~~:..·;.

;-~
...

UNCLASSIFIED

Communication _with Extrate~restrial "Intelligence1

BY LAMBROS D. CAI.i:.IMAHOS
. .....
U~ified:···
; ·-
We are not alone in the universe. A few years ago, this notion -
seemed farfetched; today, the .existence of ntl'aterrestrial intelligence
is taken for granted by most scientists. Sir Bernard Lovell, one of
the world's leading radio astronomers, has calculated that, even al-
lowing for a margin of error of 50003, ther~ must be in our own galaxy
about 100 million stars which have planets ·of ·the right .chemistry,
dimensions, and temperature to support organic evolution. If we
consider that· our own galily, the Millty Way, is but one of at least a
billion other galaxies similar to ours in the observable universe, the
number of stars that could support some form of life is, to reach for
a word, astronomical. As to advanced (by miserable earth standards)
forms of life, Dr. Frank D. Drake of the National Radio Astronomy
Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia, has stated that, putting
all our knowledge together, the number of civilizations which could
have arisen by now is about one billion. The next question is, "Where
is everybody?"
The nearest neighbor to our solar system is Alpha Centauri, oniy 4.3
light years away; but, according to Dr. Su-Shu Huang of the National
- Aeronautics and Space Administration, its planetary system is
probably toci young for the emergence of life. Two other heavenly
friends, Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti, about 11 light years away, are
stronger contenders for harboring life. ::N~vertheless, if superior
civilizations are abundant, the nearest would probably be at le:ist 100
light years away; therefore, it would take 200 years for a reply to be
forthcoming, a small matter of seven generations. This should, J;iow-
ever, make little difference to us, in view of the enormous pofential gain
from our contact with a superior civilization. · Unless we're terribly
conceited (a very unscientific demeanor}, we must assume that the
"others" are far more advanced than we are: Even a.50-year gap
would be tremendous; a 500:year gap.staggers the imagination, and as _
1
The substance or this article was p~nted at a panel discussion of the same tide
during the 1205 IEEE Conference on Military Electronics held in Washington, D. C., on
23 ~te::iber 1965. :&!sides the ~uthor as cryptologist, the other i:nemb!rs of the panel
were Dr. Paul Garvin, linguist; Dr. John C. Lilly, delpbinologi.lt; Dr. William 0. Da'l:is;
• . ph)"Sic:ist; and Fr. Francis J. Heyden. S. J., astronomer•.. The ~ts>r. v.-as Dr. Haroid
Wooster, Director of Information
. - of the Air Force Offic:e of Scientific Research.
- Services .

... _.., ·-· .. -···. .... - -- .. "' .: -·.-.-.

...
. . '

. . .
UNCL~SSIFIED .. E_XTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE · · . · . L. D. CAJ :
···for~ ~~~o-;~·~ap·. ~·~ ·~~·~e·
- : way, ~·tiie;· ~--~ '~~~-:~. ~ y~,---~-
·
. between; when these signals are a· ,
behind us, forget it!) . ·It is quite possible that '.'others'.' have satellite . .·
:· . pr<?? es in space, retranSl:ni~ to "them'~;. anything that sounds non- -~: .. · .· .. ~'!ould·~~w a circle, the Pythago1 :
design. These attention-getting ~ -
:random to the probe. · But they have probably ·called us several ~ ·
· '"'language lessons,'' intersper5ed wi ·
thou~d years ago, and are waiting for an answer; or worse yet, they ·
- :k'elp bring us up to the level of our~
have given up; or, more probably, "they have reached such impressive
technological advances that they have destroyed themseives.1 It may be assumed that the sr
possessed by all higher forms of Ii
Epsilon ~ridani and Tau Ceti were the targets on which Dr. Drake
; could thus be greatly simplified 1
focussed. his att~tion in ~qe SP.ririg _of· 1960 in Project Oima an - representation such as that of a te~
attempt to detect possible intelligent signals from outer ~pace. :a.The-· -·
held at Green Bank in 1961 to disct:
frequency selected for listening was 1420.405752 megacycles per with other planets, on!! of the part
second, or a wave length of ~l cm. This particular frequency, pos-
up a hypothetical message on ti
tul~ted _indep~dently by two professors on the faculty of Cornell
consisting of 1271 binary digits 01
Um_ve:sity, Giuseppe Cocconi and Philip Morrison, happens to be the 1271 has but two prime factors, 3:
~adiat1on frequency of atomic or free hydrogen which permeates space
to write out the message in raster
m great clouds; moreover, this frequency is within the ranO'e of in 31 lines of 41 bits each; the latt£·
radio frequencies able to pass through the earth's atmosphere . .,Pre- ness in the patterns disclosed, in
~uma?ly, the_ significance of this frequency would be known to other
din1ensions. In Fig. 2 is the writ
i~~ellige~t beings in th~ universe who understand radio theory. We're
binary l's have been replaced by a
s~1ll _talking ~bo~t radio waves as the communication medium; other
Now for its interpretation.
possible media might be masers; lasers, or the as.yet undiscovered and There are dots at the four co1
unnamed "rasers." A .technology superior to ours might even have points, marking the outlines of th
lea~ed how to modulate a beam of neutrinos (weightless. uncharged
representation of the sun;. direct!:.
pa~les that p~ysicists on earth find it difficult even to detect)· if so
representing 8 planets, identified l
"they" may have to wait a century or two before we learn how ~build their left, preceded by a binary r
a neutrino receiver. legged beings illustrated are obvit
If another civilization were teying to establish communication with hand of the male figure points tc,
us, it would first embark on attention-getting signals of such a nature parcntly reside. At the top of th·
that we could distinguish them from random cosmic noise· once we tions of hydrogen, carbon, and
receive a recognizable signal, v.•e have a good chance of und~tanding chemical structure of life on their
the message. For example, they could start with trains of simals third planet there emerges a wa"Y
corr~~ponding to the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, ••• , followed perhaps water; the representation of a fish:
b_y prime numbers. They might continue with equal-length extended _ apd the~(o.re have space travel.
· - - -sil,'!lals··cansisting of start and ~op-Impulses, "With occasional pulsts in · ··· to a i;ix (preceded by the usual c
2 In this con..,ection, Professor IC>fif Shklo\·sky, Russia's greatest radio astronomer there. are six fingers on each har
r.as the iollov.ing to say in the September 1965 issue of Sooiet Liic . ' their number system is probabh• i
• ·•Profo~nd crises lie in wait ror a developin: chilization and ane of them may well prove female figure may be seen a bracke
ratal. Weare alreaciy familiar with several such critical (situatiaas}: . binary form (preceded by a binar:
(a) ~~-destructiolf'as"a l'e51;11t oC a thennoaudear catastrophe or ane CKi.r disan"er1
. . wruch may have unpredictable and uncontrollable~ are 11 units high. A reasonable
~: g=:=oe·~~~-:·:_ . . · ·:_· .· . .·.:·:. : ::. . -.-:~~---~,~ -.-:.~· .-·.- ~·-... --~ :i-:!:i~~~:!~~e~::t~:;:
• (d_) "cted. capacity of
Restri_ the indivi4\Jal's brain which rm lwl to czcemi~ ....--
~ar,;. : .:...... · -· ·. · ·--
·· · · I n· 1952·· the Bn"tish. mathemat:.
· ·
tion. WI th consequent danc_as of degeneration. . .
•. (e) A crisis precipitated by the creation of artificial intellipnt beinp.;. address before the British Interpk
or First Steps in Celestial Syntax.

UNCLASSIFIED 80

·- ":'··-·~ . . . .... ...-·

..
.·
 IAL INTELLIGENCE · '· .. ·.
J, if they are as much as 50 years
.'iible that "others" have satellite
· :iem" anything that sounds non---
. ave ·probably .Called us several -. ·-
for an answer; "or worse yet, they .
ey ha ve-i'eached such impressive · ..
~ destroyed.th.emselves. z .':: . ,_;::;. :...:·.: /:
·.the .targetS on ·whlCh Dr.' Drak~·· ·· ·
~ of ·1960 in Project oZma, .an - ·.
signals from outer space. The
:s 1420.405752 megacycles per
This particular frequency, pos-
;sors on the faculty of Cornell
.ilip l\tiorrison, happens to be the
hydrogen which permeates space
quency is within the range of
h the earth's atmosphere. Pre-
uency would be known to other
.inderstand radio theory. We're
? communication medium; other
'• or the as yet undiscovered and
9erior to ours might e\•en have
leutrinos (weightless, uncharged
it difficult even to detect); if so,
:wo before we learn how to build
o establish communication with
-getting signals of such a nature
random cosmic noise; once we
a good chance of understanding
lld start with trains of signals
1, 2, 3, ... , followed perhaps
:nue with equal-length extended
;:iulses, with occasional pulses in
l.:y, Russia's :;reatest radio astronomer,
".le of Souiel Life:
::li::ation 2J1d one of them may well prove
critical [situation.o;J: · - -- -
-:ar c:itastrophe or some other di.!co\"ery
:ollabi~ consecjuences. .
:i which ~ lead to exces.sh·e speciali~­
:on.
lcial intelligent beings."
~--
··- .
. .
L. D. CALLIMAHOS ·. UNCLASSIFIED
be~ween; when these signals are aligned fiush over one another, they
.. ~-- would show a circle, the Pythagorean Theorem,· or similar geometric
design. :These attention-getting signals ..would be followed by early
"language lessons.~· interspersed with .it.em$ of technical information to ·
. .... help bring us up to the level of our superiorS, "them.". ; . .. . .-
·< .. may ,.It. be assumed .that the sense of sight~ .ot an- eqUivalent~ is
-~ · . ·~- possessed by all higher forms of life; the problems of communication
could thus be greatly Simplified through the medium of a "raster"
representation such as that of a televisjon_~een. After a conference
held at Green Bank in 1961 to discuss the possi"bility of communication
with other planets, one of the paz:ticipants, Bernard M. Oliver, made
up a hypothetical message on the raste.r principle. The message,
consisting of 12'Zl binary.digits or "bits," is shown in Fig. 1. Since ..
1271 has but. two prime facto:rs, 31 and 41, we would naturally be led
to write out the message in raster form, in 41 lines of 31 bits each, or
in 31 lineS of 41 bits each; the latter case reveals a greater nonranCiom-
ness in the patterns disclosed, indicating that these are the correct
dimensions. In Fig. 2 is the write-out of the message, in which the
binary 1's have been replaced by a dot and the O's left as blank spaces.
Now for its interpretation.
There are dots at the four comers of the pictogram as reference
points, marking the outlines of the rectan~le. At the upper left is a
representation of. the sun; directly underneath in a column are dots
representing 8 planets, identified by the appropriate binary coding to
their left, preceded _by a bimu-y point as a marker-~· · The erect, two-
legged beirigs illustrated are ob,,iously__bisexual and mammalian; one
~and_ of the male figure points to the· fourth planet where they ap-
parenily reside. ·At the top of the pictogram may be seen representa-
tions of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms, indicating that the
chemical structure of life on their planet is similar to ou.::s. From the
third planet there emerges a wavy line, showing that it is covered with
water; the representation of a fish shows that they must have visited us
and therefore have space travel. One hand of the female figul'.e points
to a~ (preceded by the usual binary point), perhaps implying that
there are six fingers on each hand; we could therefore assume that
their number system is probably to the base 12. At the right of the
female figure may be seen a bracket, in the middle of which is eleven in
binary form (preceded by a binary point}: this imphes that the oeings · ~---­
are 11 units high. A reasonable interpretation is that the unit is 21
cm .• the wave length of the transmission, making them about 7 !-:? feet
tall, which should be all right for ~verage Martians.
In 1952 the British mathematician Lancelot Hogben delivered ~
address before the British Interplanetary Society entitled "Astraglossa,
· or F~ Steps in Celestial Syntll.'~ Hogben pointed out that number
. . .. . ~·
81 · .. · UNCLASSIFIED'.
. .._.. ~. · . . •. .·· "':,,· ..-. ·"':. ... ... ..... -. ...
·· .. ; ---· ........ .. ··•
~: ~·-..·.·=·· ~
·: :· .·
·. :: -:.•
.::::--.·.......
·..
.... ..:.
 .. . ... . ~ .. ~ - .. .-
. :.. ~ ... :. ..· . ··.:.· ·~
..·.... ·.'
·!:_.··. . . ·-:· :·_.·......:.; .....·:. . . _·:·.·.·:~.:>_·.. •...·.·!·:.·.:. '. •.•>. .7.....-••:-~_: .:.:·
~ :.::::·.. ::· -
..... ••

..
-~·· ... . . :-·.. ·· ........·. -:·; .-··· - . . .-: . -~··: _: ·. ;. ·. .:: ..· ~-
.. .:·>. . .~-·~.·. ... -. . .
" ....
, .

UNCLASSIFIED EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE ..
. ~
lOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
lOOOOlllOOO~O~OOOOlOOOOOlOOOOOOlOOOOOlOO
0000010001000000000000000000000000000000
00000010.0010~001000000100000000000010000
-~uooooo10001000001~000001000000001000100
0100000001110000000000000010000000000001
000000000000000000•000000000000~00000000
0000000000000000000000001000001000000100
0001000011000100000000001100000000000000
0000000000000000000110000110000110000110
110ll0ll0100ll00001100101100101100100l00
10010010010101001001~0001100001100001100
0 0 l 1 0 0 0-0 l l··O 0 0 O·O·O 0 (t 0 1 0 0 0 0 o·o 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
0000000000000000000100000000000100000100
0000000001011011100100000000000001111101
0000000000000000000000000000100000000000
0000001000100111000000000000101000000000
0000001010010000110010101110010100000000
0000000101001000010000000000100100000000
0000000001001000001000000000001111100000
0000000011111000000111010100000010101000
0000000010101000000010000000000010001010
0000000010100010000000000000000001000100
lOOOl000100llOllOOlllOllOll0100000100010
00101c1010001000100000000000000000010001
0001001~0100010001oooooc1000000000000111
0000011111000001110000000111110100000101
0100000101000001000100000010000000000100
0001000011100001000001000001000000000010
0000100010001000100000100000110001100001
000001coo10001ooolooooolOOOOOllOOOOOOOOl
1000001101100011011000001100111
. • oec
....•: . .
L. D. c,.
.
is tlie. most universal concept for .
intelligent beings; there!ore, mat!
steps in ematerrestrial com,muni
· :::::.Cejuld transmit pulses representin
"rad1og. l ypbs" represen tin" g "+,,
later carried out the basic idea :
shapes to represent elementary
different approach was developec
i.
Mathematics at the University •
book entitled "Lincas: Design of
"Lincos," an acronym of "lingu~.
munication of ideas through syro
of those who have taken the trou
is too difficult. After all, the o·
across to another party, whose
different from our own. In othe
an "inverse cryptography," or
designed, not to hide meaning, I·
prehend. Clevern~ on ~he par-.
factor not reliance on ingenu
crypt;grapher-somehow, this ti
make his meaning clear to the r
possess a cosmic equivalent of th€
o· As an illustration of how much
& 0 e • minimum of material, and as an e~
••e •
G
• 6
let us consider a message I have O•
e.xpect of an initial co~~ical
• shown a series of· transm.lSSlons v
• • inhabited planet, many light y~
0 ee• • •• • • •e• ••• •·

.•
••. are representations for the 32 dit
.• 0 e oe or distinctive pulse shapes) heard
0•• •• ••
• 11
-·· •.........•-... -
••
• ••••
.
.eee
• • o
• •••
eee·
--·The punctuation marks are no~ p·
different time lapses: adjacent s:
G e e e o •· unit) between them; a space be·
e e Gfte e • • e • •· {2 units); commas, semicolons, an
.
....
e e e • •·
ee6eo ••••• •· . .
· 16 units ·respectively. Bet"'·ee1
. cie o e • •• •e
•• 0 •
•• •
• .•. .
• ...•
• - - • • • • ...• reference purposes) there is a tim
The first tr~ion, (1), is
-~

. .·- ..... . .
•••••e • • ••••• ••
e ••e• •--•
• •••••• ••• •• •
different symbols _which will be t·

• • •• • • • • ·- •••••
•
mission (2) is the. clear implicatil
. . ····• ·-
. . a The Rosetta Stone is a piece or blac.

·•-.·• ....• ••
•• . .:
• •e • ••• ••• ••e·
. .......................
•• ••
••. •
of the Nile. beanng a bilingual Wc:ription
and Greek) with which Jean Fran~is C~
Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Fig. 2.

UNCLASSIFIED 82
:~· ...
- ··-· ····-··· .. . ··-- · - · · - ·- ---------· ---------.-~·-."'·.-=--.-~\...·......_....·;___. .--·: ~.,;.:·;;;!..-..,_..._. _; ..·- ... · '.·;·--· ·'· •....
~~~ . : , .-. :,. ·,,., -~:~:;;,;.;;·?:;,,:~~-~•?·P\\-~:-·>· ~./t ~-,_,~_ :;-~~:<'.>ff~;~:Jc?It}~·.2n~:::f~
·:·.
·...
..

UAL INTELLIGENCE L~ D. CALLIMAHOS . UNCLASSIFIED

)0000000000000000000
~0001000000100000100 is the most universal concept for establisbizig communication between
30-000000000000000000
)0100000000000010000
. intelligent beings; therefore, mathema~cs forms the basis for the .first . ·. '
JOOOlOOOOOOOOlOOOlOO . steps in extraterrestrial communicatiaa·:.. He illustrated then he ..... . how
)0000010000000000001
l 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o-o 0 0 0 0 O"(f"o 0- could transmit pulses representing integerS. "and
distinCtive .sigri.aIS or . .. . ·- -
) 000 l._O_O O O O l O O O O O O l O O "radioglyphs" representing"+'~.... _ .., "=:='!,·and so on. -.-Mo~on
JOOOllOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
100001~0000110000110~
-later:carried out the basic idea. a little further~-USing different pulse·. . ...
>o 1
o 1 1 o:~ l -o 1 1 o. o l o o l o o -- shapes to represent elementarY ·mathematical s}'mbols.·- ·An entirely .
•o o
o 1~ o o o o 1100001100 · _
•OOOO-VOOOOOlllllOlOO different approach was developed by Haris "Freudenthal, Professor of '
.0000000000100000100
)0000000000001111101 Mathematics at the University -of Utrecbtt-who in 1960 published a
'0000000100000000000 book entitled "Lincos: Design of a Language for Cos."'llic Intercourse."
0000000101000000000
.0101110010100000000 "Lincos," an acronym of "lingua cosmica," tries to establish a com-
·0000000100100000000 .munication of ideas through symbolic logic, but the general consensus
0000000001111100000
101010000001010~000 of those who have taken the trouble to study his book is that his :Plan- -
0000000000010001010
0000000000001000100 is too difficult. After all, the object of the exercise is getting ideas
0110110100000100010 across to another party, whose thinking processes may be ef!tirely
0000000000000010001
0001000000000000111 different from our own. In other words, what we need to develop is
0000111110100000101 an "inverse cryptography," or communication symbolism specially
0000010000000000100
1000001000000000010 designed, not to hide meaning, but to be as easy as possible to com-
0100000110001100001
0010000011000000001 prehend. Cleverness on the part of the sender is then the important
0001100111 factor, not reliance on ingenuity of the recipient. The inverse
cryptographer-somehow, this term doesn't sound quite right-must
make his meaning clear tO the recipient, even if the latter does not
possess a cosmic equivalent of the Rosetta Stone.3
As an illustration of how.much information could be conveyed with a
minimum of material, and as an example of facile inverse cryptography,
let us consider a message I have de\.ised to be typical of what we might
~pect of an initial communication from outer space. In Fig.· 3 is
I.

shown a series of ~..nsmissions which could have come from another

inhabited planet, many light years away. The 32 arbitrary symbols
are representations for the ~2 different signals (combinations of beeps,
or distinctive pulse shapes) heard on a frequency of 1420.4 megacycles.
The punctuation marks are not part of the message, but here represent
different time lapses: adjacent symbols are sent with a short pause (1
unit) between them; a space between symbols means a longer pause
(2 units); commas, semicolons, and periods indicate pauses of 4, 8, and
16 units, respectively. Between tr'allsmiS-Sions (numbered here for
ref~re.!lce p~) there is a time lapse of 32 units.
The fust tram;rni$sion, (1), is obviously an enumeration of the 32
different symbols which will be used in the communications; in trans-
mission (2) is the clear implication that A represents the integer 1, B
- . .
' The Rosetta Stone is a piece of black basalt fCIUlld. m 1799 near the Rosetta mouth
cm
. of the Nile. bearinc a bilingual inicription ECYJ)tiaD. hieroglyphics. Egypaau demotic.
and Greek) with which Jean F~ Clwnpollioo was able to solve the mystery of the
Egyptian hieroglyphs. ,·.
. -~ - ·. -.. -~. .· .
UNCLASSIFIED

.- .... ··.·--

. ·:.
-
....
 .... ·.· . ··.·.· .·' ......::~
..:.;;:u.. ~··
.. . - ............... ··:·- "· ... __•.,,., •.,.._.,.,.....:'-:.;~:....!~.._..:,_ .--: _::i~~:.~:.;..:z..:::...::::.:.:.:.::~
··...:
.. -· ·.- ..
· ~·- ; . ..

··-

L. D. CALLIMAHOS UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED. EXTRATERRF.

Ill .A. B. C. D. £. F. C. H. -l· .J. X. L. II. X. O. P. Q. 11. S. T. U. T. W. X. T. Z. the integer 2, ••• , J the integer
•. &.. S. c. #. @. A. B. C. D. E. F. C. H. I. J. L L. K. II. II. P. Q. It.
S. T. U. T. _W. %. T • .Z••!~ &.. S. c. #. @.
theie~are introduced symbols !Qr
··121 A A, B: A A A. C; A A .& .\, D: A 4 A A A. £; 4 A .l .l .& I.. F; .l .l .l A .& A A. C;
in teaching. us their mathemat
.::: ..
A A .l A A A A A. H; .l A .l .l .l A A .l .l, I; .l A A A A & 4 A .l .l; J. addition, subtraction, multiplic:
13) A K A L B; .l IC A X A L C; A It A 1( A X A L D. .l It A. L B; B X A. L C: C X .A L D. · ~ and the concept of zero; fuequa
B X C L £; E LB It C; F X D L J; J L DIC F. E L X £; XE LE.·
roots; and definitions of ...- and
(.Cl C Jl A. L B; D JI A L C; C II E L B; E II C L II a. new to the 31 symbols recoverec
ISi D IC Ir L D; C IC Ii L C; F II: F L II; E 11 E L Ir.
most beautiful concepts in pure
(6) J L .AH; J X .A L .AA; J K i L A.I; AA X A L A.I. J K J L Ill; J It J X J L CK;
1H x c··i:. ic: · -- - · •· - · · if they can teach us. suCh a·com··
(7) B 0 C L F; D 0 B L H; E 0 B L AM; D 0 All L ll!f. be staggered by what they will
(8) F P C L B; H P B L·D: J P B L E; J P E L B. transmission. Beginning with
(9) .A P J L Q J; A P .AHN L Q ANH; Q J. P J L Q AXIi.
cluster concepts are introduce •
(10) Q J L R 4: Q J 0 B L II B: A II E II A. L It E L E 0 Q J. Q A..'111 L 11 KA; transmission (30), we now are u:
Q .lHlf 0 B L It N!I. pure Venerean. Furthermore,
Ill) H L H; C S C. C S C. · D IC A L C Ii: B; D X C S E X A; E IC A S D X C. the code they are using on us
1121 D T A; D T B; D T C; D L D; D U £: D U F; D U C. J T !: J U AA. thousands upon thousands of
(13) F'IP.II V CN; .A.'i!il!I K C Y ~; A.'1 P C Y ale. this is easily appreciated by an.
11.CI W£KA.XLEXCBWEXAXL11BOEXX11BOAXLiO~ the meaning of all 30 transmissic
llSI c T i L !; E yB L BE; a TE L ca; .. DKA xT !I L !E.
Even right after this first mes·
116) 3£ Z B LE; ;;) Z BL H; IC Z CL C; .ASE Z CLE. WAI X F X;:: BL E.
• EE ?. B_L.•11 £~ JI .\!!: Z C L 11 E. .IE Z B L 10! £. with that planet, we shall have<
(17) D • L D 0 C 0 B 0 A }.. BD; £ • L E 0 D 0 C 0 I 0 A. L .Ailf; H • L DllC!ll. Fermat's Last Theorem, Golc
(18) &. P D L 4 II Q C X Q E II Q C X Q I It. &. Y CKADJ.EI. unsolved problems in mathem:
S L A X Q W A • X X Q 11 B • I Ii: Q 11 C • X X Q ll" D • X X. S Y ECA.'flH. not be difficult for "them" to c
1201 c E KA # L I' E It A X; Bc E IC .A # L B I' E K 4 X; nological superiority (first of <.
B r £ ~ ll" D X C X # L B 11 E: K C X. c B i c D I L I" I X 1' :> X L i 0 D. . . able to call us!). If "they" b·
1211 S r c &. 0 11 II A X Z B # K A L 11. structure constant," they are at
122) B K C L c @1'"IO.I. #: B X C L £. C 0 D L c @h"!U. #: C 0 D L :.a. five for sure, su.spect the sixth,
D ! !I L • @li!IA #: D r a L ~-
ratio, among others, of the spel
1:31 ii K C L £: c @);Id #. B IC D L E; c @!INC #. E Y I L IE; c @lilll #. F T I L C £;
c @NNC #. I T E: c @liU #. H U C; c @ lillC #. &. Y B!QiGH; c @llllC #.
electron; it may take a century
(24) 5 L c @h"!ID #. C L c @>GIQ #. E, C. AA. AC. AC, c 4ilillll #. AIL\ c @llllD #.
And after we re5olve our pre."
1251 c @llHE # L B D &. c @A I: c @hllF # L &. c @.I. # T I. c @'A # L c @lllC f.
appropriate to. make discreet
c @Hh"E # L B &. c @!INC #: c @NMF # L &. c @llllC # T I. . harmony and peace with our re:
126) c @i.1i!f I L D o Qc O &. c @~ I r c. othenvise ingested by the Stli
1%71 Q B X Q D IC Q H It C! AF X Q C!I. Y A: fortune to contact us. But as
Q 5 K Q D IC Q !! X Q ltF K Q CB I< c" @lllfl # L .&.
(and generations of his descend:
128) C .Y. c @A IL C; c @.& # L D•• ·l Kc @.l # L .AB; c @A IL C.
i"i> Z c @.A # L H; c @A # L I.
c ~A i L .A, It C::. II il CC. J P C, &.. £, 11. c @li!II #. • The solution may be found on p. l
c @I # L A. II C::, II It CC. J P C, &.. IC. II, c @llNI p.
c @C # L A, lt C::, II It C::. J P c. &., IC, 11. t @llllt #.
• \Y-dh what he haS learned fro.tr
reader formula~ these two questions_d .
1291 c @llllE rLI l c @a #: t @llH7 # L &. c @I p r I. compact Corm; the solutions appear on
c @JWI # L B c @C # l[ B t @D #: ..c @llAA # 1. c @C I #.
O t @D
classic umolved problems in mathemati
{30) c @NH£ # L c @HAI #; c @X. #: t @lllCF I L c
@MAD #, c @IW:
#. values ol z. y, and z can be found
c @!WI.. # 1. c @HAI I_. c @ui: #: c @JW. # 1. c @IWI #. c.@IW: f. is an intepr peater than 2; Goldbach's
other mathematicians Wied to make t:
Fi(.3. number greater than 2 can be expn.ssed

84 UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED

.: • • . • p .: . ••

: ..
 . : ' ....... .:· .
.·... .
.·
··~ .. ·. . .. ..... :.. ·... ·.. ::
'·• t
. ..
.. .. ... . .......
~ ... , .. . : .~·:r··· -,,_}., . .:. ~~-·,_. .., _. . . .·. -.· . . -. .-. . ,.;•';_,_. ;,. __;., ,:_,. ______. _::_·_'·-·- . . ----· . ··-·-·-···-

:.IM AH OS UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED ·EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

~- O. P. Q. It. S. T. U. V. W. X. T. Z.
r. c. H. I. J. x. L. JI. II. 0. P. Q. a.
the integer 2, •.• , J the integer 10. In .the first twenty transmissions
there are introduced symbols !Qr the· introductory expository treatment
• E; l l l l l l, F: l l l l l l l. C; in teaching us their p:iathematics~ Among the items treated are:
I: J.. l A·.\ A A l A A :J.: ·.J. ·- addition, subtraction, multiplication~ and division; ·decimal notafion · · ·· · ·
• L D. m L B; B K .\ L C: C It A L D.
and the coneept of zero; inequalities and apprg.rimation; po~ers and
K F.
L II B.
E L K E: X £ L E.
·. -·..-- roots; and definitions of
'll' and e: . Transmission (21) adds nothing .

L H.
new to the. 31 symbols recover~4 t}lu5 far, but it does quote o,ne of the
L i l . J X J L Ill: J K J X J L Cll;
most beautiful concepts in pure mathematics: they are telling us that, .
if they can teach us suCh a complex notion£ this early stage, we will
'f L l!!I. be staggered by what they will teach us by the 200th or the 2000th
;:. s. transmission. Beginning with ·transmission (22), words and word-
:. Q A.'111. cluster concepts are introduced, so that by the time we come to
C: L E 0 Q J. Q Alilf L It HA: traniinission (30), we now are understandiiig~· m·a-maimer of Speaking, - .
pure Venerean. Furthermore, we can now see how we could recover
,c C S E It A; E X .L S D K C.
the code they are using on us, and which will obviously consist of
P'; D U C. J T I: J U I.A.
thousands upon thousands of code groups with different meanings;
:c. this is easily appreciated by anyone who takes the trouble to fathom
;: X K I B 0 J. X L '!I 0 F.
the meaning of all 30 transmissions in the foregoing example.•
: AX 'I'll L 5£.
Z C l. !:. Ir Al X i' X Z B L E. Even right after this first message, if we are in direct communication
-~::. with that planet, we shall have questions to put to "them": the prooi of
cc.a 0 AL A!li; H • L Dh'CIH. Fermat's Last Theorem, Golcibach's conjecture,£ and many ocher
unsolved problems in mathematics and the natural sciences. It wiil
X !; Q lr D • X K. S V l!!'J:A.'lil!. not be difficult for "them" to demonstrate their intellectual and tech-
: E ;.: A. X: nological superiority (first of all, don't forget it was they who were
;. t i) i L 1' !I X lr D X L ll 0 D.
able to call tis!). · If "they" but know the secenth digit of the .. fine
·structure constant," they are ages ahead of us {we know only the first
five for sure, suspect the sixth). 'l'his number, 137.039 ... , is the
: ~- !: ! aL !!:; • @llNB 1- r T B L c £:
ratio, among others, of the speed of light to the speed of the hydrogen
~ :.~•= i. ' v ?:"--:;.;.'i..'ltl: c
·@·1111c ;. electron; it may take a century to calculate this constant to 9 d:gits.
:.C. ~. • @ll.~'D #. A!IA t @!IND -J. And after we resolve our pressfrig scientific questions, it might be
. c ۥA j. Y ll. r '!PA # L c @llNC j. appropriate to make discreet inquiries as to how we could live in
~ c ~>::: ; ?' 8 ..
harmony a.11d peace \\ith our fellow man-that is, if we aren't eaten or
otherwise ingested by the superior civilization that had the good
fortune to contact us. But as far as the cryptologist is concerned, he
i L AB: t @A i L C. (and generations of his descendants who might experience the supreme
~: l""I§/ h'!I? /..
{. c ~NKI P.
- Piek. ··
• Tliesolution may bi: rciUndOii p.'109;-bui esci:iew tiie ?rematiire
;, c @IQII F. s \\1th what he has teamed Crom this example of space communication, let the
1§3 ~ Y B. reader formulate these two questions dinctly for t.-.insinimon to "them." in a clea= and
>A # L c ~C i 0 c @D #. compact form; the solutions appear on pg. 109. For the reader who is a little rusty on
i L c i. c @~Ci.
@lil.:I
classic unsoh-ed problems in mathematics, Fermat's Last Theorem stares that no integ?'lll
_-;. L c 'f•$AO #. c @~_#. ,,·aJues of z, y, and z can be found to satisfy the equation r' + Y' • ;;• , if n
iS an integer peater than 2; GcMdblch's "?IOtorious" c:onjec:tme ("notorious" only because
other mathemaci~ failed to make the conjecture themselves) states that every even
number pater~ 2 can be a:pn:ssed as tbe sum of two primes.

UNCLASSIFIED- . UNCLASSJFIED
 .. ... ; " ~ ·.r. • .· .......... .: ·. ,. . •;. - . _:·;.··;: ·" ··;: ·.. -··: .. . ... . ..
·:· ._.. : -· .·.·.
.......:
;

L. D. CALLIMAHOS UNCLASSIFIED
we
-ainn of their lives when hear from ..them") keep a level head,must
not- g:et excited, and be- prepared to cope with problems the like of
.:..Wliich ~e has never seen-:out of tlUs world, so to speak.
Electroni(
-~·

BY JOHN

Topt::
INTRODUCTION
Calligraphy, the art of prodc
familiar term in the English Ian~
letters in its alphabet, English r
manual or mechanical. Slight·
tions have little effect on legib
tei.-ts are easily obtained due to
P.Jl that is necessary is a ucique ~
it is a typewriter key or .:? cor:
English requires only that a sig1 ·
letter. The Morse and Baudot
sult of.such transmissions is ~
Generally speaking, most alp;
graphic problems. However, s<
graphic in nature. Such langu:
sent some idea or thing. Althc
rules of formation, the number
often very large. For exampl•
thousand unique ideographs. I1
as a single element. The followi
lar symbolc; with very dissimilar r

Character
-'1-
A- --------
. ··-···-

~
"' -------
71- -------
.If -------
~ -------
Therefore, ,for these languages,
tention in order to obtain intelli

.! ,;
.. .
86 UNCLAS$1AED
! -.
i ..

,-~.,_..,,..._ __,,.........,......,..I""'!'-....,._ ."'!·.·'"'·:""' :_" ":'~~7".' '.

••·."""·;-
..

-. ..... . :-
P. - • , ; >:-n<: ';' ,-
.. ,
 .

60!

.. .. . -· ·- -- -··-·

Symbols
A 1 I 9 Q reciprocal Y power
·B 2 J 10 R decimal point z root ..
c3 K+ s ;.:£ factorial
D4 L == T > & -::
E 5 M- u < s e
F 6 N 0 v == (: [
G 7 0 x W{ # ]
HS p ....,... x) @code

Code values
001 qi;estion 007 radius 013 circle
002 true volume or sphere 014 area
008
003 false ... (ellipsis)
009 015 recta.,gle
004 prime perimeter of rect.
010
005 circum. of circle area of rectangle
011
006 area of circle 012 perimeter 999
Code values 1, 2, 3 . . . 99 - x, y, z . . . {abstractions, unknowns,
variab~es).

. -
Fermat's Last Theorem:
- - -- - --··-
¢@A # Y c@ D # Kc@ B # Y c@ D # L c@C # Y c@ D : . c@ D #L B;
¢ @NNB #. c@D # L C, D, E, c @ NNI ~; c@NNB NNA:.

Golciliich's Conjecture:
-·-.a.-·
B c@A-#. Bc@A # L¢@B #; c@B #TB~ t@B # Lc@C # Kt@D #; ··.l .-
¢@C "# Le@N:t:m #,t@D # L¢@NND _:. ¢@NNB NNA #. .

- . . - . .
·uo!+-e:>FCIDtIIttIO:) ao-eds ,soqsUX!lI'eJ ·iw-01 ao~n1<>s
. - . :

s:o N.ao I'I'!aI.NI 'lVI'li.LSSffii::CJ.vCLLXa 031:HSSV1)N0

'
I
• .. ·.~,.-:..: •• ._ -"'·-:·'~ .>-__.._._., ..•••/~·--.:.-~.:.;.c;.:.::··.. ? ·• ..'"; •.. ·-!""'·'"""~ ...... :.,,,.· ..:
· . .·
.:"" ..
~