brucec@iddic.UUCP (Bruce W. Cheney) (12/10/84)
The Leibowitz Project
(References: A Canticle for Leibowitz ?forgot author
Life After Doomsday Bruce Clayton
Lucifer's Hammer L.Niven,J.Pournelle
Rise and Fall of Roman Empire Gibbons
Foundation Series Asimov
I'm a little tired of "survivalist vs. freeze" arguements,
so I thought I'd bring up a project that they both can get
involved in, namely *** The Leibowitz Project ***. Here's
the idea: To prevent the loss of our technical knowledge and
literary masterpieces in the event of ANY major catastrophe
(WWIII, a meteor hit, Reagan's re-election or the 2nd coming,
etc.), select a number of books that you think would be
important for the re-building of civilization. Heck, do a
little 'social engineering' when making a selection !!
Then buy the books in a high quality format, preferably on
acid free paper. Not cheap, I know, but it will show
political commitment !!! Spray each page with insecticide.
Wrap the book in aluminum foil, and seal it in a plastic zip
lock bag. If you have the materials, displace the air in the
bag with nitrogen (don't laugh, survivalists and Mormons have
this capability).
Now comes the fun part. Buy some concrete and make a
structure to hold the books. I have a preference for
pyramids about 2 ft. high, but I have a friend who makes
blocks with crosses on them (bibles inside). Once you make a
mold for these things, they are easy to crank out. Then
place the monoliths in an appropriate place. I hide mine out
in the woods: not too conspicuous, not too hard to find.
The knowledge will thus be preserved.
The best part of this project is that it is adaptable
to whatever you believe!! Are you a Survivalist ?? Then the
knowledge is for the survivors. Are you Carl Sagan ?? Then
the knowledge is for the Intergalactic Encyclopedia field
researchers following Voyager's directions to Earth after the
Nuclear Winter causes human extinction (contents of the
pyramid to be featured on the pan-dimensional series
'Galactos', "The Artifacts of Ancient Earth."). Just
think, you can prevent future generations (or even alien
civilizations) from repeating our mistakes !!!
This may seem a little far out, but why not include some
samples of your bodily tissue, appropriately preserved
(separate from the books)? Just maybe the technique of
recreating organisms from genetic material might be perfected
in the far future. Who knows ?? YOU might be a featured guest
on a segment of Galactos (remember to smile stupidly, act
snotty, and say 'billllyuns' alot, its sort of an Old Earth
tradition).
Enough humor. Go out and DO THIS: Buy books and build
pyramids. The continuation of intelligent life in the
universe may depend on YOU.
iddic!brucecrcb@rti-sel.UUCP (Randy Buckland) (12/11/84)
> > The Leibowitz Project > . . . Why not just transcribe the books into a computer and store it with enough of a solar collector array to power it? If properly done, it should last forever. (How long will magnetic data remain on magnetic media. physics type got an answer?) Randy Buckland Research Triangle Institute ...!mcnc!rti-sel!rcb