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223 nation to bear, as in the development of a magnetic fusion reactor or a permanent space station; to explore or exploit resources beyond national territories, as in the Antarctic and outer space; and to counter certain threats, such as smallpox or the proliferation of nuclear weapons. How- ever, these events were qualitatively different from contact with an alien civilization.” Some argue that a common enemy might stimulate human unity more than a common friend. Early in the past century, French biographer and novelist Andre Maurois suggested in his book The War Against the Moon that a positive method for securing and preserving peace among the nations of our world would be to invent a spurious and imminent threat from outer space. Sociologist Roberto Pinotti proposed a similar argument decades later; we may need some outside, universal threat to make us recognize our common bond.” Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan made this point several times. If all humans discovered that they were threatened by a power from outer space, “wouldn’t we all of a sudden find that we didn’t have any differences between us at all, we were all human beings, citizens of the world, and wouldn’t we come together to fight that particular threat?” Removing the “enemy” to celestial distances might defuse terrestrial conflicts, Jill Tarter foresaw. Billingham was more skeptical: The idea of extraterrestrials a hundred light-years away being a threat is not very real- istic, although it might have some unifying effect on us.” Detecting an alien presence in or near our solar system would provoke more intense reactions. Earth’s nations might find cooperation easier to establish and to sustain. The highest prize in civilization is new information. —Nikolai Kardashev, 198174 Simply detecting an extraterrestrial technology would bring us new knowledge about the evolution of life and intelligence, especially if we could determine the characteristics of their home star and planetary system. Even undecipherable signals could tell us some things about their technol- ogy and their command of energy. Many contact optimists expect more. Assuming the remote contact scenario, they believe that extraterrestrials will send us information-rich messages (one collection of essays on the subject was subtitled “The Impact of High Information Contact”). According to this school of thought, we would be the beneficiaries of new knowledge and new sensibilities, will- fdadan vee Lee a ingly provided to us by more advanced beings. Such messages would resemble an old dream—the granting of new knowledge to Humankind, by a Prometheus from the stars. In the most A Shortcut to Wisdom A Shortcut to Wisdom