Life Beyond ch.

3 script
Last Update: Mar 29, 2022

The most complex object known in the universe - is the Human brain. These
86,000,000,000 neurons have given us the power to transform our planet. But is this
the best nature can do? We now know there are something like
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 habitable planets in the universe. 10 billion-trillion
chances for the brain, to be eclipsed by something else.
The search for intelligent life is more than just a scientific curiosity. Is driven by a
deep desire to connect with something greater. Finding an Alien civilization wouldn't
just reveal, we're not alone; it could chart a new course of evolution for our species.
And unlike primitive life, Alien intelligence, could be detectable thousands of
light-years away, making them potentially easier to find.

What do they know that we don't? And how do we make contact? We're not the first
to wonder…
I. MESSENGERS
Revealing We’re Not Alone

200 years ago we dreamed of lighting huge rings of fire in the Sahara Desert to
signal our presence. And in the 1860s, a French poet proposed a patchwork of giant
mirrors, reflecting sunlight to Mars in the form of The Big Dipper. But if you want to
send a signal across an Ocean of space - Bonfires and reflected-sunlight won't help
you much. Even a nuclear war on a nearby planet, would be virtually impossible to
detect with current technology.
To really get your message across, you need a form of light you can't even see -
Radio-waves are ideal for carrying information long distance, because compared to
other forms of light. They travel more freely through Interstellar gas and dust. That's
why SETI - The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has focused almost entirely
on scanning for radio signals, whether intentional messages, or byproducts of
technology.
Our own radio-transmissions have now traveled 100 light-years and reached 75 star
systems, some of which include potentially habitable planets. And if Alien
intelligence Lies Beyond this Bubble of signals, they could still infer life on Earth, by
spotting Oxygen in our atmosphere. Thanks to the SETI Institute and the recent
'Breakthrough Listen' project, we have now scanned, tens of millions of stars for
signals. But despite all this, after 6-decades of searching - Nothing, only a series of
false alarms and dead-end leads, we call it - The Great Silence
But in reality, the search has barely even begun. There are 2,000,000,000,000 other
galaxies out there that are still too far away for practical study. If space or the size of
all Earths-oceans, we would've searched less than a Pools-worth of Water for signs
of intelligent life. On top of this, we might even be looking for the wrong thing.
There's more than one way to communicate across space. In Alien life, might view
radio as primitive technology. We have to consider every possible alternative. From
the Practical to the Unimaginable.
The search is now underway for a different type of signal. One we could even spot
with the naked-eye - Laser light, high-powered laser bursts can outshine a star by
thousands of times. And can carry far more Data-Per-Second than radio
We would have to be in direct-line of sight, to detect the beam. But spread across
many light-years, they would widen to encompass entire planets and moons. Fleets
of laser beacons, could be used to sweep the entire galaxy. Like Alien Lighthouses,
in a Cosmic Sea. Thanks to a recent crowdfunding effort, plans are now in motion to
monitor the entire night sky for laser pulses.
But while these bright flashes would be relatively easy to find, advanced life might
be using something far more elusive - Neutrinos, tiny subatomic particles that are
streaming through you, by the trillions every second. These ghost particles, can pass
through entire planets, and not touch a single atom. It takes a giant room like this, to
detect just a handful of them, per day. But researchers recently proved neutrino
communication. Is possible, by sending a simple message through 240 meters of
rock. If advanced life is using them to communicate, their signals could travel
anywhere, through any obstacle at the speed of light. Their messages could be
streaming through us right now, and we would have no idea;
or maybe intelligent life is taking an entirely different approach to communication.
Using space-time itself as a medium. By manipulating high-gravity objects, they
could in theory create pattern distortions of space-time, which could ripple through
the universe, in all directions. But making gravity waves, strong enough to be
detectable would be extremely energy intensive. Maybe they're up to something far
simpler. Placing giant sunshades into orbit around a star could block out starlight in
distinct patterns, like a kind of cosmic Morse code. And even though it might take
years to blink out a basic message. A system like this, would require little effort to
sustain.
But the most sci-fi possibility of all, is that they have left messages in our DNA.
Some have proposed that certain sequences of our genes could contain hidden
messages. Easter eggs In our genetic code, placed by a life-designing higher
intelligence. But far-flung scenarios like this, are overshadowed by a more sobering
possibility... maybe we're just in the wrong place, at the wrong time...
Using a detailed computer model of our galaxy, researchers have estimated that
intelligent life was possibly most concentrated 4,000,000,000 years ago and closer to
the center of the galaxy. If true, then we would exist on the outskirts, light-years away
and billions of years too late to a galactic Golden Age. Maybe they were here,
millions of years ago, witness to a whole different planet.
By now, they might all be long gone, and we could be living in a Galactic Graveyard.
It may not be their there signals that we find one day, but their relics. As it turns out
our chances of finding an Alien civilization, depend heavily on their average survival
time. If the average lifetime is something like 100 years, then they will blip in and out
of existence, rarely overlapping and our chances of finding one alive are slim. But if
they survive for thousands of years or more, then our chances will Skyrocket, as the
potential for overlap expands. But what if they're not communicating at all? ...there's
still a way we could find them…
II. ENGINEERS
In Search of Giants

We tend to assume that Alien intelligence would share our motivation to

communicate. But they may find the prospect of making contact too dangerous or
too futile. If this is the case, then we have to get more creative in our search.
In 2015, astronomers watched as this normal-seeming star began to dim and erratic
waves, unlike anything they'd seen before. The cause is probably a giant dust cloud,
or a shattered moon blocking the light, but it has all the hallmarks of something else -
An Alien mega-structure. And even though this explanation looks unlikely, it hints at
a new way of intelligent life. Not listening for signals, but looking for their technology
directly; not searching for messengers, but searching for engineers.
And to do that, we have to wonder, what mind-boggling Alien technology, should we
be looking for? Each Alien civilization would be wildly different, but classifying them
by their energy usage, will give us insights into what technology they might be using.
The Kardashev Scale divides them into 3 levels.
Type One: would have a mastery of their home planet, using all the energy available
on it.
Type Two: would have mastery over their star, harnessing all its solar energy.
Type Three: would have mastery over their entire galaxy, and would be more foreign
to us, than we are to amoeba.

But before we go searching for Alien super technology, how do we find civilizations
like our own, that have yet to reach Type One?
When a typical planet passes in front of its star, we see the starlight dim sharply.
But observing a more gradual fall off of starlight, could be evidence of a dense ring of
satellites - A Clarke Belt, spotting this type of light curve wouldn't be a Smoking-gun,
but rings around rocky planets are unusual, and it could point us in the right
direction.
Just as Alien vegetation, would leave a Biosignature in its atmosphere. Alien
technology, would leave a Technosignature. Silicon produces a recognizable light
curve similar to Chlorophyll. Spotting this signal, could point us to the presence of
Alien Solar-cells. And something more nefarious, might also leave its mark on a
foreign atmosphere - Alien pollution, certain pollutants like - Chlorofluorocarbons,
aren't produced by nature, and could be detectable even in small amounts. These
chemicals could even linger long-after a civilization dies, pointing us to the remains
of an extinct Alien race.
Such a discovery could give us crucial guidance, on how to avoid our own
extinction. And there's another universal hazard we would be familiar with.
Any civilization that uses huge amounts of energy, will produce huge amounts of
waste heat. This excess heat could prove a serious threat - Just as Climate Change
does to us. But it could also leave a Tell-tale Signal. Finding waste heat radiating
from Alien planets, or other regions of space, could point the way to intelligent
activity.
If not exterminated by their own technology, some life-forms may achieve total
control over their planet, and become a Type One civilization
With this mastery would come incredible powers; control over all their world's
ecosystems, its resources, and even its weather.
But no matter how advanced, every planetary civilization will face the same cosmic
threats we do - Gamma-Ray Bursts, supernovas and asteroid impacts, will be a risk
factor for any terrestrial race. Some might decide to flee to Intergalactic space.
Reducing their exposure to existential risks, making their home in the voids between
the stars. If so, then our search will have to encompass the entire swath of the
universe.
But Alien life that decides to stay planted bound, will need long-term protection -
The best way to protect your world would be the ultimate in-home defense - a
Planetary Shield, these shields would cause a Tell-tale Dimming Pattern during
transit, and could also emit a detectable heat signature.
Large-scale astro-engineering like this, would require a colossal amount of
resources. And the easiest way to get them, may not be from mining planets - But
from mining asteroids, they're resource-rich and easier to manipulate because of
their lower gravity. Searching distant asteroid fields for temperature or chemical
anomalies, could indicate Alien mining activity. Eventually though, asteroids might
not be enough.
Since our civilization is so new, any other intelligent life is likely to be more
advanced than us. So we should think twice before revealing our presence.
But Alien super civilizations won't just be looking for resources. They will also need
staggering amounts of energy - Stars output billions of times more energy than
planets receive, to harness it all, requires building something truly mind-boggling -
Dyson Spheres are enormous mega-structures that encircle a star, designed to
capture its entire energy output. They could also double as vast habitats for life. A
solid shell would be physically unstable, so instead of a sphere, we might find a
cloud object - A Dyson Swarm, no matter their design they would generate an
enormous amount of infrared waste heat, and they could also eclipse or even block
out the star's light entirely. Dyson Spheres could also be built around black holes,
which could have a smaller radius, and collect thousands of times more energy.
Any beings that come to harness their stars entire energy output, will reach the next
level on the Kardashev Scale - A Type Two civilization, this level of mastery would
imply an astounding capability - Star-lifting is the practice of harvesting stellar
material, and could provide thousands of planets worth of resources. This process
would also allow you to lower the temperature of the star, postponing its death by
billions of years. In about 1,000,000,000 years time. Our own sun will grow too hot
for life on Earth. If we ever find evidence of star-lifting, it could Inspire us to one day
do the same, and prolong the game of life.
Eventually, there may be life that outgrows its star - And needs even more energy.
To branch out across the galaxy, life-forms this advance will probably need near
light-speed travel. And if they do have this capability, there's a chance we could
catch them in the act. Alien starships that hit the brakes at light speed, could leave
behind a long trail of ionized gas. These trails might emit detectable infrared
radiation. Strokes of light, painted by masters of the universe.
Once life-forms have harnessed all the energy their galaxy can provide, they will
achieve unimaginable power - A Type Three civilization, this cosmic virtuosity would
be totally unfathomable to us. Life that is built billions of Dyson Spheres, and can
create stars at will.
In theory, their thirst for energy could make a whole galaxy go dark. So one way to
search for Type Three life-forms is to look for what's not there - In distant space,
there are huge voids between clusters of galaxies, were no light eminence. These
voids were once thought to be evidence of advanced life, having harnessed the
energy from every star in the region. But it turns out, they are naturally occurring
"features" of the universe, and the recent analysis of nearby galaxies, revealed no
evidence of any galactic-scale civilizations.
In theory, cosmic architects could assemble an enormous planetary systems, far
more intricate than anything nature could produce - One possible system that would
be gravitationally stable involves 9 Sun-like stars orbiting a supermassive black hole,
which could support 550 Earth-like planets in habitable zones. These artisanal solar
systems could make ideal long-term habitats. Or could even function as an Alien
nature reserve, with each planet hosting a different strain of life.
It's hard to imagine any life-forms more advanced than this. But in theory, there
could be beings that control or created our universe itself.
Researchers are beginning to test the idea, that reality itself is just a simulation or
an experiment run by some higher order bead. Anything this advanced would
transcend our ideas of life itself, as they would exist outside of time and space.

In a way, the search for intelligent life is an evolution of the age-old search for god.
Both are driven by a longing for truth, and connection with something bigger than
ourselves...
And what if we do find a signal one day. What happens when the ancient dream
becomes reality?
III. CONTACT
Civilize communication

Just knowing they're out there, would profoundly change how we see ourselves. For
the first time, we would fuel the true sense of cosmic brotherhood. And studying their
messages or technology, could lead us to huge advancements and help secure our
own long-term survival.
But the possibility of meaningful Two-way communication would be bleak -
Separated by hundreds or thousands of light-years, we would be studying these
civilizations as they were in the deep past. And our experience of language, could be
entirely foreign to them.
But what if, after all our searching we never find another sign of intelligence. What if
we really are alone? We can never be truly sure as there will always be distant
galaxies too far to ever study. But never finding any evidence would mean that our
place in the universe is truly unique. It would saddle us with an immense
responsibility to keep the flame of intelligence alive.
Just as ancient civilizations speak to us through their monuments, we could build
monuments of our own for future life to discover; Cosmic time capsules preserving a
record of our achievements, and our knowledge…

Perhaps other racers will do the same, and these memory vaults could become
connected over time - Each new civilization adding a link, it could be our destiny to
be the first link in this chain. To be the founders of a Galactic Encyclopedia, built
upon by future life-forms we will never meet.

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