As the scene of life would be more the cold emptiness of space

"As the scene of life would be more the cold emptiness of space than the warm, dense atmosphere of planets, the advantage of containing no organic material at all, so as to be independent of both these conditions, would be increasingly felt." These words, spoken by the insightful John Desmond Bernal, speak to the very essence of life’s relationship with the universe and the conditions that sustain it. Bernal’s insight points toward a future where humanity, freed from the fragile conditions of planetary life, might find a new kind of existence—one that thrives outside the bounds of organic material, in the cold void of space. His words urge us to rethink life, its dependence on the elements that sustain it, and the very nature of existence itself. In the vast emptiness of space, where the laws of nature work differently, perhaps the future will no longer depend on the organic forms we now understand, but on a new kind of life, independent of the conditions of planets.

In the ancient world, the early philosophers sought to understand the nature of life by observing the elements of the world around them. The Greeks, in particular, believed in a balance between the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire—as the basis for all life. To them, the conditions of the world—its climate, seasons, and environmental forces—shaped the human experience. They understood life as something intricately linked to the natural world, where humans were part of a larger, cyclical system of birth, death, and rebirth. Yet, even in their contemplation, they acknowledged the limits of their understanding. Heraclitus famously said, “You cannot step into the same river twice,” pointing to the ever-changing nature of existence. But what would it mean, as Bernal suggests, to exist beyond the need for these familiar organic conditions—beyond the four elements, beyond the atmosphere itself?

Bernal’s quote calls us to imagine a future where the very concept of life is transformed. For centuries, humanity has believed that life can only thrive where there is air, water, and organic material. Yet, as our understanding of space and science expands, we are beginning to see that this might not be the case. Imagine a life that does not require the warmth of a planet, the atmosphere that shields us from the cold expanse of space, or even the organic structures that have defined living organisms for millennia. This new paradigm suggests that life, or a form of intelligence, might one day exist in the cold emptiness of space itself, freed from the limitations of biology and the organic matter that governs our world.

Consider the advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics—fields that are already beginning to challenge our traditional ideas of life. In a sense, the creations we build today may one day be the pioneers of this new form of existence that Bernal envisioned. The rover missions to Mars, for instance, send machines that operate without the need for human bodies to survive the harsh conditions of the planet’s surface. These machines, powered by energy rather than organic needs, show that it is possible to exist and function outside of biological constraints. The Twin Paradox of space travel, in which astronauts experience time differently due to their movement through space, further illustrates that time, like life, is not bound by the rules of a planet’s atmosphere. Bernal’s vision suggests that perhaps humanity will one day evolve beyond biological forms to embrace a new kind of existence that requires no atmosphere, no organic material, and no planet to thrive.

To understand this concept more deeply, we must look to the history of human progress. The early explorers, like Christopher Columbus, did not know exactly what they would find when they sailed westward, but their curiosity and fearlessness led them to new lands and new possibilities. Similarly, Einstein's theory of relativity expanded our understanding of time, space, and the very nature of reality itself, challenging established ideas and paving the way for new discoveries. Just as Columbus crossed an unknown ocean, and Einstein journeyed beyond the limitations of classical physics, so too must we now step into the unknown of space—not just as explorers of new planets, but as pioneers of a new understanding of life, free from the constraints of organic material and planetary conditions.

Bernal’s insight speaks not only to the potential of the future, but to the very nature of human ambition. Humanity has always been driven by the desire to conquer the unknown. The greatest empires—from Alexander’s conquest of the East to Rome’s domination of the Mediterranean—were built upon the belief that there were no limits to human achievement. The same spirit that led Columbus to sail westward and Neil Armstrong to step onto the Moon now drives us to explore the final frontier: space. And just as the ancient explorers had no map to guide them, we too are faced with a vast, unexplored world where the rules of life as we know them do not apply. The question is no longer whether humanity can survive the harsh conditions of space, but what new forms of life we will create—forms that are independent of the organic material that has long defined us.

The lesson Bernal offers is one of transcendence and vision. As the world evolves, so too must our understanding of life. While the Earth may have once been the only stage upon which life could thrive, the future may offer new possibilities—where we, like the stars we reach for, are free from the boundaries that have always defined us. In your own life, let this vision inspire you to challenge the limits of what you think is possible. As the ancients did, embrace the unknown with courage and curiosity, knowing that the future is shaped not by what we know, but by what we are willing to explore. Like the stars themselves, our potential is vast, waiting to be discovered.