... ratchet down a bit, stop, and consider the primordial "play dough" ... atoms made of subatomic particles:

Protons
Neutrons
Electrons

Take gold (AU) for example:

79 protons and 118 neutrons in its nucleus, surrounded by 79 electrons.

Or lead (PB):

82 protons, 126 neutrons and 82 electrons.

If you could surgically remove 3 protons, 8 neutrons and 3 electrons from lead, you could end up with gold. Be the first on your block to try it.

But don't stop there. There are sub-subatomic particles. Protons consist of two up quarks and one down quark, while neutrons consist of two down quarks and one up quark.

There are six types of quarks, known as "flavors": up, down, strange, charm, top, and bottom.

Then, there are gluons, which are the force-carrying particles that bind quarks together via the strong nuclear force.

Then, there are leptons. Leptons are fundamental particles that do not combine to make larger composite particles.

Just when you think we are at the bottom of universal building blocks, there's more:

Neutrinos: Extremely light, neutral elementary particles that rarely interact with matter.

Photons: Elementary particles representing the quantum of light and the electromagnetic field.

Positrons: The antimatter counterpart to the electron, carrying a positive charge.

Hadrons (Mesons/Baryons): Composite particles made of quarks, such as pions (mesons).

Muons: Similar to electrons but with much greater mass.

Are we finished? No. There's more:

String theory is a theoretical framework in physics proposing that the fundamental constituents of the universe are not point-like particles, but tiny, one-dimensional vibrating filaments of energy called "strings". These strings vibrate in different patterns, determining the mass, charge, and type of particle, such as electrons or quarks. It aims to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics, often requiring 10 or 11 dimensions.

Is there more? Probably.

Mondo, your Minister of Education and Culture, will let you know in due time.