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The model for her interactive “Symbiotica” is mycelium, a fungus that plays a crucial role in decomposing dead matter, in the process yielding nitrogen that forms the bulk of Earth’s atmosphere.

The cold, dead matter of the stars would decay away, leaving nothing but a smear of radiation that spreads equally throughout the universe.

Among them are several yards of fungal filaments that convert dead matter to biomass, or attach to plant roots to boost their nutrient uptake; up to a billion bacteria that convert nitrogen gas into compounds that "feed" those plants and other organisms; a few dozen nematodes and a few thousand protozoa that keep bacterial populations in check, mineralize nutrients and protect plants from pathogens.

It is, to say the least, a land of contradictions – one where the life above ground was built almost entirely from the dead matter below it.

“The fact that space near us seems dead now tells us that any given piece of dead matter faces an astronomically low chance of begetting such a future,” Dr. Hanson wrote.