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But again. no unexpected signals
we re ever de tected.
"Helio" from Earth
While many scientists have repeat–
ed l y
lisrened
fo r messages from
oute r space, it was only a liule over
a yea r ago th at man deli berately
sell[
a radio message to any in–
telligent civi liza tion tha t might be in
range of our la rgest a nd most pow–
e rful rad io tel escope.
To send the message , the fam ed
1.000-foo t-diame ter Are-
cibo radio te lescope in
Puerto Rico was enlisted.
Eq uipp ed with a
450,000-watt tra nsmitter,
th e Arecibo antenna was
able to focus its power to
a n equiva lent of25 times
a ll the man-made e lectri–
ca l power ever p roduced
on earth.
proponent o f space ex plora tion. be–
lieves tha t "li fe in the universe may
h ave been arouod for billions of
yea rs." To detect that life, OCi ve r
and others propase a gigantic a rray
of radio tel escopes which wou ld en–
ab le us " to listen in on the heavenly
discou rse of the ga lactic commu–
nity."
The o rcha rd -like a rra ngement o f
about 1,000 la rge antennae severa!
miles wide would look like a mu lti–
faceted eye pee ri ng in to s pace .
t ha t a r e (o r were) successful
throughout the
g~ l axy.
"T hey con–
st it ute." says Oliver,
·~
pricdess
resource of wisdom a nd unde rstand–
ing of t he universe."
' 'l f a l! this is true," adds Oliver,
"t hen a vast body of knowledge ac–
cumulated over billions of years
awa its access by mankind, by a ny
race th a t has the techno logica l
prowess to qua li fy for it. This body
o f knowledge might be termed our
ga lactic heritage."
But what would be the
resu lt of con tact wit h
othe r intelligent li fe in
the un iverse? Would it
lift our horizons ou t of
the sphere of our own
petty riva lries and in–
volve us in the common
cause of life throughout
t he ga laxy? Or, wou ld a
ve il of secrecy be thrown
on a ll such communica–
tion as eac h nation
sough t to ga in control o f
this new and poteotia lly
dange ro u s so urce o f
koowledge?
Ye t, for a ll its power,
the message wi ll be a
long, long time en route
- about 24,000 years.
Sometime a ro und the
year A.D. 25,974, in th e
distant g lob ular s tar
cluster ca lled Messier 13.
it could just ha ppen t ha t
one of the resident liJe
fo rms will de tect an un–
usual signa ! coming from
ea rth. Be ing intelli geot
crea tures, th e alien resi–
d e nts s hould have no
troub le b reaking th e
code a nd rece iviog the ir
ñrst " helio" from a crea–
ture ca lled man .
THE VIKING LANDER,
loaded with scientific instruments
(including an extendible claw), is scheduled to reach the
Martian surface on July 4, 1976. Such space probes wi/1
help answer intriguing questions about the chances for lite
on other worlds.
Would participa tion in
a ga lact ic community,
"enhance t he spirit of
man"? Or, would contact
with other inteHigen t life
do little other than un–
dermine the many reli–
gions that have focused
on man as a unique and
special crea tion of God?
As man enters the last
quarter of the twentiet h
ce n t u ry . hi s fu tu re
clouded and uncertai n ,
If earthlings a re still
he re to receive a reply - anoth e r
24.000 yea rs later - they will be
about our sixteen hundredth gener–
a tion o f grandch il<!ren .
Cyclops - the Biggest Eye
ln spite of the difficu lties of galactic
communi ca tion, th e p revalent belief
tha t we a re no t alone in the uni verse
has stimulated even more ambitious
proposa ls fo r contacting wha t is
oflen referred toas the cosm ic com–
munity. T he idea tha t man is a
unique inte lligence in the scheme of
things is now be ing replaced by a
be lief that intelligent consciousness
may existthroughout the uni verse.
Dr. Bernard Oli ve r, a s tro ng
40
Hence th e name : Proj ect Cyclops.
Such an enormous eye would be ca–
pable of communicati ng over dis–
tances of t housands o f light years,
but its cost wou ld be about $ 1 bil–
lion ayea r fo r a bout lOyea rs.
·Oppon ent s of proj ec t Cyclops
ma intai n the cost is entirely too hi gh
for wha t would probably be a futil e
cxperiment. On the other hand sup–
poners cla im the price is very rea–
sona ble, especia lly comparcd to thc
hundreds of bil lions presently spent
fo r defense, or even compared to the
present ex penditures for cigare ttes.
Wha t could Cyclops achieve for
mank ind ? According to Oliver .
there a re probably billions of races
pe rhaps i t is not surprising tha t he
seeks to end his seem ing isolation in
the universe by attempting to com–
munica te with other civiliza tions
many light years away. Perhaps a
mo re in te ll igenl, know ledgeab le
being would have the scientific, co l–
tu
ral. societa
l.
and yes, even the reli–
g ious perspect ive to extr ica t e
ma nkind from a myriad of pe r–
pl exing problems.
Man's rendezvous with destiny
may indeed líe in his communica–
tion with a superior being. bu t the
fi nal contact migh t be even more
remarka ble than we ca n now imag–
ine. And th e irony is this: tha t Being
may be on ly a prayer away.
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH June 1976