Wow! Alien Signal Confirmed: A Collaborative TL

OOC: The following POD is not an ASB one but could be considered along the fringe. It is based on the following event:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wow!_signal

The idea is not to whether or not aliens would respond, but to explore what would be the reaction of people across the globe, from 1977 until 2012, to the sudden knowledge that humanity was not alone in the universe. No alien contacts, no advanced technology, no Macguffins, no landings of aliens on Earth.... Just the knowledge that we are not alone...


August 15th, 1977: Dr. Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977, while working on a SETI project at the Big Ear radio telescope of Ohio State University then located at Ohio Wesleyan University's Perkins Observatory, Delaware, Ohio. The signal bore all of the hallmarks of potential non-terrestrial and non-Solar System origin. It lasted for the full 72-second duration that Big Ear observed it, but was never detected again. The message was detected in the Sagitarius Constellation, roughly 122 light-years from Earth, making any conversation or exchange of information impossible, but the effect was clear, humanity was no longer the sentient life form in the universe...

August 16th, 1977: President Jimmy Carter, after receiving a briefing by his scientific advisors announces the radio signal to the world as a "profound discovery, which serves notice that we are not the sole heirs of creation..."

August 16th, 1977: Singer Elvis Presley proclaims that the signal is "divine providence", running onto his lawn and going into prayer at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee...

August 18th, 1977: Senator William Proxmire (D-WI) voices his scepticism, stating about the president's speech,"It's the best argument yet for chopping NASA's funding to the bone .... I say not a penny for this nutty fantasy..."

August 20th, 1977: Although conceived and planned since the late 1960s, the Voyager 2 launch gains one of its highest television ratings for NASA, with the launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida...

… You're gonna have Elvis clean himself up and live.

I like that. Though it's quite possibly too late, as you did this on the DAY HE DIED.

You'll have major talks start very quickly about responding to the signal with a transmission from Earth.

However this would cause serious repercussions as the world would inherantly become split between 'millterists' and 'paranoids' who are scared about letting ET know we are here, and those 'futurists' and 'optimists' that want ET to know we are here.

It's all academic really, since it wouldn't take much for a fringe group to send their own 'unofficial return signal' therefore this issue is of major pressing concern. Afterall you don't want the religious fundies sending it, or the neo-nazis or even Joe Bloggs wanting to talk about his blocked drain. Because otherwise, what does that say about humanity to some 'unknowns' out there...?

Tallest Skil said:

… You're gonna have Elvis clean himself up and live.

I like that. Though it's quite possibly too late, as you did this on the DAY HE DIED.

Click to expand...

Well, based on the fact that Carter's speech took place several hours before he had the drug overdose that would kill him in OTL, this would be enough to get him to clean himself up....

Mr_ Bondoc said:

Well, based on the fact that Carter's speech took place several hours before he had the drug overdose that would kill him in OTL, this would be enough to get him to clean himself up....

Click to expand...

Even with the organ damage already in place?

Anyway, you're gonna see every transmitter on the planet pointed toward the source, for better or for worse. Not like they'd be able to translate the threats, anyway.

Mr_ Bondoc said:

Well, based on the fact that Carter's speech took place several hours before he had the drug overdose that would kill him in OTL, this would be enough to get him to clean himself up....

Click to expand...

How many hours? Elvis was found dead at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

Torqumada

This should still be in ASB, the Wow! signal didn't confirm anything.

Torqumada said:

How many hours? Elvis was found dead at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

Torqumada

Click to expand...

The speech would most likely be announced at 9:00 AM/EST. As such, the buildup over the announcement would prevent the drug use that killed him in the ATL....

Genmotty said:

You'll have major talks start very quickly about responding to the signal with a transmission from Earth.

However this would cause serious repercussions as the world would inherantly become split between 'millterists' and 'paranoids' who are scared about letting ET know we are here, and those 'futurists' and 'optimists' that want ET to know we are here.

It's all academic really, since it wouldn't take much for a fringe group to send their own 'unofficial return signal' therefore this issue is of major pressing concern. Afterall you don't want the religious fundies sending it, or the neo-nazis or even Joe Bloggs wanting to talk about his blocked drain. Because otherwise, what does that say about humanity to some 'unknowns' out there...?

Click to expand...

Also consider the reactions by religious leaders, entertainers, writers and the occasional film directors. Definitely feel free to run wild with your ideas...

Tallest Skil said:

Even with the organ damage already in place?

Anyway, you're gonna see every transmitter on the planet pointed toward the source, for better or for worse. Not like they'd be able to translate the threats, anyway.

Click to expand...

Yes, even with the organ damage in place, but if Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and Steve Tyler of Aerosmith have shown, people can recover, if they are at least half-way serious about cleaning up their act... For someone like Elvis, let's just give him the benefit of the doubt after what he believes is a religious experience...

Interesting scenario, I was actually thinking of starting a similar thread to this.

Genmotty said:

You'll have major talks start very quickly about responding to the signal with a transmission from Earth.

However this would cause serious repercussions as the world would inherantly become split between 'millterists' and 'paranoids' who are scared about letting ET know we are here, and those 'futurists' and 'optimists' that want ET to know we are here.

It's all academic really, since it wouldn't take much for a fringe group to send their own 'unofficial return signal' therefore this issue is of major pressing concern. Afterall you don't want the religious fundies sending it, or the neo-nazis or even Joe Bloggs wanting to talk about his blocked drain. Because otherwise, what does that say about humanity to some 'unknowns' out there...?

Click to expand...

It would probably give them a pretty accurate picture: that there is no intelligent life on Earth!

If people can send signals anyway then governments would probably opt with sending them "their" signal.

Mr_ Bondoc said:

Also consider the reactions by religious leaders, entertainers, writers and the occasional film directors. Definitely feel free to run wild with your ideas...

Click to expand...

I'm not really sure what different religious leaders' stances on it would be. I think any new age religion could gain a slight boost from it if the big religions didn't have convincing answers. But then again knowing what religions are like I'm sure there'd probably be a rush to claim it for themselves.

It would probably boost the interest of the public in science fiction considerably, maybe even out of the sci-fi ghetto as it would seem more realistic It would become a more popular topic for writers, directors and entertainers in general. More people would go to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. might be made into a trilogy.

It would probably also mean renewed interest in NASA and space exploration. I think after a few years people would probably get more used to the idea of humans not being alone in the universe, though it would still result in some pretty large trends. Not sure what those are though.

Although the signal was 72 seconds of static and "white noise", there are going to be conspiracy theories and urban legends that claim otherwise. Think of how many outlandish UFO claims have beem made since 1977. As such, lease feel free to go wild with the strange accusations and cult beliefs...

August 26th, 1977: Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell states during a rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia,"Without Divine interference we are alone in the universe and without Christ we are—and should be—terrified. The gospel is as relevant as ever..."

November 12th, 1978: Scientists question the "Wow!" signal during a press conference in Washington D.C., calling it a "political football"....

September 28th, 1979: President Jimmy Carter releases his Space Policy Initiative (SNI) during a Rose Garden speech in Washington D.C.,...

Waiting to see how long it takes for someone to draw Star Trek into this.

Mr_ Bondoc said:

August 26th, 1977: Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell states during a rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia,"Without Divine interference we are alone in the universe and without Christ we are—and should be—terrified. The gospel is as relevant as ever..."

November 12th, 1978: Scientists question the "Wow!" signal during a press conference in Washington D.C., calling it a "political football"....

September 28th, 1979: President Jimmy Carter releases his Space Policy Initiative (SNI) during a Rose Garden speech in Washington D.C.,...

Click to expand...

Something to consider is that Pat Robertson claimed in 1997 that UFOs were demonic in origin and that the modern fascination with them actually is a kind of idolatry, hence worthy of stoning. Also there's Mike Huckabee's admonishing of the trend. Not to mention the claims about demonic "Reptoids" from David Icke and others. As such expect more PODs along those lines soon...

Stormy Sky said:

It would probably also mean renewed interest in NASA and space exploration. I think after a few years people would probably get more used to the idea of humans not being alone in the universe, though it would still result in some pretty large trends. Not sure what those are though.

Click to expand...

I doubt this to a large degree. Humaniy finding life 120lyrs from Earth doesn't change a big deal...if anything its more scary and a will to 'go silent' then to reach out. if anything SETI is going to get a bags of funding, but humanity as a whole is going to end up getting board of the whole affair...

Stalin said:

Something to consider is that Pat Robertson claimed in 1997 that UFOs were demonic in origin and that the modern fascination with them actually is a kind of idolatry, hence worthy of stoning. Also there's Mike Huckabee's admonishing of the trend. Not to mention the claims about demonic "Reptoids" from David Icke and others. As such expect more PODs along those lines soon...

Click to expand...

Definitely put some PODs together. The stranger, the better. Just remember, the only thing that is known is that for 72 seconds, Earth received extraterrestrial radio signals. Considering Pat Robertson and David Icke, it would be hard to say what would be considered strange coming from them...

August 21st, 1977: Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) and William Proxmire (D-WI) demand an investigation into the "WOW! signal".

August 25th, 1977: A Senate Committee is formed to investigate the "WOW! signal".

Stalin said:

Something to consider is that Pat Robertson claimed in 1997 that UFOs were demonic in origin and that the modern fascination with them actually is a kind of idolatry, hence worthy of stoning.

Click to expand...

Pat Robertson is not a theocrat (although a Religious Right-winger).