A forgotten sorrow

The Livermore Bulb probably did not have a soul. It was largely glass and filament through which electricity ran. It did not know us, and it did not know its own royalty.

It was the oldest functioning electric being in the known universe. It was our dearest ancestor. Year over year, century over century, it continued to astonish us: it was, after all, a light bulb that stayed on for more than 15,000 years without burning out or breaking. It was a miracle, and yet, it did not occur to us that it could die.

Perhaps in a more fearsome age, an age of illness and warfare and cosmic debris, we would not have room in our hearts to care for such a little bulb. But we are living in an age without loss. This is a sorrow we have forgotten how to experience.

Source: 17776