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s*—~ ¿f ? p - //s20 A u g u s t 1 9 8 4 C O N T A C T

< y , h e n sh e w as two y e a r s old, sh e w o u l d 1 1 f t h er h a n ds to h er f a t h e r an d say, very s w e e t l y , "Dada, up1

€vpr»s»«¿ iunr ïf f f iMw jk-Xfl *'''» £]) H 1s friends oro etmazod at er J)biItness It's not

polite ne ss," h e r f a t h e r said. "She u s e d to s c r e a m w h e n

she w a n t e d to be picked u p . a - t K l once said to her,

' E l U e , y o u d o n ' t have to sc re a m . u s t say "D ad d y, up1

K1ds are very brigh t.,4 l l yo u h ave t o d o s f t i l l t h e m « « '

th e e asie st w ay to ge t picked upj. / h e y ' 1 1 do t

<fl

€ T C L0 r> ow

o n « u WAS

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,// W \ - L ^ * A//^y *(ldJk. >jr -¿"v r * t»uWrtácíu4-Jhf** nis r*l un»

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23 April, 1984 Page 1 / 3

She let herself into th e spare room a little guiltily. he old

Motorola radio was on t he shelf w h e r e she remembered i t . t was very

big and h eavy ana she almost dro pp e d i t . n th e back were the words,

"Dan ger. o J r o t Remove." ut she kn e w t h a t i f i t wasn't plugged 1 n ,

th ere wa s n o e l e c trici ty i n i t . it h her t o n g u e between h er lips,

she removed t he screws and exposed t he innards. s she suspected,

there were n o tiny o rc h e s tr a s and m i ni a t ur e announcers q u ie tly living

out t h e ir s m a l l Uves i n a n ticip a ti o n of the mo m e n t when t h e switch

o n th e front would b e clicked to " o n . " nstead t h e r e w e r e beautiful

glass tubes, a little like lightbulbs. ome resembled t he churches

o f Mo s co w she had seen pictured i n a book. The prongs a t their

bases*(were p e rf e c tly designed for th e r e c e p t a cl e s t h e y were fitted

i n t o . ith th e back off and t he switch " o n . " she plugged the set

in to a nearby w a l l socket. f s h e didn't touch i t , i f she went

nowhere n ear i t , how could i t hurt her?

Af te r a few moments, tubes began t o g l o w warmly, but n o sound

came from the radio. t was "broken," and h a d been retired some

ye a r s before i n favor o f a mo r e mo d e r n variety. ne tube was n o t

glowing. he unplugged the s e t and pried th e m a l f unc t i oni ng tube out



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 4

of i t s receptacle. here was a metallic square inside the bulb,

attached to tiny wires. he electricity runs along the wires, s h e

thought vaguely. ut first i t has to get into the tube. ne of the

prongs seemed bent, and she w as able after a little work to straighten

i t . einserting the tube and plugging the set i n again, she was

delighted to see i t begin to glow, and a n ocean of static arose around

h e r . it h a start, glancing towards th e closed door, she lowered the

volume. he

talking excitedl

ame upon a voice

a Russian

machine that w as i n the s k y , endlessly circling the Earth. he turned

again, seeking other stations. fter a while, fearful of being

discovered, she unplugged the set, screwed the back o n loosely a n d ,

again with difficulty, lifted the radio a n d placed i t o n the shelf.

As she left the spare room, h er . M o t h e r came upon her and she

started once more. I s everything a l l right, E l He?' ' Y e s . M o m ,

She affected a casual a i r , but h er heart was beating, her palms were * « . 4 - 4 M > l r t / f t ' " O - A l i

sweating. he - w a o ^ - f c o a favorite s p o t i n the s m a l l back y a r d , , her

knees drawn up to h er chin, «*4 thought about the inside of the

radio. re a l l those tubes really necesary? hat would happen i f y o i

removed them one a t a time? er father had once called them va c u m

tubes. hat was happening inside a vacuum tube? as there really no

air i n there? ow did the music of the orchestras and the voices of

the announcers get j£ the radio? hey liked to s a y , " O n the air."

Was radio somehow carried by the air? h at happens inside the radio

s e t when you change stations? hat was "frequency"? hy do y ou have

A.



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 5

t o plug i t i n for i t to work? ould y ou make a kind of m ap showing

h ow the electricity runs through the radio? ould y ou take i t apart

without hurting yourself? ould you pu t i t back together again? m * U +0

"Ellie, what have you been up to?" *e+d her Mother, walking b y

with laundry for the clothesline.

"Nothing, Mom. ust thinking."

-Btrt

kind of halter nd here e e m e d o e o wels n is oints.

that'o ow o ooked n he o vie lso, efore ie mtdiii f c i 'tja l buy ? U/k.« * W » < » • ' * • » • ' *» 5

ftcre was oment while Gipetto s ust completing he onstruction W * . " H H «H. O

Us f Pinocchio^whon tho Garponta c ^ h i s back f r u r n o d - f eo the puppet, i s » r # » » # 1 - I v

4U c * ynaccountab ly sent flying by a well-placed kick. t that i n s t a n t ,

rg e it+9 r

Gipotto^ friend arrives and asks him what h e i s doing sprawled o n the

floor. I am teaching," Glpetto replies with dignity, "the alphabet

t o the ants.*

This seemed to Ellie extremely witty, and she took great pleasure

i n recounting i t to h er friends. ut each time she quoted i t there



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 6

was a n unspoken question lingering a t the edge of her consciousness: toutP

Could y ou teach the alphabet to th e ants?- What 4 o. ants know, anyway?

a,4*i»r>y¿4 j * » * - l 4vîr yy*J sk^J tr « " - o w n . T~»v*r«. i ^ , ^

Sometimes she would get up i n th e middle of the night to g o to

the bathroom, and find her father there i n h i s pajama bottoms, h i s

neck craned u p , a kind of patrician disdain accompanying the shaving

cream o n his upper l i p . h y was h e shaving a t night, when n o one

would know if h e had a beard? Because," h e smiled, "your m oth e r w i l l

know." ears later, she discovered that she had understood this

cheerful remark only incompletely. er parents were i n love.

After school, sh e h a d ridden her bicycle to a little park o n Lake

Mendota. rom a saddlebag s h e produced The Radio Amateur's Handbook



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 7

and A Connecticut Yankee i n King Arthur's Court- *o4/4fter a X moment's the

consideration.^decided o n the latter. wain's hero had bee conked o n

the head and awakened i n Arthurian England. aybe i t was a l l a dream

or a delusion. ut m aybe i t was real. as i t possible to travel

backwards i n time? er chin o n her knees, she scouted for a favorite

passage. t was w h e n Twain's hero i s first collected b y a man dressed

t n a r m o r wh o h e takes t o b e a n escapee from a l o c a l booby hatch. s

they reach the crest of the h i l l they see a city laid out before

t h e m :

[CHECK] "'Bridgpórt' *AWI I ?

' C a m e l o t , S*fS

• s é + d h e .

She stared out into the blue lake, trying to imagine a city which

could pass a s both 1 9 t h Century Bridgeport and 6th Century Camelot,

when h er m oth e r rushed u p to h e r . I've looked everywhere for y o u ,

Why aren't you where can find you? h , E l l i e , " he whispered,

"something a w f u l 's happened."

I n the seventh grade they were studying "pi." t was a Greek

letter that looked like the architecture a t Stonehenge, i n E n g l a n d :



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 1/8

two vertical pillars with a crossbar a t top T. f y ou measured

the circumference o f a circle a n d then divided i t b y the diameter o f

th e circle, that was p i . t home, E l lie took a compaoi, made w h a t

± .nnV f>< \ i - i i - p A p p f orf ri rri Bj w r a p p o H s t r i n g a r o u n d tb = » fi ccip, *y

straightened the string out and with a ruler measured the circle's

circumference. he did the same with t h e diameter, a n d b y long

division divided the one number b y the other. he g o t 3 . 3 5 . . h at

seemed simple enough.

The next day th e teacher, M r . Dunnigan, said that * was about rf- -tax. »n-i-et& i-» *e - eviic

22/7, about 3.1416. u t actually, i t was a d e c i m a l that went o n and

o n forever without repeating the pattern o f numbers. orever, ElUe

thought. he raised her hand. t was the beginning o f the s c h o o l

ye ar a n d she h a d n o t asked many questions i n mathematics class.

"How could anybody know that the decimals g o o n a n d o n forever?"

"That's just the way i t 1 s , " said the teacher with some asperity.

" B u t why? ow d o you k n o w ? * * ¿ / « , * , c** y # k . c»n,i fi»ti s «t«f«^r?

"Miss rroway," e was onsulting is lass ist, this s

stupid uestion. You're wasting he class's ime."

N o ne ad ve r called l lie tupid before, nd he ound erself

bursting nto ears. Billy Horstman, ho at ext o her, ently

reached u t nd laced is and ve r hers. His ather ad ecently

been ndicted or amper ing i L h he U u i n eL urs n he se d ars e

sold, o Billy was ensitive o public umiliation. ElUe an u t f

the class obbing.



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 9

r » 4.1**.

b ÎCycLmJl After school, she * c n f c t o the University library t o look a t books

o n mathematics. s nearly a s s h e could figure out from what s h e r e a d ,

her question w a o n e t stupid. ccording t o th e Book o f Solomon, the

ancient Hebrews h a d apparently thought that * as exactly e q u a l to

three. he Greeks a n d Romans, who knew l o t s o f things about

mathematics, had n o idea that the digits i n * went o n forever without

repeating. t had only been discovered about 250 years a g o . ow was

she expected to know i f she couldn't a s k questions? u t M r . Ounnigan

had been right about the f i r s t , few digits. 1 wasn't 3 . S . he must

have -dr awn t h e c irc le care loo o lyr o r b e e n sloppy i n measuring the

ven i f s h e - & » d been much more careful ^ t h e y couldn't l/ J

(Aexpect er o measure n nfinite umber f decimals.

There was nother ossibility, hough. Y ou ould alculate 1 as

accurately s ou wanted. If ou new omething alled alculus, ou

could rove ormulas or r hat would et ou calculate t s xactly

as ou wished. The oo k Usted ormulas or pi ivided y our. S o m e

of he m he ouldn't ©¥•» understand Bu t here were o m e hat

dazzled er. ir/4, he oo k aid, as he a m e s -1/3+1/5-1/7+ .

.with he umbers ontinuing n orever. Quickly he ried o work

it u t dding nd ubtracting he ractions lternately. The u m 4^

would bounce from being bigger than i r / 4 t o being smaller than w / 4 , b u t

after a while you could see that t h i s series o f numbers was o n a b e e

Une f o r the right answer. o u could never g e t there exactly, b u t you could g e t a s close a s you wanted, i f you were able t o spend enough

time o n 1 t , i f you were very patient. t seemed t o her a miracle that

A



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 1 / 1 0

t he g e o m e t ry o f every circle i n the world w a s c o n n e c t e d with this jL/tfW C-aîtfi Cir£l»t le i»»tA?r- *Vt-*c,/-« »

series f ractions.„ he was etermined o earn alculus.

The ook aid omething lse, w was alled transcendental"

number . There was o algebraic quation with rdinary umbers n t

that ould ive ou . S he ad already aught erself ittle

algebra, nd nderstood what his eant, « f t w t wasn't yâny i iLjns y

the nly ranscendental number . In act here were n nfinita-^mibor

of ranscendental numbers. More han hat, here were nfinitely more

transcendental numbers han rdinary umbers, ven hough r was he

only ne of he m he ad ve r eard f.

S he ad aught l impse f omething majestic. Hiding etween

all the rdinary umbers was n nfinity f ranscendental numbers,

whose resence ou would ever ave uessed nless ou ooked eeply

Into mathemat ics . Every o w nd hen ne f hem, ike , ould op

up nnocuously n veryday ife. But most f he m — an nfinite

number f hem, he eminded erself « were iding, inding heir

o w n usiness, lmos t ertainly ngl lmpsed y he rritable Mr. ISeisbr-vi Piniii IJIIII..



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 1 1

She saw through John Staughton from the very first. ow her f\ ê if<r * * o * ê #u¿ ; 4 - * > +s

mother could even contemplate marrying him spoçially only two

years after her father's death as a n impenetrable mystery. e

was nice enough looking, and h e could pretend, when h e pu t h i s mind t o

i t , that h e really cared about you. ut h e was a martinet. e made

his graduate students come over weekends to weed and garden the new

house they h a d moved into, «fKllhen made f u n of them behind th l r

backs. e told Ellie that she was just beginning high s c h o o l and was

n o t to l o o k twice a t any of h i s bright young men. e was puffed u p

with some 1 m a g i

t i f i i v e i s i l y d c u

*«

ha d een nly fe e

young, vertrrrt. interest n adio nd electronics a s n s e e m l y or girl, hat t

A S /, •V

• k * .

would not catch her a husband, that understanding physics was, for a P < - * ¿ » « ¿ but * * • C_A

h e r , a foolish and aberrational notion, f h e wished t o b u a

*» ¿ V - - s a r n n r l a r y o c h o o l t e ach er o r a nu rse ; k no w ing a little s c i e nce m igh t- b e

ll.tf LSAS «t\- fi CX S us*. Il S

+ - U.X*J ±r. \4*- W *.//, d rq — i

list's S»f

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âlpfu j, u t h o was n o t p r e pared, especially a s a n assoc - iate w n . **r+J? . S"4«

^\»mU Vl.M-ftr- *4- i n . L^ - ei - i >*£t \U- ^*-*, * ÇÛr- * í í . An as set, * A > rrTKs9 et- r

f T 1 £ . * -

» t x * . eve*.

professor f hysiGS, lu Jüjist iia Uopdaughtor n aking foo1--of

hcraclfc* H e oGurod or f on tter ncoiiijye n ajynos ^

frcrscHi a d avéWconsidere asa reer i n s c i e n c e ,

H e was not a gentle man, a s her father h a d been, although i n the

hospital, after her tonsillectomy, h e h a d brought her a splendid

kaleidoscope. till, i t w as inconceivable that her mother could truly

love h i m . er father h a d died, her m o t h e r had bee me increasingly



- 4

2 3 April, 1984 Page 1/12

distan t, she had been exiled to t he house of a ty r a n t^ ¿ S h e longed to

escape.

"'Bridgeport?' &*+4 I . fnyS

'Camelot,' s&*4 he."

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«TT TCT t INCOHE R E N T IGHT

< r *

Surrounding the blue-white star i n i t s equatorial plane w a s a

vast ring of orbiting debris ocks and i c e , metals and organics^--

~ ~ T t T ë world'si zed polyhedron plummeted through a g a p i n the rings and

emerged out the other s i d e . n the ring plane, shadowed b y the

irregular jumble of boulders a n d

orbiting mountains, i t had been hr.'e y

darkened. ut n o w , carried b y i t s trajectory towards a point above

the opposite pole of th e s t a r , th e sunlight glistened of f i t s millions

of bowl-shaped appendages. f you looked ve r y carefully you might

have seen one of them make a slight pointing a d j u s t m e n t » . ut you

could not have seen th e burst of radio waves,omanating-f rom i t into

the depths o f space.

For a l l J 3 * he tenure of humans o n Earth, the night s k y had been

** companion and ** inspiration. he stars comforteë and rouîod pcopia j e

w o r T r t w + 4 e . , i n part because they seemed to demonstrate that the heavens

were created for the benefit and instruction of humans. his pathetic

conceit became th e conventional wisdom a 4 1 OVOP t h e g l o b e . om e

people found i n the skies a n aperturt to th e religious sensibility.

Many were awestruck and humbled by t he glory and immensity of th e



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2 / 2

/

cosmos. thers were stimulated t o th e most extravagant flights of

fancy. t the very moment that humans discovered th e scale of th e

universe, and found that their most unrestrained fancies were i n fact

dwarfed by t h e true dimensions of even th e Milky Way Galaxy, they took

steps *& e n s u r e t / t h a t their descendants would be unable to see the

stars a t all. or a million years, humans had grown up k n o w i n g - t-< - f>irsû*

V ntimately the vault of heaven. n the last few thousand years they

began emigrating to the cities. n the last few decades, a major

fraction of th e human population had abandoned a rustic w ay of U f e .

í t a e ^cities became polluted a n d , , »lowly » th e nights grew starless. ew

generations grew to maturity wholly ignorant of th e sky that h a d

transfixed their ancestors, and that had stimulated the modern age of

science and technology. ithout even noticing, just a s astronomy

began entering a golden a g e , most people cut themselves of f from the

s k y , a cosmic isolationism that ended only with the dawn of space

exploration.

W0U.ÍJ

1e ood ro lUe n e e d 4 o look up a t Venus and Imagine 1 t was a world

something like the Earth opulated by plants and animals and

civilizations, but each of them different from the kinds w e have

here. n the outskirts of M adison/ Wioim i s tq » she would examine th e . A»-— ~ »^' t.*«ri'r>)

night s k y n u s t after s u n s e t , ] a nd scrutinize that s t ea d y bright point of

light,,* » S h o c o u ld t e l l ri? y c o m p a r i _ s « f l with nearby clouds, - f e h * t 1 t s**~**0 w*s a little yellow. «#. a n d t a » y t o Imagine w h a t was going on there.

She would stand o n tiptoe and stare the planet down. ometimes, she



2 3 Apri1, 1984 Page 2/3

could almost convince herself that she could see wh n t*w n? h oppe n i n o * Se « i'/

*Jwca¿ A swirl f yellow og would uddenly clear, nd n normous a. vasf-

jeweled city would briefly e evealed. Air cars pe d mong he

crystal pires. Somet imes he would magine peering nto ne of hose

vehicles nd glimpsing ne of he m. O r he would magine oung ne,

glancing p at bright blue point of ight n _its ky, tanding n

tiptoe nd wondering whet he nhabitants of Farth might e it-a. It ai\ i rr«S i 's '/* ><«- r>o4- t ' o - n \ f*P>

was aptivatingidgo a sultry, ropical lanet*Júst next door. W»*u jit—

br imming over w1th„lifev y

- c - ' H i g h s c h o o l was a n o r d e a T D ^ S h e cgns e n t . P r i to rote memorization,

b u t knew that I t h ardly constitute d a n e d u cation.) She did th e

minimum work necessary to do well i n her courses, and pursued other r » * ¿ - ¿ « r s .

wrte£a*£s« he arranged to spend he* free periods, and occasional n- • • * Cr* " » r A r

hours after school, 1 n what was called "shop" kind of m i n i u L u i - e

-U

factory^ estábil shed when the h4^h school h ad Coro m a T o T V e apo na ibri T t y *

«or vocational education than i t didîn t h o middlo lQGOs. m e r e were

lathes, drill presses, and other machine tools which w o r o " almost T r I«J», » * - « - « t « t * i

H H p o nmhle or iei L u uL IU AC, o matter_how apable he might e,

-t>e«+«e he was^'a girl." But he was $44^/reluctant//perm1ss1on o

pursue e r wn projects n he electronics re a of he shop." S he

built adios more or ess ro m cratch, nd hen went n o omething

that oomed more nteresting.

b*,'i+- uiíún V t { ' | y ~T4- « w

h r - r ipn igng d . a » s 4 f f l g l e encrypting machi n e . * h j r t could take any

t n g H s h language m e s s a g e a n d ~ t r a n s f o r r a I t by a simple substitution

cipherA Building a machine that would do the reverse onverting



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 2/4

wUn a n encrypted message into clear + f you didn't know the substitution

convention „was much harder. o u could have the machine r u n p e s?-%lt- Sub* i-'i-*-4~*»i»-z

through a l l th e poooibilitioojA stands for B , A stands for C , A

stands for D , . or you could remember that some letters i n

English were used more often than others. ou could get some Idea of

th e frequency of letters by looking at th e sizes of the bins for each

letter of type 1 n th e print shop next door. ETAOIN SHRDLU," the boys

i n print shop would s a y , giving very roughly the order of the 1 2 most

frequently used letters i n English. n decoding a long message, the

letter that was most common probably stood for an E . ertain

consonants tended to go together, she discovered; owels distributed

themselves more or less a t random. he most common three-letter word

i n th e language was " t h e " . Ifhere was a letter standing between a T

and a n E , 1 t was almost certainly " H . " f not, you could bet on MR "

o r a vowel. he deduced other rules, and spent long hours counting up

the frequency of letters i n various texts, before she discovered that such frequency tables were published and readily available. er

decrypting machine was only for her own enjoyment. he did not aven •ht L

use i t to convey secret messages to h er friends. he was ôry5ca ref u l '

wh o s h e ôvon toH about nor electronic pursuit a ; he boys became v e r y -

n n r w n i i ^ . , a n d the girls looked a t her strangely.

Soldiers of th e United States were fighting i n a distant place

called V1et N a m . very aonth, i t seemed, more young m en were being

' - i r nt thera. . . T h e more she learned about the origins of th e war, the

more she listened to the public pronouncements of national leaders,

s/



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cm r<v&* e _ ¿ 7 C« Ks-Ti N <f

-?age-2/5 7~

"ie more outraged he ecame. T he reside7rrânïï~tTTe~XP7rgress were-" 1

lying nd killing, he hought o herself, nd almost veryone else

was mutely assenting. T he act hat er tepfather efended-the

On

official positlonja&Hrt treaty obligations, dominoes, and naked

Communist aggression, only strengthened her resolve. he began

attending meetings and rallies a t th e university nearby. h e people

she m et there seemed much brighter, friendlier, more alive , than her *r*y *5$ companionsffn-high school/ ohn Staughton *t first cautioned her and

then forbade her to spend time with university students. h ey would

not respect her, h e said. h ey would take advantage of her. h e was

pretending to a sophistication she did not have and never would. ve n -

r t f e r style of dress was deteriorating. ilitary fatigues were

inappropriate for a girl, and a travesty, a hypocrisy, for someone wh o C I 1 1 t\+Ji sit ¿s-/* •

p iotonded to ppnspffthn nmir, mn -, iri»ifln of he t m cxlrin

armed opâs, «* ini« * • * - « « » . • > £ , w . ** Sw4«us/- S/4,

Beyond pious exhortations to ElUe and Staughton not to "fight,"

her mother participated little i n these discussions. rivately, s h e

would plead wit h E l l le t o obey her stepfather, to b e " n i c e / ' a w d l - i f l

, ÍA \ * » )m e gittion/tone ayXasked l lie f ho ould o omething or all

/ l*¿>

their sakes ttend Bible class. t*would help instill t h e value

of the conventional virtues; h er mothor be l iavad ; u t , even more

important, 1 t would show Staughton that Ellie was willing to m ake some

accomodation. Ou^ " f ov* » »\, C - ¿ > r - kec- mú^L* S o every Sunday, for most of one school year, Ellie went to a

Bible discussion group a t a nearby church. t was one of th e

CL*^0

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V 7 v r J/sp/s^ , '/ A,wy

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ce. x s .

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23 April, 98 4 »—^-> VJ—a~7Kana /fi—

+*-(**. r e s p e c t a b l e P r o t e s t a n t d e n o m i n a t i o n s , u n s u l l i e d b y o x c b o o i v o ev*** « i / c / * » .

p r o s e l y t i z i n g - » T h e r e w e r e a f e w h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s , a n u m b e r o f

a d u l t s , m a i n l y ^ w o m e n , a n d t h e i n s t r u c t q i y - t h a . M i n i s t e r ' s j^ j f a E l l l e

h a d n e v e r s t u d i e d , t h e B i b l e b e f o r e , -amover t h e w e e k e n d p r e c e d i n g h e r . « - U * _ -

f i r s t c l a s s , r e a d t h r o u g h w h a t s e e m e d t o < f c e r t h e I m p o r t a n t p a r t s o f

t h e O l d Testament^ S h e a t o n c e r e c o g n i z e d t h a t t h e r e w e r e t w o

d i f f e r e n t a n d m u t u a l l y c o n t r a d i c t o r y s t o r i e s o f c r e a t i o n i n t h e f i r s t

t w o c h a p t e r s o f G e n e s i s . S h e d i d n o t s e e h o w t h e r e c o u l d b e l i g h t a n d

d a y s b e f o r e t h e S u n w a s m a d e , a n d h a d t r o u b l e f i g u r i n g o u t e x a c t l y w h o

i t w a s t h a t C a i n h a d m a r r i e d . n t h e s t o r i e s o f L o t , o f A b r a h a m a n d 4.U ¿ « ¿ . - . - a . / . f

S a r a h 1 n E g y p t , o f D i n a h , o f J a c o b a n d E s s a u , s h e f o u n d h e r s e l f

i n c r e a s i n g l y o u t r a g e d . h e u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o w a r d i c e m i g h t o c c u r i n

t h e r e a l w o r l d , , A n a a c q u i e s c e n c e e v e n e n c o u r a g e m e n t e f t h e r a p e o f

ono s d a u g h t e r s , d e c e p t i o n a n d f r a u d e f a nAa g e d f a t h e r , c o n s e n t t o t h e y0*r y « . «V t f t f t

seduction of ne's wifel he in g. But here was not word of / ' " + V 7 7 — -> .

p r o t e s t a g a i n s t - t h e s e c r i m e s / i n t h e o u p p o o o d h o l y b o o l O n s t e a d , t h e * - + - V * . c r • ' « * ♦ * ¿ - 3 S . , „ I ~ A w e r e a t l e a s t t a c i t l y a p p r o v e d , a né i n s o m e c a s e s , ^ t s e e m e d /

p r a i s e d .

W h e n c l a s s b e g a n , s h e w a s e a g e r f o r a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e s e í « c o n* » s ^ * i \ c i < ? £ ,

v e x i n Q a m h i g u l t i o o i , f o r a n u n b u r d e n i n g I l l u m i n a t i o n o f G o d ' s P u r p o s e ,

o r a t l e a s t f o r a n e x p l a n a t i o n o f w h y t h e i - n c i d o n t s p o r t r a y e d i n t h o o o

s t o rr s w e r e n o t c o n d e m n e d b y t h e ^ w w - f c e - p s o r W f 4 - t a c . B u t s h e w a s t o

b e d i s a p p o i n t e d . T h e v n c t r u c t o r b l a n d l y t e m p o r i z e d * a n d Somehow t h e s e

s t o r i e s n e v e r s u r f a c e d 1 n s u b s e q u e n t d i s c u s s i o n . W h e n E l He I n q u i r e d

h o w 1 t w a s p o s s i b l e f o r t h e m a i d s er v a n t s o f t h e d a u g h t e r o f P h a r a o h t o

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2 3 April, 1984 Page 2 / 8

like a million kids probably took this test. omeone had to be

1ucky.)

Cambridge, Massachusetts, seemed far enough away to e vado John V o m

Staughton's Influence, but close enough to return te o n vacation to 0 . ' f £ . " e . * r f

visit her m oth e r ho viewed the arrangement a s a ^compromise

between abandonment f e y her daughter and seme incremental" / rntatien-e-f

her husband, ilie surprised herself by choosing Harvard over the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She set out to broaden her education, to take as m any courses a s

possible a p a c j t from her central Interests i n mathematics, physics and

e n g i n e e r i n g * . ompared t o others she know ^ J í f r » had ao* been^severely - / l l i m i l l 1 i i 1 - 7 -

encumbered with*parental proscriptions back i n Madioon, Wioconain, b u t

f l i e r new-found freedom/was exhilaratin g ntellectually, social*^,

s e x u a l}y A A t a time when m any of her contemporaries were mo ving

towards shapeless clothing that minimized the distinctions between the

sexes, she aspired to a n elegance and simplicity i n dress and m ake up

that strained her limited budget. here were more effective ways to

make political statements, she thought. he cultivated a few close

friends and made a number of casual enemies, wh o disliked her for h er

dress, for her political and religious views, or for the vigor with

which she defended her opinions. er competence and delight i n

science were taken a s rebukes by m any otherwise capable young women. wl|»"f" *tiÍ ) » « * *

4 * * - i ' C l ' f l l M

CA«/

But a few looked o n her as a n existence theorem demonstration

that w o m e n could d o w y f r l i n science r even a s a role model. t

the height of the s e x u a l revolution, she experimented with gradually



2 3 J a n u a r y , 1 9 C O N T A C T N O V E L I D E A F I L E

S h e f o u n d i t d i f f i c u l t t o d i s c u s s p h y s i c s , m u c h l e s s d e b a t e i t , w i t h

h e r p r i n c i p a l l y m a l e c l a s s m a t e s . t f i r s t t h e y b a d a k i n d of s e l e c t i v e

I n a t t e n t i o n t o h e r r e m a r k s . h e r e would b e a s l i g h t l y e m b a r r a s s i n g p a u s e

a n d t h e n t h e y w o u l d g o o n a s i f s h e h a d n o t s p o k e n . c c a s i o n a l l y t h e y w o u l d

a c k n o w l e d g e h e r r e m a r k , e v e n p r a i s e 1 t , a n d t h e n a g a i n g o e n a s I f s h e h a d

n eve r s poko o . h e w a s ^ s u r e h e r r e m a r k s w e r e n o t * f o o l 1 s h , a n d d i d n o t w i s h

< B I'MHIT* * *c

Mi y t o b e I g n o r e d , m u c h l e s s i g n o r e d a n d p a t r o n i z e d - b e * k . a r t o f i t

— u t o n l y a p a r t " W a s d u e t o t h e s o f t n e s s o f h e r v o i c e . o s h e d e v e l o p e d

a la n d o f p h y s i c s v o i c e * c l e a r , c o m p e t e n t a n d m a n y d e c i b e l s a b o v e h e r u s u a l

t h s u c h a v o i c e i t w a s I m p o r t a n t t o b e r i g h t ? .o t h e rw i s e l i er

y^ C ^ ç d i b i l it y - w o u l d - b e s e r i o u s l y i m n n irM -Añélt a s e+se h a r d t o c o n t i n u e .

l o n g i n s u c h a v o i c e . o s h e f o u n d herself l e a n i n g t o w a r d s q u i c k , s o m e t i m e s

c u t t i n g , I n t e r v e n t i o n s ^ ?hat w a s u s u a l l y e n o u g h t o c a p t u r e t h e i r a t t e n t i o n ; • a w d t h e n s h e c o u l d g o o n f o r a w h i l e i n h e r ^ u s u a l t o n e o f v o i c e . B t r t l e V e r y

t i m e s h e f o u n d h e r s e l f i n a n e w g r o u p s h e ^ w q u l d h a v e t o f i g h t h e r way t h r o u g h

- â n e » * j u s t t o b a a b l o t o d i p h e r o a r I n t o t h e d i s c u s s i o n . ¿ S h e h a d t o f i g h t * '

a g a i n s t d e v e l o p i n g a c o m b a t i v e personality o r t o b e c o m e a l t o g e t h e r a m i s a n t h r o p e .

S h e s u d d e n l y c a u g h t h e r s e l f ;wi t h t h o k n o w l e d g e t h a t " m i s a n t h r o p e " y o f o r r o d t e ¡s

s o m e o n e w h o d i s l i k e s e v e r y b o d y , n o t j u s t m e n . /hey h a d a w o r d f o r s o m e o n e w h o

h a t e s w o m e n iOh r i g h t ; i s o g y n i s t ,At h e «a+e l e x i c o g r a p h e r s h a d somehow n e g - c x . f i u . i 4 ~ -mjl-es. *t~~ ~ *

l e c t e d t o c o i n a w o r d f o r t h e d i s l i k e o f t h o m a l o o e x [ C I I L C I O L w h i c h s h e ^ f - o u n d

1 J i i n c r e a s i n g l y e a s y t o d o -.—A n d t h e i r s m u g i n differe n ce t o t h e p o w e r o f - w o r d s .

A h n n k o n ~ "nT h e T i r i g i n n f .M a n T ^ - f e r - e x a m p l e , a s i f the _ a v a n t -could h a v e h a p p ened

-She ithout l i e i îy In O f woman.—And l ie c r m a n^language ¿ t s y ij i wurse^.— 51 ¿3 -— — wwUi,-y« /r

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2 3 J a n u a r y , 1 9 8 4 CONTACT N O V E L I D E A F I L E - p g e 2

w o u l d b o c o m o o c c a 3 < 8 im1 1 . y H ' d L ü , U U L n e v e r e m b i t t e r e d . f t e r F r e d e r i c k ,

h e r e x p e c t a t i o n s i n m e n w e r e o n l y a c h i g h a a he d a ) H ? 4 » b u t s h e n e v e r

e n t i r e l y l o s t a s e n s e t h a t l o v e o f a m u c h d e e p e r a n d m o r e s u b t l e v a r i e t y

w a s p o s s i b l e , t h e m w h a t s h e h a d ytíí e x p e i ¡mc e .



23 April, 1984 Page 2 / 9

increasing enthusiasm. ut she found she was intimidating her

would-be lovers. er relationships tended to last a f ew months a t

most. he alternative seemed to be to disguise her interests and

stifle her opinions, something sh e had resolutely refused to do i n

high school. B u t .ch e image of her mother, condemned to a resigned and

placatory imprisonment, haunted Ellie. he began wondering about m en

unconnected with the academic and scientific life.

" r ^ - « » . .a c « . , -T

[BRIEF MARRIAGE TO FREDERICK]

I n th e late 1960s, the Soviet Union succeeded i n landing a number

of space vehicles on th e surface of th e planet Venus. h ey were the

first space vehicles of th e human species to set down 1 n working order

o n another planet. bout a decade before, American radio astronomers

h a d discovered that Venus was a n Intense source of radio emission.

The most popular explanation had been that the massive atmosphere of

Venus trapped the heat through a planetary greenhouse effect. n this

view, the surface of the planet was stifling hot, m u ch too hot for

crystal cities and a burgeoning biology. llie longed for some other

explanation, and tried unsuccessfully to imagine ways i n which the

radio emission could come from high above a clement Venus surface. S » v « « u as^rtAmtCs 0 v « C * \ 4 - V * ¿ 9 ¿ « t r v v + * T ^ ^ £+.r£*+. S*+r««-f- claim*j



M os t w o m e n, she t h o u g h t , w e r e s o m e w h e r e i n th e midd l e,

sêU;^ ~ f\jp*t to r econcil e their passions - b y t h eir c o n o c i o u o l y

Jr,#U .r-f r-

LJ> « we«-"» parcaied long-term intercoms. Perhaps there a - s occasional

C9 WYlUY» l' c f c * » " » • » *

co n t a Gt b e t w e e n love and b a s t I n t e r e s t t ha t did not t ra &e * p - h o l e

t h r o u g - h th e cons ciou s mind. Bu t t h eAid ea of c a l c u l a t e d

• » r¿

* k » m . * . " U±T

e n t r ap m e n t m a d e he r shiver. ^ * h e w as d evotee of th e

spontan eo u s . T ha t was w h e n sh e m e t F re de rick



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2/10

•4-» *•« The Idea of s o massive a greenhouse effect seemed unlikely and,

f l , n « - t - S-Wt- Vw¿ lei- ¡Istl £* ^somehow, distasteful. ut when th e Venera spacecraft landed, and 1 n

effect stuck out a thermometer, the temperature measured was - h o t 1 *y> enough to m e lt lead. he Imagined the crystal cities melting

(although Venus wasn't that hot), and the surface awash i n silicate

CIY^. *** * • rew»*^vc . S*h-* Ic-**^ " / - N A T " years . A e A - * > i

But a t the same time, s h e had t o admire how powerful radio

astronomy was. he astronomers had sat home, pointed their radio

telescopes a t Venus, a n d measured the surface temperature just about

a s accurately a s the Venera probes did 1 3 years later. h e had been

fascinated with electricity and electronics as long a s she could

remember. ut this was the first time she had been deeply impressed

b y radio astronomy . ou stay safely o n you r own planet and point yo ur

telescope with its associated e l e c t r o n i c s^ Information about other

worlds then comes fluttering down through the feeds. he decided she

would become a radio astronomer.

Sh e began to visit the University's modest radio telescope i n

nearby Harvard, Massachusetts, and got the staff to let her assist

with the observations and the data analysis. h e was accepted for a

paid summer asslstantshlp at th e National Radio Astronomy Observatory

i n Green Bank, West Virginia, and upon arrival, gazed i n some rapture

a t the display of Grote Reber's original radio telescope, constructed

i n h i s back yard I n Hheaton, Illinois, 1 n 1 9 3 8 . Reber had been able

to detect the radio emission from the center of the Galaxy only w h e n

th e diathermy [CHECK] machine down the street was not i n operation.)»

¿t í o ~ i - k* * * » » .

A£ <i Uc4-x. C«*.4+T w « s Wwc m o r * .

r « n « - c iv\e u^«.ç . /.-<- c( f » w e r T w . | > » » 4 - 4 - %t

c * escc r> J



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2 / 1 1

The atmosphere of patient searching ^ a n d th e occasional rewards of

u discovery were agreeable to h e r . he y were trying to m e asu re how the

number of distant extragalactic radio sources increased a s they looked

deeper into space. he began to think about better ways of detecting

faint radio signals. n due course, she graduated cum laude from

Harvard and went on for graduate work i n radio astronomy a t the 0 *-K.*T finy / V 4-1** Coinni-ry ^ a4 ~ *i-K.c

A California Institute of Technology. 0*-v'^ Dr»"»"'»'

For a year, she apprenticed herself t o * . r i lliant, cutting , wo rl$„,'£*. > i » ~ v l , ' n

rA ** *d*h a^reputation for not suffering fools glad v. tÁ taught Ellie some ( S~«^¿ f$ <*"—-—_ of the r e a l heart of the subject, and especially Its theoretical

inejíí'''c, L'y

underpinnings. aid by other s , to be a charming man with women, Ellie

found him intermittently combative and unremittingly self-Involved.

She was too romantic, h e would s a y . he universe 1 s strictly ordered

according to i t s own rules. he idea 1 s to think a s the universe

thinks, not to foist ou r romantic predispositions (and girlish

longings, he once s a i d ) o n the universe. verything not forbidden by

the laws of nature, h e assured her uoting a colleague down the

h a l l s mandatory. ÇQ^ fy His Idea of a good time was to Invite th e graduate students and

junior faculty that h e suporviood over for dinner (unlike her

stepfather wh o enjoyed a student entourage, b u t considered having them

to dinner a n u nneee aaa rjicMG uE , ) . H e would exhibit a n extreme

intellectual territorial1ty, steering the conversation to topics 1 n

which h e was the acknowledged expert, and then swiftly dispatching

contrary opinions. fter dinner h e would often subject them to a



-Ks-w*^**-*^

17 e c e m b e r 984 C O N T A C T

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-f

-S 1*»-* A w v â V A . ¡rV e>c~~ Description of David Drum lin: dkrey hair» sardonic smile

0 h a lf reading gl as s es perc h ed to war d th e e nd of his nos e,

a bo w tie SéjMT• . %A.W 2 ight ou b le chi- a , and r e m n a n t s of a M o n t a n a

t w a n g



2 3 A p r i l , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 2 / 1 2

s i « Ç . ' - Ç - i ^ > , i - c w . 1 » . < ^ > V V n ^

0 <"

» * 1 - 0 2um« I ,

i d e show of Derhaps » hund r e d images of D r . /'ski ¡ n y n CuluuiUu w

4 J t a h ' o r the high Ski ' iaa , generally smiling into the camera and

waving. ometimes there would be a n additional set of - p r r h i p s a doian

•¿*D v*

lA»0t-C V><U k . ' j C» //««^»i , f £ ? ^ u « I , s l i d e s s h o w i n g h i m s k i i n g w i t h - t h e l o v e l y D r . H e l g a B o r k . « é ¿ s w i f e

•T* >Slrli ¿ ( | >

w o u l d a l w a y s o b j e c t t o t h e s e p a r t i c u l a r s l i d e s , o n t h e . g r o u n d s t h a t

t h e a u d i e n c e h a d a l r e a d y s e e n t h e m . B u t t h e a u d i e n c e h a d a l r e a d y s e e n

t h e m a l l . • ? w o u l d t h e n e x t o l t h e v i r t u e s o f t h e a t h l e t i c D r . B o r k ,

a n d h i s w i f e ' s h u m i l i a t i o n i n c r e a s e d . ) M a n y o f t h e s t u d e n t s g a m e l y

w e n t a l o n g , s e e k i n g n e w v i s t a s t h a t t h e y m i g h t p r e v i o u s l y h a v e m i s s e d om.t+* - ¿ f t - * . n»»'iv «*T-*Iî ni -4\t T n - f f i i , ) . ~j ' ' s - < ? a rcli'n)

on tho mages- of he alpine lopes»./» A ew would writhe n

embarrassment, tr & i m K&f.'lv c*t's*u« ' « — > -*< » 'r i my « * - > ' em*

A s t i m u l a t i n g a f t e r n o o n r o r ~ h i s g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s w o u l d b e f o r

t h e m t o b e I n v i t e d o v e r , 1 n t w o ' s o r t h r e e ' s , t o p i l o t h i o m o t o r b o a t

% ow a l a g u n a A S m i n u t p s a w a y , GO t h a t h e —. I n i t i a l l y t o t h e r e d b e h i nd r°\

.|i « T - k ^ i I ç° ]d r o a c h c r t t i s i a g a l t i t u d e f o r h a n i j - u l i - d i n g , , H o w o u l d o w o s p

d o w n w f t b r T h e d ' à r o d , b e a m i n g e x u l t a n t l y . e w u u l d i n v ¡ Leat h e r s èe-^r* /«VJ

F * j o i n h i m , b u t f e w a c c e p t e d : e h a d , a n d d e l i g h t e d i n , t b e - c o m p e t i t

a d v a n t a g e . ^ H e n e v e r m a d e a p a s s a t h e r , b u t , s h e w a s c e r t a i n , h e w a s

b o u n d t o t r y .

I n h e r s e c o n d y e a r a t C a l T e c h , / r e t u r n e d t o c a m p u s f r o m h i s

s a b b a t i c a l y e a r a b r o a d . e w a s a g e n t l e a n d u n p r e p o s s e s s i n g m a n . N o

o n e , l e a s t o f a l l h i m s e l f , c o n s i d e r e d h 1 m e s p e c i a l l y b r i l l i a n t . e t

h e h a d a s t e a d y r e c o r d o f s i g n i f i c a n t a c c o m p l i s h m e n t 1 n r a d i o

a s t r o n o m y b e c a u s e , h e e x p l a i n e d , h e " k e p t a t i t . " T h e r e w a s o n e

s l i g h t l y d i s r e p u t a b l e a s p e c t o f h i s s c i e n t i f i c c a r e e r , h o w e v e r : e



1 February, 1 9 8 5 : MISC. CONTACT I N S E R T S :

INSERT P FOR PAGE 2 / 1 1 :

, but was at heart one of those m en one finds at the top of every

profession who a r e I n a constant state of anxiety that someone,

somewhere, might prove smarter than t h e y .

INSERT R FOR PAGE 2 / 1 2 :

Others looked o n graduate students a s resources for the future,

a s the carriers of their Intellectual torches t o t h e next generation. But Drumlln, s h e f e l t , had quite a different v i e w : or h i m , graduate

students were gunsllngers wh o might at any moment successfully

challenge him for t h e reigning title of "Fastest Gun 1 n the West."



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2/13

was fascinated by the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Each faculty member, 1 t seemed, was allowed one foible: / had hang -

gliding and / had life o n other worlds. thers had topless bars, or

raising orchids, o ^Tr a n s c e n d e n t a l Meditation.®' ^had thought about

< h a t u bjoct of extraterrestrial Intelligence ( E T I ) longer and harder

— nd 1 n m any cases more carefully h an anyone else. s she

grew to know him better, she realized that E T I provided a fascination,

a romance, that was i n dramatic contrast with th e humdrum business of

Ms personal life. his thinking about the search for

extraterrestrial intelligence was not work for h i m , but play. is

imagination soared.

E l lie loved to listen to h i m . t was l i k e ^ o h e t ho ug h t » entering

Wonderland or th e Emerald City. ctually, 1 t was better, because at

th e end of a l l his ruminations, there was the thought that m aybe this

could really be true, could really happen. omeday, she mused, there

might 1 n fact and not just i n fantasy b e a message received by one of

the great radio telescopes. ut i n a way i t was worse, because 4 6 , VWtn*»

i k e 4 «;in a différent c ontext e V . e pt stre s sin g that L11ke V* t t t t t t n V . e p t stre s sing that the-speculation^

• h a d t o b a t a mpered b y sober physical r e a l i t y . , - Th e extraterrestrials

and their technology had to conform strictly to the laws of nature, a

fact that severely crimped many a charming p & s s if i l 4 - t y . ut what

emerged from this sieve, what survived the most skeptical physical and

astronomical analysis, might even be true. ou couldn't be sure, of

course. here were bound to be possibilities that yo u missed, and

that j ^ eople cleverer than vou would one day figureot.

ciA.l<€. '£/#»» ""T-T-0** "4~* «"• «V»** ST~ v^ Y\ g+i\se*



23 April, 1984 Page /1 4

V* Ufíírt r+*"*' ««^ 0 Í A . T # would emphasize how we are trapped by our culture and our

biology, how limited we are i n imagining creatures or civilizations.

' '^fundamentally differenipfo m u s and ours. t was s ortuinly possible

that beings much m ore advanced than we might have unimaginable

technologies his was, 1 n fact, almost guaranteed nd even

new laws of physics. t was hopelessly narrowminded, he would say a s

they walked past a succession of stucco California arches a s i n a

DICherico painting, to imagine that a l l significant laws of physics

h a d been discovered a t the moment ou r generation began contemplating

the problem. here would be a 21st Century phyilri^ha wmt on„ and a

22nd Century physics, and a Fourth Millenium physics. e might be

laughably far off i n trying t o f i g u iu o » t how a very different

technical civilization would communicate.

Bu t then, h e always reassured himself, the extraterrestrials

would have to know how backward we were. f we were any m ore

advanced, they would know about u s already. ere we were, just

beginning to stand u p o n our two feet, discovering fire last

Wednesday, only ye ste rday stumbling o n Newtonian dynamics, Maxwell's

Equations, ( S f a n d Unified Th eories , and ( ç a dio telescopes^ /was sure

they wouldn't m ake i t 4hard. hey would try to make i t easy. f they

wanted to communicate with dummies, they would have to m ake allowances

for the dummies. hat's wh y h e thought w e ' d have a fighting chance.

H i s lack of brilliance w as i n fact his strength. e knew, h e was

confident, what dummies k n e w .



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2/ 15

A s a t o pic for her doctoral thesis sh e chose, w i th t h e

co n cu rr e n c e of t h e faculty, the d e v e l o pm e n t of a n improvement i n the

sensitive receivers employed on radio telescopes. t m a d e use o f her

t a l e n ts i n electronics, freed h er from t h e m a i nl y t h e o r e t i c a l , / ' , and

p e rmi t t e d h er t o co n ti n u e he r discussions with /w i th o u t t a ki n g the

pro f e ss io n a lly dangerous step o f w o rkin g with him on t h e h i g h l y XV- ** *% - A > t >

speculative subject - » f¿extraterrestri a l n t e l 1 i genCe ) f o r a <Qfc4fr±l diss e r t a ti o n . e r s te pf a t h e r had t a k e n t o d e n o u n cin g he r Interests

a lte r na t e l y a s u n r e a l ist ica l ly ambitious a * ^ d e a d e n i n g l y trivial.

When he h eard of he r thesis t o pic t h r o u g h t h e g r a p e v in e (by n o w she

was not t a lkin g to him a t a l l ) he dis miss e d i t a s pedestrian.

She wa s w o rkin g on t he ruby maser. ruby 1 s m a d e m a i n ly of Ser- iver

alumina, w h ich i s almost perfectly tr a n s p a r e n t. h e r e d co lo r 4 - s - ^ f r o m

a s m a l l nmpur1ty/3£f ch ro miu iAdis tribu te d t h r o u g h t he alumina crystal.

When a strong m a g n e tic field i s impressed o n the ruby, t h e chromium

atoms increase t h e ir energy.8*4âre raised t o a n e x ci t e d state. h e

loved t he image of a l l t h e little ch ro miu m atoms called t o feverish

a c tiv i ty i n each amplifier, frenzied 1 n a " g o o d cause — mplifying a

weak radio signal. h e stronger the m a g n e tic field, the mo r e e x ci t e d

t he ch ro miu m a t o m s became. hus th e m a s e r could b e tun ed, s o that 1 t

wa s p a r ticu l a rly sensitive t o a selected radio frequency. he found a

wa y to m a k e rubles w i th lanthanide impurities i n addition t o t he

chromium atoms, s o a m a s e r could be tuned to a narrower frequency

ran ge a nd co u ld d e t e c t a much w e ake r s i g n a l th an previous masers. he

then Installed her new Instrument o n one of C a l Tech's radio



23 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 2/16

f

telescopes, and detected, a t entirely new frequencies, what

astronomers c a l l the three degree black body background radiation

the remnant, 1 n th e radio spectrum, of the immense explosion that

began this universe, the B1g Bang.

"Let's see if i have this right," she would say to herself.

"I've taken an Inert gas that's i n the air, m ade i t into a liquid, p u t

some impurities into a ruby, attached a magnet, and detected the fires

of creation." h e would then shake her head 1 n amazement. o anyone

ignorant of the underlying physics, i t ^ e e m a ^ t h e most e « v ê n r t «rr**^

„ necromancy. ow would you explain this to the best scientists of a

thousand years ago, wh o knew about air and rubles and lodestones, but

not about liquid helium, and stimulated emission, and superconducting

flux pumps? n fact, she reminded herself, they did not have even the

foggiest idea about the radio spectrum. r th e Idea of a spectrum.

O r the notion that light was waves. ow could we hope to understand

the science of a civilization a thousand ye ars ahead of us?

I t w as necessary t o make rubles 1 n large batches. nly a few

woud have the requisite properties. he remainder woro far from .

gemstone quality, ost were tiny. ut she took to wearing a few of

the^remnants. h ey matched her dark coloring well. ve n when

carefully c u t , you would immediately recognize some anomaly i n the

stone set i n a ring or a brooch: he odd way, for example, that i t

caught the light a t certain angles from a n abrupt internal reflection,

or a k i n d of peach-colored patchinoss inside the ruby r e d . he would

explain i t to non-scientist friends by saying that she liked rubies

*J



2 3 April, 1984 Page 1 / 1 7

but couldn't afford them. t was a little bit like the scientist w ho

first discovered the biochemical pathway of green plant

photosynthesis, and forever after wore a sprig of pine needles or a

piece of parsley i n his l a J p e l . olleagues, their respect for her

rapidly growing, considered i t a nother of n o r idiosyncracies.

( YÂ-U CPaû t .Vr £AtLl 4» TÏTTïr?

The great radio t e l e s c o p e / 4 of the world are constructed i n remote

locations for ^§wd* reason^ ^ For them to work well, they m u st be

distant from the r a dio pollution produced by ôJ*P civilization. s

civilian and military radio traffic has Increased, radio telescopes

have had t o hide 1 n Increasingly remote locations ~ equestered 1 n

a n obscure valley i n Puerto Rico, s a y , or exiled to a vast scrub

desert i n New Mexico^ f radio interference continues to grow, a s 1 s

virtually inevitable, i t w i l l m ake increasing sense to build the

telescopes off the Earth altogether. he scientists w ho work a t these

isolated observatories tend to be dogged and determined. pouses ô>i~* f *X~ * * * « " T , * S

S* L'A»- abandon hem, children eave o m e at he earliest aîsiUle'm o ff leftU

A » r \ M-k*y 4 // v«rf tA-' t the astronomers

f'V * ?# J y k/K(A +-*.*. y

„ ut the astronomers stick 1 t out. arely do they think of themselves do they

a s r o m a n tic s . u l l -time a str ono m o rsjn remote observatories tend to

be the practical cciontiot ^ , the experimentalists, the ones who know a

great d e a l about antenna design and data analysis, and ve r y l i t t le



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 1/18

/

about quasars or pulsars. enerally speaking, they h a d not dreamed of

the stars i n t h o i - ^ childhood^: he y were too busy repairing the

carburetor i n the family car.

After receiving her doctorate, Ellie accepted an appointment a s

research associate a t the Arecibo Observatory, a b o w l of wire that

l i r i a s th e floor of a karst valley i n the foothills of northwestern

Puerto Rico. it h the largest radiotélescope o n the planet, she was

eager t o employ her m ase r detector to look at a s m any different

astronomical objects a s she could earby planets and stars, the center of the Galaxy, pulsars and quasars. s a full-time m e m be r of

the Observatory staff, she would be assigned a significant amount of

observing time. ccess to the great radio telescopes 1 s keenly

competitive, there being many more worthwhile research projects than

can possibly be accomodated. o reserving telescope time for the

resident staff isa perquisite beyond price. or m any of the

astronomers, i t was the only reason they would consent to live i n such

God-forsaken places.

Sh e also hoped to examine a f ew nearby stars for possible signals

of intelligent origin. it h her detector system 1 t would b e possible

to hear the radio leakage from a planet like Earth even if 1 t were a

few light years away. nd a n advanced society, Intending to

communicate with us, would doubtless be capable of m u ch greater power

transmissions than we were. f Arecibo, used a s a radar telescope,

was capable of transmitting one megawatt of power to a specific locale

i n space, then a civilization only a little bit i n advance of ours



9 3 April, 1 Q « d

might, she thought, be capable of a hundred megawatts or more. f

they were intentionally transmitting to th e Earth with a telescope a s

powerful a s Arecibo but with a 1 0 0 megawatt transmitter, a n Arecibo

should be able to detect them virtually anywhere i n the Milky Way

Galaxy. hen she thought carefully about i t , she was surprised that

human tachaolog ica l c n n . iM44ty/ f n the search for extraterrestrial

in»ft11-igpnra)un<- rn fin hakim m ln* h^ri *rtm11y hoon attompiaH,

Th e Arecibo facility was known t o th e locals a s " E l Radar." t s Kl**** l'y

function was obscure, but i t provided more than a hundred badly needed

jobs. xceptrfor purposes of marri age , - / £ h e young women w e r e f ierce ly

sequestered from the young male astronomers, who^could be viewed at «/MHT

any time of t + * e day or night jogging along th e circumferential track

that surrounded the 1,000-foot diameter dish. s a result, the

attentions directed a t E l lie upon her arrival, while not entirely

unwelcome, wore a distraction from her research.

The physical beauty of th e place was considerable. t twilight,

she would l o o k out the control windows and see storm clouds hovering

over th e other lip of th e valley, just beyond one of the three immense

pylons that supported the feed horns and her newly Installed maser

system^ A t the top of each pylon, a red light would gleam, to warn

off any airplanes that had improbably s t u mb l e d o n this remote vista.

A t 4 A.M., she would step outside for a breath of air, and J w ar Hie - ¿ » - I **J

massed chorus of thousands of l o c a l frogs, called "kowis" [CHECK] i n

Imitation of their plaintive cry.



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2/20

Some astronomers lived near the Observatory, but the isolation

— ompounded by ignorance of Spanish and inexperience with any other

culture ended to drive their wives toward racism and madness.

Some had decided to live a t Rainey A1r Force Base, which boasted th e

only English-speaking s c h o o l 1 n th e vicinity. ut 44 was-a 90-mlnute

drive^ heightening their sense of isolation,fro m tho O b s e rva to ry aud -

i t s n n m r o wH^y.. epeated threats by Puerto R1can separatists,

convinced erroneously that the Observatory played some significant

military function, increased the sense of subdued hysteria, of

circumstances barely under control.

Many months later, # had come to visit. ominally, h e was there

to give a lecture, but she knew that part of his purpose was to check

u p o n how she was doing, and provide some semblance of psychological

support. ut h er research had gone very well. he had discovered

what seemed to b e a new molecular cloud complex, and had obtained some

very fine high time-resolution data on th e timing of the pulsar a t the

center of the Crab Nebula, vis. from A r e d b o ? HECK.] he had even

performed the most sensitive search yet performed for signals from a

few dozen nearby stars, but without *ay positive results. here h a d

been one or two suspicious regularities. She observed th e stars 1 n

question again, and could not find anything out of the ordinary. ook

at enough stars, and, sooner or later, terrestrial interference or the

concatenation of random noise w i l l produce a pattern that, for a **kk*s y»*r H **v+- *>ul»*4^4*. V v w . */M o*'* »*J0

moment, l e ok3 v ery exciting. ou always novo t o check i t out. f 1 t

doesn't repeat itself, consider i t spuriouit his wao a -ru le sh o h ad "VJ



23 April, 1984 Page 2/21

taug h t h orool^ to preserve some emotional equilibrium i n the face of

what she was seeking. h e was molding a s e t of attitudes as m,* vt

tough-minded a s possible, without abandoning th e sense of wonder that

was driving h er i n the first place.

From her scant supply 1 n th e community refrigerator, she had made

a rudimentary picnic lunch, and they sat themselves down a t th e very

periphery of the bowl-shaped dish. orkmen repairing or replacing the

panels could be seen i n the distance, walking on special snowshoes s o

they did not tear th e wire mesh and plunge through to the ground below. e-was delighted with her progress. hey exchanged bits of

gossip- and traded scientific tidbits. h e conversation turned to

SETI, as the search for extraterrestrial Intelligence was beginning to

b e called. Have you ever thought about doing i t f u l l time, E l l l e ? "

h e asked.

" I haven't really thought about i t much. ut - s i t eve n ¡4* n #^ r«^.//v « ¡41 .

possible^ h e r e »Is n 't any 3CHOUS facility devoted to SETI full-time,

f t t h e r e ? * ' a*^**»* «A i - * « DT/ AS . - Ç « « - S Ji . Urâ^.

" N o , but there might b e . here's a chance that hundreds of

additional dishes might b e added to the Very Large Array, and make 1 t

into a dedicated SETI observatory. hey'd do the u s u a l kind of radio

astronomy also, of course. t would be a superb Interferometer. t ' s

only a possibility, it's expensive, i t needs r e a l political will, and

It's y e a r s , away a t best. ust something to think about."

^Lee^s A» I've just examined some 40-odd nearby stars of roughly

solar spectral type. ' v e looked i n the 2 1 centimeter hydrogen line,



2 3 A p r i l , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 2 / 2 2

w h i c h e v e r y b o d y s a y s i s t h e o b v i o u s b e a c o n f r e q u e n c y — h y d r o g e n ,

t h e m o s t a b u n d a n t a t o m i n t h e u n i v e r s e , a n d s o o n . A n d I ' v e d o n e i t

w i t h t h e h i g h e s t s e n s i t i v i t y e v e r y t r i e d . T h e r e ' s n o t a h i n t o f a

s i g n a l . M a y b e t h e r e ' s n o o n e o u t t h e r e . M a y b e t h e w h o l e + 4 e * , i s a

w a s t e o f t i m e , "

" L i k e l i f e o n V e n u s ? T h a t ' s j u s t d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t t a l k i n g . V e n u s

i s a h e l l h o l e o f a w o r l d ; t ' s j u s t o n e p l a n e t . , / h e r e ' s h u n d r e d s o f

b i l l i o n s o f s t a r s i n t h e G a l a x y . o u ' v e l o o k e d a t o n l y a h a n d f u l . . 7 V, cfi»•• * ?»Vt f *_

W o u l d n ' t y o u s a y I t ' s a l i t t l e p r e m a t u r e t o f c h i n k y o u ' v e d o n o a n y t h i n g Wa a t h o r o u g h s e a r c h^f ' " / ' " * Vf f *

U I k n o w , k n o w . B u t d o n ' t y o u h a v e t h e s e n s e t h a t i f t h e y ' r e

*SJ

a n y w h e r e , t h e y ' r e e v e r y w h e r e ? f r e a l l y a d v a n c e d g u y s l i v e a t h o u s a n d

l i g h t y e a r s a w a y s h o u l d n ' t t h e y h a v e a n o u t p o s t i n o u r b a c k y a r d ? Y o u

c o u l d d o t h e S E T I t h i n g f o r e v e r , y o u k n o w , a n d n e v e r c o n v i n c e y o u r s e l f

t h a t y o u ' d c o m p l e t e d t h e s e a r c h . " " O h , y o u ' r e b e g i n n i n g t o s o u n d l i k e # , f w e c a n ' t f i n d t h e m i n

h i s l i f e t i m e , h e ' s n o t I n t e r e s t e d . W e ' r e j u s t b e g i n n i n g S E T I . Y o u

k n o w h o w m a n y p o s s i b i l i t i e s t h e r e a r e . T h i s i s t h e t i m e t o l e a v e

e v e r y o p t i o n o p e n . T h i s i s t h e t i m e t o b e o p t i m i s t i c . f w e l i v e d i n

a n y p r e v i o u s t i m e i n h u m a n h i s t o r y , w e c o u l d w o n d e r a b o u t t h i s a l l o u r • A - v ' #* Va

l i v e s * B u t W e c o u l d n ' t d o a t h i n g t o f i n d o * r t t h e a n s w e r . ^ T h i s 1 s

t h e f i r s t t i m e w h e n a n y b o d y ' s b e e n a b l e t o l o o k f o r e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l

i n t e l l i g e n c e . Y o u h a v e ^ t h e d e t e c t o r t o l o o k f o r c i v i l i z a t i o n s o n t h e

p l a n e t s o f m i l l i o n s o f o t h e r s t a r s . o b o d y ' s g u a r a n t e e i n g s u c c e s s .

B u t c a n y o u t h i n k o f a m o r e i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n ? m a g i n e t h e m o u t

©if/- ^ l i i ' f « / . ' « H * * " » ' V , «



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2/23

there, sending us signals, and nobody o n Earth i s listening. hat

would be a joke, a travesty. ouldn't you be ashamed o f you r

civilization if w e could listen, and derided n o t lotS f 4 - k,

Two hundred-fifty-six images of th e left world swam by on th e

left. h n tamo number of images of th e right world • m e j . n M J by on th e

right. e Integrated a l l 512 Images into a wraparound view of his

surroundings. e w as deep 1 n a forest of great blades, some green,

some etiolated, almost a l l larger than h e . ut h e had no difficulty

clambering up and over, occasionally balancing precariously on a bent

blade, falling to th e gentle cushion of horizontal blades below, and

then continuing, unerringly, on his journey. e could t e l l he w as

centered o n th e trail. t was o í c i t i n g l a fresh. e would think

nothing, if that's w h e r e the t r a i l l e d , of scaling a n obstacle a

hundred or a thousand times a s t a l l a s h e was. e needed no pylons

[CHECK], no ropes. e was already equipped. he W a d e s immediately

before him were redolent with a marker odor left very recently, 1 t

must b e , by another scout of his clan. t would lead to f o o d ; t

almost always did. he food would spontaneously appear. couts would

find 1 t and mark the trail. e and his fellows would bring i t back.

Sometimes the food was a creature rather like himself; ther times,



2 3 April, 1984 Page 2/24

i t was just a n amorph ous or crystalline lump. cc a s io n a lly i t was s o

large th at m a n y of his clan would be required, w o rkin g to geth er,

h eaving 4 4 o v e r t he folded blades, t o carry i t home. e smacked his

m a n dibl e s i n a n t i c i p a t i o n .

"What worries m e th e most," she con tinued, " 1 s t h e opposite, the

possibility th at th ey're not e**n trying. h ey could co mmu n ic a t e with

u s , a l l right , but they're not doing i t because t h e y don't see any

point to i t . t ' s like," she - a - i d - rTooking down - o s a r th e edge o f th e

t a bl e clo t h ste had spread over t he grass, "like t he ants. h ey «ven

occupy th e same landscape th at we d o . h e y have p l e n t y to d o , th in gs

to occupy th emselves. n some l e v e l they're a w a r e of t h e ir

environmen t very well. ut we don't try t o co mmu n ic a t e w i th t hem. 5 " ,

th at we exist a t a l l." A * 4 don't th ink t h e y . h a v e the foggiest po tion

Ûtra 1 * 1 - 1 > « I M





¿ ¿tyW¿\¿&&>G(¿

P+rst- Draft

¿5> Contact: HAPTER THREE Page /1

â3-AprrT7~^84 WWirJs. Aí> SE

T h e p u l e s h a d been voyaging for years through t h e great dark

between h e stars. Occasionally, they would i n t e r c e p t n Irregular

cloud of g a s and d u t , a n d a l i t t " e of t h e energy would b e absorbed o r

scattered 4a±nza~nn i n dirrrtinn. -Bu t a lwcrt n i l n f t h e e n er gy T"Ke -et*i*,n.ûer-

continued i n the original direction. ad you been riding-along with

the train of waves, you would have noticed a faint yellow oourca o f '

light u p ahead, slowly growing i n brightness among àil the other Mwcwmy'» ^ l » W 5 , ^s.

goupcoo" or ight hose rightness as iitidiiuirg. Now, lthough kUtk s t i l l a point, i t was b y f a r the brightest object i n the^sky» « a a d - ¿he

waves were encountering a horde of giant snowballs.

\.6t + > ' » • /'í*T4TI < "% Entering the P i ujyut Argus contro - 1 building was a willowy woman

i n her late 30's. er eyes were large and far apart, and served to

soften th e angular bone structure of her face. er long dark hair was

loosely gathered by a tortoise barrette a t the nape of her neck.

Casually dressed i n a knit T-shirt and khaki skirt, she strolled along

a hallway on th e first floor, and entered a door marked " E . Arroway,

Director. As she removed her thumb from th e fingerprint éœrl o c k, a n

observer might have noticed a ring on her right hand with a n oddly

milky r e d stone^set i n i t . urning on only a desk lamp, she rummaged

through a drawer, finally producing a pair of earphones. riefly



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3 / 2

illuminated o n the w a l l beside her desk was a quotation from th e

>yParables 1^'of Franz Kafka: Now the Sirens have a s t i l l m o r e f a t a l

weapon than their song, namely their silence . Someone might

possibly have escaped from their singing; ut from their silence,

certainly never:" xtinguishing the light with a wave of her hand, m-

• j n th e s e mi-d a r k n es s y^ he ma d e for the door/

I n the control room, she quickly reassured herself that a l l was

i n order. hrough th e window she could see a few of the thousand I ' tf ii mj ¿4»^

J 3 J adio telescopes that stretched for tens of kilometers across th e New

Mexico scrub desert, like some strange species of mechanical f low e r^

straining towards the s k y . t was early afternoon and she had been u p

v en y » late th e night before. adio astronomy can be performed during

daylight, because the sky does not scatter radio waves from th e Sun a s

i t does ordinary visible light. o a radio telescope pointing

anywhere but very close to th e Sun, the sky 1 s pitch black. eyond

th e Earth's atmosphere, on the other side of th e s k y , - b e w e v e A » I s a

universe teeming with radio emission. y studying radio waves you Can - e o u ld learn about planets and stars and galaxies, about the

composition of great clouds of organic molecules that drift between

th e stars, about th e origin and evolution and fate of the universe.

But a l l these radio emissions were natural aused by physical

processes, electrons s p i r a l ing 1 n the galactic magnetic field, s a y , o r

Interstellar molecules colliding with one another, or the remote

echoes of the B1g Bang red-shifted from gamma rays at the origin of -ÇeU/e, c k . 7 /

the universe to the tame and ewl radio waves that f i l l a l l of space

i n our epoch.



2 3 A p r i l , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 3 / 3

>frlm*s

B u t i n t h e s c a n t f e w d e c a d e s f r h e * h u m a n s h a d p u r s u e d r a d i o

a s t r o n o m y , t h e r e h a d n e v e r b e e n a r e a l s i g n a l f r o m t h e d e p t h s o f

s p a c e , s o m e t h i n g m a n u f a c t u r e d , a r t i f i c i a l , c o n t r i v e d b y a n a l i e n

m i n d . T h e r e h a d b e e n f a l s e a l a r m s . h e r e g u l a r t i m e v a r i a t i o n o f

t h e r a d i o e m i s s i o n f r o m q u a s a r s a n d , e s p e c i a l l y , p u l s a r s h a d a t f i r s t -4-4 < v + - » . 4lV « I y + Om%w* - 0 u s<y

b e e n t h o u g h t , f i l i a l ¡ z l n y l - j v , t o b e a k i n d o f a n n o u n c e m e n t s i g n a l f r o m

s o m e o n e e l s e , o r p e r h a p s a r a d i o n a v i g a t i o n b e a c o n f o r e x o t i c s h i p s

t h a t p l i e d t h e s p a c e s b e t w e e n t h e s t a r s . B u t t h e y h a d t u r n e d o u t t o d-e*e-* ; ir - eer ftc-f-il je*#i(i» M your t stf*

b e s o m e t h i n g e l s e — e q u a l l y e x o t i c , - p e r h a p s ^ a s a s i g n a l f r o m o t h e r

b e i n g s 1 n t h e d a r k o f t h e . a l g h t s k y . Q u a s a r s s e e m e d t o , b e s t u p e n d o u s y\k*y J *

s o u r c e s o f e n e r g y , « o a t o f t h e m o b s e r v e d m o r e t h a n h a l f - w a y b a c k t o

t h e o r i g i n o f t h e u n i v e r s e . u l s a r s w e ^ e a t o m i c n u c l e i t h e s i z e o f a

c i t y . T h e r e h a d ^ b e e n r i c h a n d m y s t e r i o u s m e s s a g e s , a l l r i g h t , 6W*4-¿1A¿-

t - h e y h a d t u r n e d o u t t o b e I n t e l l i g e n t a f t e r a f a s h i o n , b u t n o t v e r y

e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l . T h e s k i e s n o w a b o u n d e d w i t h - c l a s s i f i e d m í l l t i

y r a d a r s y s t e m s a n d

A n d y e t , t h e o r i g i

m e S K i e s n o w a D o u n a o a w i t n - c i a s s ine d m i l i t a r y r a d i o c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a t e l l i t e s . •&**- , . » - * « **y"f yf**.

. , . . l a k A C«nwM^(<(f » « < ' , « x » o r i g i n o f l i f e n o w a p p e a r e d t o b e s o o a sy. — t h e r e w e r e s o m a n y p l a n e t a r y s y s t e m s a n d s o m a n y w o r l d s w i t h b i l l i o n s o f

y e a r s a v a i l a b l e f o r b i o l o g i c a l e v o l u t i o n — t h a t 1 t w a s h a r d t o

b e l i e v e t h a t t h e G a l a x y w a s n o t t e e m i n g w i t h l i f e a n d I n t e l l i g e n c e .

P r o j e c t A r g u s w a s t h e l a r g e s t f a c i l i t y i n t h e w o r l d m a i n l y d e d i c a t e d

t o t h e r a d i o s e a r c h f o r e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e . R a d i o w a v e s

t r a v e l e d w i t h t h e s p e e d o f l i g h t , f a s t e r t h a n w h i c h n o t h i n g , i t

s e e m e d , c o u l d g o . T h e y w e r e e a s y t o g e n e r a t e a n d e a s y t o d e t e c t .

E v e n v e r y « 4 » p i e t e c h n o l o g i c a l c i v i l i z a t i o n s , l i k e t h a t o n E a r t h ,

T»t«r*y



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3 / 4

I would stumble o n radio fairly early i n their exploration of th e

physical world. ven with th e rudimentary radio technology «ew-e***-*,-LI * Earth „ o n l y a few decades after th e Invention of the radio

telescope - ou could communicate with a n Identical civilization ^

halfway to the center of the Galaxy, if hoy were no ¿ n u i L u i h an we

- * r e . ut there w e r e s o many places i n th e sky to examine, s o many

frequencies o n which a n alien civilization might be broadcasting, that

1 t required a systematic and patient observa*+en*l program. rgus h a d

been 1 n f u l l operation for ever,four ye ars. here had been a number

of glitches, bogies, Intimations, false alarms. u t no message.

"Afternoon, D r . Arroway#" che lone engineer smiled pleasantly a t

h e r . h e nodded back a little distractedly. l l thousand telescopes

of Project Argus were controlled by computers. he system slowly

scanned th e sky on i t s own, checking that there were n o mechanical or

electronic breakdowns, comparing the data from different elements of

the array of telescopes. he glanced a t th e billion-channel fpeguunuy

analyzer, a bank of electronics covering a whole wall, and a t the

visual display of th e autocorrelator.

There was not really Mer y u ch for the astronomers and

technicians to do a s the telescope array g j o w l y scanned the s k W o v e r

the years. irlf i t detected something of interest, i t would

automatically sound a n alarm, a n d alert project scientists i n their



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3 / 5

beds a t night 1f need b e . hen s 4 * e would g o Into high gear, to

determine if ¿trwas a n instrumental failure or some American or Soviet

space bogey. ogether with the engineering staff, she would devise

ways of Improving th e sensitivity of the equipment. h ey would

delegate some of th e radio telescopes to examine exotic astronomical

objects that had been recently detected by other observatories. as

there any pattern, any regularity 1 n the emission? he would help

staff members and visitors with projects unrelated to SETI, he wo u l d ««Û fly to Washington to keep Interest a t th e funding agency, the National

Science Foundation, high. he would give a few public talks o n

Project Argus t the Rotary Club i n Soccoro, or th e University i n «re«r

Albuquerque nd occasionally «o*4-an enterprising reporter who

would arrive, sometimes unannounced, i n remotest New Mexico.

She had to take care that the tedium did not waoh o v e r ho c »

engulf h e r . er coworkers were pleasant enough, but ve n apart

from th e question of the impropriety of a close personal relationship

with a nominal subordinate he did not find herself tempted to

any r e a l Intimacies. here had been a few brief, torrid but

fundamentally casual relationships with l o c a l m en unconnected with th e

Argus project. ut i n this area of her life, t o o , a kind of ennui, a

lassitude, h a d settled over h e r .

She sat herself down before one of th e consoles and plugged the

earphones i n . t was futile, s h e knew, a s m a l l conceit, to think that

she, listening to one or two channels, could detect a pattern when the

vast computer system, monitoring a billion channels, could not. ut





23 April, 1984 Page 3 / 7

Humans are good, she knew, a t discerning subtle patterns that are

really there, but a - l * s a t imagining t h e m when they are altogether

absent. here would always b e some sequence of pulses, some

configuration of th e static, that w o u l d for a n instant give a

syncopated beat, or «¥e* a brief melody. he switched to a pair of

radio telescopes that were listening to a a ohoront " g a l a c t i c radio

source. he heard a glissando, down th e radio frequencies, a

"whistler" du e to the scattering of radio waves by electrons 1 n the

tenuous Interstellar gas between the radio source and the Earth.

[CHECK] he m o r e pronounced the glissando, the more electrons 1 n the

way, and th e further th e source was from the Earth. CHECK] he had

done this s o often that she was able, just from hearing a radio

whistler for the first time, t o make a n accurate judgment of I t s

distance. his one, she estimated, was about a thousand light years

away ~ ell beyond th e l o c a l neighborhood of stars, but o t i 1 1 w e l l

within th e great Milky Way Galaxy.

E l lie returned to th e sky survey m n r i r . n f Prnjrrf Arpin. gain,

no pattern. t was like a musician listening to the rumble of a

distant thunderstorm. h e occasional little patches of pattern j n the

«*a*+c would pursue h e r , intrude themselves into her m e m o r y with such

insistence that sometimes she was forced to g o back to the tapes of a

particular observing r u n , and s e e . if.there was something that sh e had

missed, something t h e im i i u uLarj h ad n o t caught. A l l h er life, dreams had been h er friends. er dreams were

unusually detailed, well-structured, colorful. he was able to look

closely a t her father's face, s a y , or the back of a n old radio s e t ,





2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/9

newly dried sheets. he s m e l l ' s o m eh o w enchanted h e r . ould that be a - > A

whiff of 1 t now? he could remember herself laughing * f * d toddling

away from the sheets ¿ s her mother,.swooped her u p o th e sky 1 t

seemed /in one graceful m otion^ and carried her away from the

4 - lothoolino i n the crook of her arm, a s i f s h e , herself, w e r e just a

little bundle of clothes to be neatly arranged i n the chest of drawers

i n her parents' bedroom.

" D r . Arroway? r . Arroway?" h e technician looked down o n her - T - £U"{-*^*T • ' * * e y « « T r y

/~1nc i f i l rypT and shallow breathing. he blinked twice, removed the

headphones, and lookod u p w i f r h a s m a l l apologetic smile. ometimes

her colleagues d - i s G o v e r a d that they had to talk very loudly if they

wished to b e heard above the amplified cosmic radio noise. he would

i n turn compensate for the volume of th e noise he was loath to

remove the earphones even i n brief conversations - y shouting

back. hen she w as sufficiently preoccupied, a casual or even

convivial exchange of pleasantries would, t o a n inexperienced

observer, seem like a fragment of a fierce argument unexpectedly

generated amidst the quiet of the immense radio facility. ut now she

only said, "Sorry. must have drifted off."

"It's D r . / o n the phone. e' s i n Jack's office and says h e has

a n appointment with you."

J r as approaching retirement age n o w . is brilliance had

remained undiminished, but there were a number of personal



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/10

tn tv • A * n ¿ - £ Se** < J . idlosyncracies that had not been pr e se nt when she had - b e e a , briefly, * - » -

his graduate student a t C a l Tech. or example, h e h a d the

disconcerting habit now of repeatedly checking, when he thought

himself unobserved, w h e t h e r his fly w as open. e had over the years

become Increasingly convinced that extraterrestrials did not exist, or

a t least that they were too rare, too distant to be detected. e had

come to Argus t o give the weekly scientific colloquium. ut, she

f0Un/d' he had COme for anotner P

urP°se as well. e h a d written a

letter to th e - N S f urging

that

Argus

terminate i t s search for

extraterrestrial Intelligence and devote Itself full-time to more

conventional radio astronomy* a* 4 insisted that she read 1 t .

"But we've only been a t 1 t four-and-a-half years. e've looked

. t less than a third of the Northern s k y . his i s th e first survey

that can do the entire radio noise minimum a t WHbandpasses. hy

would you want to stop now?"

" N o , Ellie, this 1 s endless. f t e r a dozen years you'll find no

s i g n of anything. o L t i w i Vou'll argue that another Argus facility H i i n . i f » « £ t àr~ r* i ' / / r < » a r

has to b e built at a cost of kü lion sôf dollars 1 n t h e Southe r n ^ 4 » * x 4 r * U \ o v A r * « * 1 S . 4 - • • * «

H e m + & p i e £ f i ^ to observe th e southern s k y . nd when that fails, you'll

talk about building some paraboloid with a free-flying feed 1 n Earth

orbit, s o you can get 4 b e millimeter wavejfreguencioa that a r e ^ ,

absorbed b y U l e d l i n u ^ p l i e - f e - . ou'll always be able to think of some

kind of observation that hasn't been m m t e - y < * t ^ , and you'll always find

some explanation about w h y ^ h e extraterrestrials like to broadcast

thi s new WcT/T"



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3 / 1 1

" O h , X* we've been through this a hundred times. f we fail, we

learn someth in g o f the rarity of i n t e l l i g e n t life — r at least

in telligen t Ufe th at th inks * s we do and w a n t s to co mmu n ic a t e with

backward civ iliz a ti o n s like u s . nd if w e succeed, we hit t he cosmic

jackpo t. h ere's no g r e a t e r discovery you can imagin e."

"Th ere are first-rate projects th at aren't finding t e l e s co p e

time. h ere's work o n quasar evolution, binary pulsars, t h e

ch ro mo s ph e r e s o f n earby stars, even those crazy Interstellar

pro teins. hese projects are w a i ti n g 1 n U n e , because th is facility

— y far t he best ph ased a r r a y i n the world — s being used

almost e n tir e ly for SETI."

"S even ty-five percen t for SETI, / , - 2 5 percen t for routine radio Mi

astronomy."

"Don't c a l l 1 t routine. e've got t he o ppo r tu n i ty to look back

t o th e time th at t h e galaxies were being formed, or maybe even e a r l i e r

th an t ha t . e can examine t h e black h oles a t the c e n t e r s of

galaxies. h ere's a revolution i n astronomy about to h appen, and

y o u ' re standing 1 n t h e way."

"X, try not to personalize this. rgus would never h ave been

built if not for t h e public support for SETI. he idea for Argus

Isn't mine. ou kn o w th ey picked m e a s Director a f t e r th ey'd begun

c o n s t r u c t i o n * The NSF 1 s e n tir e ly behind ...

"Not en tirely, and not if I have anything to say about 1 t . his

1 s g r a n d s t a n d i n g . his 1 s pandering t o UFO kooks, and comic strips

and weak-minded e a a a g a csV' o^cf - t l * * c*v\*rs



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/12

B y now / was fairly shouting. t was a n Irresistible temptation

to tune him out. ecause of the nature of her work, and her

comparative eminence, she was constantly thrown Into situations w h e r e

she w as the only woman present, except for those serving coffee or

making a sténotypie transcript. M an fpndpd to h a so tiro ' j u m e I n U i üir

h a f u d d l p i t i p n t . g h nnt h^w t f f t i " nV i f iHy W ' I IHH v f h ' T hfH ^ " n ^ T h i t r j - t o

—stry:—Ttre~ fact that she had s o m e u i y d i i lzational ability ana a r a i r "

- fino s sa i n s c ient ific polit ics i i i a d t j I t w u i s e > . r n e r e wereâ host of

- t h e m - w h o only talked to each other, insisted on Interrupting h e r , a n d

Ignored, when they could, what she had to say. A n d 6 e » c c a s i o n a l l y there

were those like^? wh o showed a positive antipathy. ut a t least /was

treating her a s h e did many men. o t much sexism i n this h i l e i i i p ë i die

- o u t b u r s t . here were a rare few of her male colleagues wh o did not

J w r e awkward personality changes « e - p f its of patronization i n her

presence. he ought t o spend more time with them, she thought.

People like Kenneth 0 e ¥ r 4 e s > , the m o l e c u l a r biologist from the Salk

Institute who had recently been appointed Presidential Science

Advisor. n d M k e ^ m r - )/Zler\'»*, & c - * M . r » - # .

1^5 Impatience with Argus, she knew, w as felt by many. fter th e

first two years a kind of melancholy had permeated the facility.

There were passionate debates i n th e commisary or during the long and

undemanding watches about the Intentions of the putative

extraterrestrials. e could not guess how different from u s they

might b e . t was hard enough to guess the Intentions of ou r elected

representatives i n Washington. hat would the intentions b e of



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/13

fundamentally different kinds of beings o n physically different worlds

hundreds or thousands of light years away? om e believed that the

s i g n a l would not be transmitted i n the radio spectrum a t all, but i n

th e Infrared or the visible or somewhere » H t h e _ gamma r a y »pe g i o rs r

perhaps th e extraterrestrials signaler Dut with a technology we would

not discover for a thousand years.

Astronomers a t other institutions were making extraordinary

discoveries among th e stars and galaxies, picking out those objects

which, by whatever mechanism, generated intense radio waves. h^se

(other radio astronomers published scientific papers, **tanHaH <^~p,.<.0

Wet+rr^-had a sense of progress and purpose. he Argus astronomers

tended not to publish, tended to be ignored when the c a l l went out for

invited papers a t th e annual meeting of the American Astronomical

Society, or th e Triennial Symposia and Plenary Sessions of the

International Astronomical Union. o i n consultation with th e

National Science Foundation, the leadership a t Argus had reserved 2 5

percent of th e time o n the^telescopes for a th or p r o j e e t cs projects

unconnected with the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. ome

important discoveries had been made n the extragalactic objects

that seemed t o b e moving faster than light, and on the dark matter 1 n

the outer reaches of nearby galaxies where n o stars could be seen.

Morale began to improve. he Argus staff felt they were makino a

O ignificant contribution f t o oatronom y . . h e time to complete a f u l l

search of the sky had been lengthened, i t was true, by 2 5 percent.

But now a t aact their professional careers had some safety n e t . h ey

r



23 April, 1984 Page 3/14

might not succeed i n finding signs of other intelligent beings, but

they might pluck other secrets from the treasury of nature. he

scientists and engineers were now cheerful, even a little jaunty. h e

search for extraterrestrial intelligence verywhere abbreviated

SETI, except b y those w ho talked somewhat more optimistically about

communication with extraterrestrial intelligence (CETI) as t h e - «.9s*r¿-t\lly

observing routine; he d u l l staple for which^the facility had been

built. ut a quarter of th e time, you could be assured of using th e

most powerful array of radio telescopes o n Earth for other projects. You had only to get through the boring part. s m a l l amount of time

h a d also been reserved f o r astronomers from other institutions. *ut-

hile the morale a t Argus wao reasonably goa d , there were m any wh o

agreed with-*, wh o glanced longingly a t th e technological miracle that

A r g u s ' ±jSO Q radio telescopes represented, and longed to u se i t for

their own, doubtless meritorious, programs. h e was alternately

conciliatory and argumentative wi t h /, but none of i t did any g o o d ,

H e was not i n a n amiable mood.

#¿s colloquium was a n attempt to demonstrate that there were no

extraterrestrials anywhere. f we had accomplished s o m u c h i n only a

few thousand years of high technology, w h a t m u st a truly advanced

species, he asked, be capable o f ? hey should be able to move stars

about, reconfigure galaxies. nd yet i n a l l of astronomy there was no

sign of a phenomenon that could not b e understood by natural

processes, for which a n appeal to extraterrestrial Intelligence had to

**b e made.-^Br'ipifr flnf* mill-inn Itm rapnrfgj thftg*»-IU/t n » « — hnnn a c-inglP -— I "•"

ÇyVjj 4 l n0J- 4*UcUfi C L r-4.fi.e s/~nJ ¿y n,w? XD.-fi t >j

»w i » I , re rfc,, 7k« r 4> 1 sv« «-»^<j_y



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/15

Noil documented account of the v isita t ion o f the Earth b y a f l -

s xtratorrest r ial s udi eu ' dTL.—No one h ad r e l u m e d a p i e io of h u l l, - a c

juftaffr-fmm the Captain's logbook. either i n the skios nor o n t h a . n«^r

Earth was there any sign of extraterrestrials. hey did not ex1st#- h e -

I n th e question period, one of the Argus astronomers asked about

the Zoo Hypothesis, th e contention that th e extraterrestrials were out

there a l l right, but chose not to make their presence known, to

conceal from humans th e fact that there were other Intelligent beings

i n th e Cosmos n th e same sense that a specialist I n primate

behavior might wish to observe a troop of chimpanzees, but not

interfere with their activities. n reply, busked i f f rtXs likely

— he sort of

there would not be a

<3> that with a million civilizations i n th e Galaxy

number h e said was "bandied about" at Argus

single poacher. ow does 1 t come about that every civilization 1 n the

Galaxy abides by a n ethic of non-interference? " i - i f j r n f í f t h l p ^^^^

not one of them w o u l d -p e^ around o n th e Earth?

"But o n Earth," Ellie replied, "poachers and game wardens have

roughly e q u a l levels of technology. f the game warden 1 s a major

step ahead it h radar and helicopters, say h en th e poachers

are out of business."

Th e remark was greeted warmly by some of the Argus staff, b u t # D t-umXlr\ only said "You're reaching, E l He. ou're reaching."



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/16

T o clear her head 1 t was her practice to go for long solo drives

i n her one extravagance, a carefully maintained 19 5 8 Thunderbird with

removable hardtop and little glass portholes £or th e rear seat. Moat

( p ^ t e n she would leave th e top a t home and speed through th e scrub

desert a t night, th e windows down, her dark hair streaming behind

h e r . ve r the years.it seemed she had gotten to know every s m a l l

impoverished town, every Segauro cactus,fevery state highway

patrolman/in Southwestern New Mexico. fter a night observing run,

she would love to zoom past the Argus guard station (that was before

the cyclone fencing went up), rapidly changing gears while th e faint

glimmerings of dawn could be seen above th e Sangre de Cristo [CHECK]

mountains to th e East. h at kind of religion, she thought, names I t s

places after th e blood and body, heart and pancreas of I t s most u » » c » ï i , % «

Cíl'íí'H' 1' *

r » * tf-f-w«^ jorem revered figure? A*-» Lv

Could / b e right? ould SETI and Argus be a kind of^delusion^-af» 7 ^ ~

•arroganeef as jt true that, n o matter now many years g o by without

s*- * r «

th e receipt of a message, th e project would want to continue, always

inventing a new strategy for the transmitting civilization,

continually devising new and expensive Instrumentation? hat would b e

a convincing sign of failure? h en would she be willing to give u p ,

and turn to something safer, more guaranteed of results? he Nobeyama

Observatory 1 n Japan had just announced the discovery of adenoslne, a



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/17

se»«<

complex o r g a n i c molecule, a building block of D N A , sittin g th ere i n a

dense mo l e cu l a r cloud. he could c e r t a i n l y busy h e r s e l f purpoocfully uSfTw//

1 n looking for life-related molecules by — i aJiu1 a s L i um>»y, even if she

gave u p searching for extraterrestrial In telligence.

She glanced a t th e south ern horizon a n d caugh t a glimpse of t he £TVf+-*T 'SE'iSo* VlSI&LJS r=^f*t>*\ /V./1 T'J

c o n s t e l l a t i o n Centaurus. n th at pattern of stars, t h e a n c i e n t Greeks

had someh ow seen a chimerical creature, half man, h alf horse, who had

t a u g h t Zeus wisdom. ut E l lie could n e v e r m a k e out any p a t t e r n

remo tely like a C e n t a u r . t wa s Alph a Centauri, t he b r i g h t e s t stir i n

t he constellation, th at she d e l i g h t e d i n glimpsing. t wa s t h e

n earest star, only four-and-a-quarter light years away. ctually, i t

wa s a triple syst em, two suns t i g h t l y orbiting on e ano th er, and a

t hird, mo r e remo te and indifferen t, circling t h e m both. rom Eart h,

t h e t h r e e st ars blended t o g e t h e r t o form a solitary poin t of light .

O n particularly c l e a r nigh ts, like th is one, she could see 1 t h overing

Xtr-*

over Venezuela. ometimes, w h e n t h e air had been laden w i th desert

grit a f t e r several c o n s e c u t i v e days of sand st orms, she would drive up

In to t h e mo u n t a i n s t o gain a little a l ti tu d e and atmosph eric

t r a n s p a r e n c y s o she could view t he n earest star system mo r e clearly.

Plan ets were possible t here, alth ough very hard to detect. ome mi g h t

b e closely orbiting any one of t he triple suns. more in teresting

orbit, w i th some fair celest ial mech anical stability, wa s a figure 8 ,

which w r a p p e d Itself around th e two inner suns. h at would i t b e

like, she wondered, t o live on a world w i th t h r e e suns i n 4 4 s s k y ?

Probably even h o tter t han New Mexico.



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/18

The two-lane blacktop highway, she noticed with a pleasant little

tremor, was lined with rabbits. he had s e e n them before, especially

when h er drives had taken her a s far a s west Texas. h ey w e r e on a l l

fours b y the shoulders of th e road, but as thoy wore momentarily

illuminated by th e Thunderbird's new quartz headlights, f c t e y would

stand o n 4h e i - r hind legs, t h eir forellmbs hanging uselessly,

transfixed. or miles there was a n honor guard of desert coneys,

saluting her, s o i t seemed, a s she roared through the night. hey

would look u p , a thousand pink noses twitching, two thousand bright skirting in 4-k* ot»rff

eyes - f e l i n kin», a s this apparition from beû i i d L l i t i world of rabbits

hurtled towards them.

Maybe It's a kind of religious experience, she thought. he y

seemed to b e mostly y o u n g rabbits. aybe they had never seen

automobile headlights. o think a b e + r t 1 t , 1 t was pretty amazing, the

two Intense beams of light hurtling along a t 130 kilometers a n hour.

Despite the thousands of rabbits lining the road, there never seemed

to be a single one i n the middle of the road, near th e lane marker,

never a confused scurrying out of the way, never a forlorn dead body,

th e ears stretched out along the pavement. h y were they aligned

along th e pavement a t all? aybe i t h a d to do with th e temperature of

the asphalt, she thought. r maybe they were only foraging among the

scrub vegetation nearby. ut was i t reasonable that none of them ever



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 3/19

4-ttolf ktfrrJnHnlgnH in thn nvfpuaganrn nf t n a few n0pS £0 V1s1t flÍS COUSlnS

across th e road? h at did they imagine the highway was? n alien

presence i n their midst, i t s function unfathomable, built by creatures

that most of them had n e v e r seen. he doubted that any of them e v e p -

wondered about i t .

The whine of her tires on th e highway was a kind of white noise,

and she found that, involuntarily, here too she was listening for a

pattern. he had taken to listening closely to many sources of white

noise: he motor of th e refrigerator starting u p i n the middle of th e

night; h e w a t e r running for her bath; h e washing machine when she

would do her clothes i n th e little laundry room off her kitchen; h e

roar of the ocean during a brief scuba diving trip to the Island of

Cozumel off Yucatan, which she cut short because of her impatience to

get back to work. he would listen to these everyday sources of

random noise and try to determine w h e t h e r there were fewer apparent

patterns 1 n them than 1 n th e interstellar static.

She h a d been to New York City th e previous August for a meeting

of URSI (the French abbreviation for th e International Scientific

Radio Union). n th e clacka-clacka of t h e Gubway\she had thought she

heard a clue, and resolutely skipped half a day of meetings

traveling from 34th Street to Coney Island, back to midtown Manhattan, <x*& fg&l then t l i a d i r r u í o n t j i a l l f g ad^ out to remotest Queens, changing

trains a t a station called Babylon, and then returning a little

flushed and breathless ( i t was, after all, a hot day i n August, she

told herself) to her meeting hotel. ometimes, when the subway train

¿ 3 us » yS u s «r* S. U \ij) ¿ * « ~ f « P í¿£ ¿k7 n o * * « » • * 3 I f f»s • ' s ' i - . ' t » (• *



23 April, 1984

was banking around a steep curve, Interior bulbs would g o out and she

could see a regular succession of lights, glowing i n a soft electric

blue, speeding by a s if she were i n some impossible hyper-relativlstic

interstellar spacecraft, hurtling through a cluster of young blue

supergiant stars. t f f c ' / £ h ~ ê n the interior lights would come o n again a s -

** the train entered a straightaway^)and she would become aware once

again of the acrid smell, the jostling of nearby straphangarsvh e

stylized multicolored m ap showing the complete underground

transportation system of th e City of New York, and the high-frequency screeching of th e brakes a s they pulled into th e station.

This was a little eccentric, she knew. u t she h a d always had an AU i'^Vl-^è

active fantasy H f e . ^ . S h e w as»- oho admitLed l u Im i ' beK, a little

compulsive about listening to S Q t í r e o s f noise. 4 « t] J t did no harm

that she could s e e . obody seemed to notice much. t was

job-related. f she had been s o minded, she could probably have

deducted th e expense of her trip to Cozumel from h er income t a x . e " 9^* * * * * ^

j . Maybe she was becoming obsessive. h e realized with a start that she

had arrived at the 5 7th Street station. s she quickly stepped out

through a n accumulation of dally newspapers e arolossl - y abandoned o n

th e floor o f the subway car, th e headline of th e News-Post had caught

her e y e : UERILLAS CAPTURE JOBURG RADIO STATION. n the opposite

page was a large photo of a h a nd so m a, t emow ha t florid m an with the

caption: OW THE WORLD WILL E N D . XCERPTS FROM THE R E V . BILLY J OE

RANKIN'S NEW BOOK, EXCLUSIVELY THIS WEEK I N THE NEWS-POST. he had

taken th e headlines 1 n a t a glance and tried promptly to forget them,



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/21

not to Ñnplant t h e m - i n her aking care not to i mplan t t h e m i n her long-term memory. o v i n g

t h r o u g h t h e bustling crowds t o t he m e e ti n g hot el, she hoped she wa s i n

t ime t o h ear Fujita's paper o n h omomorphic radio t e l e s co p e design.

S u p e r p o s e d on t h e whine of t he tires t h e r e wa s a periodic thump

a t t he joins o f swath es of pavemen t, resurfaced by differen t road

crews I n differen t t i m a s . . h a t I f an interstellar m e ss a g e w e re being

received by t h e Argus Project, but very slowly — ne bit of

Information every hour, say, or e v e r y week, or e v e r y decade? h a t 1 f

th ere w e r e very old, very patien t, murmurs o f some tr a n s mi t ti n g

civilization, who had no wa y to know t h a t we get tired of pattern

recognition after seconds or m i n u t e s ? uppose t h e y lived for t ens of

th ousands o f years. AndTAAAALKED VERRRY

S L 0 0 0 0 0 W W W W L Y , talked t i l l t h e y were blue i n t he face dfr-3 J UWimg *J^»y it+mnia l + .\ v*i^Jiy ^ l ut l>C S* « . w*.» rv* 4v», * ? 9UH»l /IVH

s o m e equiva lent eolloct ion o f o o n s ing , bre a th ing , spoakina a n d l« Uv* Î»„ür4- i~fc*.4- e.r\or 4-Uy w*«r* vA.w. 9.{«»<J-, K*. nib* •*»»p**r~ wn*.T ^- ~- --Jr

digesting árgano) * ; — A f w l A r g u s would n ever know. ut could such m , * £ < M » - M . Krt/»**

long-lived c r e a t u r e s exist? ould t h e r e h ave been e n o u g h time^for

such f r lowly roproduc iag creatures to Neve evolve^ t o high

i n t e l l i g e n c e ? ouldn't the st at ist ical breakdown of chemical bonds,

t he d e t e ri o ri a ti o n of th eir bodies according t o th e S econd Law o f

Th ermodynamics, force t h e m t o reproduce about a s often a s human beings

d o ? nd t o have life spans like ours? r m i g h t th ey reside on some



2 3 April, 1984 Page 3/22

ev-tr « very old and very frigid world, where everyth ing happens far glower

yn«t. s lev m-fyf-t ort rn - .\ *Y '< A- Tr8i>U. O - C 0 -7.V "f-f*n s * » » « vw"

t h f t - n a s n a i l's p a c - et he idly imagined some g r o a t , radio f c o l o o c o p c of

recognizable and familiar design, sitting on a sheer l e e cliff, feebly

illuminated by a distant red d wa r f s u n , while, far below, waves of a n

ammonia ocean beat relentlessly against the shore « g e n e r a tin g a white

noise indistinguishable from that of th e surf a t Cozumel.

The opposite was possible a s well, the fast talkers, little A .

creatures perhaps, moving with actoniohing i . y quick and jerky motions,

a complete radio message he equivalent of hundreds of pages of English text ransmitted 1 n a nanosecond. f course, 1f y ou had

a very narrow bandpass to you r receiver, s o yo u were listening only to

a tiny range of frequencies, you were forced to accept the long

time-constant. *nd 4 never able to detect a rapid modulation. t was a

simple consequence of th e Fourier I n t e g r a l Theorem, and related

mathematically to the Helsenberg Uncertainty Principle. o, for

example, 1f you had a bandpass of a kllohertz, you couldn't make out a

s i g n a l that was modulated a t faster than a thousandth"of a c o cond . t

would b e a kind of sonic blur. h e Argus bandpasses were much

narrower than a Wertz, s o to be d e t e c t e d ^ t h e transmitters must be

modulating ve r y slowly, slower than one bit of information a second.

S t i l l slower modulations onger than hours, s a y ould be

detected easily, provided y o u were willing to point a telescope a t the

source for that length of time, provided y ou were exceptionally

patient. here were s o many pieces of th e sky to look a t , s o many

hundreds of billions of stars to search out. ou couldn't spend a l l





1 February, 1 9 8 5 MISC. CONTACT I N S E R T S :

INSERT FOR PAGE 3 / 2 3 :

They were the modern Incarnation o f the geocentric solipsism,

t h e conceit that had captured our ancestors, the prétention that w e

were the center of the universe. REDUNDANT?]





Ckfirf f 7



First Draft

Contact: HAPTER FOUR Page 4 / 1

2 3 A p r i l , - 1 0 8 1

P r ? ) / " 1 1 r A/d/iBEPS

The cold black vacuum h a d been left behind. h e pulses

were now approaching a n o rdin a ry y e llo w dwarf s t a r , a n d h a d

already begun spilling over t h e retinue of worlds i n t his

obscure system. h e y h a d fluttered b y plan ets of hydrogen

g a s , pen etrated tha surfaee~»f moons made of i c e , breach ed the

organic clouds of a frigid world o n which the precursors of

life were stirring, and swept across a planet a billion years

past i t s prime. ow the pulses were a a c « * j n t e n n g a w a r m y

world, blue and white, spinning against t he backdrop of th e

stars .

Th ere was life o n th is«world, extravagant i n i t s numbers

and variety. h ere were jumping spiders a t the chilly tops of

t he high est moun tains, and sulfur-eating worms i n h o t vents

gushing u p th rough ridges o n the ocean floors. h ere were

beings th at could live only i n co n c e n tr a t e d sulfuric acid, a n d

beings th at were destroyed b y co n c e n tr a t e d sulfuric acid ;

organisms that were poisoned b y oxygen and organisms th at

could survive only i n oxygen, th at actually breath ed the

stuff.

A particular lifeform, w i th a mo dicu m of in telligence ,

h a d recen tly spread across the plan et. h e y h a d outposts o n

the ocean floors and i n low altitude orbit. he y had swarmed

t o e v e r y nook and cranny of th eir s m a l l world. h e boundary



23 April, 1984 Page 4/2

that marked th e transition of night Into day was sweeping westward,

and following th e motion & f this boundary millions of these beings

ritual1y performed their morning ablutions. h ey donned greatcoats

and dhotis; drank brews of.tea or &**** ; checked o n the bicycles,

automobiles and oxen; and /contemplated r f f r i e f f ^ s c h o o l assignments .

prospects for spring planting, ' S r the fate of the world .

Th e first pulses i n the train of radio waves insinuated

themselves through the atmosphere and clouds, struck the landscape a n d

were partially reflected back to space. s the Earth turned beneath

them, successive pulses arrived, engulfing not just this one planet

but the entire system. ery little of th e energy was intercepted by

any of the worlds i n this system. ost of i t passed effortlessly

onwards, into the depths of space gsn a s the ye llow star and i t s

attendant worlds plunged, i n a n altogether different direction, i n t o

t h e i n k y dark.

Th e setting Sun bathed th e New Mexico desert i n a preternatural

red« i k l o g r eat soaring f l o w e r o» (covering th e landscape a s far a s the

eye could se e * were a thousan d radio telescopes, *H w o r k i n g . -/^«¿-W **+.rcb+Cor

wio p p r a t - i v f l l y to s e e k p o ss ible radio signals from c i v i l i ^ a L i u i i ^ u i i H- W-planets of other stars. h e telescopes themselves, gleaming p1nkT>,

^4-4*0^human attendants. heir output was coordinated i n a central

control building. l l but a few e f t h e m were pointing a t precisely



2 3 April, 1984 Page 4/3

the same direction»in the c k y - , h e remainder were attending

to a part of the sky a little closer to th e setting S u n .

Wearing a dacron jacket displaying the word "Marauders"

- O Y * r a s t y l i z e d . - k oaketba^, the^duty officer beginning the- **s

n+gh* shift approached the control building, and encountere d/»

group of radioastronomers. just leaving for dinner. \ook ; * $* "How long have you guys been se arch ing for little green

«en? t ' s more than five years, Isn't i t n o w , Willie?"

They chided him good naturedly, but he could detect a n

- T V * edge to their banter.

"Give u s a break, Willie. w uasar luminosity program

i s going great guns. ut i t ' s gonna take forever if we only

have two percent of the telescope time.

"Sure, Jack, sure."

"Willie, w e ' r e looking back towards the origin of the

universe. here's a big stake i n ou r program too and we know

there's a universe; ou don't know there are any little green

men."

"Take i t up with D r . Arroway. ' m sure she'll b e glad to

hear you r opinion."

W 4th - a t runa ccustom e d P f ' ewn^ ph e duty officer entered the

control area. e made a quick survey of dozens of television



23 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 4/4

screens monitoring the progress of the radio search. h ey had just

finished examining the constellation Hercules. hey h a d loakcd at aye*r*# IA4X> -* + Rear"*- * r - A

great swarm of g a l a x l e s ^ f a r beyond the Milky Way, the Hercules

C l u s t e r ; ; h ey had tuned i n o n M-13, a swarm of a million [CHECK]

stars togeth er moving i n orbit around th e Milky Way Galaxy; he y had * i

examined the stars , and

— ome different from th e Sun, some similar to 1 t , a l l

nearby. ost of th e stars you c o u ld see with th e naked eye are less

than a few hundred light y ea r s away. hey had carefully monitored hundreds of little sectors of the sky within the constellation

Hercules a t a billion separate frequencies, and they had heard

nothing. n previous years they had searched the constellations

immediately west of Hercules erpens, Corona Borealis, Bootes,

Canes Venatici . and there also they had heard nothing. here

were the characteristic radio Unes of simple organic molecules i n

great clouds of gas and dust between the stars. here was the

fluttery h um of pulsars, the whistling of electrons trapped i n the

Intense magnetic fields of quasars, storms i n the high atmospheres of

nearby stars. ut they h a d never heard a signal intentionally

transmitted b y some extraterrestrial civilization othing that

ever sounded artificial, nothing that smelled like some galactic Morse

code.

A few of the telescopes, the duty officer could s e e , were devoted

to picking up some missed data 1n Hercules. h e remainder *^ - 5 \ m&s & - < L A h o w ^ à D d A ^ > e ^ < ^ > p e > s - ^ - - » ere aiming, boreslghted, a t a n adjacent



2 3 April, 1984 Page 4/5

patch of s k y , the next constellation east of Hercules.~Î L a ü i t y l i l t j i

i g p r n h e r s were wore tightly O u j d M i m u l u g é l T T é r n the s k y than was true

f o r moot ¿ u ns te U d l l u n ^ . o those i n th e eastern Mediterranean a few

thousand ye ars ago, i t had som e h ow resembled a stringed musical

instrument, and was associated with the Greek culture hero, Orpheus.

I t s name was Lyra, the Lyre.

Th e computers turned th e telescopes, accumulated th e t k r t * , < * # . £ > o \i04on

monitored th e health of a 4 t h ou - s a a d telescopes, and processed th e

data I n a format convenient for their human operators. ve n one duty

officer was something of a n e xtravagance. a ss ing a bottle of sucking

candies, a coffee machine, a sentence i n elfish Runes out of Tolkien

by the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory a t Stanford, and a bumper

sticker reading "BLACK HOLES ARE O UT OF SIGHT," Willie approached the

command console, and nodded pleasantly to th e afternoon duty officer,

now collecting his notes and preparing to leave for dinner. ecause

the day's data were conveniently summarized I n amber o n three video

display screens, there was no need for Willie to Inquire about the

progress of the preceding hours. At

"A s you an ee, othing mu c h . There was j r^ tp&ax&Ptt ointing

«¿ /*tf4 -W*Vs x*A*¿ H \»*W LU* >- n <t » gUtchj 6JLf " e aid, (yjiguejy/waving oward he window. "The

quasar unch reed p he fGO^-s, about n our ago. T h e y ee m o e

getting ery ood data."

"Yeah, eard. S oe you.-* ' ~Hnv ¿o+'-t- u*#*rs>U~JI

[TOO PRCDICTADLE TIMING?

N o sooner h a d the aftornoon duty of f ic e r turned o n h i s h e e l than

a n alarm light flashed decorously o n the console i n front of W 1 l l i a , « / - À g n . .

i/



2 3 April, 1984 Page 4/6

^ Hoyt S t - e v e , Come o n back 1 f yu u 've yuL d i i i u m e f i L .—umeL l i ing

i n tpr p < : t i n g i s h a p po n i ng - r "

O n a display marked ntensity v e r s us Frequency" a sharp vertical

spike was rising.

"It's a monochromatic signal, a l l right."

Another display, labelled "Intensity -V &P4 U S Time" showed a set of

pulses moving left to right and then off the screen.

"Those are numbers," Willie said faintly. Somebody's

broadcasting numbers."

"It's probably some Air Force Interference. saw a n AWACS from

Klrtland è* about 1 6 0 0 hours. aybe they're spoofing u s for kicks."

There had been solemn agreements to safeguard a t least some radio

frequencies for astronomy. ut C o r the v er y reason that t h es e -

frequencies represented a r e lat ively clear channel, the military found

: h e m occasionally irresistible, listening at a billion frequencies a t

once, the astronomers could n o t expect that thoro would be no » * • * » • « -

intopforonG ». ightning, automobile ignitions, direct broadcast

satellites were a l l sources of interference. ut th e computers h a d

their number, knew their characteristics, and automatically suppressed

them. ignals that w e r e more ambiguous, th e computer would listen to

with greater care, to make sure i t m a t c h e d no Inventory of frequencies

1 t was programmed to understand, «mlUn a e - t i u u i 1 u r w y to soe -44 - tke

^4W radio source moved with th e s k y . very now and then some electronic

Intelligence p laj e e on a training mission ometimes with a radar is\ CO ly <f is*vn's&*-0 7ly

1 ~ T ~ ï—c.vutegLo jcloGod. in ind of lying aucer amped n ts aunches, l plat.'

urt —&

f T





2 3 April, 1984 Page 4/8

Her fingers were punching away a t a keyboard a s she talked.

"Look, it's only 2 6 light years away. know It's been observed

before, always with negative results. looked a t i t myself i n r a y

first Arecibo survey. hat's the absolute intensity? oly Toledo.

That's hundreds of Janskys. ou could practically pick that up on

you r FM radio.

"Okay. - Lot's s e c I f w o r nn n u m m i i r iza.—We have a bogey \ /ery near

to Vega i n th e plane of th e s k y . t ' s at a frequency around 22.417

gigahertz, not very monochromatic: he bandwidth i s about 1 0 0 hertz.

I t ' s linearly polarized and It's transmitting a set of moving pulses

restricted to two different amplitudes."

I n response to her typed commands th e screen now displayed the

disposition of a l l thou sand radio telescopes. / / ie Âft^Jt's being received b y §á£ ( | elescopes/T n d i vidu a l¿ Clearly

it's not a malfunction i n a n individual telescope. kay, now do y ou

have enough time baseline to confirm that It's moving with the stars? Are we sure i t Isn't some ELINT satellite or aircraft?"

"Just enough baseline now, D r . Arroway. can confirm sidereal

motion."

"Okay, that's pretty convincing. t ' s not down here o n Earth,

and 1 t probably isn't from a n artiflcal satellite i n a Molniya orbit,

although we^ca* check that. hen you get a chance, Willie, c a l l up

NORAD and see what they say about the satellite possibility. f we

can exclude satellites, that will leave two possibilities: t ' s a

hoax, or somebody h a s finally gotten around to sending u s a message.





23 April, 1984 Page 4/10

"That's o oo d either: the ystem s ull of debris. It's

failed olar ystem or solar ystem still in ts arly tages f

development . If hey tay ery ong, heir spacecraft s onna e

clobbered."

"S o hey nly rr.ived ecently. O r hey vaporize ncoming

meteorites. O r hey ake evasive action f here's iece f debris

on collision rajectory. O r hey're o t n he ing lane but n

polar orbit, o hey minimize heir encounters with he debris.

There's million ossibilities. But you're absolutely ight; w e

don't ave o uess whether he ource s n he ega ys tem . W e an

actually ind out. H o w ong will hat roper mot ion tudy ake? By

the way, teve, his sn't your shift. H avo ou ohi Beth you're

going o e ate or dinner *^

Willie, ho ad ee n alking n he hone t n djacent console,

was isplaying wan mile:

"Well, ot hrough o Major Braintree t O R A D . H e wears

^they ave nothing hat'll ive his ignal, specially ot t

22 gigahertz. Anyway , e ay s liafc hcy-ave detected n o pacecraft

at he ight scension nd declination f Vega."

" W h a t a b o u t d a r k s ? "

B y t h i s t i m e t h e r e w e r e m a n y " d a r k " s a t e l l i t e s w i t h l o w r a d a r

c r o s s s e c t i o n s , d e s i g n e d t o o r b i t t h e E a r t h u n a n n o u n c e d a n d

u n d e t e c t a b l e u n t i l s o m e h o u r o f n e e d w h e n t h e y w o u l d h a v e t o o r e - s e r v e a s b a c k u p s f o r l a u n c h c o m m a n d ^ l a u n c h detection^ c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , ,

n r l n m ijn n n r n m n n t 1 n a n u c l e a r w a r , i n c a s e t h e a n n o u n c e d f i r s t





2 3 April, 1984 Page 4/12

civilization to transmit o n . e've confirmed sidereal motion of the

source, s o it's moving a s if i t w e r e up there among th e stars and not

some l o c a l transmitter. ORAD tells u s that they don't detect any

satellites ours or anybody else's h at match th e position of

this source. nterferometry excludes a source i n Earth orbit anyway.

Steve has now looked at th e data outside th e automated mode, and i t

doesn't seem to be a program that somebody with a warped sense of

humor pu t Into the computer. he region of th e sky w e ' r e looking a t

includes Vega, which i s a n A*2ero main sequence dwarf star. t ' s not

exactly like th e S u n , but It's only 2 6 light y ea r s away, and i t has

the prototype stellar debris ring. here are n o known planets, but

there certainly could be planets we don't know anything about around

Vega. e're setting u p a proper motion study to see 1f th e source 1 s

well behind ou r line of sight to Vega, and w e should have an answer i n

— hat? hree or four days. inally, what's being sent seems

to be a long sequence of prime numbers, Integers that can't be divided

b y any other number except themselves and one. o astrophysical

process i s likely to generate prime numbers. o I ' d say e want

t o be cautious, of course, ut I ' d say that by every criterion we

can lay ou r hands on, this looks like the r e a l thing.

"But there's a problem with th e Idea that this 1 s a message from

guys wh o evolved o n some planet around Vega, because they would have

to evolve very fast. he entire lifetime of the star i s only about

four hundred million years. t ' s a n unlikely place for th e nearest

civilization. o the proper motion study 1 s very important. ut also So***. 1 P t~c

I sure would like to check out that hoax possibility a littin h jt

cb a tt9nJ, /



23 April, 1984 Page 4/13

R * - / £ y

"Look," said one of the quasar survey astronomers wh o had been

hovering i n th e back. e inclined his ja w to the Western horizon

where a faint„aura still signif ied w h e r e the Sun had s e t . This

source i s going to set i n another couple of hours. t ' s probably

already risen i n Australia. an we c a l l Sydney and get them looking

a t Cat the same time that w e ' r e s t i l l seeing 1 t ? "

"Good idea, Jack. t ' s only middle afternoon there. ive me

that summary printout, and I ' l l telefax i t to Australia from m y

office."

With considerable composure, E l He left th e assembled group

crowded around the consoles, and returned to her office. he closed

th e door very carefully behind her. e f f a c e g low ing with a faraway

- i nni^ ^ h o ** > * +iy m i i n i m x c aH^ "Holy shit " 4 - f c 4 i a iu n i a i i u u 3 effort s h o

â

y M ^ & u r o e d he r prof ess iona l demeanor and p i uieedad to C a l l Australia.

"Ian Broderick, please. e s . his 1 s EH nor Arroway a t Project

Argus. t ' s something of a n emergency. hanks, I ' l l hold on. ello, I a n ? t ' s probably nothing, but we have a bit » f - a bogey here and

wonder if you could just check 1 t out for u s . t ' s around 2 2

gigahertz, with a few hundred hertz bandpass. ' m t e lef axing th e

parameters n o w . You have a feed good a t 2 2 gigahertz already on the

dish? hat's a bit of luck. es, Vega i s smack 1 n the middle of the

field of view. nd w e ' r e getting what looks like prime number OK or'// k„(á,«.x TaH|

pulses. "Listen, while the telescope finishes slewing, -maybe ( y o u J e o u l d J 7

set up to look at a n amplitude-time plot. et s c a l l th e low

amplitude pulses dots and th e high amplitude p j u lse s . dashes. e're

#V b fchrtr "M** \S*rtJ A S 4-V-9*.fi ► . . • e m . £**twtun.-<Cy *4~; I i •-'«s- s4~ "C»iV4- f i- O m — V f c H

'*.«£**>»#. '»^ Syr4»«v» w*t s4-iU t\*4~ on— »n*. XiL- r»,,(J?— ¿ - ° »-—P -T- a.S'fH.t.krt



2 3 A p r i l , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 4 / 1 4

O g e t t i n g . y e s , t h a t ' s j u s t t h e p a t t e r n w e ' v e b e e n s e e i n g f o r t h e

l a s t h a l f h o u r . M a y b e . W e l l , I t ' s t h e b e s t c a n d i d a t e 1 n

f o u r a n d a h a lf y e a r s . B u t I j u s t k e e p r e m e m b e r i n g n o w b a d l y t h e

S o v i e t s g o t f o o l e d w i t h t h a t B 1 g B i r d s a t e l l i t e I n c i d e n t a r o u n d ' 7 4 .

W e l l , t h e w a y I u n d e r s t a n d i t , I t w a s a r a d a r a l t l m e t r y s u r v e y o f t h e

S o v i e t U n i o n forû l s e m i s s i l e g u i d a n c e . e s , a t e r r a i n m a p p e r . A l l

t h e S o v i e t a s t r o n o m e r s k n e w w a s t h e y w e r e g e t t i n g t h e s a m e s e q u e n c e o f

p u l s e s f r o m t h e s k y a t a b o u t t h e s a m e t i m e e v e r y m o r n i n g . o , w e ' v e

e x c l u d e d a s a t e l l i t e t r a n s m i s s i o n a l r e a d y . "

f ew ig t h e cum s e u P U i i i i L o n v p r r . n t i n i ^ ^ T T ^ n j v ^ p T j i f , ^ t h c

Vr ¡ ¡ ¡ C E °f hSr r19 " t 1 i a Tn d J ^ o f i v e e v e n l y s p a c e d r e c e p t a c l e s t n V i o * * "

- w a J - U S h e n o w w i n d o w h « » h . m H mj wm- a d n l r l n g t h n u n i f o rm l y

a p p l i o d n a i l p o l i s h . S i n c e t h e I n v e n t i o n o f t h i s d e v i c e , s h e w a s a b l e

t o s a v e h a l f a n h o u r a w e e k . U n t i l n o w , - Wro h a d n ' t b < £ n a g r e a t

d e a l t o d o w i t h t h a t e x t r a h a l f h o u r . " I a n , c o u l d w e t r o u b l e y o u t o f o l l o w 1 t f o r a s l o n g a s I t ' s 1 n y o u r

s k y ? ' m g o i n g t o s e e i f I c a n ' t g e t a n u m b e r o f o t h e r r a d i o

o b s e r v a t o r i e s , d i s t r i b u t e d p r e t t y e v e n l y 1 n l o n g i t u d e , t o f o l l o w f c * 4 * *

u n t i l i t r e a p p e a r s b a c k h e r e . Y e s , b u t I d o n ' t k n o w i f I t ' s e a s y t o

m a k e a d i r e c t p h o n e c a l l t o C h i n a . ' m t h i n k i n g o f s e n d i n g a n I A U

t e l e g r a m . F i n e . M a n y t h a n k s , I a n . "

I n t h e d o o r w a y o f t h e d i g p l a y r o o m - t h e y t r i e d n o t L u m il I L

♦ h e " r n n t r n l R n n m " h p r a u s o t h e c o m p u t e r s , 1 n a n o t h e r r o o m , b y a n d

large/dld t h e c o n t r o l l i n g — s h e p a u s e d f o r a m o m e n t t o a d m i r e t h e

s m a l l g r o u p o f s c i e n t i s t s , t a l k i n g w i t h g r e a t a n i m a t i o n , c l o s e l y

'r+'

So»fé



2 3 April, 1984 Page 4/15

meter

scrutinizing the data being displayed, and engaging i n good-natured

speculation on the nature of th e signal. hese were not mainly

stylish people, she thought. h ey were not conventionally

good-looking. ut there w as something unmistakably attractive about

them. hey were excellent a t what they did, and w h o W h o V c / w a s ' " > Û - < / - * * < r . ~ * or )something like a o i g n a l they were utterly absorbed 1 n their work. s

she approached tkm hey f e l l silent, and looked at her expectantly.

" W i l l le, get m e a world map. nd please get me Brian Marsden 1 n

Cambridge, Massachusetts. [NAME TO BE CHANGED] ou m ay h a v e - t o get- him o u t of J a od. ive him this m e ssag e for a n IAU telegram to a l l

observatories, but especially to a l l large radio observatories. nd

see i f he will check ou r telephone number for th e T i e n t s i n * [CHECK]

Radlp Observatory. h en get m e th e President's Science Advisor."

"You're going to bypass th e National Science Fo un d a tion? '

•M era r a h y ? * "After Marsden, get m e the President's Science Advisor."

I n her mind, she thought she could hear one joyous shout amidst a

clamor of other voices.

By bicycle, s m a l l truck, perambulatory mailman, or telephone, th e

single paragraph was delivered to astronomical centers a l l over the

world. n a few major radio observatories n China, India, the

Soviet Union, and Holland, for example he m e s s a g e was delivered

b y teletype. s i t chattered 1 n , i t was scanned by a security officer



23 April, 1984 Page 4/16

or some passing astronomer, torn off, and with a look of some

curiosity, carried into a n adjacent office. t r e a d :

ANOMALOUS **& INTERMITTENT RADIO SOURCE

AT RIGHT ASCENSION 18h 3 4 m , DECLINATION

PLUS 3 8 DEGREES 41", DISCOVERED BY ARGUS

SYSTEMATIC SKY SURVEY. REQUENCY 2 2 . 4 1 7 6 6 8 4

GIGAHERTZ, BANDPASS APPROXIMATELY 4 30 HERTZ.

BIMODAL AMPLITUDES APPROXIMATELY 1741 AND

1798 JANSKYS. OME EVIDENCE AMPLITUDES

ENCODE SEQUENCE OF PRIME NUMBERS. ULL

LONGITUDE COVERAGE URGENTLY NEEDED. LEASE

CALL COLLECT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION I N

COORDINATING OBSERVATIONS.

E . ARROWAY, DIRECTOR, PROJECT ARGUS,

SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO, U.S.A.



Çe i ¿M-f -h C ^ f s



F i rrt D r a f t

C o n t a c t : H A P T E R F I V E P a g e 5 / 1

^ 2 3 A p i ¡ 1 , 1 9 0 4 -

T h e v i s i t i n g s c i e n t i s t s ' q u a r t e r s w e r e n o w a l l o c c u p i e d ,

i n d e e d o v e r c r o w d e d w i t h s e l e c t e d l u m i n a r i e s o f t h e S E T I c o m m u n i t y .

W h e n t h e o f f i c i a l d e l e g a t i o n s b e g a n a r r i v i n g f r o m W a s h i n g t o n , t h e y

f o u n d n o s u i t a b l e a c c o m o d a t l o n s a t t h e A r g u s s i t e , a n d h a d t o b e

b i l l e t e d i n m o t e l s i n n e a r b y S o c o r r o . K e n n e t h D o V r i e s w a s t h e o n l y

e x c e p t i o n .

e h a d a r r i v e d t h e d a y a f t e r t h e d i s c o v e r y ,

1 n r e s p o n s e

t o a n u r g e n t c a l l f r o m E l i n o r A r r o w a y . O f f i c i a l s f r o m t h e N a t i o n a l

S c i e n c e F o u n d a t i o n , t h e N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p a c e

A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e , t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s S c i e n c e

A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e , t h e N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l , a n d t h e N a t i o n a l

S e c u r i t y A g e n c y t r i c k l e d i n d u r i n g t h e n e x t f e w d a y s . f t ë - l f h ê r e

w e r e s o m e g o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y e e s w h o s e p r e c i s e i n s t i t u t i o n a l

a f f i l i a t i o n r e m a i n e d o b s c u r e .

T h e p r e v i o u s e v e n i n g , a f e w o f t h e m , s t a n d i n g a t t h e b a s e o f 1 0 1 , t/ • ' • • ¿ > « y /

T e l e s c o p e 4 4 ^ , h a d V e g a p o i n t e d o u t t o t h e m f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e . *lts A b l u e - w h i t e l i g h t f l i c k e r e d p r e t t i l y .

-£ never- Av»« w k++ >* Cfl/I m e a n , I w o w I ' v e s e e n 1 t b e f o r e , b u t t h i s i s t h o f i c s i .

a m * - • , * * t i m o y k n o w w h a t i t w i n s a l l t y l / o n e o f t h e m r e m a r k e d . t a p p e a r e d

b r i g h t e r t h a n a l m o s t a l l t h e o t h e r s t a r s i n t h e s k y , e u t * « < , WUr *~~ o t h e r w i s e , i t s e e m o d h a r d l y n o t e w o r t h y . t w a s m e r e l y o n e o f t h e

f e w t h o u s a n d n a k e d - e y e s t a r s . t h a t s o m e o n e w i t h k e e n v i s i u n c a n— .

d i s t i n g u i s h " " u n a UtídV d e S t í r l - f l 4 g h $ . .



23 April, 1984 Page 5 / 2

The scientists were running a continuous research seminar o n the

nature, origin and possible significance of th e radio pulses. he

project's public affairs office arger than i n most

observatories, because of widespread Interest i n th e search for

extraterrestrial Intelligence as assigned the task of filling i n

th e lower ranking officials. very new arrival required a n extensive

briefing. lUe h o was obliged to brief th e senior officials,

supervise th e ongoing research, and respond to th e entirely proper

skeptical scrutiny being offered with some vigor by her colleagues l u x u r y

was exhausted. h e - g r t m of a f u l l night's sleep had eluded h er

since th e discovery.

At first they had tried to keep th e finding quiet. fter all,

they were not absolutely sure i t was a n extraterrestrial message.

premature or mistaken announcement would be a public relations

disaster. ut, even worse than that, 1 t would have t t i i i i u d f c h e l r

a t tention away f r om the data analysis. f th e press descended, the

science would surely suffer. ashington, a s w e l l a s the-Argus

- P r o j e &t^ was keen to keep th e story quiet. ut th e scientists had

told their families, th e International Astronomical Union telegram had

been sent a l l over th e world,ând they k n e w t he re would b o a t b o s t ~<* c + " * y , f-Uy knt* 4kr« •» < ^ ~,.U/ * *emJ.

only brief period before choy would ave o eal wit h he press

They ad ried o discourage eporters ro m visiting he site,

explaining hat here was o eal nformation n he ignals hey were

receiving. .T he ress talked he officials ro m Washington he n hey

C returned o heir motels at night, nd ew of he moreenterprlsing

ony ¡Uso VAHW 5-/¿?e lo + r, ££.//,K**' '* A fA* rtutitr



23 pril, 984

^r ~±ki •sr°c'l.'¿y c*rto¿r<*-«^*«^ «y » 'nttA ¿«act

-,«tytlf >wi? .'* one c«*« a w . )»T««¿«C¿ . _ a m o n g t h o r n h a d a t t e m p t e d t o i g n o r e t h e r e s t r i c t ion s . h e h a d -wea

b e e n f o r c e d t o i n q u i r e a b o u t b u l k r a t e s o n c y c l o n e f e n c i n g . í b e -

s it u a t i o n w a s v c l a t i l o t

A l t h o u g h t h e r e h a d b e e n a r a n g e o f c o n t i n g e n c y p l a n s f o r t h e

p u b l i c r e l e a s e o f a n y f i n d i n g s , t h e a c t u a l c i r c u m s t a n c e s h a d c a u g h t

t h e m u n p r e p a r e d . e - t h e y d r a f t e d a s i n n o c u o u s a s t a t e m e n t a s t h e y

c o u l d » a n d r e l e a s e d i t o n l y w h e n t h e y h a d t o . t c a u s e d , o f c o u r s e , a

s e n s a t i o n .

I m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r B e V n i o s a r r i v e d , h e h a d r e c e i v e d a n e a r l y

v e r s i o n o f w h a t w a s n o w E l U e s s t a n d a r d b r i e f i n g : h e s u r p r i s i n g

i n t e n s i t y o f t h e s i g n a l , i t s l o c a t i o n 1 n v e r y m u c h t h e s a m e p a r t o f

t h e s k y a s t h e s t a r V e g a , t h e n a t u r e o f t h e p u l s e s .

" I m a y b e t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s S c i e n c e A d v i s o r , " h e h a d s a i d , " b u t

I ' m o n l y a b i o l o g i s t . o p l e a s e e x p l a i n i t t o m e s l o w l y .

u n d e r s t a n d t h a t 1 f t h e r a d i o s o u r c e 1 s 2 6 l i g h t y e a r s a w a y , t h e n t h e

m e s s a g e h a d t o b e s e n t 2 6 y e a r s a g o . n t h e l a t e I 9 6 0 's , s o m e f u n n y - l o o k l n g g u y s w i t h p o i n t y e a r s t h o u g h t w e ' d b e f a s c i n a t e d t o ¿rvvw Mm ^ ytXty U'U* .

hcar hat hey'r ond-f r ime umbers . But » » feîîia r ime umbers

aren't «*t* difficult. It's o t ike hey're oasting. It's more

like hey're ending s emedial r1thmet1c.'*'/^^',-«- n« - sk*vii<? ¿ e _ nxu//e_

"No , ook t t his way," he ad miled. "This s

beacon. It's n nnouncement ignal. It's esigned o attract ur

attention. W e e t trange atterns f pulses ro m uasars nd

pulsars nd adio alaxies nd God-knows-what. But r ime umbers

are ery pecific, ery artificial. It's ard o magine o m e

radiating lasma, o m e exploding galaxy, ending ut stteh. a egular



\

2 3 April, 1984 Page S

l . ' f r * ¿W«. \

s e t of mathematical signals. h e prime numbers are to attract ou r

attention."

"But whatJ&ûE?" h e had asked, genuinely baffled.

" I don't know. aybe 1 n a while the s i g n a . 'wi 1 1 turn off,

replaced by something else, something very rich, th e r e a l message. e

just have to keep o n listening."

This was the hardest part to explain to th e press, that the

C^\ ignals had no - s pecific content, just th e first thousand or s o prime

n u m b e r s , a nd thoa a cycling back to th e beginning, and again th e

simple binary arithmetic r epr es en t a tions ;^ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 1 1 , 1 3 , 1 7 ,

1 9 , 2 3 , 2 9 , 3 1 , ... I t reminded her of a n idiot savant, one of those

people who might be grossly deficient 1 n ordinary social or verbal

skills, but wh o could perform mindboggling feats of mental arithmetic

— uch a s on what day of the week June 1 , 11,977 w i l l fall. t

wasn't for anything. hey did i t because they liked i t . he was at

once exhilarated and deeply disappointed^ fter a l l these years,

they had finally received a s i g n a l ort o f . ut i t s content was

e e-s h a l l o w comparod to what oho ha d imagined.

We've only achieved th e capacity for radio astronomy 1 n the

last few decades, she reminded herself, i n a galaxy where th e

average star i s billions of years old. he chance of receiving a

signal from a civilization exactly a s advanced as we are should b e

m i n i seule. f they were even a little behind u s , they would l a c k

the technological capability to commu nicate with u s a t all. o the

most likely s i g n a l would come from a civilization much more

A

- . « - ¿ . c *



2 3 April, 1984 Page 5 / 5

advanced. aybe th ey would be able t o w r i t e mirror fugues: he

co u n t e rp o in t would be t h e t h e m e w r i t t e n backwards. o , she decided.

While this was a kind of genius without a doubt, and c e r t a i n ly beyond

h er ability, i t wa s a tiny e x tr a p o l a ti o n from what human beings could

d o . ach and Mozart h a d m a d e at least brillian t stabs a t i t . h e

tried to m a k e a bigger leap, In to t h e mind of someon e who wa s

enormously, orders of m a g n i t u d e , mo r e i n t e l l i g e n t th an she was, • w © r e » s,» n « rAK

4 f i t e llit f j g n t than-*, s a y , or E d a , t h e young Nigerian physicist who had

just won t he N o b e l Prize. ut i t wa s impossible. h e could muse

about d e m o n s tr a ti n g Fermât's last t h e o r e m i n only a fe w lines of

equations; h e could imagin e problems e n o rmo u s ly beyond u s t ha t would

be old hat t o th em. j H * * - j S f h e couldn't ge t int o t h e ir minds. he

couldn't imagin e wh at th inking-must b e like if yo u were much smarter

th an a human being. o surprise. t wa s like p ro t e n din g to picture a

Ju *> 4»»>'ie * ne w primary color, or a world i n w h ich you could recognize several

hundred a c q u a i n t a n c e s individually only by t h e i r smell. Those wore -

o f t - l y w o rds . he could talk about v f c - , but she couldn't e x p e r i e n c e i t .

By definition, y o u couldn't really understand t he beh avior of a

na iT h u m o m being much smarter t han yo u a r e . ven s o , ch o ke p t ev-en s»i th inking» I w n y only prime numbers?

The Argus radioastronomers had m a d e s o m a scientifi c progress

i n t h e last fe w days. eg a had a known mo tion: a known componen t of

I t s velocity towards or away from t h e Eart h, and a known componen t

laterally, across t h e s k y , a g a i n s t t h e background o f m o r e distant

stars. he ARGUS in terferometer, a th ousand t e l e s c o p e s a l l w o rkin g



2 3 A p r i l , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 5 / 6

t o g e t h e r , h a d d e t e r m i n e d t h a t t h e s o u r c e w a s m o v i n g w i t h V e g a . o t

o n l y w a s t h e s i g n a l c o m i n g , a s c a r e f u l l y a s t h e y c o u l d m e a s u r e , f r o m

w h e r e V e g a w a s i n t h e s k y ; u t t h e s i g n a l a l s o s h a r e d t h e p e c u l i a r

a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c m o t i o n s o f V e g a . n l e s s t h i s w a s a h o a x o f h e r o i c

p r o p o r t i o n s , t h e s o u r c e o f t h e p r i m e n u m b e r p u l s e s w a s i n d e e d i n t h e

V e g a s y s t e m .

" I t ' s t h e g o d d a m n d e s t m o s t w o n d e r f u l t h i n g e v e r h e a r d o f . n d

I t ' s g o t n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h u s , " s a i d a n o f f i c i a l o f t h e D e f e n s e

A d v a n c e d R e s e a r c h P r o j e c t s A g e n c y , p r e p a r i n g t o r e t u r n t o W a s h i n g t o n .

A s s o o n a s t h e d i s c o v e r y h a d b e e n m a d e , E l l i e h a d a s s i g n e d a 4 e w -

d o z e n o f t h e t e l e s c o p e s t o e x a m i n e V e g a 1 n a r a n g e o f o t h e r

f r e q u e n c i e s . n d s u r e e n o u g h , t h e y f o u n d t h e s a m e s i g n a l , t h e s a m e

m o n o t o n o u s s u c c e s s i o n o f p r i m e n u m b e r s , b e e p i n g a w a y i n t h e 1 4 2 0

m e g a h e r t z h y d r o g e n U n e , t h e 1 6 6 7 [ C H E C K ] m e g a h e r t z h y d r o x y l U n e , a n d

a t m a n y o t h e r f r e q u e n c i e s . l l o v e r t h e r a d i o s p e c t r u m , i n a n

e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c c h o r e o g r a p h y , V e g a w a s b l e a t i n g o u t p r i m e n u m b e r s .

" I t d o e s n ' t m a k e s e n s e , " said/, c a s u a l l y t o u c h i n g h i s b e l t

b u c k l e . W e c o u l d n ' t h a v e m i s s e d 1 t b e f o r e . v e r y b o d y ' s l o o k e d a t

V e g a . o r y e a r s . r r o w a y o b s e r v e d 1 t f r o m A r e c i b o a d e c a d e a g o .

S u d d e n l y , l a s t T u e s d a y , V e g a s t a r t s b r o a d c a s t i n g p r i m e n u m b e r s ? h y

n o w ? W h a t ' s s o s p e c i a l a b o u t n o w ? o w c o m e t h e y s t a r t t r a n s m i t t i n g

j u s t a f e w y e a r s a f t e r A r g u s s t a r t s l i s t e n i n g ? "

" M a y b e t h e i r t r a n s m i t t e r w a s d o w n f o r r e p a i r s f o r a f e w < v * » » ( « ~ F ~ c e n t u r l e s , a n d t h e y j u s t g o t i t b a c k o n U n e . a y b e t h e i r d u t y

c y c l e i s t o b r o a d c a s t t o u s j u s t o n e y e a r o u t o f e v e r y m i l l i o n .

A



vrw W« (eri'art «•**»• vîew» «-T Hu».».» «»•♦ -**«-«. «^** < - * * » » 'fj »s,'t-~. ^T

<*—*4t»*:Cj(j4.tf ^H«* **- *"••£**'/* ««•»r«r«4» **« ¿y *V¿~s st>J..t¿

"Tnerrare all L I IO S B t tTeT-üa"ñcfidate planets hat might ave Ufe n

them, ou now," ffered /. "We're probably ot he only id n he.

block." But & lainly dissatisfied, nly hook is ead.

Between he scientists nd he bureaucrats.there was ind f

r L Cl«X» o Ç •fuv>*«wi* i»l Ajrunnt iyn

u n e a s i n e s s , a m u t u a l d i s c o m f o r t , w h a t o n e o f t h e e l e c t r i c a l e n g i n e e r s

c a l l e d a n i m p e d a n c e m i s m a t c h . h e s c i e n t i s t s w e r e t o o s p e c u l a t i v e ,

t o o q u a n t i t a t i v e , a n d t o o c a s u a l a b o u t t a l k i n g t o a n y b o d y f o r t h e

t a s t e s o f m a n y o f t h e b u r e a u c r a t s . h e b u r e a u c r a t s w e r e t o o c a u t i o u s » '

t o o q u a l i t a t i v e , t o o u n c o m m u n i c a t i v e f o r m a n y o f t h e s c i e n t i s t s .

E l U e a n d e s p e c i a l l y D o V r i o s t r i e d h a r d t o b r i d g e t h e g a p . u t t h e

p o n t o o n s k e p t b e i n g s w e p t d o w n s t r e a m .

T h i s n i g h t , c i g a r e t t e b u t t s a n d c o f f e e c u p s w e r e e v e r y w h e r e .

The c a s u a l l y d r e s s e d s c i e n t i s t s , W a s h i n g t o n o f f i c i a l s 1 n s u m m e r

s u i t s , a n d a n o c c a s i o n a l f l a g r a n k m i l i t a r y o f f i c e r f i l l e d t h e Co m"Jr»f d i s p l a y r o o m , t h e s e m i n a r r o o m , t h e s m a l l a u d i t o r i u m , a n d s p i l l e d

o u t o f d o o r s w h e r e , I l l u m i n a t e d b y c i g a r e t t e s a n d s t a r l i g h t , s o m e o f

t h e d i s c u s s i o n s c o n t i n u e d . u t t e m p e r s w e r e a l i t t l e f r a y e d . h e

s t r a i n w a s s h o w i n g .

X (*%*4~(y 9**.*¿<> "O

'««for *Wy,*r4-

"Dr. rroway, his s ichael 1tz, ssistant ecretary of

Defense or 3I."

Introducing K1tz, nd positioning himself ust te p ehind im ,

DeVries was ommunicat ing hat? S o m e unlikely m ix of emotions.

Bemusement n he_ar_m s f rudence? H e_seemed o e ppealing or

restraint.-f"C31" Jstood or "Command, Control, JomrnumcaTtoTis nd

£5¿Q K« 4-Víínír n<*r s-^tK A. fc»<r-)ie«¿ 7



2 3 April, 1984 Page 5/8

j

Intelligence, Important responsibilities a t a time when the United

States and the Soviet Union were gamely making major phased reductions

i n their strategic nuclear arsenals. t was a jo b for a cautious

man.

Kitz settled himself i n one o f the two chairs across the desk

£ r - n j IT *?—r c n t f ?Tt vC*\ UK * .««4* o Ber - tram Ellie, and leaned forward, J:*^ ^ — ~_ -T- r i î f . i / *J—rs—»»-£

D r . Arroway, l e t me come right t o the p o

u t i\ m-p '

i n t . e ' e oncerned

--about whether t's n he best nterest f he United States or

this nformation o e enerally nown. W e were o t overjoyed

about your ending hat elegram all ver he world." _ "You e a n o hina? To ussia? To ndia? He r voice ad

discernible dge o 1t. Y o u wanted o ee p he irst 021 r ime

numbers ecret? D o ou uppose he extraterrestrials ntended o

communicate only with mericans? Don't ou h1nk¿mr. itz^)that

message ro m another civilization elongs o he whole world?"

"You might ave sked u r advice."

"And isk osing he ignal? Look , or all e now, omething

interesting might ave ee n roadcast when ega ad et ere n e w

Mexico, ut when it't high n he ky over Beijing. These ignals

aren't exactly person-to-person all o he .S . f . They're

not ven erson-to-person all o he Earth. It's

station-to-station o ny lanet n he olar ys tem . W e ust

happened o e ucky nough o pick p he hone."

Pevries was adiating omething gain. What was e aying? Tha t

he iked hat lementary nalogy, ut as e p n i

cU Co r\4-t n IMJ

C D - tz? "In an y ase,



2 3 April, 1984 Page 5 / 9

/ / It's too late. verybody knows now that there's something like

Intelligent Ufe 1 n the Vega system."

^ i s n o t t o o at e , D r . Arroway. ou seem t o think there'll b e

some Information-rich transmission, a message, s t i l l t o come. r .

D o V r ios here says you think these prime numbers are a n announcement,

something to make u s pay attention. f there j _ s _ a message and It's

subtle omething those other countries wouldn't pick u p right

away want i t kept quiet u n t i l we can talk about i t . " H

SteJJL, / f tany of s ave wants, r. 1tz," he ound erself —

ng weet ly» gnorlng aVÛs-' olightly aised yebrowsTl "I, oP\ "¿www

example, ave want o nderstand what he meaning of his ignal

1s, nd what's appening n ega, nd what t means or he Earth.

It's ossible hat cientists n ther nations re he ey o hat

understanding. Maybe we'll ee d heir data. Maybe we'll ee d heir

brains. I ould magine his might e roblem oo ig or ne

country o andle all by tself." •^V c r »4 * r

S e Vr>ss o w ppeared aintly larmed. U h, Dr. rroway. M i » » Kitz' uggestion sn't all hat unreasonable. t's ery possible

we'd ring other nations n. ll e's sking s o alk bou t t

with s irst. A nd hat's nly f here's ew message." His one

W a s Calming W Jth n n t a p p r na r h inc ) t hn fr nnt i . f t r < ; nf 1 ô u nCtU OUS . Sh e

looked a t him closely again. e V r ies was not a patently handsome man,

but h e had a kind and Intelligent f a c e . e was w e a r i n g a blue s u i t

and a crisp oxford shirt, h i s seriousness and h i s a i r o f

self-possession moderated b y the warmth of h i s smile. hy, then, was

7



2 3 April, 1984 Page 5/10

he shilling for this jerk? art o f h i s job? ould 1 t b e that Kitz

was talking sense, a s Improbable a s that seemed?

"It's p c o bab ly a remote contingency anyway," 1tz sighed a s h e

got to h i s feet. T h e Secretary of Defense would appreciate your

A S ,C , • / -

cooperation." He was trying to b e winning. Agreed?"

" L e t me think about 1 t , " she replied^ ' LU:,^ K I J ^ K*

" I ' l l b e along i n a few minutes, Mike," S e V r i - a s said

cheerfully.

His hand o n th e 1 I n t e l of the door, Kitz h a d a n apparent

afterthought, removed a document from h i s Inside breast pocket,

returned, and placed i t gingerly o n the corner o f her desk. Oh yes,

I forgot. ere's a copy of the kog e f i decision. o u probably know

i t . t ' s about the government's right t o classify material v i t a l t o

the security of the United States. ven i f i t didn't originate i n a

classified facility."

" Y o u want to classify the prime numbers?" she asked, her eyes

wide i n mock incredulity.

" S e e you outside, Ken."

She began talking the moment Kitz left her office. What's h e

after? egan death rays? orld blower-uppers? hat's this really

about?"

"He's just being prudent, Ellie. I can see you don't think

that's the whole story. kay. uppose there's some message

you know, with r e a l content nd i n i t there's something

offensive to Muslims, s a y , o r t o Methodists. houldn't we release i t

carefully, s o the United States doesn't get a black eye?"



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 5 / 1 1

"Ken. that man i s a n Assistant Secretary o f Defense. f 4 h * i - p - wy'ry \so+r:+é AL» - Muslims »nj ytt ktrjl. l-,

rnnrrr < n?n't miv feAry hey would ave ent e n Assistant ecretary

of State.MYou're he President's cience Advisor. What óve ou T-**/advise/ bi»?* «r"

[Does 1 . s . dispersion undo p o l . m od?| L . ' < n « * < ~ *" ci«u'*r ot- ]

" I haven't advised b+m anything. ince I ' v e b e e n here, I ' v e

only talked to - b - w n once, briefly, o n the phone. nd, 1 1 1 e frank

with you, h e didn't give me any Instructions about classification.

I thought what Kitz said was way off base. think he's acting o n

his own."

" K e n , I trust you. believe you didn't set me u p for this toge* ^Jût.% Decision threat.'"'She waved the document 1 n front of her and paused,

seeking h i s eyes. ' " D o you know that y thinks there's a message 1 n th e

D*

polarization?"

"I on't understand."

I "Just ew ours go , J f inished ough statistical tudy f

the polarization. Y o u now hat he adio wave hat omes ut f

telescope s inearly polar1 zed: O because of he way t's

transmitted, t's ibrating n particular plane. Well, e ecently

discovered hat he lane s arying uriously, s f he adio wave

1s manically witching lanes s t ropagates hrough pace.

Left-right, p-down, ef-right, p-down. W e could make ransmitter

system o modulate he polarization -• I e a n t ould ontrol he

wobb le — if e wanted o o hrough he effort. Y o u now, e ave



23 April, 1984 Page /1 2

amplitude modulation nd requency modulation, u t t's ust ot u r

civilization's onvention o o polarization modulation.

"Well, e don't eally now hat he ega ignal as

polarization modulation. We're usy checking t ut ight ow. But «KÔ*-»-*

found hat here weren't n qual umber of he wo orts f inear

polarization. It wasn't olarized eft-right xaetly s much s t

+ U + was p-down. It's ust ossible hat here's nother message n he

polarization. -S e 'm uspicious.Kitz sn't ust iving e enera l

gratuitous dvice. H e nows e a y e n o omething^"

"ElHe, ake t asy. You 've hardly slept or our days.

You 've ee n uggling he cience, he administration nd he press.

You 've lready made ne f he major discoveries f he entury, nd^

you might e n he erge of omething much more mportant. Y o u e

go t very ight o e ittle n dge, nd hreatening o

militarize he project was lumsy f K1tz. I on't ave ny rouble

understanding why you're uspicious f im . But here's o m e ense o

what e ays."

" D o y o u k n o w t h e m a n ? "

" I ' v e b e e n 1 n a f e w m e e t i n g s w i t h h i m . c a n h a r d l y s a y k n o w

h 1 r a . l l i e , 1 f t h e r e ' s a p o s s i b i l i t y o f a r e a l m e s s a g e c o m i n g 1 n ,

w o u l d n ' t i t b e a g o o d i d e a t o t h i n o u t t h e c r o w d a l i t t l e ? "

" S u r e . i v e m e a h a n d w i t h s o m e o f t h e W a s h i n g t o n d e a d w o o d . "

" O k a y . n d i f y o u l e a v e t h a t d o c u m e n t o n y o u r d e s k , s o m e o n e ' 1 1

b e i n h e r e a n d d r a w t h e w r o n g c o n c l u s i o n . h y d o n ' t y o u p u t i t a w a y

s o m e w h e r e ? "

4



2 3 A p r i l , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 5 / 1 3

" Y o u ' r e g o i n g t o h e l p ? "

" I f t h e s i t u a t i o n s t a y s a n y t h i n g l i k e w h a t 1 t i s n o w , I ' l l h e l p .

W e ' r e n o t g o i n g t o m a k e o u r b e s t e f f o r t 1 f t h i s t h i n g g e t s

c l a s s i f i e d . "

S h e s m i l e d , k n e l t b e f o r e h e r s m a l l o f f i c e s a f e , p u n c h e d i n t h e

s i x - d i g i t c o m b i n a t i o n , 3 1 4 1 5 9 , t o o k o n e l a s t g l a n c e a t t h e d o c u m e n t

t h a t w a s t i t l e d i n l a r g e b l a c k l e t t e r s " T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S ¥ E * S U 5 f c O G A N ¿ / C Y B E R N E T I C S , " a n d l o c k e d i t a w a y .

A

U

It was roup of bou t 0 ~ technicians nd cientists Q^±SSU<.ï*U4 Project Argus, ew enior overnment officials, he Deputy

Director of he Defense ntelligence gency n ivilian lothes, nd

among hem, fe^fe Kltz, nd oVrios. They ad et p arge

television projection ys tem, ocused n creen wo meters y wo

metersçSflush against he ar wall. E l He was imultaneously

addressing he roup nd he decryption rogram, er ingers n he

keyboard before her.

"Over he years we've repared or he omputer decryption of

'

«tut 4 % , D»"- ¿3<*T<«v»lin s OtvutyS1 » '*

many inds of possible messages. We've ust earned hat here's

Information n he polarization modulation. All hat renetic

switching etween horizontal nd ertical lanes f polarization



2 3 April, 1984 Page 5/14

i t

means something. t ' s not random noise. t ' s a s i f y o u 'r e flipping a

coin and of course expect a s many heads a s tail. nstead you get twice a s many heads a s tails. o you conclude that the coin i s

- w e 4 ^ k . e d . , or, i n ou r case, that th e polarization modulation Isn't O h j h *it *¿ 4\ir.

random; t has content What the computer has just now told u s £.V1\ mor*- i'hff<~ 9 - 3 ^ - +$~

% * - * + r c r t " ^ R e precise sequence of heads and tails repeats. t ' s a long

sequence, s o it's a complex message, and th e transmitting civilization

must want u s to be sure to get i t right.

7 "Here, you s e e . this i s the repeating message. e're now into

th e first repetition. very bit of information, every dot and dash

(if you want to think of them that w a y ) 1 s identical to what i t w as

1 n th e last block of data. ow w e analyze th e total number of

bits. t ' s a number 1 n th e tens of billions. kay, Bingo. t's

the product of three prime numbers."

/ a n d - Y were both beaming although, i t seemed to E l U e , they

were experiencing quite different emotions.

" S o what? h at do some more prime numbers mean?" a visitor

from Washington asked.

" I t means, I think, we're being sent a picture. ou s e e , this

message i s made of a large number of bits of information. that

large number 1 s th e product of three smaller numbers; f r h o n , of

- c » w » s * , It's a number times a number times a number^, l n i i u I H - L -

3 " 'J *\ t u t * t three dimensions to th e message. S e ,eith e r it's a single, static

three-dimensional picture like a^hologram, or i t ' s a two-dimensional

picture that changes with time a movie. et's assume it's a

movie. f it's a hologram, i t ' l l take u s longer to display anyway. «^

V/%. 'f* n Jt t oQe-tryflfo*. <t/«iir.'/^ ~ » » - t-k '5 yr Ô *»-e y



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 5/15

O n the screen, they made out a n Indistinct moving pattern,

composed o f perfect whites and perfect blacks.

"Willie, pu t i n some gray Interpolation program, would you?

Anything reasonable. nd try rotating i t about 90 degrees

counterclockwise . "

" D r . Arroway, there seems to b e a n auxiliary sideband

channel. aybe I t ' s the audio to g o with the movie."

"Punch 1 t up."

E l He scanned th e faces before h e r . itz looked mildly

uncomfortable. erhaps, she thought, h e was anticipating some alien

Invader, o r , worse, the design o f a weapon too secret for h er staff t o

b e trusted with. illie looked very earnest, and was swallowing over

and over again. picture 1 s different from mere numbers. he

possibility of a v i s u a l message was clearly rousing u n e x p 4 - e f » e d fears

and fantasies i n th e hearts o f many of the onlookers. eVrias h a d a

wonderful expression o n his face. or the moment, h e seemed much less a * i S vn u - c n

th e official, he u re au c ra t , he Presidential dvisor, Hs yes ere- *0T*. 4-k* S " C # ' « iVK« > /.

bright i n anticipation o f diGcovery—~—a n d , i t soomod t o C I H e , w ith—

someth4 n g i k o prida i n he r .

The picture, s t i l l unintelligible, was joined b y a deep

rumbling glissando o f sounds sliding first u p a n d then down th e

audio spectrum u n t i l t gravitated to r e s t somewhere around the octave

below middle C . lowly, the group became aware o f faint b u t swelling

martial music. he picture rotated, rectified, and focused.







• E irst Draft

¿ ¿

Contact: HAPTER SIX Page 6/1

2ÜrApVTrT í9 8 4 ^4-¿.1^1 PSES

As th e plane reached cruising altitude, Albuquerque already

more than a hundred miles behind them, she idly glanced a t th e small

white cardboard rectangle imprinted with blue letters that f c b e y had Jo**r\ stapled to her airline ticket envelope. t read, i n language

unchanged since h er first commercial flight, "This i s not the luggage

ticket (baggage check) described by Article 4 of the Warsaw

Convention." h y were th e airlines s o worried, she wondered, that

passengers might mistake this piece of cardboard for the Warsaw

Convention ticket? hat was a Warsaw Convention ticket? h y had she

never seen one? here were they storing them? robably s^nn airline, « - o w e nj>4.(T t

e . > v,» - ' , « ' * - <t*'r//*i

U \ t h e distant pas^, had forgotten to print this caveat on ^ h e ir

- p ioco o ef cardboard, and were sued into bankruptcy by Irate passengers

laboring under the misapprehension that this was th e Warsaw ticket. 'in >

Doubtless there were sound financial reasons for this worldwide

concern, never otherwise articulated, about which pieces of cardboard

are not described by the Warsaw Convention. magine, she thought, a l l

" * " k e k is r* *y • » V ~ those lines of type devoted to something useful ho positions o f -

a spira nts in h igh office o n g l o b a l nuclea r arms reductions» say^ or

incidental facts of science, or even th e average number of passenger

miles u n t i l your^plane crashed.

I f she had accepted S eVrteo ' offer of a military airplane, she

would be having other casual associations. ut that would have been



23 April, 1984 Page 6/2

far too cozy, perhaps some foot i n th e d oor ead ing t o a n eventual

militarization of the project. h ey had preferred eyes were

- C ~ ' ' v » . ' s U 0 „ . » already closed as he^settles into the seat beside her o travel

b y commercial carrier. here h a d been no particular hurry, even after

taking care of those last-minute details o n the data analysis, the

hint of a - t h 4 r d layer of the onion j beginning t o p o a ' L ; T ï ï e y had b e e r

able to make a commercial flight that w o u l d _ _ a r r 1 y e i n Washington ^n

plenty of time for a good night's s l e e p ^ l before tomorrow's m e e ti n g T^

She glanced a t th e telefax system neatly zipped into a

leather carrying case under th e seat I n front of h e r . t was several hundred

kilobits pe r second faster than 3^s old model and displayed

oigni/icantly better graphics. ell, maybe tomorrow she would have t o

use i t to explain to the President of th e United States what Adolf

Hitler w as doing o n V e g a . hat would h er stepfather think? id h e

s t i l l believe she was unsulted for science? r her mother, no w

confined to a wheelchair i n a nursing home? he had managed only one

brief phone c a l l to her mother since th e discovery, over a week ago,

and promised herself to c a l l again tomorrow.

As she had done a hundred times before, she peered out the

airplane window and Imagined what impression the Earth would make o n

a n extraterrestrial observer t this cruising altitude of 1 2 o r

1 4 kilometers, and with eyes something like ours. here were vast

l idw e s t i n tr icately goomotrizod by thoso w i f e h "^ aeaas-o^f-^the i agricultral r i ban j ioniry nd, s e r e , a s t r e a s of he

:TV« w«j f\e ajln.'44-etf 4-p \*rs*i± A 1,'4-ttx. rtfr uj «.ho^4 \¿ m ,*«*»/.,'«

ô.«t . «;*cuu, ~ck es, c,;/. oiwi. *udw£«£. T¿¿¿** «'«>

/4* ¿* ¡to U *Q ¿U



23 April, 1984 Page 6/3

S outhwest i n w h ich t he only sign of h uman being s was a n occasional

straigh t line h eading b e t w e e n mo u n t a i n s and across deserts. re t he

worlds of more a d v a n c e d civilizations t o t a l l y geometrlzed, e n tir e ly

rebuilt by t h e ir inh abitan ts, Qr ould t h e s i g n a t u r e o f a r e a lly

7 advanced civ iliz a ti o n be th at t h e y left no sign at a l l# t h e i r plonots

mnint i i i n r i i i n f i i ll-pn h l i i i i i l i n j l i n i i i i i j ' " ly? ould th ey t e l l 1 n one

swift g l a n c e f o r e c l s e l y / a t W b a t st age we were^ln some great ctswc

e v o lu ti o n a ry sequence i n th e d e v e l o p m e n t of i n t e l l i g e n t beings?

Wh at else could th ey tell? rom t he blueness of t he s k y , t h e y

could m a k e a rough e s t i m a t e o f L oschmidt's number, h ow m a n y

molecules t h e r e were i n a cubic c e n tim e t e r a t sea level. bout

t h r e e times t e n to t he nineteen th. lso, t h e y could e a s i l y t el l t h e

altitudes of t h e clouds from th e len gth of t h e i r sh adows o n t he

ground. f th ey knew th at th e clouds were c o n d e n s e d w a t e r t h e y

could roughly c a l c u l a t e t he t e mp e r a tu r e lapse rat e of th e

atmosph ere, because t h e t e mp e r a tu r e had t o g e t t o about minus 40

degrees Centigrade a t th e a l t i t u d e of t he high est clouds she could

see. he erosion of landforms, t he d e n d r i t i c p a t t e r n s and oxbows

of rivers, th e presence of lakes and b a t t e r e d volcanic plugs a l l

spoke o f an ancien t battle between land-forming and erosiona

processes. eally, you could see a t a glance th at th is was a n an tique

plan et w i th a brand n e w civilization.

Most of th e plan ets i n the.Galaxy would be v e n e r a b l e and tniyW ev*n 1,'Ç* es». 4-Çev woJÍ lr<-*6r

pretech nical, or ancien t w ith civilizations mu ch o ld e r th an ours.

Worlds with t echnical civilizations just beginning t o e m e r g e must be



2 3 April, 1984 age 6/4

spectacularly rare. t was perhaps th e only quality fundamentally

unique about the Earth.

Through lunch, the landscape slowly turned verdant a s they

approached th e Plains States. ou had hardly any sense of motion i n

modern air travel. he looked at && t i l l sleeping-body- / C ^ e nad

rejected(the prospect of airline lunch/ïith some Indignation) eyond

h i m , across th e aisle, was a ^/ery oung human being, perhaps three

months old, comfortably nestled i n i t s father's arms. hat was a n

Infant's view of air travel? o u go to a special place, walk into a

large room with seats I n i t , and s i t down. he room rumbles and

shakes for 4 ive hours. hen yo u get up and walk off. agically,

y o u 'r e somewhere else. h e means of transportation seem obscure to « > A* ' ' c

you. ut the,Idea i s easy to grasp, and precocious mastery of

aerodynamics or je t engine design 1 s not required of you.

I t was late afternoon when they circled Washington, awaiting

permission to land. h e could make out, between th e Washington

Monument and th e Lincoln Memorial, a vast crowd of people. t was, she had read only a n hour earlier i n the Times telefax, a massive

rally of black Americans, protesting economic disparities and

educational inequities. onsidering th e justice of their grievances,

she thought, they had been very patient. he wondered h ow the

President would respond to the rally and to the Vega transmission, o n

both of which ho would have t o make some public comment«tomorrow. 1

ÇutfdS ^ « - v * " < / » L* . *a~0**\



23 April, 1984 Page 6/5

"What do y ou mean, Ken, 'They get out'?" s.

I mean, f j r * . President, that ou r television signals leave this

planet and go out Into space."

"Just exactly h ow far do they g o ? "

"With a l l du e respect, M f. President, 1 t doesn't work that

way.*

"Well, h ow does i t work?"

"The signals spread out from the Earth i n spherical waves, a

little like ripples 1 n a pond. hey travel a t th e speed of light

— 86,000 miles a second nd essentially go on forever. he

better some other civilization's receivers are, the farther away

they could b e and s t i l l pick up ou r TV signals. ve n we could

detect a strong TV transmission from a planet going around the

nearest star."

For a moment, th e President stood ramrod straight, staring out

the French doors into the Rose Garden [CHECK]. -He-turned towards

d e V r ios . You mean everything?"

" Y e s . verything." VvwtXrr^

You mean to s a y , a l l that crap o n television? C L e t 's Make A

DoaT? - h o _ - c o p _ c r a o j i c o ? restling? he JJU I IJUUJJUI I J ^chan n e l a ? he

evening news?"

"Everything, t y * . President." eV r ie s shook his head 1 n

sympathetic consternation.

^ B e l / r ies , do understand y ou correctly? oes this mean that a l l

m y press conferences, m y debates, m y Inaugural Address, are out

there?"



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/6

"That's the good news, t f * . President. h e bad news 1 st s o are

a l l the television appearances of you r predecessor. nd Dick Nixon.

And the Soviet leadership. nd s o are a lot of nasty things you r

opponent said about you. t ' s a mixed blessing."

"Okay. o o n . " h e President had turned away from the French

doors, and was now apparently preoccupied 1» th e examination of a

y

s m a ble bust of Thomas Jcfforoon^ *«~ly « ^ W - » . - - * / -£>*« » ' • ( « p < t^V, t*í" * ~ « * , í

- »

"Look a t 1 t this way: hose few minutes of television from

Vega were originally broadcast 1 n 1 9 3 6 , at the opening of the

Olympic Games 1 n Berlin. ven though 1 t was only shown 1 n Germany,

i t was the first television transmission o n thc-plaag t Earth with

even moderate power. nlikeôrdinary radio transmission i n the ' 3 0 s ,

those TV signals got through ou r Ionosphere and trickled out Into

space. e're trying to find out exactly what was transmitted VMQ^LI<,1¿ Xê » C aví

b u t , a s you . m i g h t imagine, i t ' l l probably take some time. aybe that

welcome from Hitler i s the only fragment of th e transmission they were a.Ole, h t

picked up o n Vega.

"So from their point of view, Hitler 1 s th e first sign of

intelligent life on Earth. I'm not trying to be ironic.) h ey

don't know what the t r a n s m i s s i o n means, s o they record i t and

transmit i t back to u s . t ' s a w ay of saying 'Hello, we heard you.'

I t seems to me a pretty friendly gesture."

"Then you say there wasn't any television broadcasting u n t i l

after th e Second World War?"

A



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/7

"Nothing to speak o f . here was a l o c a l broadcast i n England

on the Coronation of George VI, a few things like that. trijhe

4 - iV*.

•» *>«D** xexk big iir3t of elevision ransmission êmiC E - a d n he ate

'40's. All hose rograms re eaving he Earth at he peed of D« r {Jeer

light. magine the Earth 1 s here," DoVrios gestured 1 n th e air,

"and there's a little spherical wave running away from i t a t the

speed of light, starting out i n 1 9 3 6 . t keeps expanding and

receding from th e Earth. ooner or later, i t reaches the nearest

civilization. h ey seem to be surprisingly close, only 2 6 light

y ea r s away, on some planet of th e star Vega. h ey record 1 t and

play i t back to u s . ut i t takes another 2 6 years for th e Berlin

Olympics to return to Earth. o the Vegans didn't take decades to

figure i t out. h ey must have been p r e t t y , much tuned, a l l set u p ,

ready to g o , waiting for ou r first television signals.^ But unless

they've already been here ou know, some survey mission a

thouoow d years ago hey couldn't have known we were about to

invent television. o O r . Arroway thinks this civilization 1 s

monitoring a l l the nearby planetary systems, to see If any of i t s

neighbors develop high technology."

" K e n , there's a lot of things here to think about. re you

sure *hsy^don't understand what that television program was about?" 3

" M r . " President, there's no doubt they're smart. h at w as a very

weak signal 1 n 1 9 3 6 . heir detectors have to be fantastically

sensitive to pick 1 t u p . u t don't see h ow they could possibly

understand what i t means. h ey probably look very different from u s .

(



^

They m u s t h a v e different hmoryTdl f f e r e n t ~ c ï ï s î ô m s : h e r e 's n o wày~

for them to know what a swastika I s or wh o Adolf Hitler was."

" Y o u know, I never thought Hitler could manage that Hitler

salute. hen i r e yd*e i t straight on, i t was always skewed a t some W4CKO peculiar angle. nd then there was that fruity bent elbow salute. f

anyone else had done his H e l l Hitlers s o incompetently he would Ve-

( ^ £ n ) hjihl^^ iâ been sent to the Russian front." 5

"But isn't there a difference? e was only returning the

salutes of others. e wasn't Helling Hitler."

"Oh^yes he was," returned the President, and, with a gesture, D«r H**r

- h e ushered DoVrios out of the Rose Room and down a corridor.

Suddenly , ¿ h e stopped and regarded th e Science Advisor.

"What if the Nazis didn't have television i n 1936? hen what

would have happened?"

"Well, then I suppose i t would be the Coronation of George V I ,

or some transmission*about th e New York World's Fair i n 1939, if

* f c * f c - w a s „ s t r o n g enough f o i » tho r n to,receive, «^ some programs from

the late ' 4 0 's. ou know, Howdy Doody, Milton Berle, the

Army/McCarthy Hearings l l those marvellous signs of

intelligent Ufe on Earth."

' J " h o s e goddamn programs are ou r ambassadors into space* tha-TlL* -v^t 's -s* .^

a m b a s s a d e u r s nf-^Hra-human-raeo . "With a n ambassador, you ' re supposed t o

p u t you r best foot forward, and we've been sending mainly crap wfee +v space for 4 0 years. ' d like to see the network executives come t o

grips with this one. And that madman Hitler, that's th e first news

they have about Earth? hat are they going to think of us?"





23 April, 1984 wa « . " 4 - T-* V«\y ¥' < * ' S S « v v « / / ¿ . " Ç •¿U^- n„ik/.

Page 6/10

v>v<**s «A *f/ , « y - K Tin.- - n»T-nm>

"All ight, et's begin,"fhe^reslaënysaldjafter he-ftrTefest

A £ ansas . . "This s oint nformal eet ing of he ational ecurity

Counc i l nd what or he ime eing we're calling he Special

~1 "Contingency Task Group. Yesterday, D r . DeVnios gave most of you a

briefing on this unbelievable T V program from the star Vega. t ' s the

view of D r . BaVries and others,"she looked around th e table, "that

i t ' s just a fluke that th e first television program to get to Vega

starred Adolf Hitler. ut it's d i s t a o t o f u / 1. 've asked the

Director of Central Intelligence to prepare a n assessment of any

national security Implications i n a l l of this. s there any direct

threat from whoever the h e l l 1 s sending this? re w e going to be i n

trouble If there's some new message, and some other country decodes i t

first? ut first l e t m e ask, Marvin, does this have anything to do

with flying saucers?"

The Director of Central Intelligence, a n authoritative m an 1 n

late middle age, wearing steel-rimmed glasses, summarized. Unidentified Flying Objects, called U F O s , have been of intermittent

concern to the CIA and th e Air Force, i n part because rumors about A

or them might be a means for a hostile power to spread confusion aod to

overload communications channels. fe w of the more reliably reported

incidents turned out to be penetrations of U.S. air space, or

overflights of U . S . overseas bases, by high performance aircraft from

the Soviet Union or Cuba. u ch overflights are a common means of

testing a potential adversary's readiness, and th e United States had

more than i t s fair share of such penetrations, a n d feints a t



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/11

A

penetration, of Soviet air space. t was not good publicity that a

Cuban M i G had penetrated 200 miles u p the Mississippi Basin before

being detected. he routine procedure h a d been for the A1 r Force to

deny that any of i t s aircraft were 1 n the vicinity of th e UFO

sighting, thus solidifying public mystification. t these

explanations, the Air Force Chief of Staff looked a littlo r, » « ^ y ' « * / ¿ vt

uncomfortable, but said nothing.

Th e great majority of UFO reports, the f l i roctor of Central ^<UZ. I n t o l l i g r n f i a continued, were hoaxoo o r de lu3 ioa s< b u t mainly natural

objects misapprehended b y the observer. nconventional or

experimental aircraft, automobile headlights reflected off overcast,

balloons, birds, luminescent insects, even planets and stars seen

under unusual atmospheric conditions, had a l l been reported a s UFOs. S \i V .'c-*rt>H l»*r ¿\~ » U *» *»« r » 'tr'Hf ~4-\AXv^-*-(f T- 4» ¡a-e V» a_v* s or- re*./ ftyci/of

a million UFO sightings reported worldwide here had been more than

since the phrase "flying saucer" had been invented i n th e late '40's,

and not one of them seemed o n good evidence to

be connected with

a n

extraterrestrial visitation. ut th e Idea generated high emotions,

and there w e r e fringe groups and publications, and even some academic

scientists, that kept alive the supposed connection between UFOs a n d , »

« xtratorroatHal - s , . he official Air Force Investigation, called i n

I t s f i n a l incarnation Project Blue Book, had been closed down i n the

I 9 6 0 's for lack of progress, and a low l e v e l continuing Interest h a d

b e e n maintained jointly by the Air Force and the CIA. h e scientific

community had been s o convinced there was nothing to i t that when

Jimmy Carter requested the National Aeronautics and Space

Ch / A

cy*- lu*

o rí A.





23 April, 1984 Page 6/13

T%

"They've given u s no other Information about themselves

except * h t r t , a t some frequencies, t h e ARGUS a str o n o m e r s have

r i p m n n t t r f l f p r i that the transmitted s i g n a l doesn't show the Doppler

effect from th e motion of their planet around their star. hey've

simplified that data reduction step for u s . hey're . polite. o

f a r , nothing of military or any other Interest has been received. l l

they've been saying i s that they're good a t ridlo astronomy, they like

prime numbers, and they can return ou r first TV transmissions back to

u s . t couldn't hurt any other nation to know that. nd, remember

, that a l l those other countries are receiving this same three-minute

Hitler clip, over and over again. he Russians o r the Germans or

someone 1 s likely to tumble to this polarization modulation sooner or

later. y personal Impression, M / ' . President ~ don't know 1f

State agrees s 1 t would be better 1f we released 1 t to th e

world, before w e ' r e accused of covering something u p . f the

situation remains static it h no big change from where we are

right now e could think about making a public announcement, or

even releasing that three-minute film clip.

"Incidentally, we haven't been able to find any record from

German archives of what was e n that original broadcast. e can't b e

absolutely sure that th e people o n Vega haven't made some change i n

th e content before sending 1 t back to us. e can recognize Hitler,

a l l right, and the part of the big Olympic stadium w e see corresponds

accurately to Berlin 1 n 1936. u t 1 f , at that moment, Hitler had * < * * . / /

scratched his mustache Instead of smiling a s 1 n the transmission, we'd 7

t **-*)have no way to know."



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/14

Vi( * * " ' " * * * y

A t this moment, E l He, followed by ^ , arrived slightly

breathless, and attempted to take a n obscure chair against the wall.

DeVries noticed and directed th e President's attention to her.

" D r . Arrow-uh-way? 'M glad to see you've arrived safely.

First, let m e congratulate you o n a splendid discovery. plendid.

U m , Marvin. M

"I've reached a stopping point, M/. President."

"Good. r . Arroway, we understand you have something n e w .

Would y ou care to t e l l u s about 1 t ? M

t y . President, ^ ent lcm e f v . sorry to be late, but think we've

just hit the cosmic jackpot. et m e try and explain 1 t this way:

I n classical times, when parchment w as i n short supply, people would

write over a n old parchment, making what's called a palimpsest.

There was writing under writing under w riting. his signal from

Vega i s , of course, very strong. s you know, there's the prime

numbers, and 'underneath' them, this eerie Hitler business. ut

underneath the sequence of prime numbers, underneath th e retransmitted

Olympic broadcast, we've just uncovered a n incredibly rich message

a t least w e ' r e pretty sure it's a message. s far as w e can tell,

it's been there a l l along. e've just detected 1 t .

"What does i t say?" the President asked. What's i t about?" f

"We haven't the foggiest idea, l ^ " . President. ome of th e people

a t Project Argus tumbled to i t early this morning Washington time.

We've been working on 1 t a l l night."

"Over a n open phone?" asked Kitz.



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/15

"With standard commercial encryption." llie looked a little

flushed. pening her telefax case, sh e quickly generated a

transparent printout, and, with a n overhead projector, cast i t s image

against a screen.

"Here's a l l w e know u p to n o w : e ' l l get a block of Information

comprising about a thousand bits. here'll be a pause, and then th e

s a m e block w i l l be repeated, bit for bit. hen there'll be another

pause, and we'll go on to the next block. t ' s repeated a s well. he

repetition of every block 1 s probably to minimize transmission

errors. hey must think it's very Important that w e get whatever It /Vow ,

1 s they're saying down accurately.^jLet*s c a l l each of these blocks of

Information a page. RGUS i s picking up a few dozen o f these pages a

day. ut we don't know what they're about. hey're not a simple

picture code like the Olympic message. his 1 s something much deeper

and m u c h richer. t appears t o b e , for the first time, information

they've generated. he only clue we have s o far 1 s that th e pages

seem to b e numbered. t the beginning of every page there's a number

i n binary arithmetic. ee this one here? nd every time another pair

of identical pages shows u p , It's labeled with the next higher

number. ight now w e ' r e o n page 10,413. t ' s a big book.

Calculating back, i t seems that the message began about three months

a g o . e're lucky to have picked 1 t up a s early a s w e did."

" I was right, wasn't I , " whispered K1tz to OoVrioo. This Isn't

the kind of extraterrestrial message y ou want to give t o the Fren ch r

the Chinese or the Russians, 1 s 1 t ? "



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/16

" I s i t going to be easy to figure out?" the President asked over

th e wh ispering Kitz.

" We will, of course, make our best efforts. nd 1 t probably

would be useful to have th e National Security Agency work on 1 t

also. ut without a n explanation from Vega, without a primer, m y

guess i s that|)we're not going to make m u c h progress. t certainly

doesn't seem to be written 1 n English, or German, or any other Earthly

language. ur hope i s that the message w i l l come to a n end, maybe on

page 20,000 or page 30,000, and then start right over from the

beginning, so we' ll be able to f i l l 1 n the missing parts. aybe

before the whole message repeats, there'll be a primer, a kind of

McGuffey's Reader, that w i l l enable u s to understand the Message."

" If may, M /. President ...

" M / . President, this 1 s D r . / . . o f th e California Institute of

Technology, one of the pioneers 1 n this field."

"Please go ahead, Dr.f¿" "Think of i t this way: his 1 s a n Intentional transmission to

u s . hey know w e ' r e here. hey have some Idea, from having

Intercepted our 1936 broadcast, of w h e re our technology 1 s , of how

smart w e are. hey wouldn't be going to a l l this trouble i f they

didn't want u s t o understand the message. omewhere 1 n there 1 s the

key to help us understand i t . t ' s only a question of accumulating

a l l th e data and analyzing 1 t very carefully."

"Well, what d o you suppose th e Message 1 s about?"



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/17

" I don't see any way to tell, Mp. President. can only repeat

what D r . Arroway said. t ' s a n intricate and complex message. he

transmitting civilization i s eager for u s to receive 1 t . aybe a l l

this 1 s one s m a l l volume of the Encyclopaedia Galáctica. he star

Vega 1 s about three times more massive than the Sun and about a

hundred times brighter [CHECK]. ecause I t burns i t s nuclear f u e l s o

fast i t h a s a much shorter lifetime than th e Sun. "

"Yes. aybe something's about to go wrong o n Vega," the

Director of Central Intelligence Interrupted. Maybe their planet

w i l l b e destroyed. aybe they want someone else to know about their

civilization before they're wiped out."

"Or," offered Kitz, "maybe they're looking for a new place to

move t o , and the Earth would suit them just fine. aybe It's no

accident they chose to send u s a picture of Adolf Hitler."

"Hold on. here's a lot of possibilities, but not everything 1 s

possible. here's no way for the transmitting civilization to know

whether we've received th e message, m u c h less whether w e ' r e making any

progress i n decoding i t . f we find the message offensive w e are not

obliged to reply. nd even I f w e did reply, i t w o u ld be 2 6 years

before they received th e reply, and another 2 6 years before they can

answer i t . he speed of light i s fast but i t ' s not Infinitely fast.

We're very nicely quarantined from Vega. nd if there's anything that

worries u s about this ne w message, we have decades to decide what to

do about i t . et's not panic quite yet." he enunciated these last

words while offering a pleasant smile to K i t z .



2 3 April, 1984 Page 6/18

" I appreciate those remarks, Dr. Arrowty," returned the

President. But things are happening fast. oo damn fast. nd there

are too many maybes. haven't even made a public announcement about

a l l of this. o t even the prime numbers, never mind th e Hitler ¿ u / / c

m e ssa g e . A a d / f l o w w e have to think about this "book" you say they're

sending. And because you scientists think nothing of talking to each

r^

other, th e rumors are flying P hyllis, where's that file? e r e, look

a t these headlines." Cy**,-«.f , -tns ; « *H tt» .« -&-C ¿>>l¿4.r— >

Brandished uccessively at anji's ength, hey 'nfcad Space Doc

Says lion ignare rom S**PV, Astronomical elegram Hints at f c Sir S " K #w *

Extraterrestrial Intelligence", "Voice From Heaven?", and "The Aliens

are Coming; The Aliens are Coming.' e let the newspapers flutter to

the table. I think we'd better curtail this meeting, and reconvene

• f c f c later." V 7Z>

I f may, t y f . President, e Vr ies interrupted haltingly, with

evident reluctance. I beg y o u r pardon, but t h e re are some

international implications that I think have to be raised now."

The President merely exhaled, acquiescing. - B e V r i e s continued.

"See 1f I have this right, Dr. Arroway. very day th e star Vega

rises over the New Mexico desert, and you get whatever page of this

complex transmission hatever 1 t i s h ey happen to be

sending to th e Earth at the moment. hen, eight hours later or

something, the star sets. ight s o far? kay. hen the next day th e

star rises again i n the east, but you've lost some pages during th e

time you weren't able to look a t 1 t , after 1 t had set the previous Si r r ~&

night. ight? o it's a s if you were getting pages 4 3 through-66 and



to < n— t b é n pages &â through 9&, a n d s o on. o matter how patiently we

observe, w e ' r e going to have enormous amounts of Information missing. (>-*•*. Even 1 f the message eventually repeats Itself, w e ' r e going to have

"That's entirely right." he arose and approached a n enormous

globe of the world» tentatively g iving i t a spin. The Earth

turns. ou need radio telescopes distributed evenly over many

longitudes if you don't want any mioa ing inf ormatio n. ny one

nation observing on I t s own 1 s going to dip Into th e message and dip

out aybe even at th e most Interesting parts."

"But we don't have to be tied to th e surface of the Earth,"

interjected an A1 r Force General. We can beat the rotation period.

A l l we need 1 s a large radio telescope i n Earth orbit."

" A l l right." he President again glanced around the table. D o

we have a space radio telescope? ow long would i t take to get one

up? h o knows about this? r . Garrison?"

Th e NASA Administrator, a thin, sallow, friendly man, blinked.

" U h , no, M f. President. e've submitted a proposal «a i led f t T j^c _ _

1 n each of the last three f i s c a l years, but 0MB

has removed i t from y o u r budget each time. e have f e h e - p + * & s , of

course, but i t would take years ell, two years anyway

before we could get i t u p . nd I f e e l should remind everybody that

u n t i l last f a l l the Russians had a working millimeter and submillimeter wave telescope i n Earth orbit. e don't know w h y i t

failed, but they'd be i n a better position to send some cosmonauts up

to fix i t than w e ' d be to build and launch one from scratch."

> ,



23 April, 1984 Page 6/20

"That's 1 t ? " the President asked. NASA has a n ordinary

telescope i n space but no radio telescope. hat about th e

intelligence community? ational Security Agency? obody?"

" S o , just to follow this line of reasoning," B o V n o s went o n ,

"it's a strong s i g n a l and it's on lots of frequencies. fter Vega

sets over the United States, there are radio telescopes i n

half-a-dozen countries that are detecting and recording th e signal.

They're not a s sophisticated a s Project Argus, and they probably

haven't figured ou t the polarization modulation yet. f we wait to

prepare a space radio telescope and launch i t , the message might b e

ended by then, disappeared altogether. o doesn't i t follow that the i m mon¡ '¿Le

only solution 1 s u r g e n t , cooperation with a number of other nations,

D r . Arroway?"

" I don't think any nation can accomplish this project alone. t

w i l l require many nations, spread out pretty evenly i n longitude, a l l

th e way around th e Earth. t w i l l Involve every major radio astronomy

facility now i n place h e big radio telescopes 1 n Australia,

China, I n d i a , th e Soviet Union, and Western Europe. e can't have any

• k o l a s i n th e coverage because some critical part of the Message might

come when there's no telescope looking a t Vega. e ' l l have to do

something about the Eastern Pacific between Hawaii and Australia and

maybe something about the Mid-Atlantic also."

" W e l l , ' ' th e Director of Central Intelligence responded

grudgingly, "the Soviets have several satellite tracking ships which

are good i n S-band and X-band, the Akademik Keldysh , for example.



23 April, 1984 Page 6/21

^ ¡ A lokcandro v?^ f we make some arrangement with them, they might b e

able to station thos e ships 1 n th e Atlantic or the Pacific and f i l l i n

the gaps."

Ellie pursed her l i p s to respond, but the President was already

talking.

" A l l right, Ken. ou m ay be right. ut I say again this 1 s

moving too damn f a s t . here are some other things I have to attend to

right now. ' d appreciate 1 t if the Director of Central Intelligence

and the National Security Staff could work overnight o n whether we , have any options besides coope ration^ ' d like the Secretary of State

t o prepare, 1 n cooperation with th e scientists, a contingency 11st of

nations and individuals to be approached if we have to cooperate, and

some assessment of consequences. s some nation going to be m ad a t u s

if we don't ask them to listen? an w e be blackmailed by somebody who

promises the data and then holds back? hould we try to get more than

one country a t each longitude? ork through th e Implications. nd

for Chrissake,"-h+s eyes moved from face to face arquMth e long

i ft ' •

polished table, "keep q u

movea rrom Tace t o race a round the l o n g

let about this^/we'vé got problems enough. "



Ç ^ c o ^ i ^MfA

Ck*f¡* y ^ ^7 /€f /e^^J



fr4-P9t Draft

CS

Contact: « C H A P T E R Page /1

¿3-JVf*44-r4t9&4 ~7 ~É¿B ETMt CT^/U'T-S/U-T" W*-*^

She had planned t o meet Vaygay's plane i n Albuquerque and drive

him back t o the Argus facility i n the Thunderbird. he r e s t o f the

Soviet delegation would have traveled i n the observatory cars. he

would have enjoyed speeding to the airport i n the c o o l dawn a i r ,

perhaps again past a n honor guard o f rampant coneys. nd she had been

anticipating a long substantive * f t d - private talk with Vaygay o n the

return. u t the new security people from the General Services

Administration h a d vetoed th e I d e a . edia attention and the he r -

President's sober announcement a t the end o f - h + s press conference two

weeks before h a d brought enormous crowds to the Isolated desert s i t e .

There was a potential o r violence, they h a d told be*. h e must i n

future travel o n l y i n government cars and then only with discreetly

armed escorts. heir little convoy was wending i t s way towards

Albuquerque a t a pace s o sober and responsible that she found he r

right f o o t depressing a n imaginary accelerator o n the rubber mat

before h e r .

It would e oo d o pond_oomo im e ifrh aygay gain. S he ad

last ee n im n Moscow hree years efore, uring ne f hose

intermittent eriods n which e was orbidden o visit he West.

Permiss ion or oreign ravel ad waxed nd waned hrough he ecades,

in esponse o hanging olicy ashions nd Vaygay 's w n ehavior.

/«



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7 / 2

Permission would b e denied him after some mild political rovocation

about which h e seemed unable to restrain himself, and then granted

again when n o one of comparable ability could b e found to flesh out

- A * - « o n r e scientific delegation. e received invitations from a l l over the

world for lectures, seminars, colloquia, conferences, joint study

groups and international commissions. s a N o b e l Laureate i n physics,

and a s a f u l l m e m b e r of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, h e could

afford to be a little more independent than most. e often seemed

poised precariously a t the outer limits of the patience and restraint

of the governmental orthodoxy.

His f u l l name was Vasily Gregorovich Lunacharsky, known

throughout th e global community of physicists a s Vaygay after the

initials of h i s first name and patronymic. is fluctuating and

ambiguous relations with the Soviet regime puzzled her and others i n

the West. e was a distant relative of Anatoly Vasilyevich

Lunacharsky, a n old Bolshevik colleague of Gorky, Lenin and Trotsky,

People's Commissar for Education i n 1 9 1 7 , and Soviet Ambassador to

Spain during th e C i v i l War [1933, CHECK]. i s mother had been

Jewish. e h a d , i t w as s a i d , worked o n Soviet nuclear weapons,

although surely h e had been too young to have played m u c h of a role

' e v e n r T n the fashioning]of the first Soviet thermonuclear explosion.

Once, during a vigorous discussion o n the relative merits of the two

political systems, Ellie had boasted that she had been free to march

fn front of the White House protesting American involvement i n the

Viet Nam War. aygay replied that i n the same period h e had been



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7 / 3

equally free t o march i n front of the Kremlin protesting American

involvement i n the Viet Nam W a r .

His institute was well-staffed and well-equipped, and h i s

scientific productivity was prodigious, indicating a t most infrequent

distractions b y the Committee for State Security. espite th e ebb and

flow of permission for foreign travel, h e had been a frequent attendee

a t major international conferences including the "Rochester"

conferences o n high-energy physics, the "Texas" meetings o n

relativlstic astrophysics, and the informal but

occasionally influential "Pugwash" scientific meetings o n ways of reducing

international tension.

I n the 1960s, she had been told, Vaygay visited the University of

California a t Berkeley, and . w a s delighted with the proliferation of

irreverent, scatological, and politically outrageous slogans imprinted

o n inexpensive buttons. ou could, she recalled with faint nostalgia,

size u p someone's most pressing s o c i a l concerns a t a glance. uttons

were also popular a n d fiercely traded i n the Soviet Union, but usually

they celebrated the "Dynamo" soccer team, or one of the successful

spacecraft of the Luna series, which had been the first spacecraft to

land o n th e Moon. he Berkeley buttons were different. e had bought

dozens of them, but delighted i n wearing one i n particular. t r e a d ,

"Pray for Sex." e even displayed i t a t a fe w scientific meetings.

When asked about i t s appeal, h e would s a y , " I n your country, i t i s

offensive i n only one way. n m y country, i t i s offensive i n two

independent ways." f pressed further h e would only comment that h i s



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7/4

famous Bolshevik relative h a d written a book o n the place o f religion

i n a socialist society. ince then, h i s English h a d Improved

enormously ( m u c h more than E l lie's Russian), and h i s propensity f o r

wearing offensive l a p e l buttons had diminished.

H e h a d never been inclined, s a y , to photograph the garbage scows

burdened with malodorous refuse and squawking seagulls, lumbering i n

front o f the Statue o f Liberty, a s another Soviet scientist h a d when

for f u n she h a d * a ko n him o n the Staten Island Ferry during a break i n

a meeting i n New Y o r k C i t y . or had h e , a s h a d some o f h i s

colleagues, ardently photographed the tumbledown shanties and

corrugated metal h u t s o f th e Puerto Rican poor, during a b u s excursion

from a luxurious beachfront h o t e l t o the A r e d b o Observatory. ho did

they submit these pictures t o , E l l i e wondered. he conjured u p some

vast K G B library s f l ^ t h e infelicities, injustices and contradictions of

capitalist society. id i t warm them, when disconsolate with some o f

the failures o f Soviet society, t o browse through the fading snapshots

o f their imperfect American cousins?

There were many brilliant scientists i n the Soviet Union w h o , for

unknown offenses, h a d not b e e n permitted out o f Eastern Europe i n

decades. onstantinov, for example, had n e ve r b e e n t o the West u n t i l

the middle 1960s . hen, a t a n international meeting i n Warsaw, over a

table encumbered with dozens o f depleted Azerbaijani brandy snifters,

their missions completed, Konstantinov was asked why, h e replied,

"Because the bastards k n o w , they l e t me o u t , I never come back."

Nevertheless, they had l e t him o u t , sure enough, during the thaw i n



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7/5

scientific relations between the two countries i n the late ' 6 0 s a n d

early ' 7 0 s , and h e had come b a c k every time. u t now they l e t him out

n o more, a n d h e was reduced t o sending h i s Western colleagues New

Year's cardsîn which h e portrayed himself forlornly crosslegged,

head bowed, seated o n a sphere below which was the Schwarzschild

equation for the radius o f a black hole. e was 1 n a deep potential

well, h e would t e l l visitors t o Moscow i n the metaphors o f physics.

They would never l e t him out again.

I n the middle o f Watergate, Vaygay never asked h i s American

colleagues how i t was possible f o r a Federal District Judge t o defy a

President, although h i s Soviet colleagues, almost t o a man, shook

their heads and tut-tutted i n amazement'at- 4 * . E v e n the President

m u st obey the l a w , " E l lie would explain. ost o f them would l o o k a t

her i n some bafflement, trying to understand s o unpredictable and

disorderly a society. arlier, Vaygay would a s k about th e meaning o f

signs reading "Impeach E a r l Warren," and would inquire about how many

blacks and women were members o f the National Academy o f Sciences.

But she h a d the sense that h e was genuinely Interested, that h e was

not trying to make a propaganda point, that h e was attempting t o

understand this alien culture that h a d grown u p half way around the

world. e would volunteer that very few Soviet citizens o f Moslem o r

Asiatic backgrounds were members o f the Soviet Academy o f Sciences,

and almost n o women. hese injustices were, t o first order, s y m m e t r i c a l n response t o questions, h e would say that the official

Soviet position had been that th e Hungarian revolution o f 1 9 5 6 was

CJ

A



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7 / 6

organized by cryptofascists, and that the GaoGhoclovainan spring of

1968 was -m a de by a n unrepresentative anti-socialist group i n the

leadership. u t , h e would a d d , i f what h e had been told was mistaken,

if these were genuine popular uprisings, then his country had been

wrong i n suppressing them. n Afghanistan, h e did not even bother

quoting the official justifications. nce, i n h i s office a t the

Institute, h e h a d insisted o n showing E l lie h i s personal radio o n * J

which were frequencies labeled London a n d Paris a n d Washington, neatly C

spelled out i n Cyrillic lettes. e was free, h e told h e r , to listen - A t .t o propaganda of a l l nations.

There h a d been a time when many of h i s fellows had surrendered to

national rhetoric about the y e l l o w peril. "Imagine the entire frontier

between China and th e Soviet Union occupied by Chinese soldiers,

shoulder to shoulder, a n invading army," they had asked her around the

A

A

samovar n he Director's office at he nstitute, ' H o w long would i t

b e , with the present Chinese birthrate, before they a l l passed over

the border?" nd the answer would be pronounced, i n a n unlikely mix

of dark foreboding and arithmetic delight, "Never." illiam Randolph

Hearst would have felt a t home. ut not Lunacharsky. tationing s o

many Chinese soldiers o n the frontier would automatically lauAr the

birthrate precipitously h e argued. heir calculations were therefore

i n error. e had phrased i t a s though the misuse of mathem atical

models was the subject of h i s disapproval, b u t few mistook h i s

meaning, I n the worst of the Sino-Soviet tensions, h e had never, s (

far a s E l l i e knew, allowed himself to b e swept u p i n the paranoia and

racism of some of his fellows.



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 7

E l He loved the samovars a n d could understand the Russian

affection for them. heir Lunakhod, the successful unmanned lunar

rover that looked like a bathtub o n wire wheels, seemed t o her t o have

a little samovar technology somewhere 1 n i t s ancestry. aygay h a d

once taken her t o see a m o d e l o f Lunakhod i n a sprawling exhibition

park outside of Moscow o n a splendid June morning. here, n e x t to a

building displaying the wares and charms o f th e Tadzhik Autonomous

Republic, was a great h a l l filled t o the rafters with full-scale

models o f Soviet civilian space vehicles. putnik 1 , the first

orbiting spacecraft 1 n human history; Luna the first

spacecraft t o photograph th e far side o f the M o o n ; Venera the

first spacecraft t o l a n d o n the surface o f Venus; and the first manned spacecraft that carried Hero o f the Soviet U n i o n ¿7^""V

Cosmonaut Y u r i _ _ Gagarin o n a single orbit o f the Earth. utside,

children were using the f i n s o f the Vostok launch booster a s slides,

their pretty blond curls and r e d Komsomol neckerchiefs flaring a s , to much hilarity, they descended to l a n d . Zemlya," 1 t was called i n

Russian. he large Soviet island i n the Arctic Sea was called Novaya

Zemlya, New L a n d . t was there that, i n - f e f r e — t 9 5 $ s > , they h a d detonated

a 5 8 megaton thermonuclear weapon, the largest single explosion ever * • « - £ » « •

Revi sed b y the human species. ut o n that spring d a y , with the

vendors hawking the i c e cream i n which Moscovites take s o much pride,

with families o n outings a n d a toothless o l d man smiling a t E l lie a n d

Lunacharsky a s i f they were lovers, the old l a n d had seemed nice

enough.

S\¿*^

U/M



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7/8

I n her infrequent visits t o Moscow o r Leningrad, Vaygay would

often arrange the evenings. group o f six o r eight o f them would g o

to the Bolshoi o r the Kirov ballet. unacharsky somehow would arrange Ç - o - r the tickets. he would thank her hosts for the evening, and they «

explaining that i t was only with foreign visitors that they themselves

were able t o attend such performances ould thank h e r . aygay

would only smile. e never brought h i s wife, a n d Ellie h a d never met

h e r . he was, h e s a i d , a physician w ho was devoted to her patients.

There was only one other remark about h i s immediate family that s h e

could remember him making. he had asked him what h i s greatest regret

was, because h i s parents, when young, h a d n o t , a s they¿once

contemplated, emigrated to America. T h i s was early 1 n their

relationship, a n d she h a d n o t phrased the question with much

delicacy.) i H i s t o n e / h e h a d said thoughtfully, i n h i s gravelly

voice. M y daughter married a Bulgarian."

Once h e arranged a dinner a t a Caucasian restaurant i n Moscow.

professional toastaaster named Khaladze h a d been engaged f o r the

evening. he man was brilliant i n the subtlety and generosity o f his

toasts lthough h er Russian was bad enough that she was obliged

t o a s k that most o f the toasts b e translated.^ A n early and

comparatively mediocre m e- a d ended " T o peace o n a l l planets," and

Vaygay explained t e n o r t h a t the word " m i r " meant both peace a n d a

self-governing community o f peasant households that went b a c k t o ancient times. hey had talked about whether the world h a d b e e n more

_ £ eaceful when i t s largest political units h a d been n o larger than

/

« \s* n , „ .



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 7 / 9

villages. Every village i s a planet," Lunacharsky h a d s a i d . A n d

every planet i * - a village," she had returned. Such gatherings would b e a little raucous. 4A great d e a l o f

brandy a n d vodka would b e drunk, but n o one ever seemed seriously

inebriated. hey would come - o u t o f the restaurant a t one o r two i n

the morning and t r y , often vainly, to find a taxicab. everal times

he h a d escorted h er o n f o o t a distance o f five o r six kilometers from

the restaurant back to her hotel. e w a s attentive, a little

avuncular, tolerant i n h i s political judgments, fierce i n h i s

scientific pronouncements, and never, although h i s s e x u a l escapades

were legendary among h i s colleagues, did h e «vef permit himself s o

much a s a goodnight k i s s with E l H e . his had always distressed h e r a

l i t t l e , , although h i s affection f o r her was plain.

There were many women i n the Soviet scientific community,

proportionately more s o than i n th e United States. ut they tended t o

occupy menial t o middle l e v e l positions, and male Soviet scientists,

like their American counterparts, were puzzled about a pretty woman

IS I /i

u s

with evident scientific competence who expressed her views

vigorously. ome would, almost unconaciouol ^ f c , interrupt her'br

T O * r - e . - 1

pretend o t o ear her. A nd unacharsky would, always, s DoVrim Dter U**r • W *» would n omparable ituation, ean ve r nd sk n ouder oice

than usual, "What did ou ay , r. rroway? I idn't uite manage o

hear." T he others ould hen all ilent nd he would continue bou t

doped allium arsenide detectors, r he ethanol ontent f he

galactic loud W-3. T he quantity of 00 roof lcohol 1 n his ingle



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7/10

Interstellar cloud was more than enough to maintain the present

population o f the Earth, i f every adult were a dedicated alcoholic,

for the age o f the solar system. he Georgian toootmaotor had

appreciated the remark. n their subsequent toasts, they h ad

speculated o n w h e t h e r very different life forms would b e intoxicated

b y ethanol, w h e t h e r public drunkenness was a galaxy-wide problem, a n d

whether a toastmaster o n a n y other world could b e a s skillful a s our

Trofim Sergeivich Khaladze.

They arrived a t Albuquerque airport t o discover that,

miraculously, the commercial flight from New York with the Soviet

delegation aboard had landed a half hour early. l l i e found Vaygay a t

a t airport souvenir shop negotiating the price o f some trinket. e

must have seen her o u t o f the corner o f h i s e y e . ithout turning t o

face her h e lifted a f i n g e r : One second, Arroway. 19.95?" h e

continued to the elaborately disinterested salesclerk. I saw th e

Identical s e t i n New York yesterday f o r $17.50." he edged closer a n d

observed Vaygay spreading a s e t o f holographic playing cards,

displaying nudes o f b o t h sexes i n poses, now considered merely

indecorous, that would have scandalized the previous generation. h e

clerk was making halfhearted attempts t o gather the cards u p a s

Lunacharsky made vigorous and successful efforts t o cover the counter

with the cards. aygay was winning. I' m sorry, s i r , I don't s e t

prices. only work here," complained the clerk.



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 1 1

" Y o u see the deficiencies of a planned economy," h e turned t o

Ellie while proffering a 2 0 dollar b i l l to the clerk. I n a true

f r e e enterprise system, I could probably purchase this for $15.00. A*lt *'a.q$"-

Don't l o o k a t m e s o q u i«cû l 4^, Ellie. his i s not for me. V * - * ««*

- H u lay iam s a r e o nl y a o m a l l s t ep eloser t o reality . » Xith the jokers

there are 5 4 cards here. very oae of them w i l l make a nice gift f o r

some worker a t my Institute." he smiled and took h i s a r m .

"It's good to see you again, Vaygay."

" A n infrequent delight, my dear."

O n th e drive to Soccoro, by mutual but unspoken agreement, they

talked mainly pleasantries. K and the driver, one of the ne w security

people, were i n the front seats. /:, not a voluble man even i n

ordinary circumstances, was content to lean back and listen to their

conversation which touched only tangentially o n the issue the Soviets

h a d come to discuss: he third l e v e l of the palimpsest, th e

elaborate, complex, and s t i l l undecoded message they were receiving.

The U . S . government h a d , more or less reluctantly, concluded that

Soviet participation was essential. his was true especially because

the s i g n a l from Vega was s o intense that even modest radiotélescopes

could detect it¿)and years before the Soviets had prudently deployed a

>Ucgj number of s m a l l dishes across the entire Eurasian land mass,

stretching 25,000 kilometers [CHECK] around the surface of the Earth.

A



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7/12

I n addition, Soviet ocean-going satellite tracking vessels were

patrol ing both the Atlantic and the Pacific. ome o f the Soviet data

was redundant, because observatories i n Japan, China, India a n d I r a q

were recording the signals a s well. ndeed, every substantial

radiotélescope i n the world that h a d Vega i n I t s s k y was listening.

Astronomers i n Britain, France, The Netherlands, Sweden [CHECK.],

Germany, and Czechoslovakia, i n Canada and Venezuela, 1 n Australia and

South Africa [CHECK. ERY IMPORTANT.] were recording s m a l l pieces of

the message, following Vega from w h on i t r o o c t o w h e n i l j*A. I n some

observatories the detection equipment was not sensitive enough even to

make out the individual pulses. hey listened anyway t o t h o b l u r w

» e s - & * 9 e . l l these nations had a , piece o f the jigsaw puzzle because,

a s Ellft had reminded Secretary K 1 t z , the Earth turns. very nation

tried t o make some sense out o f the Impulses. ut 1 t was very

difficult. o one could t e l l even i f 1 t was written i n symbols o r i n

pictures.

I t was perfectly conceivable that they would n o t decrypt the

message u n t i l t cycled b a c k to page 1 and began again with the

introduction, the primer, th e decoding k e y . aybe i t was a very long

message, E l lie thought a s Vaygay compared taiga with scrub

desert^ ^ a y b e i t wouldn't cycle back for a hundred years. r maybe

there was n o primer. aybe the Message ( t h e word was < a & * eginning to

be capitalized) was a n intelligence test, and thoseAtoo stupid t o

decrypt i t w a r e n n t entitled t o j t s contents. t suddenly struck her

what a humiliation she would f e e l o r t h e human species i f , i n the

M-cA



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7/13

e n d , they failed to understand the Message. The moment the Americans

a n d the Soviets decided to collaborate, and the Memorandum of

Agreement solemnly signed, every other nation with a radiotelesco e

agreed to cooperate. here was a kind of World Message Consorti r n ,

a n d people were actually talking i n those terms. h ey needed one

another's data, and they needed one another's brain power i f the

Message was to b e decrypted

ç*v - * u 4 » The ewspapers were ull f ittle else. T he pitiful iUlo hat

w i r * * wà£ known the prime numbers, the Olympic broadcast, the existence

of a complex message ere endlessly reviewed. here were f ew

people o n the planet wh o had not heard about the Message from Vega.

Religious sects, established and marginal, some newly invented for t h (

purpose, were dissecting the theological implications of the Message.

Some thought i t was from G o d , and some f om the Devil. stonishingly,

some were even unsure. here was a nasty resurgence of interest i n

Hitler and the N a z i regime, and Vaygay mentioned t o her that he h a d

found a t o t a l of eight swastikas i n th e advertisements i n that Ï T i / l ' e «i W- +k*^ e.'Ji^ u

O R e

/

4^J M l " - * " - * * ' *

Sunday's New York Times Book Review. here were those wh o c

M ( . l i a i . - * v fU SÚH. 7 onsidered

^ + r e listening a n abomination, a n d urged the observatories t o s t o p ; 0**.*,

there were those wh o considered i t a 5 * § * i of the Advent, and urged the

construction of s t i l l larger radiotélescopes, some of them i n space.

There were those w ho cautioned against paying attention to the Soviet

data, o n grounds that i t might be falsified or fraudulent (although i n

the longitudes of overlap i t agreed w e l l with the I r a q i , Indian,

Chinese and Japanese d a t a ' And there were those w ho sensed a change

i n the world political climate and contended that the ve r y existence



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7/14

of the Message, even 1 f i t were never decoded, was exercising a benign

Influence o n the contending nation states. ince ( a ) the transmitting

civilization was clearly more advanced than o u r s ; nd ( b ) t clearly,

a t least a s o f 2 6 years a g o , had n o t destroyed itself, 1 t followed,

some argued, that technological civilizations did not Inevitably

self-destruct. n a world gingerly experimenting with major

divestitures o f nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, the

Message was taken b y many a s a token o f hope.

Those with predispositions favoring s u c h ¡ L heerful prognos/s

found themselves edging uncomfortably towards ground that had been

occupied for a decade b y the chiliastic movement. ome chiliasts held

that the Imminent arrival o f the t h i r d / ( f i l l e n 1 u r n would b e accompanied

by the return o f Jesus o r Buddha o r The Prophet, who would establish

o n Earth a benevolent theocracy, severe i n I t s judgment o f mortals.

Perhaps this would prelude the mass celestial / a s c e n t o f the Elect.

B u t there were other chiliasts, and there were far more o f these, who

held that the physical destruction o f the world was the Indispensable

prerequisite for the Advent; his had been unerringly foretold i n

various otherwise mutually contradictory ancient prophetic works. he

Doomsday Chiliasts were uneasy with the whiff o f world community i n

the a i r , and troubled b y the steady a n n u a l decline i n the g l o b a l

stockpiles o f strategic weapons. h e most readily available means for

fulfilling the central tenet o f their faith were being disassembled day b y day. ther candidate catastrophes verpopulation,

Industrial pollution, earthquakes, volcanic explosions, greenhouse



2 3 April, 1984 Page 7/15

warming, i c e ages, or cometary impact with the Earth ere too

slow, too improbable, or insufficiently apocalyptic for the p u r p o s e I*** -*Hi** «^ £+*r«4~*<j> -P»//*»^ rs

Some of their leaders h a d assured sh oor ing crowd s that, except for

accidents, life insurance was a token of wayward faith; hat, except

f o r th e very elderly, t o purchase a gravesite o r make funeral

arrangements i n other than urgent necessity was deeply impious. l l

who believed would b e raised bodily to Heaven, would stand before th e

throne of G o d , i n only a few years.

Ellie knew that Lunacharsky's famous relative h a d been that

rarest of beings, a Bolshevik revolutionary with a scholarly interest

i n the world's religions. ut the attention Vaygay directed t o the

growing worldwide theological ferment was apparently muted. The main

question," h e said, M1 s w h e t h e r th e Vegans have properly denounced

Leon Trotsky."

A s they approached the Argus site, the roadside became dense with

parked automobiles and campers, and great crowds of people. t night,

the once tranquil plains of San Augustin were illuminated by hundreds

of campfires. he people along the highway were by no means a l l

well-to-do. he noticed two young couples. he men were 1 n T-shirts

and worn jeans, belted around their hips, swaggering a little a s they

h a d been taught by their seniors upon entering high school, talking



23 April, 1984 Page 7/16

animatedly. ne o f them pushed a ragged stroller, i n which s a t a

carefree boy about two years o l d . h e women followed behind their

husbands, one o f them holding the hand o f a toddler new t o the human art of walking, and the other cantilevered forward with what i n

another month o r two would b e a further Ufe b o r n o n this obscure a»

planet. " T h e r e were mystics from sequestered communities outside Taos,

wh o used psilocybin a s a sacrament, a n d n u n s from a convent near

Albuquerque wh o used e t h a n o l for the same purpose. here were

leather-skinned, crinkly-eyed men wh o h a d spent their whole U v e s

under the open s k y , and bookish, s a l low-faced students from th e

University of Arizona i n Tucson. here were silk cravats a n d

burnished silver string ties sold b y Navajo entrepreneurs a t

exhorbitant prices, a s m a l l reversal o f the historical commercial

relations between whites a n d Native Americans. hewing tobacco and

bubble gum were being vigorously employed b y enlisted men o n leave

from Dav1s-Month1n [CHECK] Air Force Base. n elegantly attired,

white-haired man 1 n a $600 suit with a color-coordinated Stetson was,

just possibly, a rancher. here were people who lived i n barracks and

skyscrapers, 1 n adobe hovels, i n dormitories, i n trailer parks. ome

came because they had nothing better t o d o , some because they wanted

to t e l l their grandchildren that they h a d b e e n there. ome arrived

hoping for failure, others confident o f witnessing a miracle. ounds

o f quiet devotion, raucous hilarity, mystic ecstasy, a n d subdued

expectation rose from the crowd into the brilliant afternoon

sunlight. few heads glanced Incuriously a t their automobiles,

marked " U . S . Government Interagency Motor Pool."



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 1 7

Some people were lunching o n the tailgates o f hatchbacks, others

sampling the wares o f Itinerant vendors whose vehicles were boldly

lettered "Snackmobile." here were long lines i n front o f small,

sturdy structures with maximum occupancy o f one person that the

project h a d thoughtfully provided. hildren scampered among the

vehicles, sleeping b a g s , blankets, and portable picnic tables like a

pack o f puppies, almost never chlded b y the adults xcept when

they came too close to the highway, o r to the fence nearest Telescope

6 1 , where a group o f shaven-headed, kow-towed, saffron-robed young

adults were solemnly Intoning the sacred syllable, M0 m . " he Rolling

r& h Q a . , .t| im r . iMui - , , 1 n , , , ,^ f M M , | t | i H i j I M| ¡ m i r r r t mn it nf tâ ^

countcriullu idl cv u l t f l i u n , musica l and non-musical, O f th e l % U s

- paose d much o f t h e American Southwes t without eaving a m a r k , a n d

polyglot v i g i l made some n a t i v e N e w " M e x i c a n s u n e a s y a n unseem

i m p ortation from a n alie n c u l t u r e ^ I n a state with almost n o b l

there w as a smattering o f black women of devotional temperament. There were posters with imagined representations o f extraterrestrial

beings, some made popular b y comic books o r motion pictures. man

whota rhflft uia<y- f ** tnnnrl u iJth w p-i - t- niTTJl ninin j ^ ^pn-f nf f.frp M|< <^

t o = - f - u l k «ai p e i r u i m l i i y a L a i d » auluLlun* and a black-haired woman i n a

serape raised a cup o f coffee i n salute a s th e a u i o m o b - v l o convoy s p e d

b y .

A s they approached the new main gate, near Telescope 1 0 1 , E l He

could see a young man o n a jerrybuilt platform Importuning a crowd of

some hundreds. e was wearing a T-shirt that depicted Earth being

y





2 3 April, 1984 Page 7/19

this? he scientists and the politicians and th e bureaucrats are

holding out o n u s . hey haven't told u s a l l they know. hey're

deceiving u s , like they always - have - . or too long, O h God, we have

swallowed the lies they feed u s , the corruption they bring."

T o E l l i e 's astonishment a deep rumbling chorus of assent rose

from the crowd. e had tapped some w e l l of resentment she had only

vaguely apprehended. here was a stamping of feet, cries and

whistles, TW* S't-iC* *L.s*Ci a* l+L » v«_ UA » /-«- L* U¿^~~ P- <Z~Jl

Are e e 4 -ng o ot unch f ong-haired cientists ecide he S

7

•fa4< f ue orld? 4-~ a c r

STW ¿- * *- —*& Y* •*.

*d&Mï i iThe crowd responded with a thunderous " N o " h i l - a , turning to

Ellie, Lunacharsky pointed, expressionless, to h i s bald head.

" D o you want a pack of unbelievers to do the talking to God?"

' N o they roared a g a i n ,

' T h e y are bargaining away our future with - s om e ^ monsters f om a n

alien world. y brothers and sisters, there i s a n e v i l 1 n this

place."

Ellie had thought the orator unaware of their presence. ut n w

h e half turned and pointed, through the cyclone fence, directly a t the

idling convoy.''"They don't speak for u s . hey don't represent u s .

They have no right t o parlay i n our name "

Some of the crowd nearest th e fence began jostling and w í î-liY

rhythmically pushing. oth / a n d the driver became alarmed. h e

engines had been left running, and i n a moment they accelerated f r m

the gate towards the Argus Administration Building, s t i l l many miles



2 3 April, 1 9 8 4 Page 7/20

distant across th e scrub desert. s they pulled away, over the sound

o f squealing tires a n d the m u r m u r o f the crowd, E l l i e could hear the

orator, h i s voice ringing cle arly/ " T h e e v i l n this place w i l l e

stopped. swear i t . "



Contact; H APTER 7

2 7 September, 1 9 8 4

P a g e 7 / 1

Sh e h a d planned to meet Vaygay's plane i n Albuquerque and drive

him back to the Argus facility i n the Thunderbird. he r e s t of the

Soviet delegation would have traveled i n the observatory cars. he

would h a v e enjoyed speeding t o the airport i n the c o o l dawn a i r ,

perhaps again past a n honor guard of rampant coneys. nd she h a d been

anticipating a long substantive and private talk with Vaygay on the

return. ut the new security people from the G e n e r a l Services

Administration had vetoed the i d e a . edia attention and the

President's sober announcement a t the end of h i s press conference two

weeks before h a d brought enormous crowds t o the isolated desert s i t e .

There was a potential for violence, they h a d told h e r . he must i n

future t r a v e l only i n government cars a n d then only with discreetly

armed escorts. heir little convoy was wending i t s way towards

Albuquerque a t a pace s o sober a n d responsible that s h e found her

right foot depressing a n imaginary accelerator o n the rubber mat

before h e r .

I t would b e good t o spend some time with Vaygay again. he h a d

l a s t s e e n him i n Moscow three years before, during one of those

Intermittent periods i n which h e was forbidden t o visit the W e s t .

Permission for foreign t r a v e l h a d waxed and waned through the decades,

i n response t o changing policy fashions and Vaygay's own behavior.



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 2

Permission would b e denied him after some mild political rovocation

about which h e seemed unable to restrain himself, and then granted

again when no one of comparable ability could b e found t o flesh out

some scientific delegation. e received invitations from a l l over the

world for lectures, seminars, colloquia, conferences, joint study

groups and international commissions. s a N o b e l Laureate i n physics,

a n d a s a f u l l member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, h e could

afford to b e a little more Independent than most. e often seemed

poised precariously a t the outer limits of the patience and restraint

of the governmental orthodoxy.

H i s f u l l name was Vasily Gregorovich Lunacharsky, known

throughout the g l o b a l community of physicists a s Vaygay after the

initials of h i s first name and patronymic. is fluctuating and

ambiguous relations with the Soviet regime puzzled her and others i n

the West. e was a distant relative of Anatoly Vasilyevich

Lunacharsky, a n old Bolshevik colleague of Gorky, Lenin a n d Trotsky,

People's Commissar f o r Education i n 1 9 1 7 , and Soviet Ambassador to

Spain during the C i v i l War [1933, CHECK]. is mother h a d been

Jewish. e h a d , i t was s a i d , worked o n Soviet nuclear weapons,

although surely h e h a d b e e n too young to have played much of a r o l e

even 1 n the fashioning of th e first Soviet thermonuclear explosion.

O n c e , during a vigorous discussion o n the relative merits of the two

political systems, E l He h a d boasted that s h e h a d been f r e e to march

i n front of the White House protesting American involvement i n the

Viet Nam W a r . aygay replied that i n the same period h e h a d been



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 7 / 3

equally free to march i n front of the Kremlin protesting American

involvement i n t h e Viet Nam W a r .

His institute was well-staffed and well-equipped, a n d h i s

scientific productivity was prodigious, indicating a t most infrequent

distractions by the Committee f o r State Security. espite the ebb and

flow o f permission for foreign travel, h e h a d been a frequent attendee

a t major international conferences including the "Rochester"

conferences o n high-energy physics, the "Texas" meetings o n

relativistic astrophysics, and the i n f o r m a l but occasionally Influential "Pugwash" scientific meetings o n ways of reducing

International tension.

I n the 1960s, s h e had been told, Vaygay visited the University of

California a t Berkeley, a n d was delighted with the proliferation of

irreverent, scatological, and politically outrageous slogans imprinted

o n inexpensive buttons. o u could, s h e recalled with faint nostalgia,

size u p someone's most pressing s o c i a l concerns a t a glance. uttons

were also popular and fiercely traded i n the Soviet Union, b u t usually

they celebrated the "Dynamo" soccer team, or one of the successful

spacecraft of the Luna series, which h a d been the first spacecraft to

land o n the Moon. he Berkeley buttons were different. e h a d bought

dozens of them, but delighted i n wearing one i n particular. t r e a d ,

"Pray for S e x . " e even displayed i t a t a few scientific meetings.

When asked about i t s appeal, h e would s a y , " I n your country, i t i s

offensive i n only one way. n my country, i t i s offensive i n two

independent ways." f pressed further h e would only comment that h i s



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 4

famous Bolshevik relative h a d written a b o o k o n the place of religion

i n a socialist society. ince then, h i s English had improved

enormously (much more than E l l i e 's Russian), a n d h i s propensity f o r

wearing offensive l a p e l buttons had diminished.

H e h a d never b e e n inclined, s a y , to photograph the garbage scows

burdened with malodorous refuse and squawking seagulls, lumbering i n

f r o n t of the Statue of Liberty, a s another Soviet scientist h a d when

for f u n she had taken him o n the Staten Island Ferry during a break i n

a meeting i n New York C i t y . or h a d h e , a s h a d some of h i s colleagues, ardently photographed the tumbledown shanties a n d

corrugated m e t a l h u t s of th e Puerto Rican p o o r , during a b u s excursion

from a luxurious beachfront h o t e l to the Arecibo Observatory. ho did

they submit these pictures t o , E l l i e wondered. he conjured u p some

vast KGB library o n the infelicities, injustices and contradictions of

capitalist society. id i t warm them, when disconsolate with some of

the failures of Soviet society, to browse through the fading snapshots

of their imperfect American cousins?

There were many brilliant scientists i n the Soviet Union who, for

unknown offenses, h a d not been permitted out of Eastern Europe i n

decades. onstantinov, for example, h a d never been to the West u n t i l

the middle ig60s. hen, a t a n international meeting i n Warsaw, over a

table encumbered with dozens of depleted Azerbaijani brandy snifters,

their missions completed, Konstantinov was asked why, h e replied,

"Because the bastards know, they l e t m e o u t , I never come back."

Nevertheless, they h a d l e t him o u t , sure enough, during the thaw i n



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 7 / 5

scientific relations between the two countries I n the late ' 6 0 s and

early ' 7 0 s , and h e had come back every time. ut now they let him out

n o more, and h e was reduced to sending h i s Western colleagues New

Year's cards, I n which h e portrayed himself forlornly crosslegged,

h e a d bowed, seated o n a sphere below which was the Schwarzschild

equation f o r the radius of a black hole. e was I n a deep potential

well, h e would t e l l visitors to Moscow i n th e metaphors of physics.

They would never l e t him out again.

I n the middle of Watergate, Vaygay never asked h i s American

colleagues how i t was possible for a F e d e r a l District Judge to defy a

President, although h i s Soviet colleagues, almost t o a man, shook

their heads and tut-tutted i n amazement a t i t . Even the President

must obey the l a w , " Ellie would explain. ost of them would l o o k a t

her i n some bafflement, trying to understand s o unpredictable and

disorderly a society. arlier, Vaygay would a s k about the meaning of

signs reading "Impeach E a r l Warren," and would inquire about how many blacks and women were members of the N a t i o n a l Academy of Sciences.

But she h a d the sense that h e was genuinely interested, that h e was

n o t trying to make a propaganda point, that h e was attempting to

understand this alien culture that h a d grown up half way around the

world. e would volunteer that very few Soviet citizens of Moslem or

Asiatic backgrounds were members of the Soviet Academy of Sciences,

a n d almost n o women. hese injustices were, t o first order,

symmetrical. n response t o questions, h e would say that the official

Soviet position h a d been that the Hungarian revolution of 1 9 5 6 was



2 7 September, 1984 Page 7 / 6

organized by cryptofascists, and that the Czechoslovakian spring of

1 9 6 8 w as made b y a n unrepresentative anti-socialist group i n the

leadership. u t , h e would a d d , i f what h e h a d been told was mistaken,

i f these were genuine popular uprisings, then h i s country h a d been

wrong i n suppressing them. n Afghanistan, h e did not even bother

quoting the official justifications. nce, i n h i s office a t the

Institute, h e h a d insisted o n showing E l lie h i s p e r s o n a l radio o n

which were frequencies labeled London a n d Paris a n d Washington, neatly

spelled out i n

Cyrillic lettes. e was f r e e , h e told h e r , t o listen

to propaganda of a l l nations.

There h a d been a time when many of h i s fellows h a d surrendered to

national rhetoric about the yellow peril. "Imagine the entire frontier

between China a n d the Soviet Union occupied by Chinese soldiers,

shoulder t o shoulder, a n Invading army," they h a d asked her around the

samovar i n the Director's office a t the Institute. How l o n g would i t

b e , with the present Chinese birthrate, before they a l l passed over

th e border?" nd the answer would b e pronounced, i n a n unlikely mix

of dark foreboding and arithmetic delight, "Never." illiam Randolph

Hearst would have f e l t a t h o m e . ut n o t Lunacharsky. tationing s o

many Chinese soldiers o n the frontier would automatically lower the

birthrate precipitously, h e argued. heir calculations were therefore

i n error. e h a d phrased i t a s though the misuse of mathematical

models was the subject of h i s disapproval, but few mistook h i s

meaning. n the worst of the Sino-Soviet tensions, h e had never, s o

f a r a s E l l i e k n e w , allowed himself t o b e swept u p i n the paranoia a n d

racism of some of h i s fellows.




E l l i e loved the samovars and could understand the Russian

affection for them. heir Lunakhod, the successful unmanned lunar

rover that looked like a bathtub o n wire wheels, seemed to her t o have

a little samovar technology somewhere i n i t s ancestry. aygay h a d

once taken her to s e e a model of Lunakhod i n a sprawling exhibition

park outside of Moscow o n a splendid June morning. here, next to a

building displaying the wares a n d charms of the Tadzhik Autonomous

Republic, was a great h a l l filled to the rafters with full-scale

models of Soviet civilian space vehicles. putnik 1 , th e first

orbiting spacecraft i n human history; Luna the first

spacecraft to photograph th e far side of the M o o n ; Venera the

first spacecraft t o land o n the surface of Venus; and the first manned spacecraft that carried Hero of the Soviet Union,

Cosmonaut Y u r i Gagarin o n a single orbit of the Earth. utside,

children were using the f i n s of the Vostok launch booster a s slides,

their pretty blond curls and r e d Komsomol neckerchiefs flaring a s , t o

much hilarity, they descended t o l a n d . Zemlya," i t was called i n

Russian. he large Soviet island i n the Arctic Sea was called Novaya

Zemlya, New L a n d . t was there that, i n the 1950s, they h a d detonated

a 5 8 megaton thermonuclear weapon, the largest single explosion ever

devised by the human species. ut o n that spring d a y , with the

vendors hawking the 1 c e cream i n which Moscovites take s o much pride,

with families o n outings and a toothless old man smiling a t Ellie and

Lunacharsky a s i f they were lovers, the old land had seemed nice

enough.




I n her infrequent visits to Moscow or Leningrad, Vaygay would

often arrange the evenings. group of six or eight of them would g o

t o the B o l s h o i or the Kirov ballet. unacharsky somehow would arrange

the tickets. he would thank her hosts for the evening, and they

explaining that i t was only with foreign visitors that they themselves

were able to attend such performances ould thank h e r . aygay

would only smile. e never brought h i s wife, a n d Ellie h a d never met

h e r . he was, h e s a i d , a physician who was devoted to her patients.

There was only one other remark about h i s immediate family that she could remember him making. h e had asked him what h i s greatest regret

was, because h i s parents, when young, h a d n o t , a s they once

contemplated, emigrated t o America. T h i s was early i n their

relationship, a n d s h e h a d not phrased the question with much

delicacy.) Just one," h e h a d said thoughtfully, i n h i s gravelly

voice. My daughter married a Bulgarian."

Once h e arranged a dinner a t a Caucasian restaurant i n Moscow.

professional toastmaster named Khaladze h a d been engaged f o r the

evening. he man was brilliant i n the subtlety a n d generosity of h i s

toasts lthough h e r Russian was b a d enough that s h e was obliged

to ask that most of the toasts be translated. n early and

comparatively mediocre one h a d ended " T o peace o n a l l planets," a n d

Vaygay explained t o her that the word " m i r " meant both peace and a

self-governing community of peasant households that went back t o

ancient times. hey had talked about whether the world h a d been more

p e a c e f u l when i t s largest political units h a d been n o larger than




villages. Every village i s a planet," Lunacharsky h a d s a i d . A n d

every planet i s a village," she h a d returned.

Such gatherings would be a little raucous. great d e a l of

brandy and vodka would b e drunk, but n o one ever seemed seriously

inebriated. hey would come out of the restaurant a t one or two i n

the morning and t r y , often vainly, to find a taxicab. e v e r a l times

h e h a d escorted her o n f o o t a distance of five or s i x kilometers from

the restaurant back to her hotel. e was attentive, a little

avuncular, tolerant i n h i s political judgments, fierce i n h i s

scientific pronouncements, and never, although h i s s e x u a l escapades

were legendary among h i s colleagues, did h e ever permit himself s o

much a s a goodnight kiss with Ellie. his h a d always distressed her a

little, although h i s affection for her was plain.

There were many women i n the Soviet scientific community,

proportionately more s o than i n the United States. ut they tended to

occupy menial to middle l e v e l positions, a n d male Soviet scientists,

l i k e their American counterparts, were puzzled about a pretty woman

with evident scientific competence who expressed her views

vigorously. ome would, almost unconsciously, interrupt her or

pretend not to hear h e r . n d Lunacharsky would always, a s DeVries

would i n a comparable situation, l e a n over and ask i n a louder voice

than usual, "What did you s a y , D r . Arroway? didn't quite manage t o

h e a r . " he others would then f a l l silent a n d s h e would continue about doped gallium arsenide detectors, or the ethanol content of the

galactic cloud W - 3 . he quantity of 2 0 0 proof a l c o h o l i n this single



2 7 Sept ember, 1984 P a g e 7/10

Int erst ellar cloud was more than enough t o main tain t he present

populat ion of the Earth, i f every adult were a d e d i c a t e d alcoholic,

f o r t he ag e of the solar system. he Georgian to astmaster h a d

appreciat ed t he remark. n t heir subsequent toasts, t hey h a d

speculat ed o n wh eth er very different life forms would b e int oxicat ed

b y e t hanol, wh eth er public drunkenn ess was a galaxy-wide problem, a n d

whet her a to astmaster o n a ny ot her world could b e a s s k i l l f u l a s our

Trofim Sergeivich Khaladze.

They arrived a t Albuquerque airport to discover t h a t ,

miraculously, the commercial flight from New York wit h the Soviet

delega t ion aboard h a d landed a half hour early. l l i e found Vaygay a t

a t airport souvenir shop negot iat ing t he price of s o m e trinket. e

Must have s e e n her out of t he corner of h i s e y e . it hout t urning t o

f a c e her h e lifted a f i n g e r :

O n e second, Arroway.

19.95?" h e

cont inued to t he elaborat ely disin terested salesclerk. I saw the



2 7 September, 1984 Page 7 / 1 1

identical s e t i n New York yesterday f o r $17.50." he edged closer a n d

observed Vaygay spreading a set of holographic playing cards,

displaying nudes of both sexes i n poses, now considered merely

indecorous, that would have scandalized the previous generation. he

clerk w as making halfhearted attempts to gather the cards u p a s

Lunacharsky made vigorous and successful efforts to cover the counter

with the cards. aygay was winning. I'm sorry, s i r , I don't s e t

prices. only work here," complained the clerk.

" Y o u s e e the deficiencies of a planned economy," h e turned t o

Ellie while proffering a 2 0 dollar b i l l to the clerk. I n a true

f r e e enterprise system, I could probably purchase this f o r $15.00.

Don't l o o k a t m e s o quizzically, Ellie. his i s not for m e .

Holograms are only a s m a l l step closer to reality. ith the jokers

there are 5 4 cards h e r e . very one of them w i l l make a nice gift for

s o m e worker a t m y Institute." he smiled a n d took h i s a r m .

" I t ' s good to see you again, Vaygay."

" A n infrequent delight, my dear."



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 7 / 1 2

O n the drive to Soccoro, by mutual but unspoken agreement, they

talked mainly pleasantries. and the driver, one of the new security

people, were i n the front s e a t s . , n o t a voluble man even i n

ordinary circumstances, was content to lean back and listen to their

conversation which touched only tangentially o n the issue the Soviets

h a d come to discuss: he third l e v e l of the palimpsest, the

elaborate, complex, a n d s t i l l undecoded message they were receiving.

The U . S . government h a d , more or l e s s reluctantly, concluded that

Soviet participation was essential. his was true especially because

the s i g n a l from Vega was s o intense that even modest radiotélescopes

could detect i t , and years before the Soviets h a d prudently deployed a

large number of s m a l l dishes across the entire Eurasian l a n d mass,

stretching 25,000 kilometers [CHECK] around the surface of the Earth.

I n addition, Soviet ocean-going satellite tracking vessels were

patrollng both the Atlantic and the Pacific. ome of the Soviet data

was redundant, because observatories i n Japan, China, I n d i a a n d I r a q

were recording the signals a s well. n d e e d , every substantial

radiotélescope i n the world that h a d Vega i n i t s sky was listening.

Astronomers i n Britain, France, The Netherlands, Sweden [CHECK.],

Germany, and Czechoslovakia, i n Canada and Venezuela, i n Australia and

South Africa [CHECK. ERY IMPORTANT.] were recording s m a l l pieces of

the message, following Vega from when i t rose to when i t s e t . n some

observatories the detection equipment was not sensitive enough even to

make out the individual pulses. hey listened anyway to the blurred



2 7 September, 1984 Page 7/13

message. l l these nations h a d a piece of the jigsaw puzzle because,

a s E l 1 l e had reminded Secretary K1tz, the Earth turns. very nation

tried t o make some sense out of the inpulses. ut i t was very

difficult. o one could t e l l even i f i t was written i n symbols or i n

pictures.

I t was perfectly conceivable that they would not decrypt the

message u n t i l i t cycled back to page 1 a n d began again with the

introduction, the primer, the decoding k e y . aybe i t was a very long

message, E l lie thought a s Vaygay compared taiga with scrub desert.

Maybe i t wouldn't cycle back for a hundred years. r maybe there was

n o primer. aybe the Message ( t h e word was now beginning to b e

capitalized) was a n intelligence test, and those too stupid to decrypt

i t were not entitled t o i t s contents. t suddenly struck h e r what a

humiliation she would f e e l for the human species i f , i n the e n d , they

failed to understand the Message. The moment the Americans and the

Soviets decided t o collaborate, and the Memorandum of Agreement

solemnly signed, every other nation with a radiotélescope agreed to

cooperate. here was a kind of World Message Consortium, and people

were actually talking i n those terms. hey needed one another's data,

and they needed one another's brain power i f the Message was to b e

decrypted.

The newspapers were f u l l of little else. he p i t i f u l little that

was known he prime numbers, the Olympic broadcast, the existence

of a complex message ere endlessly reviewed. here were few

people o n the planet who h a d not heard about the Message from Vega.





2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 1 5

Those with predispositions favoring such a cheerful prognosis

found themselves edging uncomfortably towards ground that h a d been

occupied f o r a decade by the chiliastic movement. ome chiliasts h e l d

that th e imminent a r r i v a l of the third millenium would be accompanied

b y the return of Jesus or Buddha or The Prophet, who would establish

o n Earth a benevolent theocracy, severe i n i t s judgment of mortals.

Perhaps this would prelude the mass celestial ascent of the Elect.

But there were other chiliasts, and there were far more of these, who

h e l d that the p h y s i c a l destruction of the world was the indispensable

prerequisite for the Advent; his had been unerringly foretold i n

various otherwise mutually contradictory ancient prophetic works. he

Doomsday Chiliasts were uneasy with the whiff of world community i n

the a i r , a n d troubled by the steady a n n u a l decline i n the g l o b a l

stockpiles of strategic weapons. he most readily available means f o r

fulfilling the c e n t r a l tenet of their faith were being disassembled

day b y day. ther candidate catastrophes verpopulation, industrial pollution, earthquakes, volcanic explosions, greenhouse

warming, ice ages, or cometary impact with the Earth ere too

s l o w , too Improbable, o r insufficiently apocalyptic for the purpose.

Some of their leaders h a d assured cheering crowds that, except for

accidents, life insurance was a t o k e n , of wayward f a i t h ; h a t , except

for the very elderly, t o purchase a gravesite or make f u n e r a l

arrangements i n other than urgent necessity was deeply impious. l l

wh o believed would be raised bodily to Heaven, would stand before the

throne of G o d , i n only a few years.



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 7/16

E l He knew that Lunacharsky's famous relative h a d b e e n that

rarest of beings, a Bolshevik revolutionary with a scholarly interest

I n the world's religions. ut the attention Vaygay directed to the

growing worldwide theological ferment was apparently muted. T h e main

question," h e s a i d , " i s whether the Vegans h a v e properly denounced

L e o n Trotsky."

As they approached the Argus s i t e , the roadside became dense with

parked automobiles a n d campers, a n d great crowds of people. t

night,the once tranquil plains of S a n Augustin were illuminated b y

hundreds of campfires. he people along the highway were by no means

a l l well-to-do. h e noticed two young couples. he men were i n

T-shirts and worn jeans, belted around their h i p s , swaggering a little

a s they h a d been taught by their seniors upon entering high school,

talking animatedly. ne of them pushed a ragged stroller, 1 n which

sat a carefree boy about two years old. he women followed behind






Some people were lunching o n the tailgates of hatchbacks, others

sampling the wares of itinerant vendors whose vehicles were boldly

lettered "Snackmoblle." here were l o n g lines i n front of s m a l l ,

sturdy structures with maximum occupancy of one person that the

project h a d thoughtfully provided. hildren scampered among the

vehicles, sleeping b a g s , blankets, and portable picnic tables like a

p a c k of puppies, almost never chided by the adults - xcept when

they came too close to the highway, or to the fence nearest Telescope

6 1 , where a group of shaven-headed, kow-towed, saffron-robed young adults were solemnly intoning the sacred syllable, " O m . " he Rolling

Stones, the Grateful Dead, Woodstock, a n d indeed most of the

countercultural revolution, musical a n d non-musical, of the 1960s h a d

passed much of the American Southwest without leaving a mark, a n d this

polyglot v i g i l made some native New Mexicans uneasy a n unseemly

importation from a n alien culture. n a state with almost n o blacks,

there was a smattering of black women of devotional temperament.

There were posters with Imagined representations of extraterrestrial

beings, some made popular b y comic books or motion pictures. man

whose chest was tattooed with a pictorial reminiscence of the U.S.S.

Norfolk was performing a tardy ablution, and a black-haired woman i n a

serape raised a cup of coffee i n salute a s the automobile convoy s p e d

b y .

A s they approached the new main g a t e , near Telescope 1 0 1 , E l l i e

could see a young man o n a jerrybuilt platform importuning a crowd of




some hundreds. e was wearing a T-shirt that depicted Earth being

struck by a bolt of celestial lightning. e v e r a l others i n the crowd,

s h e noticed, were wearing the same enigmatic adornment. t E l l ie's

urging, once through the gate, they pulled off the side of the r o a d ,

rolled down the window, a n d listened. he speaker was turned away

from them and they could see the faces i n the crowd. hese people are

deeply moved, Ellie thought t o herself. he speaker was i n

mid-orat1on:

" A n d others s a y that there's been a pact with the Devil, that the scientists have sold their souls. here are rubies i n every one of

these telescopes." e waved h i s h a n d towards 1 0 1 . Even the

scientists admit that."

"Religious hooliganism," Lunacharsky muttered darkly, h i s eyes

yearning for the open r o a d before them.

" N o , n o . et's s t a y , " she returned. half-smile of wonderment

was playing o n her l i p s .

"There are some others among you who believe this Message comes

from other beings i n space, other entities, hostile creatures, intent

u p o n our destruction, the enemies of M a n . " e fairly shouted this

last phrase, and then paused f o r effect. B u t a l l of you are wearied

a n d disgusted by the corruption, the decay i n this society, a decay

brought o n b y unthinking, unbridled, ungodly technology. t ' s b e e n

a l l downhill since the Sea of Faith was a t the f u l l .




" I don't know which of you i s r i g h t . can't t e l l you what the

Message means. have m y suspicions. ut I ' m not going to say now

who the Message i s f r o m . e ' l l know s o o n enough. ut I do know

this. he scientists and the politicians and the bureaucrats are

holding out o n u s . hey haven't told u s a l l they k n o w . hey're

deceiving u s , like they always have. or too long, Oh G o d , we have

swallowed the lies they f e e d u s , the corruption they bring."

T o E l l ies astonishment a deep rumbling chorus of assent r o s e

from the crowd. e h a d tapped some w e l l of resentment she h a d only vaguely apprehended. here was a stamping of f e e t , cries and

whistles.

" A r e we going t o l e t a bunch of long-haired scientists decide the

f a t e of the world?"

The crowd responded with a thunderous " N o " hile, turning t o

E l l i e , Lunacharsky pointed, expressionless, to h i s bald h e a d .

" D o you want a pack of unbelievers to do the talking t o G o d ? "

" N o " they roared again.

"They are bargaining away our future with some monsters from a n

alien world. y brothers and sisters, there i s a n e v i l i n this

p l a c e ,

E l l i e h a d thought the orator unaware of their presence. ut n w

h e half turned and pointed, through the cyclone fence, directly a t the

idling convoy. They don't speak f o r u s . hey don't represent u s .

They have n o right to parlay i n ou r name "



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 7 / 2 1

Some o f the crowd nearest the fence began jostling a n d

rhythmically pushing. o t h X and the driver became alarmed. he

engines h a d been l e f t running, a n d i n a moment they accelerated from

the gate towards the Argus Administration Building, s t i l l many miles

distant across the scrub desert. s they pulled away, over the sound

of squealing tires and the m u r m u r of the crowd, E l lie could hear the

orator, h i s voice ringing clearly, " T h e e v i l i n this place w i l l b e

stopped. swear i t . "



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h e arran ged for a map of the Earth , i n cylindrical project ion, to b e

painstakingly tatoo ed o n h i s torso. e would exhibit himself i n

county fairs and sideshows from Oklah oma to Mississippi, one of t he

stragglers and remnants of a more vigorous age o f r u r a l itin eran t

en tertainmen t. n the expanse of blue ocean w e r e t he four gods of t he

w n d s , t heir cheeks puffing fort h prevailing westerlies and

nor'easters. y flexing his pect orals, h e could make Boreas s w e l l

along w i h the m1d-Atlan tic. hen, h e would declaim to the astonish ed

onlookers from 8 o o k 6 of Ovid's Metamorph oses :

"Monarch of Violence, rolling o n clouds,

I t oss wide wat ers, a n d I f e l l huge t r e e s

Possessed of daemon-rage, penet rat e,

Sheer t o t he utmost caverns of old Earth;

And straining, u p from t hose unfath omed deeps,

Scatter t he terror-stricken shades of H e l l ;

And h u r l death-dealing earthquakes th rough out the world

Fire and brimston e from Ancient Rome. i%,with some help from h i s

hands, he would demonstrate cont inent al drift, pressing West Africa

against Sout h America, s o they joined almost perfectly a t the

longitude of his navel. hey billed him a s "Geos, the Eart h Man."



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/2

Joss was a great reader, and being unencumbered by a f o r m a l

education past g r a d e school, he h ad no t been told t ha t science and

classics were unseemly fare f o r the untut ored. M - f c h casual, rumpled

some g e o g r a p h y a nd hist ory. h ey w e r e job-related, he t old Elvira,

th e Eleph an t Girl, who s o m e tim o s question ed him closely o n h i s

absences. he suspect ed him of compulsive dalliances — librarian

i n eêry port, she once said — utjiis professional pat t er was

improving: he con ten ts were 4-4

highbrow, but t he delivery was

down home. n accoun tably, J o s s ' lit t le s t a l l began t o make money for

s back t o the a u d i e n c e , / t h e

collision of India w i t h Asia and the result ing crinkling u p of the

Himalayas, when, out of a gray but rainless s k y , a light ning bolt

flashed and struck him dead. here had been twisters i n S outh eastern

Oklah oma, and the w e a t h e r was unusual th rough out th e South.

e had a

perfectly lucid sense of leaving h i s body - itifully crumbled o n

the sawdust-covered planking, being regarded with caut ion a n d awe b y



2 0 July 984 Page 8/3

t he s m a l l crowd — n d rising, rising a s i f t hrough a long, dark

t unnel, slowly approaching a brillian t light. nd i n t he radiance h e

gradually discerned a figure of heroic, indeed of God-like,

proport ions.

When h e awoke h e found a part o f himself disappoin ted t o b e

alive. e was lying o n a cot i n a comfortable but not e l a b o r a t e l y

furnished bedroom. eanin g over him was t he Reverend Billy Jo R a n k i n ,

not the presen t incumbent of t ha t n ame, but his fat her, a venerable

surrogat e preach er of the t hird q u a r t e r of the 20th Century. n t he

background, Joss th ough t h e could see a dozen hooded figures singing

the Kyrie Eleison, t he Greek Orth odox hymn for the dead,[CHECK ] But

h e couldn't b e s u r e .

"Am gonna live o r die?" t he y o u n g ma n asked.

both."

t hey told him aft erwards. doctor had

pronounced him dead. ut t hey prayed over h i m , t hey sang hymns, and

th ey even n t e r mi t t e n tly a t t empt ed to revive h im by body m a s s a g e

(mainly i n t he vicinity of the Balkans). hey h a d ret urned h im t o

l i f e . e had been truly and literally reborn. ince t his

S

corresponded s o w e l l to h i s own perception of t he h e

accept ed the explan ation, and gladly. hile h e almost never t alked

about i t , h e became convinced of t he profundity n r f significance of

the event. e h a d not been struck dead for not hing. e had not b e n brought back for no reason



17 C O N T A C T

It H «. W«.» s a en ¿vtrC* * •*

- When ho awol it as with a sense f , f

at TV* *?*+l t I » » * £ }

th e de lig ht s of th e w o r l d 4tk a - t .never f u l l y left h im t h e r e a f t e r

Bu t i n a w ay t h at w as dif fic ult for h im to ar ticu l at e with i m -

precision, his deligtv t was n con flict with th e beatific

vision t h a t he h ad m - i\o c u 1 o u s T « y b e h e l d, and th e infinite

joy t h at vision portend ed . He c o u l d s e n s e th e two f e e lin g s » * » t#n */

eontonding within his breast, « u w l r f o r a « m o m e n t w as puzzle d h \ A.U

vw 5 - U + * - at w h y t h e y s h o u l d not a t re a t y of m u t u a l support, or at

l eas t an end to hostilities. A n w L » , . X n various c i r c u m s t a n c e s

s o m e t i m e s n m i d - s e n t e n c e , he w o u l d b e c o m e a w a re of one

of t - he feel ing s m a kin g s o m e claim on speech or action.



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/4

Under h i s patron's t ut elage, h e began t o study Scripture. nce

seriously considered, t he idea of t he Resurrection m o v e d him d e e p l y .

a s did t he doctin e of S alvation. e assisted the Reverend M r . Rankin

—A tvtii . . / / y - f c H i < at irst n mal l ays , l€ egan o fill in or im n h e more

*A«n + W * /'«Mi^fT I3#7'y ~3i Zm.tt.UiiL Ic^* for ****,7«*n«-* la ASw«r #» « e»/f -ÇV»», (>Wo n e ous o r more distan t preaching assignmen ts* oon f r e . f o u n d a

preaching style that wa s his own, not s o much exh ortatory a s

explanat ory. n simple lan guage and homely metaph ors, h e would

T 2 E D

explain baptism and tr a n s u bs ta n ti a ti o n^ [CHECK] he conn ection of

Christian revelation with the myths of classical Greece and Rome, t he

idea of God's plan for t he world, an d t he conformity of science and

religion, when both were properly underst ood. his was not t he

convent ional preaching, and i t ws t oo ecumenical for many t a s t e s . P u t

i t also proved unaccoun tably popular.

"You've been reborn, Joss," t h e e l d e r Rankin t old i i ' S o you

ought t o ch an ge y o u r name. xcept Palmer Joss i s such a fine name for

a preacher, you'd b e a f o o l not t o keep i t . "

Like doctors and lawyers, t h e vendors of religion rarely

criticize on e ano th er's wares, Joss observed. ut one night,

the holiest of relics h olier t han a piece o f the True Cross

h olier even than the t high bone of S t . Teresa of Avila t ha t

Gen eralissimo Francisco Franco kept i n h i s office t o in timidate t he



20 July, 1984 Page 8/5

pious. hat Billy Jo Rankin brandish ed was the a c t u a l amnio tic fluid

th at p r o t e c t e d a nd surrounded our Lord. he liquid had been carefully

preserved i n a n ancient e a r t h e n w a r e v e s s e l that once belonged, s o i t

was said, to Saint Ann. he t iniest drop of i t would cure wh at a i l s

you, th rough a special act of Divine Grace. his holiest of holy

w a t e r s was with u s t onight .

Joss was appalled, not s o much t ha t Rankin would attempt s o

transparen t a scam, but that any of the parishioners w e r e s o credulous

a s to accept i t . n h i s previous life, h e had w i t n e s s e d many, and e v * .0

acquiesced i n some, a t t empts t o bamboozle t he public. ut t ha t was

en tertainmen t. his was differen t. his wa s religion. eligion was

too import ant to gloss t he t rut h, much less to m a n uf a c t u r e miracles.

g u t of- w h o le e l o f r t a . . e t ook t o denouncing this imposture from t he

pulpit. ' ' A s his fervor grew, h e railed against ot her d e v i a n t forms of

Christ ian fundamen talism, including t hose aspiran t h erpetolo gists who

t est ed t heir faith b y fondling snakes i n accord with the biblical

injunct ion t ha t ^th e pure of heart s h a l l not fear the venom of

s e r p e n t s . * * ' I n one widely quoted sermon h e paraphrased Voltaire. e

never t hought , h e s a i d , that h e would find m en of t he clot h s o v e n a l

and avaricious a s almost t o justify the blasph emy that t he first

priest was the first rogue who met the first f o o l . h ese religions

< ? . were damagin g religion. e shook h i s finger gracefully i n the a i r ,

Joss argued t ha t i n ev e r y religion t here was a doct rinal line beyond

which was a n insult to t he in telligence of i t s practition ers.

Reasonable people migh t disagree a s t o wh ere t ha t line should be



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/6

drawn, but religions trespassed beyond i t a t their peril. eople were TK« ¿ > 7

not fools, he said. hortly before his death, the elder Rankin sent

word t o Joss that h e n e v e r wanted to lay eyes o n him again. " Ç T . t t d;S«>±

A t the same time, &e began to preach, science did not have a l l

th e answers either. e found inconsistencies i n the theory of

evolution. he embarrassing findings, th e facts that don't f i t , the

scientists just sweep under the r u g , h e s a i d . hey don't really know

that th e Earth i s 4 . 6 billion years old, any more than Archbishop

Ussher knew that i t was 6,000 years o l d . obody h a s s e e n evolution

happen, nobody has been counting seconds since the Creation

'Two-hundred-quadril1 ion-Mississippi h e once imagined the

patient timekeeper intoning, counting up the seconds s - ina e the origin Ó f

of the world).''And Einstein's theory of relativity was also

unproved. ou couldn't t r a v e l faster than light no matter what,

Einstein had said. ow could h e know? ow close to the speed of

light had h e gone? elativity w as only a way of understanding the world. instein couldn't restrict what mankind could do i n the far

future. nd Einstein « u r e couldn't s e t limits o n what God could d o .

Couldn't God travel faster than light i f H e wanted to? ouldn't God

make u s _ travel faster than light i f H e wanted to? here were excesses

i n science and there were excesses i n religion. reasonable man

wouldn't be stampeded by either o n e . here were many interpretations

of Scripture, and many interpretations of the natural world. oth

were created b y God. oth m u st b e mutually consistent. herever a

discrepancy seems t o exist, either a scientist or a theologian

maybe both haven't been doing their j o b ,



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/7

Palmer Joss combined h i s even-handed crit icism of science and

religion with a fervent plea for moral rectitude and a respect for the

e acquired a national ntelligence of his flock. n slow stages h

reputation. n debates o n the teaching of "scientific creat lonism n

the schools, o n the ethical status of abortion and f rozen embryos, o n

the admissibility of genetic engineering, h e attempted i n h

C.*.r¡ C«.«¿-W*'«í

i s - w a y o

steer middle course, o pmnriia mnfnr-Hnr, r« 7 trihnt D

science and religion. oth contending camps were outraged at

interventions, and h i s popularity grew. e bee

h i s

ame a confidant of

Presidents. is sermons were excerpted o n the O p E d pages of maj o r

secular newspapers. ut h e resisted U*e many invitations and some

blandishments to found a n e l e c t r o n ' c church. e continued to l i v e

simply, rarely xcept for Presidential invitations a n d ecumenical

congresses eaving the r u r a l South. eyond a conventional

patriotism, h e made i t a rule not to meddle i n politics. n a field

filled with competing entries, many of dub ) i o u s probity, h e became, i n

erudition and moral authority, the preeminent Christian f undamentalist

preacher of his d a y ,



2 0 July, 198 Page 8/8

She g

television

game between t he Johnson City Wildcats and th e Union-Endico tt T i g e r s ,

The y o u n g me n and women were ondoaring i n t h e i r dedicat ion a n d

£ £ jnnsnpss . n t he adjacen t channel was a n exh ortation by Imam Mahdi

• - peaking i n P a r s i o n proper versus improper observances o f

Ramadan. ext was o ne of t he locked channels, this one a p p a r e n t l y

devo ted t o . l e g a l but universally abhorren t s e x u a l practices. eyond

was one of the premier computer access channels, d e d i c a t e d t o fan tasy

role-playing games. ccessed to your home comput er, i t offered a

single ent ry into a new adven ture, t oday's apparen tly called "Galactic

Gilgamesh," i n hopes t ha t you would find i t sufficien tly a t t r a c t i v e t o

order the corresponding floppy disc o n one of the vending channels.

Proper electronic precautionswe_re t aken s o you could no t record t h e

program during y o u r single p l a y . ' As she cycled th rough the channels

past the Soviet Embassy's Russian language news and commen t program,

a n Oriental cooking series devo ted t his week t o t he hibachi, a n

e x t e n d e d advertisemen t for t he first gen eration of gen eral purpose l O w s e H» U+Sl

h&ne - robots by L o g a n Cybernetics, s e v e r a l children's a n d news

frequencies, t he m a t h e m a t i c s channel displaying t he dazzling computer

graphics of the n ew Cornell analyt ic geometry course, the l o c a l

apartmen ts and r e a l estate channel, and a t ight cluster of execrable

daytime s e r i a l st at ions, she would come upon religious ch ann els w h e r e ,

with sust ained a n d g e n e r a l excitemen t, the Message was being

discussed.

•^

S



¥> f

1 7 J u l y , 1 9 8 4 CONTACT NOVEL I D E A FILE

5l—~J^f*- «V

? * M o s t o f t h e v i d e o g a m e s w e r e d e s p e r a t e l y f l a w e d a t t e m p t s t o u n d e r s t a n d

t h e f u t u r e , * > * 4 - l « * » * A 4 - - >



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8 / 9

Attendance i n churches had soared a l l over America. h e Message,

Ellie believed, was a kind of mirror i n which each person sees his or

her own beliefs challenged or confirmed. t was considered a

vindication of many mutually exclusive apocalyptic and eschatological

doctrines. atholics debated the extraterrestrial State of Grace. n

Peru, Algeria, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Ecuador and among the Hopi, serious

public debates took place o n w h e t h e r their progenitor civilizations

had come from space; upporting opinions were attacked a s

colonialist. rotestants discussed possible earlier missions of Jesus

to nearby planets, and of course a return v i o i - f c to Earth. Muslims

were concerned t h at the Message might contravene the commandment

against graven images.1 Messianic fervor had arisenîn come

2î tLar- congregations of Orthodox Jews. n eth cp s , , there was (s ud d en Wa T)

r e n e w a l of interest i n Astruc, a zealot fearful that knowledge would

undermine faith, wh o i n 1305 had induced th e Rabbi of Barcelona, the

leading Jewish cleric of the time, to forbid th e study of science or

N hilosophy by those under 2 5 , o n pain of excommunication. imilar

currents were increasingly discernible i n Islam. Thessalonian

philosopher, auspiciously named Nicholas Polydemos, was attracting

considerable attention with a set of passionate arguments f o r what h e

called the "reunification" of the religions, governments and peoples

or the world.„ UFO groups h r - e .

groups had organized round-the-clock picketing of

Brooks Air Force Base, near San Antonio, where the perfectly preserved

bodies of four occupants -from a crashed flying saucer were said to b e

languishing i n freezers; he extraterrestrials were reputed to b e one



> *

20 August, 1984 CONTACT NOVEL IDEA FILE

I n I r a n , a ma n arose who c l a i m e d to b e t he Hidden Imam of t h e

SMMtes.



20 July, 1984 Page 8/10

m e t e r t a l l with tiny, flawless teeth. pparitions of Vishnu had been

reported i n I n d i a , of the Amida Buddha i n Japan; iraculous cures

were announced a t Lourdes; new bodhisattva proclaimed herself i n

¡• h f l < « » c U Í + I Í 5e? 1 ' nd-Q tanta ¡ ¿ ¡MM Û nnu v d L i . x u cargo cult was imported f

New Guinea into Austral ia£ .The World Union of Free Thinkers called

the Message a disproof of the existence of God. he Mormon Church

declared i t a second revelation by the a n g e l Moroni. t was taken i n

different placesa_s_gîdence for many gods or one f i o d or none.

C h i l i asm was rife. * Zealotry, fanaticism, fear, hope, fervent debate,

quiet prayer, agonizing reappraisal, closed-minded bigotry, and the

zest for entirely new ideas were epidemic, rushing feverishly over the

surface of th e tiny planet Earth. he Message continued to resist

attempts a t decryption. ut slowly emerging from this mighty ferment, Oil»

Ellie thought she could s e e , was a dawning recognition of %+H-S world

a s one thread i n a vast cosmic tapestry.

O n the public vilification and humiliation channels, protected b y

the First Amendment, s h e , Vaygay, B e Vri a s . , and to a lesser extent

Peter Valerian, were being castigated for a variety of offenses,

including atheism, communism, a n d looping the Message - t e themselves.

I n her opinion, Vaygay wasn't much of a Communist, Valerian had a

d e e p , quiet but sophisticated Christian faith, and i f they were lucky

enough to come anywhere near cracking the Message, she was willing to

deliver i t personally t o this sanctimonious twit of a television

commentator. avid D r u m in, however, was being made out a s the h e r o ,

the man wh o h a d really cracked the prime number and Olympic

r o m



8 J u l y , 1 9 8 4 C O N T A C T N O V E L I D E A F I L E

/£Tg; C - f t J » « (t'F+A T h e r e a r e t h o s e w h o p r e d i c t e d t h e M i l l e n i u m i n 1 9 9 9 ( a s a c a p i t â - l i o t i c

i n v e r s i o n o f 1 6 6 6 , t h e y e a r t h a t S a b b a t a i Z e v i a d o p t e d f o r h i s m i l l e n i u r n ) ;

o t h e r s c h o s e 1 9 9 6 o r 2 0 3 3 , t h e p r e s u m e d 2 0 0 0 t h a n n i v e r s a r i e s o f t h e b i r t h o r

d e a t h o f J e s u s . o m e C h i l i a s t s w h o b e l i e v e d i n t h e e a r l i e r d a t e s h a d b e g u n

g i v i n g a w a y t h e i r m a t e r i a l w e a l t h t o t h e p o o r n p a r t b e c a u s e i t w o u l d

s o o n b e w o r t h l e s s a n y w a y , a n d i n p a r t a s e a r n e s t m o n e y t o G o d , a t o k e n o f

f a i t h , a b r i b e f o r t h e advent.



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/11

broadcasts, and who was the kind of scien tist we n eeded more o f . he

sigh ed and ch an ged t he channel once again.

She h a d come around t o TABS, t he Turner-American B r o a d c a s t i n g

Syst em, t he only survivor of t he large commercial n etworks th at h a d

dominated television broadcasting i n th e Unit ed St a t es u n t i l t he

adven t of widespread direct satellite broadcasting and 200 [CHECK]

channel cable. a l m e r Joss was m a k i n g one of h i s rare television

appearances. ike most Americans, she instan tly recognized h i s

resonan t voice, h i s sligh tly unkempt good looks, a n d t he discoloration

beneath his eyes t ha t m a d e you th ink h e n ever slept for worrying about

t he rest of u s .

"What h a s science really done for u s ? " h e declaimed. Are we

really h appier? don't mean just h olographic receivers and seedless

grapes. re we fundamen tally h appier ? r do t he scien tists bribe u s

with toys , with tech nological trinke t s, while t h e y u n d e n r n i i e j ^ f3ith?»?/^r CC * ' • / - _ _4\itst- ^ ^/

f>fc

^ ( f * Tv ^*- $ * » *C*u^# . - 4 - - Here was a man, she thought, who was hankering for a simpler a g e ,

a m an wh o has spent h i s life attempting to reconcile the

irreconciliable. e h a s condemned the most flagrant excesses of po p

religion, and thinks that justifies attacks o n evolution and

relativity. hy not attack the existence of the electron? almer

Joss never saw o n e , and the Bible i s innocent of electromagnetism.

Why believe i n electrons? lthough she had n e ^ e r before listened to

him speak, she was sure that sooner or later h e would come around t o

the Message, a n d he d i d :

+



2 0 July, 1 9 8 4 Page 8 / 1 2 .

' T h e scientists keep their findings t o themselves, give u s little

bits and pieces enough to keep u s quiet. hey think w e ' r e too

stupid to understand what they d o . h ey give u s conclusions without

evidence, findings a s i f they were Holy writ and not speculations,

theories, hypotheses h at ordinary people would c a l l guesses.

They never ask i f some new theory i s a s good for people a s the belief

that i t tries to replace. h ey overestimate what they know, and

underestimate what we know. hen we ask for explanations they t e l l u s

i t takes years to understand. ell, i n religion there are also things

A** that take years to understand, ou can spend a lifetime and never

come close to understanding the nature of Almighty God. ut you don't

see th e scientists coming to religious leaders to ask them about t h e i r .

years of study and insight and prayer. hey n e v e r give u s a second

thought, except when they mislead u s and deceive u s .

"And now they s a y they have a Message from the star Vega. ut a

star can't send a message. omeone i s sending i t . s th e purpose of

the Message divine, o r satanic? hen they decode the Message w i l l t • • •

end 'Yours truly, G o d ' or 'Sincerely, the Devil'? h en the scientists

get around to telling u s what's i n the Message, w i l l they t e l l u s the

whole truth? r w i l l they hold something back, because they think w e

can't understand i t , because they think we can't take i t , or because

i t doesn't match what they believe? <fc

" I t e l l you, m y friends, science i s too important to b e left t o

the scientists. epresentatives of the major faiths ought to be part

o f the process of decoding, ought to b e looking a t the raw data.



H i m , with m y entire s o u l , with a l l o f my being. don't think anyone

could believe more than d o . can't see how the scientists could

believe i n science more than I do i n God. hey're ready to throw away

their "truths" when a new Idea comes around. hey're proud of i t .

They don't see any end t o knowing. hey imagine w e ' r e locked i n

ignorance u n t i l the end of time, that there's n o certainty anywhere i n

nature. ewton overthrew Aristotle. instein overthrew Newton. Hi Tomorrow someone elseAw4-H overthrow Einstein. s soon a s w e get t o

understand one theory, there's another « o t e i n i t s place. wouldn't

mind s o m u c h i f they h a d warned u s that the old ideas were tentative.

Newton's law of gravitation, they called i t . h ey s t i l l c a l l t

that. ut i f i t was a law of nature h ow could i t b e wrong? ow could

i t b e overthrown? nly God can r e p e a l the laws of nature, not the

scientists. h ey just g o t 1 t wrong. f Albert Einstein was r i g h t ,

I s a a c Newton was a n amateur, a bungler.



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/14

V t «

Don t forget: he scientists don't always get i t right. hey

wish to take away our faith, ou r beliefs, and they offer nothing of

spiritual value i n return. do not intend to abandon God because the

scientists write a book a n d say i t i s a message from Vega. w i l l not

worship science. w i l l not bow down before a Golden Calf."

O e « - W - e e r - f l a Vpiee h a d asked i f they could havt a quiet dinner somewhere.

He was flying i n for the Summary Session with Vaygay and th e Soviet

delegation o n the latest progress i n the interpretation of the

Message. ut a l l s f south-central [CHECK] New Mexico was crawling

with the world's press, a n d there was no restaurant they could g o t o

where they could talk unobserved and unheard. o she made dinner

herself i n her modest apartment near the visiting scientists quarters

a t the ARGUS facility. here was a great d e a l to talk about.

Sometimes i t seemed that the fate of the whole project was hanging by



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/15

a Presidential thread. ut the little t emor of anticipation she felt

just before DoVnios ^ arrival was occasioned, she was vaguely aware, b y

more than t h a t , ~3, » 9 v / 4 » irr « J e v î . f - • k i t * p t ^ . ' i w . + - k < e ¿ ¡ - 1 ' S K I — A S J L * ' fr . I*.»I ntss * " » 4 - ó • 4 - *^» im.

' T h e m an i s scared stiff. is perspective i s *» narrow. e

imagines the Message i s going to be unacceptable biblical 6 €.W-*- AC * i% O

*Ç a m m entary

or something that shakes his faith. e has n o idea about h ow a n w

scientific paradigm subsumes the previous one. e wants to know what

science has done for him lately. nd he's supposed to b e the voice of

r e a s o n ,

"Compared to th e Doomsday Chiliasts and the Earth-firsters,

Palmer Joss i s the s o u l of moderation. aybe we haven't explained th e

methods of science a s w e l l a s we should h a e , U s scientists, m e a n ,

I worry about that a lot these days. nd Ellie, can you really b (

sure that i t isn't a message from c»»V ¿ <

From God or th e Devil? en, youSô n o t serious.

"Well, h ow about advanced beings committed to what we might c a l l

good or evil, wh o somebody like Joss would consider indistinguishable

from God or the Devil?"

"Ken, whoever those beings are i n the Vega system, guarantee

they didn't create the universe. hey're nothing like a n Old

Testament G o d . emember, Vega, the Sun and a l l the other stars i n t h t

solar neighborhood are i n some backwater of a n o ë 4 c 0VÍT

should Am That Am hang out around here? »

t t ^ e ^ Galaxy. h y

^1



20 July, 1984 Page 8/16

' E l lie, we're i n a bind. u know Joss h a s been close to th r e

presidents, including the present incumbent. he President i s

inclined to make s r n e concession to Joss, although I don't think h e

fundamentalist ***mp orators o n the Committee. he whole th n g could

unravel over this. hy don't we g o and talk to him? he President

s a y s that Joss i s really fascinated by science. uppos pose we won him o v e r ? '

' W e ' r e going to convert Palmer Joss?"

' I ' m not imagining making him change h i s religion, but just

understanding what ARGUS i s about, h ow we don't have to answer t h <

w v Message if we don't ike what t ays, ow k 4*Tj4~l tier- 4iS*Un..

o spacGO between f e h e r

stars quarantine u s from Vega."

" K e n , h e doesn't even believe that the velocity of light i s a

cosmic speed limit. e're going t o be talking past each other. lso,

I ' v e got a long history of failure i n accomodating to the conventional

religions. tend to blow my top a t their inconsistencies a n d

hypocrisies. ' m not sure a meeting between Joss and

want. r the President, I Untt> w - L * Ta P*W- « » y

Ellie," e aid, 4eoking t er with glint f dmirât

ie s what ou

dí» y ov r >UJ

rorr

'¿Yw -a wonder* I on't ee ow getting ogether with oss ould

make hings much worse, inri n't .ni+ » m» .h-n- „u tf0 l a v e t o -

She allowed herself to return his s m i l e ,



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/17

Especially w i t h the tracking ships now i n place and a few s m a l l

but adequate radio telescopes installed i n such places a s Rekyavik and

Jakarta, t h e r e was now redundan t c o v e r a g e of the s i g n a l from Vega a t

e ve r y longitude swath. m a jo r c o n f e r e n c e was sch eduled to be held i n

Paris i n B »M o okc of t he f u l l World Message Consortium. n

preparation, i t was natural for t he t wo n ations with t he largest

f r a c t i o n / ^ of t he data t o hold a p r e p a r a t o r y scien tific discussion.

They had been m e e ti n g for t he b e t t e r part of four days and th is

summary session was int ended mainly to bring ¿ f e e i n t e r m e d i a n e s .^-s^h

a * . - B e V i i v S f c between t he scien tists and the p o l i t i c i a n s u p to speed.

The S oviet delegation, while nominally headed b y Lunach arsky, included •< - t*«t4- **T>U 4+Lrktn^lslty

r « c « n U y f t # * w s e v e r a l Soviet scien tists ofêqual prominence, including A,«ùI, w e l l a s -

Assisted a s B a p i * f e y Minister of Medium-Heavy Industry, and a member

of t he Central Committee.''Vaygay c l e a r l y felt himself under unusual

pressures, because he had resumed chain smoking. e held h i s

c i g a r e t t e between his thumb and forefinger, palm u p , and addressed OtrA/**r,

S rVrioc , Kitz, a n d the polit ical in terfaces i n the American team.

f4**s-Us CB4S+¿JIX%



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/18

' I agree that there i s adequate overlap i n longitude, but m

s t i l l worried about redundancy. failure i n th e helium liquifier o n

board the Akademik Keldysh or a power failure i n Rekyavik a n d the

continuity of the Message i s i n jeopardy. e*-w* Suppose that the

Message takes two years to cycle around to the beginning again. f we t**r*

miss a piece of the Message we w i l l have to wait two years to f i l l n

the g a p . nd^we don't know that the Message w i l l b e repeated. f

there's no repeat the gaps w i l l never be repaired. think we need

plans even for remote contingincies."

"What are you thinking o f , " - DeVPíao asked, something like

emergency generators for every observatory i n the Consortium? Cjlw

" Y e s , and aovónos independent magnetic recorders a t each

observatory.so thora i ^ no common point of failure i n data

acquisition. nd some provision for very fast airlift of liquid

helium to remote observatories i f necessary. nd some observatories

are s t i l l very primitive i n their ability to detect polarization

modulation. e need maybe 40 copies of the Argus polarimeter."

"Ellie, do you agree?"

"Absolutely."

"Anything else?"

" I think we should continue t o observe Vega o n a very broad range

of frequencies. erhaps tomorrow a different message w i l l come o n l y

through onône of the message frequencies. e should also continue to

monitor other regions i n the s k y . aybe the key t o the Message won't

come from Vega but from somewhere else "



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/19

"Let me say wh y I think Vaygay's point i s s o important,"

interjected Valerian. This i s a n unprecedented moment, w h e n we're

receiving a message but have made n o progress a t a l l n decrypting

i t . e have no previous experience along these lines. e have t o

cover a l l the bases. e don't want to wind u p a ye ar o r two from now

kicking ourselves because there was some simple precaution we forgot

t o take or some simple measurement that we overlooked. he idea that

the Message w i l l cycle back o n itself i s th e merest guess. h e re w *

nothing i n the Message itself that promises cycling back. ny

opportunities lost now may be lost for a l l time. also - t n i n J t there 's >ftf<tr-uw<4«¿hf *»V*«»»»HW- +-n*J* rt€*t«& #»'**j. H fu rth

ar i i c t n i m n n i ' i H n n +^1+ n r n r l t dpuai^pini] Fo r a l l w e k n o w

there's a fourth layer to the palimpsest. aybe i t ' s a t very high

time resolution and we're averaging out the modulation. - f e - ¡ - s also th e

question of personnel. uppose this message goes o n not for a year or

two but for decades. r suppose this i s just the first i n a long

series of messages from a l l over th e s k y . here are a t most a few

hundred really capable radio astronomers i n the world. hat's a very

s m a l l group of people to rely o n when the stakes are this high. he

industrialized countries have to start producing a l o t more radio

astronomers and radio engineers with t h e propor training."

Ellie noted that 4 , who h a d said little, was taking detailed

notes. he was again struck with h ow much more literate the Soviets

were i n English than the Americans i n Russian.

"If there i s a consensus o n these points, we can certainly

recommend them i n Paris."



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/ 20

" A n d then," replied Vaygay, " i t w i l l be.a mon th after Paris

before m any of th ese e n g i n e e r i n g poin ts can b e implemen ted. ha t i f

t here's a d e t e c t o r failure before t hen?"

" A l l right , I t a k e y o u r point . ou would like t he United St a t es

t o allocate some mo n e y and resources i m m e d i a t e l y to start covering

t hese bases."

^f l h

P H I ? h a 1 1 n n r r i T p - , ' m v n " i n 3 +h" Nrr i/ y a f r * ut n o t just t he

United S tates* I ' v e been urging my c o l l e a g u e s here th at t h e S oviet

Union must also move ah ead swiftly o n th ese matters. h ere i s n o

reason why we canno t be responsible for g u a r a n t e e i n g liquid h elium

resupply to our ocean-going radio telescopes. nd Japan and Western

Europe should also b e e n c o u r a g e d to cover th eir bases."

' I ' m not absolutely sure we can move th at f a s t , but we'll try, Iw U w

y

\t*i \ "In th e worst case, letyac try t o have a t least most of t he

i

redundancies i n place by t he t ime of t he Paris meetin g. aybe D r .

Arroway and A c a d e m i c i a n Lunach arsky can prepare a list of such items

f o r Minister 1â n d myself to take back t o our respective governmen ts.

Does th at seem reasonable?"

Ligh tin g a fresh c i g a r e t t e from t he glowing tip of i t s

predecessor, Vaygay nodded a kind of d i s t r a c t e d assent .

"There i s someth in g else to b e said," h e wen t o n . This i s just

speculation. t s not even a s w e l l supported a s the idea t ha t t he

Message w i l l cycle back o n itself - hich Professor Valerian quite

properly stressed was only a guess. would not ordinarily m e n t i o n s o

speculative a n idea a t s u c h a n e a r l y stage,8ut i f t he speculation i s



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/21

OCW#»i «H-§+^ there are certain direction * we m u st begin thinking about

immediately. would not have the courage to raise this possibility

•^rUkên^flslr i f Academician /h a d not come tentatively t o the same conclusion. e

a n d I have disagreed about the apparent quantization of quasar red

shifts, the explanation of superluminal light sources, the rest mass <2 e w > »

of the nutrino.^the importance of quark physics i n neutron stars,

among many other issues. must admit that sometimes h e has been

right and sometimes I have been right. lmost never, i t seems to m e ,

i n the early speculative stage of a subject, have we a / * »

^-«nri'lrl 4 g r e e p d ,

Vsevelsd D m 1 t i » + v 4 - & t o , would you explain?1

^ri<k»»wkt ls*c Z | who i s novor ca l led "Vaydayr " seemed tolerant, even bemused.

His accent was heavier than Vaygay's, but h i s command of English *H& was more than adequate.

"We think, we guess," he s a i d , "that the Message i s th e

instructions for building a machine. f course, we have n o knowledge

about how t o decode the Message. he evidence, such a s i t i s , i s i n

the internal references. or example, here o n page 10441 1 s clearly a

reference t o a n earlier p a g e , 8037, which, b y l u c k , we also have. he

later page was acquired here i n New Mexico, the earlier one a t our

observatory near Tashkent. n page 8037 there i s another reference,

this t o a time before we received any data. e have many casejof this

back referencing. n general, and t i l l s i s the important point, there

a r e complicated instructions o n a recent page, but r+fv^ j m r ^ — * * + simpler instructions o n a n earlier page. n one case there are eight

citations t o earlier material o n a single page."



2 0 July, 1984 Page 8/22

"That's not a n awfully compelling argument, guys," replied

E l l i e . aybe it's a set of mental exercises, the later ones building

o n th e earlier ones. aybe i t ' s a long n o v e l they might have

very long lifetimes compared to u s n which the hero's present

circumstances are connected with i t s childhood or whatever they have

o n Vega when they're young. aybe i t ' s a tightly cross-referenced

religious manual Ti* O

'The Ilion ommandments," aughed e Vrie>v£>ec /e r .

<*■ •May b e , aid Lunacharsky, staring through a cloud of cigarette

smoke out the window a t the telescopes,straining « * p w * r d towards the

s k y . B u t when you l o o k a t the patterns of cross-references. I think

you'll agree i t looks more like the instruction manual for building a

m a hine. od knows what the âchine i s supposed to d o ,

X



Contact: HAPTER S P a g e 8 / 1

2 7 September, 1984

W h e n h e was a very young man, before h e became widely revered

Palmer Joss h a d been a carnival roustabout. o help make h i s fortune

h e arranged for a m ap of the Earth, i n cylindrical projection, t o b e

painstakingly tatooed o n h i s torso. e would exhibit himself i n

county fairs a n d sideshows from Oklahoma to Mississippi, one of the

stragglers and remnants of a more vigorous age of r u r a l itinerant

entertainment. n the expanse of blue ocean were the four g o d s of the

winds, their cheeks puffing forth prevailing westerlies and

nor'easters. y flexing h i s pectorals, h e could make Boreas s w e l l

along with the mid-Atlantic. hen, h e would declaim to th e astonished

onlookers from B o o k 6 of O v i d 's Metamorphoses :

"Monarch of Violence, rolling on clouds,

I toss wide waters, and I f e l l h u g e trees

Possessed of daemon-rage, I penetrate,

Sheer t o the utmost caverns of old E a r t h ;

And straining, u p from those unfathomed deeps,

Scatter the terror-stricken shades of H e l l ;

And h u r l death-dealing earthquakes throughout th e world "

F1re and brimstone f r o m Ancient Rome. r , with some help from h i s

h a n d s , h e would demonstrate continental drift, pressing West Africa

against South America, s o they joined almost perfectly a t the

longitude of h i s navel. hey billed him a s " G e o s , the Earth Man."




Joss was a great reader, and being unencumbered b y a f o r m a l

education past grade school, he h a d n o t been told that science a n d

classics were unseemly fare for the untutored. ith casual, rumpled

good looks, h e would ingratiate himself with librarians 1 n the towns

along the Carnival's trek, a n d a s k what serious books h e should r e a d .

H e wanted, h e told them, t o improve himself. utifully, h e r e a d about

winning friends a n d investing i n r e a l estate and dominating your

acquaintances without their knowing, but felt these books somehow

shallow, hollow, empty. n ancient literature and I n modern science,

b y contrast, h e thought h e detected quality. hen there were layovers

h e would haunt the l o c a l town o r county library. e taught himself

s o m e geography and history. hey were job-related, h e told Elvira,

the Elephant G i r l , who sometimes questioned him closely o n h i s

absences. he suspected him of compulsive dalliances librarian

i n every p o r t , s h e once s a i d ut h i s professional patter was

improving: he contents were a bit highbrow, but the delivery was

down h o m e . naccountably, J o s s ' little s t a l l began to make money f o r

the carnival.

H e was one day demonstrating, h i s back t o the audience, the

collision of I n d i a with Asia and the resulting crinkling u p of the

Himalayas, when, out of a gray but rainless s k y , a lightning bolt

flashed and struck him dead. here h a d been twisters i n Southeastern

Oklahoma, and the weather was u n u s u a l throughout the South. e h a d a

perfectly lucid sense of leaving his body - itifully crumbled o n

the sawdust-covered planking, being regarded with caution a n d awe by




the s m a l l crowd nd rising, rising a s i f through a l o n g , dark

tunnel, slowly approaching a brilliant light. nd i n the radiance h e

gradually discerned a figure of heroic, indeed of God-like,

proportions.

When h e awoke h e found a part of himself disappointed to b e

alive. e was lying o n a cot i n a comfortable but not elaborately

furnished bedroom. eaning over him was the Reverend Billy Jo Rankin,

not the present incumbent of that name, but h i s father, a venerable

surrogate preacher of the third quarter of the 20th Century. n the

background, Joss thought h e could see a dozen hooded figures singing

the Kyrie Eleison , the Greek Orthodox h y m n for the dead [CHECK ] B u t

h e couldn't be s u r e .

" A m gonna live or die?" the young man asked.

" M y b o y , you're gonna do both."

H e really h a d been dead, they told him afterwards. doctor h a d

pronounced him dead. ut they prayed over h i m , they sang h y m n s , and

they even intermittently attempted to revive him by body massage

(mainly i n the vicinity of the Balkans). hey h a d returned him t o

l i f e . e h a d been truly and literally reborn. ince this

corresponded s o w e l l to h i s own perception of the circumstance, h e

accepted the explanation, a n d gladly. hile h e almost never talked

about i t , h e became convinced of the profundity and significance of

t h e event. e h a d not b e e n struck dead f o r nothing. e h a d not b e e n

brought back for no r e a s o n .




Under h i s patron's tutelage, h e began to study Scripture. nce

seriously considered, the idea of the Resurrection moved him deeply,

a s did the doctine of Salvation. e assisted the Reverend M r . Rankin

a t first i n s m a l l ways. e began to f i l l i n for him i n the more

onerous or more distant preaching assignments. oon h e found a

preaching style that was h i s o w n , not s o much exhortatory a s

explanatory. n simple language a n d homely metaphors, h e would

explain baptism a n d transubstantiation, [CHECK] he connection of

Christian revelation with the myths of classical Greece and Rome, the i d e a of God's plan for the world, and the conformity of science and

religion, when both were properly understood. his was not the

conventional preaching, and i t ws too ecumenical for many tastes, but

i t also proved unaccountably popular.

"You've been reborn, Joss," the elder Rankin told h i m . S o you

ought t o change your name. xcept Palmer Joss 1 s such a f i n e name for

a preacher, you'd be a f o o l not to keep i t . "

Like doctors a n d lawyers, the vendors of religion rarely

criticize one another's wares, Joss observed. u t one night,

incognito, h e attended services a t the new Church of G o d , Crusader, to

hear the younger Billy Jo Rankin preach. illy Jo enunciated a stark

doctrine of Reward, Retribution and the Rapture. ut tonight was a

healing night. he curative instrument, the multitudes were told, was

the holiest of relics olier than a piece of the True Cross,

holier even than the thigh bone of S t . Teresa of Avila that

Generalissimo Francisco Franco kept i n h i s office to intimidate the




pious. hat Billy Jo Rankln brandished was the a c t u a l amniotic fluid

that protected and surrounded our L o r d . he liquid h a d been carefully

preserved i n a n ancient earthenware v e s s e l that once belonged, s o i t

was s a i d , to Saint A n n . he tiniest drop of i t would cure what a i l s

you, through a s p e c i a l act of Divine Grace. his holiest of holy

waters was with u s tonight.

Joss was appalled, n o t s o much that Rankln would attempt s o

transparent a s c a m , but that any of the parishioners were s o credulous

a s to accept i t . n h i s previous l i f e , h e had witnessed many, a n d

acquiesced i n s o m e , attempts to bamboozle the public. ut that was

entertainment. his was different. his was religion. eligion was

too Important to gloss the truth, m u c h less to manufacture miracles

out of whole cloth. e took t o denouncing this Imposture from the

pulpit. s his fervor g r e w , h e railed against other deviant forms of

Christian fundamentalism, including those aspirant herpetologists who

tested their faith by fondling snakes i n accord with the biblical

injunction that " t h e pure of heart s h a l l n o t fear the venom of

serpents." n one widely quoted sermon h e paraphrased Voltaire. e

never thought, h e s a i d , that h e would f i n d men of the cloth s o v e n a l

and avaricious a s almost t o justify the blasphemy that the first

priest was the first rogue who met the first f o o l . hese religions

were damaging religion. e shook h i s finger gracefully i n the a i r .

Joss argued that i n every religion there was a doctrinal line beyond

which was a n insult to the intelligence of i t s practitioners.

Reasonable people might disagree a s to where that line should b e




drawn, but religions trespassed beyond i t a t their peril. eople were

not fools, h e s a i d . hortly before h i s death, the elder Rankin sent

word to Joss that h e never wanted t o lay eyes o n him again.

At the same time, h e began to preach, science did not have a l l

the answers either. e found inconsistencies i n the theory of

evolution. he embarrassing findings, the facts that don't f i t , the

scientists just sweep under the r u g , h e s a i d . h ey don't really know

that the Earth i s 4 . 6 billion years old, any more than Archbishop

Ussher knew that i t was 6,000 years o l d . obody h a s s e e n evolution

happen, nobody h a s been counting seconds since the Creation

("Two-hundred-quadrillion-Mississippi ... h e once imagined the

patient timekeeper intoning, counting up the seconds since the origin

of the world). nd Einstein's theory of relativity was also

unproved. o u couldn't t r a v e l faster than light n o matter what,

Einstein h a d s a i d . ow could h e k n o w ? ow close t o the speed of

light h a d h e gone? elativity was only a way of understanding the

world. instein couldn't restrict what mankind could do i n the f a r

future. nd Einstein sure couldn't s e t limits o n what God could d o .

Couldn't God t r a v e l faster than light i f H e wanted t o ? ouldn't G o d

make u s t r a v e l faster than light i f H e wanted to? here were excesses

i n science and there were excesses i n religion. reasonable man

wouldn't be stampeded b y either o n e . here were many interpretations

of Scripture, a n d many interpretations of the n a t u r a l world. oth

were created by G o d . oth must b e mutually consistent. herever a

discrepancy seems t o exist, either a scientist or a theologian

maybe both aven't been doing their job.



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 8 / 7

Palmer Joss combined h i s even-handed criticism of science and

religion with a fervent plea f o r moral rectitude and a respect for the

intelligence of h i s f l o c k . n slow stages h e acquired a national

reputation. n debates o n the teaching of "scientific creationism" i n

t h e schools, o n the e t h i c a l status of abortion and frozen embryos, o n

the admlssibility of genetic engineering, h e attempted i n his w ay t o

steer a middle course, t o reconcile conflicting opinions attributed t o

science and religion. oth contending camps were outraged a t his

Interventions, a n d h i s popularity grew. e became a confidant of Presidents. is sermons were excerpted o n the Op E d pages of major

secular newspapers. ut h e resisted the many invitations a n d s o m e

blandishments to found a n electronic church. e continued to live

s i m p l y , rarely xcept for Presidential invitations a n d ecumenical

congresses - eaving the r u r a l South. eyond a conventional

patriotism, h e made i t a rule n o t to meddle i n politics. n a field

filled with competing entries, many of dubious probity, h e became, i n

erudition a n d m o r a l authority, the preeminent Christian fundamentalist

preacher of h i s d a y .




She ignored random access and idly advanced through the

television channels sequentially. here was a spirited basketball

game between the Johnson City Wildcats a n d the Unlon-Endicott Tigers.

The young m en and women were endearing i n their dedication and

seriousness. n the adjacent c h a n n e l was a n exhortation by I m a m Mahdt

— peaking i n P a r s i n proper versus improper observances of

Ramadan. e x t was one of the locked channels, this one apparently

devoted to l e g a l but universally abhorrent s e x u a l practices. eyond

was one of the premier computer access channels, dedicated to fantasy

role-playing games. ccessed to your home computer, i t offered a

single entry i n t o a new adventure, today's apparently called "Galactic

Gllgamesh," i n hopes that you would find i t sufficiently attractive t o

order the corresponding floppy disc on one of the vending channels.

Proper electronic precautions were taken s o you could n o t record the

program during your single p l a y . s s h e cycled through the channels,

past the Soviet Embassy's Russian language news and comment program, a n Oriental cooking series devoted this week t o the hibachl, a n

extended advertisement for the first generation of g e n e r a l purpose

h o m e robots by Logan Cybernetics, s e v e r a l children's a n d news

frequencies, the mathematics c h a n n e l displaying the dazzling computer

graphics of the new C o r n e l l analytic geometry course, the l o c a l

apartments and r e a l estate channel, and a tight cluster of execrable

daytime s e r i a l stations, she would come u p o n religious channels where,

with sustained and g e n e r a l excitement, the Message was being

discussed.






meter t a l l with tiny, flawless teeth. pparitions of Vishnu h a d been

reported i n I n d i a , of the Amida Buddha i n Japan;

iraculous cures were announced a t Lourdes; new bodhisattva proclaimed herself i n

Tibet; n d a tantalizing and innovative cargo cult was imported f r o m

New Guinea into Australia. he World Union of Free Thinkers called

the Message a disproof of the existence of G o d . he Mormon Church

declared i t a second revelation by the a n g e l Moroni. t was taken i n

different places a s evidence f o r many gods or one God or none.

Chiliasm was r i f e . ealotry, fanaticism, f e a r , h o p e , fervent debate,

quiet prayer, agonizing reappraisal, closed-minded bigotry, and the

zest f o r entirely new ideas were epidemic, rushing feverishly over the

surface of the tiny planet Earth. he Message continued to resist

attempts a t decryption. ut slowly emerging from this mighty ferment,

Ellie thought she could s e e , was a dawning recognition of this world

a s one thread i n a vast cosmic tapestry.

O n the public vilification and humiliation channels, protected b y

the First Amendment, s h e , Vaygay, DeVries, a n d t o a lesser extent

Peter Valerian, were being castigated for a variety of offenses,

including atheism, communism, and keeping the Message to themselves.

I n her opinion, Vaygay wasn't much of a Communist, Valerian h a d a

d e e p , quiet but sophisticated Christian faith, and i f they were lucky

enough to come anywhere near cracking the Message, she was willing t o

deliver i t personally to this sanctimonious twit of a television

commentator. avid Drumlin, however, was being made out a s the h e r o ,

the man wh o h a d really cracked the prime number and Olympic



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 8 / 1 1

broadcasts, and who was the kind of scientist we needed more o f . he

sighed and changed the c h a n n e l once again.

She h a d come around to TABS, the Turner-American Broadcasting

System, the only survivor of the large commercial networks that h a d

dominated television broadcasting i n the United States u n t i l the

advent of widespread direct satellite broadcasting a n d 200 [CHECK]

c h a n n e l cable. almer Joss was making one of h i s r a r e television

appearances. ike most Americans, she instantly recognized h i s

resonant voice, h i s slightly unkempt good looks, a n d the discoloration

beneath h i s eyes that made you think h e never slept for worrying about

the r e s t of u s .

"What h a s science really done for u s ? " h e declaimed. Are we

really happier? don't mean just holographic receivers a n d seedless

grapes. re we fundamentally happier? r do the scientists bribe u s

with toys, with technological trinkets, while they undermine our

faith?" Here was a man, s h e thought, who was hankering f o r a simpler a g e ,

a m an wh o h a s spent h i s Ufe attempting to reconcile the

irreconciliable. e h a s condemned the most flagrant excesses of pop

religion, and thinks that justifies attacks o n evolution and

relativity. hy not attack the existence of the electron? almer

Joss never saw o n e , and the Bible i s innocent of electromagnetism.

Why believe i n electrons? lthough s h e h a d never before listened to

him speak, she was sure that sooner or later h e would come around t o

t h e Message, and h e d i d :




"The scientists keep their findings t o themselves, give u s little

bits and pieces nough to keep u s quiet. hey think we're too

stupid to understand what they d o . hey give u s conclusions without

evidence, findings a s i f they were Holy writ and not speculations,

theories, hypotheses hat ordinary people would c a l l guesses.

They never a s k i f some new theory i s a s good for people a s the belief

that i t tries to replace. h ey overestimate what they k n o w , a n d

underestimate what we k n o w . hen we a s k for explanations they t e l l u s

i t takes years to understand. ell, i n religion there are also things that take years to understand. o u can spend a lifetime and never

come close to understanding the nature of Almighty G o d . ut you don't

see the scientists coming t o religious leaders to a s k them about their

years of study a n d insight a n d prayer. hey never give u s a second

thought, except when they mislead u s a n d deceive u s .

"And now they s a y they have a Message from the star Vega. ut a

star can't send a message. omeone i s sending i t . s the purpose of

the Message divine, o r satanic? hen they decode the Message w i l l i t

end ' Y o u r s truly, G o d * o r 'Sincerely, the Devil'? hen the scientists

g e t around to telling u s what's i n the Message, w i l l they t e l l u s the

whole truth? r w i l l they hold something back, because they think we

can't understand i t , because they think we can't take i t , or because

1 t doesn't match what they believe?

" I t e l l you, my friends, science i s t o o important to b e l e f t t o

the scientists. epresentatives of the major faiths ought t o b e p a r t

of the process of decoding, ought to b e looking a t the raw data.




(That's what the scientists c a l l i t , " r a w . " ) therwise

otherwise, where w i l l we b e ? h e y ' l l t e l l u s something. aybe what

they really believe. aybe n o t . nd w e ' l l have to accept i t ,

whatever they t e l l u s . here are some things the scientists know

about. here are other things ake my word f o r i t hey know

nothing about. aybe they've received a message from another being i n

the heavens. aybe n o t . an they b e sure the Message isn't a Golden

Calf? y friend, this i s a jo b for religion.

I have s e e n G o d face t o f a c e . worship H i m , trust H i m , love

H i m , with my entire s o u l , with a l l of my being. don't think anyone

could believe more t h a n d o . can't s e e how the scientists could

believe i n science more than do i n G o d . hey're ready to throw away

their "truths" when a new i d e a comes around. hey're proud of i t .

They don't s e e any end to knowing. hey imagine we're locked 1 n

ignorance u n t i l the end of time, that there's n o certainty anywhere i n

nature. ewton overthrew Aristotle. instein overthrew Newton. Tomorrow someone else w i l l overthrow Einstein. s s o o n a s we get t o

understand one theory, there's another one i n i t s place. wouldn't

mind s o much i f they h a d warned u s that the old ideas were tentative.

Newton's law of gravitation, they called i t . hey s t i l l c a l l i t

t h a t . ut i f i t was a law of nature h ow could i t b e wrong? ow could

i t be overthrown? nly God can r e p e a l the l a w s of nature, not the

scientists. hey just got i t wrong. f Albert Einstein was right,

I s a a c Newton was a n amateur, a bungler.




Don't f o r g e t : he scientists don't always get i t right. hey

wish to take away our faith, our beliefs, and they offer nothing of s p i r i t u a l value i n return. d o not intend t o abandon God because the

scientists write a b o o k a n d say i t i s a message f r o m V e g a . w i l l n o t

worship science. w i l l not bow down before a Golden Calf."

DeVries h a d asked i f they could have a quiet dinner somewhere.

H e was flying i n f o r the Summary Session with Vaygay and the Soviet

delegation o n the latest progress i n the interpretation of the

Message. ut a l l of south central [CHECK] New Mexico was crawling

with the world's press, a n d there was n o restaurant they could g o to

where they could talk unobserved and unheard. o s h e made dinner

herself i n her modest apartment near the visiting scientists quarters

a t the ARGUS facility. here was a great d e a l t o talk about.

Sometimes i t seemed that the fate of the whole project was hanging by



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 8/15

a Presidential thread. ut the little tremor of anticipation she f e l t

just before D e V r l e s ' a r r i v a l was occasioned, she was vaguely aware, b y

more than that.

"The man i s scared stiff. is perspective i s s o narrow. e

imagines the Message i s going to b e unacceptable b i b l i c a l commentary,

or something that shakes his faith. e h a s n o idea about how a new

scientific paradigm subsumes the previous o n e . e wants t o know what

science h a s done for him lately. nd he's supposed to be the voice of

reason."

"Compared to the Doomsday Chiliasts and the Earth-firsters,

Palmer Joss i s the s o u l of moderation. aybe we haven't explained the

methods of science a s w e l l a s we should h a v e . s scientists, I mean.

I worry about that a l o t these days. nd E l l i e , can you really b e

sure that i t isn't a message from ...

"From God o r the Devil? e n , you're not serious.

" W e l l , how about advanced beings committed to what we might c a l l

good or evil, who somebody like Joss would consider indistinguishable

from God or the Devil?"

" K e n , whoever those beings are i n the V e g a system, I guarantee

they didn't create the universe. hey're nothing like a n O l d

Testament G o d . emember, Vega, the Sun and a l l the other stars i n the

solar neighborhood are i n some backwater of a n obscure Galaxy. hy

should I Am That Am h a n g out around here?



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 8/16

"Ellie, we're i n a b i n d . ou know Joss h a s been close to three

presidents, including the present incumbent. he President i s inclined t o make some concession to Joss, although don't think h e

wants to pu t him and a bunch of other preachers o n the Preliminary

Decryption Committee with you, Vaygay a n d h i s group, Valerian and

Drumlin. t ' s hard to imagine the Russians going along with

fundamentalist stump orators o n the Committee. he whole thing could

u n r a v e l over this. hy don't we g o and talk to h i m ? he President

s a y s that Joss i s really fascinated by science. uppose we won him

over?"

"We' re going to convert Palmer Joss?"

"I'm not imagining making him change h i s religion, but just

understanding what ARGUS i s about, how we don't have to answer the

Message i f w e don't like what i t s a y s , how the spaces between the

stars quarantine u s from Vega."

" K e n , h e doesn't even believe that the velocity of light i s a

cosmic speed limit. e' re going to b e talking past each other. lso,

I ' v e got a long history of failure i n accomodatlng to the conventional

religions. tend to blow my top a t their inconsistencies and

hypocrisies. ' m not sure a meeting between Joss and m e i s what you

want. r the President."

"Ellie," h e s a i d , looking a t her with a glint of admiration,

"You're a wonder. don't s e e how getting together with Joss could

make things m u c h worse, a n d I can't wait to see what you two have t o

s a y to each other."

She allowed herself to return his s m i l e .






" I agree that there i s adequate overlap i n longitude, but I ' m

s t i l l worried about redundancy. failure i n the helium liqulfier o n

board the Akademik Keldysh or a power failure i n Rekyavik a n d the

continuity of the Message i s i n jeopardy. e t u s suppose that the

Message takes two years to cycle around to the beginning again. f we

miss a piece of the Message we w i l l have to wait two years to f i l l i n

the g a p . nd we don't know that the Message w i l l b e repeated. f

there's no repeat the gaps w i l l never b e repaired. think we n e e d

plans even f o r remote contingincies."

"What are you thinking o f , " DeVries asked, something like

emergency generators for every observatory i n the Consortium?"

" Y e s , and s e v e r a l independent magnetic recorders a t each

observatory s o there i s n o common point of failure i n data

acquisition. nd some provision for very f a s t airlift of liquid

helium t o remote observatories i f necessary. nd some observatories

are s t i l l very primitive i n their ability to detect polarization

modulation. e need maybe 40 copies of the Argus polarimeter."

" E l lie, do you agree?"

"Absolutely."

"Anything else?"

" I think we should continue to observe Vega o n a v e r y broad range

of frequencies. erhaps tomorrow a different message w i l l come

through o n one of the message frequencies. e should also continue to

monitor other regions 1 n the s k y . aybe the key to the Message won't

come from Vega but from somewhere else "




" L e t m e say why think Vaygay's point i s s o important,"

interjected Valerian. This i s a n unprecedented moment, when we're

receiving a message but have made n o progress a t a l l i n decrypting

i t . e have n o previous experience along these l i n e s . e have t o

cover'all the bases. e don't want to wind u p a year or two from now

kicking ourselves because there was some simple precaution we forgot

t o take or some simple measurement that we overlooked. he idea that

the Message w i l l cycle back o n itself i s the merest guess. here i s

nothing i n the Message itself that promises cycling back. ny

opportunities lost now may b e lost f o r a l l time. also think there

i s further instrumentation that needs developing. or a l l we know

there's a fourth layer to the palimpsest. aybe i t ' s a t very high

time resolution and we're averaging out the modulation. t ' s also the

question of personnel. uppose this message goes o n not for a year o r

two but f o r decades. r suppose this i s just the first i n a long

series of messages from a l l over the s k y . here are a t most a few

hundred really capable radio astronomers i n the world. hat's a very

s m a l l group of people to rely o n when the stakes are this h i g h . he

industrialized countries have to start producing a l o t more radio

astronomers and radio engineers with the proper training."

E l lie noted that B , wh o h a d s a i d little, was taking detailed

notes. he was again struck with how much more literate the Soviets

were i n English than the Americans i n Russian.

"If there i s a consensus o n these points, we can certainly

recommend them i n P a r i s . "






r i g h t , there are certain directions we must begin thinking about

immediately. would not

have

the

courage

to raise

this

possibility

i f Academician A h a d not come tentatively to the same conclusion. e

a n d have disagreed about the apparent quantization of quasar r e d

shifts, the explanation of superluminal light sources, the r e s t mass

of the nutrino, the importance of quark physics i n neutron stars,

among many other issues. must admit that sometimes h e h a s been

right and sometimes I have been right. lmost never, i t seems to m e ,

i n the early speculative stage of a subject, have we agreeed.

Vsevelod Dmitrivlch, would you explain?"

A , wh o i s never called "Vayday," seemed tolerant, even bemused.

H i s accent was heavier than Vaygay's, but h i s command of English also

was more than adequate.

" W e think, we guess," h e said, "that the Message i s the

instructions for building a machine. f course, we have n o knowledge

about how t o decode the Message. he evidence, such a s i t i s , i s i n

the i n t e r n a l references. or example, h e r e o n page 1 0 4 4 1 i s clearly a

reference to a n earlier p a g e , 8037, which, b y l u c k , we also h a v e . he

later page was acquired here i n New Mexico, the earlier one a t our

observatory near Tashkent. n p a g e 8037 there i s another reference,

this t o a time before we received any data. e have many case of this

back referencing. n general, and this i s the important point, there

are complicated instructions o n a recent p a g e , but references t o

simpler instructions o n a n earlier page. n one case there are eight

citations t o earlier material o n a single p a g e . "




"That's not a n awfully compelling argument, guys," replied

Ellie. aybe i t ' s a s e t of mental exercises, the later ones building

o n the earlier o n e s . aybe i t ' s a long n o v e l hey might have

very long lifetimes compared to u s « n which the hero's present

circumstances are connected with i t s childhood or whatever they have

o n Vega when they're young. aybe i t ' s a tightly cross-referenced

religious manual."

"The one million commandments," laughed DeVries.

" M a y b e , " s a i d Lunacharsky, staring through a cloud of cigarette

smoke out the window a t the telescopes straining upward towards the

s k y . B u t when you l o o k a t the patterns of cross references think

you'll agree i t looks more like the instruction manual for building a

machine. od knows what the Machine i s supposed to d o . "



ueesZx /



S° J O r x . ^ / - o n t a c t : H A P T E R 9

c s Page 9 / 1

^ / - She could r e c a l l the exact ¿ b e moment when, on one of many trips

t o Washington, she do c r i d o d that she m u e t b o falling i n love with

SeVries. rrangements for th e mee ting with Palmer Joss seemed to b e

taking forever. pparently, Joss was reluctant to visit th e Argus

facility; t was the Impiety of the scientists, not their

interpretation of the Message, h e now s a i d , that Interested h i m . nd

to probe their character, some more neutral ground was needed. lUe

was willing to go anywhere, and a special assistant to the President

was negotiating. ther radio astronomers alerian or Drumlin,

s a y , much less Vaygay ere not to g o . he President wanted i t to

b e Ellie alone. ke as also waiting for th e day, s t i l l some m e a f c f c s u~-*Us o f f , pa w h ich she would fly to Paris for th e first f u l l meeting of the

World Message Consortium. he and Vaygay were coordinating the global

data ollection program. he signal acquisition was now fairly

routine, and there had been, i n recent months, not one gap i n the

coverage. o she found, to her surprise, that she h a d a little time

on h er hands. he vowed to have a long talk with her mother, and t o

remain c i v i l and friendly no matter what provocation was offered.

There was an absurd amount of backed-up paper and electronic mail to

g o through ot just congratulations and criticism from

colleagues, but religious admonitions and fan m a i l from a l l over the

world. he had not read The Astrophyslcal Journal i n months, although

she was the first author o n a x e r y recent paper that was surely the



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/2

most extraordinary article that had ever appeared i n that august

publication. here were other meritorious radioastronomy programs 0 . 4 - 4 - U £ * * . • / , - / _

the quasar survey, for example that needed attending t o . u t m c r t i

i n d i n a

Instead of doing a l l these things, she found herself spending h*r increasing time with Ken.

She felt i t her duty to Involve the President's Science Advisor

a s deeply a s h e wished 1 n Project Argus. t w as important for the

project that the President be fully and competently informed. he

hoped the leaders of other nations would b e a s thoroughly briefed o n

th e findings from Vega a s was th e President of th e United States.

This President, while untrained i n science, genuinely Hked th e

subject, enjoyed understanding some aspect? of nature of which she had

previously been Ignorant, and was willing to support science not only

for i t s practical benefits but, at least a little, for th e joy of

knowing. his had been true of few previous American leaders since

James Madison and John Quincy Adams.

Still, i t was remarkable how much time BeVrias was able to spend

at Argus. e did, i t was true, devote an hour or more each day i n

high-bandpass scrambled communications with his Office of Science and

Technology Policy i n the Old Executive Office Building. ut the rest

of th e time, a s far a s she could s e e , h e was simply . around. e

would poke Into th e Innards of the computer system, or seemingly

randomly selected s o mpone nts of the radio telescope array. ometimes

he would have with him a technician from his office; ore often he




would b e alone. ccasionally she would see him through th e open door

of the spare office they had assigned him, his feet propped up on the

desk, reading some report tpr op a r a d for h i m . e would offer h er a

cheery waveA he would find him talking casutlly with Drumlln or

Valerian; ut equally s o with junior technicians, and with th e

secretarial staff, wh o had o n more than one occasion pronounced h i m ,

within Ell1e*s hearing, "charming."

BoVrios h a d many questions for her a s well. t first they w e r e

purely technical and programmatic, but t t o e n extended «tp441y 4 f i t o

speculation about and plans for a wide variety of conceivable future

events. hese days, i t almost seemed, discussion of th e project was a

pretext to spend a little time together.

One fine autumn afternoon 1 n Washington, th e President was

obliged to delay a meeting of the Special Contingency Task Group

because of the Tyrone Free crisis. fter a n overnight flight from New Per We*

Mexico, Ellie a n d DoVrios found themselves with a n unscheduled few . / *

\D * hours, * * - YyA r ' * A i * » • • % , w % « « * * " • » • « - " H » * » » - • il a * . M»/» r * r-*_A».*r«- * »

an d decided o visit he V1et a m Memorial,,, Amidst he ombre

an d doleful reminders of oolish war #*-—by-wh-ich ho United tates

f'tPg^L.dj lBed-'-aTr'eTTOTTt^^ f lob dl ymnlwill w Hn-^JtJlllD

jt*~tt&Or-9rviï^ rocoss—-* BeAte4e€ eemed

Inappropriately heerful, nd l lie egan e4*&tàotly o peculate

about laws n is character. 4- *»'** ^ (Pener*./ 5«r%nv«. 4&~i ' *¿s< l rcCibn




H e had coaxed a n exquisite blue caterpillar [APPROPRIATE FOR

AUTUMN?] to climb aboard a twig. riskly, I t crawled along th e stick,

I t s 1rridescent body rippling with th e motion of fourteen pairs of

feet. t reached th e end, held on with Its last five segments, and

flailed 1 n th e air 1 n a plucky attempt to find a new perch.

Unsuccessful, i t turned Itself around smartly and retraced i t s many

steps. oVrios then changed his clutch o n th e twig to the opposite

end, s o that w h e n the caterpillar returned to I t s starting point there

was again nowhere to g o . ik e some caged mammalian carnivore, 1 t

paced back and forth, eight, nine, ten, eleven times, but I n th e last

few passages, i t seemed to her, with increasing resignation, ) She

was beginning to f e e l pity for th e poor creature, even 1 f i t proved to

b e , s a y , th e larva responsible for the barley blight.

"What a wonderful program i n this guy's h e a d t works e ^ e r y time. ptimum escape software. nd th e caterpillar never falls o f f .

I mean th e twig i s effectively suspended 1 n air. he caterpillar

never experiences this i n nature. he twig i s always connected to

something. llie, did y ou ever wonder what that program would f e e l

like if i t was i n you r head? mean, would i t just seem obvious to

you what you should do when you come to the end of a stick? ould you

have the impression that y ou were thinking i t through? ould y ou ever

wonder h ow you knew to shake you r front ten feet 1 n th e air, but be

sure to hold on tight with th e other eighteen?"



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_ Sne inclined he r head ; sligh tly a n d e x a m i n e d him closely k*

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KAr - e . * » • » & r e ^-Se e m e d t o ex p er ienc e little difficulty Imagining her a s a

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—-——pr invertebrates? he t r i e d t o reply noncommitally» rew.i'wîVwK -tra* - "What"11 you do with i t now?"

" I ' l l put i t back down i n t he grass, guess. Wh at else would

yo u do with i t ? "

"Some people mi g h t k i l l i t . "

"It's hard t o k i l l a

c r e a t u r e once

i t lets

yo u

s e e i t s

consciousness, o o k i r n u n r l i i f r ^ ' e w a v e d at t he 30,000 n ames

e n g r a v e d 1 n t h e reflectin g black granite [CHECK]. That's wh y e v e r y

g o v e r n m e n t th at p r e p a r e s for w a r pain ts Its a d v e r s a r i e s a s monsters.

Th ey don't w a n t y o u th inking o f t he o t h e r side a s ^ u y ^ w h o can th ink

and feel.

"Here, l o o k a t th is creature. eally. ook closely. atch w h a t

i t does. s its official name. f 1 t wa s a s big as

you or me, I t would scare everybody to death. t would b e a genuine

monster, right ? ut i t ' s lit t le, eats leaves, min ds i t s own business, /Vf u^ o0L< heur «'S ^~ **•*W ho - - or e t he m o n o t o r G ?" " n d adds a little beauty to th e world.

She to ok t he hand not p r e o c c u p i e d w i th th e c a t e r p i l l a r , and th ey

.. , «» * ranks

walked wordlessly ast he„thousands-of ames nscribed n eticulous

alphabetical rder,* -E€ARt r :— THE A M E S R E O T L P H A B E T I C A L ; HEY 'n'y i- * v » »ví MC4n Ctîm ./><y. Êvc f Vrv <f-k<. 4vê*vír

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3 1 August, 1984 Page /6

I Dfr * * y»H . mrf *•' » «- Í - -

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^ Brought up i n Manhattan,

the s o n of rare A f M k a a n e r Immigrants from what was then called th e

Union of South Africa, he never fully lost his New York street

accent. t first the apparent Incongruity between his language and

th e b r i l l i ante of his scientific work seemed amusing to his

colleagues. s his research and th e m an himself became better known,

his accent became merely Idiosyncratic. u t his pronunciation o f ,

s a y , guanosine triphosphate, seemed to give this benign molecule

explosive properties.

A n Ebenezer Baptist minister from North Carolina named Tyrone

Free had been jailed for insufficiently non-violent protests against

<*r*r American e c o n o mizan d o military support for the Republic of South

Africa. • * r e g i m e ;th at h a c f bocomo increasingly repressive * 4 w e r 4 s i t s

'ack majority, s the winds of,revolution began t o stir, there was

i n the United States a massive outpouring of domestic protest

largely, but by no means exclusively, among blacks nd urgent but

_ quiet p r otests from many of America's nominal allies. he oppression



3 1 A u g u s t , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 9 / 7

w a s s o h e a v y - h a n d e d a n d t h e o f f i c i a l S o u t h A f r i c a n r a c i s m s o b l a t a n t

t h a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l A m e r i c a n p o s t u r e o f s u p p o r t f o r a n y n a t i o n ,

h o w e v e r b r u t a l , t h a t d e c l a r e d i t s e l f a n t i - c o m m u n i s t w a s i n t h i s c a s e

j n o r e d i f f i c u l t t o o u s t a i l L . S e - i h e U n i t e d S t a t e s p u t s o m e n o m i n a l

t h A f r i c a , c o n d e m n i n g a p a r t h e i d a t t h e ttWn* >/-ltf tu t ul » « • » • *»•*» «»»b*ô

d i s t a n c e b e t w e e n i t s e l f a n d S o u t h A f r i c a , c o n d e m n i n g a p a r t h e i d a t t h e «fifi- \S-A*

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i f e ^ d i d n o t w i s h p u b l i c l y t o b e p e r c e i v e d a s s u c c u m b i n g t o p r e s s u r e , i t

b r a r^j

fl e*+*cn

p r o c e e d e d h a r s h l y a g a i n s t t h e p r e a c h e r f r o m C h a p e l H 1 1 1 . A l l o v e r

A m e r i c a , 1 n s i g n s a n d c h a n t s , w e r e t h e w o r d s , " F r e e F r e e . " T h e p h r a s e

t o o k o n a p n n r g y r i x l i f e o f I t s o w n . t w a s a n e x h o r t a t i o n o f t h i s

s o r t , s c r a w l e d o n a b r i d g e a b u t m e n t a t t h e f o o t o f W i s c o n s i n A v e n u e i n

G e o r g e t o w n , t h a t s h e h a d n o t i c e d t h r o u g h t h e w i n d o w o f t h e m o v i n g

g o v e r n m e n t v e h i c l e . / J L J «-*.,/ «£ roc*** *- •» » * > t * r s

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said. "If we could ind en» nigh emperature alloy or et ngines

that didn't ee d strategic metals ro m outh Africa, we could get out

of his mess. I on't hink here's ny significant upport or outh

Africa n his country ecause t's acist prison camp..>îf we were

really oncerned b ou t ommunism here we'd e upporting he

revolution. ^ ^n"w T'"1

n1y hp PI-T T Sn ff "icnr n H nt

the ational ecurity dvisor tit on't want s o ake ides with

Sou th Africa. It's tupid, t's morally wrong, nd t's onna get s y>/

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"ÂK3 there's a n e r t f t e r reason. t o o . Û f t J- t - ^ t r e r g ? J 1

-»h o h ad m u r m u m d

softly.

"Sure there I s . f we get Into a w ar o n South A f r j j c a ^ s side, a

lot of people are\gonna say i t was m y _ doing, because r a y folks came

from South Africa. h e r e 's already . b e e n a hint 1 n th e Washington Post

that I'm a secret champr¡an--<^ that's what they said, a secret

champion' f South Africa. don't think th e President would

g i v e u n e - t í í e time of day on this rssue."

*AnU w u i ' u you a ¿«tret ü am pioo?"

"Nothing secret a b out 1 t . t ' s part of m y jo b to remind th e

President about the strategic mineral implications of this or that

war, strategic commodity stockpiles, and oapccially th e possibility of

substitute metals and alloys. had to go along with th e CIA

estimate, and I had to t e l l him that there's no replacement alloyf a t

least none that anyone knew about.

" I suppose there are some nifty new alloys that y ou can make from

ordinarily immiscible metals at zero g , but th e production rate I n

low-Earth orbit i s clearly too low to solve you r problem, right? n

the foreseeable future anyway. ut what's wrong with powder

metallurgy? nd aren't there any significant deposits of tantalum, or

whatever i t I s you need, i n Zambia or Namibia or Botswana? h y don't

you pry those countries away from South Africa?"

"Ellie, you've missed your calling," he had said, without a hint

of outraged territoriality. Sw*~ ê f i % 4 L%i ^^-L^Jty s*v

¿p ( /mim . f i1»;»



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9 / 9

They had been very slow 1 n recognizing that they w e r e falling 1 n

love. t m u s t have been apparent to many others. few weeks before,

when Lunacharsky was s t i l l at Argus, he launched - h imself o n one of his

episodic tirades o n th e Irrationality of language. his time, i t was

th e turn of American English.

"Ellie, t T T T t i r r ahnnt 'glrmH—W a . y < - ^ n ' t . yn" j"ct é pm*Tr~he^ • c r s - k -odM w > H i y J m u 3 t . y o u alwjyi glom o n - ?—And w hy do you say 'make the

same mistake again*? hat does th e ' a g a i n ' do for th e sentence? nd

am I right that ' b u r n d o w n ' and 'burn u p ' mean the same thing? Slow

d o w n ' and 'slow u p ' mean th e same thing?"

She nodded wanly. he had heard him more than once complain to

his Soviet colleagues o n the inconsistencies of th e Russian language,

and was sure she would hear a French edition of»this a t the Paris

conference. he was happy to admit that languages h a d infelicities,

but they had s o many sources and evolved from s o m any s m a l l pressures

that i t would be astonishing i f they were perfectly coherent and

internally consistent. aygay had such a good time complaining,

though, that she did not have the heart to remonstrate with h i m .

u /



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/10

"And n ow take this phrase 'head over heels i n love 1 he

continued. This i s a common expression, yes? u t it's exactly

backwards. ou are ordinarily h e a d over heels. orses are head over

heels. hickens are head over heels. h e n you are i n love you should

b e heels over head. m right? ou would know wha* falling i n love.

A s l i k e. u t whoever Invented this phrase did not know about love.

H e imagined you walk around i n the u s u a l way Instead of floating

upside down 1 n th e air, like th e paintings of that rench painter -

what's his name?"

Marc Chagall had provided a narrow pathway out of a somehow

awkward conversational thicket#-^ttv4fterward, she wondered i f Vaygay

had been teasing her, or probing for a response. erhaps he had only

unconsciously recognized the growing bond between Ellie and DeVrios-X>tr / * / « « > - E > « r r V e « « - V

At least part of DoVrieV reluctance was clear. ere h e was, th e

President's Science Advisor, devoting a great d o a - 1 of time o n a n

unprecedented, delicate and volatile matter. o become emotionally involved with one of the principals was risky. he President clearly

wanted his judgement unimpaired. e should be able to recommend

courses of action that Ellie opposed, and to urge rejection of options

that she supported. alling i n love with Ellie would on some l e v e l

compromise f i e V r i e a ' effectiveness.

For E l He i t was more complicated. efore she had acquired th e

somewhat staid respectability of the Director of a major radio

observatory, she had had many partners. hile she h a d felt herself i n

love and declared herself s o , marriage xcept for the brief



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/11

£ Z á # L

^

period with Fredrick ad never seriously tempted h e r . he dimly

remembered th e couplet as i t William Butler Yeats? it h

which she had tried to reassure her early swains, heartbroken because,

a s always, she had determined that th e affair was over: Y o u say

there 1 s no love, m y love, unless i t lasts for aye./Ah, folly, there

are episodes far better than th e play."

n n HIM n iii , i | , ,i r .njji i n i . n i nr rH ir t a n r o nhmit r i r rp

c ommitm e nt was s impl y Ueiause she l i dt f never e n j o y e i d L l i dl dcpbh of

b a li n g . u t she knew Hiere Were i l l d F i y ( J e e p u r p ü y c l i o log ica l loyers.

She recalled how charming John Staughton had been to h er while ha was

courting her mother; nd how easily h e had cast off this pose -**- f l w c a ^ e a t T N ^ r t J î a H r ' ï ï N b j ^ fter h e became her

stepfather, Sho " ^ ^^ th f t t the mrtnph nr u n í . n i | i i 1 r i l l . ) ome t f r - * * , * .~

new and monstrous persona , hitherto barely glimpsed, could e m e r g e i n

men shortly after y ou married them. er romantic predispositions made

her vulnerable, she thought. h e l i d ü MO l i i l e n l l u i i of b u m m i n g a palsy

f o r s om e - -af a d a » f c ma - p - t i not.swolle n with imagined a e lf" i 'mportanc« . he

was not going to repeat her mother's mistake. «AmiDeeper still, she

was dimly aware, was a fear of falling i n love without reservation,

committing her +we to someone wh o might then be snatched from h e r .

The subsequent emotional alternatives would then a l l b e dismal. u t

if you never really f a l l i n love you can never really miss I t . This

sentiment did not ring quite true oitha t ^ , and 1 n her ruminations she

rushed quickly past it.) Also, if she never really f e l l i n love with



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/12

someone, she could n e v e r really betray h i m , a s 1 n her heart of hearts

she felt her m o t h e r had betrayed her fcw^-dead father. he s t i l l

grieved for h i m .

With Ken 1 t seemed to be different. r had her expectations been

orodod by hor long sa lf imposed e xile from the land u T luve ? nlike

many other m en she could think of, when challenged or stressed, Ken

displayed a gentler, more compassionate side.of unmistaka b le

i n te gr ity . . is tendency to compromise, his s k i l l 1 n scientific

politics, turned eut l u bü part of the accoutrements of his job; ut underneath she felt e t ^ f r she had glimpsed a deeper commitment to

people and to principle (although th e h o l lew sound o f putting these

ideas intojuords reminded h er of h ow cynical th e times had become).

She respected him enormously for the w ay h e h a d integrated science

into th e whole of his life, the courageous support for science that h e

h a d inculcated Into two administrations. " T h e y h a d , a s discretely a s

possible, been^more or Iess/Tiv1ng t o g e t h e f t i n her s m a l l apartment a t

Argus. heir conversations were a joy, ideas flying back and forth

like shuttlecocks, each responding to the other's uncompleted thought

with almost perfect knowledge of where i t was headed. e was a

considerate and inventive lover. nd anyway, she liked his

pheromones.

She was also delighted and sometimes amazed at what she w as able

t o d o and say i n his presence, because of their love. h e admired him

s o much that his love for h er affected her own self-esteem. h e Hked



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/13

®

h erself b e t t e r because of h i m . nd since%»/Jt t he same, th ere was

a kind o f Infinite regress o f love and respect underlying t h e i r

relationship. n t he p r e s e n c e of s o m a n y of h er friends, she had

s t i l l felt a n undercurren t of loneliness. it h K e n , i t wa s gone.

S h e felt comfortable describing t o him h er reveries, snatch es o f

memories, childh ood embarrassmen ts. nd he wa s not m e r e ly In terested,

but fascinated. e would question her for hours about her childh ood.

His questions were always direct and sometimes probing, but w i th o u t

exception gent le.

he began t o understand why lovers t alk baby talk

t o on e ano th er. h e r e was no o t h e r socially a c c e p t a b l e circumstance

i n which th e children Inside her were p e r m i t t e d t o come out. f th e

on e-year-old, t h e five-year-old, the twelve-year-old, and t he

twenty-year-old a l l find compatible p e r s o n a l i t i e s 1 n t h e beloved,

t h e r e i s a r e a l ch a n c e t o keep a l l o f t h e s e sub-personas happy. ove

ends t h e i r long loneliness. erh aps t he d e p t h o f love can b e

c a l i b r a t e d by th e number o f differen t selves th at are a c t i v e l y

Involved i n a given relationship, ith her previous partn ers, i t

seemed, a t most one o f th ese selves wa s able t o find a co mp a tibl e

opposite number; he o t h e r personas were grumpy hangers-on.

, i U 15V*

eekend before t h e schedu led m e e ti n g with Joss t h e y were

r î . À / l y li ?9 V /

be d ^ t a - y s t l i E Z g P t f t i i i u u i i . ^

"There must be some number," Ellie said, "which measures t he

t o t a l population of in telligen t beings i n t he Milky Way. o w m a n y do

yo u suppose i t 1 s ? f th ere's a millio n civilizations, e a c h with



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/14

about a billion Individuals, that's ten to the fifteenth power

intelligent beings. u t if most of them are m ore advanced than we

a r e , maybe th e idea of Individuals becomes inappropriate; aybe

that's just another Earth chauvinism."

"Sure. nd then y ou can calculate the galactic production rate

of Gauloises and Twinkles and Volga sedans and Sony pocket

communicators. h en we could calculate the gross galactic product.

Once we have that i n hand w e could work on the gross cosmic ...

"You're making fun of me," she said with a soft smile, not a t a l l

displeased. But think of such numbers. mean really think about

them. l l those planets with a l l those beings, more advanced than w e

are. on't you get a kind of tingle thinking about it? ere, look a t

this.

She reached toward the bedside table for Volume 1 6 of th e

Encyclopaedia Britannica Macropaedia, titled "Rubens to Somalia," and

opened to a page, into which a scrap of computer printout had been

inserted a s a page marker. he pointed to a n article called "Sacred

or Holy."

"The theologians seem to have recognized a special, non-rational

— wouldn't c a l l t Irrational spect of the feeling of sacred

or holy. h ey c a l l i t 'numinous.' he term was first used by

somebody named Rudolph Otto I n a 1923 book, The I d e a of the Holy . e

believed that humans were predisposed to detect and r e v e r e h e

numinous. e called i t th e misterium tremendum. ve n my Latin i s



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/15

good enough for that. n the presence of th e misterium tremendum ,

people f e e l utterly insignificant, but, 1f read this right, not

personally alienated. e thought of the numinous a s a thing 'wholly

other,1 and the human response to i t as 'absolute astonishment.' o w ,

i f that's what religious people talk about w h e n they use words like

sacred or holy, I'm with them. felt something like that just 1 n

listening for a signal, never mind i n actually receiving i t . think

a l l of science elicits that sense of a w e . * r

"Now listen to this." he read from the text Throughout the past hundred y ea r s a number of philosophers and social scientists have

asserted th e disappearance of the sacred, and predicted th e demise of

religion. study of th e history of religions shows that religious

forms change and that there has never been unanimity on the nature and

expression of religion. hether or not man ' Sexists write and

edit religious articles too, of course. Whether or not m an 1 s now I n

a new situation for developing structures of ultimate values radically

different from those provided i n th e traditionally affirmed awareness

of th e sacred 1 s a v i t a l question.'"

"So?"

" S o , I think th e bureaucratic religions try to institutionalize

your perception of the numinous, instead of providing th e means s o y ou

can perceive th e numinous directly ik e looking through a

six-Inch telescope. f sensing th e numinous 1 s a t th e heart of

religion, who's more religious would y ou s a y : he people wh o teach



3 1 August, 1984 Page 9/16



Pn n tarf ,; rUf lPTTq Q

2 7 S e p t e m b e r 4, 1 9 8 4

She could r e c a l l the exact the moment when, o n one of many trips

t o Washington, she decided that she must b e falling i n love with

DeVries. rrangements for the meeting with Palmer Joss seemed t o b e

taking forever. pparently, Joss was reluctant t o visit the Argus

facility; t was the impiety of the scientists, not their

interpretation of the Message, h e now s a i d , that interested h i m . n d

to probe their character, s o m e more n e u t r a l ground was needed. l l i e

was willing to g o anywhere, and a s p e c i a l assistant t o the President

was negotiating. ther radio astronomers alerian or Drumlin,

s a y , much l e s s Vaygay ere not to g o . he President wanted i t to

b e Ellie alone. he was also waiting for the day, s t i l l some months

o f f , o n which s h e would fly to Paris f o r the first f u l l meeting of the

World Message Consortium. he and Vaygay were coordinating the g l o b a l

data ollection program. h e s i g n a l acquisition was now fairly

routine, and there h a d been, i n recent months, n o t one gap i n the

coverage. o s h e f o u n d , t o her surprise, that s h e h a d a little time

o n her hands. he vowed to have a long talk with h e r mother, and t o

remain c i v i l a n d friendly n o matter what provocation was offered.

There was a n absurd amount of backed-up paper and electronic m a i l t o

g o through ot just congratulations a n d criticism from

colleagues, but religious admonitions a n d f a n m a i l from a l l over the

world. he had not r e a d The Astrophysical J o u r n a l n months, although

she was the first author o n a very recent paper that was surely the





2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 9 / 3

would b e alone. ccasionally she would see him through the open door

of the spare office they h a d assigned h i m , h i s feet propped u p o n the

desk, reading some report prepared for h i m . e would offer her a

cheery wave. he would find him talking casually with Drumlin o r

Valerian; ut equally s o with junior technicians, a n d with the

secretarial staff, who h a d o n more than one occasion pronounced h i m ,

within Ellie's hearing, "charming."

DeVries h a d many questions for her a s well. t first they were

purely technical and programmatic, but then extended rapidly into

speculations about and plans for a wide variety of conceivable future

events. hese days, i t almost seemed, discussion of the project was a

pretext to spend a little time together.

One fine autumn afternoon i n Washington, the President was

obliged to delay a meeting of the S p e c i a l Contingency Task Group

because of the Tyrone Free crisis. fter a n overnight flight from New

Mexico, Ellie a n d DeVries found themselves with a n unscheduled few

h o u r s , and decided to visit the Viet N a m Memorial. midst the sombre

and doleful reminders of a foolish war y which the United States

finally drained a n enormous reservoir of g l o b a l g o o d w i l l while killing

more than a million people [CHECK] i n the process eVries seemed

inappropriately cheerful, a n d Ellie began reluctantly t o speculate

about flaws i n h i s character.



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 9 / 4

H e h a d coaxed a n exquisite blue caterpillar [APPROPRIATE FOR

AUTUMN?] to climb aboard a twig. riskly, i t crawled along the stick,

i t s irridescent body rippling with the motion of fourteen pairs of

f e e t . t reached the e n d , held o n with i t s last five segments, a n d

flailed i n the air i n a plucky attempt t o f i n d a new perch.

Unsuccessful, i t turned itself around smartly and retraced i t s many

s t e p s . eVries then changed h i s clutch o n the twig t o the opposite

e n d , s o that when the caterpillar returned t o i t s starting point there

was again nowhere to g o . ik e some caged mammalian carnivore, i t

paced b a c k a n d f o r t h , eight, n i n e , t e n , eleven times, but i n the l a s t

few passages, i t seemed t o h e r , with increasing resignation. he

was beginning to f e e l pity for the poor creature, even i f i t proved t o

b e , s a y , the larva responsible f o r the barley blight.

" W h a t a wonderful program i n this guy's h e a d t works every

time. ptimum escape software. nd the caterpillar never falls o f f .

I mean the twig i s effectively suspended i n a i r . he caterpillar

never experiences t h i s i n nature. he twig i s always connected t o

something. llie, did you ever wonder what that program would f e e l

l i k e i f i t was i n your head? mean, would i t just seem obvious t o

you what you should do when you come to the end of a stick? ould you

h a v e the impression that you were thinking i t through? ould you ever

wonder how you knew to shake your front ten f e e t i n the a i r , but b e

s u r e to h o l d o n tight with the other eighteen?"




She inclined her h e a d slightly a n d examined him closely. e

seemed to experience little difficulty imagining her a s a

caterpillar. a s h e now contemplating some further abuse of

invertebrates? he tried to reply noncommitally.

" W h a t ' 1 1 you do with i t n o w ? "

" I ' l l pu t i t back down i n the grass, I guess. What else would

you do with i t ? "

"Some people might k i l l i t . "

" I t ' s h a r d to k i l l a creature once i t l e t s y ou see i t s

consciousness. ook around u s . " e waved a t the 30,000 names

engraved 1 n the reflecting black granite [CHECK]. That's wh y every

government that prepares for war paints i t s adversaries a s monsters.

They don't want you thinking of the other s i d e a s guys wh o can think

and f e e l .

"Here, l o o k a t this creature. eally. ook closely. atch what

i t does. s i t s official n a m e . f 1 t was a s big a s

you or me, i t would scare everybody t o death. t would b e a genuine

monster, right? ut i t ' s little, eats leaves, minds I t s own business,

a n d adds a little beauty t o the world. ho a r e the monsters?"

She took the hand n o t preoccupied with the caterpillar, a n d they

walked wordlessly past the thousands of names Inscribed i n meticulous

alphabetical order. [ C A R L : HE NAMES ARE NOT ALPHABETICAL; THEY

ARE LISTED I N THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THE DATES ON WHICH EACH

VETERAN DIED, sja]




DeVries didn't talk like a scientist. rought u p i n Manhattan,

the s o n of r a r e Afrikaaner immigrants from what was then called th e Union of South Africa, h e never fully lost his New York street

accent. t first the apparent incongruity between h i s language and

the brilliance of h i s scientific work seemed amusing to h i s

colleagues. s h i s research a n d the man himself became better known,

h i s accent became merely Idiosyncratic. ut Ms pronunciation o f ,

s a y , guanosine triphosphate, seemed to give this benign molecule

explosive properties.

A n Ebenezer Baptist minister from North Carolina named Tyrone

Free h a d been jailed f o r insufficiently non-violent protests against

American economic and military support f o r the Republic of South

Africa, a regime that h a d become increasingly repressive towards i t s

black majority. s the winds of revolution began to s t i r , there was

i n the United States a massive outpouring of domestic protest -

largely, but by n o means exclusively, among blacks nd urgent but

quiet protests from many of America's n o m i n a l allies. he oppression





2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 9 / 8

" A n d there's another reason, t o o , isn't there?" s h e h a d murmured

softly.

"Sure there i s . f we g e t into a war o n South Africa's s i d e , a

l o t of people are gonna say i t was my doing, because my folks came

from South Africa. here's already been a hint i n the Washington P o s t

that I ' m a secret champion hat's what they s a i d , ' a secret

champion 1 f South Africa. don't think the President would

give me the time of day o n this issue."

" A n d were you a secret champion?" "Nothing secret about i t . t ' s part of m y jo b to remind the

President about the strategic mineral implications of this o r that

war, strategic commodity stockpiles, and especially the possibility of

substitute metals a n d alloys. h a d t o g o along with the CIA

estimate, a n d I had to t e l l him that there's n o replacement alloy, a t

least none that anyone knew about.

" I suppose there are some nifty new alloys that you can make from

ordinarily immiscible metals a t zero g , but the production r a t e i n

low-Earth orbit 1 s clearly too low t o solve your problem, right? n

the foreseeable future anyway. ut what's wrong with powder

metallurgy? nd aren't there any significant deposits of tantalum, or

whatever i t i s you n e e d , i n Zambia or Namibia o r Botswana? hy don't

you pr y those countries away from South Africa?"

"Ellie, you've missed your calling," h e h a d s a i d , without a hint

of outraged territoriality.



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 9 / 9

They h a d been very slow i n recognizing that they were falling i n

l o v e . t must have b e e n apparent t o many others. few weeks before,

when Lunacharsky was s t i l l a t Argus, h e launched himself o n one of h t i

episodic tirades o n the irrationality of language. his time, i t was the turn of American English.

"Ellie, t e l l m e about ' g l o m . ' hy can't you just ' g l o m ' ? " h e

asked. W h y must you always glom on? nd wh y do you s a y 'make the

s a m e mistake again'? hat does the ' a g a i n ' do f o r the sentence? nd

a m right that ' b u r n d o w n * and ' b u r n u p ' mean the same thing? S l o w

d o w n ' and 'slow u p ' mean the same thing?"

She nodded wanly. he had heard him more than once complain t o

h i s Soviet colleagues o n the inconsistencies of the Russian language,

a n d was sure she would hear a French edition of this a t the Paris

conference. he was happy to admit that languages h a d infelicities,

but they h a d s o many sources and evolved from s o many s m a l l pressures

that i t would be astonishing i f they were perfectly coherent and

Internally consistent. aygay h a d s u c h a good time complaining,

though, that she did not have the heart t o remonstrate with h i m .




" A n d now take this phrase ' h e a d over heels i n love'" h e

continued. This i s a common expression, yes? ut i t ' s exactly backwards. o u are ordinarily h e a d over heels. orses are h e a d over

heels. hickens are head over heels. hen you are i n love you should

b e heels over h e a d . m I right? o u would know what falling i n love

i s l i k e . ut whoever invented this phrase did not know about l o v e .

H e imagined you walk around i n the u s u a l way instead of floating

upside down i n the a i r , like the paintings of that rench painter

what's h i s name?"

Marc C h a g a l l h a d provided a narrow pathway out of a somehow

awkward conversational thicket, but afterward, s h e wondered i f Vaygay

h a d been teasing h e r , o r probing for a response. erhaps h e h a d only

unconsciously recognized the growing bond between E l lie and DeVries.

A t least part of D e V r i e s ' reluctance was clear. ere h e was, the

President's Science Advisor, devoting a great d e a l of time o n a n

unprecedented, delicate a n d volatile matter. o become emotionally

involved with one of the principals was risky. he President clearly

wanted h i s judgement unimpaired. e should be able to recommend

courses of action that E l l i e opposed, and to urge rejection of options

that s h e supported. alling i n love with Ellie would o n some l e v e l

compromise D e V r i e s ' effectiveness.

For Ellie i t was more complicated. efore she h a d acquired the

somewhat staid respectability of the Director of a major radio

observatory, she h a d h a d many partners. hile she h a d felt herself i n

l o v e and declared herself s o , marriage ~ xcept for the brief



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 9 / 1 1

period with Fredrick a d never seriously tempted h e r . he dimly

remembered the couplet as 1 t William Butler Yeats? it h

which she h a d tried to reassure her early swains, heartbroken because,

a s always, she h a d determined that the affair was o v e r : Y ou say

there i s n o l o v e , m y l o v e , unless i t lasts f o r aye./Ah, folly, there

are episodes far better than the play."

O n the most superficial l e v e l her reluctance about deep

commitment was simply because she h a d never enjoyed that depth of

feeling. ut s h e knew there were many deeper psychological layers.

She recalled how charming John Staughton h a d been to her while h e was

courting her mother; n d how easily h e h a d cast off this pose

more readily than a butterfly i t s crysallis fter h e became her

stepfather. S h e recognized that the metaphor was imperfect.) ome

new and monstrous persona, hitherto barely glimpsed, could emerge i n

men shortly after you married them. er romantic predispositions made

her vulnerable, she thought. he had n o intention of becoming a patsy f o r some academic martinet swollen with Imagined self-importance. he

was not going to repeat h e r mother's mistake. nd deeper s t i l l , s h e

was dimly aware, was a fear of falling i n love without reservation,

committing h e r love t o someone who might then b e snatched from h e r .

The subsequent emotional alternatives would then a l l b e dismal. u t

i f you never really f a l l i n love you can never really miss i t . T h i s

sentiment did not r i n g quite true either, and i n her ruminations s h e

rushed quickly past i t . lso, i f s h e never really f e l l i n love with




someone, she could never really betray h i m , a s i n her heart of hearts

she felt her mother had betrayed her long-dead father. he s t i l l

grieved f o r h i m .

With K e n i t seemed t o b e different. r h a d her expectations b e e n

eroded by h e r l o n g self-imposed exile from the l a n d of l o v e ? nlike

many other men s h e could think o f , when challenged o r stressed, K e n

displayed a gentler, more compassionate side of unmistakable

integrity. i s tendency t o compromise, h i s s k i l l i n scientific

politics, turned out to b e part of the accoutrements of h i s j o b ; ut

underneath she felt sure she h a d glimpsed a deeper commitment to

people and to principle (although the hollow sound of putting these

Ideas i n t o words reminded her of how cynical the times had become).

She respected him enormously f o r the way h e h a d integrated science

Into the whole of h i s l i f e , the courageous support for science that h e

h a d inculcated Into two administrations. hey h a d , a s discretely a s

possible, been more or less living together i n her s m a l l apartment a t

Argus. heir conversations were a joy, ideas flying back a n d forth

like shuttlecocks, each responding to the other's uncompleted thought

with almost perfect knowledge of where i t was headed. e was a

considerate and inventive lover. nd anyway, s h e liked h i s

pheromones.

She was also delighted and sometimes amazed a t what she was able

t o do and say i n h i s presence, because of their l o v e . he admired him

s o much that h i s love for her affected her own self-esteem. he H k e d



2 7 S eptember, 1984 P a g e 9/13

herself bet t er because of h i m . nd since h e felt t he s a m e , th ere was

a kind of infinit e regress of love and respect underlying th eir

relat ionship. n t he presence of s o many of h e r friends, she h a d

s t i l l f e l t a n undercurren t of loneliness. ith K e n , i t was g o n e .

She felt comfortable describing to him her reveries, snatches of

memories, childh ood embarrassmen ts. nd h e was not merely int erest ed,

b u t fascinat ed. e would question her for hours about h e r childhood.

H i s questions were always direct and sometimes probing, but with out

except ion gent le. he began to understand why lovers t alk baby t alk

to one anot her. h ere was no o th er socially acceptable circumstance

i n which the children inside her were permitted to come o u t . f t he

one-year-old, t he five-year-old, the twelve-year-old, and t he

twen ty-year-old a l l find compatible personalities i n t he beloved,

th ere i s a r e a l ch ance t o keep a l l of th ese sub-personas happy. ove

ends th eir l o n g loneliness. erhaps t he depth of love can b e

calibrated by t he number of differen t selves t ha t are actively

Involved i n a given relat ionship. ith her previous part ners, i t

seemed, a t most one of th ese selves was able t o find a compatible

opposite number; he o th er personas were grumpy hangers-on.

The w e e k e n d before t he scheduled meetin g wit h Joss th ey were

lying i n b e d late i n t he aft ernoon.

"There must b e some number," E l lie s a i d , "which measures the

t o t a l population of int elligent beings i n the Milky W a y . ow many do

you suppose i t i s ? f t here's a million civilizations, each with




about a billion individuals, that's ten to the fifteenth power

intelligent beings. ut i f most of them are more advanced than we

a r e , maybe the i d e a of individuals becomes inappropriate; aybe

that's just another Earth chauvinism."

" S u r e . nd then you can calculate the galactic production rate

of Gauloises and Twinkies and Volga sedans and Sony pocket

communicators. hen we could calculate the gross galactic product.

Once we have that i n hand we could work o n the gross cosmic ...

"You' re making f u n of m e , " s h e s a i d with a soft smile, not a t a l l

displeased. But think of s u c h numbers. mean really think about

them. l l those planets with a l l those beings, more advanced than we

a r e . on't you get a kind of tingle thinking about i t ? e r e , look a t

t h i s .

She reached toward the bedside table f o r Volume 1 6 of the

Encyclopaedia Britannica Macropaedia , titled "Rubens to Somalia," and

opened to a p a g e , i n t o which a scrap of computer printout h a d been

inserted a s a page marker. he pointed to a n article called "Sacred

or Holy."

"The theologians seem to have recognized a special, non-rational

— wouldn't c a l l i t irrational - spect of the feeling of sacred

o r h o l y . hey c a l l i t ' n u m i n o u s . ' he term was first used b y

somebody named Rudolph Otto i n a 1 9 2 3 book, The I d e a of the Holy . e

believed that humans were predisposed to detect a n d revere the

numinous. e called 1 t the mlsterium tremendum. v e n my Latin i s





2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 9 / 1 6

the bureaucratic religions, or the people who teach science?"

[Good natured return b y K e n to less serious matters.]

S h e was taking herself too seriously again. t was a r e a l danger

considering the problems before h e r . en was able t o p u l l her out

deftly, with a light touch. he needed him o n many different levels

n o w . he was a little unsure that she would b e able to handle her

many responsibilities without h i m . he love exhilarated her and the

dependency dismayed h e r . ove i s only for the brave, she thought.



ecoiJ

w



Cï Contact: HAPTER 1 0 Page 0/1

16 August, 9 8 1 - PECESSO oi* -X -H& Ea.u\A/o* s.

I t was odd th e way i t h a d worked o u t . he had imagined that

Palmer Joss would come to th e Argus facility, watch th e s i g n a l coming

i n to the radio telescopes, see the huge room f u l l of magnetic tapes »t<0jl,sU

o n which th e previous many months of data had been stored, ask a few

scientific questions, and then spend a little time examining th e s t i l l

f f l e * f c + y . Incomprehensible Message. h e hadn't imagined spending - a - g r e * t O

< 1 a a 1.o . f time discussing philosophy^myeh 1o« theology. ut Joss h a d

refused to come to Argus. t wasn't magnetic tape h e wanted to

scrutinize, h e s a i d , i t was human character. eter Valerian would

have been i d e a l for this discussion: npretentious, able to

communicate clearly, and bulwarked b y a genuine Christian faith that pc««.'^re-

engaged him dally. ut the _ ad apparently vetoed th e i d e a ;

she h a d stressed a s m a l l meeting and she had explicitly asked Ellie to

Ellie and f i e V r i . e s found themselves i n a s m a l l library i n Orange

County, California, uss i dd - u r g e d that the m eet in g b e l i e lU a i th e

Bible Science Research Institute and Museum, utside the library were

a plaster impression from the R e d River of dinosaur footprints mixed

with those of a m an i n sandals, proving, s o the caption s a i d , that Man

a n d Dinosaur were c o n t e mpor á n eo s, a t least i n Texas, and therefore +**{- evolution was false; a convention a l Foucault pendulum, demonstrating

the rotation of th e Earth; (a v a s t , , e x h i b i t called "Darwin's Default*;



1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/2

and a lavish three-meter Matsushita holography unit «* h e podium of a

s m a l l theatre, from which the most eminent divines could communicate

directly t o the faithful.

Communicating s t i l l more directly t o her a t this moment was the

Reverend Billy Jo Rankin. h e had not known u n t i l th e last moment

that Joss had invited Rankin, and she was surprised a t the news. - S t e —

b o d understood tha - t there was continuous theological disputation

between the -tw o of t h e m ^ w g d r r T a U u e l u n l j i U y t h e i r com m on c o n cer n for

u nif

iHf n n - i 7 m

n

rîl

i

n + r ^ m n r i n i t y. f e * t f j j e r e

was

Rankin,

alternately castigating and imploring, while Joss, th e faintest of smiles o n h i s

face, had his eyes half-closed and h i s head bowed i n what seemed very

close to an attitude of prayer. nd what 4 * e had to s a y , a t least s o

f a r , seemed to b e doctrinally ve ry similar to .Joss 's television 2

address. is suit was immaculate^ tailored, his nails freshly

manicured, and his beaming smile stood i n some contast to Joss's

rumpled, distracted, and more weatherbeaten appearance.

"You scientists are s o s h y , " he was saying. You love to hide

your light under a bushel basket. ou'd never guess what's i n those

papers from the titles. instein's first paper o n th e theory of

Relativity was called ' T h e Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.' o

Esm c2 u p front. o s i r . h e 'Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.' suppose if God appeared to a whole gaggle of scientists, maybe a t one

of those big Association meetings, they'd write a paper a l l about i t

and c a l l i t maybe ' O n Spontaneous D e n d M t o f o r m Combustion i n A 1 r . '

J



1 February, 1 9 8 5 INSERT FOR PAGE 1 0 / 2 :

S

I NSERT : (for age 0/2);

«hethen „ dvent was at and, whether Do^sday . eCessany

, l °f d'en "d "- " • of traces » he .Msr*

a»ng other atters. But hey ad ecently effected widely Prized neconclHatlon one, u was aid, on he co-on ood of

the undanentaUst co^n.ty „ ter1ca The s)gns ,f eco„ctltaJon

between *. Unfted states „d now oe„ev,„g, woHdwide atifications n he aroltnatlon of

had o ay or he econciliation.

INSERT N TO B O V E N S E R T :

Perhaps Ra„u„ M he exhibits oUld provide actua, upport fon his position wene hene ny science points n dispute.



1 February, 1 9 8 5 INSERT FOR PAGE 1 0 / 1

INSERT B f o r P a g e 1 0 / 1 :

There had been a widely publicized reconciliation between the t w o

religious leaders, Palmer Joss and Billy Jo Rankln.



1 6 August, 1984 Page 1 0 / 3

They'd have l o t s of equations; hey'd talk about 'economy of

hypothesis'; but they'd never say a word about G o d .

"Y' see, you scientists are too skeptical." rom th e sidewise

motion of his head, Ellie deduced that f l o V r i a s also was included i n

this assessment, although the remarks seemed to b e addressed mainly to

h e r . Y o u question everything, or try t o . ou've never heard about

'Leave w e l l enough a l o n e . ' ou always want to check out 1f a thing i s

what y ou c a l l true. nd true only means empirical, sense data, things

you can see and touch. here's no room for inspiration or revelation

i n you r world. ight from th e beginning you rule out of court almost

everything that religion i s about. « w - s V tni£tthe_juiieatUt5

because the scientists mistrust e v e r y t h i n g . " ) ' * * * ' W*- K» ' * c » * » ' i v « / / . A«k *

/Whn pift half nur CITin h- H hJ-jS ÁTfi T^ Ü % /, J

nnc a Botn ne ^ +**-* eople nd oVriac were ecording)*^ttcU» . * < • • • +0

the discussion a n d , although both groups h a d p r omiood that th e

recordings were not for public use,

she worried about embarrassing the

Project or the President i f she spoke her mind. ut Rankln's remarks

h a d j b e e t v , i n her view, getting p r o g r ooo ive l j i n i d r e outrageous, and no

interventions were being made either b y B e A t e i a s o r by Joss. ndeed,

the latter had spoken only half-a-dozen words a l l morning.

" I suppose y ou want some sort of reply," she found herself

saying. There isn't somo s o r t ef 'official' scientific position o n

this question, and can't pretend to talk for a l l scientists o r even

for the Argus Project. ut can make some comments if y o u 'd like."

s-U ^«tv^ ot vey ç»t*i •'»«./««/. S^Û rnk* Ce*+onÛ -f- «. /?

./*?•



1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/4

Rankin nodded his head vigorously* smiling encouragement. h e

seeming harshness of his words did not seem reflected i n his body

language.

"Also, I want you to understand that I ' m not attacking anybody's

belief system. n this country people are entitled to any belief

system they like, even i f It's demonstrably wrong. nd many of the

things you're saying, and that the Reverend Joss h a s said ( I saw your

talk on television a few weeks a g o ) can't be dismissed Instantly. ut

e t m e try to explain where think they're improbable. ¡ So ^ f t r - aK*. i -^ -»u^ \ v i - " X " ' » " e teen. - i - K * > sav>.L ¿ re»>K a<Vir-i

" Y o u r e uncomfortable with scientific skepticism. ut th e reason

i t developedîs because th e world 1 s complicated, i t ' s subtle.

Everybody's first idea isn't necessarily right. lso, people are

capable of self-deception. l l sorts of socially abhorrent doctrines

have a t one time or another been supported by scientists, well-known h t - * * i ^ — r> a v n . » « .

scientists, famous and respected scientists. lavery, for example, or

th e N a z i brand of racism. cientists make mistakes, theologians make * 7 « > €TT- s.

mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. t ' s part of being human. o th e

way you avoid the mistakes, or a t least l e s s e o the chance/ that you'll

make o n e , i s to b e skeptical. here are n o received drug s i n the

w orld- But our experience i s that when you let the contending

opinions debate, when any skeptic can perform f r i 3 o r he p ow n - an experiment to check d o m e contention/* 5 u B , then th e truth tends t o

emerge. t isn't a perfect approach, but i t ' s the only one that seems

to work.



1 6 August, 1984 Page 1 0 / 5

" N o w , when look a t religion, I see l o t s of contending

opinions. or example, the Christians think the universe i s only a

finite number of years o l d . rom some of the exhibits out there i t ' s J

clear that some Christians ( a n d Jews, and Musiims^l think that the

universe i s only 6,000 years o l d . h e Hindus, o n th e other hand,

and there are a l o t of Hindus i n the world hink that the

universe 1 s infinitely old with a n Infinite number of subsidiary

creations and destructions along th e way. ow they can't both b e

. right. ither the universe i s a certain number of y e a r s .old o r . it's „_ f c « « £*S4-M.T*V ui- J-vt lers é/»»t- +v*»rt\ <»«»w*l ♦ » « « » * » * » . w « r f e ( r r » » ¿ l * ^ *«*T D^rt^.^

inflnitely old. our friends out there.ought to debate Hindus. od > - « - i

seems to have told them something different from what H e told you.

I o n s o n the Earth

But you tend only to talk to yourselves.

"More generally, the various major r e l i g i i

contradict each other i n h undr e d s or respects. ou can't a l l b e

right. nd what 1 f a l l of you are wrong? t ' s a possibility. on't-

- y o 4 j care about the trutht ell, the way to winnow through a l l the

different contentions i s to be skeptical. assure y ou I'm not any

more skeptical about you r religious beliefs than I am about e ve r y new

hypothesis 1 n science hear about. ut i n m y line of work they're

called hypotheses, not inspiration and not revelation.

Joss now stirred a little, but i t was Rankin wh o replied.

"The revelations, th e confirmed predictions by God 1 n th e Old

Testament and the New are legion. h e coming of the Saviour 1 s

foretold i n [PRECISE BIBLICAL REFERENCES]. hat he would come from

the Une of David was foretold i n [REFERENCE] ...



«rteUi(-e.j fir+d- £«-»•- 4* *r tv<

5 w/¿Aiyt »** M-.'s A«*- je* *« __ Un /*<rs>£«-»-*0 n»'»* f„wi/{-e. Í 4-*. r-m.il]

« . 3*su-*' jorow/'se -T~*-»-£"- /-&-»»*

"That ought to b e a n embarrassment for you, not a F Q V Q Iat ioru<*c*jh<-cy •

A l l Matthew [CHECK] can do i s to trace Joseph's relation to David, not

Mary's. r don't you believe i n God th e Father?"

Rankin continued smoothly on, not rising to the bait she had

offered.

[MORE STANDARD FUNDAMENTALIST REVELATION.]

" A n d the Bible speaks to ou r own time. s r a e l and th e Arabs,

America a r r t h ^ x i i , s I cT'.MucTear w ar t's a l l there i n the Bible.

Anybody with a n ounce of sense can s e e i t . o u don't have to b e some

fancy professor."

" ¥ o u 'r o exhibiting a failure of the imagination. hese ¿upptrsea' prophecies are lmost every one of them ague, ambiguous,

imprecise. h ey admit lots of possible interpretations, O U only

quote the passages that seem to you t o have boon fulfilled, and y * e t r

ignore the rest.

"Imagine that you r kind of god mnipotent, omniscient,

compassionate eally wanted to leave a record for future

generations, to make his existence unmistak a b le t o , s ay, the remote

descendants of Moses. would havo b o e n a b o o luto ly/easy. ) Just a

few enigmatic phrases, /with some roquiromant that they a - r o f r o be

passed o n unchanged ...

O y o s s leaned forward almost imperceptibly. Such a s ... ? " he

asked.

"Such as ' T h e Sun i s a s t a r . ' Or 'Mars i s a rusty place with

deserts and volcanos, like S i n a i . ' O r , A body i n motion tends to





1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/8

some current scientific understanding purely by accident. ut can't

be sure. aybe you're right. aybe the caduceus i s a message from

God. ut, of course, i t ' s not a Christian s y m b o l or a symbol of any of-"»-»*

other major religion today. don't suppose y o u 'd want to argue that

the gods talked only to the ancient Greeks. f God wanted to send u s

a message and ancient writings was th e only w ay H e could think of

doing i t , He could have done a much better job.

*4i ^Thnrr'i n-thrr npr^ -t r iii liill T lim'l m il hind t ll» 0 uAv » -L0 y,w ¿*/«¿ ¿C/- X^h ~

I 4 h y o ou hink o d as bandoned s? H e se d o in unuu i ui-ny wityp*- Ittii patriarchs and prophets every second Tuesday. e' s omnipotent, you

s a y , and omniscient.AIt 's no particular effort for Him to remind u s

directly, unambiguously, of His wishes a t least a few times i n every ) v » W- c_#m/«

i y , u n

\ \ generation.„ Why don t w e see Him with crystal clarity?

"We do." ankin pu t enormous feeling 1 n this phrase. He i s a l l

around u s . ur prayers are answered. ens of millions of people i n

this country have been born again and witnessed God's glorious grace.

A « 4 . " J t h e Bible speaks to u s a s clearly i n this day a s i t did i n the

time of Moses and Jesus."

" O h , come off i t . ou know what I mean. here are the burning

bushes, the pillars of fire, th e great voice that says ' I am that I

H A±s.»Uii

Qfr ut oice ro m





1 6 August, 1984

Page 10/10

U h , et's «Ok what we hope t0 VZ t hjs meet1ng>„ he egan.

Here's en n his mo,„fy,„g mood> me hought- Qn ££

He's ¿o*?»e as o

respons,b„ity or actl0n <fc e í pmcespecien,

when epresenting he President, e ecomes very «coveting, eedy

to ompromise with he Devi, imSe,f. A n our before KenêCined n

invitation ro m ankin o ¿LX¿K¿¿£ Mé

not ere o ebate evolution," ad ee n DeVries' response. "We're nerez-hu* 0 -bou( ^td nterpret t, hat nsigas he i_giou co-unity mioht ....

«That's another hing." he nterrupted^ ¿¿To

td point his out. ,f hat igna, s rom, God, hy oes t ome ro»

Jdst ne piace n he ky - ,„ he vicinity of particular

bright,nearby tar? why doesn't t ome ro. a„ ver he ky at

«nee, me he osmic b,ack-body ackground adiation? Coming ro m

»ne star it ooks ike igna, nm another civilization. c»ing

£.everywhere t would ook much more „ke igna, ro* your God."

G o d an ake igna, on e ro* he ung hole of he ¿itt,e fear

if e wants use me^bu t you've gotten e riled p. G d d an o '

anything."

"Anything ou don't understand, ou attribute o God. G o d or

y oU s where ou weep way a„ he mysteries of he world, a„ he

chanenges d our 1hte,„gence. Y ou si„p,y urn your „„„ off n<¡ ay

G o d did t."



1 6 August, 1984 — P*§a-lû/lL

m. '*? .•« A r—L _. « « ..•.»_ x— H» îl— Iyr..g4.'ft»» M a-am, I idn't ome ere o e ¡ncn'u-H j^ 1t in hHfin

"country nd Christians ave position n his ssue, acred

responsibility o make ure hat God's word s nderstood ...

"I'm Christian nd ou don't peak or me. You 've rapped

yourself n ome sort of 3 th entury eligious mania . S ince hen he

Rennaissance as appened. T he Enlightenment as appened. Where've

y ou een?"

¿ 77 , _- Both rrowav nd anHn. n ppnritn idn -rr-f-ffr MHf, prp

B»+ K o»/5 <M& ftMe<r ser-* yihalf out of heir chairs.

"Please," ôe¥Î**ftJmplored, ooking directly at Ellie. "If ctec* w*- ¿fe*VW**» mor* *t~* VUu* ot efci?*.

y w tanH ro offiblansc f rrirr, on't ee ow we an asac *.*-.*., .-, * ./l/

"Well, ou wanted a rank xchange of views.'"

"It's early noon," oss bserved. "Why don't e ake ittle

break or unch?"

Outside he ibrary conference oom, eaning n he ailing

surrounding he oucault endulum, Ellie nd l

oVrToT 'had brief

whispered xchange.

« 4-'d lkn u unch uui mi LUUSUIH, iiow-IL-dllt ájWe^Jthaa- u

"Why exactly? sn't ignorance anierror painful e n o u g h ? '

" Y e s , if he'd shut u p ,St he's corrupting millions." if * y-\ 'T * * 3 W d > - - I

"Sweetheart>/ < v h e thinks the same about you."



1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/12

b«r (4*tc When she and * e ¥ f = 4 e « came back from lunch ElUe noticed

immediately that Rankin appeared subdued, while Joss, wh o was first to

speak, seemed o m e h ow happy, certainly beyond bounds of mere

cordiality.

" D r . Arroway," he began, " I can understand that y o u 'r e Impatient

t o show u s

you r findings and

that

y ou didn't

come

here for

theological disputation. ut please bear with u s a-little, longer. o u have a

sharp tongue, but you'd make a find backwoods lawyer. OTHER SIMILE?]

I can't r e c a l l the last time Brother Rankin got s o stirred u p o n

matters of th e faith. t m u st b e years."

H e glanced momentarily a t his colleague wh o was doodling,

apparently i d l y , o n a ye llow l e g a l p a d , h i s collar unbuttoned and his

necktie drawn a few centimeters down.

" I was struck b y one or two things y ou said this morning. ou

called yourself a Christian. n what sense are you a Christian?

* ; naver guessed that-this^would be part of the jo b when I

accepted the directorship of the^rgus/Projectl." he said this

lightly. I'm a Christian i n th e sense that I find Jesus Christ to be

a n admirable historical figure. think the Sermon o n th e Mount i s

one of the greatest ethical statements and one of th e best speeches i n

history. think that "Love you r enemy" might even be the longshot



1 6 August, 1 9 8 4 Page 10/13

solution to th e problem of nuclear war. u t (only think that he was

a man. great man, a brave man, a m an with Insight Into t h e -

unpopular truths. u t I don't think he was God or th e son of God or

the grandnephew of God. f you want to believe i n God, I think there

was a s much God I n him a s there i s i n th e rest of u s .

"But you don't want to believe i n God." He said i t a s a

K statement. o you think you can be a Christian and notf believe i n

God. et m e ask you straight o u t : o yo u believe i n God?"

"The question has a peculiar structure. f say n o , do mean

I ' m convinced God doesn't exist, or do mean I'm not convinced h e

does exist? hose are two very different statements."

"Let's see 1f they are s o different, D r . Arroway. ay I c a l l you

Doctor? ou believe i n Occam's Razor, is n t that right? b * f e jf yo u

have two different, equally good explanations of th e same experience,

pick th e simplest. f you have serious doubts about w h e t h e r there's a

God nough doubts so y o u 'r e unwilling to commit yourself to ch e

faith hen y ou must be able to imagine a world without G o d * J( CL world that comes Into being without G o d , a world that goes about I t s

everyday life without G o d , a world where people die without G o d .

That would be a world i n which we weren't here on Earth for any good

reason mean any purpose ust some v * j = y - complicated

sequence of atomic collisions. ou can t e l l that view a world like

that with distaste. ut if you can Imagine that world, wh y should you / - ^ • v

f r e - e n some middle ground? f you believe a l l that already, isn't ,'



1 6 August , 984^/y 7- , i * - * / i 4 - / ô^ «rx o K3e 1 0 / 1 4 ^ 7^

Uu^

i t - * m u c h s i m p l e r a r g u m o n t t o s a y t h a t t h e r e ' s n o G o d t h a n t o s a y t h a t

t h e r e i s o n e ? H o w c a n a t h o r o u g h g o i n g c o m m i t t e d c o n s c i e n t i o u s

s c i e n t i s t b e a n a g n o s t i c i f y o u c a n e v e n i m a g i n e a w o r l d w i t h o u t G o d

W o u l d n ' t y a j j u h a v e t o b e a n a t h p i ^ t ? ^ f *tl _ I f i t w e r e „ a s i m p t a m a t t e r o f s c i e n t i f i c d i s c u s s i o n , i V a q r e e

w i t h y o u , R e v e r e n d J o s s .„T h e n I w o u l d c a l l m y s e l f a n a t h e i s t , b e c a u s e

U i . w , a¥e

^ âc

« sentially c o n c e r n e d w i t h s e l f - c o r r e c t i n g h y p o t h e s e s . f

t*>* niara nf aw iA À. ±±¿L- A>_'J J<^ J+ TT *»* > <*wtsW *.~.

A«e w piece of avIdenceühiWta

•twuLaway ro m atheism,and woll p aot aynuuH/rst». ABut his sn't s— ¿r« *

mainly cientific ssue. We're alking eligion nd ublic welfarV) ^

a n d p o l i t i c s . *

" I ' v e a l w a y s t h o u g h t t h a t a n a g n o s t i c i s a n a t h e i s t w i t h o u t t h e

c o u r a g e o f h i s c o n v i c t i o n s . "

" Y o u c o u l d j u s t a s w e l l s a y t h a t a n a g n o s t i c i s a f u n d a m e n t a l i s t

w i t h a t l e a s t a r u d i m e n t a r y k n o w l e d g e o f h u m a n f a l l i b i l i t y . W h e n I

s a y I ' m a n a g n o s t i c , o n l y m e a n t h a t t h e e v i d e n c e I s n ' t i n . T h e r e

I s n ' t c o m p e l l i n g e v i d e n c e t h a t a G o d e x i s t s - t l e a s t y o u r k i n d o f

g o d — n d t h e r e I s n ' t c o m p e l l i n g e v i d e n c e t h a t H e d o e s n ' t . S i n c e

m o r e t h a n h a l f t h e p e o p l e o n t h e E a r t h a r e n ' t J e w s o r C h r i s t i a n s o r

M u s l i m s , I ' d s a y t h a t t h e r e a r e n ' t a n y c o m p e l l i n g a r g u m e n t s f o r t h e

O l d T e s t a m e n t G o d , - e r e v e r y b o d y o n E a r t h w o u l d h a v e b e e n c o n v e r t e d .

^ « d - a s I ms a y i n g îs m o r n i n g , , i f G o d w a n t e d t o c o n v i n c e u s h e

c o u l d h a v e d o n e a m u c h b e t t e r j o b / ' l o o k a t h o w c l e a r l y a u t h e n t i c t h e



1 6 August, 1 9 8 4 Page 10/15

Message i s . t ' s being picked up a l l over the world. adio c^t u w m i W K ctv/

¡ r elescopes i n countries with different histories, different languages.

different politics, different religions, - e v e r y b o d y 's getting the same

kind of data from the same place 1 n the s k y , £pem the same frequencies

with the same polarization modulation. ny skeptic can hook up a

radio telescope t doesn't have to be very big nd get the ' c *

sam o - k i n d of d a t a ,

' Y o u ' r e suggesting that your radio message i s from Godf" Rankin

*fr*«t &$+*•&'

-f-Kt ' No t at all. Just hat +rat civilization n ega with

powers infinitely less than what you attribute to you r God *f«evu 5

able to make things very clear. f your God wanted to talkAu s through

the unlikely means of word-of-mouth transmission over thousands of

years H e could have done i t s o that there was no room left for debate

about the existence of God."

"And what do y ou think of the possibility that i t ' s sent b y the D e v i l ? '

¿([ A £ em>mc> J ? ve * C S i ov s [I don't know w hy imagining a radio message from the D e v i l sounds

crazier t o m e than Imagining a radio message from God. ut i t does.

I repeat, I think b y far th e most likely situation i s that there i s a

civilization that has grown u p on a planet surrounding th e star Vega.

They're not G o d , they're not th e Devil, they didn't create the Earth

o r the universe, they probably don't look anything like u s , and before

ou r television signals got to them they never heard of Jesus C h r i s t ,



1 6 A u g u s t , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 1 0 / 1 6

T h a t ' s w h a t I t h i n k . f y o u a s k m e c o u l d t h e M e s s a g e b e f r o m G o d o r

c o u l d t h e M e s s a g e b e f r o m t h e D e v i l s s u m i n g t h a t t h e r e ' s

a n y t h i n g i n n a t u r e c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h o s e t w o w o r d s — c a n o n l y

s a y I k s u n ' l i u l t í I L - e u t . B u t t h e r e I s n ' t a s m i d g e o n o f e v i d e n c e i n

f a v o r o f - o u c h a n I d e a . f i t w a s n t b e i n g s e r i o u s l y c o n s i d e r e d b y t w o

s u c h d i s t i n g u i s h e d r e l i g i o u s l e a d e r s a s y o u g u y s , I ' d b e t e m p t e d t o

c a l l t h e n o t i o n c r a z y . W h y d o n ' t w e j u s t w i t h h o l d j u d g m e n t f o r a

w h i l e , u n t i l w e m a k e s o m e m o r e p r o g r e s s o n d e c r y p t i n g t h e M e s s a g e ?

W o u l d y o u l i k e t o s e e s o m e o f t h e d a t a ? " a ñ T h e y a s s e n t e d , r e a d i l y e n o u g h , i t s e e m e d . B u t i t w a s j o n l y r e a m s

a n d r e a m s o f z e r o s a n d o n e s , n e i t h e r e d i f y i n g n o r i n s p i r a t i o n a l . S h e

c a r e f u l T y e x p l a i n e d a b o u t t h e p a g i n a t i o n o f t h e M e s s a g e a n d t h e

h o p e d - f o r p r i m e r . B y u n s p o k e n a g r e e m e n t s h e a n d ©ew+es s a i d n o t h i n g

a b o u t t h e S o v i e t v i e w t h a t t h e M e s s a g e w a s t h e b l u e p r i n t s ^ f o r a

m a c h i n e . t w a s a t b e s t a g u e s s , a n d h a d n o t y e t b e e n p u b l i c l y

d i s c u s s e d b y t h e S o v i e t s . A s a n a f t e r t h o u g h t s h e d e s c r i b e d s o m e t h i n g a b o u t V e g a i t s e l f — i t s m a s s , s u r f a c e t e m p e r a t u r e , c o l o r , d i s t a n c e

f r o m t h e E a r t h , l i f e t i m e , a n d t h e r i n g o f o r b i t i n g d e b r i s a r o u n d i t

t h a t h a d b e e n d i s c o v e r e d b y t h e i n f r a r e d a s t r o n o m y s a t e l l i t e 1 n 1 9 8 3 .

" B u t b e y o n d i t b e i n g o n e o f t h e b r i g h t e s t s t a r s i n t h e s k y —

n o t t h e b r i g h t e s t — i s t h e r e a n y t h i n g s p e c i a l a b o u t 1 t ? " o s s

w a n t e d t o k n o w . O r a n y t h i n g t h a t c o n n e c t s i t u p w i t h t h e E a r t h ? "



1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/17

"Well, i n terms of stellar properties, anything like that,

can't think of anything. ut there i s one incidental a c t : ega was

the Pole Star about 12,000 years ago and i t w i l l b e again about

14,000 years from now."

I thought the Pole Star was « * * f pole star." ankin was s t i l l

doodling.

"It i s . ut not forever. h e Earth i s like a spinning t o p . t s

axis i s slowly precessing i n a circle. t ' s called the precession of

the equinoxes."

"Discovered by Hipparchus of " added Joss. his

seemed a surprising bit of i n f o r m a t i o n ^ have a t his fingertips.

"So right now th e North P o le points t o Polaris, i n the TV U

constellation of Little Dipper or Little Bear *hat you were referring r f " *$ J~ < - * , « . * , « ¿ > * r y S4r r < L * i » t r y » .

to^this morning* But s he Earth's axis lowly recesses t points

m-so ffw hffprpnt direction n hu ky . han olaris, nd ver 6 , 000

years where he orth o le points n he ky as made omple te r/^M- n»*w" n tK.'j

circle. ell, just by accident the North Pole points near s - e m e star % » ^ t - *

right now^ not directly a t i t , you understand, but close enough to b e

u s e f u l i n navigation. ost of the time the axis of rotation points to

some blank space i n the sky between naked-eye stars. t ^ i / f i g h t now i t

points a t Polaris and 12,000 years ago i t pointed a t Vega. ut

there's no physical connection. ow the stars are distributed i n the

Milky Way h a s nothing to do with the Earth's axis o i f - r o t a t l o n being

tipped 23-1/2 degrees."



1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/18

"Now 12,000 years ago i s 10,000 B.C., th e time when civilization

was just starting u p . sn't that right?" Joss asked.

"Unless you believe that the Earth was created i n 4004 B.C."

" N o , we don't believe that, do we, Brother Rankin? e just don't

think th e age of the Earth i s known with the same precision that you

scientists d o . We're what y ou might c a l l agnostics on the age of the

Earth." e had a most attractive smile. S o 1 f anybody was

navigating 10,000 years a g o , sailing the Mediterranean, s a y , or the

Persian Gulf, Vega would have been their guide?"

"Absolutely. t must have seemed a n amazing gift ~

providential, 1 f you like hat such a bright star was exactly to

th e North. ' l l bet a lot of people owed their lives to that

coincidence."

" W e l l now, that's mighty interesting."

" I don't want you to think I used the word providential a s

anything but a metaphor." "I'd never think «f-*t, my dear."

Joss was by now giving signs that th e afternoon was drawing to a

close. ut there were a few items stm, i t seemed, on Rankin's

agenda.

" I t amazes m e that you think that i t wasn't divine providence,

Vega being the Pole S t a r . y faith i s s o strong I don't need proofs,

but every time a new fact comes along 1 t simply confirms my faith."

" W e l l then I guess you weren't listening very closely to what I

was saying this morning. resent th e idea that w e ' r e i n some kind of



1 6 August, 1984 Page 10/19

faith contest and you're the hands-down winner. o far as know

you've never tested you r faith. o u talk a l o t , but are y ou willing

t o pu t your life o n th e line for you r faith? 'm willing to do i t for

m y faith. ere, take a look out that glass. here's a b i g Foucault

pendulum out there. he bob m u st weigh 5 0 pounds. y faith says that

th e amplitude of a pendulum he amount of th e excursion from

vertical position an never increase^Wt only decrease. 'm

willing to g o out there, pu t the bob i n front of m y nose, let g o , have

i t swing to th e other side and then back to me. f my faith 1 s wrong

I ' l l get a 50-pound pendulum bob i n the face. ome o n . o u wanna

test m e o u t ? ' U "Truly, it's not necessary. believe you," replied Joss.

"But would y ou be willing to stand a foot closer to this same

pendulum and pray God to shorten th e swing? h at if i t turns out that

you've gotten i t a l l wrong, that what y o u 'r e teaching isn't God's w i l l

a t all? ow can you be really sure? * ) c ' < ¿ W « t f

"And i f you really are s o sure f the truth of you r doctrine,

wh y insist o n indoctrinating infants? ive you r supplicants a

fighting chance. ry convincing them after they've h a d a little

experience with the varieties of nonsense 1 n the world. ut you guys

Insist o n baptism and first communion and Sunday School and a l l the

rest of 1 t . ou teach your doctrine to s m a l l children, and down the

street there's some other church with some other bizarre belief that's

busy propagandizing i t s children. nd when a l l these helpless



16 ugust, 984 P a g e 1 0 / 2 0

K • êi eco in / ¿ « _ - < f H T h h i o . n i f i n a l l y g r o w u p , w h a t c h a n c e d o t h e y h a v e t o 4 $m t h e

t r u t h ? Y o u ' v e t i e d c o m m u n i t y f e e l i n g a n d p a r e n t a l a p p r o v a l a n d a

b e g i n n i n g a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r m u s i c a n d a r t a n d l i t e r a t u r e t o t h e

d o c t r i n e s o f y o u r s e c t . O f c o u r s e I t ' s h a r d t o s h a k e i t o f f a f t e r

y o u ' r e a l l g r o w n u p .

" L o o k , w e a l l h a v e a t h i r s t f o r w o n d e r . t ' s a d e e p l y h u m a n

q u a l i t y . S c i e n c e a n d r e l i g i o n a r e b o t h b o u n d u p w i t h i t . h a t I ' m

s a y i n g i s y o u d o n ' t h a v e t o m a k e s t o r i e s u p , y o u d o n ' t h a v e t o

e x a g g e r a t e . T h e r e ' s w o n d e r a n d a w e e n o u g h i n t h e r e a l w o r l d . A n d

i t ' s m o r e s u b t l e , m o r e i n t r i c a t e . a t u r e ' s a l o t b e t t e r a t i n v e n t i n g

w o n d e r s t h a n w e a r e . "

" W e a r e a l l w a y f a r e r s o n t h e r o a d t o t r u t h " T ? * « ¿ J ; y t ISiA'^'i 3

" ^ Y c a h , b u t s o m e o f u s a r e w a l k i n g , a n d o t h e r s a r e d r a g g in g t h e i r

*heai^"

B o t h J o s s a n d - f l o V r iac s t e p p e d i n d e f t l y , a n d a m i d s t p l o a o o n * sT-rociOeot c J J

c i v i l i t i e s t h e y . p r e p a r e d t o l e a v e . S h e w o n d e r e d w h e t h e r a n y t h i n g u s e f u l h a d b e e n a c c o m p l i s h e d . V a l e r i a n w o u l d h a v e b e e n m u c h m o r e

m * * * - * r + ~ e f f e c t i v e , m u c h l e s s p r o v o c a t i v e . h e w i s h e d s h e h a d r e s t r a i n e d

h e r s e l f , b e t t e r ^

" I t ' s b e e n a m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g d a y , D r . A r r o w a y , a n d t h a n k y o u

f o r i t . " o s s s e e m e d a l i t t l e r e m o t e a g a i n , d i s t r a c t e d . B u t h e s h o o k

h e r h a n d w a r m l y o n t h e w a y o u t t o t h e w a i t i n g g o v e r n m e n t c a r , p a s t a

l a v i s h l y r e n d e r e d t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l e x h i b i t o n " T h e F a l l a c y o f t h e

E x p a n d i n g U n i v e r s e . " ^ S h e w h i s p e r e d t o D e V r i e s :

*AUoxA- yours- y



1 6 August, 1984 Page 0/21

I'm orry if ot ou own^rn^lt y»ur- \*b MW f,,,VV''t,, ríur \i

'O h o, l lie. Y ou ere fmtastir t* -Ç'm * •

' T h a t Palmer Joss i s a very attractive man. don't th ink did

« R i c h t o convert h i m . ut I ' l l t e l l you, h e almost converted m e ,



t$ Contact:\ CHAPTER 1 0

2 7 September, 1 9 8 4

Page 1 0 / 1

I t was o d d the way i t h a d worked o u t . he h a d imagined that

Palmer Joss would come t o the Argus facility, watch the s i g n a l being

gathered i n b y the radio telescopes, note the huge room f u l l of

magnetic tapes o n which the previous many months of data were stored,

a s k a few scientific questions, a n d then examine, i n i t s multiplicity

of zeros and ones, some of the reams of computer printout displaying

the s t i l l incomprehensible Message. he hadn't Imagined spending

hours arguing philosophy, much l e s s theology. ut Joss had refused t o

come to Argus. t wasn't magnetic tape h e wanted to scrutinize, h e

s a i d , i t was human character. eter Valerian would have been i d e a l

f o r this discussion: npretentious, able t o communicate clearly, and

bulwarked b y a genuine Christian faith that engaged his everyday

l i f e . ut the President h a d apparently vetoed the i d e a ; h e h a d

urged a s m a l l meeting, a n d , according to DeVries, h a d explicitly asked

f o r E l l i e to attend.

Joss h a d insisted that the discussion be held h e r e , a t the Bible

Science Research Institute and Museum i n Orange County, California.

She glanced past DeVries, out the glass partition that separated the

library from the exhibit area. u st outside was a plaster impression

from a R e d River sandstone of dinosaur footprints interspersed with

those of a pedestrian i n sandals, proving, s o the caption s a i d , that

Man a n d Dinosaur were contemporaries, a t least i n Texas. hoemakers



2 7 September, 1984 Page 1 0 / 2

i n the Mesozoic seemed also t o b e implied. he conclusion drawn i n

the caption was that evolution was a fraud. he opinion of most

paleontologists hat the sandstone was a fraud emained,

E l l i e h a d noted two hours earlier, unmentioned. he Intermingled

footprints were part of a vast exhibit called "Darwin's Default." o

i t s l e f t was a Foucault pendulum, demonstrating the scientific

assertion, this one apparently uncontested, that the Earth turns. o

i t s right, Ellie could see part of a lavish three-meter Matsushita

holography unit o n the podium of a s m a l l theatre, from which the most

eminent divines could communicate directly to the faithful.

Communicating s t i l l more directly t o her f o r most of the morning,

was the Reverend Billy Jo Rankin. he had not known u n t i l the last

moment that Joss h a d invited Rankin, a n d was surprised a t the n e w s .

She had understood there to b e continuous theological disputation

between them, moderated only b y their common concern for a unified

fundamentalist community. ut here was Rankin, alternately

castigating a n d imploring, h i s s u i t immaculately tailored, h i s nails

freshly manicured, and h i s beaming smile standing i n some contrast t o

Joss's rumpled, distracted, a n d more weatherbeaten appearance. oss,

the faintest of smiles o n h i s f a c e , h a d h i s eyes half-closed and h i s

h e a d bowed i n what seemed very close t o a n attitude of prayer. e

roused himself n o w .

" Y o u scientists are s o s h y , " h e was saying. Y o u l o v e t o hide

your light under a b u s h e l basket. ou'd never guess what's i n those



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 1 0 / 3

papers from the titles. instein's first work o n the Theory of

Relativity was called ' T h e Electrodynamics of Moving B o d i e s . ' o

E « n i c 2 u p front. o s i r . T h e Electrodynamics of Moving B o d i e s . '

suppose i f God appeared to a whole gaggle of scientists, maybe a t one

of those b i g Association meetings, they'd write something a l l about i t

and c a l l i t , maybe, ' O n Spontaneous Dendritoform Combustion i n A i r . '

They'd have l o t s of equations; hey'd talk about 'economy of

hypothesis'; but they'd never say a word about G o d .

"Y'see, you scientists are too skeptical." rom the sidewise

motion of h i s h e a d , E l 1 l e deduced that DeVries was also included i n

t h i s assessment, although the remarks seemed t o b e addressed mainly to

h e r . Y o u question everything, or try t o . ou've never heard about

' L e a v e w e l l enough a l o n e . ' o u always want to check out i f a thing i s

what you c a l l t r u e ' . n d ' t r u e ' only means empirical, sense data,

things you can s e e and touch. here's n o room f o r inspiration or

revelation 1 n your world. ight from the beginning you rule out of

court almost everything religion i s about. mistrust the scientists

because the scientists mistrust everything."

Over the past half-hour E l lie h a d bitten h e r tongue more than

once. oth the l o c a l fundamentalists and a n aide t o DeVries were

recording the discussion a n d , although both groups h a d promised that

the recordings were n o t for public u s e , she worried about embarrassing

the Project or the President i f s h e spoke her mind. ut Rankin's

remarks h a d been, i n her view, getting progressively more outrageous.



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 1 0 / 4

a n d now Joss, who h a d spoken only a half-dozen words a l l morning, was

beginning to gird for battle. eVrles remained amiably silent.

" I suppose you want a r e p l y , " she found herself saying. There

isn't s o m e sort of ' o f f i c i a l ' scientific position o n a l l these

questions, a n d I can't pretend t o talk f o r a l l scientists or even for

the Argus Project. ut c a n make some comments if you'd like."

Rankin nodded h i s h e a d vigorously, smiling encouragement.

Languidly, Moss merely waited.

" I want you to understand that I ' m not attacking anybody's belief

system. s far a s I ' m concerned, you're entitled to any belief system

you l i k e , even i f i t ' s demonstrably wrong. nd many of the things

you're saying, a n d that the Reverend Joss h a s said ( I saw your talk o n

television a few weeks a g o ) can't b e dismissed instantly. t takes a

little work. ut l e t m e try to explain where think they're

improbable.

"You' re uncomfortable with scientific skepticism. ut the reason

i t developed i s that the world i s complicated. t ' s subtle.

Everybody's first i d e a i s n ' t necessarily r i g h t . lso, people are

capable of self-deception. l l sorts of socially abhorrent doctrines

have a t one time or another been supported by scientists, well-known

scientists, famous a n d respected scientists. lavery, for example, or

the N a z i brand of racism. cientists make mistakes, theologians make

mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. t ' s part of being human. o the

way you avoid the mistakes, or a t least lessen the chances that you'll




make o n e , i s t o be skeptical. o u test the Ideas. o u check them out

b y rigorous standards of evidence. don't think there i s such a

thing a s a received truth. ut when you l e t th e different opinions

debate, when any skeptic can perform h i s or her o w n experiment to

check s o m e contention o u t , then the truth tends t o emerge. hat's t h e

experience of the whole history of science. t isn't a perfect

approach, but i t ' s the only one that seems t o work.

" N o w , when l o o k a t religion, I see l o t s of contending

opinions. or example, the Christians think the universe i s only a

finite number of years o l d . rom the exhibits out there I t ' s clear

that some Christians ( a n d Jews, a n d Muslims) think that the universe

i s only 6,000 years o l d . he Hindus, o n the other h a n d n d there

are l o t s of Hindus i n the world hink that the universe i s

infinitely old with a n infinite number of subsidiary creations a n d

destructions along the w a y . ow they can't both b e right. ither the

universe i s a certain number of years old o r i t ' s infinitely o l d .

Your friends out there ought to debate Hindus. od seems t o h a v e told

them something different from what H e told you. ut you tend to talk

only t o yourselves.

"More generally, the various major religions o n the Earth

contradict each other 1 n hundreds of respects. o u can't a l l b e

right. nd what i f a l l of you are wrong? t ' s a possibility. on't

you care about the truth? e l l , the way t o winnow through a l l the

differing contentions i s to be skeptical. ' m not any more skeptical



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 1 0 / 6

about your religious beliefs than I am about every new scientific i d e a

I hear about. ut i n my line of work they're called hypotheses, not

inspiration a n d n o t revelation."

Joss now stirred a little, but i t was Rankin who replied.

" T h e revelations, the confirmed predictions b y God i n the Old

Testament and the New are legion. he coming of the Saviour i s

foretold i n [PRECISE BIBLICAL REFERENCES]. hat h e would come from

the line of David was foretold i n [REFERENCE] ...

"That ought to b e a n embarrassment f o r you, n o t a revelation.

A l l Matthew [CHECK] can do i s to trace Joseph's relation t o David, n o t

Mary's. r don't you believe i n G o d the Father?"

Rankin continued smoothly o n , not rising to the bait she h a d

offered.

[MORE STANDARD FUNDAMENTALIST REVELATION.]

" A n d the Bible speaks t o our own time. s r a e l a n d the Arabs,

America and Russia, nuclear war - t ' s a l l there i n the Bible.

Anybody with a n ounce of sense c a n s e e i t . o u don't have to b e s o m e

fancy professor."

"You' re exhibiting a failure of the imagination. hese supposed

prophecies are lmost every one of them ague, ambiguous,

imprecise. hey admit l o t s of possible interpretations. ou only

quote the passages that seem to you to have been fulfilled, and you

ignore the r e s t .






magnetic dipole follows a n inverse cube force l a w . r i n biology

. " - he nodded towards the attentive but silent DeVries "How

about " A double helix i s the basis of life.'?"

"Now that's a n interesting one," s a i d Joss. You're talking, of

course, about D N A . ut you know the physician's staff, the s y m b o l of

medicine? rmy doctors have i t o n their labels. t ' s called the

caduceus. t shows two serpents intertwined. t ' s a perfect double

helix. rom ancient times that's been the s y m b o l of preserving l i f e .

I s n ' t this just the kind of connection you're suggesting?" " W e l l , i f there are enough symbols and enough prophecies i n

enough myth and folklore, eventually a few of them are going to f i t

some current scientific understanding purely b y accident. ut can't

b e s u r e . aybe you're r i g h t . aybe the caduceus i s a message from

G o d . u t , of course, i t ' s not a Christian s y m b o l or a s y m b o l of any

other major religion today. don't suppose you'd want to argue that

the gods talked only to the ancient Greeks. hat I ' m saying i s : f

God wanted to send u s a message, a n d ancient writings was the only way

H e could think of doing i t , H e could have done a much better job. nd

H e hardly h a d to confine Himself to writings. hy isn't there a

monster crucifix orbiting the Earth? h y isn't the surface of the

Moon covered with the Ten Commandments? hy should H e b e s o clear i n

the Bible and s o obscure i n the world?"




Joss h a d apparently been ready to reply a few sentences b a c k , a

l o o k of genuine pleasure unexpectedly o n h i s f a c e , but Ellie's rush or

words was gathering momentum, a n d perhaps h e felt i t impolite to

interrupt.

"There's another aspect of your position that I don't understand

a t a l l . hy do you think God abandoned u s ? nd when did i t happen?

H e used t o b e conversing with patriarchs and prophets e v e r y second

Tuesday. e ' s omnipotent, you s a y , and omniscient. t ' s n o

particular effort for H1m to remind u s directly, unambiguously, of His

wishes a t least a few times i n every generation. hy don't we see Him

with absolute clarity?"

" W e d o . " ankin p u t enormous feeling i n this phrase. H e i s a l l

around u s . ur prayers are answered. ens of millions of people i n

this country have been born again and witnessed God's glorious grace.

The Bible speaks t o u s a s clearly i n this day a s i t did i n the time of

Moses a n d Jesus." " O h , come off i t . o u know what I mean. here are the burning

bushes the Reverend Joss alluded t o , the pillars of f i r e , the great

voice that s a y s ' I am that a m ' booming down a t u s out of the s k y ?

Why should God manifest himself i n such subtle and debatable ways,

when H e c a n make H i s presence completely unambiguous?"

" B u t a voice from the sky i s just what you s a y you found." l l i e

h a d paused for breath a n d Joss h a d made this comment casually.




"Abraham a n d Moses, they didn't have radios or telescopes. hey

couldn't have heard the Almighty talking b y radio. aybe today G o d

talks to u s i n new ways, a n d permits u s to have a new understanding.

O r maybe i t ' s not God ...

" Y e s , Satan. heard you talk about that. t sounds absolutely

daft. ut let's g o o n . here i n your religion does God answer a

prayer b y repeating the prayer back?"

" Y o u yourself say i t ' s to attract our attention."

"Then why do you think God h a s chosen to talk t o scientists? hy not preachers like yourself?"

" G o d talks to m e a l l the time." ankin's index finger audibly

thumped h i s sternum. A n d the Reverend Joss h e r e . od h a s told me

that a revelation i s a t h a n d . hen the end of the world i s n i g h , the

rapture w i l l b e upon u s , the judgment of sinners, the ascension to

heaven ...

" D i d H e t e l l you H e was going to make that announcement i n the

radio spectrum? s your conversation with God recorded somewhere, s o

we can verify that i t really happened? r do we have only your say-so

about i t ? hy would God choose to announce i t t o radio astronomers

and n o t t o men a n d women of the cloth? on't you think i t ' s a little

strange that th e first message from God i n 2,000 years or more 1 s

prime numbers and Adolf Hitler a t the 1 9 3 6 Olympics? our God must

h a v e quite a sense of humor."



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 1 0 / 1 1

" M y God can have any sense H e wants to h a v e . "

DeVries was clearly alarmed a t the first appearance of r e a l

r a n c o r .

" U h , let's talk about what we hope to get done a t this meeting,"

h e began.

Here's K e n i n h i s mollifying mood, E l lie thought. n some issues

h e ' s very courageous, s h e thought, but chiefly when h e h a s n o

responsibility for action. n scientific politics, and especially

when representing

the President, h e

becomes very

accomodating, ready

to compromise with the D e v i l himself. he caught herself: he

theological language was beginning t o get to h e r . n hour before, Ken

h a d declined a n invitation from Rankin t o debate o n the question of

evolution. We're not here to debate evolution," h a d been his

response. We' re here," h e h a d continued, " t o talk about the s i g n a l

from Vega, how t o interpret i t , what insights the religious community

might ...

"That's another thing." he Interrupted h e r own train of thought

a s w e l l a s DeVries. Excuse me, but I have to point this o u t . f

that s i g n a l i s from G o d , wh y does i t come from just one place i n the

sky n the vicinity of a particularly bright nearby star? hy

doesn't i t come from a l l over the sky a t once, like the cosmic

black-body background radiation? oming from one star i t looks like a

s i g n a l from another civilization. oming from everywhere i t would

look much more like a s i g n a l from your God."




" G o d can make a s i g n a l come from the bung hole of the Little Bear

i f H e wants. xcuse me, but you've gotten me riled u p . od can do

anything."

"Anything you don't understand, M r . Rankin, you attribute t o

G o d . od for you i s where you sweep away a l l the mysteries of the

world, a l l the challenges to our intelligence. o u simply turn your

mind off a n d say God did i t . "

"Ma'am, I didn't come here to be insulted. his i s a Christian

country a n d

Christians h a v e

true

knowledge o n this issue, a

sacred

responsibility t o make sure that God's sacred word i s understood

"I'm a Christian a n d you don't speak f o r me. ou've trapped

yourself i n some s o r t of 1 3 t h Century religious mania. ince then the

Rennaissance h a s happened. he Enlightenment h a s happened. here've

you been?"

Both Arroway and Rankin, o n opposite sides of the table, were

half out of their chairs.

"Please," DeVries implored, looking directly a t Ellie. If there

i s n ' t more semblance of order, don't s e e how we can g o o n . "

" W e l l , you wanted ' a frank exchange of views.'"

" I t ' s nearly noon," Joss observed. Why don't we take a little

break for lunch?"



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 10/13

Outside the library conference r o o m , leaning o n the railing

surrounding the Foucault pendulum, E l l i e a n d DeVries h a d a brief

whispered exchange.

" I ' d like to punch out that cocksure, know-it-all, holier than

thou ...

" W h y exactly? s n ' t ignorance and error p a i n f u l enough?"

" Y e s , i f h e ' d shut u p . ut h e ' s corrupting millions."

"Sweetheart, h e thinks the same about you."

When she a n d DeVries came back from lunch E l U e noticed

immediately that Rankin appeared subdued, while Joss, who was first t o

speak, seemed somehow happy, certainly beyond the demands of mere

cordiality.

" D r . Arroway," h e began, " I can understand that you're impatient

t o show u s your findings a n d that you didn't come here f o r theological

disputation. ut please bear with u s a little longer. o u have a



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 10/14

sharp tongue, but you'd make a fine backwoods lawyer. OTHER SIMILE?]

I can't r e c a l l the l a s t time Brother Rankin here got s o stirred u p o n

matters of the faith. t must b e years."

H e glanced momentarily a t h i s colleague wh o was doodling,

apparently i d l y , o n a yellow l e g a l p a d , h i s collar unbuttoned and h i s

necktie drawn a few centimeters down.

" I was struck by one o r two things you s a i d this morning. o u

called yourself a Christian. ay a s k ? n what sense are you a

Christian?

" Y o u k n o w , this wasn't i n the jo b description when I accepted the

directorship of the Argus Project." he s a i d this lightly. I'm a

Christian i n the sense that f i n d Jesus Christ to b e a n admirable

historical figure. think the Sermon o n the Mount i s one of the

greatest ethical statements and one of the best speeches i n history.

I think that ' L o v e your e n e m y ' might even b e the longshot solution to

the problem of nuclear war. ut think that h e was only a man.

great man, a brave man, a man with insight into unpopular truths. ut

I don't think h e was God or the s o n of G o d or th e grandnephew of G o d .

I f you want to believe i n G o d , think there was a s much God i n him a s

there i s i n the rest of u s . "

" B u t you don't want to believe i n G o d . " H e s a i d i t a s a simple

statement. Y o u figure you can be a Christian a n d not believe i n

G o d . et m e a s k you straight o u t : o you believe i n G o d ? "



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 10/15

"The question h a s a peculiar structure. f s a y n o , do mean

I ' m convinced God doesn't exist, or do mean I ' m not convinced h e

does exist? hose are two very different statements."

"Let's see i f they are s o different, D r . Arroway. ay c a l l you

Doctor? o u believe i n Occam's Razor, isn't that right? hat i f you

have two different, equally good explanations of the same experience,

you pick the simplest. t works f i n e , you s a y . he whole history of

science supports i t , you s a y . o w , i f you have serious doubts about

whether there j^ a

°d nough doubts s o you're unwilling to commit yourself to the faith hen you m u st be able to imagine a

world without G o d . world that comes i n t o being without G o d , a world

that goes about i t s everyday life without G o d , a world where people

die without G o d . o punishment. o r e w a r d . l l the saints and

prophets, a l l the f a i t h f u l who have ever lived - h y you'd have t o

believe they were foolish, deceived themselves, you'd probably s a y .

That would b e a world i n which we weren't here o n Earth for any g o o d

reason mean any purpose. t would a l l b e just some very

complicated series of collisions of atoms, including the atoms that

are inside human beings. o u can t e l l view a world like that with

distaste. ut i f you c a n imagine that world, wh y straddle? h y

occupy some middle ground? f you believe a l l that already, isn't i t

a much simpler argument to say there's n o God? ou're not being true

t o Occam's Razor. think you're waffling. ow can a thoroughgoing



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 10/16

committed conscientious scientist b e a n agnostic i f you can even

imagine a world without God? ouldn't you have t o b e a n atheist?"

"If i t were just a simple scientific discussion, I think I ' d

agree with you, Reverend Joss. h e n , for the time being a t least, I ' d

c a l l myself a n atheist, because science i s essentially concerned with

examining and correcting hypotheses. f atheism explains a l l the

available facts right n o w , b u t tomorrow there's a new piece of

evidence that points the other way, then I might change m y mind. ut

this i s n ' t mainly a scientific i s s u e . e're talking religion and

public welfare and politics. o u don't talk about God a s a hypothesis

that you happen to f i n d congenial or helpful. o u think you've

cornered the truth. o have to point out that you m ay have missed a

thing o r t w o . ut i f you a s k I ' m happy to t e l l you: I can't b e s u r e . "

"I've always thought that a n agnostic i s a n atheist without the

courage of h i s convictions."

" Y o u could

just a s w e l l s a y

t h a t a n agnostic

i s

a fundamentalist

with a t least a rudimentary knowledge of human fallibility. hen I

say I ' m a n agnostic, only mean that the evidence isn't i n . here

i s n ' t compelling evidence that G o d exists t least your k i n d of

god ~ n d there isn't compelling evidence that H e doesn't. ince

more than half the people o n the Earth aren't Jews or Christians or

Muslims, I ' d say that there aren't any compelling arguments for your

O l d Testament G o d ; therwise, everybody o n Earth would have b e e n





2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 10/18

They're n o t G o d , they're n o t the Devil, they didn't create the Earth

o r the universe, they probably don't l o o k anything like u s , and before

our television signals got to them they probably never heard of Jesus

Christ. r any of the other thousands of gods that humans have

invented. hat's what I think. f you a s k me, could the Message b e

from God or could the Message b e from the D e v i l ssuming that

there's anything i n nature corresponding to those two words can

only say can't rule those possibilities o u t . u t there isn't a

smidgeon of evidence i n favor of s u c h a n i d e a . f i t wasn't being

seriously considered b y such distinguished religious leaders a s you

g u y s , I ' d b e tempted to c a l l either notion totally crazy. hy don't

we just withhold judgment for a while, u n t i l we make some more

progress o n decrypting the Message? ould you like to see some data?"

This time they assented, readily enough i t seemed. ut a l l s h e

h a d to offer was reams of zeros and ones, neither edifying nor

inspirational. he carefully explained about the pagination of the

Message and the hoped-for primer. y unspoken agreement she and

DeVries said nothing about the Soviet view that the Message was a

blueprint for a machine. t was a t best a guess, a n d h a d not yet been

publicly discussed by the Soviets. s a n afterthought she described

something about Vega itself t s mass, surface temperature, color,

distance from the E a r t h , lifetime, and the r i n g of orbiting debris

around i t that h a d been discovered by the Infrared Astronomy Satellite

i n 1 9 8 3 .



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 10/19

"But beyond i t being one of the brightest stars i n the sky

not the brightest s there anything s p e c i a l about i t ? " oss

wanted to k n o w . O r anything that connects i t u p with the Earth?"

" W e l l , i n terms of stellar properties, anything like that, can't

think of a thing. ut there i s one incidental f a c t : ega was the

Pole Star about 12,000 years a g o , and i t w i l l b e again about 14,000

years from n o w .

" I thought the Pole Star was our pole star." ankin, s t i l l

doodling, said this to the pa d of paper.

" I t i s , for a few thousand years. ut not forever. he Earth i s

like a spinning t o p . t s axis i s slowly precessing i n a circle. t ' s

called the precession of the equinoxes."

"Discovered by Hipparchus of Rhodes" added Joss. Second

Century, B.C." his seemed a surprising piece of information for h i m

t o have a t h i s fingertips.

" S o right now," she continued, " a n arrow from the center of the Earth t o the North Pole points t o the star we c a l l Polaris, i n the

constellation of the Little Dipper or the Little B e a r . think you

were referring t o this constellation just before lunch, M r . Rankin.

A s the Earth's axis slowly precesses, i t points i n some different

direction i n the s k y , not towards Polaris, and over 26,000 years the

place i n the sky to which the North Pole points makes a complete

circle. he North Pole points right now very near Polaris ot

directly a t i t , you understand, but close enough to be u s e f u l i n



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 10/20

navigation. ost of the time, the axis of rotation points to some

blank space i n the s k y between the naked eye stars. oday i t points

t o Polaris a n d 12,000 years ago i t pointed a t Vega. ut there's n o

physical connection. ow the stars are distributed i n the Milky Way

h a s nothing to do with the Earth's axis o r rotation being tipped

23-1/2 degrees."

"Now 12,000 years ago i s 10,000 B.C., the time when civilization

was just starting u p . s n ' t that right?" Joss asked.

"Unless you believe that the Earth was created i n 4004 B . C . "

" N o , we don't believe that, do w e , Brother Rankln? e just don't

think the age of the Earth i s known with the same precision that you

scientists d o . O n the question of the age of the Earth, we're what you

might c a l l agnostics." H e h a d a most attractive smile. S o i f anybody

was navigating 10,000 years a g o , sailing the Mediterranean, s a y , or

the Persian G u l f , Vega would have b e e n their guide?"

"Absolutely. t must have seemed a n amazing gift

providential, i f you like hat s u c h a bright star was exactly to

the N o r t h . ' l l bet a l o t of people ailors, tradesmen, emigres

— wed their lives to that coincidence."

" W e l l n o w , that's mighty Interesting."

" I don't want you t o think used the word providential a s

anything b u t a metaphor."

" I ' d never think i t of you, my dear."



2 7 September, 1984 P a g e 10/21

Joss was b y now giving signs that the afternoon was drawing to a

close. ut there were s t i l l a few i t e m s , i t seemed, o n Rankin's

agenda.

" I t amazes m e that you think that i t wasn't divine providence,

V e g a being the Pole S t a r . y faith i s s o strong I don't n e e d proofs,

but every time a new fact comes along i t simply confirms m y faith."

" W e l l then I guess you weren't listening very closely to what

was saying this morning. resent the idea that we're i n some kind of

faith contest a n d you're the hands-down winner. o far a s know

you've never tested your faith. o u talk a l o t , b u t are you willing

t o p u t your l i f e o n the l i n e f o r your faith? ' m willing to do i t for

mine. e r e , take a look out that window. here's a big Foucault

pendulum out there. he bob must weigh 5 0 pounds. y faith s a y s that

the amplitude of a free pendulum ow far i t ' l l swing away from

the vertical position an never increase, but only decrease. ' m

willing to go out there, p u t the bob i n front of m y nose, l e t g o , have

i t swing away a n d then b a c k towards me. f my beliefs are i n error,

I ' l l g e t a 50-pound pendulum bob i n the f a c e . ome o n . ou want t o

test m y f a i t h ? "

"Truly, i t ' s not necessary. believe you," replied Joss.

Rankin, though, seemed interested.

" B u t would you be willing t o stand a f o o t closer to this same

pendulum a n d pray t o G o d to shorten the swing? hat 1 f 1 t turns out

that you've gotten i t a l l wrong, that what you're teaching Isn't God's



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 10/22

w i l l a t a l l ? aybe i t ' s the work of the Devil. aybe i t ' s pure human

invention. ow can you b e really sure?

" A n d i f you really are s o sure f the truth of your doctrine,

wh y do you insist o n indoctrinating infants? ive your supplicants a

fighting chance. ry convincing them after they've h a d a little

experience with the varieties of nonsense i n the world. ut you guys

insist o n baptism and first communion a n d Sunday S c h o o l and a l l the

rest of i t . o u teach your doctrine to s m a l l children, and down the

street there's some other church with s o m e other bizarre belief system

that's busy propagandizing i t s children. nd when a l l these helpless

parishioners finally grow u p , what chance do they have to discover the

truth? ou've tied community feeling and parental approval and a

beginning appreciation for music a n d art a n d literature to the

doctrines of your s e c t . f course i t ' s hard to shake i t off after

you're a l l grown u p .

" L o o k , we a l l have a thirst for wonder. t ' s a deeply human quality. cience and religion are both bound u p with i t . hat I ' m

saying i s you don't have to make stories u p , you don't have to

exaggerate. here's wonder a n d awe enough i n the r e a l world. uch

more, i n f a c t . ature's a l o t better a t inventing wonders than we

a r e . "

" W e are a l l wayfarers o n the road to truth. ankin seemed a

little chastened by h e r outburst.

" Y e a h , but some of u s are walking, and some others are dragging

their heels."



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 P a g e 10/23

Both Joss a n d DeVries stepped i n deftly, the prospect of blood

o n the Foucault Pendulum now providentially p a s t , and amidst pleasant

civilities they prepared t o leave. he wondered whether anything

u s e f u l h a d been accomplished. alerian would have been m u c h more

effective, much l e s s provocative. he wished she h a d restrained

herself better. he Foucault Pendulum challenge now seemed especially

childish.

"It's been a most interesting d a y , D r . Arroway, a n d I thank you

f o r i t . " oss seemed a little remote again, courtly but distracted.

But h e shook her hand warmly. n the way out t o the waiting

government c a r , past a lavishly rendered three-dimensional exhibit o n

" T h e Fallacy of the Expanding Universe," s h e whispered t o DeVries:

"I'm sorry i f I l e t you down."

" O h n o , Ellie. o u were fantastic."

" T h a t Palmer Joss i s a very attractive man. don't think did

much to convert h i m . ut I ' l l t e l l you, h e almost converted me. "





'Zfñ f l f tii r . i i«; mt <4f-ry

Contact: HAPTER 1 1 Page 1 1 / 1

2 2 - - S € | r t H m t î B T 7 - - i ^ 8 4 Co ASS o r ? T - 1(^/^7

From their table by th e window she could see the downpour

spattering the street outside. soaked pedestrian, his collar u p ,

gamely hurried b y . he proprietor had carefully cranked th e striped

awning over the tubs of oysters, c a r e f u U - y segregated according to

size and quality a n d providing a kind of street advertisement for the

specialty of th e house. he felt warm and snug Inside the restaurant,

the famous theatrical establishment, Chez Dieux; air w e a t h e r had been predicted, and she was without Xraincoat or umbrella. ikewise

unencumbered, Vaygay introduced a new subject:

"My friend, Meera," h e announced, " i s a n ecydesiast ~ h at i s

the right word, yes? h en she works i n you r county she performs for

groups of professionals, at meetings and conventions. eera says that

when she takes off her clothes for working class m en ~ t trade

union conventions, that sort of thing hey become wild, shout out

improper suggestions, and try to join her o n the stage. ut when she

gives exactly the same performance for doctors or lawyers, they sit

there almoat motionless. ctually, she says some of them lick their

U p s . y question 1 s , are th e lawyers m oro r e + a - x e d than the

v\tL.y o . l u » a * y , is ¿cert steelworkers?"

That Vaygay had diverse female acquaintances - wao ' — t ,apparent.

His approaches to women were e+weys s o direct and extravagant




herself, for some reason that both pleased and annoyed h e r , excluded

— h at they could always say no without embarrassment. any said

yes. ut Meera was a little unexpected.

They had spent the morning I n a last-minute comparison of notes

and Interpretations on the new data. he continuing message

transmission had reached a n important new stage I iagrams w e r e being

transmitted from Vega. ach was a n array raster, the number of tiny

dots that m ade up th e picture being th e product of two prime numbers. r u c k ¿?I<L^. r»*ty.

There was a large set of thews one following the other, and not a t a l l

Interleaved with the text. t was a - l f f e t l o like a section of glossy

illustrations inserted i n a book. fter th e long sequence of

diagrams, the unintelligible text continued. rom a t least some o f A<Uh «M<\sl¿y

the diagrams i t seemed obvious that Vaygay and # a d been right and

that the Message was a t least 1 n part the Instructions, the

blueprints, for building a machine of unknown purpose. t th e plenary

session of the World Message Consortium, to be held tomorrow a t the

Elysée alace, she a n d Vaygay would present f o r the first time some

of th e details to representatives of the other Consortium nations.

Over lunch, she h a d summarized her encounter with Rankln and

Joss. aygay h a d been attentive, but asked no questions. t was a s

i f she h a d been confessing some unseemly personal predel1ct1on, and

perhaps that had triggered his train of association.




" Y o u have a friend named Meera who's a striptease artist? it h

International venue?

"Ever since Wolfgang P a u l l Invented the Exclusion Principle while

watching th e Folles Bergères, I have felt 1 t m y professional duty a s a

physicist to visit Paris a s m u c h a s possible. omehow I can never

convince th e officials 1 n m y country to offer trips solely for this

purpose. sually, I must do some pedestrian physics a s well. ut i n

such establishments hat's w h e r e m et Meera am a student

of nature, waiting for Insight t o strike. Meera says American professional me n are sexually repressed and have gnawing doubts and

guilt."

"Really. nd what does Meera say about Russian professional

men?"

" A h , i n that category she knows only me. o , of course, she has

a good opinion. think I ' d rather be a t M e e r a 's tomorrow.

"What's worrying you, Vaygay?"

H e took a long time before answering, and began with a slight but

uncharacteristic hesitation. Perhaps not worries. aybe only

concerns. What i f the Message really j _ s _ th e design drawings of a

machine? o we build th e machine? ho builds i t ? verybody

together? he Consortium? h e United Nations? few nations i n

competition? h at if It's enormously expensive to buildî hat if i t

doesn't work? h o pays/ ould building the machine Injure t h e »



y '—\___ ç\l * £s«L _27 eptember , 98 4 age n/4

gcoûom y - ^ - f some natî

-yJ

Even i f the Message cycles back and even 1f v

we completely decrypt the Message, h ow good could the translation be?

You know the opinion of D o n Quixote? - e said that reading a

translation 1 s like examining th e back of a piece of apestry. aybe

i t ' s not possible to translate th e message perfectly. -Amfihen we

wouldn't build the machine perfectly. lso, are we really confident

we have a l l th e data? aybe there's essential information at some

other frequency that we haven't discovered yet.

"You know, E l He, I thought people would be v e r y autious about So***-

b u i 1 ding this machine. ut there m ay be nations coming tomorrow who

w i l l urge immediate construction h ai i» » immediately after we

receive th e primer and decrypt the Message, assuming that we d o . h at

i s the American delegation going to propose?"

" I don't know," she said c u r iou sly . . ut she remembered that soon

after the diagrammatic material had been received Seretes began asking ,4- w4< Ii'lr-eL J

- h e r ' whether sne . r n n l « i i m a g ine that what was being illuotratad was

within reach of the Earth's - p r e y g i T G - economy and technology. h e could

offer him little reassurance on either score. he recalled again how

preoccupied Ke n had seemed i n the last few weeks, sometimes even

jittery. is responsibilities i n this matter were, of course

"Are D r . D c V n e s and D r . Kitz staying a t the same h o t e l a s you?"

" N o , they're staying a t th e Embassy. vit as always the case,

because of the nature of the Soviet economy, that Russians h a d little




hard currency when visiting the West. hey were obliged to stay i n

second or third rate hotels ve n rooming houses hile their

Western colleagues lived i n comparative luxury. t was a continuing

source of embarrassment for scientists of both countries. Picking up

the b i l l for this relatively simple m e a l would be effortless for ElUe

and some fair burden for Vaygay, despite his comparatively exalted

status i n the Soviet scientific hierarchy. ow what was Vaygay

"Vaygay, be straight with me. h at are y ou saying? ou think

K e n and M1ke Kitz are jumping th e gun?"

"'Straight.1 An Interesting word. ot right, not left, just

progressively forward. 'm concerned that i n th e next fe w days w e

w i l l see premature discussion about building something w h e n wo h a v o - aa

-idoa what i t s. Yû-'aJidUHcftc^^ oliticians 7

think w e knOW verything\ l±j impnc±< int th.it thny np pwx-rmnmr

*+§ftocaa£fiV* "You want e o alk o en?"

* ¡ñ * J f * * ^ al~°*(~ " » £ £ • » < ▼ = « . *,-i^zr

"If you think it's appropriate. ou have frequent opportunities

to talk t o him?"

"Vaygay, you're not jealous are you? think you picked up o n m y

feelings for Ken h en you were back a t Argus efore did.

Ken and I ' v e been more or l e s s together for the last two months.

[CHECK] o you have some reservations?"




" O h n o , E l l i e . I am not you r father o r , a s y ou know, a jealous

lover. wish only great happiness for you. t ' s just that see s o

many unpleasant possibilities.

They returned to their preliminary I n terpretations of some of the

diagrams, with which *he¡\eventually covered/the table/ or

counterpoint, they also discussed a little politics, U.S. support of

South Africa, thr j r n n r i n n talk i n Africa of a combined n a v a l boycott

of South Africa (Cote d'Ivoire had volunteered two^frlgates, a l l the

¡4* capital ships i n *S e tiny navy), and the growing war of words between

th e Soviet Union and th e German Democratic Republic. s - t is t i o ls always Arroway and Lunacharsky enjoyed denouncing their countries' foreign

t e s policy to one another. ve r a r i t u a l dispute about w h e t h e r th e check

should be shared, the downpour h a d diminished to a discreet drizzle.

o -PZM- Wí, ;,oUc*s¿V w LJ J „ùr ¡

¿eruu Vn^ Û vrr,

B y now, the news of th e Message from Vega had reached every nook

and cranny of the planet Earth. eople wh o knew nothing of radio




telescopes, people wh o had never, even once i n their U v e s , heard of a

prime number, had at least been told axstr ange story about •# a voice

from above, about Strange beings ot exactly men, - a f t d not exactly

gods - h o had been discovered living i n the night sky. heir home

star could easily be seen, even with a f u l l moon, - p r o v i d e d D i a l L h e

wight w a s - clear. midst th e continuing frenzy of sectarian

commentary, there was also l l over the world, 1 t was now

apparent sense of wonder, even of awe. omething transforming,

something almost miraculous had happened. h e air was f u l l of

possibility, a sense of a new beginning. Mankind has been promoted

t o Junior High School," ^ H t t í l i i u i > l f a t u o u s American newspaper editorial»* n

h ad written.

There were other intelligent beings. e could communicate with

them. h ey were probably older than we, possibly wiser. h ey were

sending u s libraries of complex Information. o the specialists i n

every subject began to worry. athematicians worried about what

elementary discoveries they might have missed. eligious leaders

worried that Vegan values, however alien, would find ready adherents,

especially among the unlnstructed young. stronomers worried that

there might be fundamentals about th e nearby stars they h a d gotten

wrong. oliticians and government leaders worried that some other

systems of government, quite different from those currently

fashionable, might b e admired by a superior civilization. hatever

•




Vegans knew had not been Influenced by peculiarly human Institutions,

history, or biology. h at 1f much that we think true 1 s a

misunderstanding, a special case, a logical blunder? xpertsr-a+most

invo lur r t a r 1 1 y ^(bânjûneas1ly^to reassess th e foundations of their

f ield»» s c * (O « c>hs .

But beyond this narrow vocational disquiet was the great soaring

perception of a ne w adventure for the human species, of turning a

corner, of bursting Into a new age - symbolism powerfully

amplified by the a p p t f r o a c h o f the Third Millenium. here were s t i l l » t t * c e . w~ ' • > W / * r > n « » -o

M l

political conflicts, some of them ~ ke the growing South African

crisis erious. ut there was also a notable decline, i n many

quarters of th e world, of jlngolst rhetoric and puerile

self-congratulatory nationalism. here was a sense of th e human gratulatory ¡ons O - P - - / » » * *("•*-/ ad- ever V¿* s-ur^ce a . run-,-^4- /// w*rl<jl

species collectively presented with a n unprecedented opportunity, o r ^

• P ^ s * ü 7 + y a grave common danger. o many 1 t seemed absurd for the

contending nation states to continue their tedious

a n d p o rilom

J/e.*it'y quarrels, faced with a non-human civilization of vastly greater

capabilities. n th e past half-year, the do ac coso ioning of nuclear

weapons by the United States and the Soviet Union had made major new

strides, with fairly intrusive Inspection teams of each nation soon to

b e installed o n the territory of the other. he military staffs of

both nations publicly voiced^concern. he United Nations h a d s o m o i i d w

- b ecame m e - r e effective I n mediating international disputes, with the






term, h e was making every effort to guarantee th e meeting a success.

A multitude of faces, flags, and national dress was reflected of f the

long arcing mahogany tables and th e mirrored walls. h e recognized

fe w of th e political a n d military people, but i n every delegation

there seemed t o be at least one familiar scientist or engineer:

Annunziata and H o ngo Jonoc from Australia, Fedirka from Czechoslovkia,

Braude, Crebillon and B o i l eau from France, Kumar Chandrapurana and

D e v i Sukhavati from I n d i a , Hironaga and Matsui from Japan E l l i e

reflected on th e strong technological rather than radioastronomical

background of many of the delegates, especially the Japanese. he

idea that th e construction of some vast machine might be on the agenda

of this meeting had forced last-minute changes i n the composition of

delegations.

Yqu could look up at the mirrored ceiling, E l lie discovered, and

s e e the c o h e r e n c e laid out i n a panorama above you illing C f Ç—

delegates, F r e n e s í security personnel, a n d \ mobile computers^

circumnavigating a tveç of seats i n a regular moving queuefân e machine roll+^g smartly inta i t s receptacle, and the remainder CIOS4-R<§

- , ranks. ( I j o cos , they were beginning to be called^ h e abundance o r new

generation mobile personal computer s \ a t this meeting was Indebted, no

doubt, to the compatible housings and telephone modems regularly

spaced around th e tiers. any scientists hacNa personal computer o f

this sort, one that knew his idios yn c r a d es and pas^ history; oth

had learned from a set of shared experiences, servant anbsmaster.



2 7 September, 1984 Page 1 1 / 1 1

VMocos had not y e t spread much to th e general public, but 1 n

universities, research Institutes, or teaching hospitals, you would

sometimes find you rse l f 1 n a room i n which there were as many mobile

computers a s people. h ey had a resting mode that expended very

little data processing energy, s o y ou could sometimes see pairs of

humans and mobWe computers boarding commercial aircraft that lacked

appropriate housings and energy sources f o r the Mocos. h e computer

would s i t stolidly \n Its own seat (they were much too fragile to

travel as freight), conscientiously not thinking for the entire

flight. ass-produced mobile computers tended t o be oblong-shaped,

about three-quarters of a m e t e r high, with a battery mechanism that \

whirred a s i t accelerated and a dazzling data processing rate. here

were differences from one m o d e l s . t o another 1 n environmental sensors,

1 n the disposition of searchlight* and running lights for night u s e ;

o n the Intensity, color and arrangement of the laser rangeflnders, and \

even on h ow the memory modules w e r e slacked around th e cryogenics. She herself could not see the point of akmobile computer that was too

big to go f t v o r y w h crc with you, and that required a seat for Itself i n

air travel. he noted a t least three MocosNn the Japanese

delegation, reasonable enough since Japan w a s \ h e world leader i n the

design and production of Mocos, a natural offspring of the marriage

between the Japanese automotive and computer industries. or this

meeting, a t least modest computer capabilities and hlah resolution




v; y\e u»

graphics were needed, because presumably there would be detailed

e x a m i n a t l o x o f texts and diagrams. ut even some o f ^ f e t í e large M o c o s<^

she was sure, would b e ^ - c f s e d for nothing more complex than summoning up

the names and preferred euphoriants of^tne delegatesi^spouses.

She could make out M a l atesta of I t a l y ; edenbaugh, a f r e ient ia- t i o ^ N j . c . j /

fallen Into politics, Clegg, and the venerable Sir Arthur Chatos , y»*- Cu*, -iné n. rw^-«¡.u~r»j - ¿mit lis îm

chatting sang u idly behind a desk - m o 4 g l Union Jack; aime Ortiz of' Uj

Spa in; Prebula from Switzerland, which was puzzling since Switzerland

did not, s o far as she knew, even have a radio telescope; ao, wh o

had done brilliantly i n putting together the Chinese radio telescope

array; urprisingly large Saudi and I r a q i delegations; Wlntergaden

from Sweden; nd, of course, the Soviet delegation. adya

Rozhdestvenskaya and Genrik Arkhangelsky were sharing a moment of

genuine hilarity. h e ir na i n e s , s h e suddenly r ea lize d, m eant C h f H - s t m a s -

« a n d f l r r h a n g p l , J h n r a w è

s4 gnift e d Trinity and J T e r s t e > y ' [ CH E GlG»^ I t - w a s c u r i o u s ^ . t n T s - »

retention i n the^homlnally atheist U.S.S.R. of prerevolutionary

Chr1st1 acharnes. n the other hand, there>fas no reason fpr^them to

f e e l a d imi n i s h e d afr r a r h m e n t t a thers a n c estor s because » f official-—-

doctrinal sanctions, past u t ' present. he looked for Lunacharsky, and

finally spotted him a t the Chinese delegation. e was shaking hands

with Chun-y1ng Bao [CHECK], th e Director of the Beijing Radio

Observatory. he recalled that th e two m en had been friends and

%




colleagues during th e period of S i no-Soviet cooperation. ut th e

hostilities between their two nations had ended a l l contact between

them, and Chinese restrictions on foreign travel by their senior

scientists was s t i l l almost a s severe a s i n th e Soviet U n ien. he was

witnessing, she realized, their first meeting 1 n perhaps 35 y tmrt. "Who's the old Chinaperson Vaygay's shaking hands with?" This

was, for K i t z , a n attempt a t cordiality. e had been making s m a l l

offerings of this sort for the last few days, a development she

e -o n o i d o r e d u npromi3ir>f. nwrûs/n*

" B a o , the Director of the Beijing Observatory."

" I thought those guys hated each other's guts."

"Michael," she said, "the world 1 s both better and worse than y ou

Imagine."

"You can probably beat me o n 'better,'" he replied, "but - I - ^ e f l - M :

thiwk-you' r a a o u i1 i u u i > LUiiLmidm for worse.' "

' 7




After the welcome by the President of France (who, to mild

astonishment, stayed to hear the opening presentations), and a

discussion of procedure and agenda by(the c o n f e r en c e co-chairmen,^ ) Derivet- «.n ni I^LIL ^ L--l-\?— , ~ \ DpVrio0 n nr i - ^ WtgSTPE TO—ÛJ— IML l ^ Û V IC T ACADEMY],¿E 1 1 ie and Vaygay

together summarized the data. h ey made what w e r e by now standard

presentations ot too technical, because of th e political and

military people f h ow radio telescopes work, the distribution of

nearby stars i n space, and the history of th e palimpsest message.

Their tandem presentation concluded with a survey, displayed on + * * • onitors 4* each delegation, of th e diagrammatic material recently

received. he was especially careful to show h ow the polarization

modulation was converted Into a sequence of zeros and ones, h ow the

zeros and ones fit together to make a picture, and h ow i n most cases

w e had not th e vaguest notion what the picture showed. he data

points reassembled themselves on th e computer screens. he could s e e

faces illuminated i n white, amber and green by the m o n i tonkin th e now

partly darkened conference hall. ~ l - * cviAêBW*

: e #1ntricate branching

networks; umpy, almost indecently biological forms; perfectly Çin^-^û regular dodecahedron^, A long series of pages had been reassembled

into a n elaborately detailed three-dimensional construction which

slowly rotated. ach enigmatic object was joined by a n unintelligible

caption. aygay stressed th e uncertainties s t i l l more strongly than

s h e . evertheless, i t was, i n his opinion, now beyond doubt that the

Message was a handbook for the construction of a machine. e




neglected t o mention that the Idea of th e Message a s a blueprint had ,4», L r k « « £ > « I » ley ' * ;

originally been his and A i d d t j w i c i a n A 's; nd Ellie seized a n

opportunity to rectify th e oversight.

She had talked about this subject enough over the past few months

t o know that both scientific and general audiences were^fascinated by

the details of th e unraveling of th e Message and tantalized by th e

s t i l l unproved concept of a primer. u t she was unprepared for the

response from this ne would expect taid audience. Vaygay

and she had interdigitated their presentations. s they finished,

there was a sustained thunderclap of applause. he Soviets, and some

e thor delegations applauded i n unison, with a synchr o nized frequency

of about two or three handclaps pe r heartbeat. h e Americans and many

others applauded separately, their handclaps unsynchronized, a sea of

white noise rising from th e crowd. midst an unfamiliar kind of joy,

she could not resist thinking about th e differences 1 n national

character he Americans utterly individualist, and th e Russians

engaged i n a collective ontorprioo . lso,f in c r q w d ^ she seemed to

recall, Americans tried to maximize their distance from their fellows,

while Soviets tended to lean on each other a s m u c h a s possible. oth

styles of applause, the American clearly dominant, warmod and . '

delighted her, th e appreciation a n d p er haps-evenH o v e of the d e lega t e s ,

sweeping h e r u p * and lairyiny H e r a l u f f r .

After lunch there was a succession of other ainly U.S. and

Soviet resentations o n th e data collection and interpretation.




David Drumlin ç*¥e an extraordinarily capable discussion of a (3? statistical analysis he had recently performed of a l l previous pages

of th e Message on which were references to th e numbered diagram

pages. e argued that the Message was.not just a blueprint for m

building a machine, but also descriptions of the designjand means of

fabrication of components and subcomponents. n a few cases, he

thought, there were descriptions of whole ne w Industries not yet known

o n Earth. l U e , mouth agape, shook h er finger towards Drumlin,

silently asking

Valerian

whether he had

known about

this. is lips

pursed, f e e hunched his shoulders and rotated his hands palms u p . h e

scanned th e other delegates for some expression of emotion, but could

detect mainly signs of fatigue; he depth of technical material, and

the necessity, sooner or later, of making political decisions were

already producing strain. fterwards she complimented Drumlin on the

Interpretation but asked wh y she had not heard of i t u n t i l n o w . e

replied before walking a w a y - s n r r H m ^ " O h , I didn't think i t was

Important enough to bother you with. t was just a little something I

did while you were out consulting j e u - s -tic religious fanatics."

I f Drumlin had been her thesis advisor, s h e ôuld s t i l j be

pursuing her Ph.D., she t h o i A ev e r - s t - % « - * - * " * - * -ay *,,tO* c»/it*j.Vu4 e ( « ^ t - . > H . * / , , y . -

r thesis advisor, she would s t i l j be _^

ught. ^ Jhoir relation was doomod ne ve r tr .

ml 1 PU" 1 a l - i « . S i g h i n g , she wondered w h e t h e r K e n had known a n d n o t

t » M . " f C^rnmi.'m U n e < ~

t old h e p - . ut a s conference co-chairman, De Vries w as sitting with h i s

Soviet opposite number o n a raised dais facing the horseshoe of




delegate tiers. e was, a s h e h a d been for weeks, nearly

Inaccessible. rumlin was not obliged to discuss his findings with

- M . f i *S) wi h e r . he knew they both had been 1 J w ± s y recently, k t i y , 1 n conversation

wlthmümlla , was she always accomodating, and argumentative only m *M "¿rpar. difficultj^ A part of her evidently s t i l l felt a*-t# th e

granting of her doctorate, and the opportunity to pursue her science,

(~®y were s t i l l -future possibilities firmly 1 n Drumlin's hands.

O n th e morning of the second day, a Soviet delegate was given th e

floor. e was unknown to h e r . Stefan Alexeivlch Baruda," the

vltagraphlcs on her computer screen read out. Director," 1 t

continued, "Institute of the U.S.A. and C d i i a d * , Soviet Academy of

Sciences, Moscow; ember, Central Committee, Communist Party of the Ussrz. ^ S o v iot J nio a ;*

"Now we start to play hardball," she could hear Michael Kitz

saying to Elmo Hunnlcutt of the State Department. aruda was a dapper



2 7 S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 1 1 / 1 8

m a n , w e a r i n g a n e l e g a n t l y t a i l o r e d a n d i m p e c c a b l y f a s h i o n a b l e W e s t e r n

b u s i n e s s s u i t , p e r h a p s o f I t a l i a n c u t . i s E n g l i s h w a s f l u e n t , a n d

r c c « * a l m o s t u n a c c e n t e d . e h a d b e e n b o r n 1 n o n e o f t h e B a l t i c R e p u b l i c s ,

nk(.(«4r w a s y o u n g t o b e h e a d o f s u c h a n I m p o r t a n t o r g a n i z a t i o n - a n d w a :

a j e a d l n g e x a m p l e o f t h e " n e w w a v e " i n t h e S o v i e t l e a d e r s h i p .

" L e t u s b e f r a n k , " B a r u d a w a s s a y i n g . A M e s s a g e 1 s b e i n g s e n t

t o u s f r o m t h e f a r r e a c h e s o f s p a c e . M o s t o f t h e I n f o r m a t i o n h a s b e e n

o b t a i n e d b y t h e S o v i e t U n i o n a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . s s e n t i a l p i e c e s

h a v e a l s o b e e n o b t a i n e d b y o t h e r c o u n t r i e s . A l l o f t h o s e c o u n t r i e s a r e r e p r e s e n t e d a t t h i s c o n f e r e n c e . A n y o n e n a t i o n ~ t h e S o v i e t

U n i o n , f o r e x a m p l e . - c o u l d h a v e w a i t e d u n t i l t h e M e s s a g e r e p e a t e d

I t s e l f s e v e r a l t i m e s , a s w e a l l h o p e i t w i l l , a n d f i l l 1 n t h e m a n y

m i s s i n g p i e c e s 1 n s u c h a w a y . B u t f o r a l l w o k n o w i t m i g h t t a k e

y e a r s , a n d w e a r e a l i t t l e i m p a t i e n t . S o w e h a v e a l l s h a r e d t h e

d a t a .

" A n y o n e n a t i o n — t h e S o v i e t U n i o n , f o r e x a m p l e — c o u l d

» i s f i p l a c e I n t o o r b i t a r o u n d t h e E a r t h l a r g e r a d i o t e l e s c o p e s w i t h

s e n s i t i v e r e c e i v e r s t h a t w o r k a t t h e f r e q u e n c i e s o f t h e M e s s a g e . h e

A m e r i c a n s c o u l d d o t h i s a s w e l l . e r h a p s J a p a n , o r t h e E u r o p e a n S p a c e

A g e n c y c o u l d . O r F r a n c e . B u t t h a t m i g h t b e t h o u g h t a h o s t i l e a c t , a n

e f f o r t b y o n e c o u n t r y t o g a i n a l l t h e d a t a f o r i t s e l f , w i t h o u t

c o o p e r a t i n g w i t h o t h e r n a t i o n » S u c h a h o s t i l e a c t m i g h t e v e n b e

d a n g e r o u s . t i s n o s e c r e t t h a t t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s o r t h e S o v i e t U n i o n p e r k i l y £»r- 'i-nfr r ~&4 .s »n

m i g h t b e a b l e t o s h o o t d o w n s u c h s a t e l l i t e s . o , agf ms w e h a v e a l l

s h a r e d t h e d a t a .




" I t 1 s better to cooperate. u r scientists wish to exchange not

only th e data they have gathered, but also their fantasies, their

/ uesses, their . dreams. l l you scientists are alike 1 n that

respect. * r t x t n e nations are also alike. very nation i s cautious.

Every nation 1 s suspicious. one of u s would give a n advantage to a

potential enowy i f w e could prevent 1 t . nd s o there have been two

t yèe more, but a t least t w o : ne that counsels pinions

exchange of a l l the data, and another that counsels the bencf iY of one

nation over another. Y o u can be sure the other side 1 s seeking some advantage,' they s a y . t 1 s th e same i n most countries.

"The scientists have won this debate. o, for example, m u c h of

th e data lthough wish to point out not a l l of 1 t cquired

b y th e United States and the Soviet Union have been exchanged. ost

of th e data from a l l other countries have been exchanged worldwide.

W e are happy w e have made this decision."

ElUe whispered over t o K1tz, "This doesn't sound like 'hardball'

t o me." t H h - is s j u st th e warm i i p , ^w g g t - i g *

1 he whispered back.

" B u t there are other kinds of dangers. e would like now to

raise one of them for the Consortium to consider." aruda's tone

reminded her of Vaygay's at lunch the other day. hat was the bee i n

the Soviet bonnet?

"We have heard Academician Lunacharsky, D r . A r r o w a y, and other

scientists agree that we are receiving the instructions for building




g o m o vory complex machine. uppose that, a s everyone seems to expect,

the end of the Message comes; he Message recycles to the beginning;

and w e receive th e introduction or h e English word 1 s 'prlner'*?

— hich lets u s r e a d the Message. uppose also that w e continue to

cooperate fully, a l l of u s . e exchange a l l the data, a l l th e

fantasies, a l l th e dreams.

"Now th e beings o n Vega, they are not sending u s these

Instructions for their amusement. h ey want u s to build a machine.

Perhaps they w i l l t e l l u s what th e machine 1 s supposed to do. erhaps

they won't. ut even I f they do, w h y should w e believe them? o

raise m y own fantasy, my own dream. t 1 t 1 s not a happy o n e . h at

i f this machine 1 s a Trojan Horse? e build the machine at great

expense, turn 1 t o n , and suddenly a n invading army pours out of 1 t

. . Or what if 1 t 1 s a Doomsday Machine? e build i t , turn 1 t on, and

the Earth blows u p . erhaps this 1 s their way to suppress

civilizations just emerging into the Cosmos. t would not cost much:

they pay only for a telegram, and th e upstart civilization p r omptly /

a. lows Itself u p .

S-emphasize thatWat I am about to ask 1 s only a suggestion, a

talking point. raise I t for consideration. „0n this Issue, w e a l l

share the same planet, w e a l l have th e same interests?. Would i t be

better to burn «H th e data and destroy a = H th e radio telescopes?"

A minor commotion ensued. any delegations asked simultaneously

to be recognized. nstead, the conference co-chairmen seemed mainly



27 September, 1984 Page 11/21

motivated to remind th e delegates that sessions were n o t to be

recorded or videotaped, n p roh ibition which a pp l ied especially t o •

vMocoo (which c o uldt e f course, eiüTd surrept itiou s ly) . o Interviews

were to b e granted to th e press. here would be dally press releases,

agreed upon by the conference co-chairmen and th e leaders of

delegations. h e Integuments of th e present discussion w e r e to remain

1 n this conference c ha mb er TU Sev er a l delegates asked for clarification

from th e chair. If th e Trojan Horse h ypo th o o is l a r igh t s o r t he

of Doomsday Machine hypothesis»* shouted out a Dutch delegate, "isn'tôur duty to Inform th e public?" u t h e had not been recognized, a r f his

microphone had not been activated. hey went o n to other, more

urgent, matters.

E l He had quickly punched Into th e Institutional computer

terminal before h e r , for a n early position on th e queue. he

discovered that she was scheduled second, after Sukhavati and before

one of the Chinese delegates.

E l lie knew D e v i Sukhavati a little. n attractive woman 1 n her

mid-forties, she was wearing a Western coiffure, high-heeled

sling-back pumps, and a n exquisite s i l k sari. riginally trained a s a

physician, she h a d become one of the leading Indian experts i n

molecular biology, now sharing her time between Kings College,

Cambridge, and the Tata Institute i n Bombay. he was one of a handful

of Indian Fellows of the R o y a l Society of London^ She was said to be

well-placed politically. hey had last m et a few y ea r s before a t a n



2 7 S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 1 1 / 2 2

I n t e r n a t i o n a l s y m p o s i u m i n T o k y o . T h a t w a s b e f o r e r e c e i p t o f t h e

M e s s a g e e l i m i n a t e d t h e o b l i g a t o r y q u e s t i o n m a r k s 1 n t h e t i t l e s o f s o m e

o f t h e i r s c i e n t i f i c p a p e r s . l l i e h a d s e n s e d a m u t u a l a f f i n i t y , d u e

« * 4 y 1 n p a r t t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e y w e r e a m o n g t h e f e w w o m e n

p a r t i c i p a t i n g I n s c i e n t i f i c m e e t i n g s o n e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l Ufe.

" I r e c o g n i z e t h a t A c a d e m i c i a n B a r u d a h a s r a i s e d a n i m p o r t a n t a n d

s e n s i t i v e I s s u e , " S u k h a v a t l b e g a n , " a n d i t w o u l d b e f o o l i s h t o d i s m i s s

t h e T r o j a n H o r s e p o s s i b i l i t y c a r e l e s s l y . G i v e n m o s t o f r e c e n t

h i s t o r y , t h i s 1 s a n a t u r a l I d e a , a n d I ' m s u r p r i s e d I t t o o k s o l o n g t o b e r a i s e d . o w e v e r , w o u l d l i k e t o c a u t i o n a g a i n s t s u c h f e a r s . t

1 s u n l i k e l y 1 n t h e e x t r e m e t h a t t h e b e i n g s o n a p l a n e t o f t h e s t a r

V e g a a r e e x a c t l y a t o u r l e v e l o f t e c h n o l o g i c a l a d v a n c e . v e n o n o u r

p l a n e t , c u l t u r e s d o n o t e v o l v e 1 n l o c k s t e p . o m e s t a r t e a r l i e r ,

o t h e r s l a t e r . r e c o g n i z e t h a t s o m e c u l t u r e s c a n c a t c h u pA h e n >

t h e r e w e r e h i g h c i v i l i z a t i o n s 1 n I n d i a , C h i n a , I r a q a n d E g y p t , t h e r e c A - ¿ e s - r j a

w e r e e f 4 y i r o n - a g e n o m a d s 1 n E u r o p e a n d A m e r i c a a n d Russia/ B u t t h e

d i f f e r e n c e s I n t h e t e c h n o l o g i e s w i l l b e m u c h g r e a t e r 1 n t h e p r e s e n t

c i r c u m s t a n c e s . T h e e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l s a r e l i k e l y t o b e f a r a h e a d o f

u s , c e r t a i n l y m o r e t h a n a f e w h u n d r e d y e a r s f u r t h e r a l o n g — e r h a p s

t h o u s a n d s o f y e a r s a h e a d o f u s , o r e v e n m i l l i o n s . o w , a s k y o u t o

c o m p a r e t h a t w i t h t h e p a c e o f h u m a n t e c h n o l o g i c a l a d v a n c e m e n t i n t h e

l a s t h u n d r e d y o a r c . g r e w u p 1 n a t i n y v i l l a g e 1 n S o u t h I n d i a . n

m y g r a n d m o t h e r ' s t i m e t h e f l a t i p c n g >as a t e c h n o l o g i c a l w o n d e r . W h a t

w o u l d b e i n g s w h o a r e t h o u s a n d s o f y e a r s a h e a d o f u s b e c a p a b l e o f ? O r i/




millions of years ahead? s a philosopher I n our part of th e world

once s a i d : T h e artifacts of a sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial

civilization would b e to us Indistinguishable from magic.1

We can pose no threat to them whatever. h ey have nothing to

fear from u s , and that w i l l be true for a very long time. his 1 s no

confrontation between Greeks and Trojans^ « b e y were evenly matched.

This 1 s no science fiction movie where beings from different planets

fight with similar weapons. f they wish to destroy us, they can

certainly do s o ... " "But a t what cost? on't you s e e ? hat's the point. .Baruda i s

saying ou r television broadcasts to space are f c h a - c a a s c w i f o r t h o r n t o » » £ • » * « - * *

7 destroy u s , and th e Message 1 s the means.

' u n i t i v e expeditions a r e dear. hp Message 1 s c h e a p o

E l He could not make out w h o» Jt seemed to b e someone i n the

British delegation, (&>Chad shouted this i 14 ¡S ***rUs kj V

nterventlonà t was not

I-e.** amplified by th e audio system, because again th e speaker had not been

recognized by the Chair,J$ut th e acoustics 1 n th e conference h a l l were

sufficiently good that h e could be heard perfectly well. eVr les » , 1 n

the Chair, tried to keep order. Ab*¡«h>mov a«wfi»t/<v M I * V¿é>_

"You think there 1 s a danger i n building the machine," Sukhavatl

continu e d . I think there 1 s a danger i n not building the machine.

would b e ashamed of ou r planet if w e turned ou r back on th e f u tu re » • « »

f i n s m i r citize nsh ip. our ancestors, he shook her finger a t her

interlocutor, "were not s o timid w h e n they first set s a i l for India or

America."




• F "

This meeting was getting to be f u l l of surprises, E l l i e thought,

although she doubted f c h a - t Clive a n d - Burgoyne were the best models for

present decision-making. erhaps Sukhavati was only tweaking th e

B M t i s h ^ he waited for th e green speakers light on h er console t o

illuminate, indicating that her microphone was activated.

" M r . Chairman." he found herself, 1 n this formal and public

posture, addressing DoVrio - s , whom she had hardly seen 1 n the last few

days. h ey had arranged to spend tomorrow afternoon - break 1 n

th e meeting ~ ogetherând she felt some anxiety about * h e - vUf -k*y

ee i i ve isdlfu n L I l Ov wuuld Bw. ^

" M r . Chairman, I believe we can shed some light o n t h e T r oj a n

Horse quoct1onv the Doomsday Machine, que ot i o r » . had Intended to

discuss this tomorrow morning, but 1 t certainly seems relevant now.

O n her console, she punched 1 n the code numbers for a few of her

slides. he great irrored h a l l darkened.

D r . Lunacharsky a n d I are convinced that these are different

projections of the same three-dimensional configuration. e showed

th e entire configuration I n computer-simulated rotation yesterday. e

think e can't be sure ~ ut w e think that this 1 s what the

interior of th e machine w i l l look like. here 1 s as yet no clear

Indication of scale. aybe It's a kilometer across. aybe I t ' s

supposed to be s u b n r i c r o s c o p l c . ut notice these five objects evenly

S J » « i-*V P la ce d round he periphery of he nterior hamber . Here's closeup " 7 ~ Í L « y ' r t : * * » ¿ KtnUr

of one of them. t ' o about the only thingyin the room that look* a t

a l l recognizable.



j ' í l ' p C^W» J 7

•r * x^c^-i? Page 11/25

7 September, 1984

« - app e a r s t o b e a carefully'contoure d chair, perfectly é rgmécc ' ^ü

for a human being. t ' s ve r y nlikely that extraterrestrial beings,

evolved on another quite different world, would resemble u s

sufficiently to share the same deslgnf for living room furniture. n07 ¿ £ g

Here, look a t this closeup. t looks l i k e , something from m y m o t h 5 p T ~

spare room, w h e n I was growing u p . " A s m a l l flutter of guilt entered »'.fcp^

h e r mind. h e had neglected to c a l l her m o t h e r before leaving for

Europe. h e must have called h er only once since the Message was

received. y~o\s - « u . / y #«* U7¿\sV C " * T > » t * s4~r iÀ^J t^./( . «r*e P .

"So It's ou r contention r . Lunacharsky and I h at th e

five chairs are meant for u s . or people. h at would mean that the

interior chamber of the machine I s only about four meters across, the

exterior, perhaps ten or twenty meters across. he technology 1 s

undoubtedly formidable, but we don't think w e ' r e talking about

building something th e size of a city. r a s complex a s a n aircraft

carrier. e might v e r y e l l be able t o build this, whatever i t I s , 1 f

we a l l work together.

"Ilk-. 4 - tl_ J 1\3tGrQ What I m trying to say 1 s that you don't pu t chairs m a bomb.

I don't think this i s a Doomsday Machine, or a Trojan Horse. agree

with what D r . Sukhavatl implied the idea that this i s a Trojan

Horse i s Itself a n indication of h ow far we have to g o . "

¡Derttetr Again there was a n outburst. u t this time -De¥H«-*o4^-9*4y made

n o effort to stop 1 t ; -but,actually turned th e complainant's microphone

o n . t was th e same delegate wh o had Interrupted Sukhavatl a few




minutes earlier, Philip Bedenbaugh of the United Kingdom, a Labour

Party minister i n th e shaky coalition government.

... simply don't understand what th e concern 1 s . f i t was

literally a wooden horse, w e would not be tempted to bring the alien

device within th e city gates. ut flounce i t up with some upholstery

and ou r suspicions are allayed. hy? ecause w e are being Ox bríU¿. n WbU*±

lattered. A There's a wizar d adventure Implied. h e re ' s the promise

« of n e w technologies. o matter what lofty fantasies the sciontiot s -f-»viu* c v -

K«w 9**i¿ X m a y entertain, 1 f there 1 s even a tiny chance th e machine i s a means

i f destruction, I t should not be built. etter, a s the Soviet

delegate has proposed, to burn the data tapes and make th e

construction of radio telescopes a capital crime."

The meeting J # % ecoming almost unruly. cores of delegates were

electronically queuing for authorization to speak. h e hubub rose t o

a subdued roar that reminded E l lie of her years of listening to

radioastronomical static. consensus did not seem readily within

ç a c h , and th e co-chairmen were clearly unprepared to restrain the

delegates.

A s th e Chinese delegate rose to speak (most previous talks had

been made from a sitting position), the vitagraphics w e r e slow t o

appear o n Ellie's screen and she looked around for help. he had no

Idea wh o this m an was either. guyen "Bobby" B u i , a National Security

Council staffer now assigned to ©eVH-as* leaned o v e r : Wang X1's his

name. pelled ' e x , ' e y e . ' ronounced ' s h e . ' eavy dude. orn on

M




th e Long March. olunteer 1 n K o r e a . ^ Government official, mainly

political. nocked down for a nine-count i n th e Cultural Revolution.

Central Committee Member now. ery Influential. een 1 n th e news

lately ^directs Chinese archeolog isa l diggings"

Wang (o r was i t X i ? he wasn't sure which was his given name and

which was his surname) was a fairly tall, broad-shouldered m an around

6 0 . h e wrinkles on his face made him seem older, but his posture and

physique m ado him look youngor . e wore his tunic buttoned at th e

collar 1 n the fashion that was a s obligatory for Chinese political

leaders a s three-piece suits were for American governmental leaders,

th e President, of course, excepted. h e vitagraphlc now came through

on her console, and she could remember having read a long article

about Wang X i n one of the video news magazines.

"If we are frightened," h e was saying, "we will do nothing. hat

w i l l delay them a little. ut, remember, they know we are here. u r

television arrives a t their planet. very day they are reminded about

u s . ave y ou looked at ou r television programs? h ey w i l l not forget

us. f we d o nothing and i f they are worried about us, they w i l l come

t o u s , machine or no machine. e cannot hide from them. f we had

kept quiet we would not face this problem. f w e had cable television

only and n o b i g military radar then maybe they would not know about

u s . aybe. u t now i t i s too late. e cannot go back. ur course

i s set.




"If w e are seriously frightened about this machine destroying th e

Earth, do not build 1 t on th e Earth. uild 1 t somewhere else. hen

i f i t j _ s a Doomsday Machine and blows up a world i t w i l l not be

ou r world. ut this w i l l be very expensive. robably too expensive.

" O r , 1f we are not s o frightened, build 1 t 1 n some Isolated

desert. o u could have a very big explosion i n th e Takopl Wasteland

i n Sinqiang Province and k i l l nobody.

"And 1f w e are not frightened a t a l l , we can build 1 t 1 n

Washington. r Moscow. r Beijing. r i n this beautiful dty.

" I n China Vega and two nearby stars » f » e called Ch1h N e u . t

means the young woman with the spinning wheel [CHECK NOT SPINNING LIKE

A TOP]. t 1 s a n auspicious symbol, a machine to m ake ne w clothes for

the people of the Earth.

"We have received a n invitation. ve r y unusual Invitation.

Maybe 1 t i s to go to a party. he Earth has never been Invited to a

party before. t would be Impolite to refuse."





Contact: HAPTER 1 2 Page 1 2 / 1

2 7 September, 1984

I t was a splendid autumn afternoon, s o unseasonably warm that

O e v i Sukhavati was able t o leave her c o a t behind. hey walked along

the crowded Champs d 'Elysée toward L 'Obélisque. CHECK SPELLING] Th e

ethnic diversity was rivaled b y London, Manhattan, and only a few

other cities o n the planet. wo women walking together, one 1 n a

skirt a n d sweater, the other 1 n a s a r i , seemed 1 n no w a y n o t e worth y.

Outside a t o b a c o n n i s t ^ / ' J there was a l o n g , orderly and polyglot

Une o f people attracted b y the first week o f legalized sale o f cured

cannabis cigarettes from the United States. lthough cannabis was not r»ic« "*-*m Wif»,

habit-forming s , or xample, c obacso r thanol. t a s onsidered

at est distracting or he young/, nd y rench aw could ot e

sold o hose nder 8 years f ge . Many n Une were middle-aged and lder. S o m e might ave ee n aturalized Algerians r Morrocans.

Especially otent arieties f annibis ere rown, mainly n

California nd regon, or xport nly. Featured ere was e w nd

admired train, hich ad n ddition ee n rown n ultraviolet ight,

converting o m e f he nert annabinoids nto he A somer. It as

called l5un-/\issed." T he ackage, llustrated n window display

meter-and-a-half igh, ore n rench he logan This will e

deducted ro m your hare n aradise." It was he a m e hrase with



2 7 S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 8 4 P a g e 1 2 / 2

w h i c h D r . M o r e a u 1 n t h e 1 8 4 0 ' s , d i s t r i b u t e d a s p o o n f u l o f g r e e n

h a s h i s h p a s t e t o e a c h B o u l e v a r d l e r o f L e C l u b d e s H a s c h l s c h i n s .

[ C H E C K S P E L L I N G ]

T h e s h o p w i n d o w s a l o n g t h e b o u l e v a r d w e r e a r i o t o f c o l o r . T h e y

b o u g h t c h e s t n u t s f r o m a s t r e e t v e n d o r , a n d r e v e l e d 1 n e * * h t a s t e a n d

t e x t u r e . o r s o m e r e a s o n , every t i m e E l U e s a w a s i g n a d v e r t i s i n g t h e

B a n q u e N a t i o n a l e d e P a r i s [ C H E C K S P E L L I N G ] ( B N P ) , s h e r e a d 1 t a s t h e

R u s s i a n w o r d f o r b e e r , w i t h t h e m i d d l e l e t t e r I n v e r t e d l e f t t o r i g h t .

B E E R , t h e s i g n s s e e m e d t o b e e x h o r t i n g h e rA d c f l o o t e d f r o m t h e i r uiuaf a i t^r e s p e c t a b l e f i d u c i a r y v o c a t i o n s ^ " R U S S I A N B E E R . " T h e i n c o n g r u i t y

a m u s e d h e r , a n d o n l y w i t h d i f f i c u l t y c o u l d s h e c o n v i n c e t h e p a r t o f

h e r b r a i n 1 n c h a r g e o f r e a d i n g t h a t t h i s w a s t h e L a t i n , n o t t h e

C y r i l l i c a l p h a b e t . F u r t h e r o n , t h e y m a r v e l e d a t L ' O b é l i s q u e [ C H E C K

S P E L L I N G ] — n a n c i e n t m i l i t a r y c o m m e m o r a t i v e s t o l e n a t g r e a t

e x p e n s e t o b e c o m e a m o d e r n m i l i t a r y c o m m e m o r a t i v e . T h e y d e c i d e d t o

w a l k o n .

« D e ¥ f 4 « s h a d b r o k e n t h e d a t e . A t l e a s t t h a t ' s w h a t 1 t a m o u n t e d

t o . e h a d c a l l e d h e r u p t h i s m o r n i n g , a n d w a g a p o l o g e t i c , a l t h o u g h h < ^ e

n o t d e s p e r a t e l y s o . T h e r e w e r e t o o m a n y p o l i t i c a l i s s u e s b e i n g r a i s e d

a t t h e P l e n a r y . T h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e ^ w * s - f - L y i i i 5 i n t o m o r r o w .

k K<

I n t e r r u p t i n g a v i s i t t o C u b a . H i s ^ h a n d s w e r ë T û T l , a n d h e h o p e d E l vl 1 e

_ , , o u k* kU*J lit w/^ Per w o u l d u n d e r s t a n d » S h e u n d e r s t o o d . S h o a l s o k n e w t h a t L i m y W e r e

\~ . **** ¿ &-^^nA ' s u d d e n l y f e l t a w r e n c h i n g , a y u n i t i n g l c m . ' - O a

a-wWm^she h a d d i a l e d D e v i S u k h a v a t l » w h o h a d L i u u n d e l i g h t e d t o o p o n < U

t h e - a f t e r n o o n w i t h C l l l - e .



27 eptember, 98 4 Page 2 /3

<£i<j4vf» K«r»»,

T*T

"One of th e Sanskrit words for 'Victorious' s 'Abhijlt.'

[CHECK.] hat's what Vega was called i n ancient I n d i a . bhijlt. t

was under th e Influence of Vega that the b e n evo len t Hindu divinities » • * Eili'fj at* you- li'sre«inA?

„ conquered th e Asuras, the gods of evil. .N o w, it's a curious thing.

f?H**> n Persia, the Asuras or Ahupa * , were the gods of good.

Eventually religions sprang up nfluential religions n

which the chief g o d , th e god of light, the Sun g o d , was called Ahura

Mazda. he Zoroastrlans, for example, and th e Mlthraists. here are

syil Zoroastrlans today, and the Mlthraists gave th e Christians a

good r u n for their money. ut i n this same story, come of those'geed

Hindu ged« were called Devis. t ' s the origin of m y own name.

Meaflwh+ieîn Persia, the Devis become gods of evil. s probably you

know, this i s where th e English word, devil, comes f r o m . he symmetry

i s complete. l l this 1 s probably some vaguely remembered account of

the Aryan Invasion that pushed the Dravldians, i - r ^ - n d i n g m y ancestors,

to the South. o , depending on which side of the Klrthar Range one

lives on, Vega was b r i t h e g I d a either *f God or th e Devil."

This cheerful story had been proferred a s a gift by Devi, wh o

clearly h a d heard something of Ellie's^religious adventures t e n days

before. l l i e was grateful. ut i t reminded her that she had not

even mentioned to Joss th e possibility that the Message was the

blueprint for a machine of unknown purpose. o w , he would be hearing

a l l this through the media. he should really, she told herself

sternly, make a n overseas c a l l to explain to him the new

i/



2 7 S eptember, 1 9 8 4 Page 12/4

developmen ts. ut Joss was said t o be i n seclusion. e had offered

no public s t a t e m e n t following t h e i r m e e ti n g i n Oran ge County. ankin,

i n a press conference, said th at w h il e t h e r e mi g h t be some dan gers, h e

was not opposed to lettin g t he scien tists receive t he f u l l Message.

But translation wa s ano th er matter. e r i o d i c review by a l l segmen ts

o f society wa s required, he said, e s p e c i a l l y b y th ose d e v o t e d t o

spiritual and moral values.

Th ey were n ow a ppro a c h i n g th e Tuilleries Gardens w h e r e t he

e l e g a n t hues o f autumn were o n display. r a i l and e l d e r l y me n —

E l l ie judged t h e m to be from S o u t h e a s t Asia — e re i n vigorous

dispute. rn a m e n ti n g t h e black c a s t / i r o n g a t e s w e r e m u l t i c o l o r e d

balloons on sale. t t he c e n t e r of a p o o l o f w a t e r wa s a marble

Amph 1tr1te. round h e r , toy sailboats w e r e racing, urged o n by a n

exhuberan t crowd of s m a l l children w i th Magellanic aspirations.

catfish suddenly broke water, swamping t he lead boat , and t he boys and

girls became subdued, c h a s t e n e d by th is w h o lly u n e x p e c t e d apparition.

Th e Sun wa s low 1 n th e West, and E l He felt a mo m e n t a ry chill.

Th ey approach ed L'Oran gerie, i n t h e ann ex o f which wa s a special

exhibition, s o th e poster proclaimed, "Images Martienn es" [CHECK

FRENCH], he join t American/French/Soviet robot roving vehicles o n

Mars h a d produced a spectacular windfall of color ph o to graphs, some

— ike the Voyager images o f t he o u t e r solar system around 1980 —

soaring beyond t h e i r m e r e scien tific p u r p o s e P and becoming art. he




poster featured a s t u n n ing landscape photographed i n th e vast Elysium

plateau. n th e foreground was a three-sided pyramid, smooth, highly

eroded, with a n impact crater near the base. t was produced by

millions of ye ars of high-speed sandblasting by th e fierce Martian

winds, the planetary geologists had said. second rover assigned to

Cydonia, on the other side of Mars, h a d become mired i n a drifting

dune, a n d i t s controllers 1 n Pasadena had been s o far unable to

z* espond t o i t s f orlorn radio cries for help. ( ^ ± J >W M¿ eye*, u.ly

"Ui's»languid_brown--eyos4 gllecM

(«fx*+~~<TtB£z> - km ,¿4, Kt nother magni'fif^nt z¡*ri nmrnn+n^-

ap?e»remra. E llie^ found erself able o continue er part of heiç

Of €.*£"'

Sukhavati's/languidbowfi yes , ullad ack svn?UH.

rect

bearing, nd yet another magnificent ari# resented im y iteable-1 » * tn

<r~ conversation while mentally addressing other matters as well, he had - ' a lwa ys enjoye d some ability of this s o r t , b ut i t soom o d poculiarly

amplified Luday. t f h e y were discussing the merits of the several

f l o s i t i o n s o n w h e t h e r to build The Machine, t a r t i n h er mind's eye she

returned to that striking Image from the Aryan invasion of I n d i a :

war between two peoples, each of w h ich claimed victory, each of - w b i c j j

patriotically exaggerated the historical accounts, s o that t / l t i m a t e l y

i t bocame a w ar of the gods. Our" side, of course, was good. he

other side, of course, was evil. llie Imagined the goateed,

spade-tailed cloven-hooved D e v i l of the West evolving by slow

evolutionary steps over thousands of y ea r s from some Hindu antecedent

who, for a l l Ell1e_knew, h a d the head of a n elephant and was painted

blue.





2 7 September, 1984 ne t > ? own

Page 1 2 / 7 / ocpuciliuci , IJOt m rae LUí

l + i t h a H+»ig pnrnuraQpmpnt. Pav 1 hag?i + « * speak about h er

personal life. he had been born to a Brahman but unprosperous family

with matriarchal proclivities 1 n th e Southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Matriarchal households w e r e s t i l l common a l l over South India. he

matriculated a t what used to be called Benares Hindu University. h e

"Hindu" h a d , since Indian Independence [CHECK.] been omitted. t

medical s c h o o l i n England she had met and fallen deeply i n love with

Surindar Ghosh, a fellow medical student. ut Surindar w as of the

He

caste, a n untouchable, and her family threatened to

disown her 1 f she went ahead and married him. er father sald^be

would mourn for her a s 1f she had died. he married Surindar anyway

— We were too much i n lovei • 4 . t wac impossible to do o thnrwrsg"

who within the ye ar himself died from septicemia acquired while

performing a n autopsy under inadequate supervision. nstead of

reconciling her to her family, Surindar*s death accomplished th e

opposite, and after receiving her medical degree, D e v i decided t o

remain i n England. he discovered a natural affinity for molecular

biology and considered i t a natura l continuation of her medical

studies Cannon's doctrine of 'The wisdom of th e b o d y ' seemed to

m e to contain the fidelity of DNA replication a s a special case." he

soon found s h e had r e a l talent i n this meticulous discipline.

Knowledge of nucleic add replication led her to work on th e origin of

life, and that i n turn led her to consider life o n other planets.

" Y o u could say that m y scientific career has been a sequence of free




associations. ne thing just l e d to another." h e had recently been

working on the characterization of martian organic matter, measured — n a few locales on Mars only — by th e same roving vehicles whose

stunning photographic products they had just seen advertised. e v i

h a d never remarried, although she had made i t plain there were some

w ho pursued h e r . ately she had been seeing a scientist 1 n Bombay wh o

s h e described a s a "computer wallah." J £&*•* + "Mïs t > A i - K ~y - » . - \~~ ' ~7 By now they found themselves 1 n what h^d f o r m a n y y o a i » s been the

Interior courtyard É&4ÉSK3 of th e Louvre Museum. n *h e center of the

esurtyar d was th e new and s t i l l controversial pyramidal entrance, and

i n high niches around the courtyard were sculptural representations of

th e heroes of French [World?] civilization. aptloned under each

statue of a revered m an h ey could see little evidence for

revered women as his surname. A FEW REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLES,

LAST NAMES ONLY.] ccasionally, letters were eroded by natural

weathering, or, 1 n a few cases, perhaps effaced by some offended

¿a Passerby. or one or two statues, 1 t was difficult t o piece together

-w hir Tn e s av a n f h à d been.^)niriyFtrT3lTQTlád--oft^Â>_[CÊClG r A,^ Although the Sun was setting, and th e Louvre wasoêrTiinTn-

m l d - ev e m n g, they did not enter, « a * 4 instead strolled along th e Seine

embankment^ f o l l o wi n g the river back towards the Q u a i d'Orsay.

[CHECK GEOGRAPHY] The proprietors of bookstalls along the embankment

were fastening shutters and closing up shop for th e day. or a while

they strolled o n , arm i n arm i n th e European manner.



- al » <0 fc»,

27 eptem ber, 98 4 Page 1 2 / 9

f=Ve'Wt^ s - t r . í í í ,5»_ -V«w b4>#<

A -British couple was wa l kirvg head of hem, ac h parent olding

one an d of heir daughter, girl f b o u t ight who would

periodically aunch herself nto ho ixt $ [rxânly nsppnHpd.

1r he ait ct eow nr parrnts. Thoy were clearly ouriato n **&***+- x««t<*

♦ ml jUy\-n H -it m a c intaroctini] fifl ar thpm H - or itgf-i ng the World

Message Consortium P l e n a r y . ^The n ewspapers had been f u l l of no th in g

else. h e ma n was for building t he machine; t migh t c r e a t e jobs 1 n

The woman wa s much r - i t a i - a ^ and p r o m o t e t e c h n o l o g i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t - ,

ughtèr, braids flying, wasûnconcernedj-— f u i— h e » ore cautious. .The d a J A

-momen t - she p osse s se d a d v e n tu r e enoug h , .

r,'*d~ " V i r * » n . ^M-e "^-tn

7

DeVrles and Kitz, alon g w i th Honnicutt f r o m S ta t a , . h a d called a

m e e t i n g a t t he American Embassy e a r l y t he following morning, to

p r e p a r e for t he arrival of t he A merican S e c r e t a r y of S tate later 1 n

t he day. h e m e e ti n g wa s to be classified, held i n the Embassy's

Black Room, a chamber e l e c tr o m a g n e tlc a lly d e c o u p l e d from th e outside



2 7 S eptember, 1984 Page 12/10

world, making even sophisticated e l e c t r o n i c surveillance r i r t u a l l y

impossible. ^ Wh en she got t he m e ss a g e a t h er hot el, a f t e r returning

from th e afternoon w i th D e v i Sukh avatl, she tried t o c a l l DcVriei t o

somplai is but wa s able only t o t a lk wi t h Michael K1tz. he opposed

t e ldi - n g a classified m e e ti n g on th is subject on principle he s a i d :

t h e Message was cl e a rly In tended for t he e n tir e plan et. 1tz a * * § « e 4 r t *L*tf

that th ere were no d a t a being w i th h e ld from t he rest o f t he world, a t

least by f e t e - Americans; nd th at t he m e e ti n g wa s m e r e ly advisory —

t o assist t he United S tates 1 n t he difficult procedural n e g o t i a t i o n s

ahead. e appealed to her patrio tism, t o her self-interest, and

finally Invoked once again t he - k e § a n Decision. For a l l know, th at

th in g i s s t i l l sittin g 1 n your safe unread. ead i t , " h e urged. he

t ried, again «mavailiny>js to reach DoVrios. irst , t he man turns up

everywhere 1 n the Argus facility, like a bad penny. e moves 1 n with

you 1 n y o u r apartmen t. ^The next minute yo u can't even t a + f e = * * y h 1 m e * VE»

« » » f f » ^ r tne phone. he d e cid e d t o a t t e n d th e m e e t i n g , i f only to s e e Ke n face

t o face.

K1tz wa s e n t h u s i a s tic a lly for building the Machine, Drumlin

cautiously 1 n favor, OoVries and Hunnlcutt d i ^ r r r r f y u n d s ' r i ' l a d , and

Pe t er Valerian i n a n agony o f indecision. it z was even talking about

wh ere to build it. F r e i g h t a g e costs alon e made manufacture, or even

assembly, o n th e far side o f t he Moon p r o h i b i t i v e l y expensive, ** > c v k*J . . s

< f f î% r *m Ht *Aa r&eé about t he Shi e l d regions, n ear t he cen ters o f " ^ ^ * -

co n ti n e n ts , g e o l o g ic a lly stable over hundreds o f millio n s of years,



3 0 D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 4 C O N T A C T

' " [in hew??] J / f we u se a e r o d y n a m i c braking, it's or I

c h eaper to s end a kilogr a m to P ho b o s SWKI D e m o s t h an to

th e f ar side of th e Moon," 13*kloy Bui u»</eer«i? •

" W h a t th e hell are Ph obos **é Demos?" KVf*. ~ + J t + Q ¿* k " T h e m o o n s of Mars. I w as t a lkin g a b o ut a e r o d y n a m i c

rt-Okr

braking n th e M ar tian a t m o s p h e r e

or "And h ow long does it take to ge t t o Ph obos a*4 De mo s?

" Ma y b e two y e a rs, bu t onc e w e have a f l e e t of inter-

planetar y t r a n s f e r vehicles and the pipeline s full ..."

C o m p a r e d to t h r e e days o th e moon?" *.skej £>cuml IS û°*"*)tt WAS t*»S»*£y 3u.;

s top was ting ou r time

< n AS

I t was o n ly a s u g g es tion," he pro t e st e d. "You know,

just so m e t hin g o think a b o u t

C^fTAM ' * » g n o re d h im and w e n t o n

•*




end relatively untouched by th e ravages of plate tectonics. he

Canadian Shield was convenient to American technology, but might b e

too close to th e arctic 1ce pack 1 n case there was a disaster o f less

than planet-shattering dimensions. he Rhodeslan Shield, 1 n East

Africa, h e argued, was too h o t , too Inaccessible, and with too little

skilled labor.

"It's the Zimbabwean Shield," OoVnioc interjected. It's 1 n A/ewc WAS, r*L+/(y,"

y n t o r e . * , t wao a r a r e ex * imbabwe. here Isn't a j j y Rhodesia anymore.* t ao a r a r e example

o# OoVHe* beiog t ts tys n tho Gouroo of oomo offleial d u t ju he took

I t as a hopeful sign. e was clearly under great pressure

alternately avoiding her eyes a n d , she thought, making some unspoken

appeal.

"Why are you guys 1 n such a hurry to commit to construction?" she

asked K1tz a n d Drumlln collectively. They w e r e sitting next to each

other with a plate of croissants between them. it z looked from

Hunnicutt to DeVries before answering:

"This 1 s a classified meeting," Kitz began. We a l l know that

you won't pass anything said here on to you r Russian friends. e ,s:

don't know what the Machine w i l l do, but It's clear from Dave

Drumlln's brilliant analysis that there's new technology i n 1 t ,

probably new Industries. onstructing th e machine f e a e economic value - " X

„and 1 t might have military value. t least, that's what th e Russians

are thinking. ee, the Russians are i n a box. ere's a whole new

area of technology they're going to have to keep up with the U . S . o n .

S




Maybe there's instructions for some decisive weapon 1 n th e Message.

Or some economic advantage. h ey can't be sure. hey'll have to bust

their economy trying. id y ou notice h ow Baruda kept referring to

what was cost-effective? f a l l this Message stuff went away

burn the data, destroy the telescopes h en they could maintain

military parity. hat's w h y they're cautious. o , of course, that's

wh y w e ' r e gung h o for 1 t , "

He smiled. emperamentally, Kitz was bloodless, S u t he was far

from stupid, (ne had noticed ti w yv n e n h e was cold and withdrawn, J ^ " * ~ - * , t / » oe CAS tcnol

people ended not o ike him. në-So e ad eveloped ^veneer of

urbane amiability. In l lie's ie w t was very hin eneero. w<x re ¿nag . 1 1 « t-Diltit j h -infi i*»* o - i»\|(«cu(*r wtfOffUydr i-riitft.

"Now let m e ask you a question," he continued. Did you catch

B a r u d a *s remark about withholding some of the data? s there any

missing data?" o n

"Only from \ /ery arly," she replied. Only from the first few

weeks, I ' d guess. here were a few holes i n th e Chinese coverage a

little after that. here's s t i l l a s m a l l amount of data that hasn't

been exchanged, on a l l sides. ut don't see any signs of serious

holding back. nyway, we'll pick up any missing data swatches after

the Message recycles,"

" _ I f th e Message recycles," Drumlin growled.

A s u bdue d - De Vr ies crisply moderated a discussion on contingency

planning: h at to do when the primer was received; hich American,




German and Japanese Industries to notify early about possible major

development projects; ow to Identify key scientists and engineers

for constructing th e machine, 1f th e decision was made to g o ahead;

and, briefly, th e need to build enthusiasm for the project 1 n Congress

and with th e American public. i e Vr i&c hastened to add that these

would be contingency plans only, that no decision h a d , of course, been

made, that no doubt Soviet concerns about a Trojan Horse were at least

partly genuine.

Kitz r a i o od t h e question . o f the composition of "the crew."

"They're asking us to pu t people i n those upholstered chairs. hich

people? ow do we decide? t ' l l probably have to be a n international

crew. ow m any Americans? ow many Russians? nybody else? e

don't know what happens to those five people when they sit down 1 n

those chairs, but we want to have th e best l e epr e se nt at ivo sSy o c a n .

"Now a major question 1 s going to be wh o pays for what, who

builds what, who's 1 n charge of overall system Integration. think u / - « c«n « • -\\--$, * . •<e4*»vit possible t o do some r e a l horse trading on * h " S f > r"ints, f c É a d + m j - °^

- f t f d inst which nations ape represented- 1 n th e crew."

" B u t we s t i l l want to send the best possible people," DoVrio» t5e>r¿A*.y interjcctocL f to / * . ' 4 -U * . »é^#M»

"Sure," returned Kitz. but what do we mean by 'best'?

Scientists? eople with military Intelligence backgrounds? hysical

strength and endurance? atriotism? That's not a dirty word, v j o j a



2 7 September, 1 9 8 4 Page 12/14

" T V * , i*»

k n o w . ) nd then," he looked up from buttering another croissant t o

glance directly at E l He, "there's th e question of s e x . exes, I

mean. o we send only men? f It's m en and women there has to be

more of one sex than th e other. here's five places, a n odd number.

Are a l l the crew members going to work together okay? f w e go ahead

with this project, there's gonna b e a lot of tough negotiation." on»/****-

"This doesn't sound right to me," said E l lie, *W > u want some

musclebound moron up there, some k i d i n his twenties wh o knows nothing

about h ow th e world works u st h ow to r u n a respectable 1 0 0 yard

dash, and h ow to obey orders? r some political hack? h at can't be

what this trip i s about."

" N o , you ' re right," smiled Kitz. I think t h ere a t » e people wh o

satisfy a l l ou r criteria."

O o V r io* , dark circles under his eyes, looking almost haggard,

adjourned the meeting. e managed to give E l lie a s m a l l private

smile, but i t was a l l l i p s , no teeth. h e Embassy limousines were

waiting to take them back to th e Elysée Palace.




A$± t< < s

" I ' l l t e l l you w hy 1 t would be better to send Russians t b a f i — -

A m e _ r _ i ç à J i s V Vaygay was saying. When you^were opening up your country

— ioneers, trappers, Indian scouts, a l l that ou were

unopposed, at least by anyone a t you r l e v e l of technology. ou raced

across you r continent from th e Atlantic to the Pacific, ané J f u u y o t to

'oxpoct.4t would be easy. ur situation was different. e were

conquered by the Mongols. heir horse technology was much superior to

ours. h en w e expanded eastward we were careful. e never crossed

the wilderness and expected i t would be easy. e're more used to

adversity than you are. f t gW're used to catching up

technological iyr>¥# u - ¡ - J & e used to being ahead technologically» a lmost »

withou t ef for t.^ -We^/Kow everybody on Earth i s Russian. Y o u /

understand, I mean 1 n our historical position.) his mission needs v - r « 4 . »

-Russians more than i t needs Americans.

They were seated a t the same window table at Chez Dieux. here

w as a distinct c h i l l i n the a i r , a premonition of winter, and a young

m an wearing a long blue scarf a s h i s only concession to the cold

strode brlsky past the tubs of chilled oysters outside th e window.

From Lunacharsky's continuing (and uncharacteristically) guarded

remarks, she deduced disarray i n th e Soviet delegation. he Soviets

were concerned that the Machine might somehow redound t o the advantage

of the United States, I n the five-decade, global competition. aygay

h a d been shocked b y Baruda's question about burning th e data and

destroying the radio telescopes. h e Soviets had played a v i t a l role





27 September, 1984 Page 12/17

"I'm worried t e t e f t a l l this w i l l end badly," he said. There are

so many things that can go wrong».so many p o s s i b le s i n y l t j - u u i n l

f ailures . echnological failures. olitical failures. uman

failures. u t even i f we get through a l l that, i f we don't have a war

because of th e Machine, i f we build i t correctly and without blowing

ourselves up, I ' m s t i l l worried."

"About what? ow do you mean?"

"The best that can happen i s w e w i l l b e made fools o f . "

"Who will?"

"Arroway, don't you understand?" vein i n Lunacharsky's neck

throbbed.sligh t ly, I' m amazed you don't see 1 t . h e Earth 1 s a

ghetto. . yes, a ghetto." e seemed to be savoring th e word. A l l

human beings are trapped here. e have heard vaguely that there are

big cities out there beyond th e ghetto, with broad boulevards filled

with droschkys [CHECK.] and beautiful perfumed women I n furs. ut the

cities are too far away, and we are too poor ever to go there, even

the richest of u s . nyway, we know they don't want u s . hat's w h y

they've left u s 1 n this pitiful little village i n the first place.

"And now along comes a n Invitation. s X 1 said. ancy,

elegant. h ey have sent u s a n engraved card and a n empty droschky.

W e are to send five villagers and the droschky w i l l carry them to

w ho knows? arsaw. r Moscow. aybe even Paris. f course,

s o m e are tempted to g o . here w i l l always b e villagers w ho are

flattered by th e invitation, or think 1 t 1 s a way to escape ou r dirty

village.




"And what do y ou think w i l l happen when we get there? o you

think the Grand Duke w i l l have u s to dinner? i l l the President of

the Academy ask u s Interesting questions about dally life i n ou r

filthy Stetl? o you Imagine th e Russian Orthodox Metropolitan w i l l

engage u s i n learned discourse o n comparative religion?

" N o , Arroway, w e w i l l gawk a t th e big city, and they w i l l laugh

a t us behind their hands. h ey w i l l exhibit u s to the curious. h e

more backward w e a r e , the better they'll feel, th e more reassured

they'll b e .

"It's a quota system. very few centuries, five of u s get to

spend a weekend on Vega. ave pity on the provincials, and make sure

they know w here the p o w e r really -lies -f u/Lc 4\je*'r Ji'd-f-ers arc » i





&J Contact: HAPTER 1 3 Page 1 3 / 1

1 8 October, 1984 &^&vôi/

The Argus main frame computer had been instructed to compare each

day's harvest of data from Vega with t h e f t r earliest records of L e v e l 3

of the palimpsest. n effect, one long and incomprehensible sequence

of zeros and ones was being compared automatically with another,

earlier, s u e b equence. his was part of a massive statistical

intercomparison of various segments of th e s t i l l undecrypted text.

There were some sequences of zeros and ones - words" some of th e

analysts called them, hopefully hich were repeated again and

again. the r sequences would appear once only i n thousands of pages

of text. his statistical approach to message decryption was familiar

t o E l lie since high school. ut the subroutines supplied by th e

experts from the National Security Agency — i " le i L« I L a i n changes ¿¿ Jware made, «d only a s a result of a Presidential directive^-- e re

brilliant. h at prodigies of human inventiveness, Ellie reflected,

were being directed to the global confrontation between the United

States and th e Soviet Union, now, to b e sure, easing somewhat. t was

not just the financial resources being dedicated to th e military

establishments of a l l nations. h at was approaching two trillion

dollars a year, and by itself was ruinously f o o l i s h when there were s o

many other urgent human needs. ut s t i l l worse, she thought, was the

intellectual effort being dedicated to th e arms race. ore than half

th e scientists o n th e planet, i t had been estimated, were employed b y

V



f?J_üí

18 October, 98 4 v sen í-.s, H¿í.e ~ * k ^¿.iMe.A?/? " , /**'«-£

,D -

one or another of the various military estábilsh m e n t sA And they were A

not only the dregs of the doctoral programs i n physics and

mathematics* - a s S o m e of her colleagues would console themselves when

th e awkward^ problem arose of what to t e l l a recent doctoral candidate

being courted b y , s a y , one of the weapons laboratories. If h e was

any good, he' d be offered j a t least)an assistant professorship a t

Stanford;" she could r e c a l l Drumlin once saying. o , a certain kind

of mind and character was drawn to the military a ppl ica t ions of

science and mathematics ,--/ people wh o { l { c e d b ig e xplosions, for example; a - n 4 -people w h o wante d , to decrypt th e most complex messages

i n t e J - 4 4 e c nl urlyhrup t - e then known.^jOnce the limited edition Cray 2 1

computer had been introduced into A r g u s ^ (cooled with th e products of

the facility's own liquid helium production plant), the specially

redesigned NSA programs came o n Une and began spewing out elaborate

statistical correlations. hey would be very useful once the primer

was received, or the Message otherwise began to unravel. he pored

over th e analyse s^ There was a particular sequence of 1 3 7 zeros and

% ' Í 5 / « « M )l e - ones that appeared uncommonly often for ¿ b e s izo of the word(s ) . h y

don't they simply abbreviate i t ? she wondered. - B^tThis wordâppeared

o n none of the diagramatic pages. t was, like s o much else of th e

Message, mysterious.

Sh e wished there h a d been someone specially a close woman

friend t Argus t o whom she could pour out her hurt and anger a t



1 8 October, 1984 Page 13/3

h ew Ken»haAíe aU;d h e r. ut th ere w e r e not, and she wa s disinclined

even t o use t h e t e l e p h o n e for th is purpose. he did m a n a g e t o spend a

w e e k e n d w i t h her college friend, Becky Ellenbogen, 1 n Austin, but

Becky - hose appraisals of me n w o r e g c n o r n H - y somewh ere between

wry and scathin g - n this case wa s u n e x p e c t e d l y mild i n her

c r i t i c i s m / ' " H e I s the Presiden t's Science Advisor, a nd th is 1 s only

t he most amazing discovery i n t he history of th e world. on't b e s o

h ard on h i m . e ' l l come around," Becky u r g e d .^ B u t Becky wa s ano th er

of th ose who found Ken "ch arming" (she h a d me t him once at the

d e d i c a t i o n of t he National Neutrino O b s e r v a t o r y ^ a n d * s„ t o o inclined

t o a c c o m o d a t e to power. ad *¿ t r e a t e d ElUe 1 n th is shabby wa y

while D r t Ü H f t f was a mere professor o f mo le cu l a r biology somewh ere,

Becky would have m a r i n a t e d and skewered t he man.

A f t e r returning from Paris, S e ¥ f 4 « had mu s te r e d a regular

campaign of apology and devo tion. e had been overstressed,

overwhelmed w i th a range of responsibilities including difficult *<J U^m.'U

polit ical - f^Veït1o <. is position a s leader of th e American

d e l e g a t i o n and co-chairman of t he P l e n a r y mi g h t h ave been rendered

less effective i f th ere had been public k n o w l e d g e of his and E l l i e 's

relationship. itz had been insufferable. en had t oo many

consecutive nigh ts with only a fe w h o u r s * * sleep. l t o g e t h e r , Ellie

judged, t h e r e w e r e too m a n y explan ations.




U n t i l she complained of th e e * e e - s ^ , t h e r ^ e were flowers every day,N

Including a new genetically engineered varietyxrf black rose wi t m

scarlet piping. h e wondered w h e t h e r h e^r some factotu m)had j f i a d e _ t h j

Lngemeütsj r f l t h the l o c a l florist. ^B efo r e a meeting of th e Special

Operations executive [CHECK ] h e presented her with a n exquisite p - i a e e

o f jewelry,-» g o l den pin i n th e shape of a lyre with a ruby off-center

i n th e position of Vega i n the constellation L t f r a . nlike h er maser

gems the ruby w as flawless. o please him she p u t . 1 t o n her blouse,

but i t felt a little a s i f she was 1 n high s c h o o l and had i n this way

publically accepted D e V r i e s - ' invitation to go steady. he President,

wh o generally, for political reasons, made a practice of ignoring

nuances of adornment, m ade a special point of complimenting E l lie o n

th e piece. nd indeed, the lyre and th e radiotélescope had i n the

past ye ar become visual symbols whose meaning was recognizable

instantly among widely diverse cultures a l l over the planet.

She permitted the relationship to continue. en was ardent and

anxious to please. u t there was a ne w impediment to her love, beyond

wounded pride. t was like the ravishing young woman w h o wonders

whether her admirers see anything beyond her physical appearance. n

the back of her mind, s t i l l unacknowledged, E l lie was beginning to

wonder whether Ken's Interest 1 n her was mainly job-related.

When i t happened, i t was Willie, on the graveyard shift, wh o

first noticed i t . fterwards, Willie would attribute the speed of th e




discovery less to the superconducting computer and the NSA programs,

A S to the n e w 4 o g a n context recognition chips. t any rate, Vega was low 1 n the sky a n hour or s o before dawn when the computer triggered a » >

m u l e d a i r d jjnderstated alarm.^ Willie pu t down w h a t h e was reading w i t h .

r m ' ' A some a n n o ya n c e^-- t was a new textbook o n f i r s t Fourier T r á n s f o

and noticed these words being printed out on th e ipectroscopy

screen: • i 4\Gl-l- f ic ¡

"RPT TEXT P P . 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 6 0 . BIT MISMATCH 0/3271." Correlation

As U c o e f f i c i e n t O.&H

f k j

^Both th e number of pages and th e correlation coefficient, a u"er* ' " «♦ « •

measure of the improbability that the correlation was by chance,

Increased as h e watched. e gave i t another two pages before picking

u p the direct line to E l l i e 's apartmanwShe had been 1 n a deep sleep

and was momentarily disoriented. ut she quicklyôriontod h o r p e lf and

crisply gave instructions f or Willie t o c a l l , .senior Argus faet+lty

s t a f f s She would, she t o ld h i m , ocate 0 e V r> e - s wh o was somewhere o n

the facility. h1sAw *s not/difficult. h e shook h i s shoulder.

vigorously.

"Ken, get u p . here's word that we've repeated."

"Wha?"

"The Message h a s cycled back. r at least that's what Willie

says. ' m on my way there. h y don't y ou wait another ten minutes s o

we can pretend you were * f c you r room i n t f e * B S Q .

' o ( ¡dru

Irte

y




She was almost a t th e door before he shouted after h e r / "How can

we recycle? e h a v e n ' t gotten th e primer yet." Racing across th e screens was a paired sequence of zeros and

ones, a real-time comparison of the data just being received and the

data from a n early page of text received a t Argus a year before. h e

program would have called out any differences./tfhere w e r e J S o f a r ,

none. t reassured them greatly that they had not mistranscribed, « # r » » »» T « * * / f ¿* « S - »

that there w e r e *e w transmission errors, that,some s m a l l interstellar

cloud between Vega and the Earth h - i H n n t p i T^nr^ntiTliy e a t « _ t h e

équivalent nf a n occasional zero or one, rgus was by now i n r e a l

time communication with « f e e dozens of other telescopes that were part

of the World Message Consortium and the news of recycling was passed

o n t o , California, Hawaii, the Akademik Keldvsb i n the South Pacific,

and to SVdney.

Documents

Contact draft film script