by Dane Bagley
Not more than two or three days after the ball had struck the moon, UFO mania had reached a new height. At first the media treated it with contempt as it had always done; however, the public’s attention was fixated on the possibilities of space travel—away from, and towards the earth. It didn't take more than a week before even the ‘reputable’ news sources were interviewing those who had been ‘abducted by aliens!’ Elaborate theories as to who among celebrities were really aliens or half-aliens were the talk of the town, whatever town one may be in. Even those who were ‘level-headed’ had a more difficult time dispelling such ideas, for if intelligent life did exist on other planets, there was no longer any practical reason why they couldn't have traveled to earth.
This was the big question: did intelligent life, or life of any sort, for that matter, exist outside of earth? The first backlash against the UFO mania came from some of the main stream religions. “If life existed outside of this planet, our holy books would have said so,” went the argument. The accounts of the creation seemed to imply that the universe had been created with the earth as the place for life. Of course not all religions held such limited and ego-centric views of the universe, but they seemed to smile quietly, rather than join the chaos. However, most people were not paying much attention to religious authorities at this time anyway.
Science was in two camps, both of which operated under the assumption that life on earth is a chance event that underwent a long, arduous, yet successful evolutionary process. But, the uniqueness of this event is where the opinions differed greatly, and the camps separated. One, affirming that the odds associated with such an event are so minuscule that even if many other planets were provided with similar circumstances, they would not likely bring forth life. The other camp looked at it from a separate angle: with a universe so expansive and having existed for so many eons of time, the odds that only one little planet ever sprouted life seemed unfathomable. Perhaps, if life didn't exist here, it would be feasible that it existed nowhere. But the possibility of life was unquestionable; could it have only happened once?
While the media and general public fascinated themselves with UFO’s and aliens, and the scientists and philosophers pondered the meaning of life and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, the capitalists had other things on their minds. Space travel no longer required vast amounts of energy because time and distance were no longer significant hurdles, so governments with enormous resources were no longer requisite for space exploration. Missions no longer had to be justified to the public in general. Only relatively small amounts of capital were now required to reach out into the universe. Within this universe there was undoubtedly a plethora of resources that were no longer out of grasp, and that would be very valuable. So while there was some public debate as to whether private companies or individuals could travel around the universe and do as they liked without government approval, it never became a real issue because it just happened. It became so pervasive and so successful that there was simply no stopping it.
Of course, while traveling around this vast universe became possible, finding valuable resources was like trying to find a needle in a hay-stack. But the initial investments were very profitable; all that had to be brought back was a rock from another solar system, or better yet, another galaxy, and it would be worth a fortune. Gold, silver, and gems such as diamonds, emeralds, and rubies were eventually discovered, brought back, and sold for enormous amounts; a ‘space diamond’ or ‘space gold’ at this time could be sold for one thousand times what the same quantity and weight of ‘earth gold’ or ‘earth diamonds’ could be sold for.
Those who undertook these ventures early on profited greatly. It became like the 1849 gold rush. Seemingly everyone wanted to strike it rich and became involved. In time supply met demand, and then quickly exceeded demand. ‘Space gold’ was available everywhere and the prices fell dramatically. While demand was floated to some degree by finding uses for common things now made of gold, overall gold’s value dropped exceedingly. At first ‘space gold’ and other raw materials were worth far more than ‘earth gold,’ but, soon these values reversed. Investors began to stock pile ‘earth gold,’ and while its value was far less than before the ‘space gold’ phenomenon, it still held some value. In particular, relics that had been crafted prior to ‘the ball’ remained quite valuable.
This quick shift in the availability of natural and precious resources won and lost fortunes for many individuals. The economics of the world were on a roller coaster ride during this time. Much worry, stress, and frustration resulted from this. Still, while the shifts in the economy were quite dramatic, overall things were going pretty well. Most people were employed, and doing just fine, but job and career changes were at an all-time high. Even though people had more stuff than ever before, lack of stability, greed, stress, and anxiety caused a general lack of happiness around the world. Often boundaries are considered obstacles to happiness. Yet, when those boundaries are dissolved, and people seek for happiness beyond those former boundaries, they find less happiness than they had had before. So, the universe was opened up to the world, but the people of the world were less satisfied than they had been before—in relative isolation.
Chapter 4
