While information has unquestionably become the major driver of human and planetary evolution, energy remains the prime mover, in all its forms, be they natural, capricious energies, or so-called fossil energies, which also include nuclear fission energy, reliable but limited to a fairly short time horizon. In any case, if we look closely, our energy comes from the sun: canned solar energy for fossils and ores, wind or hydroelectric solar energy, photovoltaic solar energy, or artificial solar energy the day we master nuclear fusion. The first quality required of the energies humanity needs is that they be easily controllable, and electrical energy has unquestionably become the first choice. So, ask a number of artisans of the future - Americans, Japanese, Indians, Chinese, Europeans - couldn't we go and get solar energy in geostationary orbit, where it is available in abundance 24 hours a day, without clouds or the cycle of days and nights? Numerous studies have shown that this is feasible, and in our laboratories we already know how to safely transport this orbital energy between projectors and microwave sensors, bringing it back to the surface of the planet where we can use it...

The fruit of 13.7 billion years inscribed in the elementary particles that make up each of the atoms in the cells of our bodies, we have already experienced the emergence of living systems, the conquest of oceans and lands, and in the last few seconds of a cosmic calendar, the opening up to the planetary dimension of a technological civilization. We are now fully aware that we are the children of a star that has provided us with substance and energy. What questions can we now ask ourselves as inhabitants of the atmosphere of a sun at the dawn of a major, extremely rapid transition on an even greater scale than that experienced by our ancestors over the last ten thousand years in their passage from the Neolithic to modernity?

Where do we come from, who are we, where are we going? Following the arrow of time, depending on the point of view we adopt, we're heading towards a “future” which is a projection into the continuity of our past and present, or, if we adopt a broader vision, we can also understand that we're entering a rather unpredictable “à-venir”. The distinction between future and futur is not innocent, and it's part of the genius of the French language to distinguish the two concepts. We can make plans to “prepare” potentially harmonious futures and work towards their realization. On the other hand, what's to come, what's about to fall into our laps, is largely unknown to us, and surely the best thing to do in this situation is to “prepare” to offer resilience in the face of unexpected hazards, and to be able to integrate new resources. These are distinctions we need to learn to recognize in order to cultivate a diversity of appropriate behaviors...