Monday, May 16, 2011

Who's That Knocking?

Dear Friends,
Stephen Hawking has cautioned us to stay clear of alien visitors, to not advertise our presence. They might be hunting for precious resources on rocky world rich with minerals and meat. the solution to Fermi’s Paradox may be that advanced civilizations have figured out that it is best to stay hid from their galactic neighbors.
But, what if we do get a visit? That’s unlikely, of course, given the vastness of even our observable backyard. More likely, we may get message in the form of modulated laser light in an appreciative response to an “I Love Lucy” episode from 1960. Or, the message may be in the form of a controlled implosion of star that radiates an SOS, sent from a species that can manage stellar mechanics but not solve their troubles with the little beasties that are eating all their methane.
Here on The Home Planet, our own species can’t even communicate with our Cetacean cousins, nor our closest kin, Great Apes. The creatures that we call pets, who live in our own homes, are a mystery to us. Just ask anybody who keeps a cat.
Hic Finis Est,
S