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Dangers If there are globes in the heaven similar to our Earth, do we vie with them over who occupies the better portion of the universe? —Johannes Kepler, 1610' Should we ever hear the space-phone ringing, for God’s sake let us not answer, but rather make ourselves as inconspicuous as possible to avoid attracting attention! Antena nwne TAnnal Vannt 10792 Could contact with a more powerful civilization endanger our safety, even our survival? This is the question that most sharply divides the optimists rom the pessimists. Optimists assure us that there will be no risk in contact with extra- errestrials, either because we are insulated by interstellar distances or because advanced aliens will have benign intentions. The only impact, they ell us, will be cultural. Optimists often dismiss warnings of danger as “paranoid.” Pessimists, who believe that interstellar flight may be possible and that extraterrestrials could be aggressive, have issued numerous warnings about he risks of contact. Many have argued from what they believe is a realistic perspective based on knowledge of our own history. Human experience, hey say, does not support the best-case scenarios assumed by the optimists. Some pessimists may have been reacting to the euphoric predictions made by Sagan, Drake, Morrison, and others. Yet, even the optimistic Drake allowed the possibility of danger. Although space provides us with an endless supply of new places to explore, new adventures, new things we have never seen before, and new sources of joy, he observed, it also might provide us with new sources of fear.* 241 —Astronomer Zdenek Kopal, 1972? Optimists and Pessimists