Deep Time

Cosmologist Darling is a proponent of the anthropic principle: life and intelligence had to arise in the universe in order for it to be real--humanity is literally the consciousness of the universe. He follows a proton from the moment of creation 18 billion years ago to ``deep time'' trillions of years hence when the universe will become an incredibly dilute soup of photons. The proton sees the quasars flare to brilliance and the galaxies condense around massive vibrating cosmic strings. It is forged into a gold atom in a supernova and comes to rest on Earth. Life and intelligence arise on Earth and the gold atom is incorporated into a phonograph album attached to the Voyager 2 spacecraft--a message from Earth to unknown civilizations. From this vantage, the proton watches as the universe ages and grows dark, and eventually even protons evaporate. Physicists are on the verge of the Theory of Everything, i.e., ``the all-encompassing set of equations that would unify every physical phenomenon in nature.'' Darling has written a lyrical introduction to the latest theories in cosmology. First serial to Penthouse. (Aug.)