Human Impact

Conservationist, amateur astronomer, and photographer, Dr. Sam Wilson, a retired physicist, resided in a cabin near a national park.

As a recent widower, besides writing ecological sci-fi novels, Sam enjoyed solitary hikes photographing blooming flowers, majestic trees, pristine lakes, glacier-capped mountains, and protected wildlife.

A natural paradise ...

While eating dinner, Sam listened to an environmentalist podcast. The podcaster and her expert guests discussed a federal government plan to lift certain legal protections for national parks, which allowed mining and drilling companies to come in ...

Sam pondered to himself—"What can we do about this? Obviously, no one can stop it. Not enough people want to protest. No one spoke of organizing nationwide marches to preserve national parks, and election cycles take far too long."

Sam printed out diagrams and charts from an astronomical archive and sorted through piles of electronic parts and scientific equipment he kept in storage. Then he set up an array of optical and radar transmitters in a secluded area.

Sam thought to himself—"Transmitters ready! But what should I send?"

He searched for ideas and stumbled upon articles about Voyager Space Probes' Golden Records—"Perfect!"

Sam chose some favorite video footage, with music and no script, from a time-lapsed film representing natural landscapes transitioning to industrial, residential, and commercial infrastructures, and the rapid rise of human impact on the environment.

The array signal repeatedly beamed into deep space for several months ...

One late night, Sam awoke to thundering sonic booms—"What the hell is going on?"

He hurriedly put on his robe and slippers, stepped outside, and gazed at the night sky.

A giant saucer-shaped ship hovered above the park, and countless drones flew out of it, circulating around.

Sam waved his arms and smiled. "Over here!"

The drones fatally shot lasers at him.