ChronoLens: Professor Kaku at AMNH

Tauhid Nur Azhar

It was the beginning of summer 2012, and the warm air of New York still carried the coolness of spring. I walked from the heart of Times Square, strolling along the pedestrian path until I reached Columbus Circle, passing by the 50th Street MTA station. I walked quickly, passing by the legendary apartment building where John Lennon and Yoko Ono once lived, and skirted the edge of Central Park along Central Park West.

Before long, I passed by Strawberry Fields and began looking for a crosswalk to cross the street in front of the New York Historical Society. From the corner of my eye, I saw several vendors selling shish kebabs near the American Museum of Natural History. This was one of the museums that always made me nostalgic for the Big Apple. Of course, the cute and mischievous squirrels in Central Park and a plate of delicious lamb over rice also made me nostalgic, but AMNH always had a strong pull on me.

I had purchased a $30 ticket, and as I walked in, I was greeted by the fossil of a long-necked Barosaurus. I strolled slowly, taking in the excitement of the crowd. There were so many sections in the museum that I could spend hours exploring.

Even the museum’s bookstore was a treasure trove for me. It was here that I first met Michio Kaku, a renowned physicist. I bought not one, but two of his books with the remaining money I had from my Microsoft Student Partner stipend.

Actually, it wasn’t just Kaku’s books that I bought; I also purchased a super cool book called “Napoleon’s Button” by Jay Burreson and Penny Le Couteur. This book was amazing, telling the story of 17 molecules, including the active compound found in Indonesian nutmeg, that changed the course of human history.

But of course, the universe section at AMNH was my true intellectual playground, the ultimate destination for my curiosity. On my second visit, I even fell asleep on a long bench at the edge of the prehistoric exhibit, exhausted from the excitement of exploring the museum.

As I slept, I had a dream. In the dream, Professor Michio Kaku, who was taking a break from teaching at NYU, lent me a strange device. I asked him what it was, and he replied with a smile, “ChronoLens.” It was just a dream, of course.

Professor Kaku told me to go to the observation deck on one of the museum’s towers at night and use the ChronoLens to “watch” the universe. And then he disappeared.

Before I knew it, night had fallen, and the AMNH was bathed in the warm glow of summer. The night sky was always mesmerizing, but tonight was different. I was at the edge of time, looking back into the past through a cosmic lens created by scientists from the future. It turned out that the ChronoLens was a masterpiece of quantum technology that allowed us to witness every phase of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present moment. It was as if God himself was showing us the grand scenario of the journey of all that exists.

The ChronoLens was not like a regular telescope. Instead of just looking at light from the past, this device used the principles of quantum entanglement and gravitational distortion to capture the tracks of photons, particles that interacted with matter billions of years ago. This technology could mimic the effect of temporal reconstruction, allowing us to see even the movement and formation of subatomic particles since the beginning of the universe.

Every major event was recorded with perfect resolution, presenting the epic journey of the universe in a single lens. With this, the journey of history was no longer a mystery shrouded by time.

I pointed the ChronoLens at the beginning of time, the point where I suspected the universe was born. The point marked by an incredible explosion, the Big Bang, which occurred around 13.8 billion years ago. A deep silence accompanied the moment when a highly concentrated energy suddenly exploded, creating space, time, and matter.

I saw the primordial gases, mainly hydrogen and helium, begin to gather in giant clouds. The first stars formed, so massive and bright that their lives were short, but they scattered heavier elements like carbon, oxygen, and iron when they exploded as supernovae.

A few billion years later, I zoomed in on a small planet called Earth, formed from the remnants of star dust on the outskirts of the galaxy. On the screen, around 4.5 billion years ago, the newly born Earth was a ball of fire, battered by meteorites and asteroids. But over time, the planet began to cool, an atmosphere formed, and rain poured down, creating vast oceans that would eventually become the cradle of life.

And here, the great mystery of abiogenesis began. How did the first organic molecules come together to form life? Modern scientists believe that on the floor of the ancient oceans, around hydrothermal vents, chemical reactions allowed simple organic molecules to combine, forming amino acids, proteins, and eventually, protocells, the first single-celled organisms on Earth.

I watched as these early life forms, over billions of years, evolved slowly but surely. Microscopic organisms developed into more complex forms, acquiring the ability to photosynthesize around 2.5 billion years ago. This event, known as the Great Oxygenation Event, marked a turning point in the history of life, as oxygen-producing bacteria began to release oxygen into the atmosphere, drastically changing the environment and allowing aerobic life to thrive. At the AMNH, there is a display showcasing stromatolites, ancient bacterial colonies, the pioneers of life on Earth.

I accelerated time through the ChronoLens to the Paleozoic Era, around 541 million years ago, when a massive explosion of biodiversity occurred during the Cambrian Explosion. Multicellular organisms, with hard shells, began to emerge in the Earth’s oceans. The first fish, large arthropods, and the precursors of land plants evolved rapidly during this era.

The Ordovician Period (485–443 million years ago) was a time when marine life dominated, with fish becoming more complex. During the Silurian Period (443–419 million years ago), the first land plants began to appear, which led to the Devonian Period (419–359 million years ago), when the first terrestrial ecosystems developed. Plants and fish continued to evolve, and eventually, the first land animals, such as amphibians, began to emerge.

However, the era of terrestrial life that was truly spectacular was the Mesozoic Era (252–66 million years ago), the age of the giant reptiles, the dinosaurs. I observed the Triassic Period (252–201 million years ago) when the first dinosaurs appeared, competing with other reptiles. During the Jurassic Period (201–145 million years ago), dinosaurs dominated the land, while pterosaurs ruled the skies. And the peak was the Cretaceous Period (145–66 million years ago), when Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops reigned, and our planet was filled with vast grasslands and giant trees. But this dominance came to an abrupt end.

I witnessed an asteroid impact the Earth at the end of the Cretaceous Period, causing a massive extinction event, killing 75% of life on the planet, including non-avian dinosaurs.

The Cenozoic Era was the next chapter, beginning after the great destruction 66 million years ago. Here, mammals, which had previously been small creatures, began to evolve and dominate the land. The Paleogene Period (66–23 million years ago) brought us the diversification of mammals, while during the Neogene Period (23–2.6 million years ago), larger species began to emerge, including human ancestors.

Finally, I arrived at the Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present), when hominid creatures, Homo habilis, began to use simple stone tools. The evolutionary journey of multicellular organisms from microscopic life in the ancient oceans to becoming the masters of modern ecosystems is one of the most dramatic stories in the universe. I watched, in awe, as Homo sapiens, in a mere 300,000 years, developed into the dominant species that built civilizations, cities, and eventually, the advanced technology that now allows us to look back into the past.

I closed the ChronoLens with a newfound awareness — the journey of life is not only influenced by natural selection, but also by cosmic forces beyond our control. Life on Earth is just one episode in the larger narrative of the universe, and our future, like our past, is always filled with mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

But I was reluctant to wake up and leave, because I was fully aware that the world of dreams can realize many fantasies that are difficult to achieve in the real world. There were still many mysteries that I wanted to explore.

It seemed that in my dream, version 2, the night had grown darker, and I was experiencing a condition known as out-of-body experience, where I could see myself sleeping soundly on the long bench in the rest area of the AMNH’s prehistoric section. I, who was floating between the displays of Attila the Hun, reactivated the ChronoLens, this time focusing on the end of the dinosaur era, the Cretaceous period. This was the last era of the mighty megafauna that ruled the Earth. Dinosaurs dominated the land, giant reptiles swam in the oceans, and massive flying creatures filled the skies.

This world, 145 to 66 million years ago, was a world teeming with life that was rapidly evolving. Vegetation began to change, the first flowering plants appeared, and the diversity of flora became more complex. The continents, which were once united in a single large landmass, slowly began to break apart, creating different ecological zones where species evolution occurred dynamically.

The quantum camera in the ChronoLens captured the slow movement of the tectonic plates that separated the supercontinent into two large masses: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. Around 175 million years ago, the separation of Pangea triggered a global climate change that accelerated the development of new life. This change was not only physical but also biological. Various species began to adapt to different environments, from the fertile grasslands of Laurasia to the tropical forests of Gondwana.

However, like all chapters in the history of the Earth, every glory has its end. And that end came with a massive explosion when a large asteroid hit Yucatán, Mexico, around 66 million years ago. On the screen, I witnessed this cosmic explosion hitting the planet’s surface. A thick veil of dust covered the sun, triggering a global climate disaster that caused temperatures to drop drastically, destroying the ecosystems that supported dinosaur life. Non-avian dinosaurs, the giant creatures that once ruled the land, disappeared within years.

However, although this marked the end of the dinosaur era, this mass extinction paved the way for a new era: the Cenozoic Era, the age when small mammals that survived began to evolve and dominate the planet. With the dinosaurs gone, mammals had the space to grow larger and more intelligent, starting an evolutionary journey that would eventually give rise to Homo sapiens.

My ChronoLens once again displayed a spectacular visualization, and I now traveled to a period even further back, when the supercontinent Pangea began to form around 335 million years ago. Pangea, a single large landmass that connected almost the entire Earth, was home to primitive life, but soon underwent a slow separation that changed the face of the Earth. The break-up of Pangea into Laurasia and Gondwana not only shaped the modern geography of the world but also influenced global climate, ocean currents, and wind patterns. All these changes forced species around the world to adapt to new environments, accelerating the process of evolution.

As I stepped further forward through the timeline, I arrived at the era of prehistoric humans. The ChronoLens revealed a no less epic scene. The Paleolithic period began around 2.5 million years ago, when Homo habilis, a hominid and primate relative, began using simple stone tools to hunt and survive.

In the silence of the ancient world, I witnessed how prehistoric hominids evolved from mere hunter-gatherers to intelligent and adaptable beings. Fire was discovered, tools became more complex, and Homo erectus began to explore Africa, Asia, and Europe.

The next great leap in human history came around 10,000 BCE, when humans (Homo sapiens) began to leave their nomadic lifestyle behind. The Neolithic Revolution began; humans started farming and domesticating animals, creating more stable and structured societies. I could see on the ChronoLens screen, the first settlements began to form, where small villages developed along major rivers like the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile. This agricultural revolution enabled the emergence of the first cities, where skills like pottery, weaving, and metalworking began to develop. This was the foundation of great civilizations.

I then fast-forwarded, to the presence of Mesopotamian Civilization, which emerged around 3,500 BCE, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In the dim light of the ChronoLens screen, I witnessed cities like Uruk and Babylon emerge with massive brick architecture, ziggurats, and the first cuneiform writing. Mesopotamia was the birthplace of the first laws (the Code of Hammurabi) and writing, two milestones that changed the way humans interacted and created civilizations. Not long after, Ancient Egyptian Civilization formed in the Nile Valley, famous for its pyramids, grand temples, and pharaohs who were considered gods on earth.

I continued to explore, witnessing the rise and fall of other great civilizations like the Indus Valley Civilization, which excelled in urban architecture and drainage systems, Ancient Chinese Civilization, which created great innovations like paper, the compass, and gunpowder, and Ancient Greek Civilization, which gave birth to great philosophers who influenced world thought to this day.

With the speed of time fast-forwarded, I passed through the Roman Empire, known for its extraordinary legal and military systems, and the Islamic Golden Age, which sparked a golden age in science, medicine, and mathematics.

Medieval European Civilization came with waves of warfare and the resurgence of cultural movements through the Renaissance, followed by the Industrial Revolution, which changed everything; from the way humans worked to the way we lived in large cities.

And finally, the ChronoLens screen displayed Modern Civilization, where digital technology, the internet, and artificial intelligence have transformed human civilization to a level we never could have imagined before. I paused for a moment to reflect, the speed of technological evolution reminded me that although we are part of a long history, we are only at the beginning of something much greater.

This journey is far from over, and with the ChronoLens, I know that the future also waits to be revealed. Every passing second only opens more mysteries to explore, both from the deeply buried past and the unimaginable future.

My sleep was interrupted by the beam of a flashlight and the shout of a security guard at the AMNH. “What R U doing here?” A stern gaze from a large, African-American security guard, who seemed to be sizing me up from head to toe. He did it with a vigilant attitude, typical of a former soldier. If I didn’t explain myself quickly, it seemed like he would soon call the NYPD to drag me to the police station, what a predicament!

After trying to explain myself as best I could, and with great difficulty due to the lack of evidence in the form of a special ticket that was likely stolen by another visitor, because with that ticket many facilities that could not be accessed with a regular ticket could be accessed by its holder; I was finally released after being able to show an invitation from Microsoft Student Partner, which fortunately was stored on my Windows Phone.

On my way back to the JW Marriott hotel, I stopped for a moment on one of the benches in Central Park, gazing up at the starry night sky of New York, I let out a deep breath, and again reflected on the flashback of my journey with Professor Kaku’s chronolens. The universe is indeed full of question marks for those who are born to seek answers.