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Those worlds in space
are as countless
as all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the Earth.
Each of those worlds is as real as ours
in every one of them, there is a succession of incidents
events, occurrences
which influence its future.
Countless worlds,
numberless moments,
an immensity of space and time.
And our small planet at this moment,
here we face a critical branch-point in history.
What we do with our world, right now,
will propagate down through the centuries
and powerfully affect the destiny of our descendants.
It is well within our power to destroy our civilization
and perhaps our species as well.
If we capitulate to superstition
or greed
or stupidity
we can plunge our world into a darkness
deeper than the time between the collapse of classical civilization
and the Italian Renaissance.
But we are also capable of using our
compassion
and our intelligence
our technology and our wealth
to make an abundant and meaningful life
for every inhabitant of this planet.
To enhance enormously our understanding of the Universe,
and to carry us to the stars.