a poem eternal

Here's good old Carl holding what will most likely be one of the longest lasting artifacts of humanity. This plaque was attached to the spaceship Pioneer, currently heading towards the star Aldeberan. We lost contact with the tiny ambassador in 2003, and so now she's destined to silently float forever, unless there's an incredible stroke of bad luck (like .0001% chance). We're talking hundreds of millions of years, flying black out into the deep darkness.


As an example of what makes Carl the man, he and some fellows put together this plaque made of pure gold, which tells a little story about mankind. Here:

It is of course highly, highly unlikely (like a .0000001% chance) that anyone(thing?) will ever read this - that would assume aliens, our some futuristic, peace loving human explorers of the far distant future. But does that matter? It's a wonderful expression of the human spirit, of awe and wonder, dedication and curiosity. It's what makes us human.

For all our toil and grandeur here and in the days to come, it's far more likely all life will be wiped out on Earth than anything will ever happen to this plaque. All kinds of bad things could happen easily enough and, poof! All gone. But this golden plaque is safe as the safest house you ever knew. And thus, a poem eternal, floating in empty space, waiting for SOMEONE! to show up to the reading, forever...

Also, Boston City Hall - pretty futuristic on the outside. You'll be dissuaded of the notion, however, if you are ever unfortunate enough to visit an office inside.