Ponce De Leon

When I consider the "end of the world", that fiery meteor that destroys us all, or the superbug flu that infects and drops us one by one, it is not the loss of life that saddens me so much. Granted, my own passing would be a disappointment, or the loss of a loved one would depress, but it is the end of knowledge's path that saddens me most.

I am a collector of things. Began at the age of 7 with my first pack of '87 Topps baseball cards (w/ stick of gum included). Striving to collect each card in the set, I spend a year's allowance only to find that '88 brought a new design, player set, and shiny hologram! And so it progressed, from baseball cards to cds and from music to books, until, as a young adult, I realized that my collection was not of things so much as it was of knowledge. Thoughts were arrayed and displayed, facts filled walls like paintings in an art museum. And each day brought with it a new area for searching, a new shelf to fill, new thoughts to be found, analyzed and preserved.

While my personal death would, of course, end my own goal of factual pursuance, the general goal of enlightened mankind will continue. Science does this as it progresses, new ideas and discoveries are built over the backs of older ones as advances are made. The social sciences, in the same way, drive the collection of knowledge forward, not so much with physical collections, but with thoughts and theories dreamed of only in the mind. Even literature, and the study of it, is a pool of knowledge, focusing less on the discovery of fact and more upon the emotions and experience of humanity. Feeling their way forward, artists drive the knowledge of humanity and its soul forward. Every pursuit of mankind, trivial or monumental, pushes us forward as a race. Legends, statistics, electoral college results, polling data, mythology, religion, ratings, top ten lists, folklore, blank vs. blank, mankind drives the cart of progress forward with each step...

Until that fiery ball, that consumes every atom that has ever been a bit of knowledge, fills the sky.

And with a winking glow the quest ends. No doubt, Ponce De Leon feels the same way about the end of Spanish dominance and expansion. Sadness fills that conquistador's heart, clothed in armor, watching his motherland descending down the ladder of world importance towards Poland or Chile. More heartbreaking is the end of the Roman Catholic Church as the religious center of the world. As Islam and Buddhism tread ever nearer with usurperious thoughts, he bangs his sword against shield and begs for another mission to challenge for faith and glory.

And I too, from my grave, now consumed by fire or worm, will wish to rise and pick up the fallen mantel. To strive to continue pulling progress forward, in flames, spinning out of orbit, pulling the cart forward.