During this past week while I was on vacation, I learned that SETI has been defunded by the government. I would like to believe that it’s only going on “hibernation” as the news articles report, but my gut feeling tells me that it will never come back 100%, unless private funding is acquired.
For more info, please visit: SETI.org whose mission is:
to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe.
I think one side effect of this will be the discouragement of “big” dreams and concepts in science — ideas that may be not profitable, but pave the way for future progress. Keep in mind, Albert Einstein’s efforts were aimed at proving the existence of God.
I tend to be a skeptic when it comes to the existence of UFO’s, especially in this age of hi-def (HD) video and photography. However my sentiments are expressed perfectly in this short story:
Cassiopeia Calling
Cassandra’s love for the skies began when she was eight years old. While on a family vacation in Pittsburgh, her father took her to the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium and Observatory. As she looked up at the dome ceiling, thousands of sparkling stars beamed down on her. That’s when she spotted the constellation of Cassiopeia.
She quickly learned Cassiopeia was the legendary Queen of Ethiopia whose beauty made her tragically vain and created enemies. The Sea Nymphs persuaded Poseidon, the God of The Sea, to punish her. And Cassiopeia was exiled to the northern heavens where she sits tied to a chair forever circling the night sky.
Cassandra also learned the constellation was comprised by many beautiful objects including M-52, M-103, NGC 185/147, NGC 281, NGC 457, NGC 663, NGC 7788/90, NGC 7789, Alpha Cassiopeiae and Eta Cassiopeiae.
Whenever she rattled off this list at family functions, eyes would gloss over and they’d say, “Good heavens. That’s nice dear.”
Upon completing her doctorate in astrophysics, Cassandra joined the SETI (Search For Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute. Some called her foolhardy, but she always felt the skies were too big, too vast and too beautiful, to be completely void of life.
Government grants kept her experiments funded. For countless nights, she observed the skies with telescopes, trying to find evidence of life in the heavens. More nights passed. More grants were paid.
Then one night…
A faint, pulsating beat was picked up by her radio telescope. Corroborating with other observatories in Hawaii, Australia and Peru, Cassandra calculated the source of the signal. Cassiopeia! Was this her imagination? How can this be? The same pattern was repeated over and over.
Quickly cross-referencing with a Morse code chart, she deciphered the message:
“Poseidon’s a prick.”*
“Good heavens,” Cassandra laughed as she logged her discovery into the annals of astrophysics.
* Incidentally, Greek mythology was turned upside down when this discovery was announced. Countless essays and treatises were written to disapprove the “Prick Theory.” But they couldn’t hold water to Cassandra’s diligent years of scientific investigation. Go SETI!
(from my collection of short stories called THE LITTLE BOOK OF COMPLEXITIES & ABSURDITIES)
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Copyright © 2011 by Rob Dragan
