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Collapse Quote by Philip K. Dick

“He saw two stars collapse against one another and a nova form; it flared up and then, as he watched, it began to die out. He saw it turn from a furiously blazing ring into a dim core of dead iron and then he saw it cool into darkness. More stars cooled with it; he saw the force of entropy, the…” quote by Philip K. Dick
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““He saw two stars collapse against one another and a nova form; it flared up and then, as he watched, it began to die out. He saw it turn from a furiously blazing ring into a dim core of dead iron and then he saw it cool into darkness. More stars cooled with it; he saw the force of entropy, the method of the Destroyer of Forms, retract the stars into dull reddish coals and then into dust-like silence. A shroud of thermal energy hung uniformly over the world, over this strange and little world for which he had no love or use. It's dying, he realized. The universe. The thermal haze spread on and on until it became only a disturbance, nothing more; the sky glowed weakly with it and then flickered. Even the uniform thermal disbursement was expiring. How strange and goddamn awful, he thought. He got to his feet, moved a step toward the door. And there, on his feet, he died. They found him an hour later. Seth Morley stood with his wife at the far end of the knot of people jammed into the small room and said to himself, "to keep him from helping with the prayer". "The same force that shut down the transmitter," Ignatz Thugg said. "They knew; they knew if he phrased the prayer it would go through. Even without the relay." He looked gray and frightened. All of them did, Seth Morley noticed. Their faces, in the light of the room, had a leaden, stone-like cast. Like, he thought, thousand-year-old idols. Time, he thought, is shutting down around us. It is as if the future is gone, for all of us.””

Philip K. Dick

About This Quote

Source Novel: VALIS by Philip K. Dick, 1981

The passage depicts cosmic entropy and the inevitable decay of all things, reflecting existential dread and the futility of resistance.

In simple terms: The universe is dying, and humanity cannot stop it.

Key Takeaway

Accept impermanence and seek meaning despite inevitable decline.

Themes

entropy decay existential dread nihilism cosmic inevitability

Mood

despair foreboding reflective

Type

literary philosophical apocalyptic

When to use this quote

  • space exploration
  • scientific observation
  • personal crisis
  • ritual prayer
  • death

Key Concepts

thermodynamics entropy philosophy of existence apocalypse

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does it mean to find purpose when everything ends?
  • Can hope exist in a decaying universe?
A Different Perspective

The narrative may overemphasize fatalism, ignoring human agency and resilience.

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