Slashdot Mirror
After 35 Years, Another Message Sent From Arecibo
0xdeadbeef writes "Two weeks ago, MIT artist-in-residence Joe Davis used the Arecibo radio telescope to send a message to three stars in honor of the 35th anniversary of the famous Drake-Sagan transmission to M13 in 1974. It was apparently allowed but not endorsed by the director of the facility, and used a jury-rigged signal source on what will now be known as the 'coolest iPhone in the world.' The message encoded a DNA sequence, but no word yet on whether it disabled any alien shields. You can get the low-down on Centauri Dreams: Part 1, Part 2."
We are very tasty snacks! Here, have our DNA, and grow some appetizers for the long journey!
I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
Without any context --- e.g., our biochemistry, amino acid structure, nature of DNA --- this message amounts to about the worst practical joke in the history of interstellar communication. It has a relatively non-random structure, so clearly must mean something, and yet they'll never figure it out.
But if they do figure it out, we'll get a message a century from now: "Delicious! Do you have any other recipes?"
Dear citizens of Centauri. I have a large sum of gold, 300 metric tons, I need to move off planet. If you'll deposit a small transfer fee, 3 metric tons of gold, in a local bank I will make arrangements to ship the gold to you. Signed crowned prince of Iowa.
These guys must be loaded. Would you believe the rates they're charging for interstellar calls?
Send More Funding
I'm sure they won't be waiting any longer than usual for a response.
Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
This just in - they got a response:
Dear Earthling,
Hello! I am a creature from a galaxy far away, visiting your planet.
I have transformed myself into this text file. As you are reading it, I
am having sex with your eyeballs. I know you like it because you are
smiling. Please pass me on to someone else because I'm really horny.
I'ma let you finish, but we already got a reply to the original message!
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
We could have rickrolled them so they could get a taste of our culture!
My Dear Friend and Earthling, My name is Mr. Zebel Braumat, I am a senior priest in the highest order of our race. We are conducting a standard process investigation/Recommendation on behalf of all Advanced Common Civilization (ACC). This investigation involves an ancient race who shares similar DNA as with yours from which we have previously received messages from. The circumstances which surrounding investments made by this race at ADB Gold Account, the Private Banking arm of ACC. The ACC Private Banking client died intestate and nominated no successor in title over the investments made with the bank amounting to over galactic 9.5 Gazillion dollars. The essence of this communication with you is to request that you provide us information/comments on any or all of the four issues as regards nominating your race to inherit the fund left behind by this previous race. You are therefore being contacted to be legally nominated as next of kin(inheritor) to this race after all enquiries and investigation has yielded results showing that there is no known successors. You are required therefore to answer this questions to enable us make our recommendation. 1-Are you aware of any relative/relation born on the 2nd of February 1951, who shares your same name whose last known contact address was West Africa? 2-Are you aware of any investment of considerable value made by such a person at the Private Banking Division of ADB Bank PLC? 3-Can you confirm your willingness to accept this inheritance if you are legally and legitimately nominated and approved to stand as inheritor to this huge investment in regards to the bank account with ADB? 4-Would you agree to donate part of this inheritance to charity if you are officially approved to stand as the inheritor? It is pertinent that you inform us ASAP whether or not you are familiar with this personality or and your interest towards the issues mentioned. You must appreciate that we are constrained from providing you with more detailed information at this point. Please respond to this mail as soon as possible to afford us the opportunity to provide you with more information on this investigation and recommendation. Thank you for accommodating our enquiry. Mr. Zebel Braumat For: Advanced Common Civilization Kappa Ceti (G5B)
[_] At our nearest stellar neighbour, Soviet Centaurans serve YOU. (yum yum thx 4 gene seq bzzzt!)
[_] Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line. Your call is important to us. Please stay
[_] What? Can you hear me now? What? Frakking Aldebaran Telephone and Telecommunications! Get me a Droid!
[_] Get the base ships ready to jump! We've found the 13th colony!
[_] Oh shit. Spaceballs! Oh well, there goes the galaxy
[_] What, is your planet still there? The highway goes through next wee, you know!
[_] The
[_] The borg collective are pissed off at how you've portrayed them. They'll be in your area soon to "discuss it." BTW, we're calling first dibs on your planet.
[_] Sorry, we don't want any illegal aliens in the neighborhood. Please go to another quadrant or we'll have to report you.
[_] Why did the zhicvben cross the whowde? To get to the other side! Thank you, thank you. I'm here all diurnal-periods-times-7. Try the phizch.
[_] That is the most odious and obscene collection of insults and violations of universal taboos any alien race has ever sent our way. Prepare to die, earth scum! We will be avenged!
Let's hope that either they're not there, or they can't hear us if they are, or if they can hear us, they can't reach us, because the odds are that what we'll have is a failure to communicate.
we can't even communicate properly between spouses - it's an incredible conceit to think we could get it right first time with an alien species, and not break any taboo, or accidently insult them ... of that they'd be friendly.
Survival of the fittest means that the predators get to the top of the heap. Don't invite predators unless you *know* that you're better able to defend yourself than they are.
There's an app for that!
... The weather is here, wish you were beautiful.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Not in my lifetime.
Radio waves aren't made out of photons?
I know the paernt is a FAKE because it's not all in caps.
Exactly. I don’t think the phone model would have been mentioned (and with a wink nonetheless) that way if it were another phone.
Besides: Even a iPhone that sent stuff to another planet and got a reply, can’t beat a Linux running Nokia N900 with built-in full root access, from a company whose phones had SSH terminal software available for more than seven years now. </proper-geek-fanboyism> ;)
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Not in my lifetime.
But maybe mine. I plan on living to be at least 500, hopefully more. So far, so good.
I don't like Linux. This doesn't make me a troll.
No, it was - "Kids and grown ups love it so, the happy world of Arecibo"
Dear Earthling,
I have been requested by the Inter Planetary Resource Foundation to contact you for assistance in resolving a matter. The Inter Planetary Resource Foundation has recently concluded a large number of contracts for resource exploration in the Alpha Centauri region. The contracts have immediately produced moneys equalling $40,000,000 in your currency. The Inter Planetary Resource Foundation is desirous of resource exploration in other parts of the galaxy, however, because of certain regulations of the Galactic council, it is unable to move these funds to another region.
Your assistance is requested to assist the Inter Planetary Resource Foundation in moving these funds out of the region. If the funds can be transferred to your name, in your Earthling bank account, then you can forward the funds as directed by the Inter Planetary Resource Foundation . In exchange for your accomodating services, the Inter Planetary Resource Foundation would agree to allow you to retain 10%, or US$4 million of this amount.
However, to be a legitimate transferee of these moneys according to Nigerian law, you must presently be a depositor of at least US$100,000 in a bank which is regulated by the Inter Planetary Resource Foundation.
If it will be possible for you to assist us, we would be most grateful. Please reply to this message at your earliest convenience.
You do realise that sending a message with an Apple product is tantamount to declaring war? Goddammit, did you not see that documentary with the MacBook?
Except that Alpha Centauri's staggeringly advanced "alien" technology has solved this problem long, long ago.
Unfortunately, they have also developed staggeringly advanced spam filters that will dump our message in the "junk" folder.
Set your phasers on "funky"!
I wonder if we are going to get one back: "Can you keep the ^%£$&^$*$&^ noise down!"
So why not spend research money doing things that we know are going to work.
"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?"
- Albert Einstein
"Can you hear me now?"
Undetectable Steganography? Yep, there's an app fo
Oh, hey! We were about to build a hyperspace bypass through your solar system. But now that we know it's inhabited, we'll reroute that and give you an on-ramp.
Haven't I read this from somewhere before... Except they didn't reroute the hyperspace bypass.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)