"Well my idea is this: that there's no use having a universe - billions of stars and all creation before us - if there's no audience. So the universe, in mysterious ways, created life on Earth as an audience for this miraculous experience of being alive in the universe. We will witness, and we will celebrate. Now here we are on the threshold of space, going on to the Moon, which we should never have left, and going on to Mars."
Bradbury's an incredibly smart guy, so I wince when I read of him talking about our imminent return to the Moon and eventual exploration of Mars. Inspiring notions, yes; they plug neatly into Bradbury's romanticized vision of human progress. But the truth is far bleaker. I rather suspect our future will more closely resemble that of his story "There Will Come Soft Rains" than his depictions of valiant (albeit flawed) humanity reaching out into the darkness in search of itself.
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