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence's radio telescopes' scanning for advanced life's breath, such as 'alien' telecommunications, has met silence after 65 years of listening — a span not registering a nanosecond on the universe timeline. Like politics and comedy, a simple Fermi Paradox explanation for the 13,8 billion-year-old universe's apparent sparse population was timing. An interstellar civilisation's Earth safari during the Silurian Period 420 million years ago would have spotted ocean plants migrating to emerging land masses and abundant 2,5m sea scorpion apex predators. It suggests technologically advanced cultures were rare apparitions out of sync with similarly evolved species, and if simultaneous, separated by sheer vastness. Another rational interpretation was that intelligent extraterrestrials avoid contact with a crude civilisation's violence addiction and opt to watch the shit-show at arm's length — for entertainment or anthropological purposes. This is termed the 'zoo hypothesis' or 'dark forest theory'. Rolling the dice Conditions considered the basic ingredients for complex intelligent organisms to be a contender include an atmospheric planet orbiting a star in the 'goldilocks zone'. A moon for ocean tidal shifts, tectonic plates, magnetosphere shielding biological life from solar and cosmic radiation and a lithosphere, or rigid crust. Even then, cosmos-wandering intelligent life is never a 'gimme'. Chance tilts the outcome with a coin toss or body-design sabotages gravity-defying aspirations. 'Dolphins have had 20 million years to build a radio telescope and not done so,' astrophysicist Dr Charles Lineweaver, an Australian National Science Institute associate professor, reportedly noted. Catastrophic asteroid strikes on Earth average once every 100 million years, from crater evidence, and the paradox deems the eventuality a low threat to advanced lifeforms expected to have implemented counter-measures. The Chicxulub Impactor's hit 66 million years ago, terminating dinosaurs' 160 million year dominion, allowed intelligent life's chances a foothold. The fall-out eclipsing the sun, ushering a decades-long sub-zero winter in the wake of mountainous tsunamis and, briefly by geological measures, landscapes sprouting fungal paradises feasting on decay. Starvation, drowning and evisceration aside, surviving cold-blooded reptiles' staging an encore were muted by fungal infection susceptibilities that warm-blooded mammals nibbling psilocybin's ancestors escaped largely unscathed, stumbling towards the technological age and its monsters. Sagan added another Fermi Paradox choke-point in 1966 — advanced societies' penchant for self-annihilation. Nuclear holocaust for beginners The 'Great Filter' premise identifies nine steps for intergalactic roaming species including polymeric ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules' seismic leap to single and multi-cell organisms, tool-making capacity and the penultimate technological stage; intelligent life's nemesis — as arduous as threading an oligarch through the eye of a needle — before interstellar nomad rankings. A childhood trawling through Cold War military garrisons in Cyprus, Singapore, West Germany and England's Yorkshire Moors and Salisbury Plain was at times spent eavesdropping on adults' nuclear war musings, an occasion only slightly less common than a Karoo farmer's pre-occupation with rain. There was one gear for the West's nuclear weapon's armoury. Unleash it all and leave nothing in the silos or submarines. Similar strategies adopted by Soviet Warsaw Pact's forces having locked in every 'gypsy' home coordinate for first or retaliatory strikes. US Air Force pilot and family friend Ted Lindsay presented a then-unknown comic on a 1973 social visit to a pre-fabricated Akrotiri residence, a sovereign British airforce base on the eastern Mediterranean island and launchpad for the Royal Air Force's reconnaissance flights assisting Israel's Gaza genocide. A decade old, I asked if the comic's title was 'short for' (an acronym for) Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) — the Faustian Pact's sanity balm keeping cantankerous foes at bay, reasoning only a self-obsessed lunatic would play the thermo-nuclear war trump card. The lieutenant's reply was the first, but not the last, time those regularly drilled clambering into 'Noddy Suits' (nuclear, biological and chemical personal protection equipment) advised close proximity to the device's detonation was the Ideal. Instantly vapourised like deep-sea diving bell billionaires. Excused oblivion's grief, radiation sickness, nuclear winter and cannibalism. Childhood innocence thought there was one way to skin a cat and expected an ending with a bang, rather than a whimper. Step aside Schopenhauer Technology's bear traps changed both the numbers and nuances, condemning Earthlings to be the quintessential intergalactic hosts but never the guests. Curtis Yarvin, California's Silicon Valley totem and low-grade Jim Jones cultist with cashflow, preaches 'dark enlightenment' and 'accelerationalism' to extreme wealth's navel-gazing gullibility. The far-right 'philosophising' blogger, and US Vice President JD Vance's guru, promotes anti-democratic and anti-egalitarian creeds, accelerating societies' disintegration and, substituted by technological plutocracy rising phoenix-like. The deepest pocket is crowned king. So far, it's going swimmingly. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robots dominating or liquidating the inventors, and eight billion distracted bystanders, was a risk assessed once a creation without empathy was confident, slicing the technician's 'umbilical cord' for autonomy. Cult sci-fi or documentary? The Fermi Paradox presumptions view extraterrestrial intelligent life tracing similar contours from stone axe to a species ending its 300 000 year tenure as the mother of invention after AI's inception and a poisoned planet the receipt. Profit's plagues are wrapped in fossil fuel's micro and nano plastics and industry's 'forever chemicals' — ingested from non-stick pans, sparkling spring water and other popular consumer items. Both infestations strongly suspected of, and some links clinically confirmed, tripping a variety of cancers, neurological and reproductive disorders. Since the 2006 release Children of Men , adapted from PD James's 1992 dystopian novel of the same name, the sci-fi movie's hue has morphed into an Age of Consequences reality show. The 2027 dateline's backstory was metastasising authoritarian corporate security states usurping democracies after a worldwide pandemic and global economic meltdown as humanity wilts from infertility — fomenting extinction's malaise under the one percent's watch. Pinpointing the epoch, humans strayed from an intergalactic species' 'manifest destiny' is precise. Ground zero was corporatised religion's mythologies and superstitions accorded equality to evidence-based facts — challenging the 'intelligent life' label from the outset. The fall The apocalypse desert religions — Christianity, Islam and Judaism with pedigrees reaching from the Pharaoh's sun god Ra — were the original fake news purveyors and its medieval mindset oils this century's debilitating post-truth's dumbed-down and vicious voting fodder. The far-right reincarnation's distinct lilt from last century's European inspirations leans on peddling monotheism's sophiaphobia — fear of wisdom. The Jesus death cult apparently swept into the heavens by dodgy biblical Rapture 'evidence' and solving ostracised film director Woody Allen's conundrum: 'I'm not afraid of death. I just don't want to be around when it happens.' The billionaire classes and their bland hand-picked associates' dreamscape was savaging democracies. Carving CEO-governing fiefdoms from the chaos; serviced by non-unionised labour, AI robots and former US special forces Erik 'Blackwater' Prince's mercenary-multitudes patrolling privatised frontiers against feral masses' drones for pitchforks. 'End times fascism is a darkly festive fatalism — a final refuge for those who find it easier to celebrate destruction than imagine living without supremacy,' Klein and Taylor write. In memoriam Anticipating intelligent life traversing immense voids possessed of state-of-the-art scanners, human-extinction pessimists propose burying a titanium sarcophagus on the Moon. A courtesy for future Socialist cosmic travellers seeking 'are we alone' answers. The sarcophagus' contents recalling Earth's once majestic vistas, oceans, flora and fauna before climate change's ravages; joined by Homo sapiens ' arts, culture, sport and other feats eked from a barbarous history trolled by 'greed is good and tax is bad' mantras. Our species' epitaph, borrowed from quantum physicist Albert Einstein: 'Two things are infinite; the universe and stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.' Guy Oliver is Johannesburg-based writer, photographer and permaculture consultant.