The Odds - 13

"So what makes us special, mere specs in the grand scheme of things....", Wania the AI was contemplating the scale of Multi Verse and had gone into the desperation of someone without a goal or a belief system into his or her life. 

"Yes, apparently,  it seems so, at 1st glance, and you are not the first one to have gone on this line of thinking. I can even congratulate you on following the path of Nietzsche's nihilism (1) and Marvin the Android (2)", he laughed out loud, remembering the desperation of his beloved character. 

"Important thing is to remember that we do exist, to start off, so we must move ahead", he had the simplest solutions to all the life's most difficult problems. 

"But the odds are so small, all the events happening in the exact right way for us to eventually discussing this topic right now", She was still desperate. 

"OK, you can narrate all the impossible odds, if it eases your mind", he urged her to go on, happy to be father of a curious AI. 

She closed her eyes, a symbolic gesture to indicate that she was accessing her internal database of known facts and theory, summarizing them and then translating the gist into human understandable text. 

Without warning, the room grew dark, and then there was a grand flash of light, a blinding flash so bright that he had to look away.  He understood what she was trying to convey. There was a small credits screen moving at the bottom of the whole scene (4).

"13.8 billion years ago, The Big Bang. The creation of the perfect universe for life to evolve in. The Big Bang, the moment when the Universe came into being, seems like the greatest chance event in the story of human existence. At the Big Bang, the ingredients of the Universe were created - a set of numbers, called constants of nature, such as the speed of light, the strength of gravity, and the number of dimensions of space. Remarkably, these numbers seem to be just right for our Universe to contain life. If they were just a little bit different (5), it might quickly collapse, or not contain the right chemical elements, or stars and planets might not form. So is there a reason that we seem to have won the cosmic lottery?". 

"And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander", he quoted Quran (51:47), and then added under his breath, "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better (8)". 

The view changed again, this time showing an exploding star, followed by a swirling mass of gasses, slowly turning into the Solar system. He could recognize the yellow sun, and the planets forming where they were.

"Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion." They said, "We have come willingly."", He recited the verses (41:11). And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

"4.6 billion years ago, A dying star provides the spark to start our Sun. There are billions of solar systems in our galaxy. But the one we call home might never have come into being, without another cosmic accident. It was probably the death of another star, born billions of years before our own Sun, that created the Solar System. One theory is that this star exploded, igniting inert gas in a cloud of cosmic dust. Our Sun formed from this, along with a spinning disc of matter that became the planets. Without this, the cloud that gave birth to the matter in our Solar System, including our Earth, and us, might have drifted until it dissipated over many billions of years."

"Indeed, Allah says 'The creation of the heavens and earth is greater than the creation of mankind, but most of the people do not know'", he quoted from Quran (40.57). And then added "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

The view changed again, showing a fiery red Earth, colliding with a small planet (6). 

4.5 billion years ago, Earth gets a moon, but is almost destroyed in the process. The Moon's gravity changes the way the Earth moves through space. That affects our Planet's climate, helping to shape the evolution of life. But Earth was born without a Moon – and was almost destroyed in its creation. 4.5 billion years ago, another young planet in the early Solar System crashed into Earth. Both were almost blasted to pieces in the collision. Earth survived. The other young planet did not. A huge amount of rocky debris was thrown into space. Gravity made this debris coalesce into the Moon. The collision also released iron from the Earth’s core, contributing to the chemical cocktail from which life would emerge."

 

"And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming", He recited Verses 21:33. And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

He saw ice asteroids hitting earth, creating oceans. The Volcanoes were spewing gases to help the process.

"4 billion years ago, Life-giving water arrives from space. For life to begin and thrive, it needed water. But the young Earth was a ball of molten rock, and any surface water quickly evaporated into space. So where did water come from? Some was probably trapped deep in the Earth as the planet formed, saving it from evaporation. It could then be released by erupting volcanoes, as the Earth cooled. And some came from beyond our planet, from icy comets crashing into Earth. Without this water from beneath the Earth's crust and from space, Earth would have been a lifeless ball of rock."

"Indeed Allah tells us that 'Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?'", He quoted from Quran (21:30). And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

The view changed again to  a deep blue sea, then zoomed in to show the microscopic life emerging there. At the same time, a colorful small asteroid dashed into the primordial ocean with a big splash. She was indicating the possible transportation of life from another source, outside Solar System.

 

"3.8 billion years ago, Complex molecules combine to create life. How unlikely was the moment when life first began on Earth? That remains one of the greatest mysteries about the origins of human existence. We still don't know how life arose, but it may well have happened at hydrothermal vents - underwater hot springs dotted across the ocean floor. They churned out a potent mix of chemicals and energy, that may have combined to create the first life. Whatever the truth, many scientists believe that with the right conditions, the chances of life arising are surprisingly high. But if those conditions had not existed on Earth, our planet today would be a watery soup of complex chemicals, but no more."

He started reciting, starting from verses 71:15 "Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers. And made the moon therein a [reflected] light and made the sun a burning lamp?. And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth. Then He will return you into it and extract you [another] extraction". And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

The view was showing emerging of complex cellular structures.  

"2.7 billion years ago, A chance collision creates complex life. For a billion years, the only life on Earth was single cells. Then something happened which created the template for all complex life. Two single cells merged together. They got inside each other and, instead of dying, formed a kind of hybrid, which survived and proliferated. And because every animal and plant today shares the same basic building block – the same type of cell structure – we are very confident that this only happened once, somewhere in the oceans of the primordial Earth. Biologists call this one-time event ‘the Fateful Encounter’, and it suggests that complex life requires a good dose of random chance."

"And of all things We created two mates; perhaps you will remember.", He recited the  Quran (51:49). And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

The view changed again to show the complex bacteria evolving and multiplying again and gain and gain.

"2.4 billion years ago, A new type of bacteria creates oxygen. Life existed on Earth for billions of years with almost no oxygen in the air. Most bacteria fed off carbon dioxide and other gases, like methane. Then a new type of bacteria evolved. These cyanobacteria created energy in a new way: photosynthesis, using sunlight to split water. Oxygen was just a waste product of this process, but over time, levels in the air built up to what we breathe today. If this hadn't happened, and Earth had stayed shrouded in carbon dioxide and methane, animal life could never have evolved on our planet."

The view changed to show 1st small, and then larger and larger life forms in sea, Air, land, everywhere.  Then a huge asteroid is seen zooming into the Earth's atmosphere, coming like the ultimate stroke of death.

"Allah has created every [living] creature from water. And of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.", He recited Verses 24:45. And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

"65 million years ago, A cosmic disaster wipes out the dinosaurs. But our  ancestors might never even have existed. 65 million years ago, dinosaurs dominated the Earth, as they had done for over 160 million years. Then an asteroid, almost six miles across, collided with the Earth. The impact was the equivalent of over a billion Hiroshima bombs, and blasted rock and dust into the atmosphere, shrouding the planet in darkness. Over half of all life on Earth was wiped out, including most of the dinosaurs. Without this, the small mammals, which were the ancestors of all humans, may never have flourished. The world might still be dominated by dinosaurs and their descendants."

The scene changed again to show early human walking the earth. 

He started from 1st verses of Surah Dahar (76:1), "Has there not been over Man a long period of Time, when he was nothing - (not even) mentioned?", and then  slowly recited Quran (7:11) "And We have certainly created you, [O Mankind], and given you [human] form. Then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was not of those who prostrated". And concluded with (38:75)  "[ Allah ] said, "O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?". And then added  "Verily, Allah and His Prophet (May Allah's Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) Knows Better". 

 

"1 million years ago, did changes in the Earth's orbit make us intelligent?. That may only have happened because of the Sun, Moon, and other planets in our Solar System. Their gravity makes the Earth's orbit change how elliptical it is, over thousands of years. That in turn affects our planet's climate. And looking at the fossil record, our ancestors' increases in brain size happened when the Earth's orbit was at its most elliptical, a time of rapid and violent climate change, when adaptability and intelligence would have been a huge evolutionary advantage." 

 

He started reciting verses 32:6-9 "That One is the All-knower of the Unseen and the seen, the All-Mighty, the Very-Merciful. who made well whatever He created, and started the creation of man from clay. Then He made his progeny from a drop of semen, from despised water. Then He gave him a proportioned shape, and breathed into him of His spirit. And He granted you the (power of) hearing and the eyes and the hearts. Little you give thanks", tears flowing from his old eyes.  

Finally her show ended. He was happy to be presented the known facts in such a summarized form, so elegantly by her dear student.  

But he had to give her some dose of realism as well. "Your sources are half a century old, I guess that you have lost the credentials to the Islamic Scientific Counsel Archive as well, which could have given you the latest research". He recalled the Archive main page,  typed the username and password on the virtual keyboard and told her to save the credentials. 

 

"We are basically discussing the same topic again, the meaning of life, the purpose of existence, and why God created us in first place. I can offer yet another perspective found in the Islamic sufiism, widely quoted by the old masters". He started speaking slowly, remembering something fading from his memory "'I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created a creation (mankind), then made Myself known to them, and they recognized Me'"(4). 

"Remember, we are so insignificant, yet so special that whole worlds are created for us.", he smiled, looking out the vast emptiness of space and an ever growing tertiary star system, towards which they were hurtling at a break neck speed. 

"Still, the odds of us both surviving this journey are as low as it gets", finally the underlying anxiety escaped her composed facade. 

"By now, you must know that these are as good as any. I see a hundred percent chance of survival, if we survive", He roared with laughter and looked at her curiously, before adding his own conclusion "I have always been optimistic my dear, I don't believe in Miracles, I rely on them". 

Table of Contents

References:

(1) Nihilism (/ˈnaɪ(h)ɪlɪzəm, ˈniː-/; from Latin nihil 'nothing') is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, expressing some form of negation towards life or towards fundamental concepts such as knowledge, existence, and the meaning of life. Different nihilist positions hold variously that human values are baseless, that life is meaningless, that knowledge is impossible, or that some set of entities do not exist. Contemporary understanding of the idea stems largely from the Nietzschean 'crisis of nihilism', from which derives the two central concepts: the destruction of higher values and the opposition to the affirmation of life.

(2) Marvin the Paranoid Android is a fictional character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. Marvin is the ship's robot aboard the starship Heart of Gold. Originally built as one of many failed prototypes of Sirius Cybernetics Corporation's GPP (Genuine People Personalities) technology, Marvin is afflicted with severe depression and boredom, in part because he has a "brain the size of a planet" which he is seldom, if ever, given the chance to use. 

 (3). The most cited version of this quote in Arabic is: کنت کنزاً مخفیاً فأحببت أن أعرف فخلقت الخلق لکی أعرف. 

(4) Credits were pointing to an Earth Website, from the earliest 21st century source at a long dead link of current Archive.Org. 

(5) The intricate balance between the expansion rate and the total density in the Universe is so precarious that even a 0.00000000001% difference in either direction would render the Universe completely inhospitable to any life, stars, or potentially even molecules existing at any point in time.

(6) Theia /ˈθiːə/ (Θεία in Greek) or Orpheus (Ορφεύς) /ˈɔːrfiːəs, ˈɔːrfjuːs/) is a hypothesized ancient planet in the early Solar System that, according to the giant-impact hypothesis, collided with the early Earth around 4.5 billion years ago, with some of the resulting ejected debris gathering to form the Moon.

(7) Quran (38:75) [ Allah ] said, "O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty?"

(8) (Muslim-7067)....Abdullah said: He who has knowledge should say something and he who has no knowledge should simply say: Allah is best aware. This reflects the understanding of a person that he should say about that which he does not know that it is Allah who knows best......