The key to unlocking the secrets of the universe lies in the existence of one abstract form of matter. The Higgs Boson, more popularly known as the “God particle,” is a hypothetical massive scalar elementary particle thought to be responsible for the formation of the cosmos after the Big Bang. Scientists have been trying to hunt down this elusive particle for decades. At the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), physicists are saying the hunt may almost be over.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world’s largest atom smasher and CERN’s most famous pet project. Thanks to popular books and the media, it has roused the people’s curiosity and seeped into popular culture as the ultimate hybrid of science fiction and science fact. In just a few months, the powerful particle accelerator was able to replicate every single particle currently known to physics. The next step, according to the people behind the project, is to make over our knowledge of physics itself.

CERN is not the only entity on the hunt for the God particle. Two rival projects, the Compact Linear Collider (CLC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC), are also dabbling with high energy physics, albeit using very different means. Whereas the LHC consists of a giant vacuum ring, which recreates microscopic “big bangs” by smashing together sub-atomic particles at high energy levels, the ILC and CLC smashes particles together in straight lines of up to 50 km.

It’s been a long time coming, and now CERN is finally ready to achieve what most people consider to be the main purpose of its existence. The discovery of the Higgs Boson might just change the course of history. The better we understand the God particle and its role in the Big Bang, the better we’ll be able to control our environment and make the best out of the universe that we live in, whether in the search for a new source of renewable energy or, as some science fictionists speculate, in time travel.