Anyone contemplating the vast universe may sometimes feel as if their mind's machine comes to a halt due to the intense effort of understanding it. In the same way, the mind that ponders the universe reaches stages that lead to the cessation of thought, as a result of the difficulty in grasping the nature of the universe and the reasons for its continuous expansion in such a strange way. The universe, with its infinite dimensions, contains millions of galaxies, and the majority of these galaxies have not yet been discovered. The size of our Earth, in relation to this universe, is similar to the size of a tennis ball when compared to the size of the sun, which is a great exaggeration in favor of the tennis ball.

Some scientists have attempted to find an entrance to understanding if there is a creator and designer of this universe, such as Stephen Hawking. He is the one who delved deep into the theory of the Big Bang. Despite the capabilities of his mind, which some compare to Einstein's, Hawking completely denied the existence of a creator for this giant universe, claiming that the Big Bang was responsible for everything. This is because his mind could not comprehend the power controlling the universe, unlike Einstein, who was a devout believer in the single engineer of the universe. Einstein was among the scientists who studied the universe thoroughly and based on that, established the foundations of the special and general theories of relativity. He was the first to predict the existence of gravitational waves surrounding celestial bodies in space.

What is important here is to study the origin of the universe to understand our existence on it. All studies on this topic rely on assumptions and predictions derived from the laws of cosmological physics. Scientists say that the age of the universe is about 14 billion years; some say it is precisely 13.7 billion years old, while others claim it is close to 15 billion years old. We find that the one million-year difference between these numbers is insignificant, as if it were just one minute compared to those enormous figures.

This infinitely small and infinitely large universe presents us with facts, lies, and sometimes myths and legends woven here and there. This is because the human mind is still incapable of comprehending even the smallest details of it. Many who have ventured into this field have inevitably stopped at matters that have become beyond the scope of their minds, attributing them to the unknown and being satisfied with that, without any explanation for their inability to justify it.

Among the questions that have not yet been answered is: Are we alone in this universe, or is there someone else sharing life with us? Especially when we talk about billions of galaxies scattered and embroidered throughout the universe, containing billions and billions of stars, quasars, and planets. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is just a modest one compared to others, with some containing a single star that rivals a quarter of the size of our galaxy. The matter can give you a headache, and you might ignore it because imagination here requires a lot of creativity! The situation is extremely complicated, sometimes very clear, and at the same time, extremely mysterious.

There is a saying by an astronomer named Arthur C. Clarke: "There are two possibilities: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." Indeed, both situations are terrifying. The mere thought of us being the only life in the universe is terrifying, as we would be alone amid an infinite number of galaxies surrounded by dark matter. On the other hand, if there are other life forms out there, it might be even more frightening. What if those creatures discovered us? Would they invade us and wipe out both human and animal life on our planet? Would we then see a movie like "Independence Day" become a reality and not just a Hollywood fantasy?

The theory of abiogenesis, which was a prevailing belief for a long time about the origin of life on Earth, claims that life began about 3.5 billion years ago, or about ten billion years after the Big Bang. That is, the Earth did not become suitable for life until after these years had passed. Oxygen formed, water accumulated on the planet, and nucleic acids began to interact, giving rise to animal and plant chains. All forms of life, or life aids, such as wind, rain, fire, volcanoes, etc., began to develop. Among all the creatures on this planet, humans were the only ones whose minds evolved, and they harnessed everything on Earth for their service and to sustain their existence.

However, this creature, who inherited the planet and vowed to preserve it, is found to be destroying it by himself and seeking its annihilation. Since the time when humans could be counted on the fingers of one hand, the first murder occurred, and afterward, hatred, plots, and wars emerged.

Anthropologists say that there has not been a century on Earth since the existence of humans where there have been no devastating wars that wiped out many people. In fact, there has never been a century of complete peace on Earth... This human being is the greatest destroyer of his planet, and perhaps he will succeed in exterminating his species before the arrival of other creatures. He might even destroy himself before the Earth becomes a cradle for other species to establish their colonies on the surface of the blue planet... The Mars rover Curiosity, which NASA sent to Mars in 2012, roamed the deserts and sands of Mars, sending studies and photos of the surface of the Red Planet back to Earth. 

Scientists and researchers found that there was once some form of life on Mars, which disappeared and extinguished millions of years ago. By studying the planet's terrain, they discovered that water was once abundant on Mars, and the presence of water means the presence of life. However, the current reality of Mars indicates that this life has been depleted for millions of years, meaning that something ended it, turning Mars into a desolate, pale planet devoid of any life forms... Perhaps the species that colonized it at that time is the one that destroyed it and extinguished the causes of its existence... If we go back 200 years, we find that humans could never have imagined that they would invent atomic, nuclear, and hydrogen bombs, and all these weapons, if used, are capable of wiping out a large part of life. 

Who knows, perhaps in a hundred years, humans will invent a weapon capable of completely stopping life on the blue planet, which may result in the evaporation of the seas, the melting of the polar ice caps, or the puncturing of the atmosphere, and life would end immediately... Who knows, perhaps our existence on this planet is the second existence of an intelligent species inhabiting the Earth after inhabiting Mars, but it destroyed itself, so we were given another chance and moved to live on another planet with a different history and a new page. 

It is not a requirement that we remember, for example, that we were once there; perhaps this is a second grant for us on a new planet... However, all indications suggest that we are heading to destroy ourselves again; then there will be no third chance waiting for us on Venus after the Earth's demise. 

Millions of years may come and an extraterrestrial civilization arrives to discover a lifeless, gray planet called Earth, to find out that a civilization once lived here and then went extinct, and they will discover, as we did on Mars, that water was abundant here... Who knows, perhaps they will realize that the conflict between humans led to their extinction and the destruction of their planet; then they will roll on their backs with laughter and ridicule, and their eyes will tear up from laughing so much at us. 

Their probe that discovered our disgrace may return to their planet, and their scientists will tell their people: "We have unraveled the mystery of the lifeless, gray Earth, and we discovered that a civilization once lived here and then vanished. We found out that the inhabitants of this planet were the ones who destroyed it and wiped out their existence. Didn't we tell you they were a bunch of fools?"