Pickwhich

This text first proposes a rigorous universal cosmological framework in addition to a fictional collection of works regarding the nature of scientific discovery itself, which seeks to explore:

• If the Universe were to cycle between Big Bang and Big Crunch, what would be the method by which that happens?
• What would be the astrophysical consequences of such a cycle, especially where spacetime is considered?
• Of the upcoming astrophysical observations, what would such a method show?

In Roger Penrose's Conformal Cyclic Cosmology, massless physics is posited as conformally invariant. This humble extension explores the consequences of this model, and a hyper-recent look at upcoming astrophysical observations and potential measurements and discoveries.

In addition to this model, a faux-found set of letters is provided: a historical fictional account of Heron of Alexandria, the prolific Ancient Greek inventor and mathematician. The work explores an alternate history where Heron was a collective rather than one individual person.

The work revolves around the potential implications of surreptitious use of the world's first steam engine: The Aeolipile.

Hero's engine, invented in 1st century AD, arrived at a fascinatingly dense and complex moment in ancient history. One of miracles, war, emperors, and monumental, rapid technological and scientific discovery. It was also a time of great despair, slavery, and horrific disregard for human life. This account serves as an exploration on human dignity, consciousness, and our relationship with myth and truth.

Together, these works seek to explore and provide an earnest look into the core of something that tugs at the human mind: the cycle. What we inherit, where we inherit it from, and what we leave behind when we meet our ultimate, inevitable demise.