Part 12/15:
Taking a step back to view the universe provides a stark perspective. Earth’s entire history is a tiny fraction of cosmic time, and Earth-like conditions are exceedingly rare. But digital or machine-based life, thriving as patterns of information, could exist far beyond the constraints of planetary ecosystems. These forms of life could survive in environments hostile to biology—around neutron stars, in the vacuum of space, or inside stars—making biological life a mere "edge case" in the grand cosmic tableau.