1 followed by 1000 zeros is a google.
A google times a google is a googleplex.
And yes, I learned this long before the search engine existed
I had a book called
Everything is Somewhere when I was younger, but it was a series of geography quiz questions.
Assuming that the universe is (nearly) infinite assumes that there is a (nearly) infinite amount of matter available to build it out of. That matter can't just spring out of nowhere, and there probably is some limitation to the mass/energy of the big bang. I don't know what it is, but I'm pretty sure it is
limited. Not that I have any room to point fingers considering this thread is all about speculation. Oh, and Tolkien's
Expanding Universe....
WampusKitty, I agree about 'Leaf by Niggle' - that is what makes the story so awesome for me. It's only a so-so allegory, but what it suggests here is so cool. He ended "On Fairy-stories" in the same way:
Tolkien wrote:
All tales may come true; and yet, at the last, redeemed, they may be as like and as unlike the forms that we give them as Man, finally redeemed, will be like and unlike the fallen that we know.
I love this idea that we participate in Creation, and idea of 'creativity' being properly understood as sub-creation. Of course, there is the implicit idea that our thoughts are not perfect, and I'm okay with that, too - we have to submit our work for editing
I wanted to use that as my senior quote in high school, but it was too many words.

Instead, I ended up using: "The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. [The fruit of service is peace.]"
~ Mother Teresa