Somewhere Beyond the Sun
The Universe is incomprehensible in its vastness.
We may feel like masters of the world erecting a grand edifice of order and civilization against the savage unknown of primordial Nature, but those at the forefront of human knowledge are privy to the true nature of our position. Our civilization and its works are less like mighty fortresses and more like the strands of a spider’s web suspended over an abyss - fragile, effervescent, and all too prone to disruption.
From the hordes of dimly-lit planetoids at the margins of our own backyard to the faint smudges of galaxies billions of light-years away, the darkness of the unknown still hides much from the prying eyes of Humanity. As we make grand strides in our understanding of the vastness beyond the mote of dust we call home, we find ourselves confronted by innumerable mysteries barred from up-close examination by uncountable lengths of freezing, radioactive void. Even once we achieve dominance over the laws of nature and dare to step out into that vastness, over 90% of the Universe will forever be unreachable - the possibility of seeing and knowing itself locked away by the tyranny of faster-than-light expansion.
So what may lie in the infinite darkness? What untold wonders and horrors might our descendants one day stumble across as they make their first tentative steps beyond home?
Our observations of the wider universe permit at least a glimpse into what may be, with which we may imagine those myriad worlds it hides from us. Fantasies of alien civilizations and grand intergalactic explorers might forever remain in the realm of fantasy. but our explorations of even the squarely impossible may still inform us to the limits of the possible.
Welcome to Horizon. We hope you enjoy your stay.
