[Captain Rhino]

The line is from the last stanza of T.S. Elliot's “The Hollow Men.” Here is the full last stanza from the wikipedia article on the poem (link at the bottom of the quote):

"This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollow_Men

Shute was certainly a properly educated Englishman. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Shute ). Attribution to Elliot in the novel was unnecessary as both he and most of the novel's original readership knew these famous lines and their origin from their schooling.

Today, unfortunately, Elliot has been relegated to the literary ring of irrelevancy created for “dead white men” who are believed to have little of interest to say to modern readers.

And now, having learned that the Universe will end in cold, dead, lifelessness in say, 40 or 50 billion years, I'm totally bummed and I think I'll get drunk.

[shibumi]

"And now, having learned that the Universe will end in cold, dead, lifelessness in say, 40 or 50 billion years, I'm totally bummed and I think I'll get drunk.

Try Eliot's favorite drink. Vodka with water.

Think about it while reading post #25.