In twenty-four hours, after billions of dependable years, our planet, along with everything it contains, will end its existence. From the iron and nickel of the inner core to the hydrogen and helium of the exosphere, all the atoms and molecules that comprise what we call 'Earth' will suddenly and mysteriously disappear. Its passengers, both alive and abiotic, and even its satellites, will also be gone. Yes, that means us too.
Imagine all of the accomplishments of humanity. Now imagine their absence.
Our years on this planet have yielded an astounding body of work.
The human mind has created countless creative ideas, technologies
that can only be described as magical, and art that is intricate, complex,
and thought-provoking. Gone, gone, and gone.
Building on the physical and cultural accomplishments of our ancestors,
and on our own unique thoughts and experiences,
each of us has created an identity that is — and will remain —
absolutely without precedent in this universe.
Nowadays, one hundred of these vanish every minute. In twenty-four hours,
they will be followed by close to seven billion others.
You have to admit: it was fun while it lasted. But that's behind us now.
In one day, the world as we know it will cease to exist.
And you, along with it.
How does that make you feel?
☛ In the adjacent box, please imagine your last day on Earth.
Now that you have been given the news, how will you react?
Will you go wild, trying to satisfy as many of your desires as possible,
in order to make the last twenty-four hours of your life the best ones?
(What will you do?)
Or, stupefied by the impending doom, will you spend the day on the couch,
trying to make sense of your life and the situation?
(What will you be thinking?)
Is there one thing left that you'd like to do before you pass —
read a book, see a movie, accomplish a particular feat?
What will you cook, or where will you go, for your last meal?
Will you tell your loved ones about the planet's impending destruction? How about your friends? Will you tell everyone? (Would telling them be an act of kindness, or are they better off not knowing?) Will you try to make amends with the people in your life? With God? With so little time left, will you find it appropriate to disregard laws? What about morals? And when that fateful moment arrives, where will it find you? With whom? Will you be mentally prepared, stoic? Or in denial, blubbering?
(These are, of course, merely questions to consider. Feel free to discuss any aspects of the situation in your response. Make it as long, or as short, as you feel necessary.)
This is not a psychology experiment; this is a thought experiment.
We are not interested in making inferences or drawing conclusions.
We present you with this situation because it forces you to consider questions
that you may otherwise never be confronted with — questions about
your values and preferences, about how you face death and come to terms
with inevitability, about what you would do when the end is not
something abstract, in the far-off future, but close and unavoidable.
We feel that anyone will benefit from spending a minute or two considering these questions.
However, we are also intensely curious about
what you come up with and thus ask that you share your responses with us.
Others may be interested in your answers too, so we request your permission to share or publish your submissions (or excerpts from them). However, you may choose a different privacy option. In all cases, your response is entirely anonymous; no identifying information is recorded.
Thank you, and please keep in mind:
the Earth will be destroyed in 24 hours.