it it, tter and tars, just drifting gas and everlasting darkness.

    According to Gut one ten-milliontrilliontrilliontrillionty emerged. After anoterval it romagnetism and trong and uff of pant later by sary particles—tuff of stuff. From notall, suddenly tons, protons, electrons, neutrons, and mucandard Big Bang theory.

    Sucities are of course ungraspable. It is enougo kno in a single crackinginstant  —at least a -yearsacross, according to t possibly any size up to infinite—and perfectly arrayed fortion of stars, galaxies, and otems.

    is extraordinary from our point of vieurned out for us. If t a tiny bit differently—if gravity ionally stronger or a little more sloly—tnever able elements to make you and me and tand on. ybeen a trifle stronger, tself miged tent, precisely t values to give it t dimensions and density and componentparts.  been ered void.

    t some experts believe trillions and trillions of ty span of eternity, and t t in ticular one is t t in. As Edryonof Columbia University once put it: “In anso tion of  our Universe is simply one of time tobillion cubic kilometers, and no less a  tion t many general readers are as unmatical as I am, I  least in a cer dealing hings on a cosmic scale.

    time.” to tempts.”

    Martin Rees, Britain’s astronomer royal, believes t te number, eac attributes, in different combinations, and t  combines t alloo exist. ore: “If tock of clot surprised to find asuit t fits. If t of numbers, ticular set of numbe