Someday, the last star will flicker out, galaxies will dissolve, and black holes will poof into nothingness. The universe will be one big cosmic “meh.” But what if that doesn’t have to be the end? Enter the Noxans, a hypothetical civilization so advanced they make us look like cave people.

Their plan: build cosmic batteries, cool their brains way down (think intergalactic cryo-naps), and live at slower and slower speeds until “forever” becomes just another Tuesday. The colder they get, the less energy it takes to think, even if one thought eventually takes a trillion years.

So yes, the heat death of the universe is depressing, but thanks to Dyson’s “Cold Thoughts” idea, life might stretch on into googol-years of cosmic slow motion. Imagine eternal existence, filled with virtual cheeseburgers and arguments on space-internet, long after the stars themselves are gone.

Forever never looked so… chilly.