Judging by the hype around the Mayan prediction of our extinction in December 2012 people have been – and probably always will be – fascinated by the idea of the end of the world. The Big End invokes powerful images. We see fire, pain, death, often shaped by Hollywood’s never-ending love story with catastrophic plots: “The Day After Tomorrow”, “2012”, “28 Days Later” and many other movies featuring our last days.