As we step across the threshold of the 21st century and gaze out at the stars, flexing the muscles of our ever-evolving technological prowess, a growing body of evidence tells us that the galaxy should be teeming with life. More and more we discover that Earth may not be so unique after all, that life is resilient and finds a way to thrive, and that the universe is a far vaster place than we ever imagined. Despite this, our attempts to detect direct signs of intelligent life have failed.
"The Great Silence" it is often called, a situation also known as the Fermi Paradox in which we find no signs of life when we know that we should. For decades now humans have been listening to the stars, searching for radio transmissions that originate from other advanced civilizations; but there are none.
Why is it that in a universe so vast, with so many stars capable of supporting life, there appears to be no other intelligence. A number of hypotheses have been presented over the years, but perhaps none more interesting than that described in David Brin's short story "The Crystal Spheres," winner of the 1985 Hugo Award for Short Stories. Of course, Brin's suggestion is only fiction, but just for a moment let's imagine what it would be like.
In the 22nd century, humans discover a hospitable world orbiting the star Tau Ceti. From their base on the Plutonion moon Charon, they gather together colonists and board a ship that will take them to their new home. On the way out of the Sol system they pass through the Oort Cloud, home of the comets. It is around this area that their ship suddenly plows into an unseen barrier. The barrier bows outward, slowing the ship, and then shatters into billions of pieces, causing comets to rain down on the inner planets. The ship has just broken our solar system's "crystal sphere."
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