=*-^...... ......^-*=
&=*-^..... .....^-*=&
¤&=*-^.... ....^-*=&¤
¶¤&=*-^... ...^-*=&¤¶
#¶¤&=*-^.. ..^-*=&¤¶#
##¶¤&=*-^. #...--------...# .^-*=&¤¶##
#¶¤&=*-^.. ####.-- FERMI'S PARADOX --.#### ..^-*=&¤¶#
¶¤&=*-^... #...--------...# ...^-*=&¤¶
¤&=*-^.... ....^-*=&¤
&=*-^..... ON EARTH (THE PLANET WHERE I LIVE) A .....^-*=&
=*-^...... LOT OF US HAVE ANTENNAS ON OUR HOUSES ......^-*=
*-^....... OR BALCONIES, WE HAVE BUILT LARGE .......^-*
-^........ ANTENNAS FOR LARGER BANDWITH, WE HAVE ........^-
^......... BUILD SPECIALIZED ANTENNAES FOR .........^
.......... SPECIFIC WAVELENGTHS (AND SENT THEM ..........
.......... INTO ORBIT), WE'VE BUILT LARGE AS FUCK ..........
.......... ANTENNA ARRAYS ..........
.......... WE'VE VIRTUALLY BUILT AN ANTENNA WITH A ..........
.......... DISH AS LARGE AS EARTH. ..........
^......... .........^
-^........ WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT OUR POSITION IN THE ........^-
*-^....... SOLAR SYSTEM, OUR SOLAR SYSTEMS .......^-*
=*-^...... PLACEMENT IN THE GALAXY, AND OUR ......^-*=
&=*-^..... GALAXYS PLACEMENT IN THE LOCAL CLUSTER, .....^-*=&
¤&=*-^.... AND -OUR- LOCAL CLUSTERS PLACE IN THE ....^-*=&¤
¶¤&=*-^... GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS ...^-*=&¤¶
#¶¤&=*-^.. ..^-*=&¤¶#
##¶¤&=*-^. AND WE'RE MOVING AROUND THE SUN AT .^-*=&¤¶##
#¶¤&=*-^.. VELOCITY AND THE SUNS MOVING AROUND THE ..^-*=&¤¶#
¶¤&=*-^... CENTER OF THE GALAXY AT VELOCITY AND ...^-*=&¤¶
¤&=*-^.... THE GALAXY IS MOVING TOWARD ANDROMEDA ....^-*=&¤
&=*-^..... AND WE'RE BOTH MOVING ANTICLOCKWISE .....^-*=&
=*-^...... AROUND THE GALAXY. AND WE AS A SPECIES ......^-*=
*-^....... HAVE LEARNED TO TAKE ALL THAT IN ACCOUNT .......^-*
-^........ ........^-
^......... AND DESPITE ALL THIS, DESPITE ALL OUR .........^
.......... (CLICHE) BEAMING OF FUCKING STELLAR ..........
.......... RADIO PROGRAMMES OUT IN FUCKING SPACE ..........
.......... AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT (LIGHT IS OUR ..........
.......... MEDIUM! GOODSPEED YOU, BLACK EMPEROR!), ..........
.......... DESPITE GHOSTS HELPING AND THE ..........
^......... COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS LOWPASS .........^
-^........ FILTERING, DESPITE OUR VERY OBVIOUS ........^-
*-^....... BEAMING OF ALL OUR SECRETS IN EVERY .......^-*
=*-^...... DIRECTION KNOWN TO US, ......^-*=
&=*-^..... .....^-*=&
¤&=*-^.... NO . ONE . HAS . ANSWERED ....^-*=&¤
¶¤&=*-^... ...^-*=&¤¶
#¶¤&=*-^.. #...--------...# ..^-*=&¤¶#
##¶¤&=*-^. ####.-- FERMI'S PARADOX --.#### .^-*=&¤¶##
#¶¤&=*-^.. #...--------...# ..^-*=&¤¶#
¶¤&=*-^... ...^-*=&¤¶
¤&=*-^.... SO WHY IS THAT? ....^-*=&¤
&=*-^..... .....^-*=&
=*-^...... MOST OPPONENTS TO INTELLIGENT LIFE IN ......^-*=
*-^....... THE UNIVERSE SAY IT'S BECAUSE YOU NEED .......^-*
-^........ A CLASS ONE-OR-THE-OTHER STAR AND THE ........^-
^......... PLANET NEEDS TO BE AT A SEE-AND-SO .........^
.......... DISTANCE AWAY FROM THE STAR (LIKE THERE ..........
.......... HAS TO BE A PLANET!) ..........
.......... ..........
.......... BUT REALLY ISN'T THAT KEEPING THE ..........
.......... DEFINITION OF LIFE REALLY LAX? ..........
^......... .........^
-^........ I THINK EVERYONE AGREES THAT WE HAVE NO ........^-
*-^....... IDEA WHAT WE'RE DOING (AND IT PROBABLY .......^-*
=*-^...... SHOWS) ......^-*=
&=*-^..... .....^-*=&
¤&=*-^.... #...--------...# ....^-*=&¤
¶¤&=*-^... ####.-- FERMI'S PARADOX --.#### ...^-*=&¤¶
#¶¤&=*-^.. #...--------...# ..^-*=&¤¶#
##¶¤&=*-^. .^-*=&¤¶##
#¶¤&=*-^.. I'M GONNA GO SMOKE MY THIRD CIGARETTE ..^-*=&¤¶#
¶¤&=*-^... THIS YEAR AND TRY TO SNATCH SOME BEERS ...^-*=&¤¶
¤&=*-^.... FROM THE LOCAL BEER THING ....^-*=&¤
&=*-^..... .....^-*=&
=*-^...... ......^-*=
*-^....... .......^-*
-^........ ........^-
^......... .........^