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177 Things are looking up, according to Annis. The rate of bursters is declining to the point that our Galaxy may be undergoing a “phase transition”—the lowering of a suppressive force below a threshold, past which a previously forbidden process becomes allowed. Annis thought it likely that intelligent life has recently sprouted at many places in the Galaxy. In another 100 million years, a new equilib- rium state will emerge, where the Galaxy is completely filled with intel- ligent life.” Others have suggested that we might be in a simulated universe, created by masterful intelligences. The conscious inhabitants of virtual worlds, suggested Davies, might be unaware that they are the simulated products of somebody else’s technology. Baxter, who looked at the simulation question in his “Planetarium Hypothesis,” found that there may be physical limits to the simulation. No conceivable virtual-reality generator could contain a human culture spanning 100 light-years. An environment that large would be an imperfect emulation and should be distinguishable as artificial.“* Applying such grand simulations to the extraterrestrial intelligence question may reflect the intellectual fashion of our computer age. Drake asked a rhetorical question in 1976: What if the aliens are immortal? (He defined this as meaning the indefinite preservation, in a living being, of a growing and continuous set of memories.) The reverence they would attach to the preservation of individual lives would drive these immortals to avoid physical threats. They might conceal themselves and prohibit transmission of radio signals detectable by other civilizations. However, this would not stop a civilization with questionable intentions. Drake speculated that a civilization of immortals would choose the opposite policy: They would be extremely active in detecting and commu- nicating with other civilizations. Their best assurance of safety would be to make other societies immortal like themselves, rather than risk hazard- sae 1 7 foal wa wat 7 cans aod ous military adventures. They would spread the secrets of their immortal- ity among young, technically developing civilizations. Drake offered another reason for immortals seeking to communicate. Using up their resources for amusement and adventure, they would want to share vicariously in the adventures of other civilizations. Drake concluded that it was the immortals that we will most likely dis- cover. Mortal civilizations like ours probably do not remain detectable forever, because their increasing technical sophistication enables them to cease the release of energy into space. However, some immortals must continue to transmit (emphasis added). The Silence of the Immortals The Silence of the Immortals