1/ Nothing happening should be considered that shocking given how irreverent we have been towards the planet, people and animals. An overly secularized western mindset might consider itself too arrogant to atone for those mistakes, but then again that mindset is what got us here.

2/ Invisible forces or as real as visible ones, and there are laws that rule internal planes as objective and discernible as laws on the external. Cause-and-effect is hardly unscientific. If you don’t like the effect, atonement means you’re wise enough to recognize who caused it.