Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible (2009–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - First Contact - full transcript

MAKING CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN SPECIES

WILL BE THE MOST MIND-BLOWING EVENT

IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION.

Dr. Kaku: YOU MIGHT
CONSIDER IT A SCI-FI FANTASY.

I THINK ALIENS DO EXIST.

I MEAN, I'VE SEEN THEM.

THEY ARE OUT THERE, AND
WE NEED TO MAKE CONTACT.

THESE GUYS HELP ME DECODE THE SIGNALS.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE MATHEMATICS?

YES. AMAZING.

COMMUNICATING WITH ALIENS
COULDN'T BE CLOSER TO REALITY.



AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU HOW TO DO IT.

I'M DR. MICHIO KAKU.

I'M A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST

AND A SCIENCE-FICTION [Echoing] FAN.

JOIN ME AS I SHOW YOU HOW
TO MAKE SCI-FI [Echoing] SCIENCE.

IMAGINE A FUTURE

WHERE INTELLIGENT ALIENS HAVE
MADE CONTACT WITH THE EARTH...

...SUPER-ADVANCED CREATURES

THAT HOLD THE KEY TO THE
SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE,

SECRETS THEY COULD SHARE WITH US.

TELEPORTATION, IMMORTALITY, WARP DRIVE.

THEY COULD ALL BECOME
A REALITY IN MY LIFETIME.

ARE THEY GONNA LOOK LIKE US EXCEPT GREEN?

I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING MORE INCREDIBLE



THAN COMMUNICATING WITH A
REAL-LIFE EXTRATERRESTRIAL.

AND MY FELLOW SCI-FI
FANS SHARE MY ENTHUSIASM.

YOU KNOW, JUST EVEN THINKING
ABOUT IT GIVES ME GOOSE BUMPS.

IT'S LIKE, "WOW, THERE'S
ACTUALLY SOMETHING OUT THERE."

I THINK ALIENS DO EXIST.
I MEAN, I'VE SEEN THEM.

I THINK WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THE ALIENS

WHEN THE ENTIRE
CIVILIZATION IS IN THEIR HANDS.

JUST A MINUTE.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I
THINK SOMETHING IS HAPPENING.

IF ALIENS MAKE CONTACT WITH OUR PLANET,

WE CAN'T LET THE OPPORTUNITY
SLIP THROUGH OUR FINGERS.

WE NEED TO BE READY WITH A RESPONSE.

I NEED TO CREATE A SINGLE CLEAR MESSAGE

TO BE BEAMED INTO OUTER SPACE

THE MOMENT WE'RE CONTACTED
BY AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.

THE MESSAGE SHOULD BE IN A
LANGUAGE THE ALIENS UNDERSTAND.

AND IT SHOULD INDICATE
THAT WE ARE INTELLIGENT

AND WORTHY OF LEARNING
THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE.

TRYING TO CONTACT ALIENS IN OUTER SPACE

IS A PRETTY BOLD STEP, EVEN FOR ME.

I NEED TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE

WHO BELIEVES THERE ARE ALIENS OUT THERE.

IT'S STATISTICALLY JUST UTTERLY IMPROBABLE

THAT WE'RE THE ONLY
INTELLIGENT SPECIES OUT THERE.

THERE'S NO LACK OF REAL ESTATE OUT THERE

WHERE THERE COULD BE LIFE...

A BILLION OR MORE EARTH-LIKE
PLANETS IN OUR GALAXY ALONE,

I WOULD ESTIMATE.

I'M RATHER OPTIMISTIC,
IN THE NEXT 20, 25 YEARS,

WE WILL PICK UP A SIGNAL.

IT'S GOOD TO KNOW I'M NOT ALONE

BECAUSE THIS IS A TRICKY SUBJECT.

THE PROBLEM WITH DOING
ANY SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF E.T.

IS THAT YOU'D BE STICKING YOUR NECK OUT.

PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU'RE CRAZY.

ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE?
THAT'S SCIENCE FICTION.

BUT YOU AND I KNOW THAT IT'S
JUST A MATTER OF PROBABILITY.

IT'S ALL IN THE MATHEMATICS.

THERE ARE AROUND 100 BILLION
GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE.

AND IN A SINGLE GALAXY,

THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 100 BILLION STARS.

ASTRONOMERS PREDICT
THAT ABOUT 3/4 OF THESE STARS

WILL HAVE A CLUSTER OF PLANETS ORBITING.

THIS ADDS UP TO TEN SEXTILLION
PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE.

THAT'S ONE WITH 22 ZEROS AFTER IT.

THERE ARE MORE PLANETS

THAN ALL THE GRAINS OF SAND IN
ALL THE BEACHES OF THE WORLD.

I THINK IT GOES AGAINST
THE LAWS OF PROBABILITY

THAT WE ARE THE ONLY INTELLIGENT LIFE

IN THE UNIVERSE.

IF I'M GONNA MAKE CONTACT WITH ALIENS,

THE FIRST THING I NEED
TO DO IS TO LOCATE THEM.

MY DAY JOB IS TO FIND E.T.

IT'S THAT STRAIGHTFORWARD.

SETH SHOSTAK IS SENIOR ASTRONOMER AT SETI,

THE SEARCH FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.

THE RADIO TELESCOPE BEHIND ME

ACTUALLY WORKS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME WAY

AS THIS RATHER ORDINARY RADIO HERE DOES.

AND, IN FACT, LET ME DEMONSTRATE
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

BECAUSE PEOPLE WONDER WHAT
KIND OF SIGNAL ARE YOU SEEKING

COMING FROM E.T.

[ STATIC ]

YOU HEAR STATIC. HEAR
THAT? STATIC EVERYWHERE.

AND THEN SUDDENLY THERE'S A BIT OF A SQUEAL

AND THEN BOINK, YOU GET A STATION.

SO THAT'S A SIGNAL THAT'S
AT ONE SPOT ON THE DIAL.

THAT'S EXACTLY THE KIND
OF THING WE'RE LOOKING FOR

IN OUR SETI SEARCHES... A SIGNAL
THAT'S AT ONE SPOT ON THE DIAL.

WE DON'T CARE IF ITS MUSIC, NEWS,

OR THE GALACTIC WEATHER REPORT.

WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIND
THAT NARROWBAND SIGNAL

THAT WOULD TELL US
SOMEBODY HAS A TRANSMITTER.

BUT AFTER 50 YEARS OF
LISTENING FOR RADIO SIGNALS,

SCIENTISTS LIKE SETH
HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING.

IN THEORY, IT'S JUST A
MATTER OF HARDWARE...

THE MORE RADIO TELESCOPES,
THE SOONER WE CAN MAKE CONTACT

WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.

BUT THERE'S SO MUCH GALACTIC
REAL ESTATE OUT THERE.

I'M BEGINNING TO DOUBT
WHETHER IT'S EVEN POSSIBLE

THAT WE CAN FIND EACH OTHER.

I THINK THE SOLUTION

MIGHT BE TO WIDEN THE RANGE
OF FREQUENCIES WE LISTEN TO.

Man: WE MUST MAKE IMMEDIATE CONTACT.

IMAGINE THAT THESE BALLS

REPRESENT ALL THE FREQUENCIES
OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.

WE HAVE RADIO, TELEVISION, RADAR, X-RAYS.

NOW, THE ALIENS COULD BE SENDING MESSAGES

ON ANY ONE OF THESE FREQUENCIES,

AND YET WE'RE FOCUSING
MAINLY ON RADIO WAVES.

NOW, THAT'S CRAZY.

THAT'S LIKE LOOKING AT THE RED BALL

AND IGNORING ALL THE REST.

TO HAVE ANY HOPE OF PICKING UP A MESSAGE

FROM AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION,

I MUST DESIGN A SYSTEM

THAT CAN SCRUTINIZE ALL
OF THESE FREQUENCIES.

BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE
MORE FREQUENCIES WE LOOK AT,

THE TRICKIER IT BECOMES
TO SPOT THE MESSAGE.

HERE'S THE PROBLEM...

HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY IDENTIFY
A SIGNAL FROM OUTER SPACE

WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY STARS,
SO MUCH COSMIC REAL ESTATE,

SO MANY FREQUENCIES TO LISTEN TO.

LET'S SAY YOU'RE AN ANT IN THE FOREST,

AND SOMEBODY'S BUILDING A
10-LANE SUPERHIGHWAY NEXT DOOR.

HOW WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT FREQUENCIES

THE WORKERS WERE COMMUNICATING ON

OR WHAT THE WORKERS ARE EVEN SAYING?

CARL SAGAN ONCE ASKED THE QUESTION,

"IF A GALACTIC CIVILIZATION
WERE RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US,

WOULD WE BE SMART ENOUGH TO IDENTIFY THEM?"

AND THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY NO.

TO MAKE CONTACT,

I NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY
TO IDENTIFY THE ALIEN SIGNALS

THAT ARE BEING DROWNED OUT

BY THE VAST OCEAN OF NOISE IN SPACE.

COMING UP, I UNCOVER ASTONISHING SECRETS

ABOUT ANIMAL COMMUNICATION...

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE MATHEMATICS?

YEAH. AMAZING.

...DESIGN A RADICAL TECHNIQUE
TO IDENTIFY ALIEN SIGNALS,

AND CATCH A GLIMPSE OF WHAT
ALIENS COULD REALLY LOOK LIKE.

[ DOLPHIN CLICKING ]

YOU KNOW, IT'S SO FRUSTRATING

TRYING TO PREDICT HOW
ALIENS MAY COMMUNICATE.

THEY COULD USE LASERS, MICROWAVES, RADIO.

AND THERE'S SO MUCH NOISE
OUT THERE IN OUTER SPACE.

THERE ARE BLACK HOLES,
COLLIDING NEUTRON STARS,

AND SUPERNOVAE.

IT'S LIKE TRYING TO
LISTEN TO A CONVERSATION

IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROCK CONCERT.

WHAT WE NEED IS A NEW METHOD
TO CUT THROUGH ALL THIS NOISE.

THERE'S ONE RADICAL THEORY

THAT DOESN'T COME FROM THE WORLD OF PHYSICS

OR FROM STUDYING SPACE

BUT FROM RIGHT HERE ON OUR OWN PLANET.

HOW DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD SPEAK TO ALIENS?

[ DOLPHIN CLICKING ]

SO THIS IS THE HYDROPHONE. OKAY.

THAT PICKS UP THE SOUND, I TAKE IT.

I'M HERE TO RECORD SOME
DOLPHIN VOCALIZATIONS

FOR AN INCREDIBLE STUDY
THAT COULD HOLD THE KEY

TO SPOTTING ALIEN MESSAGES IN SPACE.

BOY, THEY'RE SO FRIENDLY!

THEY ARE FRIENDLY.

DOLPHINS ARE INTELLIGENT SOCIAL ANIMALS.

HE'S HUNGRY, I TAKE IT.

THEY COMMUNICATE VIA COMPLEX REPETITIONS

OF CLICKS AND WHISTLES.

SORRY, NO LUNCH. JUST A HYDROPHONE.

NO FISH TODAY.

TO THE UNTRAINED EAR LIKE MINE,

IT SOUNDS RANDOM AND WITHOUT MEANING.

YOU COULD SAY IT SOUNDS ALIEN.

BUT I'M GONNA MEET A MAN

WHO HAS SPOTTED A HIDDEN PATTERN

IN THE DOLPHINS' CHATTER.

ASTRONOMER LAURANCE DOYLE
BELIEVES THAT THIS PATTERN

COULD HELP IDENTIFY ALIEN MESSAGES

LOST IN THE NOISE OF OUTER SPACE.

SO, LARRY, YOU'VE ANALYZED THE DATA I TOOK

BY SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS.

WHAT DID YOU FIND?

WELL, WE FOUND A NUMBER
OF SIGNALS YOU HAVE HERE.

YOU HAVE WHISTLE TYPE 2s

AND YOU HAVE OTHER KINDS OF WHISTLES HERE.

OKAY, THAT'S A WHISTLE RIGHT HERE?

YEAH, THAT'S A WHISTLE 2.

IT GOES [WHISTLES IN INCREASING PITCH]

LIKE THAT.

BY COUNTING THE NUMBER OF REPETITIONS,

DOYLE MATHEMATICALLY
ANALYZED THE DOLPHIN CHATTER.

HE THEN USED A GRAPH TO PLOT HOW MANY TIMES

EACH DIFFERENT WHISTLE OCCURRED.

THE RESULTS WERE BIZARRE.

THE POINTS ON THE GRAPH

COULD BE JOINED BY A
PERFECTLY STRAIGHT LINE.

IT WAS COMPLETELY ONE
OF THOSE MOMENTS YOU GO,

OH, MY GOSH, DOLPHINS
...THIS IS SOMETHING NEW.

DOYLE KNEW THAT WHEN
THE REPETITION OF SOUNDS

IN OUR OWN SPEECH IS ANALYZED,

WE FIND THIS SAME STRAIGHT-LINE PATTERN.

SO UNCOVERING IT HIDDEN
IN THE DOLPHIN CHATTER

WAS GROUNDBREAKING.

NOW, YOU'RE TELLING ME

THAT HUMAN SPEECH HAS SOME
RELATIONSHIP TO DOLPHIN SPEECH?

YES. DOLPHINS...

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE MATHEMATICS?

YES. AMAZING.

DOYLE SUSPECTS THAT THIS IDENTICAL PATTERN

WILL BE FOUND HIDDEN IN THE COMMUNICATIONS

OF ALL INTELLIGENT SPECIES, EVEN ALIENS.

IT'S A RADICAL IDEA.

BUT IF HE'S RIGHT, THEN
I CAN USE THIS PATTERN

AS A QUICK AND EASY WAY

TO IDENTIFY ANY MESSAGE

THAT'S CURRENTLY LOST
IN THE OCEAN OF SPACE.

FIRST, I'LL NEED AN ARRAY OF TELESCOPES

SENSITIVE TO EVERY FREQUENCY

OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.

IF ALIENS ARE TRYING TO CONTACT US,

THIS SYSTEM WILL PICK IT UP.

BUT ANY SIGNAL WILL BE LOST

AMONGST INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF DATA.

SO I'LL NEED A POWERFUL
NETWORK OF QUANTUM COMPUTERS

TO SEARCH FOR THE KEY PATTERN
THAT INDICATES A MESSAGE.

HERE'S THE QUESTION...

WE'VE NOW RECEIVED A
SIGNAL FROM OUTER SPACE,

BUT WE HAVEN'T DECODED IT YET.

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SAYS.

ARE THEY BENEVOLENT? ARE
THEY HOSTILE? WHO KNOWS?

BEFORE I FIGURE OUT HOW WE SHOULD REPLY,

I NEED TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT
WE COULD BE DEALING WITH HERE,

BECAUSE IF THERE'S ONE THING
SCIENCE FICTION HAS TAUGHT ME,

IT'S THAT ALIENS ARE NOT ALWAYS FRIENDLY.

TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO...

I THINK THAT IN THE COMING
DECADES... WHO KNOWS WHEN...

WE WILL PICK UP A MESSAGE
FROM AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.

AND AT THAT POINT, IT'S
GONNA BE LIKE ELECTRICITY.

A SHOCKWAVE IS GONNA SPREAD OUT.

BUT AFTER THE EUPHORIA DIES DOWN,

PEOPLE ARE GONNA SAY,

"WELL, WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?"

HOW WE RESPOND DEPENDS UPON WHO THEY ARE.

Man: FROM BEYOND SPACE!

WHEN I WAS A KID, I WATCHED
A LOT OF OLD SCI-FI MOVIES,

SO I IMAGINED ALIENS
WOULD BE EVIL HUMANOIDS.

TODAY'S SCI-FI FANS ARE
A BIT MORE IMAGINATIVE.

THEY COULD HAVE 20 ARMS, YOU KNOW,

OR SOMETHING SMALL AND
FUZZY AND CUTE LIKE AN EWOK.

IT COULD BE LIKE A BALLOON TYPE THING

THAT PULSES AND PUSHES THE GASES AWAY.

IT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A LARGE
HEAD AND MAYBE SOME TENTACLES.

WELL, I'VE GOT THE SCI-FI VIEW OF ALIENS,

BUT I NEED SOME SOLID SCIENCE.

I THINK MY BEST BET IS TO
TALK TO AN ASTROBIOLOGIST.

BOB HAZEN IS SHOWING ME THE WEIRD CREATURES

THAT LIVED ON EARTH
HALF A BILLION YEARS AGO

WHEN LIFE WAS AT ITS MOST DIVERSE.

I'M HOPING HE WILL SHED SOME LIGHT

ON THE POSSIBLE FORMS AN ALIEN COULD TAKE.

THIS CRAZY HALLUCIGENIA.

SOMETHING OUT OF AN LSD DREAM.

MY FAVORITE IS THE ANOMALOCARIS.

STRANGE CREATURE.

IT'S BILATERALLY SYMMETRIC,

IT'S GOT THE EYES AND
THE MOUTH IN THE FRONT,

IT'S GOT SOME KIND OF FIN-LIKE STRUCTURE

WHICH ALLOWS IT TO MOVE THROUGH WATER.

LOOK AT THIS NOW.

THIS IS LIKE A PREDATOR.

IT MUNCHED ON STUFF LIKE THAT.

IT'S A SPECULATION, WHAT
ALIEN LIFE'S GONNA LOOK LIKE,

BUT IF THERE'S LAND AND IF THERE'S GRAVITY,

THE ANIMAL'S GOING TO HAVE TO
HAVE LEGS 'CAUSE IT HAS TO MOVE.

IT'S GOING TO HAVE SOME
KIND OF HANDS WITH FINGERS

TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY.

IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE EYES TO SEE

AND IT'S GONNA HAVE A LARGE
BRAIN WITH WHICH TO THINK.

THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE GONNA BE THE SAME

IN ANY INTELLIGENT ALIEN LIFE FORM.

I'VE GOT THE FUNDAMENTAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ALIEN,

BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH.

BEFORE I RESPOND TO ANY SIGNAL,

I WANT TO SEE WITH MY OWN EYES

WHAT A FULLY EVOLVED ALIEN COULD LOOK LIKE.

I'M GONNA MEET SOME SCI-FI
ARTISTS WHO CAN SHOW ME.

WHAT IS THIS?

IT'S LIKE AN ATOMIC-ERA ALIEN,

LIKE ANDROID COMBINATION THING.

SO IT SWIMS IN THE OCEAN?

THIS IS PART OCTOPUS, PART
FROG, AMPHIBIAN, PART SLUG?

YOU KNOW, THESE DESIGNS
MAY HAVE SOME BASIS IN REALITY -

AQUATIC CREATURES LIKE THIS?

WE NOW REALIZE THAT MOONS OF JUPITER

COULD HAVE LIQUID OCEANS
UNDER THE ICE COVER.

THEY COULD BE MORE PLENTIFUL
THAN THE PLANET EARTH.

GET USED TO IT.

I THINK IT'S POSSIBLE THAT
SOMEWHERE IN THE UNIVERSE,

ALIENS MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE

ANY OF THE CREATURES I'VE SEEN TODAY

AT ONE POINT IN THEIR EVOLUTION.

HERE'S MY WORRY...

IT'S TAKEN US 4.5 BILLION
YEARS TO RISE FROM THE SWAMP

TO BECOME AN INTELLIGENT SPECIES.

BUT THE UNIVERSE IS 13.7 BILLION YEARS OLD.

SO AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION

COULD HAVE A 9.2-BILLION-YEAR HEAD START.

I FIND IT HARD TO IMAGINE
WHAT LIFE COULD LOOK LIKE

AFTER SUCH A VAST AMOUNT OF TIME.

HOPEFULLY, THESE GUYS CAN HELP ME OUT.

Davies: THERE'S VERY LITTLE DOUBT

THAT IF WE MAKE CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN INTELLIGENCE,

IT'S GOING TO BE NOT JUST
A LITTLE BIT MORE ADVANCED,

BUT STUPENDOUSLY FAR ADVANCED.

IT'S MUCH MORE LIKELY

THAT WHEN WE ENCOUNTER
AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION

THAT THOSE ALIENS WON'T BE LIVING

IN FLESH-AND-BLOOD BODIES.

IF E.T. HAS THE CAPABILITY
OF GOING ANYWHERE...

COMING HERE, FOR EXAMPLE
...IT'S MOST LIKELY GONNA BE

SOME SORT OF THINKING MACHINES.

I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT
WILL BE BIOLOGICAL BEINGS.

I NEED TO ASSUME THAT
ANY ALIEN THAT CONTACTS US

HAS EVOLVED BEYOND THE LIMITS OF BIOLOGY.

THEY WILL HAVE STARTED
LIFE AS ALIEN FLESH AND BLOOD

AND COULD HAVE MANY OF THE WEIRD FEATURES

THAT WE'VE SEEN ON EARTH.

BUT THEY ALMOST CERTAINLY
WON'T HAVE THEM ANYMORE.

AFTER BILLIONS OF YEARS OF EVOLUTION,

THEY COULD BE COMPLETELY MACHINE-LIKE,

PERHAPS EVEN WITH THE
POWER OF QUANTUM COMPUTING

WITHIN THEIR OWN BODIES.

IT'S HARD ENOUGH GETTING YOUR POINT ACROSS

TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING SOMETIMES,

SO CONVERSING WITH SOMETHING
AS ADVANCED AS THESE ALIENS

COULD BE TOUGH.

SURE, MAKING CONTACT WITH
AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION FROM SPACE

SOUNDS LIKE SCIENCE FICTION.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE IT'S GONNA HAPPEN.

THE CHANCES ARE HIGH

THAT ANY ALIEN MAKING
CONTACT WITH OUR PLANET

WILL BE VASTLY MORE ADVANCED THAN US.

WITH SUCH INTELLECTUAL POWER,
TO THEM, INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL

COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS
TAKING A TAXI RIDE UPTOWN.

WHEN WE PICK UP THEIR SIGNAL,

THEY COULD ALREADY BE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,

WHICH, IN GALACTIC TERMS, IS
PRACTICALLY ON OUR DOORSTEP.

IT'S VITAL THAT I HAVE A
RESPONSE READY TO SEND OUT.

IT MUST CONVINCE A
SUPER-INTELLIGENT CIVILIZATION

THAT HUMANS ARE WORTH MAKING CONTACT WITH.

BUT IT ALSO NEEDS TO BE IN A
FORM THEY CAN UNDERSTAND.

THERE'S ONE THING THAT
WE WILL HAVE IN COMMON

WITH ANY ALIEN SPECIES,

NO MATTER HOW ADVANCED
OR WHERE THEY COME FROM...

WE'LL BOTH BE GOVERNED
BY THE SAME LAWS OF PHYSICS.

IF I CAN DEVISE A WAY TO UNIFY THESE LAWS

INTO A SINGLE MASTER EQUATION,

THE ALIENS WILL HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IT.

BUT FIGURING THIS EQUATION
OUT IS NOT GONNA BE EASY.

IN FACT, SOME SCIENTISTS
THINK IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.

I DON'T AGREE.

IN FACT, I BELIEVE I'VE
FOUND A WAY TO DO IT.

I THINK THE KEY TO SOLVING
THE GREATEST CHALLENGE

IN THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

IS TO RADICALLY CHANGE THE
WAY WE VIEW THE UNIVERSE.

[ CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS ]

WHEN WE LOOK AROUND
US, WE SEE SOLID OBJECTS...

PEOPLE, BUILDINGS, PLANETS.

BUT I THINK THAT'S AN ILLUSION.

I BELIEVE EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE

IS MADE FROM TINY STRINGS,

AND IT'S THE VIBRATIONS ON THESE STRINGS

THAT GIVE THE WORLD ITS CHARACTERISTICS.

A SINGLE NOTE CORRESPONDS
TO A SINGLE PARTICLE.

A MELODY OF NOTES CAN
CORRESPOND TO A HUMAN BODY,

AND THE UNIVERSE ITSELF
IS A POWERFUL SYMPHONY.

THE EQUATION OF THE SUPERSTRING

WOULD BE THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING,

THE CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENCE.

THAT'S ALSO THE BASIS OF MY LIFE'S WORK.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING...

THAT'S THE MESSAGE WE SEND TO THE ALIENS.

IT'S TIME TO REVEAL MY PLANS
TO THE SCIENCE-FICTION FANS.

IN MY DESIGN,

I'VE ASSUMED THAT THE MESSAGE
WE INTERCEPT FROM THE ALIENS

SHOWS THAT THEY'RE BENEVOLENT,

THAT IT'S OKAY TO ADVERTISE OUR EXISTENCE.

BUT IF SOMEBODY ASKED ME THE QUESTION,

"WHAT HAPPENS IF THE
MESSAGE WAS AMBIGUOUS?"

AT THAT POINT I SHOULD SAY,
"LET'S KEEP OUR MOUTHS SHUT."

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION...

HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE
THAT IN YOUR LIFETIME,

WE'LL MAKE CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION?

[ CROWD CHEERS ]

AND HOW MANY OF YOU ARE
ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE?

[ CROWD CHEERS ]

WELL, TODAY I'M GONNA GIVE YOU MY DESIGN

FOR MAKING CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.

I BELIEVE AN ADVANCED ALIEN SPECIES

WILL HAVE THE POWER OF INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL.

AS THEY SEARCH THE
UNIVERSE FOR SIGNS OF LIFE,

THEY COULD ALREADY BE
SOMEWHERE IN OUR OWN SOLAR SYSTEM.

TO PICK UP THEIR SIGNAL...

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE
NOT JUST RADIO TELESCOPES

ON ONE FREQUENCY BUT ALL FREQUENCIES.

THIS MEANS TELESCOPES, INFRARED
DETECTORS, X-RAY DETECTORS,

GAMMA RAY DETECTORS.

THE DATA COLLECTED WILL BE PROCESSED

BY VAST NETWORKS OF QUANTUM COMPUTERS.

THEY'LL BE PROGRAMMED TO LOOK FOR A PATTERN

WHICH INDICATES A GENUINE SIGNAL

AND MAKES SURE THAT THE
MESSAGE IS NOT A THREAT.

ONCE WE GET THE MESSAGE, HOW DO WE REPLY?

THINK ABOUT IT.

HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY,

TO CHANGE WORLD CIVILIZATION.

WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU SEND?

I THINK THE SIGNAL WE SEND
BACK SHOULD BE THE EQUATION

THAT REPRESENTS THE LAWS
OF OUR ENTIRE UNIVERSE...

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING.

THE EQUATION WILL SHOW THE
ALIENS THAT WE ARE INTELLIGENT

AND, HOPEFULLY, WORTH VISITING.

AND THAT'S HOW WE'RE GONNA
MAKE CONTACT WITH THE ALIENS.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

OH, WOW, THAT WAS PRETTY COOL.

I MEAN, THE IDEA OF ALIENS...

I MEAN THE IDEA OF
COMMUNICATING WITH ALIENS

AND BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THEM.

I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY
THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP,

TRYING TO FIND OTHER SIGNALS OUT THERE.

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN HUMAN'S QUESTION.

ARE WE ALONE?

HIS IDEAS ARE RIGHT ON THE MONEY.

WE'RE LISTENING, BUT WE'RE
NOT LISTENING WELL ENOUGH.