expansio

Scale One
The funeral was Friday morning, and her whole bridge club turned up to mourn the loss of their friend who had been so eager to join them that snowy Wednesday night in Oskaloosa. The minister uttered a moving prayer to the Lord, offering thanks for the time on earth that her soul had enjoyed, comfortingly reminding the gathered sorrowful ones that her soul had gone on to a place of peace and rest and joy. Amen.

Scale Zero
The Earth continued to spin and to revolve around the Sun. It did so many, many times in a row. After a few million such rotations, it was a bit closer in to the Sun than before, although not much. It was a little hotter, on average, partly because it was a little closer and partly because the Sun was burning its fuel differently.

After a while the Sun ballooned and its gases swallowed up the Earth and expanded far beyond it.

By this time the galaxy rotated six times and was approaching another galaxy. Twenty rotations later, the two galaxies interpenetrated, and for a while they passed through each other like two ghosts or two ripples in water. A few million stars were destroyed, but most were unperturbed. Then after about two more rotations, the two galaxies came apart and went their separate ways.


selection from Reductio Expansioque ad Absurdium, by Douglas R.Hofstadter