2011-12-10
Explanation
This comic explores a scenario about sending signals to alien civilizations. In the first panel, a woman debates the risks: "Finding intelligent life would be huge, but... what if we're advertising our existence to a hostile alien species?" This references the real-world debate about Active SETI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence), where scientists like Stephen Hawking have warned that broadcasting our location could attract dangerous aliens.
In the second panel, the temptation wins out when Earth-like planets are discovered nearby. A scientist excitedly reads: "This planet is only 30 light years away, and it's in the right ranges for life! We need to say hi!" The third panel jumps forward 60 years, when a signal finally arrives back. A woman announces: "We've received a message. It was so broad and powerful, it was detected by even our most distant satellites."
The punchline comes in the final panel, where the translation of the alien message is revealed: "Dear invaders! The tastiest life is on 'Earth,' which can be found between..." It turns out the aliens had the exact same fear we did -- that broadcasting their location would attract hostile invaders -- so their response was to deflect the threat by pointing the hypothetical invaders toward Earth instead. The joke is that the aliens' "similar fears" led them not to friendship but to throwing us under the bus.
The votey replaces the usual bonus panel with a "Phil Plait Dressup Doll," showing astronomer and science communicator Phil Plait (known for the Bad Astronomy blog) as a paper doll in his underwear with various hats to dress him in, including a cowboy hat, a pope's mitre, and a space helmet. This is an affectionate nod to the science communication community that SMBC is part of.