All language subtitles for Through the Wormhole S06E05 Are Aliens Inside Us

EVER WORRY
ABOUT PICKING UP A BUG?

WHAT IF WE HAVE ALL CAUGHT
SOMETHING...

SOMETHING UNIDENTIFIABLE

AND FROM UNKNOWN ORIGINS?

NOT FROM EACH OTHER.

FROM THE HEAVENS.

DROPS OF RAIN COULD BE
BRINGING US VISITORS

FROM ANOTHER PLANET ...
ALIENS INVADING OUR BLOODLINES

OR MAYBE EVEN
INFECTING OUR TECHNOLOGY.

THEY COULD BE HIDDEN
IN PACKETS OF DIGITAL DATA,

IN A FORM
WE DON'T EVEN RECOGNIZE AS LIFE.

ALIEN INTELLIGENCE MAY BE
TRACKING OUR EVERY MOVE.

WE HAVEN'T FOUND
ANY EXTRATERRESTRIALS YET,

BUT MAYBE WE'RE LOOKING
IN THE WRONG PLACES.

ARE ALIENS INSIDE US?

SPACE, TIME, LIFE ITSELF.

THE SECRETS OF THE COSMOS
LIE THROUGH THE WORMHOLE.

Captions by VITAC
www.vitac.com

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

THE SIZE OF THE UNIVERSE
IS REALLY HARD TO COMPREHEND.

HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF STARS

IN OUR GALAXY AND BILLIONS
OF GALAXIES BEYOND.

IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE
THAT THE ONLY PLACE LIFE

EXISTS IS HERE ON EARTH.

ARE WE THE ONLY INTELLIGENT
LIFE-FORM IN THE COSMOS?

IF NOT,
THEN WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?

IN THE PAST, WE'VE ALWAYS
LOOKED UP TO THE HEAVENS.

BUT TO FIND ALIEN LIFE,

MAYBE WE ONLY NEED TO LOOK DOWN,
WITHIN OUR WORLD

AND INSIDE OUR BODIES.

THIS MAN HAS ALIEN INTRUDERS
INSIDE OF HIM RIGHT NOW.

CEDRIC FESCHOTTE IS A GENETICIST
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.

HE'S WELL AWARE THAT HE,

LIKE EVERY LIVING
BEING ON THE PLANET,

HOSTS FOREIGN VIRUSES
AND BACTERIA.

BUT CEDRIC IS FOCUSED
ON MORE INSIDIOUS INTRUDERS.

SEE THEM IN GENOME SEQUENCES.

MANY COPIES,

BUT WE REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND
HOW THEY GOT THERE.

Freeman: THESE ALIEN ENTITIES
ARE CALLED TRANSPOSONS.

THEY'RE PIECES OF DNA
WHICH SNEAK IN FROM THE OUTSIDE

AND INSERT THEMSELVES
INTO OUR GENES.

SO THEY COPY AND PASTE
TO NEW PLACES IN THE GENOME.

THIS REPLICATION IS INDEPENDENT
FROM THE REPLICATION

OF THE WHOLE SET.

AND THEY DO THIS MUCH MORE OFTEN
THAN THE SET ACTUALLY REPLICATE.

Freeman: THEY'RE NOT JUST
INVADING HUMAN CELLS.

VIRTUALLY EVERY LIVING THING
ON EARTH CONTAINS TRANSPOSONS.

Feschotte: IN FACT, THEY ARE
THE SINGLE LARGEST COMPONENTS

OF THE GENOME OF MANY PLANTS,
MANY ANIMALS AS WELL.

WE LIKE TO CALL
THEM SPACE INVADERS.

Freeman:
OUR DNA COMES TO US IN A DIRECT
LINE FROM OUR ANCESTORS,

GENERATION AFTER GENERATION.

AND THAT GENETIC INHERITANCE
ALSO INCLUDES THE TRANSPOSONS

THAT SNUCK
INTO OUR ANCESTORS' DNA.

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE,

A NEW TRANSPOSON
MYSTERIOUSLY FINDS ITS WAY IN,

LIKE A SKATEBOARD THAT SUDDENLY
APPEARS AND BECOMES PART

OF THE WAY CEDRIC'S ANCESTOR
MOVED THROUGH THE WORLD.

THESE ALIEN INTRUDERS
CAN CONTINUE MULTIPLYING

AND PASSING DOWN
TO SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS

UNTIL A SINGLE TRANSPOSON

EXISTS IN THE ENTIRE POPULATION
OF A SPECIES.

AND TRANSPOSONS ARE SO GOOD
AT REPLICATING INSIDE OF US

THAT HALF OF OUR DNA
IS NOW ALIEN.

WHEN THE TRANSPOSON JUMP
INTO THE CHROMOSOME,

IT'S LIKE A MUTATION.

SOMETHING NEW WAS INTRODUCED
THERE.

SO MOST OF THE TRANSPOSONS
IN YOUR GENOME

DON'T REALLY AFFECT YOU,

JUST LIKE THESE BUNNY EARS TODAY
WON'T REALLY AFFECT MY SKATING.

Freeman: OTHER TRANSPOSONS
CAN BE HELPFUL.

IN FACT, ONE OF THESE INTRUDERS

BECAME THE FOUNDATION
FOR OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM.

IT'S LIKE A HELMET
SUDDENLY APPEARING TO PROTECT

CEDRIC'S HEAD.

THIS TRANSPOSON ARRIVED
MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO

AND GAVE US THE ABILITY
TO CREATE ANTIBODIES,

A CRUCIAL LINE OF DEFENSE
AGAINST PATHOGENS.

Feschotte:
AND WITHOUT THIS TRANSPOSON,

WE JUST PROBABLY
WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY.

Freeman: THE TRANSPOSONS
CAN ALSO CAUSE PROBLEMS.

SOMETIMES, TRANSPOSONS
CAN BE HARMFUL, TOO,

LIKE THIS BLINDFOLD ON MY HEAD.

CANT FIND MY SKATEBOARD NOW.

THERE'S OVER
100 DIFFERENT GENETIC DISEASE

TIED TO TRANSPOSITION EVENTS.

THIS CAN REALLY BE SO BAD

THAT IT COULD LEAD
TO EXTINCTION OF A SPECIES,

JUST LIKE A VIRUS COULD SPREAD
AND TURN INTO A PANDEMIC.

Freeman:
CEDRIC THINKS IT'S POSSIBLE

THAT TRANSPOSONS
BREAK INTO OUR CELLS

BY ATTACHING THEMSELVES
TO VIRUSES.

Feschotte: THEY COULD PIGGYBACK
ONTO A VIRUS.

AND THEN THIS VIRUS
CAN INFECT A NEW CELL.

AND THEN THE TRANSPOSON

CAN INFILTRATE THAT NEW
INDIVIDUAL OR THAT NEW SPECIES.

Freeman: AS THE VIRUS
GOES ABOUT ITS BUSINESS,

DISRUPTING OUR DNA,
THE TRANSPOSON SNEAKS IN, TOO,

AND NEVER LEAVES.

BUT THE BIGGEST MYSTERY
OF ALL IS WHERE THESE BITS

OF SELF-REPLICATING DNA
COME FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

THEY ARE SO ABUNDANT,

YET WE KNOW VERY LITTLE
ABOUT THEM.

IN FACT, IT'S REALLY LIKE
THE DARK MATTER OF THE GENOME.

COULD THE SPACE INVADERS
TAKING UP SO MUCH ROOM

IN OUR DNA HAVE ACTUALLY COME
FROM OUTER SPACE?

WE STILL HAVEN'T FOUND
ANY OTHER SIGNS

OF LIFE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM.

THAT MEANS ALIEN PIECES OF DNA

WOULD HAVE TO COME
FROM A DISTANT STAR SYSTEM.

BUT HOW COULD ANYTHING
BIOLOGICAL

SURVIVE THAT KIND OF TRIP?

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ASTROPHYSICIST

FRED ADAMS
BELIEVES HE HAS AN ANSWER.

ACCORDING TO A THEORY,
KNOWN AS PANSPERMIA,

LIFE SPREADS AROUND THE UNIVERSE

WHEN A COMET
OR ASTEROID HITS A PLANET.

THE IMPACT SENDS DEBRIS SHOOTING
ALL THE WAY UP INTO SPACE

AND EVENTUALLY ONTO THE SURFACE
OF ANOTHER PLANET.

WE SEE METEORITES FROM MARS
ON A SOMEWHAT REGULAR BASIS.

SO WE DO KNOW THAT THERE'S
TRANSFER FROM MARS TO EARTH.

Freeman: HOWEVER, MARTIAN ROCKS
DON'T CONTAIN LIFE.

AND OUR OTHER
NEIGHBORING PLANETS

DON'T APPEAR TO HAVE ANY,
EITHER.

SO FRED STARTED WONDERING

IF LIFE COULD'VE MADE
A MUCH LONGER JOURNEY TO EARTH

FROM OUTSIDE OUR OWN
SOLAR SYSTEM.

IN ORDER TO BE TRANSFERRED,
THE ELEMENTS OF LIFE,

BASICALLY BACTERIAL
KIND OF ORGANISMS,

HAVE TO BE ENCASED IN ROCK.

Freeman: THE ROCK PROVIDES
PROTECTION FROM EXTREME COLD,

HEAT, AND DAMAGING RADIATION.

THE SHIELD NEEDS TO BE
A LITTLE BIGGER THAN THIS BALL.

IN ORDER FOR SOLAR SYSTEMS
TO SHARE ROCKS,

TWO THINGS HAVE TO HAPPEN.

THE FIRST IS THAT THE SOLAR
SYSTEMS HAVE TO EJECT ROCKS

FROM THEIR IMMEDIATE VICINITY.

AND THE SECOND THING
IS THAT ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM

HAS TO CAPTURE THEM.

Freeman: A LARGE ENOUGH IMPACT
FROM AN ASTEROID OR A COMET

COULD EASILY
PRODUCE ENOUGH ENERGY

TO SHOOT DEBRIS
OUT OF A SOLAR SYSTEM.

BUT WHETHER IT CAN HIT A PLANET
ORBITING ANOTHER SUN

IS MUCH LESS CERTAIN.

SPACE IS RELENTLESSLY EMPTY,

WHICH MAKES ROCK TRANSFER
BETWEEN SOLAR SYSTEMS

VERY DIFFICULT.

Freeman: THERE'S AN AVERAGE
OF FOUR TO FIVE LIGHT-YEARS

BETWEEN SOLAR SYSTEMS
IN OUR GALAXY.

EVEN IF YOU COULD LAUNCH
A SPACE ROCK THAT FAR,

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES
OF HITTING ANOTHER PLANET

UP TO 30 TRILLION MILES AWAY?

OKAY, LET'S CONSIDER
A SIMPLE ANALOGY.

EACH OF THESE LACROSSE PLAYERS
WILL REPRESENT A SOLAR SYSTEM,

AND THE BALL WILL REPRESENT
A LIFE-BEARING ROCK.

AS THE PLAYERS THROW THE BALL
BACK AND FORTH TO EACH OTHER,

IT'S LIKE A ROCK
BEING TRANSFERRED

FROM ONE SOLAR SYSTEM
TO ANOTHER.

LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

Freeman: SUPPOSE THE LENGTH OF A LACROSSE
FIELD REPRESENTS A LIGHT-YEAR.

EVEN IF A PLAYER COULD THROW
A BALL FOUR OR FIVE FIELDS AWAY,

CONSIDER HOW UNLIKELY
IT WOULD BE FOR THAT PLAYER

TO TOSS A BALL BLINDLY

AND HAVE IT LAND
IN THE POCKET OF A TEAMMATE.

AND DISTANCE
ISN'T THE ONLY FACTOR.

SOLAR SYSTEMS IN OUR GALAXY

ARE ALSO FLYING AROUND
EACH OTHER

120 TIMES FASTER
THAN THE SPEED OF SOUND.

SO NOW THE TEAMMATE
HAS TO BE RUNNING FULL SPEED.

EVEN WHEN AN ALIEN ROCK'S
TRAJECTORY IS ON TARGET,

IT'S ALMOST ALWAYS
MOVING TOO FAST FOR GRAVITY

IN THE NEW SOLAR SYSTEM
TO CATCH IT.

IMAGINE THE DIFFICULTY

IN CATCHING A SPEEDING LACROSSE
BALL FROM HUNDREDS OF YARDS

AWAY WHILE RUNNING
AND WITH A BROKEN NET.

NOT SURPRISINGLY,

WHEN FRED RAN THE NUMBERS
CALCULATING THE DISTANCE

BETWEEN EARTH
AND OTHER SOLAR SYSTEMS,

FACTORING IN THE MOVEMENTS
OF STARS AND PLANETS,

IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE
THAT AN ALIEN ROCK

COULD EVER FIND EARTH
FROM SO FAR AWAY.

BUT THEN FRED
REALIZED SOMETHING HE'D MISSED,

SOMETHING THAT SUDDENLY MADE IT
A LOT MORE LIKELY THAT ALIENS

COULD HAVE LANDED HERE.

FOUR AND A HALF BILLION
YEARS AGO,

THINGS WERE A LOT DIFFERENT.

ALIEN SUNS

AND THEIR SURROUNDING PLANETS
CROWDED EARTH'S NIGHT SKY.

NEIGHBORING SOLAR SYSTEMS

WERE ROUGHLY 10 TIMES CLOSER
THAN THEY ARE TODAY.

NOW THE LACROSSE PLAYERS CAN BE
DOZENS OF YARDS FROM EACH OTHER

INSTEAD OF HUNDREDS.

IN THE EARLY PART

OF THE EVOLUTION
OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM,

THE SOLAR SYSTEM
WAS LIVING IN A DENSE CLUSTER.

Freeman: AND SOLAR SYSTEMS BACK THEN
WERE MOVING AROUND EACH OTHER

40 TIMES MORE SLOWLY THAN TODAY.

ON THE LACROSSE FIELD,

THAT MAKES COMPLETING A PASS
A LOT SIMPLER.

Adams: IF THE PLAYERS ARE CLOSE
TOGETHER AND MOVING SLOWLY,

IT'S EASY FOR THEM
TO PASS THE BALL FROM ONE PERSON

TO THE OTHER.

Freeman: IF FRED IS RIGHT,
BILLIONS OF YEARS AGO,

OUR HOME PLANET

WOULD'VE BEEN IN POSITION TO
SNARE ANCIENT ALIEN ORGANISMS.

COULD THEY HAVE SEEDED LIFE
ON EARTH?

THIS BIOLOGIST THINKS THEY DID

AND THAT THEY'RE STILL
RAINING DOWN ON US TODAY.

HE SAYS HE HAS PROOF
THAT ORGANISMS FROM OUTER SPACE

ARE IN OUR ATMOSPHERE RIGHT NOW.

THE SEEDS OF LIFE ON EARTH

MAY HAVE ARRIVED BILLIONS
OF YEARS AGO

FROM A DISTANT ALIEN WORLD.

BUT IF LIFE GOT HERE
BY HIDING ON A METEORITE

FALLEN FROM THE SKY...

COULD IT STILL BE
RAINING DOWN ON US RIGHT NOW?

MILTON WAINWRIGHT
IS A MICROBIOLOGIST

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
IN ENGLAND.

HE BELIEVES HE'S FOUND EVIDENCE

THAT EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE FALLS
LIKE RAIN FROM THE HEAVENS.

Wainwright: SO THE BASIC IDEA OF
PANSPERMIA IS THAT LIFE CAME FROM SPACE.

THERE WAS NO LIFE ON EARTH.

THAT LIFE WAS DELIVERED
BY ASTEROIDS AND COMETS.

NOW, NEO-PANSPERMIA,
NEO MEANING NEW, UH,

SUGGESTS THAT LIFE
IS CONTINUING TO COME FROM SPACE

AT THIS VERY MINUTE.

Freeman: IN 2013, MILTON AND
HIS TEAM COLLECTED SAMPLES

FROM THE STRATOSPHERE
SOME 16 MILES UP.

THAT'S THREE TIMES HIGHER
THAN COMMERCIAL JETLINERS FLY.

THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE
IS FULL OF LIFE,

BUT MILTON THINKS
THE STRATOSPHERE IS, TOO.

HIS CONTROVERSIAL CLAIM

IS THAT IT CONTAINS LIFE FORMS
FROM OUTER SPACE.

THE SUGGESTION BY THE CRITICS
IS THIS MATERIAL IS GOING UP

AND NOT COMING DOWN FROM SPACE.

IT'S JUST EARTH MATERIAL.

NOW, THERE'S A NUMBER OF REASONS
WHY WE THINK THAT'S WRONG.

Freeman:
MILTON COUNTERS THAT HIS SAMPLES

CAME FROM FAR TOO HIGH TO HAVE
BEEN BLOWN UPWARD BY THE WIND.

Wainwright: PHYSICS TELLS US
THAT THE PARTICLES

WE HAVE ARE TOO BIG
TO REACH THE STRATOSPHERE.

NOW, THAT'S JUST PHYSICS.

AND YOU CAN'T ARGUE
WITH PHYSICS.

YOU CAN'T ARGUE
WITH NEWTON'S LAWS.

Freeman: BUT MILTON IS AWARE
THAT THE ONLY WAY HE'S GOING

TO CONVINCE THE SKEPTICS
IS TO FIND MORE ALIENS.

IF MICROORGANISMS OR ANY LIFE
IS COMING IN FROM SPACE,

WE HAVE TO GO OUT AND CATCH IT.

[ AIR HISSING ]

Freeman: AND THAT'S EXACTLY
WHAT MILTON IS DOING.

HE AND HIS TEAM
ARE CONDUCTING A NEW SERIES

OF HIGH-ALTITUDE MISSIONS.

YEP. BON VOYAGE,
STRATOSPHERE SAMPLER.

WHOA!

THE TEAM WAITS FOR ABOUT
90 MINUTES WHILE THE BALLOON

CLIMBS 80,000 FEET.

ONCE THERE, A DRAWER MOUNTED
INSIDE THE PAYLOAD OPENS.

SO THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS
IN THE STRATOSPHERE.

THE DRAWER OPENS.

THE SAMPLES ARE COLLECTED
ON ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUBS.

WE CAN TAKE THOSE DIRECTLY FROM
HERE, UNDER STERILE CONDITIONS,

INTO THE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE.

Freeman: SIXTEEN MILES UP,

THE AIR PRESSURE IS SO LOW
THAT THE BALLOON

CONTINUES TO EXPAND
UNTIL IT RUPTURES

AND TUMBLES BACK TO EARTH
WITH THIS PRECIOUS CARGO.

Wainwright:
THIS IS A FISHING TRIP.

WE'RE SENDING THESE BALLOONS UP.

WE DON'T KNOW
WHAT WE'RE CATCHING.

SO, ON SOME TRIPS,
WE'LL CATCH NOTHING.

ON SOME TRIPS,
WE'LL CATCH SOMETHING.

AND MAYBE WE'LL GO
FOR FIVE LAUNCHES WITH NOTHING,

AND THEN THE SIXTH LAUNCH,

WE GET AN AMAZING ARRAY
OF ORGANISMS.

Freeman:
HE'S HOPING HIS LATEST LAUNCH
WILL YIELD SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

THESE ARE PHOTOS
OF SAMPLES MILTON

AND HIS TEAM COLLECTED
ON THEIR FIRST MISSION IN 2013.

AND MILTON BELIEVES
THEY CONTAIN EVIDENCE

OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.

Wainwright: THIS IS THE FIRST
AMAZING ORGANISM WE FOUND.

IF WE GO TO A TEXTBOOK,

FOR ALGAE, BACTERIA, WE
DON'T SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

Freeman:
MILTON'S SUPPOSED ALIENS

ARE ONLY
ABOUT 30 MICRONS ACROSS,

ROUGHLY TWICE THE THICKNESS
OF A HUMAN HAIR.

Wainwright: AT FIRST, I WAS
VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS STRUCTURE

BECAUSE I THOUGHT
IT WAS A ... A POLLEN GRAIN.

BUT WHEN WE
DO THE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS,

WE FOUND IT WAS PRIMARILY
TITANIUM.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S
MATERIAL COMING OUT OF THE BALL.

AND WHEN WE ANALYZE THIS,
IT TURNS OUT TO BE BIOLOGICAL.

THIS IS CARBON AND OXYGEN.

IT'S BIOLOGICAL.

Freeman:
NO LIFE FORM YET DISCOVERED
HAS A TITANIUM SHELL.

THIS MIGHT BE THE FIRST.

AND, MORE CRUCIAL
TO MILTON'S CASE,

NO EARTHLY ORGANISM
WOULD BE MOVING FAST ENOUGH

TO LEAVE AN IMPACT CRATER
ON THE COLLECTOR.

Wainwright: WE SEE THAT THERE'S
AN IMPACT CRATER HERE.

SO THIS BALL WAS COMING IN FROM
SPACE, IMPACTED THE SAMPLER,

AND CAUSED A CRATER.

THE IMPACT EVENT
MEANS IT'S COMING FROM OUTSIDE.

IT IS NOT LAZILY DRIFTING UP
FROM THE EARTH.

IT'S COMING AT A GREAT SPEED.

MILTON THINKS COMETS
MIGHT BE THE SOURCE.

Wainwright:
THE TEMPERATURE IS RIGHT.

THE AMOUNT OF WATER IS RIGHT.

THE AMOUNT OF CARBON
AND ORGANIC MATERIAL IS RIGHT.

Freeman: DEBRIS FROM THEIR
FROZEN TAILS COULD BE

LITTERING OUR ATMOSPHERE
WITH ALIEN ORGANISMS.

HOPING TO REPLICATE THE SUCCESS
OF HIS FIRST LAUNCH,

MILTON HAS ANOTHER HALF DOZEN
PLANNED.

THE BIG FEAR I HAVE IS
THAT WE GOT THESE AMAZING IMAGES

AND WE NEVER REPEAT IT.

NOW, IN SCIENCE, OF COURSE,
A ONE-OFF IS NOTHING.

WE NEED TO GET A REPETITION
OF SOMETHING.

Freeman: EVEN IF MILTON
DOES FIND MORE ALIEN MICROBES,

HE CAUTIONS THAT THEY MIGHT LOOK
MORE FAMILIAR THAN WE EXPECT.

IF THEY'VE BEEN
ARRIVING FOR EONS,

WE MAY ALREADY SHARE A LOT
IN COMMON WITH THEIR BIOLOGY.

EVERYONE EXPECTS SOMETHING
FROM SPACE TO BE SPECIAL.

THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY
ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT THEM.

IF THEY'RE COMING IN,
THEY'VE BEEN COMING IN

FROM MILLIONS OF YEARS.

THEY'RE HERE.

WE ARE PART OF SPACE.

THESE ORGANISMS ARE PART
OF OUR BIOLOGY.

Freeman: IF ALIEN MICROBES
ARE CAPABLE OF REACHING EARTH

FROM ACROSS THE GALAXY,

THEN COULD INTELLIGENT
EXTRATERRESTRIALS

ALSO COME HERE?

WE'VE SEEN NO SIGN OF THEM.

OR ARE WE SEARCHING
FOR THE WRONG KIND OF SIGNAL?

IF INTELLIGENT ALIENS
WERE TO SEND US A MESSAGE

FROM A DISTANT PLANET,
WOULD WE HEAR IT?

200 YEARS AGO,

NO ONE WOULD HAVE PICKED UP
A MORSE CODE

ON A TELEGRAPH WIRE,

MUCH LESS A VOICE
ON THE CELLULAR NETWORK.

PERHAPS WE JUST DON'T HAVE
THE TECHNOLOGY YET

TO ANSWER A CALL FROM AN ALIEN.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PHYSICIST
JOHN LEARNED

THINKS ALIEN MESSAGES
MAY BE WITHIN OUR REACH.

WE CANNOT GUESS WHAT SOME
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

MAY BE HAVING IN MIND

FOR WHY THEY WOULD COMMUNICATE
OR HOW THEY WOULD COMMUNICATE.

SO THE BEST WE CAN DO IS JUST
LOOK TO SEE WHAT IS THERE.

Freeman: IF EXTRATERRESTRIALS
ARE OUT THERE

AND CAN SEND MESSAGES
THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY,

JOHN SAYS THEY'LL BE USING
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN.

WHEN WE SEND MESSAGES
OVER LONG DISTANCES ON EARTH,

WE RELY ON PULSES OF LIGHT
OR RADIO WAVES.

HOWEVER, USING LIGHT
FOR INTERSTELLAR COMMUNICATION

WOULD BE SPOTTY AT BEST.

Learned:
THERE'S A LOT OF DUST AND GAS
OUT THERE IN THE UNIVERSE,

AND THAT SCATTERS LIGHT.

SO IT WOULDN'T DO TO TRY
TO HAVE LIGHT SIGNALING

FROM EVEN OUR OWN
GALACTIC CENTER.

Freeman: AND MESSAGES SENT
WITH RADIO WAVES

WOULD HAVE A LOT OF INTERFERENCE
TO FIGHT THROUGH.

THERE'S HISS COMING
FROM ALL OVER THE UNIVERSE,

FROM ALL THE STARS AND GALAXIES.

SO THERE'S BACKGROUND NOISE
THAT YOU HAVE TO GET AROUND.

BY TUNING AROUND
WITH THIS RADIO,

THERE'S ALL KIND OF NOISE
THAT COMES AND GOES.

YOU HAVE TO FIND A FREQUENCY
WHERE THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS

WOULD BE CHOOSING
TO COMMUNICATE.

THE PROBLEM IN TUNING IN IS
THERE'S NO SCHEDULE

AND NO LIST OF ... OF STATIONS.

SO WE DON'T KNOW QUITE
WHERE TO LOOK.

Freeman: JOHN THINKS
THERE'S A BETTER TECHNOLOGY

TO SEND MESSAGES
ACROSS THE GALAXY.

ALIENS MIGHT BE USING A TINY
PARTICLE CALLED A NEUTRINO

THEY'RE SUBATOMIC PARTICLES
PRODUCED BY NUCLEAR REACTIONS,

LIKE THOSE IN OUR SUN,

AND VIOLENT EVENTS,
LIKE EXPLODING STARS

AND GAMMA RAY BURSTS.

THE MOST INTRIGUING PROPERTY
OF NEUTRINOS

IS THAT THEY ARE SO SMALL
THEY CAN PASS THROUGH MATTER

AS IF IT WASN'T THERE.

THE KIND OF DENSE MATTER
THAT STOPS ALL LIGHT

AND MOST RADIO WAVES
CAN'T STOP NEUTRINOS.

THEY PASS RIGHT THROUGH THINGS.

COMING THROUGH THE WALLS,

COMING UP OUT OF THE GROUND
HERE.

WE'RE IN A BREEZE
OF ABOUT A MILLION NEUTRINOS

THROUGH YOUR THUMBNAIL
PER SECOND.

Freeman: IN FACT,
IF THERE WAS SUCH A THING

A SUNBLOCK FOR NEUTRINOS,

A NEUTRINO PROTECTION FACTOR

OF 1 TRILLION
OR MORE WOULDN'T SUFFICE.

EVEN THOUGH JUST A THIN LAYER
OF THIS ON MY HAND

IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR PHOTONS, UH,
IT WOULD HAVE TO BE VASTLY,

VASTLY THICKER FOR STOPPING
NEUTRINOS.

AND, IN FACT, THIS UMBRELLA,

WHICH STOPS THE PHOTONS
FROM THE SUN JUST FINE,

WOULDN'T DO THE JOB.

IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A LEAD
UMBRELLA A LIGHT-YEAR THICK

TO DO THE JOB.

Freeman: JOHN THINKS
AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION

MIGHT DECIDE TO CREATE A BEAM
OF NEUTRINOS

AND PULSE THEM,

MANUFACTURING A MESSAGE
IN A KIND OF COSMIC MORSE CODE.

BUT BECAUSE NEUTRINOS
ARE SO GHOSTLY,

THEY'RE EXTREMELY TOUGH
TO DETECT OR MEASURE.

THE LARGEST DETECTOR ON EARTH,

CALLED IceCube, LIES BURIED
UNDER NEARLY THREE KILOMETERS

OF ICE AT THE SOUTH POLE.

86 STRANDS OF SENSORS

WAIT FOR ONE OF THE NEUTRINOS
STREAMING THROUGH EARTH

TO BUMP INTO ONE

OF THE ELECTRONS
IN THE SURROUNDING ICE.

IceCube PICKS UP ONLY A HANDFUL
OF NEUTRINO COLLISIONS

EACH YEAR.

NEUTRINOS VARY IN ENERGY.

THE HIGHEST-ENERGY NEUTRINOS
ARE THE MOST RARE.

THERE'S A GREAT CONTROVERSY
GOING ON RIGHT NOW ABOUT,

WHAT ARE THE SOURCE OF THESE?

WHAT ... WHAT ARE THE MECHANISMS

THAT PRODUCE
THESE HIGH ENERGIES?

Freeman:
BECAUSE THEY'RE SO RARE,

JOHN BELIEVES THEY COULD BE
GREAT COMMUNICATION TOOLS

FOR ALIENS.

IF ONE
OF THESE HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINOS

MAKES CONTACT
WITH AN ELECTRON INSIDE IceCube,

WE'LL KNOW IT.

IT'LL MAKE
THIS LITTLE EXPLOSION,

WHICH IS SO CHARACTERISTIC THAT
WE COULD IDENTIFY IT UNIQUELY.

IF YOU SAW ONE,

IT WOULD CERTAINLY GET
YOUR ATTENTION.

Freeman: PHYSICISTS CALL
THIS CHARACTERISTIC BURST

THE GLASHOW RESONANCE.

THE WAY A HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINO
INTERACTS WITH AN ELECTRON

IS SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN MUSIC MEETS A WINE GLASS.

[ WINE GLASS RESONATES ]

HEY, GUYS.

HEY.

ALL MATTER
HAS A NATURAL FREQUENCY.

WHEN ENERGY
FROM AN OUTSIDE SOURCE

MATCHES THAT NATURAL FREQUENCY,

THE OBJECT WILL VIBRATE
MUCH MORE THAN USUAL.

THAT'S KNOWN AS RESONANCE.

SO WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE IS A ...

A GLASS, HOPEFULLY,
A NICE, RESONANT GLASS.

AND WE'VE GOT A SPEAKER,

WHICH IS ATTACHED
TO AN AMPLIFIER.

AND WE'RE DRIVING
ACOUSTIC ENERGY, SOUND,

VERY HIGH-INTENSITY SOUND
TOWARD THIS.

AND WE'LL TRY TO HIT
THE RESONANCE IN THE GLASS

AND BREAK THE GLASS.

Freeman:
YOU CAN THINK OF EACH NOTE

AS A DIFFERENT ENERGY LEVEL
NEUTRINO AND THE WINE GLASS

AS THE ELECTRON.

FIRST, JOHN TRIES VARIOUS NOTES
ON AN ORGAN.

[ ORGAN PLAYS ]

NOW THE SINGER.

[ VOCALIZING ]

FINALLY, THE GUITAR PLAYER.

[ SOLO PLAYS ]

Learned:
IT'S A MATTER OF, UH,

GETTING THE RIGHT FREQUENCY,

GETTING ENOUGH ENERGY
RIGHT ON THE RIGHT FREQUENCY.

MAN, THAT'S GONE.

Freeman: THE GLASHOW RESONANCE
IS THE EXPLOSION THAT RESULTS

WHEN JUST THE RIGHT TYPE
OF HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINO ARRIVES.

JOHN THINKS A STRING

OF THESE RARE EXPLOSIONS
WOULDN'T BE A COINCIDENCE

BUT RATHER A SIGN OF AN EXTRA
TERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Learned: AND IF WE SEE THOSE NEUTRINOS
COMING FROM THE SAME DIRECTION,

THEN WE CERTAINLY

KNOW THAT THAT IS NOT
A NATURAL PHENOMENAL.

WOULD BE
THE GREATEST DISCOVERY EVER.

I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING

THAT WOULD BE
A MORE AMAZING DISCOVERY

THAN TO FIND THE FIRST SIGNS
OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.

IT WOULD CHANGE OUR WORLD.

Freeman: AS EXCITING AS IT WOULD BE
TO FIND AN ALIEN MESSAGE,

THE SIMPLE ACT OF READING IT
COULD THREATEN OUR EXISTENCE.

ALIEN COMMUNICATION COULD CARRY
A LOT MORE THAN A GREETING.

THE MOMENT OF FIRST CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION

WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

BUT IF WE ALREADY MISSED IT?

WHAT IF AN ALIEN MESSAGE HAS
ARRIVED AND WE DIDN'T NOTICE?

MAYBE IT'S HERE RIGHT NOW,

HIDING INSIDE OUR TECHNOLOGY.

ANDREW SIEMION

SPECIALIZES IN THE SEARCH FOR
EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE

AT U.C. BERKELEY'S
SETI RESEARCH CENTER.

HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES

ARE LOOKING FOR UNUSUAL SIGNALS
IN OUTER SPACE,

HOPING TO FIND ONE THAT MIGHT
COME FROM AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION.

I THINK THAT OUR FIRST ENCOUNTER
WITH VERY ADVANCED LIFE

PROBABLY WILL NOT COME
IN A SPACESHIP LANDING

IN GOLDEN GATE PARK.

IT'S QUITE LIKELY
THAT IT WILL COME VIA A SIGNAL

THAT WE JUST
HAPPEN TO EAVESDROP ON.

Freeman: BUT IT MAY BE THAT
ALIENS ARE ALREADY LISTENING

TO OUR RADIO SIGNALS.

IF THERE WERE VERY ADVANCED LIFE
NEARBY TO EARTH,

THEY'VE MONITORED
OUR RADIO SIGNALS

THAT HAVE LEFT THIS PLANET.

AND SO THEY ALMOST CERTAINLY
KNOW QUITE A LOT ABOUT US.

SINCE THE 1960s,
COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES

HAVE BEEN RELAYING INFORMATION
FROM ONE COMPUTER TO ANOTHER.

AND THAT INFORMATION
HAS BEEN LEAKING OUT INTO SPACE.

IF ALIENS UNDERSTAND
HOW OUR COMPUTER NETWORKS

OPERATE AND KNOW THAT WE'RE
ACTIVELY LISTENING FOR THEM,

ANDREW BELIEVES THEY COULD TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION.

THEY COULD DELIVER
A DIGITAL VIRUS

AND KNOW
THAT WE'D SCOOP IT RIGHT UP.

WE GATHER MILLIONS
OF RADIO SIGNALS FROM SPACE

EACH YEAR IN OUR SEARCH
FOR INTELLIGENT COMMUNICATION.

THOSE SIGNALS GO
STRAIGHT TO OUR COMPUTERS

SO RESEARCHERS CAN ANALYZE THEM.

HUNTING FOR EVIDENCE
OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY,

THESE RADIO SIGNALS,

IS KIND OF LIKE HUNTING
FOR EASTER EGGS.

WE'RE LOOKING
FOR THAT ONE SMALL NUGGET

THAT STANDS OUT
FROM THE LANDSCAPE.

THE SIGNALS THAT WE LOOK FOR
ARE VERY, VERY WEAK,

SO WE HAVE TO SIFT
THROUGH ALL OF THE NOISE,

NOISE PRODUCED FROM OTHER
ASTROPHYSICAL SOURCES,

QUASARS AND PULSARS.

Freeman: ONCE SETI RESEARCHERS
GATHER POTENTIAL ALIEN SIGNALS,

THEY TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.

BUT ANALYZING THE SIGNAL
ON ONE OF OUR COMPUTERS

WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH TO UNLEASH
AN ALIEN VIRUS.

RESEARCHERS WOULD HAVE
TO RUN THE CODE.

WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT DATA,

AND WE HAVE TO RUN IT
ON A COMPUTER.

AND THAT'S SORT OF AKIN
TO OPENING ONE OF THESE EGGS.

Freeman: ADVANCED ALIEN HACKERS
WOULD PROBABLY NOTICE,

AND THEY'D LIKELY KNOW THERE'S
ANOTHER WAY INTO OUR NETWORKS,

A WAY THAT WOULDN'T BE DEPENDENT
ON A DECISION BY ONE OF US

TO RUN THEIR CODE.

HUNDREDS OF RADIO ANTENNAS
ON EARTH ARE SPECIFICALLY

DESIGNED TO EXCHANGE
COMPUTER CODE WITH EACH OTHER

AND IMMEDIATELY RUN
THOSE PROGRAMS.

Siemion: A SIGNAL
THAT WAS SENT BY ANOTHER SPECIES

TO ONE OF THOSE ANTENNAS

COULD BE RECEIVED
AND EXECUTED IN THE SAME WAY

THAT IT EXECUTES CODE
THAT IT RECEIVES FROM ...

FROM HUMAN TRANSMISSIONS.

Freeman:
IN FACT, AN ALIEN CODE

COULD ALREADY BE HERE, OPERATING
UNDETECTED IN OUR NETWORKS.

THE WHOLE IDEA OF A VIRUS
OR A TROJAN HORSE IS TO ...

IS TO RUN SOME CODE

ON A COMPUTER
OR ON A COMPUTER NETWORK

THAT NO ONE
KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT.

IT ... IT RUNS ITSELF, UH,
SURREPTITIOUSLY UNDER THE RADAR.

Freeman: HUMAN HACKERS HAVE
ALREADY SHOWN IT'S POSSIBLE

TO HIDE COMPUTER VIRUSES
FOR LONG PERIODS.

THE STUXNET VIRUS,

DEVELOPED IN SECRET
BY THE U.S. AND ISRAEL,

LURKED IN THE NETWORK
OF AN IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITY

FOR OVER A YEAR, SLOWLY DAMAGING
HUNDREDS OF IRANIAN CENTRIFUGES.

THE VIRUS SENT SIGNALS
TO THE PLANT'S CONTROL ROOM,

INDICATING
EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL,

UNTIL THE CENTRIFUGES
FINALLY BROKE IN 2010.

A PROGRAM FROM AN ADVANCED
CIVILIZATION COULD GO UNNOTICED

FOR MUCH LONGER AND BE
FAR MORE DESTRUCTIVE.

WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE IT
BECAUSE IT WOULD BE A ...

A PIECE OF COMPUTER CODE

THAT WE HAD NEVER SEEN
BEFORE THAT WAS DEVISED BY A ...

A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SPECIES.

Freeman: COULD ALIENS PROGRAMS
ALREADY BE INSIDE OUR TECHNOLOGY,

PREPARING AN ATTACK
ON OUR NETWORKS?

OR IS THERE PERHAPS AN EVEN MORE
UNNERVING POSSIBILITY?

THE ALIENS THEMSELVES MAY BE
IN OUR NETWORKS

AS DIGITAL LIFE-FORMS.

IF SO, THIS MAN BELIEVES
HE KNOWS HOW TO FIND THEM.

COULD ALIEN VISITORS
HAVE ALREADY ARRIVED ON EARTH?

PERHAPS THEY HAVE,

AND WE JUST DON'T RECOGNIZE
THEM.

MAYBE THEY AREN'T MADE
OF FLESH AND BLOOD OR METAL

OR ANYTHING WE CAN TOUCH.

WHAT IF ALIENS
ARE DIGITAL LIFE FORMS?

CHRIS ADAMI
OF MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

IS AN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST
AND A COMPUTER SCIENTIST.

HE STUDIES THE BORDER BETWEEN
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT

AND LIFE AS IT MIGHT BE.

WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO
IS HAVE A DEFINITION

THAT DOES NOT DEPEND
ON THE VERY SPECIFICS

OF THE FORM OF LIFE
THAT WE ENCOUNTER HERE ON EARTH.

WHAT IS LIFE?

THE DICTIONARY WILL SAY
IT INVOLVES METABOLISM, GROWTH,

REACTION TO STIMULI,
AND REPRODUCTION.

SO PLANTS AND ANIMALS
ARE OBVIOUSLY ALIVE.

BUT WHAT ABOUT A ROBOT?

WE COULD IMAGINE A ROBOT
LIKE THAT TO BE ALIVE IF,

IN FACT, IT COULD NOT ONLY
BUILD ANOTHER ROBOT JUST LIKE IT

BUT ALSO, IN FACT,

MAKES COPIES
OF THE PROGRAMMING AND INSERTS

THAT INTO THE BABY ROBOT
THAT IT MAKES.

IF IT IS DOING THAT,

IT WILL BE ABLE TO CREATE
A POPULATION OF ROBOTS.

BUT THIS THING
IS ACTUALLY NOT ALIVE.

IT WAS PROGRAMMED BY THE PEOPLE
WHO BUILT THIS PLANT.

IT DOES NOT ACTUALLY HAVE
THE CAPACITY TO SELF-PERPETUATE.

Freeman: BECAUSE A ROBOT'S
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

COME FROM AN OUTSIDE ENTITY,

IT CAN'T ADAPT OR EVOLVE
ON ITS OWN.

BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
THAT SOMETHING ARTIFICIAL

CAN'T BE ALIVE.

CHRIS BELIEVES
ALIEN DIGITAL LIFE FORMS

COULD DO EVERYTHING WE DO ...
CONSUME RESOURCES,

REPRODUCE,
EVOLVE, ALL INSIDE A COMPUTER.

HE KNOWS BECAUSE HE
AND HIS COLLEAGUES

CREATED ORGANISMS
JUST LIKE THAT.

THEIR DIGITAL ORGANISMS

LIVE IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
CALLED AVIDA.

EACH DOT IS AN AVIDIAN.

DIFFERENT COLORS
REPRESENT DIFFERENT SPECIES.

Adami: THEY'RE MORE LIKE
COMPUTER VIRUSES

THAT CAN REPLICATE AND MAKE
COPIES OF THEMSELVES

EXCEPT THESE ARE SPECIAL
IN THE SENSE THAT,

WHEN THEY MAKE COPIES
OF THEMSELVES,

THEY MIGHT MAKE FLAWED COPIES,

IN A SENSE OF MUTATIONS.

SO THESE COPIES CAN ACTUALLY
EVOLVE IN A DARWINIAN MANNER,

JUST LIKE IT WOULD BE DOING
IN A PETRI DISH.

BUT IN THIS CASE,
THEY ARE DIGITAL ORGANISMS.

Freeman:
THE SURVIVAL OF ANY SPECIES

DEPENDS ON HAVING JUST
THE RIGHT RATE OF MUTATIONS.

ZERO MUTATIONS WOULD MEAN
AVIDIANS COULD ONLY COPY

THEMSELVES AND NEVER EVOLVE.

WITH TOO MANY MUTATIONS,
THE NEW VERSION

WOULD NO LONGER BE A PROGRAM,
JUST RANDOM BITS OF DATA.

CHRIS PROGRAMMED
HIS VIRTUAL ORGANISMS

TO MUTATE EVERY GENERATION.

IN OTHER WORDS, AVIDIANS EVOLVE.

I'M STANDING IN THE MIDDLE
OF A GRID THAT IS GOING TO HELP

US UNDERSTAND HOW AVIDA WORKS.

AND I'M GONNA BE PLAYING
THE ROLE OF DIGITAL ORGANISMS.

AND I'M GONNA DO IT LIKE THIS.

THE DIFFERENT COLOR SHIRTS

THAT I WEAR REPRESENT
DIFFERENT DIGITAL ORGANISMS.

Freeman: THE GRID REPRESENTS
A LIMITED AMOUNT

OF COMPUTER PROCESSING POWER
OVER WHICH THE AVIDIANS COMPETE.

AVIDA IS DESIGNED
TO REWARD COMPLEX CALCULATIONS,

WHICH WE CAN REPRESENT
WITH MOVEMENTS.

MAKE A SIMPLE
FAIRLY USELESS MOVEMENT,

LIKE RAISING ONE ARM,

AND THE PROGRAM
DOESN'T REPLICATE.

MAKE A COMPLEX, USEFUL MOVEMENT,

LIKE GOING
FROM SITTING TO STANDING,

AND THE PROGRAM CAN COPY ITSELF.

THE MORE COPIES
OF THE SAME PROGRAM THERE ARE,

THE MORE COMPUTING POWER
THEY CAN GRAB.

JUST LIKE REAL LIFE,
AVIDIANS PICK UP NEW MOVEMENTS

AND NEW COMBINATIONS
THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR.

GOING FROM SITTING TO JUMPING
IS A HIGHLY COMPLEX MOVEMENT.

THAT REPRESENTS A COMPLEX
CALCULATION.

YOU START
WITH SIMPLE CALCULATION,

MAYBE AN ADDITION,
MAYBE A SMALL SUBTRACTION.

IF YOU COULD DO MULTIPLICATION,
YOU CAN AN ACTUALLY

DO BETTER THAN THAN JUST POOR
ADDERS AND SUBTRACTORS.

THEN SOMEBODY DOING
SQUARE ROOTS OR LOGARITHMS

OR INTEGRALS WOULD DOMINATE

OVER THOSE THAT ARE JUST
THE PURE MULTIPLIERS.

Freeman: THE RED AVIDIANS LOOK
LIKE THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE OVER.

BUT THEN YELLOW STANDS UP
AND EXECUTES A NEW,

HIGHLY COMPLEX
JUMPING JACK MOVE.

SUDDENLY, YELLOW STARTS

REPLICATING FASTER
THAN THE OTHER COLORS.

Adami: VERY QUICKLY, YOU'LL SEE
A YELLOW TYPE TAKING OVER,

WHICH THEN IS FOLLOWED
BY A RED TYPE

AND THEN AN ORANGE TYPE.

AND YOU'LL SEE
MANY DIFFERENT COLORS EMERGE,

TAKE OVER,
AND THEN GO EXTINCT AGAIN

IN A LONG, LONG PERIOD
OF EVOLUTION.

Freeman: STUDYING AVIDIANS MAKES
CHRIS FEEL CONFIDENT THAT,

IF DIGITAL ALIENS
ARE HIDING INSIDE OUR NETWORKS,

HE'LL BE ABLE TO FIND THEM.

HE'S FOUND
A TELLTALE SIGNATURE OF LIFE,

WHETHER IT'S BIOLOGICAL
OR DIGITAL.

LIKE ALL LIFE FORMS,

AVIDIANS ARE BORN WITH A FINITE
SET OF INSTRUCTIONS.

IF CHRIS REMOVES THE REWARDS
THAT CAUSE AVIDIANS TO EVOLVE,

THEN EACH INSTRUCTION

WILL BE USED
AT ROUGHLY THE SAME FREQUENCY.

BUT LIVING AVIDIANS
FIND CERTAIN INSTRUCTIONS

MORE VALUABLE THAN OTHERS
AND USE THEM FAR MORE OFTEN.

THAT IS CHRIS' SIGNATURE
OF LIFE.

BIOLOGICAL LIFE
HAS AN EQUIVALENT SIGNATURE.

THE PATTERN OF AMINO ACIDS
USED IN OUR BODIES

IS VERY DIFFERENT
FROM THE RANDOM PATTERN

IN NONLIVING MATTER.

BUT COULD ALIENS

BE EVEN CLOSER TO US
THAN INSIDE OUR TECHNOLOGY?

THIS PHYSICIST BELIEVES
AN ENDLESS VARIETY OF ALIENS

MAY BE ONLY A FRACTION
OF AN INCH

AWAY FROM EVERY PART
OF OUR WORLD

BUT COULD REMAIN FOREVER
OUT OF REACH.

WE ASSUME THAT, IF ALIEN LIFE
IS ALREADY ON EARTH,

IT HAD TO HAVE TRAVELED HERE
FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE.

WHETHER PRIMITIVE MICROBES
OR ADVANCED BEINGS,

THE ASSUMPTION IS THEY HAD
TO COVER VAST DISTANCES.

BUT WHAT IF ALIENS HAVE ALWAYS
BEEN RIGHT NEXT TO US,

LIVING ON A DIFFERENT PLANE
OF REALITY?

THEORETICAL PHYSICIST
ALEJANDRO JENKINS

IS CONSTANTLY AMAZED
BY THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE

IN HIS NATIVE COSTA RICA.

BUT HE'S NOTICED THAT
THE SEEMINGLY ENDLESS VARIETY

OF PLANTS, ANIMALS,

AND INSECTS TEND TO CLUSTER
IN SEPARATE DOMAINS.

THINK OF THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN THE CANOPY ECOSYSTEM

THAT YOU HAVE ON THE TREE TOPS.

AND THEN THERE WOULD BE
ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEM,

UM, RIGHT HERE, ON ...
ON THE ... ON THE BEACH FLOOR.

MAYBE YOU CAN ALSO THINK
OF ANOTHER ECOSYSTEM

ON THE SURFACE OF THE OCEAN.

Freeman: ALEJANDRO BELIEVES OUR
UNIVERSE MAY BE LIKE ONE

OF THESE ECOSYSTEMS,

SURROUNDED BY AN INCREDIBLE
VARIETY OF ALIEN LIFE,

NOT IN NEARBY STAR SYSTEMS,

BUT RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES.

HE THINKS THE ALIENS
COULD BE WITHIN FRACTIONS

OF AN INCH OF YOU,

ME, THIS SPIDER,
EVERYTHING.

IF THAT'S TRUE,
THEN WHERE EXACTLY ARE THEY?

THEY WOULD BE DISPLACED
IN ANOTHER ADDITIONAL DIMENSION

THAT IS NOT ONE
OF THE THREE DIMENSIONS THAT ...

THAT WE SEE IN EVERYDAY LIFE.

Freeman: MANY PHYSICISTS ARE
CONVINCED THERE ARE DIMENSIONS

OF SPACE AND TIME
THAT WE CANNOT DETECT.

COULD ALIENS BE LIVING RIGHT
AMONG US YET STILL OUT OF REACH?

Jenkins: IT'S HARD TO THINK IN TERMS
OF MORE THAN THREE DIMENSIONS.

SO LET'S SUPPOSE THAT INSTEAD OF
LIVING IN THREE DIMENSIONS,

WE LIVED IN TWO.

SO, UH, THE SURFACE
OF A ... OF A PLAYING CARD

IS TWO DIMENSIONAL.

BUT IF YOU HAVE A ...
AN ADDITIONAL THIRD DIMENSION,

YOU CAN STACK AS MANY CARDS
AS YOU WANT.

SO I CAN HAVE THIS CARD,

BUT RIGHT ... RIGHT BELOW IT,

I CAN HAVE A DIFFERENT ONE
AND SO FORTH.

SO PERHAPS OUR WORLD,
OUR UNIVERSE,

IS JUST ONE PARTICULAR SLICE

THROUGH THAT HIGHER DIMENSIONAL
SPACE.

YOU WOULD HAVE TO MOVE
ONLY A VERY TINY DISTANCE

IN THIS OTHER ADDITIONAL
DIRECTION IN ORDER TO GET THERE.

Freeman:
ALEJANDRO BELIEVES THE LIFE

THAT MAY EXIST IN THESE
EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL UNIVERSES

COULD BE IN A FORM
THAT'S HARD FOR US TO RECOGNIZE.

WE WOULD EXPECT ON ... ON ...
ON THEORETICAL GROUNDS

THAT A LOT OF THESE OTHER
UNIVERSES WOULD HAVE

DIFFERENT MATTER CONTENTS
AND DIFFERENT KINDS OF ...

OF FORCES BETWEEN ...

BETWEEN THE PARTICLE,
UPON THE MATTER.

PERHAPS IN SOME CASES,
EVEN THOUGH THE FORCES

ARE DIFFERENT, UH,

YOU WOULD STILL BE ABLE
TO GET A FORM OF LIFE.

Freeman: IN THIS WILD SECTION
OF COSTA RICA,

MOST CREATURES IN ONE ECOSYSTEM

ARE UNAWARE THE LIVING THINGS
IN AN ADJACENT ECOSYSTEM EXIST.

Jenkins:
WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A LINE

OF ANTS THAT'S CARRYING LEAVES
BACK TO ITS NEST.

AND I IMAGINE THAT,
AS THEY MOVE DOWN THE TRUNK,

THEY'RE ONLY AWARE OF THE FACT

THAT THEY CAN MOVE UP OR DOWN
TO THEIR LEFT OR TO THEIR RIGHT.

AND WE KNOW THAT THERE'S
ANOTHER DIMENSION

IN WHICH THE ANT CANNOT MOVE.

IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE BUTTERFLY.

CANNOT FLY AWAY
IN THAT DIRECTION.

SO MAYBE THEY'RE NOT AWARE OF
THE FACT THAT THERE'S SOMETHING

ELSE OUT THERE.

Freeman:
WE MIGHT BE LIKE THE ANTS,

UNABLE TO SEE OTHER UNIVERSES
AROUND US.

COULD WE EVER FIND ANOTHER
DIMENSION OR EVEN TRAVEL THERE?

ALEJANDRO THINKS PROBABLY NOT.

IT WOULD SEEM
LIKE WE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE

TO SEE THOSE OTHER UNIVERSES

BECAUSE LIGHT WOULD NOT BE ABLE
TO CROSS THAT DIVIDE.

THE OLD SAYING
ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR ALIENS

WAS, "THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE."

WELL, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE
THAT THEY'RE ALSO IN HERE.

WHEN WE DISCOVER ALIENS, WILL WE

ALSO DISCOVER A COMPLETELY NEW
CONCEPT OF LIFE, CONSCIOUSNESS,

AND INTELLIGENCE?

I CERTAINLY HOPE SO.

THE ONLY THING
WE REALLY KNOW FOR SURE

IS THAT OUR CIVILIZATION
IS JUST A TINY SPECK

IN THE GREATER SCHEME OF THINGS.

AND WE'LL NEVER STOP WONDERING

WHO ELSE MIGHT SHARE
THIS UNIVERSE WITH US.