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221 This idea has been revived by several others. Bracewell suggested in 1960 that superior communities throughout the Galaxy are probably already linked together into a chain of communication. He later developed the idea of an interstellar community into what he called “the Galactic Club” (J.D. Bernal had suggested a club of communicating intellects in 1967)."° Many people interested in SETI found this vision of a galactic commu- nity to be such an attractive concept that they came to assume its existence. Albert Harrison, for one, thought that a Galactic Club would be of immense size and very stable. Harrison drew a distinction between the “slow track” and the “fast track” of admission into such a community. In the slow track, an initial encounter will lead to accelerated search efforts that will put us in touch, one by one, with additional alien societies. In the fast track, our initial contact will be with an affiliate of the Galactic Club; this society will give us instant access to other members. Either by a long and circuitous path or by events that could occur almost overnight, we might join an interstellar network of civilizations. The two tracks have different implications for managing initial contact, security, knowledge transfer, cultural change, and preserving our identity." For some, our desire to be accepted into the larger community may imply a wish to be judged worthy, to meet moral, ethical, or political entrance requirements. Several people have predicted that such a galactic society would not reveal itself until the lower-level civilization was considered “ready.” When they did contact us, their communications might be a series of instructions, a how-to kit for participating in that society.'* Civilizations may be divided into two great classes, Sagan proposed: those that make an effort, achieve contact, and become members of a loosely tied federation of galactic communities, and those which cannot or choose not to make such an effort, or who lack the imagination to try, and therefore soon decay and vanish. “Human history,” he argued, “can be viewed as a slowly dawning awareness that we are members of a larger group. . . . If we are to survive, our loyalties must be broadened further.” Sagan also argued the other side of this issue, warning of hubris. “I think it a great conceit,” he wrote, “the idea of the present Earth establishing radio contact and becoming a member of a galactic federation—something like a bluejay or an armadillo applying to the United Nations for member- nation status.”' Alien civilizations may broadcast information to herald their achievements and to perpetuate their views.'* We might do the same. We, too, might seek to spread our knowledge, our cultures, our religions, our values, and our imagined status. Ego Satisfaction Ego Satisfaction