if interrupted amidst his peaceful trance , he would fly into a violent rage , but if allowed to finish without diversion , he would end his incantation by shrugging to himself with a giggle and muttering , what does all this matter anyway , for such moments as these will be forgotten in the infinite expanse of time with the decaying of our flesh , the extinction of our species , the explosion of our sun , and the imminent eradication of all human knowledge and endeavor from this tiny corner of the cold and indifferent universe ?