Guests in a Creation We Do Not Own A Reflection on Power, Trust, and the Responsibility of Discovery By Marianne Rothmann, Cultural Communicator
CERN—the European Organization for Nuclear Research—is one of the world’s largest and most powerful scientific research centers. Located near Geneva and founded in 1954, CERN is home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most advanced particle accelerator. Scientists at CERN smash subatomic particles together at near-light speeds to study the building blocks of the universe, seeking answers to some of the most fundamental questions about matter, time, and the origins of existence.
CERN is funded and governed by 23 member states, primarily in Europe, including countries like Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Switzerland. Additionally, it receives support from associate and observer states such as the United States, Israel, Japan, Russia, and India. In short, it is bankrolled by national governments—the same governments that form global alliances, shape foreign policy, influence economic systems, and, in many cases, wield immense military and political power.
In a world driven by progress and powered by science, institutions like CERN are often celebrated as symbols of global cooperation and discovery. We are told they exist to expand knowledge, to unlock the mysteries of the universe, and to push humanity forward.
But I write this not in awe, but with caution.
Because behind the remarkable technology and promises of enlightenment, I see a deeper contradiction—one we are too often told to ignore. CERN, like many global institutions, is overseen and funded by the same powers that divide, exploit, and profit from conflict. These are the entities that wage wars, benefit from surveillance and control, and suppress voices that challenge their authority. And yet they are trusted to govern the most advanced experiments in human history?
That raises a fundamental question:
Can we trust those who shape conflict to responsibly explore the fabric of existence?
I do not ask this out of ignorance or fear of science. On the contrary, I believe deeply in knowledge, discovery, and the beauty of understanding the universe. But I also believe that wisdom must walk hand in hand with power, and that transparency must be demanded, not assumed.
Science should not be above questioning. Institutions, no matter how prestigious, should not be exempt from public scrutiny simply because they operate in complex language or theoretical domains. When humans start recreating the conditions of the Big Bang, probing into dimensions, and altering what we don’t yet fully understand, they owe more than quiet confidence—they owe us full honesty.
I am not against discovery.
I am against blind trust.
My concern is not about technology—it’s about responsibility. It’s about the uncomfortable truth that the same hands building our future have, again and again, destroyed lives in the name of power, control, and dominance. That truth should give us all pause.
A Reflection on Conflict and Control
As wars rage and tensions escalate—from Iran and Israel to countless unseen battles—one truth becomes clear:
Those who shape our conflicts are often the same ones shaping our future.
They fund our research, govern our institutions, and build the technologies that reach into the deepest laws of existence—while using those same tools to divide and control.
This is not just about politics. It’s about a pattern—where power outpaces wisdom, and knowledge is used without humility.
In the ongoing Iran–Israel conflict, we see a mirror of this pattern: deeply rooted mistrust, unaccountable aggression, weapons cloaked in justification, and technology used to threaten rather than heal. When nations race for dominance—whether in nuclear energy, cyber warfare, or global influence—they show us exactly how power behaves when left unchecked. And these are often the same actors funding and guiding scientific frontiers.
In a world where science and war sit side by side, we must ask:
Can we trust the builders of weapons to be caretakers of wonder?
I believe in a world where science serves humanity—not just the powerful few.
I believe in progress, but not at the cost of humility.
And I believe that if we do not question what lies beneath the surface of scientific grandeur, we may find ourselves celebrating brilliance while unknowingly marching toward irreversible consequences.
Final thoughts
We must never forget:
We are on Earth as guests.
Not as owners. Not as gods.
But as caretakers of a creation far greater than we can fully understand.
