#because really. isn't all modern fantasy based on the same elements | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

concentrated-dark-matter · 2 years

Text

EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE

“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” Arthur C. Clarke

Whether humans are alone or not in the universe remains one of the greatest mysteries known to mankind. People all around the globe tried to find any signs or proof of alien life throughout history and wondered what is our place in the universe. Extraterrestrial life was the subject studied both of ancient religions, medieval theologians, as well as modern period philosophers and astronomers. For example, the famous 16th-century Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno, who was the first one to state, that there might be many other planetary systems from ours and that they could also contain intelligent inhabitants. His thesis seemed revolutionary back then, but thanks to Copernicus and many space missions we can be sure that our planet isn't made to be the center of the universe. There are around 100 billion planets in the Milky Way itself, so the chance that none of them is occupied by anyone is... well, low.

Right now, many contemporary astronomers tried to look for alien life, by launching programs and campaigns such as SETI (I’ll talk about it in more detail further in this post), aiming for finding any signs, that we might not be alone out there.

Still, even with all of those centuries years worth of effort put into the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, we yet haven’t found sufficient proof, whether it exists or not. But we are searching.

The thing, that for sure complicates our search, is the fact, that we have no idea what extra-terrestrial forms of life may look like. We can't be sure what is necessary for life to occur, because everything that led to its origin on earth, could have gone in completely different conditions in completely another way, hence creating an entirely different outcome. Even if just the process of the forming of life went similarly to the one on earth, the alien life would evolve in completely different conditions from ours, so it could turn out to be far more different from what we know of life.

Still, the assumed extra-terrestrial life will exist in the same universe, where there are the same physical and chemical laws apply, like the ones on earth. Therefore, we know for sure it won’t exist in extremely unstable conditions (like on a star's surface) because the organism would fall apart shortly after its creation, nor in too stable (for example in very cold temperatures, where there is very low to no movement of the molecules), because the organism won’t even get the chance to form.

Then, it has to have some chemical base, like some dominant element, that is the foundation of the organisms. On earth, it’s carbon, and for a good reason. It's really common on our planet, and also can form four, stable chemical bonds with other elements, as well as create big, advanced structures, like chains and rings. Thanks to these properties, carbon seems it could be one of the easiest foundations for other forms of more developed life as well. But not necessarily.

The conditions on some planets might make carbon-based life impossible to exist. Does it then mean that said planets would be fully inhabitable? Not really! Alien life could form here- it would just have to manage with completely different elements. Most probably, it would then use silicon. Why? Well, it displays similar properties as carbon does (as they are in the same group in the periodic table, and silicon can also create stable quadruple bonds), and it could withstand much higher temperatures. It is also a pretty common element on earth, so if the planet's conditions weren't completely extreme, it could also be as often there. If it only had the proper environment and a bit of luck, then it could initiate many chemical reactions that could eventually lead to the forming of some organisms. It might seem a complete fantasy for us now, but maybe we are just too carbon-centric in our judgment.

Another thing, we consider crucial for organisms to function, is water. But once again, it doesn't have to be like that. Extra-terrestrial organisms could also use different solvents instead of water, like ammonia and other hydrocarbons.

They have similar physical characteristics to it, but the main difference between them is that they are perfect solvents for most carbon-based compounds. What’s more, many planets (such as Titan) have great hydrocarbon oceans covering up nearly the whole surface, while there is no liquid water existing there. Hydrocarbons have also a way lower freezing point than water, so if extraterrestrial life was to exist in way lower temperatures than we do, it would most probably depend on carbohydrates at some point. After all, life on earth started in the ocean. If it were to start in the oceans elsewhere, no one said it must be a water-basing one.

Another important variable, we need to consider while thinking about extraterrestrial life, is the planet itself, where it would exist on.

Most importantly, if the planet is located in the habitable zone- meaning, if it's orbiting in the distance from its star, allowing it to have liquid water on its surface, and its temperature is neither too hot nor too cold. Of course, liquid water and life could exist outside of the habitable zone, but it's just less likely. So, while searching for exoplanets with potential for supporting life, we narrow down our search just for the ones in the habitable zone.

Being in a habitable zone still doesn't grant the planet to have life on it. For life to exist, the planet must shield itself somehow from radiation coming from space, using atmosphere or strong magnetosphere. The solar wind coming from the host star would completely “sterilize” the planet's surface of any living forms, especially if its effect has been long-term. Besides that, if we think of life from an earth-centric point of view, it would need stable physical conditions, so it can evolve in peace. Without drastically changing temperature in a day, or meteors lurking around the corner, ready to wipe out all those hardly acquired life forms and organisms.

An atmosphere would be pretty useful in that scenario. It shields planets from potential meteorites and space radiation and uses the greenhouse effect to keep the temperatures stable. That creates rather stable conditions on the planet (at least much better than on a rocky, atmosphere-less one) and allows life to evolve.

So, if we are to look for a planet of best fit for extraterrestrial life, it must:

orbit not too far, nor too close from the host star- be in the magical habitable zone, which is closer for smaller stars, and further for bigger

be big enough to have strong gravitation- otherwise, all the particles creating the atmosphere would simply fly away into the space

and, finally, have the said atmosphere and then magnetosphere

Okay. Let's say there is a hypothetical planet that perfectly matches all of those conditions. Now what?

The most optimistic answer to that question would be to get ourselves a nice chair, sit down and wait approximately 3 billion years for life to form, as it was in the case of the earth. Then, wait other millions of years, so there is anything more on the planet, other than primitive cells and bacterias- something like fauna and flora. And wait, wait, wait even more, until intelligent life appears. If it ever does.

Okay, that doesn't seem so fun. So what is the other answer?

Well, we don't know if it will ever form and how long will it take for it. Especially if we are talking about extraterrestrial intelligence. It might be even possible we are completely alone in the universe, and we will forever remain like that. But to understand this process better, we need to take a look at how life on earth developed. Only then we can bring in the odds and numbers.

THE ORIGINS OF LIFE

Scientists still aren’t sure about how life on earth's origins. No wonder why, since the first organisms have appeared over 3 billion years ago! Still, some scientific theories are trying to answer that question.

The most common one states that life forms came from inorganic matter. It’s worth mentioning, that 3 billion years ago Earth’s atmosphere was composed of completely different elements - it had much more hydrogen, as well as methane and ammonia, and very little oxygen.

Such ingredients and many other inorganic substances started to spontaneously create chemical reactions with each other, which lead to creating the first amino acids, and then the other substances crucial for life (like RNA or DNA). Then, some electrical spark would engage all of those puzzles to settle down together, and voila! we have the first cells. They would then form the first organisms, and if they wanted to further evolve, they would have to stay in an environment with conducive conditions- meaning allowing all those reactions to happen. At least for a while. So, we assume the first cells started in water- presumably in the ocean or in some sort of hot springs or swamps.

But there is also another way of explaining how life got on earth. It’s called the theory of panspermia, and it says that the first forms of life haven’t evolved on earth, but have been brought there.

Panspermia is a hypothesis, stating that life forms can be transferred from one astronomical object to the other- with the use of, for example, a meteorite or an asteroid. the said meteorite would be injected with microorganisms from one planet containing life (intentionally or not) and then transfer to the other. Generally speaking, we could say that panspermia means “infecting” planets with life. Sounds cool, does it? But there is one problem. Namely, the universe is filled with radiation coming from nearby stars and other sources. Those are mostly ultraviolet and gamma rays, which would completely shatter all the DNA and RNA structures inside of a cell making it won't capable of reproducing anymore. So, if the organisms bringing life to other planets were to survive and reproduce, they would have to be extremely resistant to radiation.

But that doesn’t disprove the theory. We know that on earth there is a special kind of microorganisms, called extremophiles. Those interesting organisms are able to withstand extremely unwelcoming conditions, and even seem to favor them. There are ones living in extremely high pressure (down in Mariana Trench), in conditions of very high salt concentration, and even resistant to UV radiation! So, if panspermia was to be the main source of life on other planets, the extremophiles would probably partake in it.

So, we got life on board. Hurray! now, let’s sit down and wait approximately 3 billion years for the intelligent life forms to evolve. But can we really be sure of that?

INTELLIGENT LIFE FORMS- WHAT WOULD IT TAKE AND WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

It took humanity 600 million years to evolve to its current shape since the basic eucaryotic organisms came to life on oceans and on land. But it wasn’t just the time to do those wonders. Besides the just-right conditions the earth had for terrestrial life to evolve, it has received many evolutionary triggers, that gave it perfect opportunities to advance and grow. For example, the fact that earth has a moon made its inclination (if you want to know how it happened, go check out the “the moon” post) just right, so the seasons weren’t too extreme, yet encouraging some forms of life to grow. The moon's influence also caused tides, which made the exit of the ocean for organisms much easier. Another evolutionary trigger of great importance is the mass extinction of some species, and in our history, it's the end of the dinosaur era. Mass extinctions of species, however tragic, give place for new forms of life to evolve, as it was in the case of mammals. Who knows, maybe if the asteroid had hit in a different region of the earth, let's say part of the ocean with water deep enough to absorb the energy of impact, maybe it would be some dinosaur scientists discussing the odds of extraterrestrial life, and learning, that if the asteroid has hit the earth in slightly another place, their reptilian civilization would be gone forever.

So, it is safe to say that the position of humanity, the existence of civilizations, and the whole evolutionary process of life on earth, we owe only to a stroke of great luck and good fortune. If anything in our history would have gone differently, there is a high probability we wouldn’t stand where we are standing. So, it could be really hard for extraterrestrial life to have the same amount of fortune.

so, what are the odds that it can actually exist?

The chance, or to say better- the number of civilizations in our universe, with whom the communication might be possible is stated by the Drake equation:

Right now, we don’t know most values hiding under those mysterious letters (like how many planets can we consider habitable for life and so on), and we can barely estimate or even try to guess them. But just looking at this equation, we can see, that the value will rather be very low, and that alien civilizations aren’t waiting for us in every corner of space. Still, the universe is so great, and even if the chance is really low, alien life should still be somehow existent. So, as Enrico Fermi said,

"Where are they?"

according to Fermi Paradox, there are a few ways to explain the current situation.

1. we can’t communicate with aliens, because they do not exist:

a) and never did- as I wrote in the origins of life part, the conditions on earth and the conditions for development that the terrestrial life had received, are very rare and hard to obtain, if not completely unique. Some scientists even assume that it isn't possible for any other planet to have such favorable physical conditions (like a good place in the planetary system, the star of the right size and age, an atmosphere rich in oxygen and etc.) and this lucky evolutionary trigger configuration, so the earth is truly one in its kind. This statement is expressed in Rare Earth Hypothesis- we were always alone and forever will be. It can't be confirmed for now whether this theory is true or not, but it for sure it's a possibility.

b) because complex life is destroyed by nature further in time- some random events happening in space from time to time, like meteorites impacting planets, host-star or supernova explosions don't cause somehow beneficial for evolution mass extinctions but are destroying all forms of life, and completely wiping off all intelligent life forms before they even get the chance to develop and try to contact with others.

c) because intelligent life forms destroy themselves- as we know in the case of humanity, intelligent life forms are powered by the two motivations: wanting an easy life, and fighting for domination among the others. The first one, taking it from a long-term perspective, could lead the civilization to doom, because of things such as climate change, complete destruction of the host planet, and both biological and physical decay of the aliens, which would result in the fall of the alien civilization tas well. The other reason for this is more direct — in the fight for domination, intelligent life forms would develop so advanced weapons (like nuclear weapons or something as powerful), that both sides will end up killing each other, and coincidentally destroying the whole civilization. Therefore, alien life would never survive long enough to contact others.

2. aliens exist, but we cannot communicate with them

a) because the universe is too big, and the civilizations are too widely dispersed- the distances in the universe are enormous, and if civilization is located thousands of light-years within our reach, there is no way to confirm if it exists or not, let alone try to contact them. Another explanation for it, that alien life might have settled only a part of the universe, and we have the (mis)fortune of being in the uncharted area of it, so we also would probably be never able to reach the galactic civilizations.

b) because there are some obstacles making communication hard or impossible- for example, the attempts to communicate with other civilizations require the aliens too many resources to be successful, or there could be some physical issues (other from the distance) making it impossible, like the gravity of a planet being too strong for rockets to launch into the space, or said civilization could evolve near a black hole. Either way, they will remain hidden for us.

c) because we have passed each other- as it takes so many factors for intelligent life to come into existence, civilizations could be such a rare occurrence, that their existence is divided with millions of years. So once we developed technologically enough, to be able to communicate with them, the alien civilizations would have already vanished, and when the other civilizations will advance enough and be ready for communication, we will be already gone. In that scenario, we can say that the universe is a great cemetery of all the fallen civilizations, waiting for more to come. Pretty depressing.

d) because they haven’t yet got created- Maybe this is a pretty selfish and anthropocentric concept, but from the Drake equation we know that forming civilization is a damned long and complicated process. Maybe alien life is already existing, but it is not responding to us, as it’s still in its primal form, not able to create civilizations, like how it was with dinosaurs or early mammals. We would just have to wait for it. Millions or billions of years.

e) because we are not open for communication for long enough- our civilization exists only for around 5 thousand years, and the first radio telescope was built in 1937. The first radio signals from earth capable of getting through the atmosphere were started to be transmitted in the late ’50s. That's a blink of an eye in the time scale of the universe! And we can’t be sure, that the aliens send us signals or messages capable of traveling all of those light-years every day. So maybe they sent us a sign, but it hasn’t been yet received by us.

Another thing is that we haven’t been open for communication for a loong time. If some alien scientists or representatives were scanning the solar system for any planet capable of forming a civilization millions of years ago, the earth couldn’t anyhow suggest, that it might contain intelligent life in the future. Our solar system and planet don’t really stand out, so nobody could probably be bothered by it and notice any form of life developing. Even if they somehow got the lucky chance to visit earth somehow in the past, they couldn’t be treated seriously, and in the best case, treated as monsters or supernatural beings. And after such reception, no alien would treat earth seriously.

Aliens could also be existing somewhere in the universe, up for communication, but they still haven’t received our signals. We’ve only transmitted for a short period of time, and the distances in the universe are huge- even if they found our messages or signals and were able to decode them, it would probably take several dozens of years to get their response.

f) because we’re looking for them in a wrong way- when the SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) program is looking for signals from aliens, it assumes two things: first, that the signal would be transferred by the use of radio waves (because they can be sent for the greatest range out of every other type of waves) and the second, that it would be emitted on the frequency of 1420mHz, the hydrogen line. The institute is looking for this particular frequency, as it is radiated by neutral atoms of hydrogen, the most common element in the universe. However, our perception of what frequencies might aliens use might be really wrong, especially if we consider the fact that the radio telescope in the Arecibo observatory can receive signals only in the range within 0,3 light-years from Earth.

So, maybe it's not that we cant communicate with them. we just do it the wrong way or have a too limited range of search.

g) because our technology is too primitive to communicate with them

from what we know, there is no more effective way of communication in the universe than electromagnetic radiation. However, we, once again, might be very wrong on that. Maybe the aliens have abandoned this form of communication long ago, and are using other, more effective methods (like using quantum mechanics to convey their messages). Maybe they also have sent us some messages based on the new ways of communication, but we didn’t perceive them as ways of cosmical communication, and rather labeled them as mental illnesses or, even better: revelations or possessions by the devil.

Those are just hypotheses though, not supported by any factual knowledge, and rather created to fill in the loops in our knowledge. On the other hand, the part about our undeveloped technology might be really making a point, and who knows how many messages from the aliens we have failed to notice just because of that.

2. aliens exist, but they don’t want to communicate

a) because communication is dangerous- do you remember what happened to indigenous people of both Americas when they tried to know the colonizers? A similar mechanism can work in the universe. Maybe aliens believe other civilizations to hostile, and try to stay out of sight, to avoid conflict, and therefore keep themselves safe. Many sci-fi works have introduced us to the concept of galactical imperialism, and that could cause other civilizations to try to hide their existence from others. And it wouldn’t prove to be a very hard task.

b) because aliens are too alien- maybe extraterrestrials don’t want to contact us, simply because we are too different from them. It might be rooted in xenophobia, some prejudices, or the mindset that humanity is too primitive and behind the times for the more advanced civilizations or even religious taboo. And maybe even that wouldn’t even be the reason why they don’t want to contact us. We have absolutely no clue about what life and the psychology of aliens may be like- it could be that solely the idea of contacting others might seem unreasonable to them and not in their nature. They could also try to communicate with us but in such a strange and unusual for us humans way (truly alien), that they wouldn't ever succeed.

c) because earth is intentionally avoided- a pretty grotesque, but still, valid explanation for Fermi Paradox could be that aliens are aware that there are intelligent forms of life on earth, but instead of trying to contact them, they'd rather just keep observing the planet. This theory is called the zoo hypothesis, and there might be many different reasons why aliens would decide on resigning from contact with humans: maybe aliens want to allow humanity to evolve and develop their civilization on their own, without the influence of other civilizations, or that they want to keep the balance of power in interplanetary relationships, so they prevent our civilization from joining the cosmic diplomatic arena.

As we can see, the answers on the topic of alien life proposed by the Fermi paradox are pretty depressing. After getting familiar with it, some people could just assume, that contacts with alien life are a closed case, and there is no way we could make them happen.

Still, some solutions proposed by this paradox don't make it exactly definite- like in the case of our technology not being developed enough, us searching for only a short period of time and/or doing it the wrong way. And that's what SETI is for.

SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

the SETI program (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) was launched in 1959 and ever since it is actively trying to find any signs or hints of what we consider extraterrestrial activity, especially as radio signals. And it had some successes.

On August 15 of 1977, the radio telescope in Ohio has registered a very peculiar signal, with really weird intensity, coming somewhere from the Sagittarius constellation. The astronomer registering it was so impressed with how unusual the signal was, he even wrote a note saying “Wow!” next to it. This caused the signal to be called as Wow! signal, and we still have no clue, what was the origin of it. Many people claim it could have been of extraterrestrial origin, and astronomers are still waiting for it to reoccur.

But extraterrestrial life could also be way closer to us than the Sagittarius constellation. Many sci-fi works believed, that if aliens were to be real, they would probably come from Mars. From what we know about this planet, for now, it has no liquid water whatsoever, and it's lifeless right now, but there is also evidence that it contained liquid water in past. Some scientists also believe that the first cells and organisms could be transferred from mars to earth in the mechanism of panspermia! But if we would be to think about what planet could contain life in contemporary times, we must go a little further from the earth- to Jupiter and Saturn. And more precisely, to their moons- Europa from Jupiter, and from Saturn’s moons: Titan and Enceladus. Both Enceladus and Europa seem crude and inhabitable at first, as their surface is covered with a thick layer of ice. However, studies from 2011 have revealed, that Europa might contain lakes of liquid water underneath its thick layer of ice, by some labeled even as oceans! Titan, on the other hand, is consisted of hydrocarbon oceans and has a dense atmosphere composed of nitrogen and methane. With no presence of liquid water and very low surface temperature (-170C), it seems completely inaccessible for life as we know it, but if we were to think about life using a hydrocarbon as solvents, Titan seems to be the best candidate for it out of all planets we know.

Besides searching for it and checking if it communicates with us, scientists have also made effort to reach out to aliens directly. Sending some probes to visit the furthest regions of our galaxy would be impossible because of time and limited resources, but we can send messages in the form of electromagnetic signals instead. They are way cheaper to broadcast and also have a much greater range, so if only given the needed time, we could reach even civilizations a few light-years away from our planet. Apart from just listening, SETI also emits signals for the extraterrestrials, as in the case of the famous Arecibo message, emitted in 1974 into the universe. It was projected by Frank Drake (yeah, the same one as the guy that created the Drake equation) and contains the information about our numeric system, atomic numbers of some most common chemical elements, like hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, the formulas for some chemical compounds crucial for life, like DNA, a graphic representation of the solar system and an average human being, as well as the description of Arecibo Observatory, meaning how and where to look for it.

It was emitted as a radio signal, but it can be also projected graphically, like in the image below (on the left is the graphical demonstration of the signal, and on the right- what does it mean).

A similar signal was also emitted in the direction of the Syrius star in 2007. The way there back and forth takes around 17 years, so in 2024 we can hope for signs of response.

Additionally, each of the Voyager probes got special phonograph records attached to them, before they were sent on their missions. Those discs are called the Voyager Golden Records and contain much general information about humanity-recorded audio greetings in 55 languages (both modern and ancient), a 90-min compilation of music from all around the globe, 115 images describing earth, our solar system, and the life of humans, and other sounds, like nature, footsteps, and laughter.

Right now, both probes have finished their missions and are roaming the space without any strict destination. Currently, Voyager 1 is heading towards the star Gliese 445, and it will reach it in about 40 thousand years. The chances, that they will be found by anyone within our lifetime are low, but we haven't known that the solar system is empty, before the start of their mission. And it's great to leave some sort of legacy after us, isn't it?

The Voyager probes have left earth a long time ago though, and they might not be sufficient for SETI purposes. That's why the famous James Webb Space Telescope have launched recently! It's ready to begin its mission, and it will investigate many things related to outer space- from finding signals shortly after its creation, observing galaxies over time and the life cycle of the stars, to even finding exoplanets and looking for extraterrestrial life! This is a great leap forward in the history of astronomy, and we might be getting seriously close to developing our technology enough, to contact the aliens.

But is it really something we should be looking forward to?

"If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans”- Stephen Hawking

This quote is really making a great point, one people tend to often forget about.

The space might be a much more dangerous place than we perceive it to be. It might be the case, that different civilizations try to fight down the others, so some extraterrestrial nations adopted this strategy, called also the theory of the dark forest (adapted from the science fiction novel The Dark Forest, by Liu Cixin). It states, that:

All forms of life desire to stay alive.

There is no way to know if other lifeforms can or intend to destroy you if given a chance.

Laying low is impossible in the long term perspective, therefore, lacking assurances, the safest option for any species is to annihilate other life forms before they have a chance to do the same.

So am I saying we should stop the search? Definitely not! Attempting to communicate with extraterrestrials, if they do exist, could be extremely dangerous for us. So, if we are given any proof of alien life actually existing, we need to cool down the excitement and pragmatically figure out whether it’s wise — or safe — to contact them, and how to handle such attempts in an organized manner.

Besides, if we were to completely cut ties with everything related to SETI and tried to keep a low-profile approach to anything relating to space, it might be too late. We have emitted radio signals and electromagnetic noise since the early '80s, so if someone really wanted to find us, they probably would have heard them anyway (not to mention the messages we sent intentionally). The same thing goes with our space probes, cosmic telescopes, and space stations floating around space- we left the footprint. And since it has already been done, we can't do anything to reverse it- just have to be wise and careful about it. And it's also better to get to know the risk or danger than to try to pretend it's not out there.

Besides, regardless of the purpose, space missions and studies always lead to science development, they breed innovation and bring new technologies to life, ones we could possibly use later in daily life or to solve other existing problems. Apart from that, the search for extraterrestrial life can also give us many answers about us as such. What is humanity's place in the universe? How has it all started? Are we really that special? The answer is for sure somewhere. We just have to uncover it.

So is it worth it? I'll leave the judgment up to you, and many other people much more competent in that subject than me. One thing I am certain of is, that, regardless of the outcome for our SETI efforts (whether extraterrestrial life exists or not), the answer will change our perception of the world forever. As a paraphrase, of the quote used in the beginning said, both possibilities are equally terrifying.

----

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Book “the science of Rick and Morty- The Science of Rick and Morty: What Earth’s Stupidest Show Can Teach Us About Quantum Physics, Biological Hacking and Everything Else in Our Universe (An Unofficial Guide)” written by Matt Brady, first published in 2019, I read it in translation (published in Cracow, 2019)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_chauvinism

https://www.britannica.com/science/extraterrestrial-life

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/news/1675/life-in-the-universe-what-are-the-odds/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_Earth_hypothesis

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/huge-lakes-of-water-may-exist-under-europas-ice

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Titan

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/silicon-based-life-may-be-more-just-science-fiction-n748266

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_types_of_biochemistry

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/search-for-life/habitable-zone/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoo_hypothesis#Assumptions

https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/

https://webbtelescope.org/webb-science

https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/search-for-life/can-we-find-life/#otp_will_we_know_life_when_we_see_it?

https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox

https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/the-dark-forest-theory-a-terrifying-explanation-of-why-we-havent-heard-from-aliens-yet/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/ufo-report-aliens-seti/2021/06/09/1402f6a8-c899-11eb-81b1-34796c7393af_story.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message

POLISH ONLY SOURCES

https://scroll.morele.net/technologia/czym-jest-projekt-seti/

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoks_Fermiego (the article is a bit different in polish, and I used both language versions)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6WALHqaS0c

---

IMAGE SOURCES:

silicon-based life concept-art: https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/silicon-based-life-may-be-more-just-science-fiction-n748266

habitable zone graphic: https://eos.org/articles/aging-stars-make-new-habitable-zones

the drake equation infographic:

https://astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2014/11/counting-aliens

Arecibo message graphic and explanation:

https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/arecibo-message-explained-google-doodle-1389706-2018-11-16

cover of the golden record:

By NASA/JPL - The Sounds of Earth Record Cover, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137443

ending illustration:

https://www.eastmojo.com/science-tech/2021/09/09/watch-do-aliens-exist-heres-what-a-nasa-expert-has-to-say/

#astro community #astronomy #personal project #sci fi #the universe #education #outer space #popular science #extraterrestrials #extraterrestial intelligence #aliens #fermi paradox #astrobiology #extraterrestial life #SETI

10 notes · View notes

tronrpg · 3 years

Text

what are Sirens?

what are Sirens? we just don't know.

but i'm getting ahead of myself.

To my knowledge, there has never been an officially-released Tron pen-and-paper RPG. There certainly would have been a market for it around the original film's release, had it done better at the box office. And assuredly there have been dozens of homebrew splats and rulesets shared between fans and friends over the years. The Fract, in an ideal world, would eventually be a complete RPG system, enough to fill up a corebook and run a game. But in thinking about worldbuilding, I've run into a storytelling problem that, if not unique to the world of Tron, is certainly still a sore-thumb kind of issue.

Tron--that is to say the OG 1982 Grid, the New Grid, and whatever metatextual setting that the Fract takes place in--is neither science fiction nor science fantasy. For those who aren't clear on the delineation between the two, the plainest I can describe it is to say that "Star Trek" is (generally) science fiction, and "Star Wars" is (generally) science fantasy. Science fiction is nominally supposed to adhere to scientific rules or at least bend them to a reasonable degree in order to tell a story. Science Fantasy bends and breaks those rules, sometimes with impunity, because space wizards waving laser swords around speaks for itself.

The setting of Tron, taking place as it does outside the Grid, is a simulacra of a modern-day "real world" as we know it, with science and computers behaving the way we know they normally do. Except for in the Grid itself. We have to assume that both the Old and New Grids were special in some way, or at the very least that Grid-like systems with sentient programs are few and far between; because computer systems and programs as we know them do not behave like they do on either Grid. If they did, why would Flynn have bothered to create a new one if there are Grids within every computer in the world?

And that's where the science fiction of Tron falls down. Stephen Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird were not computer experts, and they wrote the original screenplay during a time when computers were widely known but not widely understood, particularly by the common person. They can be forgiven for leaning hard on the fantasy and spirituality elements that make Tron a work of more consequence than oh, say, Computer Warriors. But by the time Legacy was released, the world was a very different place, and the ubiquity of computers and technology meant that the average person had a basic knowledge of how a computer works and what it can do; and the OG Grid does not fall into those parameters. So it's hard to say that Tron is strictly science fiction, where rules have meanings, or science fantasy where rules are up for grabs, because each of us carry around a real-world analogue to the Grid in our pockets all day and by now we are all pretty sure that Google Chrome does not, in a metaphorical or spiritual sense, fight for us.

(This, incidentally, is where I feel Legacy did the right thing by having Flynn starting from almost-scratch with the New Grid instead of attempting to apply real-world IT logic to the Grid like Tron 2.0. Divorcing the fiction from things like emails and spreadsheets allowed Legacy to retain some of the spirituality and potential of 1982; and inasmuch as Tron 2.0 is a great game that I intend to revisit soon, I find the "real computer" stuff to be kinda cringey.)

And here's where we come around to Sirens, finally. What the hell are they? Aside from being conventionally-attractive female-coded Programs in white vinyl outfits who appear to have largely representational or ritualistic roles in the New Grid, it's not entirely clear what they do or what separates them from a garden-variety Program. We see Gem and the three other Sirens in Legacy, there are a handful of Sirens in Uprising, including Lux, who appears to have been a...battle Siren? Maybe?

When it comes to putting together an RPG, you have to lean on rules. You have to nail things down and say, outside of GM fiat, a dice roll does that and a stat means this and an attack is performed thusly. So in thinking about squishing the world of Tron into an RPG format, which unlike most video games does not contain a single linear storyline; you have to think about making the world digestible and processable by squaring the edges and making definitions. You want the players and the GM to be able to exercise the vastness of their imaginations, but you want to set the parameters of the playing field, or else why have a themed RPG at all?

That's where I started thinking about how Tron's mish-mash of science fiction/fantasy elements make it a unique challenge to format as an RPG setting. Would it be better to emphasize the fantasy theming, or would players prefer a more grounded approach with real-world computer elements? Is it possible to have a balanced approach? How do you color in the missing information about how the Grid and Programs work, the stuff that the original works never really explained? Just what the HELL are Sirens anyway? Is there some sort of unspoken caste system in the Grid? Are there male-presenting Sirens? Can they suit up and play in the Games? Can they all do that synchronized-walking-backwards thing? Do Sirens just show up when Programs are about to compete at something? Why so much eyeshadow? Why does it rain in the Grid? Why did Flynn serve Sam and Quorra a roast suckling pig? Why does Clu 2.0 look more like Lord Farquahd than Jeff Bridges? WHAT HAPPENED TO RAM? IS HE PART OF THE JUNKY RECOGNIZER NOW OR DID HE TURN INTO THE BIT OR WHAT? KEVIN FLYNN, WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

...okay, got that out of my system, thanks for bearing with me. The point is that there are a lot of fill-in-the-blanks when it comes to worldbuilding lore in the Tron universe, and that may be by design. I love Star Wars, but the industry that has been built up over the last 40+ years to make sure every puppet, alien and CGI blob with a nanosecond of screen time has a full backstory and Wookieepedia entry, I find, largely detracts from the magic of the original movies. Not having everything explained adds to Tron's lasting allure. On the other hand, it makes a project like the Fract a product of guesswork and blue-skying.

So let's say I was creating a Tron RPG, like you do. And I wanted to make Sirens a playable class (which I intend to). Based on the information given to us by the canon, which isn't much; I'd say that Sirens are, first and foremost, specialists. They have specific skills that they hone and adhere to and do not deviate from to take on other roles, which makes them in-demand as bodyguards or enforcers but their specialization limits a players' build choices. They are also largely recognized in the Grid as having ritualistic or shamanistic public roles, perhaps representing the link between Programs and Users. (Maybe Dumont was a Siren 1.0. He could have had on a white vinyl singlet under that getup, who knows?) Maybe they're like priestesses or shrine maidens, maybe they take vows like nuns. This might make them like Monks in D&D.

You see how narrowing the possibilities of what Sirens are in order to fit them into an RPG character class box also reduces their potential in canon--but of course canon's not being contradicted here; this is a fan work and is not intended to overwrite the creative work of others. I just hope that if it ever gets completed, it plays enough like the work that inspired it, so that other fans can get the same rush of imagining what it's like to be on the Grid.

#tron #tron 1982 #tronblr #tron lives #tron legacy #rpg #flynn lives #worldbuilding

11 notes · View notes

talkfantasytome · 2 years

Note

Do you have a favorite genre to read and write?

Nonnie! Thank you for stopping by! I love questions! 😄💕

Fantasy.

Point blank, full stop. It's essentially the only thing I read. I mean, I enjoy fiction in general, and probably should branch out, but I really love using books as an escape, and it's just not a full escape if I'm in the exact same world I live in. 👀

For original stuff, I do like fantasy, because I LOVE to world build. My current original novel idea has a whole reimagination of a being type I've been working on for years. It's just so much fun. However, funnily enough, for fan fiction I do mostly modern AUs that don't include anything fantastical. But I do still like to write that, it's just that for the shorter one-shots and multi-parts, going into world building is a lot, especially for someone who loves it, cause I GET INTO it. For my long multi-part Nessian piece I'm working on, I've created a map, general concepts of what each country's resources are, what they trade, how their relations are, etc. It's not fantastical, as much as a blending of a ton of royalty concepts from legends and myths (i.e. King Arthur), actual history, and adjusted history (i.e. Reign, about Mary Queen of Scots). Basically, any and every royalty thing I've seen or read has provided inspiration and ideas for me to figure out how it all works. lol

Basically, I'm more diverse in what I like to write than what I like to read. 😂 But, I classify pretty much ANYTHING that isn't our exact world and has some form of magic or otherness to it as fantasy. To me, fiction is essentially broken up into two categories - fantasy and non-fantasy. Well, maybe three with science fiction. But, like, you add ONE element that's not based in science (i.e. a material that doesn't actually exist, or, you know, something like a fancy stone that has power and is in a set of six 👀), and I'm like "so, it's kinda fantasy". 👀

#ask box #anon ask

2 notes · View notes

bonetrader · 5 years

Text

Unusual RPG combinations

I like to tinker with mixing and matching rpg settings and systems. I will try to collect the ones I'm most fascinated with. I haven't found the opportunity to actually try any of these combinations, but I guess it doesn't hurt to put them out there in case someone finds any of them interesting.

Shadowrun redux

Setting: Shadowrun

System: Blades in the Dark

I adore Shadowrun. It takes all the bleakness of reality, amplifies it, but also mixes it with a lot of magic and wonder. And if you read the books selectively, even with hope.

But playing it can get convoluted, especially if your group is prone to overplan. And we know that plans always go sideways. There's no such thing as a milk run. Spending an hour on planning can be annoying in itself. But it's extra painful if it has to be thrown out the window in the first five minutes of execution.

Enter Blades in the Dark that instead of planning ahead encourages to use flashbacks on the spot to reveal how you prepared in advance to get past an obstacle. That makes pulling off daring heists a lot more easier for the players. Infiltration is way less stressful on the player if they can make up any forged backstory on the go, and do a flashback to make sure it's believable. There's still some minimal planning, but it's practically just setting the starting scene of the run. You don't have to specify anything beyond that.

The concept of crew from Blades also fits nicely with Shadowrun. It can tell the GM what kind of runs the players prefer, and gives the players the ability tospecialize their team. Blades was created for a different level of technology and magic. But it mainly focuses on the hierarchy of the criminal underground, and that translates easily even to a modern world. So I expect the same crews to work with Shadowrun, but more thematic options could be added to tie it closer to the sixth world.

The concept of hunting grounds should be reconsidered. In Blades it means a specific neighbourhood the characters are more familiar with and usually target. In Shadowrun it makes more sense to make it a specific scenery they usually operate in. For example it could be a specific megacorporation they often go up against, or a type of gang that's common in the sprawls they operate in.

Blades also offers a nice subsystem for handling reputation, growth, notoriety, and even stress and trauma between runs. Incorporating a specific vice for each PC also seems completely in line with Shadowrun's concept.

The biggest difference will be in character creation. Blades' system is more abstract than Shadowrun's. In Blades you have to pick a specific playbook for your character. I think that's OK. While Shadowrun allowed building characters skill by skill, it always encouraged working toward specific archetypes like face, rigger, or adept. Your playbook determines your starting stats, but you can still somewhat specialize it. Blades also allows crossing from a playbook to a new one, but that's long term character advancement.

Adding some elements of Shadowrun might not be trivial. Spirits could be more or less handled as the ghosts in Blades. But magic and technology would have to be specifically addressed. Some of it could be treated like fluff, making it mechanically irrelevant whether your efforts are more effective because of training, because of an implant, or because you are infusing them with magic. But at least mages, riggers and deckers would probably need their own playbooks.

Twisted Houses of the Drow

Setting: any fantasy setting with drows, but I have a specific campaign idea for Spelljammer

System: Houses of the Blooded

This is a re-skin of Houses of the Blooded. The ven and the drow have different values and cultures, but I think they share a similar style. Decadence and intrigue runs deep in their societies. I'd replace the virtues (attributes) of the original game with corresponding vices. And each vice would be linked to a drow god instead of the totem animals of the original game.

Instead of the romance mechanic there would be rivalry. It would work the same way, just with a different flavour. Drows could pick someone as a rival, driving each other to greater feats. Instead of creating art drows could develop schemes. Same as the art mechanic. The scheme could give a bonus to those it was shared with. Seasons, regions, holdings, and blessings would have to be reworked, but I think renaming them would be enough in most cases.

My campaign idea is for a group of drow renegades employed by the elven admiralty as covert agents. They would be sent for long term infiltration missions to places where surface elves are not welcome. Each of them would have an affiliation with a drow god as well, and each would have their own hidden agenda. It might even work if not all characters are drows. I could imagine one or two elf, half-elf, or shapeshifter mixed in.

If I ever got to it seasons of the campaign would include: Building up a career of piracy in space (remember, Spelljammer) to get on the good side of a notorious and elusive pirate king, and lead the elven navy to its hideout. Instead of holdings the players could manage trade routes they raid, and their ships. Another would be infiltrating a drow city to stop an invasion. I think this would be the closest to the original Houses game. And finally I'd drop them in a mission to arrive as inmates to Elfcatraz, the secret prison of the admiralty (named by one of my players) to find out who's really in control there.

Around Cerilia in 80 days

Setting: Birthright

System: Primetime adventures

This one is kind of cheating, because Primetime adventures is quite setting-independent. So I rather mean it's a better fit for the kind of stories I'd like to run in this setting.

Birthright's setting works on a comprehensible scale for me. Most fantasy worlds have gigantic continents with dozens of large countries. They are too large for me, and I end up with a vast countryside where everything's the same for weeks to go. But Birthright has a small continent, maybe more like a large island with five distinct cultural regions. And each of those regions have a dozen provinces, each province described with its own flavor. It's not complicated, but colorful.

I guess it was done this way to accomodate the strategy aspect of Birthright that was one of its main features. While the concept of ruling provinces sounds great, the setting really makes me want to have a game about just travelling through this world. Not with adventurers, but rather with tourists, merchants, travelers who are going there to see a foreign place, or do business with the locals, and not just to explore a dungeon that happens to be there.

Ever since I saw the Roman Mysteries TV series I've been particularly fascinated with the idea of having a bunch of kids as player characters who are brought along by one's aunt/uncle on business trips to foreign lands, and get into trouble there. For example a trip from a frontier barony to the capital city, traveling through the woods of wary elves, then sailing down the river, stopping in a few more interesting port. Or a journey to the magnificent kingdoms in the east, although there are many perils both natural, and man-made on the way.

Thinking in Primetime adventures terms each province or city could be a separate episode. And the peculiarities of the place could be used to decide which character's spotlight episode should happen there.

Even domains of awnshegh (people and animals infected by the power of a dead god of darkness, becoming "monsters") don't have to be off limits. Some of them were quite sociable, and even more ruled over people whose perspective could be interesting.

Crown of Wings

Setting: Council of Wyrms

System: Birthright's domain management

Council of Wyrms focuses on playing dragons from various clans who work together. Despite the central role of the council, and the politics between the dragon clans, Council of Wyrms didn't touch much on the actual politics and realm management. It was the same AD&D, just scaled up to dragon PCs.

But I think there's so much more potential in the setting. I could easily imagine dragons ruling the land, managing guilds, and churches, and building out ley line networks to cast spells affecting whole realms. So everything that Birthright's system offered.

The setting isn't fully fleshed out, but it lets us fill in the land with fantastic locations. Some cities and towns were mentioned at unusual places, full of various races. So players could run wild with ideas when they create their own domain. Should their be trade routes with a merfolk city, and underwater ley lines? Absolutely. Could there be a church based on promoting the halfling lifestyle? Why not?

And then there's the Council. Domain Power could determine the character's status in it. Regency Points, and Gold Bars could be used as bargaining chips.

But what should be its purpose? I have seen enough of the trope of warring factions who have to be unified against some common threat, maybe with a traitorous faction thrown in the mix. I mean it makes for a fine story, but I'm getting a little tired of it. This time I'd rather see a council as a way to trade, to exchange ideas, and to help everybody improve their own clan. It doesn't make for a strong narrative, but I think it's a more positive message overall.

I think the biggest restriction in the setting is that dragon clans are too homogenic. Like, each clan consists of just one kind of dragon. That doesn't help in putting together a game with diverse characters. The original game concept solved that by making the PCs agents of the Council who may come from various clans.

For a more political game we could introduce mixed clans. So the characters could be part of the same clan, while still coming from various places. Maybe they are outcasts or survivors who created their own clan. Or maybe their clan was open minded, and was located in a central place, so it naturally lead to it becoming more diverse.

Or we could say that they are from different clans, but their clans are neighbours and allies of each other. At least if you're like me, and you don't want to set the players up for PvP by putting them to opposing sides of a clan feud.

Custom Quest

Setting: Your long-running campaign

System: Fiasco

I think any campaign that went on for a while should be an easy source for creating a Fiasco playset for a one-time play. Fiasco is about nobodies trying to pull off something bigger than they are. It's about petty people, and half-baked ideas going wrong. And while that might still sound like your average adventurer party, here we know they can't win. They will be lucky if they don't end up in a lot worse situation they started in.

For convenience I will refer to the PCs of the original campaign as heroes. It's okay if they are not actual heroes. That happens pretty often. But they had the greatest influence on the campaign this one shot is based on, so we have to heavily rely on them.

So the player characters in this one-shot are probably just background noise in the original campaign. I think this is a great way to explore how the actions of the heroes might affect the common people in unexpected ways. Objects driving the character dynamics could be things the heroes brought back, created, or just used in a memorable moment. Maybe an artifact they sold off is making its rounds on the blackmarket, and someone sees an opportunity in it. Or evidence surfaced that could incriminate one of the heroes.

And it's not just Objects. Their shenanigans might have brought the unwanted attention of a powerful cult to the city. Or the local barkeep loathes the heroes because they trashed his place one too many times. And he's just looking for some idiots to exact his revenge. Really, just look for whomever the heroes might have ever slighted or aided to get a plethora of petty plots and strange driving forces in the community. This can give you the Needs and Relationships between the player characters.

Locations could be places well known by the players, preferably close to a place the heroes frequent. The heroes, and the more memorable NPCs could give some enjoyable cameos. And finally they could become part of the Tilt table to turn a bad situation worse in the middle of the game.

#tabletop rpg #fiasco #drow #Houses of the Blooded #Birthright #shadowrun #spelljammer #Blades in the Dark #Primetime Adventures #Council of Wyrms #rpg #rpg combos

7 notes · View notes