Indra's Net

What if:

One day, we get a very short message from outer space, coming from a planet a million light years away. They tell us that they are building a virtual pipeline in space that will allow them to tap into our Internet, fluently translating our languages, images, and sounds. They would like to learn more about us. They would like to know who we are and what we’re about. Because they are so far away, we will never deal with them directly, nor will we ever trade or conduct commerce with them.

But their only access to us is the Internet. And in one year from now, they will be finished with their pipeline. In one year, they will be able to view every bit of information that exists on our Internet. One year from now.

Knowing this, are we the type of civilization to change what is currently on our Internet? Will we spend the next year putting on a more favorable face for another civilization to see? How much effort will we spend to make ourselves look better? Will we resort to lying about how we really are?

And if yes to any of the above questions, why aren’t we doing this now?