everything was laid out before me , and the world became clear as i saw that i passed over what once had been earth , and saw the planet i once called home degenerate before my eyes , from a glimmering metropolis to a smog-filled complex , threatening all life which yet depended upon it , and further then i saw the race of man fall as it turned all that it had against itself , and i saw the great industries that had destroyed it and reduced the planet to a melted husk .