"The what ifs are as boundless as the stars"

(The post's title is a quote from Sally Gardner in "Maggot Moon".)

What if...say, a nuclear conflagration were to take place on Earth, resulting in the complete annihilation of the human race? The planet would be left devastated for many thousands of years. What if, eventually, after a minor hit from a small asteroid which carried spores from outer space, a form of life began to take root, mingling with whatever remained among the formerly radioactive rubble? Several more millennia would pass with lifeforms becoming more sophisticated and intelligent, though in no way similar in form to the human race. Would the sensibilities of these beings still be governed by the same planets, Sun and Moon, seasons and cycles as we are, we the human race ? Would the same astrological imprints still endow similar benefits and drawbacks. Would there still be that tiny seed of hatred embedded, that same seed which we all carry within us? Are we, as a race, warts and all, simply as we are because of our particular physical place in the universe? And would any other developed race spawned on this planet have the same problems because of the planetary setup?

The price we pay for the beauty of the Earth and its many benefits is that human inhabitants carry a mix of characteristics capable, at worst, of destroying themselves. If, as astrologers believe, these characteristics are governed (in part) by the physical situation of our planet Earth, and how it relates to celestial bodies surrounding it, then nothing would ever change fundamentally - only superficially. Wars and hatred would always be a part of life on Earth, the features of its inhabitants, uniforms and figureheads would change, but the core drive of hatred (and greed) would remain, always.

The only way to experience a better world would be to find another planet capable of supporting human life, but with a different planetary setup surrounding it. There's a snag. What if the human race did, on some far off future date, de-camp from Earth. A different setup would not necessarily be a better one, and and it could take thousands of years to discover detail of new astrological workings. Humans born in th new environment might have less, or even none, of our good traits and more of our bad ones - or some even worse ones, if that be possible. In any case, that scenario is unlikely to happen, but it's still an interesting thought upon which to ponder.

We humans must carry on "playing with the hand fate has dealt us". It's a gamble, but gamblers do very occasionally win, even with the odds against them.

Touching on this topic a decade or so ago, an old blog-friend of mine, "anthonynorth" commented:

My interest in Ufology brought me to a definite answer on our wars and tech. In asking what any aliens would be like who visited us, I came to the conclusion they would be benevolent. This is because they would have had to pass the planetary test - that in developing tech so powerful that they could wipe themselves out, they would either fail and do so, or come to terms with themselves and thrive in the universe.

I suspect we're approaching the test.

We're now a decade nearer that 'test' - are we any wiser or any dumber? I suspect the latter!

“But what if I fail?" You will. The answer to the what if question is, you will. A better question might be, "after I fail, what then?" Well, if you've chosen well, after you fail you will be one step closer to succeeding, you will be wiser and stronger and you almost certainly will be more respected by all of those that are afraid to try.”
― Seth Godin