Erich Von Daniken - The Gold Of The Gods

6 - Rarities, Curiosities And Speculations
planets, an "image" that does not have to be deciphered, as every intelligence knows
them. The distances of the planets from the sun are given in binary numbers. For
example, if Mercury has a distance from the sun of ten binary units (expressed by 10 10),
the earth is 26 units, or 11 0 10, distant from the sun. As the binary system of counting is
the "language" of all logically constructed computers, Sagan and Drake say that it is the
one that could be most readily understood by alien intelligences. On the right of the
plaque the outline of Pioneer F on its flight path from earth to Jupiter is schematically
engraved. Above it are a man and a woman in a standing position. The man raises his
right hand in the peace sign. The left half shows the position of the sun with 14 lines,
cosmic sources of energy, which are supposed to explain by the sun's position both the
launching date and the home of the ship using binary notations.
An atom of hydrogen, which has been proved to have an identical structure in all worlds
is drawn in the upper left-hand corner as the "key" to deciphering all the information. An
alien intelligence (provided it thought in a technical way) could even work out the size
of the woman's body from it! The wavelength of the hydrogen atom in spectrum analysis
(which radiates symbolically from the sun on the plaque with a line 20.3 centimeters
long) is multiplied by the binary figure 10 00, which is marked next to the lady and
corresponds to an "8." This gives 8 X 20.3 = 162.4, and that is the height of the Eve on
the plaque: 162.4 centimeters! I met Dr. Frank Drake in New York and asked him why
the aluminum plaque had been covered with a layer of gold.
"In theory the ship can cover 28 quadrillion kilometers. It may be 3,000 light years en
route (a light year is the distance covered by light in a year and light travels at 186,000
miles a second). If we want to ensure that our plaque can still be deciphered by someone
after its long journey, we have to protect it from corrosion with a precious metal.
Aluminum covered with gold was the cheapest."
"For whom is the information on the plaque intended?"
"For any intelligence who happens to locate the ship and then undertakes to examine and
interpret it Sagan and I consider the very fact that we could equip Pioneer F with a
cosmic message is a hopeful sign that our civilization is interested enough in the future
to actually send out information and not merely await a sign from the universe."
I think that Sagan and Drake's enterprise provides a chance of passing information to
intelligent scientists on distant planets.