WAKING beauty (the big bang and after)

Abstract

“So now I have told you something about the Universe, about the stars and galaxies it contains and also how the fabric of space and time is distorted to provide the gravity that holds them together, “ remarked the Storyteller. “I have tried to give you some sort of picture, however inadequate, of what the Universe around us is like. The time has come to talk, not of how we see the Universe, or even of how it really is, but of how it came about. Whence came this Universe of stars and galaxies, of dust clouds and background radiation?

“I cannot really answer that question, but I can tell you something of the stages along the way, and some of them were very close to the beginning of the journey Our Universe has had a long history, at least by any human standard, and at times a rather lively one. so now I shall at last tell you about the Big Bang.

“Sit quietly and I shall tell you the story of Waking Beauty’“

“About time, tool” muttered Adam rebelliously.

The Storyteller chose to ignore him and instead folded his hands neatly in his lap and began his tale.

“There was in a remote kingdom a king and queen, who were blessed with a baby daughter. To her christening they invited all the nearby royalty and nobility. They also invited the good fairies, who blessed their daughter’s nativity with the gifts of beauty, of charm and of intelligence. The parents had neglected to invite the local wicked witch, but unfortunately she came anyway....