The Reluctant Famulus # 80 March/April 2011 Thomas D. Sadler, Editor/Publisher, etc. 305 Gill Branch Road, Owenton, KY 40359 Phone: 502-484-3766 E-mail: [email protected] Contents Introduction, Editor 1 Old Kit Bag, Robert Sabella 6 Invention, news bit 9 Rat Stew, Gene Stewart 10 Bisbee Jewels, Matt Howard 12 Kentuckiana, Al Byrd 15 Sticker Shock, Sheryl Birkhead 19 Possum, news bit 22 Redshift, John Thiel 23 LoCs 25 Artwork “Botch” 5, 14, 24 Kurt Erichsen 6, 10 Brad Foster 34, 42 Alexis Gilliland/W. Rotsler Cover Alexis Gilliland 28, 32, 38, 40 Matt Howard 12, 13 (postcards) A. B. Kynock 1, 26,30, 36 Spore and Toe Toe Hodges 2, 3, 4 Borrowed from the Internet 12, 15, 18, 22, Back cover T. D. Sadler back cover caption The Reluctant Famulus is a product of Strange Dwarf Publications. Many of the comments expressed herein are solely those of the Editor/Publisher and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of any sane, rational persons who know what they are doing and have carefully thought out beforehand what they wanted to say. Material not written or produced by the Editor/Publisher is printed by permission of the various writers and artists and is copyright by them and remains their sole property. Permission is granted to any persons who wish to reprint material presented herein, provided proper and due credit is given both to the author/artist who produced the material and to the original publication in which it appeared. TRF maybe obtained for The Usual but especially in return for written material and artwork, postage costs, The Meaning of Life, , and Editorial Whim. The Reluctant Famulus Introduction: ET, Where Are You? Last issue I wrote In spite of fears of about certain people’s being contacted by a concerns or fears regard- violent race of beings, ing contacting or being the vast distances to be contacted by extraterres- covered, and the trials and particularly amount of energy those who might be real- required to attain light- ly nasty and dangerous speed, there are those to humans. Certainly that’s a valid fear but who are working to determine just how to probably one we shouldn’t be too concerned communicate with other, extraterrestrial civi- about at the present. According to our current lizations when contact is finally made. Some knowledge of physics—at least in this part of of you may remember a while back there was the universe—the fastest moving thing we a news article alleging that the United know of is light. As far as we know, that is Nations had created the position of Extrater- the upper limit at which anything can travel. restrial Ambassador and Malaysian astron- As large as the universe is theorized to be, omer Mazlan Othman, head of the U.N. even travelling at the speed of light, depend- Office for Outer Space Affairs, was suggest- ing on the distance to be covered, takes years ed for that post. The news certainly set off and centuries. To reach the closest stars some of the conspiracy adherents who sus- known to us would take at least four years pected there would soon be announcements travelling at light speed.But who’s to know of contact with ETs. The article was of where some other civilization may be? Ten course wrong in spite of what conspiracy the- light years? A hundred? A thousand? Even orists might claim. But something else was farther? Those latter distances seem more going on in a similar direction. likely. And there we have the problem of the The SETI League recently posted on limit of lightspeed. A photon (which is their web site a revised, streamlined set of believed to be massless) may be able to protocols or procedures to be followed in the achieve that speed but for something the size event actual signals are received from an of a spacecraft (which does possess mass), so extraterrestrial civilization. A copy of those we are told, would require a tremendous protocols follows. amount of energy to achieve that speed. And Preamble it would take time to do so, building up at a The parties to this declaration are indi- velocity which wouldn’t kill those inside the viduals and institutions participating in the craft. And even moving at lightspeed it scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelli- would take a century or more, depending on gence (SETI). the location of another civilization from ours. The purpose of this document is to And so . Well I’m sure, good readers, declare our commitment to conduct this you’re all smart enough to to know the rest search in a scientifically valid and transpar- of the argument. I’m headed in a somewhat ent manner and to establish uniform proce- different direction anyway. dures for the announcement of a confirmed 1 SETI detection. the import and significance of candidate dis- This commitment is made in recognition coveries for the benefit of non-specialist audi- of the profound scientific, social, ethical, ences. legal, philosophical and other implications of 3. Confirmed detections: If the verifica- a SETI detection. As this enterprise enjoys tion process confirms—by the consensus of wide public interest, but engenders uncertain- the other investigators involved and to a ty about how information collected during degree of certainty judged by the discoverers the search will be handled, the signatories to be credible—that a signal or other evi- have voluntarily construct- dence is due to extraterres- ed this declaration. It, trial intelligence, the dis- together with a current list coverer shall report this of signatory parties, will conclusion in a full and be placed on file with the complete open manner to International Academy of the public, the scientific Astronautics (IAA). community, and the Secre- Principles tary General of the United 1. Searching: SETI 2ations. The confirmation experiments will be con- report will include the ducted transparently, and basic data, the process its practitioners will be and results of the verifica- free to present reports on tion efforts, any conclu- activities and results in sions and interpretations, public and professional and any detected informa- fora. They will also be responsive to news tion content of the signal itself. A formal organizations and other public communica- report will also be made to the International tions media about their work. Astronomical Union (IAU). 2. Handling candidate evidence: In the 4. All data necessary for the confirma- event of a suspected detection of extraterres- tion of the detection should be made avail- trial intelligence, the discoverer will make all able to the international scientific community efforts to verify the detection, using the through publications, meetings, conferences, resources available to the discoverer and and other appropriate means. with the collaboration of other investigators, 5. The discovery should be monitored. whether or not signatories to this Declara- Any data bearing on the evidence of extrater- tion. Such efforts will include, but not be lim- restrial intelligence should be recorded and ited to, observations at more than one facility stored permanently to the greatest extent fea- and/or by more than one organization. There sible and practicable, in a form that will is no obligation to disclose verification make it available to observers and to the sci- efforts while they are underway, and there entific community for further analysis and should be no premature disclosures pending interpretation. verification. Inquiries from the media and 6. If the evidence of detection is in the news organizations should be responded to form of electromagnetic signals, observers promptly and honestly. should seek international agreement to pro- Information about candidate signals or tect the appropriate frequencies by exercis- other detections should be treated in the ing the extraordinary procedures established same way that any scientist would treat provi- within the World Administrative Radio Coun- sional laboratory results. The Rio Scale, or cil of the International Telecommunication its equivalent, should be used as a guide to Union. 2 7. Post Detection: A Post-Detection Task sudnov and Andrey Snarskii. They built com- Group under the auspices of the IAA SETI puter models which gave “bonus life” to civi- Permanent Study Group has been established lizations that contacted each other—and not to assist in matters that may arise in the surprisingly, civilizations too distant or dis- event of a confirmed signal, and to support similar to achieve contact were more prone to the scientific and public analysis by offering die away. guidance, interpretation, and discussion of While it was just a simulation, Villard the wider implications of the detection. takes away a couple of lessons from it. One 8. Response to signals: In the case of the implication is that the cross-cultural effects confirmed detection of a sig- of contact could be good nal, signatories to this dec- for both sides. It argues laration will not respond against “the idea that without first seeking guid- extraterrestrials would de- ance and consent of a vote an enormous amount broadly representative inter- of resources to physically national body, such as the travel here only to snoop United 2ations. around, be mischievous, Unanimously adopted yet avoid direct contact,” by the SETI Permanent Villard says. Study Group of the Interna- The other implication tional Academy of Astronau- is that there may be a “use tics, at its annual meeting it or lose it” quality to the in Prague, Czech Republic, quest for contact. “Extra- on 30 September 2010. terrestrials may wither These revised and streamlined Protocols away due to a loss of interest in the universe are intended to replace the previous docu- around them, or the atrophy of technological ment adopted by the International Academy capability,” he says.