Are living beings In outer space trying to contact the Earth? By KENNETH YOUNGER ANTASTIC as it may seem there are indications that living, rational beings out- side our solar system may be trying to communicate with us by radio. We may already have received coded messages from Earth. Even a_high-developed The Soviet scientist Df civilization might not be send- his mathematical know! ing radio signals beamed to- into play to estimate the p? ward our sun at the time the needed for isotropic traf Americans happened to be lis- sion capable of reaching On tening in. There are countless solar systems and galaxies: | possible reasons for failure. suggests three possible 5%? ii in the development of ci tions in the universe. attempts of American scientists at the U.S. Radio-Astronomical Observatory to listen in by’ ra- dio telescope to the stars Kau Kita and Epsilan Eridan. Simi- development, the resources of Jat to our’ sun, these stars might have planetary systems our entire galaxy should be <; z available to humanity by the like ours, the Americans felt. e light years away we would need the eqquivalent of the power output of our total galaxy, made up of billions of stars. At the present rate of power Kardashev suggests a com- them. year 5800. In months of listening, how- pletely new approach. If we are : 0 Ev ae e ever, the American OZMO pro- to succeed in reaching other ra- Earth, in the first stage en if the languages of ject failed to produce results. tional beings, he reasons, radio NOt possess the power reg other rational beings differ ra- dically from ours, we will be able to understand them with the aid of computers. A univer- sal language for space commu- These are some of the sur- prising conclusions of mathe- matical calculations by a young Soviet scientist, Nikolai Kar- dashev. communication cannot be “aim- ed” at specific stars; it would have to be broadcast in all di- rections simultaneously. This is called isotropic radio trans- es needed for isotropic * transmission. : Civilization having at disposal the energy outp! their solar systems are in Perhaps Tau Kita and Epsilan Eridan do not possess planeta- ry systems, If they do, there may not be living beings on the planets. Living beings may not ao j nication has already been work- ed out. It is based on mathema- tical logic and is called “lin- gos.” When we receive radio sig- nals clear enough to decipher, the information in them may enable human civilization to surge ahead at an undreamed of speed. This could come sooner than you think. But it may take longer be- fore we can send messages back to other solar systems. And then, we may discover we don’t really have too much to say. Scientists estimate that human- ity’s total knowledge, translat- ed into a binary code, like the One used in a computer, could be sent to outer space via ra- dio in less than 100 seconds. We may not be able to send radio messages to other solar Systems before the year 3800. One scientist has estimated that an effective radio broad- casting apparatus would have to consist of numerous transmit- ters located on all the planets of our solar system. It would send signals simultaneously in all directions. The power needed to run such a transmitter would be the equivalent of the power of the sun. Even if the energy available to humanity continues to increase at its present rate, we will not have this kind of power output before the year 3800. Using the power output of the sun we could reach planets within a distance of 10 million light years of Earth. To sem messages to: planets billions of His work was prompted by be as highly developed as on » mission. By MEL COLBY RIME Minister Pearson’s announcement that a “Code of Ethics” will be established to guide cabinet ministers and other parlia- mentarians, is a welcome ’ step. There is nothing like a code of ethics to prevail on the finer spirit of a politician who is contemplating pilfer- ing the public till to the tune of, say, half a million dollars. The code might well cause him to contemplate his avaricious mood and cause him to cut the sum down to about $150,000. Thus any code which will prevail on an Ottawa politician’s better instincts is welcome. We have it on good author- ity that the code will be strict. The suggested draft is said to be as follows: 1, Graft involving $100,000 or more: Immediate banish- ment to the Senate. 2. Under $100,000: Ap- pointment to a corporation board of directors. 3. Dining in public with known _ extortionists, drug peddlers or common _ bur- glars: Immediate enrollment in Moral Re-Armament. There is nothing like a Code of Ethics 4. Dining in public with known stockbrokers who have defrauded the public but who have served their prison terms: A testimonial banquet complete with «a laudatory speech by a bishop who will point out it is ne- cessary to give moral assist- ance to a transgressor. 5. Public drunkenness in the Chateau Laurier bar: Re- moval of newspaper reading privileges at desk while the House is in session. 6. Speech in House of Com- mons advocating an imme- diate increase in old age as- . sistance, increased wages for workers, ‘better public hous- ing and a national health act: Commitment to an institute for -the mentally incompe- tent. 7. Senators involved in graft involving any sums: A special proclamation that men aged 115 years or over are not responsible for their actions. There may be refinements * but the essence is that gov- ernment at Ottawa will be cleaned up. The code may seem stern but it will un- doubtedly have a salutory ef- fect on the nation as a whole. Thus it can be expected that a knave who is apprehended in a supermarket slipping a pound of boll weevils into his pocket will be dealt with firmly. A plea on his part that his wife and children-are starving will be treated as it should be: a speech intended to influence the course of justice. The lout will be giv- en five years sorting mail bags. Flogging will be re-intro- duced but will be reserved for strikers who publicly complain when police escort scabs into a plant. If the cul- prits continue to whine they will be brought before a magistrate who is serving on the board of directors of the struck plant. He will serve out impartial justice. With good behavior the malcon- tents should be released by the time they are 98. Yes, the Code of Ethics must go right down to the country’s grass roots. Punish- ment must be meted out on an equal basis to both the cabinet minister and the or- dinary citizen. December 24, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBU second stage. They could isotropic transmitters cap of sending radio signals to™ 10 million light years away’) if ia Civilizations in the stage could send radio sit : to the limits of the ‘on verse, These civilizations “4 at their command energy to the power output of entire galaxy. Kardashev does not do that civilizations of the 5% and third stages exist. Thé already broadcasting pros of med messages, he is cont These messages would of a summary of inform about life, science, techin® art. As we have already an entire program of info tion could be broadcast ! ip very short period and coul repeated again and agaill By ‘receiving and decipht these signals we could op® door to tremendous store knowledge. Early this year two AY ; ican scientists at the cali ol Institute of Technology “sof ted unusual radio signals at outer space on a wave 21 cm. They gave the 5? ee the code designations Si and STA-102. These radio signal is similar to the type Kat jl predicted we should i from rational beings i? space. Are they? Time, eit ! ing equipment, persistent vation and cybernetics the answer.