Earth-based metaphors and forms of thinking break down here, because <i>it&#x27;s not Earth</i>. There&#x27;s no &quot;tearing up every square meter&quot; analogue here. To the extent that there is one, the <i>entire universe is already &quot;torn up&quot;</i>. So far as we know, it&#x27;s not &quot;alive&quot;, there&#x27;s no meaningful way in which it is &quot;pristine&quot;, there&#x27;s nothing there to &quot;hurt&quot;.<p>On Earth, you can casually assume that effectively every cubic centimeter has some life in it. That assumption, and other similar ones, must be examined when discussing space.