Introduction

Abstract

In the last few years scientists have been sifting through an ocean of scientific facts, organizing them, trying to make sense out of them, trying to extract from them an ultimate understanding of nature. And their efforts are finally beginning to pay off; they have brought us to the verge of one of the greatest breakthroughs science has ever seen. We are, even now, getting the first glimpse of a theory that will show us in detail how the universe came into being, what it is made of, and how it is put together. Once achieved, this theory will unify all of nature, from gigantic clusters of galaxies down to tiny elementary particles. It will unlock secrets of the universe we never dreamed possible. In short it will give us the master plan—the blueprint—of the universe.