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192 apparently because of dark energy. The nature of that energy may lie in Einstein’s cosmological constant, in the newer concept of “quintessence,” in the breakdown of relativity on large scales, or in another of several pro- posed explanations. Some theorists have suggested that this expansion is part of a longer cycle in which the universe eventually will reverse course and contract back to a crunch. An article in Science described this as “a preposterous universe.”!' How can we say that we understand our macroenvironment when 95% of its features cannot be detected directly by our instruments? It is not the universe that is preposterous, Sean Carroll responded, it is our theories, which fall short of making perfect sense of it. However, dark energy seems to transcend known physics. “We’re going to need a really new idea,” said astronomer Robert Kirshner.'” Some scientists suspect that many traditional laws of physics might be merely local bylaws, restricted to limited regions of space. The burden of proof, said physicist Andrei Linde, now lies with those who maintain that the universe is everywhere the same and the laws of physics are everywhere the same.'* We may be living inside a small pocket of order, science writer George Johnson speculated, a backwater in a universe overwhelmed by random- ness. Life may be possible in some parts of the universe, suggested physicist Steven Weinberg, but perhaps not in most." Mind-Stretcher. If we someday exchange information with extrater- restrial civilizations, we might receive descriptions of the physical universe, including maps of our Galaxy, that are different from our own. Alien knowledge could profoundly alter our sense of where we are. We must address changes through time as well. Some puzzling features of our universe may simply be the result of the era in which we exist and can observe.!° Our understanding of the universe has entered a new period of instabil- ity; we may be in a new pre-Copernican era. The better our astronomical technology and techniques and the more imaginatively they are employed, the more likely is the revelation of new realities. Rees foresaw a crescendo of discoveries continuing throughout this decade, due in part to a coinci- dence of technology, funding, and the way the intellectual discourse has Aneta developed. This uncertainty may have profound implications for the question of extraterrestrial intelligence. If 95% of the universe is in the form of unseen substances, asked Carroll, does this not mean that there is the possibility of hidden structure? Might the dark sector be a fascinating place, with its own interactions, perhaps even a kind of intelligent life?'® Future observations and search strategies may open up additional ways to detect intelligence and its works. They may suggest new solutions to the alleged paradox. Thinking Outside the Box