“Progress is not a thing but a feeling, it’s a feeling of adventure and expansion that starts in the belly and works up to the chest (and so often ends in the head where it tends to go wrong).”
The quote touches on the idea that progress is a subjective and emotional experience. Typically, progress is tied to human exploration and expansion, mainly in the uncharted territory of space. The phrase "starts in the belly and works up to the chest" indicates that this feeling is primal and instinctual hence it is a drive rooted in human nature. However, the quote also recognizes the danger of overthinking or intellectualizing this instinct. It hints at how human hubris and complex reasoning can corrupt the beauty of pure exploration. Harvey encapsulates the tension between human aspiration and the pitfalls of our intelligence. In space, where physical reality challenges every earthly assumption, the astronauts grapple with progress as a philosophical journey fraught with uncertainties. This is reflected in the astronauts' interactions and their contemplations on progress and the fragility of existence in the cosmos.
“Maybe all of us born to it have already died and are in an afterlife.”
This existential musing comes from the astronauts observing Earth from space, as they liken their detachment from the planet to a form of transcendence. The distance from Earth creates an illusion that they are no longer of it but beyond it. In that, their existence in orbit is suspended in an afterlife of sorts. The way the Earth appears from space provokes reflections on life and the nature of reality. From space, Earth resembles a paradise yet the astronauts know its hardships intimately. The difference between the celestial beauty of the planet and the struggles it houses highlights the disparity between perception and reality. Thus, the concept of an "afterlife" in space demonstrates the transformation astronauts undergo. Once in space, they inhabit a liminal space disconnected from the everyday human experience but still tied to it through memories and communications. The detachment forces them to reconsider what it means to be alive and what is truly essential to survival.
“The future of humanity is already written.”
In this quote, one of the astronauts reflects on the future of humanity with a sense of fatalism. The idea that "the future of humanity is already written" speaks to the deterministic perspective that human destiny is shaped by forces beyond individual control. Despite their feats of human ingenuity, there is a recognition that humanity’s trajectory may be set by a series of inescapable patterns. This line also illustrates resignation. While space exploration is framed as the pinnacle of human achievement, a lurking awareness that all this progress could be futile in the grand scheme of things exists. The astronaut's internal conflict questions the sustainability of human civilization in the face of climate change, technological advances, and existential threats.
