The First Civilization to Emerge in the Galaxy

The Galaxy is approximately 13 billion years old, which makes one wonder - just how many civilizations could have come and gone across that ocean of time? Today, we try something a little bit different for this channel, and imagine when and how the first civilization could have lived. The story is a fiction, but it provides a narrative around which we can more viscerally experience the conditions of the early cosmos, and the fragility of life itself.

Written & presented by Prof David Kipping

THANK-YOU to our supporters D. Smith, M. Sloan, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday,A. Jones, S. Brownlee, G. Fulton, N. Kildal, M. Lijoi, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zanjonc, C. Wolfred, F. Rebolledo, L. Skov, E. Wilson, A. de Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, M. Forbes, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, V. Alexandrov, L. Macchia, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, H. Jensen, F. Linker, J. Rockett, N. Fredrickson, B. Mlazgar, D. Holland, J. Alexander, E. Hanway, J. Molnar, D. Murphree, S. Hannum, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, F. van Exter, S. Roulier, B. Smith, P. Masterson, R. Sievers, G. Canterbury, J. Kill, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, T. Wheeler, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, B. Weaver, E. Simonson, M. Murru, M. Shea, P. Finch, R. Boots, S. Applegate, L. Watson, S. Netherclift T. Wheeler T. West A. West H. Kissick, C. MacPherson, D. Bayless, D. Rolfe, E. Zahnle & G. Bolloten.

::Music::
► Falls - Life in Binary (7:34)

::Film/TV clips used::
► Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999) Paramount Television
► Ad Astra (2019) 20th Century Fox
► Alien: Covenant (2017) 20th Century Fox
► Knowing (2009) Summit Entertainment
► Sunshine (2007) Fox Searchlight Pictures
► Noah (2014) Paramount Pictures
► Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) EuropaCorp Distribution
► Clara (2018) D Films
► Don't Look Up (2021) Netflix

::Chapters::
00:00 Teaser
02:02 Birth
04:27 Home
09:47 Society
15:09 Collapse
18:37 Hope
21:44 Legacy
23:14 Conclusion
24:23 Outro

#TheFirstCivilization #Imins #CoolWorlds

[joz]

This is one of the most moving and beautiful depictions of the Fermi Paradox I have ever heard, you may have the mind of a scientist but the soul of a poet, thank you.

[templargfx]

Its sobering to think that a story like this could have played out thousands of times already in just our galaxy alone, let alone all the other galaxies!

[sizweshange]

This would make a great 2 or 3 part movie. Basically our story told through a different civilization in a different time in the formation of the universe. This was greatly written.

[tomascabrera]

I don't know of any of my friends could share this feeling with me, but this type of videos is absolutely mind-boggling to me, thinking about countless civilizations living and dying within our galaxy is truly a profound thought. Hopefully before I die we'll have a self sustained colony on Mars to secure our midterm survival as a species.

[PetervanHofwegen]

I will save this story for when my kids are old enough... I know that I as a kid would have loved this to the last crumb, I hope my kids will have the same love for this kind of stories that convey so much more than meets the eye.

Thank you Dr Kipping

[Thuazabi]

This was the perfect intersection of science communication and science fiction. Wish content of this quality was way more common. Masterfully done.

[ashberka]

I wish humanity wakes from current chaos to better awareness of itself. This is great metaphor to how fragile and unique we are. Thank you for such a Inspiration.

[MikkelMadsen]

What a beautiful way to illustrate the Fermi Paradox.

Suddenly, it becomes almost tangilble and - well - personal. It is not just a series of factors and probabilities, multiplied with each other, but a living, breathing civilization that once was, and now is just a data blip among thousands of others on some random human astronomer's computer.

And then you realize: Somewhere in the future, that will be us humans. A faraway random astronomer will look at OUR last remnants (whatever that is) and chances are, that he or she will never really guess the true nature of these remnants.

[thebogsofmordor]

This is the most beautiful alien tragedy ever told. It puts so much into perspective using centuries of gained knowledge of the cosmos. My new favorite video of yours.

[wizzardofpaws]

Dr. Kipping is such an excellent story teller. You feel like you're living it.

[musicandactionfigures]

I'm obviously late, I just watched this video and it is a perfect mix of science fact and science fiction. This is a gripping and informative storytelling at its finest! For a guy like me who ponders about life in the universe ever since I was a kid, this is very moving! You're the man Dr. Kipping!

[Durp]

This channel is a gift. Every new video is like Christmas morning to me.

Edit: The clear and allegorical parallels to Earthly happenings is fun. Either as common links among many worlds, or commentary on our own situation, it’s fun to think about. As long as we aren’t the lonely genesis civilization…

[Dionis]

I actually got emotional towards the end - a testament to how well the story was told. Thanks for that video!

[edykauan]

I can only imagine what the other way would be. The story of the last civilization to emerge in the galaxy. Well written.

[mikaelc]

Im an art history student and today i coincidently wrote about the last pictures project- an archive of photos that was sent into our orbit on a satellite in hopes that the images would outlive our species and even the eventual death of our sun. Even more coincidentally, i finished an essay recently that argued ufo sightings as being orchestrated in order to distract us from bigger issues. Its so gratifying to see these very same concepts represented here in your work. I love your channel and the way you blend culture and philosophy with science!

[PhilipEnders]

I’d be fascinated in a 10 billion years in the future style story like this!

[reidloscidem]

This man literally has the voice of a lore speaker. I feel like I need to always visit his channel in order to retain a small portion of wisdom way beyond my current understanding.

[jeanbonnefoy]

Another reason to love your scientific work and endeavours: it's not just cold hard science. It's an intensely warm one. Thank you, Pr Kipping.

[bandini]

I can’t get this story out of my head about the Immins. I would love to explore them more. Would you ever consider writing a novel about them. The possibilities would be endless.

[Ian_Ward_Army]

Outstanding as ever, I wish you were my teacher when I was in school. You have this way of delivering the subject, with clarity. You should get into full on documentary making; I think we have a David Attenborough in the making. You just have this way of explaining things, with a calm and easy to understand voice. Keep up the excellent work, I always like what you produce; and are always looking forward to your next video.