The ancient Greeks postulated four basic elements- earth, water, air, fire (later Aristotle added a fifth element, aether) to explain the nature, and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Other ancient cultures in Egypt, Babylonia, Japan, Tibet, and India had similar lists, sometimes referring in their native languages. These lists of fundamental elements of complex matters were not factual findings, but ‘thoughts’ derived from the provoking quest of- what matters are made of. They were of philosophical nature. This questing philosophical thought eventually has brought us to the new frontier of science- particle physics and leading the way to string theory.

In this section, we shall explore the history of these great human civilizations, their rises, and falls, and foremostly what will the future civilization of humankind be like, will it merge into a common global civilization? Shall we colonize other planets?