For a long time there was an assumption in SETI
circles that when Contact came it would be through the detection of an
unambiguous radio signal, a clarion call from the depths of space that would be
unmistakably alien. SETI scientists and enthusiasts alike maintained that an ET
signal will be both simple and easy to identify as being extraterrestrial in
nature. Now we realize it might not be that straightforward. ETs might be
attempting communication via lasers, or holograms, or some other way we can't
even imagine. We're looking for a needle in a haystack whilst wearing a
blindfold and boxing gloves.
While the best case scenario would be for our
first ET signal to be a Sputnik-like beeping from the depths of space, telling
us how far we have to turn the galactic radio dial before we hear the clear
tones of "Voice Of the Milky Way", it's more likely that the
transmission will contain a LOT of information which will be hard to decode,
especially if that information wasn't created and transmitted with the purpose
of making contact, but 'leaked'. Earth leaks signals
out into space all the time, and the radio ripples spreading away from us carry
not only entertainment programs but documentary-style factual programs too.
Wildlife documentaries, natural history features, gardening shows, cookery shows,
sports events, all of them carrying a wealth of accurate information for any
ETIs who stumble upon them.
Might alien civilizations be "leaking"
too? If they are, then we should cross our fingers that there are ET
equivalents of "National Geographic" specials heading towards us,
packed with useful information, instead of their versions of "Big
Brother". What a disaster that would be...
But what about programs concerning art?
Art contains lots of confusing and conflicting signals. Art is subjective and
very personal. And although many forms of art are self explanatory, realistic
and easily interpreted, so-called modern art, with its
geometrical patterns, chaotic curves, random patterns and psychedelic
swirls and whorls of color, take some figuring out.
The odds against us stumbling across an ET
episode of "Art Today" are ridiculously high, but not impossible. Perhaps
a civilization might, after millennia spent refining its sciences, value art
more highly, so highly they felt a desire to share their artistic achievements
with the rest of the Galaxy, (and preserve them in the process too, of course).
Such a civilization might broadcast the contents of their galleries, scattering
them among the stars like confetti, distributing them like a cosmic form of
"shareware"...
But one civilization's art could be mistaken by
another for scientific images, graphical representations of scientific
concepts, or illustrations from some advanced physics textbook, and vice versa.
Would we recognize - and/or aesthetically appreciate - any incoming
examples, whole or fragmented, of ET art? And it works both ways: what would an
ETI make of Picasso's works, when only a very few of us here on Earth
have a clue what they're meant to represent? And are we really sure that
ETs will correctly interpret those pulsar maps on the sides of our Voyagers and
Pioneers,
or will they just think "Hmmm, interesting composition, but too abstract
for me.."?
The nature of ET art will be dictated by their
range of senses, their environment, their evolutionary path, psychology
and physiology. Of course, they could create familiar-looking compositions
and provide us with stunning landscapes and portraits of the living things they
share their corner of the Galaxy with, but it's more likely that the art
created by ETs might be so different to our own that it would be unrecognizable
as art. What sort of art might a mechanical ET produce? Would they rejoice
in perfect design, see beauty in purely functional forms and shapes, have only
disdain for soft lines and subtle, soft colors?
Perhaps some ETs will be so advanced they
might create art on a literally astronomical scale, manipulating astronomical
objects or entire regions of space...
It seems to me that ETs centuries or even
millennia ahead of us would have so much power and so much energy at their disposal
that the lines between art and engineering would eventually become blurred. As
their artists strove to produce bigger and better works, they would need
increasingly larger "canvases" for their works. Think of the
evolution of our own art. Once we painted on cave walls, then discovered
canvases, and how to sculpt stone. We then moved on to illuminating the sides
of buildings with lasers and carving faces in mountainsides. Where next? Laser
sculptures in the sky? Sculptures in Earth orbit? Images projected onto the Moon?
Now put yourself in the shoes of an artist a
thousand, ten thousand years ahead. What canvas is big enough for your
ambitions and imagination...? How about deliberately crashing asteroids or
comets into gas giants to create exotic and wonderful patterns in their clouds,
to be enjoyed by millions watching the show from across your solar system..?
Perhaps alien artists are painting with the very
light of the stars themselves. Look at those breathtaking pictures of planetary
nebulae taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, with all their multi-colored,
intricately-structured shells, veils and curtains of starfire swirling around
them. By interfering with the stars lurking inside such a nebula, maybe by
dumping material on their surfaces, alien artists might be able to change the
density and "gusts" of the solar wind shaping it, and in so doing
manipulate the shape of the nebula into patterns and forms of their choosing.
Would advanced civilizations be able to create epic-scale light-and-gas
sculptures in this way?
Think about it. How many times have you looked
at a Hubble image and thought "That's a work of art..."?
Maybe you were right.
NOTE: The
views of this article are the author's and do not reflect the policies of the
National Space Society.
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