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DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS [ FREQUENCIES MODULATING ] [ COMPUTER BEEPING ] IT IS A CRISP FALL MORNING. WE'RE WAKING UP,
GETTING READY FOR WORK, SCHOOL, EVEN REGRETTING A LONG NIGHT. JUST EVERYDAY LIFE. ONLY TODAY,
FOR 7 BILLION PEOPLE, THE DEFINITION OF LIFE ITSELF
WILL CHANGE. IT'S A SIGNAL FROM THE COSMOS, A MESSAGE THAT ANSWERS
THE MOST PROFOUND QUESTION WE AS A SPECIES HAVE EVER ASKED. ARE WE ALONE? Sagan: A SIGNAL FROM
AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL WOULD BE LIKE KNOCK ON THE DOOR
ON A DARK NIGHT WHEN YOU'RE NOT EXPECTING
ANYONE. IT WOULD NOT ONLY BE THE COOLEST
THING THAT EVER HAPPENED. IT'D BE THE MOST PROFOUND
DISCOVERY IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE, IN THE HISTORY OF WHAT IT IS
TO BE HUMAN. Jenkins: THERE WOULD BE HISTORY
BEFORE THIS STUNNING DISCOVERY AND THEN HISTORY AFTERWARDS. Drake:
THE EFFECT IS GOING TO BE TO CHANGE OUR CIVILIZATION
COMPLETELY. IT'S BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD
FOR ALL OF US. Narrator: BUT IF THIS<i> IS</i>
A SIGNAL FROM ANOTHER WORLD, WHO IN THE UNIVERSE
IS SENDING IT? IT'S GENERALLY ASSUMED
THAT IF WE PICK UP A SIGNAL, IT'S COMING FROM A SOCIETY
THAT'S MORE ADVANCED THAN OURS. NOW, WHY IS THAT? COULDN'T THERE BE ALIENS
THAT ARE LESS ADVANCED? WELL, OF COURSE. BUT THEY'RE NOT BUILDING
POWERFUL RADIO TRANSMITTERS. [ FREQUENCIES MODULATING ] SO, IF THEY'RE NOT AT LEAST
AT OUR TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL, WE WON'T HEAR FROM THEM. Tarter: WE'VE ONLY HAD
TECHNOLOGY FOR 100 YEARS. THAT'S 100 YEARS OUT OF THE HISTORY OF A GALAXY
THAT'S 10 BILLION YEARS OLD. ANY SIGNAL THAT WE DETECT IS GOING TO BE COMING FROM
AN OLDER CIVILIZATION. I'M TALKING IN THE HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS. Narrator: ALL RADIO WAVES TRAVEL
AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT. IN A VAST UNIVERSE, A SIGNAL FROM THE MIDDLE
OF THE MILKY WAY WOULD TAKE OVER 26,000 YEARS
TO GET HERE, WHICH MEANS WHOEVER SENT IT
IS EITHER LONG GONE OR WAY MORE ADVANCED
THAN ANYTHING WE COULD IMAGINE. IN THE CLOCK OF THE COSMOS, WE'VE ONLY BEEN AROUND
FOR A MILLISECOND. BUT IN OUR BRIEF TIME HERE, HUMANS HAVE MADE
OUR PRESENCE KNOWN. HOWDY DOODY, BOYS AND GIRLS! Shostak:
WE'VE BEEN SIGNALING OUR
PRESENCE FOR A LONG TIME NOW. REALLY, SINCE THE PERIOD
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IS WHEN THE EARTH BEGAN TO GLOW
WITH RADIO SIGNALS THAT MIGHT INFORM SOME
CURIOUS ALIENS THAT WE'RE HERE. Narrator: FROM THE FIRST
SCRATCHY RADIO TRANSMISSIONS TO TODAY'S BEAMS OF BROADBAND, WE'VE BEEN ACCIDENTALLY SHOUTING
INTO THE COSMOS FOR OVER A CENTURY. "I LOVE LUCY" LEFT THE EARTH
50 YEARS AGO AND HAS NOW GONE PAST
10,000 STARS. THE NEARBY STARS
HAVE SEEN "THE SIMPSONS." Narrator:
AS RADIO WAVES TRAVEL, THEY DISSIPATE
BUT NEVER DISAPPEAR. WITHIN 500 LIGHT YEARS, "THE HONEYMOONERS"
WOULD BE BARELY A WHISPER ABOVE COSMIC BACKGROUND NOISE. BUT BY THEN, IT WOULD HAVE PASSED
ROUGHLY ONE MILLION STARS. Drake: IF THEY CAN CAPTURE
OUR TELEVISION, THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND
OUR LANGUAGES. THEY COULD KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT US
AS WE OURSELVES DO. I'M STUPID? NO ONE KNOWS ANY BETTER,
NOT EVEN ME THAN YOU, HOW STUPID I AM! IF RALPH KRAMDEN
IS OUR DIPLOMAT, WHO KNOWS WHAT AN INTELLIGENT
ALIEN WOULD THINK OF US? Narrator:
IF EARTH HAS A WELCOME MAT, IT'S HERE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW,
CALIFORNIA. SETI IS THE SEARCH FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND IT'S THE MOST AUDACIOUS
PROGRAM TO DATE IN TERMS OF LOOKING FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIALS AND SEEING IF
THEY ACTUALLY EXIST. Narrator:
DOZENS OF MINDS WORKING TO UNDERSTAND BILLIONS OF YEARS
OF EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY, EXAMINING HOW LIFE ON OUR WORLD
WENT FROM CHEMISTRY TO BIOLOGY IN ORDER TO LEARN
IF IT HAPPENED ANYWHERE ELSE. LEADING THE CHARGE
IS SETI DIRECTOR JILL TARTER. Tarter: MORE THAN 150 PEOPLE
WORK AT THE SETI INSTITUTE. THEY'RE ASTRONOMERS.
THEY'RE BIOLOGISTS. THEY'RE CHEMISTS.
THEY'RE GEOLOGISTS. Shostak:
WHEN WE TURN OUR ANTENNAS IN THE DIRECTION
OF SOME NEARBY STAR SYSTEM THAT WE THINK
MIGHT HAVE A PLANET WITH INTELLIGENT LIFE ON IT... Tarter:
WE'RE TRYING TO FIND EVIDENCE OF SOMEONE ELSE'S TECHNOLOGY. WE'RE LOOKING FOR SIGNALS THAT WE DON'T THINK
NATURE CAN PRODUCE. Narrator: EVERY STAR... GALAXY... AND BLACK HOLE IN SPACE SPEWS OUT A CACOPHONY
OF MANY RADIO FREQUENCIES, NEVER JUST ONE. SO, A SINGLE-CHANNEL
COMPRESSED FREQUENCY STRONGLY INDICATES THAT
SOME INTELLIGENT BEING MADE IT. [ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ] Narrator:
HOURS AFTER IT ARRIVES, SETI SCIENTISTS WORK TO VERIFY
THE MESSAGE IS REAL. THERE'S A BIG PROBLEM IN SETI, AND IT'S GETTING WORSE
AND WORSE. IT'S CALLED THE
"RADIO INTERFERENCE PROBLEM." WE DO FIND
A LOT OF STRONG SIGNALS, BUT MOST OF THOSE STRONG SIGNALS
ARE NOT FROM EXTRATERRESTRIALS. THEY'RE FROM RADIO POLLUTION,
SATELLITES, PLANES, CELLPHONES. Narrator: UNTIL THEY RULE OUT
ALL POSSIBLE HUMAN SOURCES, THE CORK STAYS IN THE BOTTLE. SETI's METHOD OF LISTENING FOR
E.T. BEGAN IN 1960 WHEN ASTRONOMER FRANK DRAKE
BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO LISTEN
FOR ALIEN RADIO SIGNALS. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO ASSUME
A SUPER CIVILIZATION. ALL THEY HAD TO BE WAS LIKE US,
AND WE COULD FIND THEM. Shostak: IN A WAY, WE'RE DOING THE SAME THING
THAT WAS DONE IN 1960 EXCEPT THAT THE TECHNOLOGY
HAS GOTTEN SO MUCH BETTER. EXPERIMENTS TODAY ARE
RECKONED TO BE 100 TRILLION -- WITH A "T" -- 100 TRILLION TIMES
MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THAT FIRST EXPERIMENT. Narrator:
THE CLOSEST THING EARTH HAS TO AN ALIEN SWITCHBOARD IS HIDDEN IN THE SHADOW OF
CALIFORNIA'S CASCADE MOUNTAINS. IT'S CALLED
THE ALLEN TELESCOPE ARRAY. AND IT'S THE ONLY
LARGE-SCALE RADIO TELESCOPE MEANT TO BE AVAILABLE 24/7
FOR SETI RESEARCH. WE'RE STANDING IN FRONT OF
ONE OF THE 42 ANTENNAS OF THE ALLEN TELESCOPE ARRAY. Narrator: ON THEIR OWN,
THE DISHES ARE SMALL, DESIGNED TO BE EASY
AND CHEAP TO FIX. BUT WHEN THE ARRAY IS COMPLETED,
IT WILL CONTAIN 350 DISHES WITH A COMBINED POWER
OF ONE RADIO TELESCOPE HALF A MILE WIDE. IT WILL BE ABLE TO PICK UP
A MEGAWATT TRANSMISSION FROM 1,000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND MAP THE ENTIRE VISIBLE SKY
IN ONE DAY AND NIGHT. WE'RE NOT ABLE TO HEAR THEM,
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO SEE THEM, BUT THE WHOLE EARTH IS BEING
BATHED IN RADIO SIGNALS. BUT THE RADIO SIGNALS
FROM OTHER STARS HAVE COME FROM
SUCH A LONG DISTANCE AWAY THAT THEY'RE INCREDIBLY WEAK. Narrator:
THE STRENGTH OF RADIO SIGNALS IS MEASURED IN JANSKYS, A TINY UNIT OF ENERGY DENSITY ON THE SCALE OF
10-TO-THE-NEGATIVE-26 WATTS. WHEN THEY ARRIVE AT THE A.T.A., THESE RADIO SIGNALS
HAVE EVEN LESS ENERGY THAN A SNOWFLAKE RELEASES
WHEN IT HITS THE GROUND. WE ARE IN THE INSIDE
OF THE TELESCOPE. THIS IS SORT OF LIKE
A COSMIC TUNING FORK. AND THE LONG TINES ARE SENSITIVE
TO THE LONG WAVELENGTHS. THE SHORTER TINES ARE SENSITIVE
WITH THE SHORTER WAVELENGTHS. WHEN WE USE
THIS KIND OF TELESCOPE, WE CAN LOOK AT
9 BILLION DIFFERENT CHANNELS. Narrator:
THE ARRAY OF TELESCOPES ALLOWS SETI RESEARCHERS
TO LISTEN TO VIRTUALLY EVERY MICROWAVE
RADIO FREQUENCY ALL THE TIME. BUT 9 BILLION FREQUENCIES
STREAMING IN 24/7 MEANS A MOUNTAIN OF NUMBERS
TO CRUNCH. THAT'S THE EVEREST SETI
ADVENTURERS HAVE TO CLIMB EVERY DAY. AT U.C. BERKELEY, ASTRONOMER DAN WERTHIMER
HAS FOUND A WAY TO DO JUST THAT. HE OVERSEES
A GROUNDBREAKING EXPERIMENT TO TACKLE A TRILLION BYTES
OF DATA A DAY. IT'S CALLED SETI@home. Werthimer:
YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND DOWNLOAD THIS FREE
SETI@home SCREENSAVER PROGRAM. AND YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED
A PIECE OF THE SKY. BUT INSTEAD OF JUST PUTTING UP
PRETTY PICTURES, YOUR COMPUTER IS ACTUALLY
LOOKING FOR THAT FAINT MURMUR OF A DISTANT CIVILIZATION. Narrator: SO FAR, 8 MILLION PEOPLE
HAVE INSTALLED THE SCREENSAVER. THEIR COLLECTIVE
PROCESSING POWER FORMS ONE OF THE BIGGEST
SUPERCOMPUTERS ON THE PLANET. WITHOUT THEM,
A SIGNAL COULD ARRIVE AND SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS. Werthimer:
MY GUESS IS THAT IF WE EVER DO
FIND A DISTANT CIVILIZATION, IT WON'T BE AN EXPERT AT SETI
OR A SCIENTIST. IT COULD BE
ANYONE ON THE PLANET. Narrator: IN OTHER WORDS, YOUR LAPTOP COULD BE
THE PORTAL TO E.T. [ BEEPING ] BUT OUTSOURCING THE WORK
COULD BRING RISKS OF ITS OWN. Tarter: WILL IT LEAK? PROBABLY. WE'VE HAD A COUPLE
OF FALSE POSITIVES. AND ALTHOUGH NOBODY PURPOSEFULLY
TOLD ANYBODY ANYTHING, IN FACT, IT DID LEAK. [ KEYS CLACKING ] [ KEYS CLACKING ] Narrator: AS THE NEWS
OF THE ALIEN MESSAGE SPREADS, SCIENTISTS RACE TO CATCH UP. IT TAKES DAYS
FOR SETI RESEARCH TO CONFIRM THAT THE SIGNAL WASN'T MADE
BY ANYTHING NATURAL AND IT WASN'T MADE BY US. AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION
HAS OPENED A CHANNEL WITH EARTH, BUT ARE WE READY
FOR WHAT THEY MIGHT SAY? Tyson:
I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH EGO TO BE PREPARED
IF WE FIND MICROBIAL LIFE. BUGS, FINE. I THINK WE CAN HANDLE THAT. THE DAY WE DISCOVER LIFE THAT'S
MORE INTELLIGENT THAN WE ARE... WE'LL GOT BANANAS. Narrator: AFTER HALF A CENTURY
OF LISTENING AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS
OF WONDERING... AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL TRANSMISSION
HAS BEEN PICKED UP, NOT JUST BY
E.T.-SEEKING SCIENTISTS, BUT BY AN OUTSIDER. ALMOST INSTANTLY,
THE NEWS GOES VIRAL. IT'S A FIELD DAY FOR SKEPTICS, BEGINNING
AS MORE NEWS OF THE WEIRD THAN NEWS OF THE MILLENNIA. BUT THIS TIME, IT'S REAL. WE DON'T KNOW WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY ARE,
OR WHAT THEY WANT. WE ONLY KNOW THAT WE'RE ON
THE PRECIPICE OF A NEW UNIVERSE. THE SIGNAL ISN'T COMING
TO CALIFORNIA, TO THE ALLEN TELESCOPE ARRAY
OR TO THE SETI INSTITUTE OR EVEN TO THE UNITED STATES. THE SIGNAL'S COMING
TO THE WHOLE PLANET. THE INFORMATION
IS THE PROPERTY OF HUMANKIND. Narrator:
WORLD GOVERNMENTS OR MILITARIES MIGHT SEEK TO CONTROL
THE INFORMATION, BUT THERE WOULD BE
NO WAY TO STOP IT. THE PUBLIC ALREADY KNOWS. I THINK IF WE CAUGHT A STRONG
EXTRATERRESTRIAL SIGNAL, PEOPLE WOULD FREAK OUT. I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD
FREAK-OUT IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT THERE'D BE SOME BAD STUFF
TO GO WITH IT. Narrator: AND ONCE A CHANNEL
TO THE COSMOS WERE OPENED UP, THERE WOULD BE NO GOING BACK. COME ON IN. Brin:
ONCE YOU TELL THE WORLD, EVERYBODY'S BACKYARD
SATELLITE TV RECEIVER IS GONNA BE AIMED
AT THAT DIRECTION OF THE SKY, SHOUTING "YOO-HOO!" THE WORLD, IN FACT,
WILL TRANSMIT, AND IT WILL BE A GREAT CACOPHONY AND A PRETTY GOOD
CHARACTERIZATION OF JUST WHO WE ARE
AS A SPECIES NOW. ANYONE WITHIN THE SOUND
OF MY VOICE... ALIENS, WHAT'S UP?
PLEASE, TAKE HER. Narrator: OUR WORLD EXPLODES
WITH COMMUNICATION AS PEOPLE REACH OUT
IN ANY WAY THEY CAN TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE COSMOS. WE DON'T KNOW IF OUR COSMIC
NEIGHBORS ARE FRIENDS OR FOES, BUT WE DO KNOW NOW THAT
THE SIGNAL IS RICH WITH DATA THAT WILL TAKE TIME TO DECIPHER. Vakoch: IN SOME WAYS, IT MIGHT BE LIKE GETTING A GIFT
FROM YOUR WEIRD UNCLE. ONCE YOU FINALLY OPEN IT UP
AND UNWRAP IT AND TAKE IT OUT OF THE BOX, YOU LOOK AT IT AND YOU SAY,
"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS IT?" Narrator:
BY EXAMINING COORDINATES, ASTRONOMERS KNOW WHICH DIRECTION
THE SIGNAL ORIGINATED FROM. BUT ODDLY, THAT DIRECTION DOESN'T CONTAIN
ANY VISIBLE STAR SYSTEM. SO, WHERE ARE THEY? SETI SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN HUNTING
EXTRATERRESTRIALS FOR DECADES, BATTLING A PUBLIC PERCEPTION THAT THEIR SCIENCE
REALLY WASN'T SCIENCE AT ALL. THERE WAS TERRIBLE CONFUSION
IN THE PUBLIC'S MIND BETWEEN
THE SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION THAT WE WERE TRYING TO CONDUCT AND LITTLE GREEN MEN. Narrator:
IN THE EARLY DAYS, PIONEERS JILL TARTER
AND FRANK DRAKE TEAMED UP WITH
SETI's GREATEST AMBASSADOR, THE LATE ASTRONOMER AND BELOVED SCIENCE ICON
CARL SAGAN. MY DAD USED TO SAY, "LOOK AT
A STARFISH AND LOOK AT YOURSELF. "YOU COME FROM THE SAME WORLD,
BUT LOOK HOW DIFFERENT YOU ARE. IMAGINE HOW DIFFERENT SOMETHING
FROM ANOTHER WORLD WOULD BE." Narrator:
SETI APPLIES SCIENTIFIC RIGOR TO A FIELD
WITH NO SUBJECT...YET. THE FIRST STEP WAS
A REVOLUTIONARY EQUATION THAT CALCULATES THE ODDS THEY
WILL EVER FIND BEINGS TO STUDY. THE DRAKE EQUATION WAS A SYSTEM
DEVELOPED BY FRANK DRAKE TO TRY TO CALCULATE
THE NUMBER OF CIVILIZATIONS THAT WE COULD COMMUNICATE WITH
IN OUR OWN MILKY WAY GALAXY. Narrator:
THE EQUATION BEGINS WITH THE ESTIMATED
200 BILLION STARS IN OUR GALAXY. AND THEN YOU ASK, "WELL, HOW MANY PLANETS
ARE GOING AROUND EACH STAR?" THE NEXT TWO FACTORS
OF THE EQUATION ESTIMATE HOW MANY OF THOSE
PLANETS HAVE SEEN LIFE EMERGE, FOLLOWED BY AN ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY OF THOSE POPULATIONS
ARE INTELLIGENT AND HOW MANY HAVE THE TECH
TO TALK TO US. FINALLY, HOW LONG
DO THOSE SOCIETIES EXIST BEFORE THEY GO EXTINCT
OR SELF-DESTRUCT? IF THE FRACTIONS
ONLY EQUAL 5%, IT STILL MEANS THE UNIVERSE
COULD BE HOME TO THOUSANDS, EVEN MILLIONS OF CIVILIZATIONS. FOR THE PAST 50 YEARS, THE EQUATION HAS BEEN
A CATALOG OF MAYBES WITH MOST OF THE VALUES UNKNOWN. BUT TODAY, THAT'S CHANGING, AS EARTH'S SCIENTISTS
ARE SPYING NEW WORLDS THAT COULD BE JUST LIKE OURS. MAN: Liftoff for the Delta II
Rocket with Kepler. IN MARCH OF 2009, WE FINALLY LAUNCHED KEPLER
FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF FINDING EARTH-SIZED PLANETS
AROUND SUN-LIKE STARS. OVER 1,235 PLANETARY CANDIDATES WERE IDENTIFIED
IN THE FIRST 120 DAYS. Narrator:
JUST 20 YEARS AGO, PLANETS WERE BELIEVED
TO BE RARE. BUT KEPLER HAS FOUND ALMOST 10 PLANETARY CANDIDATES
A DAY, AND THEY'RE STILL COUNTING. TO FIND THEM, IT HAS A STARING CONTEST
WITH THE STARS UNTIL ONE BLINKS. WE'RE WATCHING THESE STARS,
FOR INSTANCE, WHEN A PLANET FLIES
BETWEEN US AND THE STAR, CASTING A SHADOW
IN OUR DIRECTION. Narrator:
TO CAPTURE THESE TINY SHADOWS, KEPLER USES THE LARGEST CAMERA
EVER LAUNCHED BY NASA WITH A JAW-DROPPING
95 MEGAPIXELS -- 10 TIMES THE POWER
OF YOUR POINT AND SHOOT. THE IMAGES IT'S TAKEN HAVE HELPED
ASTRONOMERS CALCULATE THAT PLANETS COULD EVEN
OUTNUMBER THE STARS BY AT LEAST TWO TO ONE. IF A FEW PERCENT OF ALL STARS HAVE A COUSIN OF THE EARTH,
IF YOU WILL, THEN THAT MEANS THERE ARE LITERALLY BILLIONS
OF EARTH-LIKE WORLDS JUST IN OUR GALAXY. Narrator:
BY THE KEPLER MISSION'S END, IT COULD ANSWER
ONE OF HUMANITY'S OLDEST AND MOST PROFOUND QUESTIONS. EVEN THE ANCIENT GREEKS
HYPOTHESIZED THAT, LIKE GRAINS OF WHEAT
IN A WHEAT FIELD, WE WERE PROBABLY JUST ONE GRAIN AND THERE WERE
MANY OTHER GRAINS. AND I BELIEVE IF WE FIND ONE
CIVILIZATION, WE'LL FIND MANY. Narrator: THE QUESTION IS,
HOW WILL OUR SPECIES REACT? WILL HUMAN BEINGS EMBRACE
THE UNKNOWN? OR WILL WE RUN SCARED? Narrator:
A MONTH AFTER EARTH WAS STUNNED BY A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE... THE DUST HAS BEGUN TO SETTLE. LIFE FOR MOST OF US
IS BACK TO NORMAL. ONLY NORMAL ISN'T
WHAT IT USED TO BE. Scalzi:
SO, WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT WE
ARE NOT ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE. THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING. BUT YOU CAN'T STAY
IN A PANIC MODE FOREVER. THE WHOLE UNIVERSE HAS CHANGED, AND I STILL NEED TO
TAKE OUT THE TRASH. Narrator: FOR MANY, THE NEWS IS
TOO STRANGE AND FAR AWAY TO UPEND DAY-TO-DAY LIFE. OTHERS ARE MORE PREOCCUPIED
BY THE IDEA OF ALIEN NEIGHBORS. ALL OVER THE WORLD, SCIENTISTS ARE PORING OVER
THE MESSAGE, TRYING TO DECIPHER ITS MEANING. Werthimer:
WHEN WE FIND A SIGNAL, IT WILL TAKE A WHILE
FOR ASTRONOMERS AND SCIENTISTS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE NATURE
OF THAT SIGNAL IS. Narrator: IT TAKES TIME BECAUSE SCIENTISTS FIRST
HAVE TO LEARN AN ALIEN LANGUAGE. Tyson: WE DON'T DECODE ANY OTHER
ANIMAL SPECIES ON EARTH. [ WHALE VOCALIZING ] WE'VE LISTENED TO WHALES.
MAYBE IT'S A MATING CALL. MAYBE THEY'RE DOING CALCULUS.
WE HAVE NO CLUE. Narrator: DOUG VAKOCH IS
THE SETI INSTITUTE'S DIRECTOR OF INTERSTELLAR
MESSAGE COMPOSITION. HIS JOB IS
TO THINK LIKE AN ALIEN. HE RESEARCHES WAYS
AN EXTRA TERRESTRIAL MIGHT COMMUNICATE
ACROSS THE COSMOS AND WHAT THEY MIGHT SAY. Vakoch:
MANY SETI RESEARCHERS SAY, "IF WE GET A SIGNAL
FROM ANOTHER CIVILIZATION, "IT WOULD BE WRITTEN
IN THE LANGUAGE OF MATH," BECAUSE YOU'D NEED MATH TO CREATE THE TECHNOLOGY
TO TRANSMIT, THE INSTRUMENTS
THAT LET US BRIDGE THE GAPS OF INTERSTELLAR SPACE. [ FREQUENCIES MODULATING ] [ COMPUTER BEEPING ] Narrator: WHATEVER MESSAGE
AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION SENDS US, IT WILL BE FILTERED
BY THE LANGUAGE OF COMPUTERS. THAT'S ZEROS AND ONES -- BINARY CODE. Vakoch:
THE FIRST THING WE'LL DO IS LOOK FOR
SOME REPEATING PATTERNS. MAYBE THEY'RE
A NUMERICAL SEQUENCE. MAYBE WE'LL RECOGNIZE
A FRAME FOR A PICTURE. Narrator: AN ALIEN MESSAGE
MAY BE TOO FOREIGN OR ADVANCED FOR US
TO COMPREHEND. BUT THERE'S AN UP SIDE. IF THE SIGNAL
IS DELIBERATELY SENT, IT WILL LIKELY BE
SENT ANTI-CRYPTOGRAPHICALLY. THEY'LL WANT US
TO DECODE THE MESSAGE. THEY'LL MAKE IT EASY FOR US. Narrator: CRYPTOGRAPHERS
STUDYING THE SIGNAL MAKE THEIR FIRST BREAK
IN CRACKING ITS MESSAGE. IT BEGINS WITH A SIMPLE SERIES
OF ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES THAT RESEARCHERS
QUICKLY IDENTIFY AS A SEQUENCE OF NUMBERS. THERE'S ONE TONE, THEN TWO, FOLLOWED BY THREE, FIVE, EIGHT AND 13. AS THE SEQUENCE GOES ON, SCIENTISTS REALIZE THEIR VALUES IN A FAMOUS MATHEMATICAL SET
CALLED THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE. IT'S A STRING OF NUMBERS WHERE EACH IS THE SUM
OF THE TWO PRECEDING IT. Vakoch:
THE FIBONACCI SERIES TELLS US ABOUT PHENOMENA THAT TIED IN TO
THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE. YOU'LL SEE IT TIED IN
TO PATTERNS IN NATURE. YOU'LL SEE IT IN THE SPIRAL
OF A SPIRAL GALAXY OR A NAUTILUS SHELL. IF WE GOT A MESSAGE THAT
CONTAINED THE FIBONACCI SERIES, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
IT WOULD SAY IS THIS REALLY IS
FROM INTELLIGENCE. Narrator:
AFTER REACHING 4,181, THE FIBONACCI GIVES WAY
TO OTHER PATTERNS FOR NUMERIC EQUALITY,
VARIABLES, NUMBER COMPARISONS,
AND CONSTANTS. SCIENTISTS REALIZE
THIS FIRST PART IS A KEY, A MATHEMATICAL ROSETTA STONE THAT WILL HELP THEM READ
THE REST OF THE TRANSMISSION. AND THAT LEADS THEM TO BELIEVE THAT THIS MESSAGE
WAS INTENDED FOR US, THE INHABITANTS OF EARTH. IT WAS TARGETED, UNLIKE ANY MESSAGES
WE'VE SENT OUT INTO SPACE. HUMANS HAVE BEEN
PUTTING OUT MESSAGES LIKE MESSAGES IN A BOTTLE,
SENDING IT OUT BLIND, NOT KNOWING
WHO IT'S GOING TO GET TO. AND TYPICALLY, THEY TEND TO BE
IN ONE OF TWO CATEGORIES. THE FIRST CATEGORY IS
JUST PURELY TECHNOLOGICAL TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, BUT THE OTHER
IS MORE SUBJECTIVE. IT'S MORE ABOUT
WHO WE ARE AS HUMANS, LIKE WHAT MATTERS TO US. Narrator:
IN 1977, NASA SENT OUT THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE
ILLUSTRATION OF LIFE ON EARTH EVER INTENDED
FOR AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION. TODAY, IT HAS TRAVELED FARTHER THAN ANY OTHER
HUMAN-MADE OBJECT. Drake:
VOYAGER 1 AND VOYAGER 2 HAD ENOUGH ENERGY AND SPEED
TO LEAVE THE SOLAR SYSTEM. AND CARL SAGAN SUGGESTED TO NASA
THAT WE PUT MESSAGES ON THEM, BECAUSE THESE SPACECRAFT
WERE GOING TO GO OUT INTO SPACE AND BE THERE,
ESSENTIALLY, FOREVER. Tarter:
IT'LL TAKE ABOUT 80,000 YEARS BEFORE IT EVER GETS NEAR
ANOTHER STAR. BUT IT'S ON ITS WAY. Narrator: ATTACHED TO EACH
OF THE VOYAGER PROBES IS A GOLD-PLATED
PHONOGRAPH RECORD. AND ON IT, A TIME CAPSULE OF THE
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF OUR PLANET. THERE'S THE SOUND
OF WAVES CRASHING... LAUGHTER... THE ROAR OF A SATURN V ROCKET
LIFTING OFF FOR THE MOON... AND MUSIC. [ CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC
PLAYING ] Drake: CARL WANTED TO PUT
MUSIC ON THE RECORD. HE THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE
ONE OF THE BEST INDICATORS OF THE LEVEL OF ADVANCEMENT
AND NATURE OF OUR CIVILIZATION. Narrator:
AND THERE ARE VOICES... [ MAN SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] ...GREETINGS
IN 55 HUMAN LANGUAGES. ONE OF THE VOICES WAS
EASIER TO GET THAN THE REST. MY PARENTS PLOPPED ME DOWN
IN FRONT OF A MICROPHONE -- ITHACA, NEW YORK,
WHEN I WAS 6 YEARS OLD. SO I SAID... Young Sagan: HELLO, FROM
THE CHILDREN OF PLANET EARTH. Narrator: TODAY,
THE VOICE OF YOUNG NICK SAGAN IS OVER 11 BILLION MILES AWAY
FROM HOME, TRAVELING OVER 10 MILES A SECOND
INTO INTERSTELLAR SPACE. SCIENCE, WHILE REALIST
AT ITS HEART, IS OPTIMISTIC IN ITS OWN NATURE. TO SEND SOME ASPECT
OF WHO WE ARE INTO THE GREAT VASTNESS
OF SPACE, THAT SAYS SOMETHING
ABOUT HUMAN ASPIRATION. Tarter: WE TRIED TO SHOW THAT
WE'RE BOLD AND ADVENTUROUS. WE KIND OF LIED
THROUGH OUR TEETH. NOWHERE ON THAT RECORD WILL YOU FIND PICTURES
OF POLLUTED CITIES, WAR. SO MAYBE IF WE GET A MESSAGE FROM AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL
TECHNOLOGY, WE'LL GET THE SAME THING
IN RETURN... WHAT THEY ASPIRE TO BE. Narrator: BUT A DEBATE RAGES
IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD
SEND MESSAGES AT ALL. IT'S BEEN SAID THAT'S
A DANGEROUS THING TO DO, 'CAUSE YOU RISK
THE ENTIRE PLANET. BECAUSE IF IT'S
AN AGGRESSIVE SPECIES, MAYBE THEY'LL COME DOWN
AND DESTROY THE EARTH. Narrator:
WHEN RESEARCHERS BREAK DOWN
THE REST OF THE TRANSMISSION, WHAT THEY FIND IS A GIFT, ONLY A GIFT THAT COULD BE
A THREAT IN DISGUISE. Narrator:
WEEKS AFTER RECEIVING A MESSAGE
FROM AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION, ASTRONOMERS AND ANALYSTS ARE
SLOWLY REVEALING ITS MEANING. Vakoch: THE IMPORTANT THING AS WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND
A MESSAGE FROM EXTRATERRESTRIALS IS TO BE OPEN
TO NEW POSSIBILITIES. WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT
THIS MESSAGE FROM AS MANY DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVES AS POSSIBLE WITH THE HOPE THAT AT LEAST ONE
OF THEM WILL HELP US DECODE IT. Narrator: THE CHALLENGE
WITH AN ALIEN MESSAGE ISN'T JUST DECODING IT. IT'S UNDERSTANDING IT. IF THEY ARE FAR MORE ADVANCED,
THEY MAY KNOW THINGS WE DON'T, OR THEIR INTELLIGENCE MAY BE
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN OURS. THEY'RE GONNA BE
SO DIFFERENT THAN HUMANS. WHAT THEY MIGHT CHOOSE
TO TELL US IS UNIMAGINABLE. OUR HUBRIS REQUIRES
THAT WE TELL OURSELVES THAT WE ARE A MEASURE
OF INTELLIGENCE. SUPPOSE THEY WERE SO MUCH MORE
INTELLIGENT THAN WE ARE THAT WE TO THEY ARE WHAT RHESUS MONKEYS ARE
TO US. Vakoch:
IN A WAY, I THINK A MESSAGE
FROM AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL IS MORE LIKE
A COSMIC INK BLOT TEST. IT MAY SAY MORE ABOUT US
THAN IT DOES ABOUT THE ALIENS. WE'RE GOING TO BE PUTTING
OUR OWN PRESUPPOSITIONS, OUR OWN FEARS,
OUR OWN DESIRES ON THAT MESSAGE. SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO
EXTRACT OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS AND REALLY UNDERSTAND
THE MESSAGE IN ITS OWN TERMS. USING DECRYPTING SUPERCOMPUTERS, RESEARCHERS HAVE MOST OF THE
MESSAGE'S FIRST PART DECIPHERED. THE SECOND PART
REMAINS A MYSTERY UNTIL THEY BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE
HOW IT'S ENCODED. Scalzi: CODE IS THE LANGUAGE
OF OUR TECHNOLOGIES. ALL UNDERNEATH
EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO -- OUR CELLPHONES, OUR TVs,
OUR INTERNET, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE USE
ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS, IS SOMEBODY HAVING THOUGHT UP, "THIS IS HOW THIS MACHINE WORKS,
AND THIS IS THE CODE." Narrator:
THE ALIEN CODING LANGUAGE
IS SO ELEGANT AND COMPLEX, IT MAKES OUR MOST
ADVANCED DIGITAL SOFTWARE LOOK LIKE STONE CARVINGS
IN COMPARISON. IT HAS THE POTENTIAL
TO REVOLUTIONIZE OUR WORLD. IF YOU HAVE BETTER CODE,
IF YOU HAVE MORE ROBUST CODE, IF YOU HAVE LESS COMPLEX CODE THAT STILL PERFORMS
THE SAME TASKS, THEN IT MAKES THINGS EASIER,
IT MAKES THINGS MORE EFFICIENT, AND IT OPENS UP A LOT OF DOORS. Narrator:
THIS CODING BREAKTHROUGH WOULDN'T JUST PUT THE CONTENTS
OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ON THE HEAD OF A PIN. IT CAN INCREASE THE POWER
OF EVERY COMPUTER ON THE PLANET BY A FACTOR OF 1,000, MAKING EVERYTHING
FROM OUR PHONES TO OUR CARS RADICALLY MORE EFFICIENT. BUT THEN THERE
ARE THOSE AMONG US SUSPICIOUS OF ANY APPARENT GIFT
FROM SPACE. Sagan:
THE "STAR TREK" LINE IS, "BEWARE ROMULANS
BRINGING GIFTS." ALIENS COULD BE GIVING US GIFTS
FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. IT COULD BE TRULY IN FRIENDSHIP, IT COULD BE AS A MEANS
TO UNDERSTAND THEM BETTER, OR IT COULD BE A MEANS
OF OUR OWN UNDOING. I'VE GOTTEN PHONE CALLS
FROM PEOPLE WHO ASK, "WHAT ARE OUR GOVERNMENT'S PLANS
IN CASE YOU FIND A SIGNAL? DO THEY HAVE
A CONTINGENCY PLAN?" WELL, NO.
I'VE NEVER HEARD OF ANY. I DON'T THINK THAT THEY'RE
PREPARED FOR THAT AT ALL. Narrator: BUT NOW,
GOVERNMENTS DEMAND A BIGGER ROLE IN DISSEMINATING
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY. SCIENCE FOLLOWS THAT
OLD HACKER AESTHETIC OF, "INFORMATION
WANTS TO BE FREE." YOU WANT TO SHARE THAT
SO THAT PEOPLE ARE INFORMED. GOVERNMENTS MAY REACT
A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. SOMETHING WHICH IS
USING TECHNOLOGY THAT'S ON THE EDGE
OF WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, THAT WOULD BE VERY THREATENING, I THINK,
TO A LOT OF GOVERNMENTS. Narrator: WORLD LEADERS
ARE REOPENING A CONVERSATION THEY HAVEN'T HAD IN A LONG TIME. President Reagan:
I OCCASIONALLY THINK HOW QUICKLY OUR DIFFERENCES
WORLDWIDE WOULD VANISH IF WE WERE FACING
AN ALIEN THREAT FROM OUTSIDE THIS WORLD. Narrator:
SETI EMERGED IN THE MIDST
OF THE COLD WAR SPACE RACE, WHEN WORLD POWERS WERE
FACING OFF ABOVE OUR ATMOSPHERE. Sagan: IN A TERRIFIC IRONY,
AS SETI WAS BEING FORMULATED, THE UNITED STATES
AND THE SOVIET UNION WERE LOCKED
IN A REALLY BITTER DISPUTE, PLAYING SPY VERSUS SPY,
EAST SURVEILLING ON WEST, WEST SURVEILLING ON EAST. AND THERE'S AN ELEMENT OF THAT
IN SETI IN THE EXTENT
THAT WE'RE TRYING TO SURVEIL ON WHO MIGHT BE OUT THERE. BUT IT'S NOT ABOUT THIS
ACRIMONIOUS WAR HERE ON EARTH. IT'S ABOUT LOOKING UP AND OUT. MAYBE WHAT'S OUT THERE
ISN'T OUR ENEMY. MAYBE WHAT'S OUT THERE
IS OUR FUTURE. Tarter: WE ARE NOT
THE PINNACLE OF EVOLUTION. WE ARE JUST
ONE EVOLUTIONARY OUTCOME. Tyson: I RELISH THE MAGNITUDE
WITH WHICH INNOVATIONS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFORM OUR MODERN LIVES. FAST FORWARD THAT 100 YEARS,
500 YEARS, 1,000 YEARS. I DREAM ABOUT THAT TOMORROW. Narrator: TECHNOLOGY MAY BE
OUR GREATEST TRIUMPH, BUT IT COULD ALSO BE OUR UNDOING
WITH A CHANGING CLIMATE, OVERPOPULATION, AND THE THREAT
OF NUCLEAR ANNIHILATION. INDEED, THE VERY FACT THAT AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION
EVEN SENT A MESSAGE MAY BE THE MOST VALUABLE THING
WE'D LEARN FROM IT. I DON'T EXPECT THAT A SIGNAL
IS GONNA SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS. I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO
SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS, 'CAUSE WE'VE CREATED THEM. BUT THE FACT THAT WE KNOW
IT'S POSSIBLE SOMEHOW TO SURVIVE THE TECHNOLOGICAL ADOLESCENCE
THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN, I THINK THAT'S
A REALLY IMPORTANT MESSAGE. Narrator:
WHY E.T.s WOULD BOTHER
TO SEND US THIS CODE REMAINS A MYSTERY, BUT IT'S GIVEN HUMANITY A PEEK INSIDE THE MIND
OF AN ALIEN INTELLIGENCE. WHAT MORE MIGHT THESE BEINGS
BE SAYING TO US? SETI RESEARCHERS
HOPE TO FIND OUT AS THEY WORK TO DECIPHER
THE FINAL PART OF THE MESSAGE. [ CLICKING ] Narrator:
2 1/2 MONTHS AGO, THE PEOPLE OF EARTH
RECEIVED A TRANSMISSION THAT ANSWERED ONE
OF HUMANITY'S OLDEST QUESTIONS. ARE WE ALONE? THE MESSAGE ARRIVED
IN TWO PARTS. THE FIRST WAS
A MATHEMATICAL ROSETTA STONE, THE KEY TO THE SECOND PART, WHICH WAS ENCODED WITH A RADICALLY ADVANCED METHOD
OF ENCRYPTION. SIGNAL PROCESSORS REALIZE IT COULD CATAPULT OUR
TECHNOLOGIES FORWARD BY DECADES, IF NOT CENTURIES. ONCE THEY UNWRAP IT, THEY DISCOVER
A BAFFLING AUDIO FILE, A REPEATING CLIP OF EERIE TONES
OVER A RASPY HISS. [ HISSING, CLICKING ] ITS MEANING IS A MYSTERY UNTIL ONE OF THE RESEARCHERS
SLOWS DOWN THE MESSAGE AND MAKES
A STUNNING REALIZATION. [ CLICKING ] THEY ARE THE SOUNDS OF STARS. FOR YEARS,
ASTRONOMERS HAVE STUDIED THE SUBTLE VARIATIONS IN LIGHT
COMING FROM STARS. IT'S CALLED STELLAR SEISMOLOGY. ALTHOUGH SOME SEE IT
MORE LIKE CELESTIAL MUSICOLOGY. SO, THESE ARE STAR SOUNDS
THAT WE'RE LISTENING TO, AND THIS IS
A VERY INTERESTING STAR. THIS ACTUALLY IS PULSATING
AND OSCILLATING, AND SO IN MANY CASES, THESE PULSATIONS
AND OSCILLATIONS ARE ACTUALLY ACOUSTIC WAVES THAT
ARE TRAPPED INSIDE THE STAR. Narrator: AS A STAR CHURNS,
ITS SURFACE RIPPLES, CAUSING MINUTE VARIATIONS IN THE
AMOUNT OF LIGHT THE STAR EMITS. THOSE VARIATIONS
CAN BE TURNED INTO SOUNDS, A HANDY WAY OF LEARNING ABOUT
THEIR INTERNAL STRUCTURES, AGE, AND SIZE. EVERY STAR HUMS
ITS OWN UNIQUE TUNE. ALL RIGHT, SO,
WHAT WE'RE LISTENING TO HERE IS KIC NUMBER 7671081,
AND THIS AN RR LYRAE STAR, AND IT'S PULSATING
ACOUSTICALLY. IT'S ACTUALLY BLOWING ITS
ATMOSPHERE UP EVERY 12 HOURS. THIS IS 90 DAYS' WORTH OF DATA PLAYED OVER
A FEW SECONDS' OF TIME, AND WE'RE SIMPLY LOOPING
THIS PARTICULAR SOUND FILE. Narrator: SETI RESEARCHERS
IDENTIFY THE SOUNDS OF TWO STARS IN THE MESSAGE. ONE OF THE TONES IS SIMILAR
TO THAT MADE BY A WHITE DWARF. Sagan:
SOME CALL IT A DEAD STAR. IT'S WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
A STAR GOES INTO A RED GIANT, COMPACTS DOWN
INTO A WHITE DWARF. AND IT'S VERY,
VERY DENSELY PACKED. AND IT'S COOLER
THAN A LOT OF OTHER STARS. [ RHYTHMIC POPPING ] Narrator:
WHEN SLOWED DOWN, THE HISS OF ANOTHER TONE
BECOMES A RHYTHMIC POPPING. IT'S THE SOUND MADE FROM A STRANGE CLASS
OF NEUTRON STARS CALLED PULSARS. HERE'S WHAT A PULSAR IS. TAKE A STAR. IT EXPLODES. THERE'S A LITTLE BIT LEFT OVER THAT IS EXTREMELY HEAVY
AND IT'S EXTREMELY DENSE. INSTEAD OF BEING
THE SIZE OF A PLANET, THEY'RE THE SIZE OF A CITY. THEY'RE LIKE
MAYBE 5 OR 10 MILES ACROSS. BUT THEY HAVE THE SAME MASS
AS THE WHITE DWARF. THE REASON WE CALL THEM
PULSARS IS BECAUSE, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE,
THEY PULSE. WHEN THE MAGNETIC POLES
ARE ROTATING, THESE HUGE GAPS OF ENERGY
ARE JUST COMING OUT AND FLASHING,
FLASHING, FLASHING. ONE WAY TO COMMUNICATE
WITH ANOTHER CIVILIZATION IS TO TELL THEM ABOUT ASTRONOMY. I MEAN, AFTER ALL,
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR
ANOTHER CIVILIZATION, YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW
SOME ASTRONOMY. SO, A BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE
WOULD BE ONE THAT TALKS ABOUT
YOUR HOME WORLD, THE STAR SYSTEM
THAT YOU COME FROM. Narrator: COULD THESE SOUNDS
BE A MAP TO AN ALIEN WORLD? ARE THESE BEINGS TELLING US
WHERE THEY CAME FROM? Vakoch: EACH PULSAR, HAS ITS IDIOSYNCRATIC SPEED
THAT IT'S GOING AROUND.. THE BEAUTY OF THAT PULSING IS
THAT YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THE LOCATION OF WHERE
THAT MESSAGE IS FROM. IT'S A VERY FITTING
SORT OF REMINDER OF A TECHNOLOGICALLY
ADVANCED CIVILIZATION. Narrator: EACH NEW REVELATION
ABOUT THE MESSAGE BRINGS A STORM OF NEW QUESTIONS
THAT HAVE NO ANSWERS. SO, THE PUBLIC
IS FILLING IN THE BLANKS WITH THEIR HOPES, DREAMS,
AND DARKEST NIGHTMARES. WITH A CLUE TO THEIR HOME WORLD,
ASTRONOMERS BEGIN LOOKING UP, TRYING TO FIND
THIS STRANGE SYSTEM OF STARS. THEY DON'T GET FAR BEFORE
EARTH RECEIVES ANOTHER SIGNAL. [ INDISTINCT TALKING ] ONLY THIS TIME,
THE ALIENS ARE TALKING. Young Sagan:<i>
HELLO, CHILDREN OF EARTH.</i> Narrator:
JUST AS THE PEOPLE OF EARTH ARE STARTING TO
GET USED TO THE IDEA OF SOMEONE ELSE OUT THERE
FAR AWAY... [ STATIC ] ANOTHER MESSAGE ARRIVES. [ MAN SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] AND ON THIS TRANSMISSION... [ SPEAKING CONTINUES ] ...THEY'RE TALKING. Young Sagan:
HELLO, CHILDREN OF EARTH. Narrator: THE ALIENS HAVE
SENT US A JUMBLE OF PHRASES, AND IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG FOR SETI RESEARCHERS
TO RECOGNIZE THEM. [ MAN SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ] THEY'RE OURS. IT IS A REMIX OF GREETINGS
RECORDED AND SENT OUT ON THE VOYAGER SPACECRAFT
IN 1977. IN ENGLISH... Young Sagan:
HELLO, CHILDREN OF EARTH. Narrator:
...IN ANCIENT GREEK... [ MAN SPEAKING GREEK ] ..."WE COME." AND FINALLY, IN INDONESIAN... [ MAN SPEAKING INDONESIAN ] "GOOD NIGHT,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. GOODBYE." THEY HAVE USED OUR OWN WORDS
TO ENGINEER A MESSAGE TO US. THEY'VE BEEN STUDYING US. Scalzi: SO, ALIENS HAVE FOUND
OUR SIGNAL. THEY KNOW THAT WE EXIST. HOW ARE THEY GOING TO
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT US? ONE WAY
THAT THEY COULD DO THAT IS WHAT WE WOULD PROBABLY DO. WE WOULD SEND A PROBE. WHEN WE WANTED TO KNOW MORE
ABOUT THE PLANETS NEAR US, WE SENT OUR OWN PROBES. SO, IT SEEMS LOGICAL THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO DO
THE SAME THING. THEY NOT ONLY SEE US, THEY NOT ONLY KNOW US. THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY. AND THEY AREN'T FAR. Tarter:
THE VOYAGER 1 SPACECRAFT, IT'S ABOUT TO JOURNEY INTO
THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM -- THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE STARS. IT'S AT THE EDGE
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. THEY'RE NOT LIGHT YEARS AWAY
ON THE OTHER EDGE OF THE GALAXY. THEY'RE IN OUR OWN BACKYARD. Sagan: THE IDEA THAT IF THEY
WERE COMING CLOSER TO US, THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE AN ACTUAL CONFRONTATION
OR A MEETING, I THINK AT THAT POINT, THE INESCAPABILITY
OF DAY-BY-DAY, THEY'RE CLOSER, THEY'RE CLOSER,
IT WOULD GALVANIZE US. IF WE WERE TO FIND SOMETHING
IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM COMING OUR WAY, YOU MIGHT AS WELL SIT BACK
AND HAVE A NICE DRINK, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT MUCH
YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. WHATEVER THEY HAVE IN MIND
TO DO, THEY'RE PROBABLY
GONNA BE ABLE TO DO IT BECAUSE, AFTER ALL, THEY MANAGED
TO MAKE IT THIS FAR. Narrator:
ASTRONOMERS TRAIN THEIR MOST
ADVANCED EYES AND EARS ON THE DISTANT REACHES
OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. NOTHING. ARE THE ALIEN TRAVELERS
BEYOND OUR SIGHT? ARE THEY WAITING
TO SHOW THEMSELVES? [ RAIN PATTERING ] Sagan: LET'S SAY YOU'RE AN ALIEN
SPECIES AND YOU'RE BENEVOLENT. YOU DON'T WANT TO
CAUSE US ANY HARM. YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT
MOMENT TO COME SAY "HI." WHERE IS THAT POINT? IF YOU'RE A COMPLETELY
MORAL SPECIES, MAYBE YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT UNTIL YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE
AREN'T GOING TO FREAK OUT AND PANIC AND KILL THEMSELVES
AND HAVE DOOMSDAY CULTS, THAT KIND OF STUFF. YOU DON'T WANT TO INTERFERE
WITH A CULTURE THAT'S STILL TRYING TO GET
THEIR OWN WAY FORWARD. Tyson: YOU KNOW, YOU CAN WONDER
IF WE'RE READY FOR CONTACT. IF YOU ASK ME,
THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. NO. WE'RE NOT READY. WE'RE NOT READY
TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. WE CAN'T SOLVE OUR OWN PROBLEMS. TO SAY, "OH, YEAH. "NOW LET'S HAVE A CONVERSATION
WITH AN ALIEN THAT MIGHT BE MORE INTELLIGENT
THAN WE ARE." EXCUSE ME? Narrator:
BUT THE PEOPLE OF EARTH, WITH ALL OF THEIR IMPERFECTIONS, MAY NOT HAVE A CHOICE
IN THE MATTER. WE ARE ABOUT
TO COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH BEINGS FROM ANOTHER PLANET. WHETHER WE'RE READY FOR THEM
OR NOT... ...THEY'RE COMING. WHEN "ALIEN ENCOUNTERS"
CONTINUES... A MASSIVE ALIEN CRAFT
IS ON ITS WAY. Tarter: BY THEY TIME THEY HAVE
THE TECHNOLOGY TO COME HERE, THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY
TO GO ANYTHING. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE FORCE
THAT POWERS THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. OUR BIGGEST FEAR IS
THAT THEY'LL ENSLAVE US. WE THINK THIS BECAUSE
WE'VE ALREADY BEHAVED THAT WAY. YOU'RE GONNA SEE A RUN ON GUNS.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE A RUN ON GOLD. [ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ] IT'S GONNA BE
A ROUGH NEIGHBORHOOD. LET IT GO! NO! NO! LET IT GO!
LET IT GO! Narrator:
WILL WE SURVIVE THE WAIT?
