Forgotten Ages Research

Psychic and Scientific Second-Sight—Time-lines for the Near and Far Future

Product ID: PP17

Report Topics:

• A Psychic Survey on the Year 2030
• French Clairvoyant Mario de Sabato’s 1971 Visions to the Year 2800
• Revelations from Future Life Progressions
• Esoteric-Occult Glimpses of the Future
• NASA’s Proposed Milestones in the Colonization of Space, 2010–3000
• Death by Frying—Supernovas, Gamma-ray Bursts and Colliding Stars
• The Hindu Prophecy of Vishnu—A Vision of the Last Conflagration
• The Ultimate Time-line—To the End of This Physical Universe

Full Report:

A Psychic Survey on the Year 2030

During the 1970’s psychic investigator Jeffrey Goodman did a survey among several American psychics on what they foresaw for the next century. The focal date was for the year 2030, and here are some of the things they predicted:

*Many of today’s continents will have changed their shapes, due to geological upheavals.

*The climate will be greatly altered, with Alaska becoming more temperate, and Florida turning colder.

*New spiritual Teachers will arrive, to aid in a reformation that will “lift the veil from men’s minds,” and offer new cultural directions.

*New governments and economies will be established, but their influences will be of a greatly reduced level, with their guiding emphasis being to promote personal development, and insure fair distribution of essentials.

*Science will take a more creative direction. Instead of being used for exploitation and regulation, it will explore revolutionary new forms of energy and growth, while remaining in perfect harmony with the Earth and its environment.

*Prayer will be used for increasing agricultural yield and controlling weather.

*The Earth’s and Sun’s electromagnetic field will be tapped into as a universal power source.

*Healing will employ the use of light, color and crystals.

*The secrets of limb regeneration will be discovered.

The psychics surveyed agreed that 2030 will only see the very beginnings of all these developments, that the world will have a long way to go to try to repair some of the bad decisions and damage created during the twentieth century. But eventually the rebuilding will lead to higher and nobler planes of human expression and existence, the likes of which are difficult to even comprehend.

French Clairvoyant Mario de Sabato’s 1971 Visions to the Year 2800

*The United States will be plagued by a “severe economic crisis,” and “one man’s folly will endanger peace.”

*America will be joined in collaboration with a “capitalist” Russia in a major conflict with China. The warning signs will be political turmoil in Turkey, Pakistan, Taiwan and Korea, and escalating Sino-Indian border skirmishes.

*The Chinese will someday invade Europe, not to be halted until they reach eastern France.

*The war will also involve the Middle East, where oil wells are to be ignited across the entire Sahara.

*Eventually the Chinese will be defeated, and Beijing completely destroyed.

*Following this will come a “short period of world harmony,” with Paris becoming the capital of a second United Europe, and Russia will join in “cooperation with Christianity over the reorganization of Eurasia.”

*Brazil will choose a leader of a United South America, and the United States will absorb the Central American states.

*There will be the beginning of a “Progressive Age” to last 170 years, starting in 2030 with the appearance of a Christ-like figure who shall “settle the problem of good and evil and also the whole system of the after-life, the discarnate and reincarnation.”

*Farther into the future will come a “Golden Age” to eventually dawn between 2547 to 2737, closely followed in 2800 by the advent of a truly Spiritual Age. Humanity will be living in higher dimensions, in which “wretchedness will no longer exist,” and people will have achieved “complete freedom of conduct.”

The Story of Future Life Progressions

One of the major themes in studying the prophecies of Nostradamus is in realizing that the future is not single-tracked, but instead is multi-tracked, that there is more than one way in which the future can unfold. Such a concept is being confirmed in modern times by pioneering research being done in a very new and very different field of discovery.

One of the most intriguing areas of psychological research being conducted today involves what is termed future life progressions. Subjects are placed in a light hypnotic trance and are asked to move forward in time beyond their present lifetimes, to project themselves into their next incarnations in the centuries yet to come. Through the several thousands of cases that have now been recorded to date, a most revealing view of the future has emerged.

Much of the early pioneering breakthroughs done in his field were conducted by Dr. Bruce Goldberg. What Dr. Goldberg discovered in his years of therapeutic work was that many of his patients’ present-day personal problems had their origins in past incarnations, and that their solutions could be completed by exploring their future incarnation potentials.

On the average, Dr. Goldberg found that each future life scenario had at least five different directions and outcomes it could go, with it being up to the patient to choose which one they wanted to accept, ultimately aiding them in their return to psychological well-being in the here and now.

It could be argued that this “future lifetime” experience is only a fantasy induced by the patient’s subconscious mind, in order to help resolve the internal emotional condition. But what Dr. Goldberg found instead is that among the cases he studied, there is an overall consistency that has emerged as to what is being described, above and beyond what individual imaginations could create only by themselves.

Generally speaking, when his patients are progressed forward, they become calmer, more self-confident, centered, and surprisingly even their vocabulary and their perceptive abilities improve, indicating that something more than just existing mental processes are being tapped into.

Dr. Goldberg observed further that, while individuals’ future lifetime experiences can be greatly altered, with several different outcomes possible, the more global experience of all humanity appears to contain less variables, though at certain key moments even these too could be changed by the human collective will and desire.

Between 1983 and 1985, Dr. Helen Wambach performed future life progression research on a large and in-depth scale. After her death in 1985, her findings were expanded upon by Dr. Chet B. Snow. By doing progression sessions with large groups of people at a time, Wambach and Snow were able to get a wide spectrum of responses, as well as a clear picture of future pattrens.

The researchers focused their attention on three specific future eras—the years 2100, 2300 and 2500—asking their subjects to project themselves forward and see what lifetimes, if any, they were able to pick up on for these periods.

What emerged was that, for the year 2100, five distinct possible scenarios existed, which then began to merge by 2300, and by 2500 had pretty much blended into one major scenario.

For the year 2100, the Type I future was depicted as composed mainly of space colonies in orbit about the Earth or other planets. There were also interstellar flights on a regular basis, and communications with extraterrestrials by light beam transmissions.

Life expectancy averages ranged from 66 years all the way up to 152 years. A universal credit card system prevailed. Experiements were being conducted to materialize creative thoughts. And nearly 6 percent of the cases said they had an androgynous appearance.

One noteworthy point was that only 5.5 to 6 percent of the progression participants reported being alive in 2100, a number that remained consistent from group to group, even among different researchers. What this translates into is that between the present and through to the end of the twenty-first century, there will be a reduction in world population by 95 percent.

In general terms, those who experienced a Type I future for 2100 felt dissatisfied and emotionally unfulfilled. The culture the space colonies created was sterile, with processed food, no architecture and no art. Everything was computer-run, very efficient and functional, with no effort, yet with no challenges. Life was reported as bland, lonely and frustrating.

The Type II future for 2100 was a major departure from Type I, with people living in natural surroundings. The Earth was clean and green, with healthier air, water and sunlight. The architecture fit into the environment, and art took on more of an expression of a harmonic imitation of Nature.

Housing for a rather sparse population was clustered in small planned family-based communities, with some advanced technology present, but not predominant as in the Type I future. The life pursuits dealt with being caretakers of the land, and mastering healing arts, with emphasis on self growth, spirituality and developing telepathic powers. Lifespans were observed in the 75 to 92 years range.

All in all, incarnations into this scenario had feelings of wholeness, enlightenment, peace and serenity, though a few also felt a sense of loneliness from the lack of the number of people present.

Type III for 2100 had more of an affinity to Type I, only more Earthbound. It possessed high-tech cities and mechanized farms protected by bubble domes or were built underground, to guard its inhabitants against the poisoned atmosphere and toxic regions of the planet—an unresolved legacy from the twentieth century. Because even the best protection proved inadequate, lifespans for Type III rarely went over 44 years.

Type IV returned to a more natural setting like Type II, only on a far more primitive level, solely based on agriculture. Dwellings were simple wood frame structures, and technology was almost nonexistent, with the use of horses, wagons, kerosene lamps—a throwback to the old West or present Amish way of living.

There were reports of destroyed areas nearby, suggesting that the Type IV scenario was a post-cataclysmic survivalist world. The scenario evoked some happiness, but also boredom and depression.

Type V, which had by far the least number of cases reporting its existence, saw the Earth mostly reduced to chaos, with people roaming the rubble of destroyed cities searching for canned food, and living in underground drains and sewers. The atmosphere and water were heavily polluted, with little life existing anywhere. Participants found the lifestyle to be violent, barbaric and depressing.

While in some progressions there were instances reported that Type I and Type III futures existed simultaneously, and even Type I and Type II, it is clear that it would not be possible for all the Types to co-exist, because some of their basic descriptions of planetary conditions are so radically different. The various Types represent, for the most part, distinctly separate tracks of potentiality, only one (or possibly two) of which will manifest by 2100.

When participants moved ahead 200 years, and projected each of the future Types forward from 2100 to 2300, the researchers discovered an evolutionary process underway. The space colonies of Type I become more livable and fulfilling, Type III and Type IV showed signs of developing into Type II, and Type V became almost nonexistent.

By 2500, Type II becomes the predominant scenario, with even the space colonies learning how to be technological yet be in harmony with the Universe, as well as accepting spiritual principles as the basis of their lifestyle. The general consensus is that by 2500 existence has become idyllic, rewarding, comfortable and joyous, with lifespans approaching 400 years. A true Golden Age will be in full swing for all scenarios.

One ominous note, however, in Wambach’s and Snow’s research findings lies in the question of how we get from here to there, or what are the potentials in the pre-2100 era—more specifically, for the rest of the twenty-first century in which we are all now living.

In doing both future and present life progressions into the immediate future, some disturbing forecasts emerged. According to the worst case scenarios, between now the toward the middle and late decades of the present century, there will be the possibility of upward spiraling food prices, economic failures, global political crises and wars, and a rise in planetary seismic and volcanic activity, as well as the ever-growing looming problem of global warming. We appear to be on the threshold of potential major world-wide sudden, even violent changes that will sweep away today’s civilization, and initiate the birthing of Type I, II, III, IV or V futures, beginning by 2100.

However, some participants have foreseen other more positive scenarios for our near future, though the choice of time tracks is fast diminishing. The longer we wait to truly change ourselves and thus begin to change the planet and humanity, the less likely our transition into the end of the century will be anything but intense.

As Dr. Wambach concluded:

“If we are continually shaping our future physical reality by today’s collective thoughts and actions, then the time to wake up to the alternatives we have created is NOW. Which do we want for ourselves? Which do we want for our grandchildren?”

Revelations from Future Life Progressions

Here is an outline of the collectively agreed upon aspects about the future Dr. Bruce Goldberg’s patients have foreseen in their future lives:

Toward the end of the 21st Century—

*World peace, to last 300 years
*Stabilizing of Earth’s crust, an end of possible Earth changes
*Cities self-sufficient and containing their own farms
*Future alternative: Cities built underground, due to threat of nuclear war
*Clothing color-coordinated to designate social function
*Passive computer operation of all aspects of life
*Transfer of consciousness from one body to another
*Mental telepathy commonplace
*Short distance transport by moving walkways
*Fusion nuclear power in operation, less impact on the environment
*Future alternative: Still global pollution to deal with, attempts to reduce
*Anxieties of daily life still present, but more manageable

22nd Century—

*Solar power part of everyday life
*Lifespans increased to 90 years average
*Great advances in medical and psychological sciences

23rd Century—

*Silent transportation, no cars, only subways and moving walkways
*Fusion nuclear power made far more efficient, now commonplace
*Super computers and advanced electronics, metallurgy
*Lifespan average 110 years
*Molecular reassembly used for long-distance transportation
*Complete biological and mechanical integration, some people are half-human and half-machine
*No more pollution, clean air
*Ability to induce earthquakes, make adjustments in planetary crust
*Individual psychological self-adjustment, no anxieties
*Each person’s life experiences and wisdom recorded on discs, later to be accessed by others
*Western Federation of Nations—the Americas, Europe, Africa and Middle East—in peaceful cooperation with the Eastern Alliance—Asia and the Pacific

24th Century—

*Asteroid mining
*First communications with extraterrestrials
*Nuclear waste dumping in space
*World united into League of One
*Future alternative: Small-scale nuclear war, world population reduced
*Future alternative: More Earth changes, lifespan average falls back to 100 years

25th Century—

*Global weather control
*Use of androids to do all labor *Very advanced medical research
*Future alternative: Major nuclear war, major Earth changes, population greatly reduced, afterwards new locations built with new names

26th Century—

*Use of colors to affect moods
*Information pills
*Test-tube babies commonplace, advanced genetic engineering
*Laser use in medicine commonplace
*Average lifespan increased to 125 years
*World population kept under a billion
*One world government
*Advanced weather control, Earth is terra-formed *Spaceports commonplace, use of matter transfer for transport commonplace
*Priority given to interplanetary travel
*Future alternative: Food shortages, creation of new food groups, still problems with radiation from past wars, past radioactive waste dumping

27th Century—

*Lifespan average 150 years
*Cities under glass-like steel domes and invisible shields
*Sleep learning commonplace
*Group astral travel, study on other worlds and dimensions
*Human teachers help in evolution of less developed civilizations on other planets

36th Century—

*Average lifespan over 300 years
*Space colonization as far out as the Andromeda galaxy
*Out-of-body experiences commonplace
*Special minds become “keepers of knowledge,” living Halls of Records others may tap into
*Death an easy transition from physical body into pure Light
*Spirit guides’ presence felt and seen is commonplace

Esoteric-Occult Glimpses of the Future

As given in the Book of Enoch, the duration of the Present World was to be a Sabbath of Millenniums, with the Seventh Millennium to be a Thousand Years of Peace and Rest. In the traditional Jewish calendar our year 2000 was their year 5761 A.M. (Year of the World). Therefore, the year 6001 A.M. and the advent of the Sabbath Millennium will not officially come until the year A.D. 2240.

In more recent times, a revival of cyclic concepts was promulgated by such occultists as Helena Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner and Alice Bailey, in their attempts to define humankind’s past, present and future karmic development through the successive history of peoples, cultures and civilizations. The German mystic Rudolf Steiner, who died in 1925, saw present humanity being in the Sixth Post-Atlantean Epoch, now about to enter a Jupiter cycle, during which higher states of consciousness and communications with heavenly beings will be made possible.

In similar terms Thomas Burgoyne, a last turn-of-the-century student of Hermetic and Kabbalistic wisdom, determined that the Earth is presently under the guidance of the Archangel Michael whose key work is “Power” until A.D. 2188, after which the planet will pass to the guardianship of the Archangel Anael with the key words “Love” and “Beauty” until A.D. 2497. Beyond will come Raphael (“Splendor, Intelligence,” A.D. 2497 to 2806) and finally Gabriel (“Foundation, Fecundity,” A.D. 2806 to 3114). Yet humanity will not be attaining its true spiritual perfection until A.D. 3700.

Without a doubt the most ardent esoteric cyclicist was Alice A. Bailey, who between 1919 and 1949 wrote nineteen volumes expounding on humanity’s spiritual evolution. According to her teachings, the modern nation of the United States epitomizes a specific point in time, defined as Solar System 2, Earth Chain 2, Globe 4, Root Race 5, Subrace 6. Gleaning information from her writings, modern students of Bailey foresee (as part of this cycle and the one following) increasing materialism causing problems in the world passed the beginning of the 21st century, the reincarnation of Confucius soon after 2000, the creation of a World Federation of Nations by 2025, the development of revolutionary new forms of energy by 2050, a universal Pentacost to enter the globe by 2100, and the final stage of the spiritual return of the Christ by 2245.

Hindu tradition from ancient India has a long memory of former ages and forgotten prehistoric cycles of the past, as well as the continuation of these cycles far into the future yet to come. The Kala-Chakra or Wheel of Time is divided into Maha Yugas or Great Cycles, also called Chatur Yugas or the Fourfold Cycles. Each begins with the Satya or Krita Yuga, known as the Age of Truth, the Age of Light, the Golden Age, the Period of the Superconscious State of Mind. According to traditional Hindu time-count, the Satya Yuga lasts for 1,728,000 years during which humanity possesses great spiritual and psychic powers, and is in constant touch with the entities of the higher worlds. The Age is characterized by righteousness, meditation, sublime deeds, self-realization and goodness.

Next follows the Treta Yuga lasting 1,296,000 years, designated as the Period of the Intuitive State of Mind. Its focus for humanity is on religious ceremonies and rites of sacrifice, good speech, good conduct, zealousness, reverence, sincerity, respect, knowledge, invention and intuitiveness. But then also begins an increase in physical and emotional sufferings, unhappiness and misery.

Succeeding this comes the advent of Dwapara Yuga, covering 864,000 years and dominated by the Intellectual State of Mind. Its positive points include penance, charity, hospitality, humility, valiance, courage, learning, teaching, worship, the beginnings of science and technology. But on the downside also comes sickness, disease, plague, addictions, suffering from uncontrolled desires, lying, cheating and the beginnings of warfare.

Finally arrives the Kali Yuga, the Dark Age, stretching for 432,000 years, a Period of the Instinctive State of Mind. It is synonymous with excessive emphasis on sensual materialism, sexual obsessions, falsehood, hypocrisy, ridicule, superstition, lust, dishonesty, wickedness, ignorance, social domineering and absolute rulership.

Hindu records indicate that the present Kali Yuga began in 3102 B.C.E., and when it finally ends amid the destruction of everything, then will come a return to Divine Truth and Light, and another dawning of a Satya Yuga will start the Wheel of Time all over again.

More modern Hindu teachings, such as those of nineteenth century Sri Yukteswar, who was the teacher for Paramahansa Yogananda, have reinterpreted the time lengths of the Yugas and their sequence, because it is now believed that the whole process of the collective spiritual evolution of humanity has been speeded up.

Sri Yukteswar calculated that the last Kali Yuga began circa A.D. 500 and lasted 1,200 years until about A.D. 1700, when we entered an upward cycle of Dwapara Yuga. This will last for 2,400 years ending in A.D. 4100, at which point a Treta Yuga will commence, reaching 3,600 years until A.D. 7700. Then will come a new Satya Yuga for a period of 4,800 years, until circa A.D. 12,500.

These new calculations coincide more closely with what is recognized in the West as the Precession of the Equinoxes, the astronomical phenomena by which the Sun appears to move slowly backward through the Zodiacal signs at each Spring Equinoctial sunrise. The full period of a Precession is 25,290 years or very close to twice a Maha Yuga time count.

This reconciliation between the two Grand Cycles adds credence to the astrological interpretation of the Precession, which sees the Sun’s gradual journey through the Zodiac as designating Twelve Great Ages in the past and future history of humanity. It takes the solar body approximately 2,150 years to pass through each Zodiacal sign, and the claim is made that during each two millennia period the characteristics of that sign have had a general influence upon the course of global events.

Today we stand on the threshold of the transition between the solar Ages of Pisces and Aquarius. True to the Aquarian character, we are just starting to move away from collective religion and into individual enlightenment and personal freedom. This period will last through to A.D. 4100—which will also coincide with the dawning of the next Hindu Tetra Yuga.

In the millennia yet to come, the sun will move through Capricorn (A.D. 4100 to 6300), Sagittarius (A.D. 6300 to 8500), Scorpio (A.D. 8500 to 10,700) and Libra (A.D. 10,700 to 19,900). Each of these are prophesied to offer evolving humanity their own lessons and growth potentials.

Finally, by the time the Sun again enters Virgo, between A.D. 12,900 and 15,100, the Earth’s polar alignment with the stars will have shifted so that the North Pole will no longer be pointing at Polaris but instead will aim toward Vega. Then the Cycle of Zodiacal Precession will repeat itself, offering new challenges and opportunities of spiritual fulfillment a little farther along the Upward Spiral Path.

Concurrent with the birth and death of the different Ages are reincarnating personalities who act as Guides and have or will perform certain spiritual deeds on behalf of humanity. These Avatars include:

Sanja, the wife of the Sun, symbolized the energies of Virgo and the prehistoric matriarchal role

The Age of Leo was ruled over by the hero Rama, whose empire and exploits of twelve thousand years ago were chronicled in the great Hindu epic, Ramayana

Yama, as the Lord of Death, personified the Age of Cancer in its negative expression

Gemini was represented by Vivasvan the Sun in balance with Chhaya the Shadow, the Twins of Light and Dark

The Age of Krishna and the story of the Mahabharata took place during Taurus

Indra, as Lord of Lightning and Thunder, was the Avatar for the Age of Aries

In today’s Piscean Age, Shiva’s son Guha, also known as the Hidden and Concealed One, symbolizes the predominance of the Collective Shadow Self of humanity at work in the world

Kalki or Javada will be the Avatar of the Aquarian Age now dawning, and many Hindu devotees await his imminent appearance

The coming Great Teacher for the Age of Capricorn will be Kubera, the Avatar of Wealth. He will possess the Nine Gem Treasures, and will build his etheric capital city—the description of which is remarkably similar to the apostle John’s vision of the New Jerusalem—atop sacred Mount Kailas.

The son of Kubera, Skanda, will be the next Avatar for the Age of Sagittarius. His capital will be associated with mystical Mount Meru, the Center of the World, and will be built by Visvakarma, the Architect of the Gods. According to the Kumara Khanda, the coming Avatar will deal with a sacrificial Cosmic Goat (part of the Capricorn symbolism, and related to the Hebrew Azazel) which will wreak havoc throughout the Universe. Skanda will ride it and tame it.

The Avatar Kumara, will rule Libra as the Child who will confront Taraka, the King of the evil Asura-Demons, and will fight a final battle to defeat both Fear and Death.

Kertikeya shall also come, who rides a Peacock and in the distant Age of Scorpio will be the Destroyer of Time. He will also declare the Cosmic Goat as having been thoroughly Transmuted, so that its Sacrifice will not be necessary. After the passing of Kertikeya, Sanja will return yet again, inaugurating a new Age of Virgo, and beginning the whole process over again in another Grand Cycle of the Spirit and the Stars.

Stephen Hawking’s Warning that Humanity Needs to Colonize Space

“The long-term survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet. Sooner or later, disasters such as an asteroid collision or nuclear war could wipe us all out. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. There isn’t anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star.

“It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species. Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers we have not yet thought of. We won’t find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system.”

NASA’s Proposed Milestones in the Colonization of Space, 2010–3000

*By 2010—Development of a more efficient ground-to-orbit vehicle for transport of both personnel and supplies into orbit.

*By 2020—Large space stations placed in Earth orbit, built by corporations or privately funded, for both gravity-free manufacturing and permanent housing.

*By 2030—Multi-national cooperative efforts to thoroughly explore the Moon by means of robotic vehicles

*By 2030—Return of manned missions to the Moon with the goal of establishing one or more lunar bases.

*By 2040—Continued focused exploration of Mars with robotic vehicles in preparation for manned expeditions.

*By 2050—Space docks built in Earth orbit for the construction of large spacecraft designed for voyages to the Moon and Mars.

*By 2080—Expansion of lunar bases into permanent colonies, complete with underground or covered manufacturing and terra-forming, with the goal of becoming self-sufficient.

*By 2100—Robotic exploration and mining of the asteroids, and the return of their resources to the Earth and Moon.

*By 2100—Manned landing on Mars with the goal of establishing permanent colony bases.

*Before 2200—Robotic exploration of all the planets and their moons within our solar system, with the goal of finding extraterrestrial forms of life and locations with the least obstacles for establishing colony bases.

*Before 2200—Expansion of colonies across the Martian terrain to such an extent that an attempt can be made to terra-form the entire planet.

*Before 2300—Permanent manned bases established either on the surfaces or in orbiting stations around Venus, Mercury, all the major asteroids, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its moons, Uranus and Neptune and their moons, Pluto and Sedna.

*Before 2300—Construction of a system of solar collectors around the Sun within the orbit of Mercury which converts solar energy into microwave energy, then transmits it across the entire solar system to relay stations that reconvert the microwaves into usable energy, to power the bases and colonies on all the planets and moons.

*Before 2300—Focused development of interstellar drives for attaining escape velocity speeds beyond our solar system.

*Before 2300—Building and launching of interstellar robotic vehicles toward the nearest star systems, especially those which possess planets to explore, in the search for life, intelligent life, and potential places to colonize.

*Before 2300—Focused development of near-light speed drives in preparation for manned missions to the nearby stars which can be reached and returned from within a single lifetime.

*Before 2400—Construction and launching of great space platforms with near-light drives that will carry whole populations of colonists to nearby star systems with habitable planets.

*Before 2500—Establishment of permanent independent colonies on other star system planets, and the development of their own facilities for building and launching space platforms to neighboring star systems farther out.

*Before 2500—Focused development of warp or tachyon (faster-than-light) drives, wormhole opening technology, or other drives and techniques not yet discovered for shortening space-time distances across the vastness of space.

*Before 3000—Application of the new drives and techniques for the construction of hyper-drive or hyper-dimensional travel vehicles for exploring and colonizing the rest of our Galaxy and reaching out toward neighboring galaxies.

The Great Frontier that Stretches Ahead

Humanity has come a long way in just a short time, yet we have a far greater future challenge before us, one that once we arive there will make what we are experiencing now seem as if we are only a fetus in a womb still waiting to be born.

Just five hundred years ago half the people of our planet did not know the other half existed. Only half a millennium ago, whether the Sun or the Earth is at the center of the solar system was still being hotly debated. Not quite two centuries ago came steam power and electricity. A century ago human flight was achieved, and a little more than half a century later we walked on the Moon. Humanity somehow survived the terrible world wars of the twentieth century, and if we can manage to live through the onslaught of disastrous ecological and climatic reactions to what our industrial follies have wrought upon our planet, then we will be more than ready to take the momentous leap into the rest of the Universe that awaits our coming. If we can successfully meet the challenge of surviving on our own world—inspite of ourselves—then all that we will have endured will be only a preparation for survival on other worlds.

As far as space itelf extends into the beyond, so extends the future possibilities of human existence out in space. This is where we truly belong. Our lessons of being able to subsist on Earth and co-exist with each other is our ticket to the cosmos. We have only very recently discovered that not only are there other planets circling other stars, but that quite a number of these are habitable and could support life. Even in our own solar system, in the somewhat hostile environments of neighboring orbs and moons the possibility that life may exist even here is very real. All these solar and extra-solar globes are our potential homes of the future. The Earth is merely a seedpod waiting to burst open, the life it has long nurtured and developed now ready to be borne adrift upon galactic winds, to find its fruition in alien soils radiated by new suns.

How far will humanity travel? The vastness of space knows no limits. After the local planets are colonized, the next step will be to reach out to the nearest stars. Once their worlds are settled, the leapfrog process will continue on throughout the billions of stars in our Galaxy. Beyond are more Galaxies still, and Galactic Clusters farther out than the best telescopes today can see.

Each world colonized will offer its own challenges and rewards. New sciences and technologies, as well as new forms of art, music and human expressions will be tempered and shaped by the alien landscapes we will discover. To those who remain Earthbound, such new ideas, knowledge and forms may not be understandable at all—but they will still be very human. Even humanity itself, over the course of many ages of habitation in extraterrestrial environments, may undergo evolutionary changes unimaginable.

Because of the vastness of space, and the long periods of time it will take communications to travel such great distances, we will no doubt lose track of all the many streams of star explorers and settlers journeying into the depths. They in turn will very likely forget about us, about their own origins. They will pursue their guiding stars with no connection or memory of the past.

Like in our nursery back on Earth, whole civilizations may rise and fall, great empires will hold sway then collapse, vast economic enterprises will make their riches and descend into ruin, and wonderful new philosophies and spiritual ideas will be born and flourish before being replaced by those more profound yet.

Making the Universe an even more interesting and provocative place to live in, there is the very real possibility that we are not alone as an intelligent and creative force. What oceans on other worlds far away have spawned life that has evolved along different paths than our own and have birthed societies and technologies beyond our imaginations? How will humanity encounter them and they encounter us?

Taking this a step further, opening up the frontiers of space will inevitably lead to the opening up of other dimensions of space and time. And what forms of intelligent life and creativity will we discover inhabiting such inter-dimensional realms? Will they be the same beings that we have always known from our ancient myths and legends? Or have we been the beings of their myths and legends, with our collective dreams having been our common meeting place?

There is too the very intriguing question, have we done all this before? As human explorers land on the far-flung worlds of distant star systems, will we find traces of our having already been there, the remnants of forgotten advanced prehistoric human civilizations who journeyed along the same paths of exploration in unknown ages long gone? Is our future only a repeat, a déj� vu of our past? And if it is, how far out we will make it this time around?

Long after our Sun slowly turns into an expanding red giant, the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans boil away, and the Earth itself is absorbed into the solar body in a final conflagration, humanity will have been living and thriving elsewhere, in one form or another for millions of years. In this way humanity will attain its eternal moment, in a future without end.

Death by Frying—Supernovas, Gamma-ray Bursts and Colliding Stars

Every year approximately two hundred supernovas are detected throughout the visible universe, distant stars which for reasons astrophysicists still puzzle over will suddenly explode in fiery self-destruction. Usuallly such distant mega-catastrophes are so far away that they appear in our telescopes only as faint bursts of light. But at times the cosmic detonations are bright enough—and uncomfortably close enough—to be noticed as a brilliant flash in the night sky. Such was the case of SN 1987A, the first Super Nova or 1987, on February 23rd, which was the brightest such event seen since 1604. It occurred 163,000 light-years away in the Large Magellan Cloud right next door to our Milky Way Galaxy. The blast was so powerful that it instantly brightened by 5,000-fold, and in the decades following astronomers have been able to continuously observe the explosion’s rings of glowing gases and further disintegration of its central core in some detail. One of its rings has already expanded 1,300 light-years’ distance, and will soon threaten neighboring star systems.

What has amazed experts is that this distant star was not a red giant, an “old” star which scientists had previously thought was the only type which could suffer such a luminous demise. Instead, it was discoveed to have been a smaller, younger blue star. The implications are that supernovas are far more common in the universe, and that they can happen to any type of star body—even our middle-aged yellow Sun. Of greatest concern is if such a titanic detonation were to occur among any of the dozen stars that are only a few light-years away from us. The initial massive radiation burst, followed by the rapidly expanding rings of flaming gases, would quickly engulf our entire solar system. The effects on the Earth would be totally devastating—the atmosphere blown off into space, the oceans boiled away, and all life would certainly die.

Another concern is that one such supernova can trigger others over a relatively small area. In 1962, science writer Arthur C. Clarke observed:

“According to Norton’s Star Atlas, there has been twenty fairly bright novae between 1899 and 1936. No less than five of these have been in one small area of the sky, in the constellation Aquila. There were two in a single year (1936) and Nobva Aquila 1918 was the brightest ever recorded (up to that time). What’s going on in this constellation? Why did 25 percent of the novae in a forty-year period appear in only one-quarter of one percent of the sky? And is the front line moving in our direction?”

Since this was written, another strange oddity has been discovered in Aquila, an object designated as SS 433. It appears to be a star continuously ejecting in opposite directions two narrow jets of gas that are escaping at an incredible speed of one-quarter the velocity of light—hundreds of times faster than anything else in the Galaxy—and with an output more than a million times the energy of our Sun. Is this highly unusual object triggering the explosions occurring in nearby stars? And could the effects reach our star system as well?

As potentially destructive as supernovas are, they pale into insignificance when compared to another type of cosmic cataclysm called a gamma-ray burst. On December 14, 1997 the most powerful such burst ever recorded was detected by a number of satellites and later designated as GRB 971214. It lasted a full minute and during most of the event its energy output was equivalent to five thousand supernovas. At its peak, however, lasting for one second, the burst had the luminous energy equaling the rest of our universe combined.

Today’s astrophysicists are still at a complete loss of what a gamma-ray burst really is or what causes it, because present-existing models of the universe cannot account for such happenings. They appear to be very rare events, yet such incomprehensibly larger radiation outpourings if they occurred close to Earth would have devastating if not fatal consequences. In fact, more than one paleontologist has voiced their opinion that gamma-ray bursts in the distant past may have been responsible for several massive extinctions preserved in the fossil record. As one example, nearly 450 million years ago, during the Permian Age, 95 percent of all life on our planet was suddenly and mysteriously wiped out. Many causes have been proposed, but only an Extinction Level Event like a gamma-ray burst supplies the best explanation. And if such a similar powerful phenomenon were to repeat itself in our day, we could face a similar fate.

Adding to the grim possibilities of a future celestial catastrophe is the fact that, according to scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, no less than eight stars are on a near-colliison course with our Sun in the next million years. By “near-collision” they mean within five light-years or 24 trillion miles, which in our everyday terms may seem like quite a lot, but in astronomical terms—especially between objects as large and powerful as stars—is considered a close shave. In just ten thousand years a neighboring red dwarf named Bernard’s Star is scheduled to approach within four light-years (24 trillion miles). What concerns astrophysicists is that its proximity could gravitationally affect what is called the Oort Cloud, a mass of asteroidal and cometary objects which surrounds our solar system. The passing stellar body could pull these objects out of the Cloud, plunging them Sunward and filling our night skies with (at best) a fantastic light show of flaming meteors and luminous comets, or (at worst) potential cosmic bullets aimed at the Earth, resulting in the surface of our planet being roasted.

A passing star’s gravitational and energy effects might likewise disturb the orbital paths of our solar system’s planets and moons, or—more drastic yet—the star could become a permanent resident by becoming a binary companion with our Sun. This disruption would throw all system orbs into far more complex orbital patterns as they attempt to circle two suns instead of just one. For most planets these changes will not be that significant—unless they collide with one another in making their adjustments. But for the Earth, whose living inhabitants’ survival depends on a very specific “zone of life” in its distance from the Sun, any orbital alterations could prove disastrous. If for example we fell into an orbit that brought is closer to either sun that is equivalent to that of Mercury’s present path, then the surface of our planet would succumb to temperatures that could melt lead. Whatever the results, humanity would be left in dire straits in its attempt to remain alive.

Far Far Future—H.G. Wells on the Death of Earth and Sun

“The darkness grew apace. A cold wind began to blow in freshening gusts from the east, and the showering white flakes in the air increased in number. From the edge of the sea came a ripple and whisper. Beyond these lifeless sounds the world was silent. Silent! It would be hard to convey the stillness of it. All the sounds of man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects, the stir that makes the background of our lives—all that was over. As the darkness thickened, the eddying flakes grew more abundant, and the cold of the air more intense. At last, one by one, swiftly, one after the other, the white peaks of the distant hills vanished into blackness. The breeze rose to a moaning wind. I saw the black central shadow of the eclipse sweeping toward me. In another moment the pale stars alone were visible. All else was rayless obscurity. The sky was absolutely black.

“Then like a red hot bow in the sky appeared the edge of the sun. The sun, very large, halted motionless upon the horizon, a vast dome glowing with a dull heat, and now and then suffering a momentary extinction. It grew larger and duller in the westward sky and the life of the old earth ebbed away. At last, more than thirty million years hence, the huge red-hot dome of the sun had come to obscure nearly a tenth part of the darkling heavens.”

H.G. Wells on the Continuation of Human Life—Elsewhere

“It is possible to believe that all the past is but the beginning of a beginning, and that all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn. It is possible to believe that all the human mind has ever accomplished is but the dawn before the awakening. We are creatures of the twilight. But it is out of our race and lineage that all minds will spring, that will reach forward fearlessly to comprehend this future that defeats our eyes. All this world is heavy with the promise of greater things.”

Prophecy of Henri Bergson on Humanity and Cosmic Evolution

“Before the evolution of life, the portals of the future remain wide open.”

Teilhard de Chardin—The Last Divine Fire Before New Creation

“It is done. Once again the Fire has penetrated the earth. The flame has lit up the whole world from within. All things individually and collectively are penetrated and flooded by it, from the inmost core of the tiniest atom to the mighty sweep of the most universal laws of being. So naturally it has flooded every element, every energy, every connecting link in the unity of our cosmos, that one might suppose the cosmos to have burst spontaneously into flame.”

The Hindu Prophecy of Vishnu— A Vision of the Last Conflagration

“The deity shall drink all the waters on the planet and then shall dry the entire surface of the Earth. He will create seven suns that ignite the world, burning all the vegetation and creating a global desert. Everything is consumed by fire. Then colossal clouds pour down rain, killing the fires and creating one huge ocean. When the storms subside, the seas come to rest. Vishnu, too, comes to rest, in a long meditative sleep, from which he will awaken to continue the cycle, to recreate the world.”

The Ultimate Time-line—To the End of This Physical Universe

In 10,000 years — Local and nearby star system planets colonized, first migration to distant stars
In 100,000 years — New Ice Age begins, Earth-bound human civilization severely reduced
In 500,000 years — New Ice Age covers three-quarters of planet before receding
In one million years — Remaining humanity vacates Earth, our Galaxy inhabited in all quadrants
In 1.5 million years — Migrations to local and distant Galaxies, new forms of humanity emerge
In 2 million years — Multi-dimensional forms of humanity begin populating other Universes
In 40 million years — Australia rams Asia, Africa rams Europe, South America an island continent
In 50 million years — Evolved temperate and tropical mammals, birds are the predominant life
In 200 million years — Supercontinent Pangaea Ultima forms
In 300 million years — Mammals, birds extinct. Mollusks invade land as the new predominant life
In 500 million years —Our Sun begins to expand into a red giant
In 750 million years —Our Galaxy absorbs the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy
In 900 million years — All plant life on Earth dies due to solar expansion
In 1.5 billion years — Earth’s oceans boil away
In 2 billion years — Earth’s orbit becomes unstable, plunges into red giant Sun
In 3 billion years — Our Galaxy merges with the Andromeda Galaxy
In 7 billion years — Our Sun is at maximum red giant expansion, Jupiter new first planet
In 7.5 billion years — Our Sun begins to shrink into a white dwarf
In 10 billion years — Our double Galaxy absorbs the neighboring Magellanic Clouds
In 12.5 billion years — Europa, Titan and other outer moons support life and civilization
In 60 billion years — Our Sun becomes a brown dwarf, the solar system dies amid freezing
In 1 trillion years — Most stars begin to burn out, remaining life transferred into other Universes
In 1 octillion years —Most galaxies are dissolving
In 1 nonillion years — Remaining super massive black holes merge
In 1 quadrillion years — All protons and neutrons decay
In 1 vigintillion years — All super massive black holes evaporate, death of the present Universe

[Copyright 2009. Joseph Robert Jochmans. All Rights Reserved.]