NationStates Jolt Archive

Imagine our species is faced with a foreseen but completely unavoidable cataclysm that will wipe us out entirely. The chances are that deep time will wash over our civilisations and remove almost every single trace of them except a few dead space probes and some debris on the moon. It's not hard to imagine that another species will arise and take a look at it's surroundings and wonder if there's anything more to life than food and sex. I'm not sure what that would be but I'm sure there's something.

And I'm sure that despite the impending extinction of our race and the ravages of time that we, as a species, would want to be remembered and so my question is this..

How would you design some kind of time capsule capable of surviving for hundreds of millions of years and what would you put in it?

Fellow Intelligent Species....Good Luck!

Make something out of Titanium, fill it with history stuff and shit, I don't know.

Someone's been watching the show life after people.

I try to watch it, but its such a downer.

In like 5,000 years, everything we have ever built save things built out of solid stone like the Pryramids at giza, Mt. Rushmore, Stone Mountain in Georgia, everything visable will be gone.

How would you design some kind of time capsule capable of surviving for hundreds of millions of years

Some sort of spaceship capable of approaching lightspeed may be useful here: time dilation will make it age less, meaning it may only need to function for a few thousand subjective years.
Of course, designing such a vessel is also pretty challenging. Space is not a perfect vacuum - and with such speeds hitting a small particle will do a lot of damage.

and what would you put in it?

A Walt Disney movie.

In like 5,000 years, everything we have ever built save things built out of solid stone like the Pryramids at giza, Mt. Rushmore, Stone Mountain in Georgia, everything visable will be gone.

That's what the show said, but I reckon there'll be bits and bobs left around for a bit longer than that.

Someone's been watching the show life after people.

I try to watch it, but its such a downer.

In like 5,000 years, everything we have ever built save things built out of solid stone like the Pryramids at giza, Mt. Rushmore, Stone Mountain in Georgia, everything visable will be gone.

The What Show?

Anyway, it'd probably take a bit longer to erode all the buildings but with a long enough time frame plate tectonics could be an issue..

Make something out of Titanium, fill it with history stuff and shit, I don't know.

If you really want it to last indefinitely, we should make it out of Twinkies. :)

If you really want it to last indefinitely, we should make it out of Twinkies. :)

McDonalds hamburgers ?

If you really want it to last indefinitely, we should make it out of Twinkies. :)

I don't know.. The next dominant species might not recognise the importance of what it's found and eat it..

The What Show?

Anyway, it'd probably take a bit longer to erode all the buildings but with a long enough time frame plate tectonics could be an issue..

The show on the history chanel, "Life After People".

Its about what would happen if every signle person on earth disapeared in an instant, today. Its an interesting show, but i think its deppressing.

I would likely put any information in a place that they could not access without high technology. I don't want to risk the effects on their culture and development, and especially not exposing them to technology that could destroy their civilization before they are socially and politically able to handle it.

I'd put a collection of all of our art, history, religion, philosophy, scientific knowledge, and key historical documents, along with photographs, biographies of famous people, and genetic material so they could clone our species back into existence if they so wished. (is that cheating the OP?)

The probe would be placed on the Moon, and on it would be the message: "Congratulations. Now don't fuck up like we did." Worded more diplomatically, of course.

However, any calamity that left the Moon intact would likely be survivable, if we had a decent space infrastructure.

I would write my own "Bible" and put that (along with a few dictionaries) into a air-tight Plexiglass-case, which would be put into a larger titanium container.

I'd build a massive monument to myself out of styrofoam.

Build it out of that new composite stuff for strength.

To let them know who we were and what we were about, the inside should be a big jack-in-the-box!
:p

I would write my own "Bible" and put that (along with a few dictionaries) into a air-tight Plexiglass-case, which would be put into a larger titanium container.

It could take ten million years for sentient life to evolve again. Plexiglass would degrade to nothing in a few thousand.

It's incredibly difficult to plan things like this beyond a few thousand years, without putting it in space. Earth's environment is just so unpredictable. The moon is a good bet, as any orbital container would eventually crash into the atmosphere.

My idea would be a sealed container with a solar powered radio emitter located on one of the peaks of eternal light on the moon.

It could take ten million years for sentient life to evolve again. Plexiglass would degrade to nothing in a few thousand.

It's incredibly difficult to plan things like this beyond a few thousand years, without putting it in space. Earth's environment is just so unpredictable. The moon is a good bet, as any orbital container would eventually crash into the atmosphere.

My idea would be a sealed container with a solar powered radio emitter located on one of the peaks of eternal light on the moon.

I thank thee. You have earned my favor and will henceforth be known as "Getbrett, God of the Moon," in the Book of True Origin.

The show on the history chanel, "Life After People".

Its about what would happen if every signle person on earth disapeared in an instant, today. Its an interesting show, but i think its deppressing.
I don't think it's depressing. I find it hilarious. Especially the part about how the cats take over the cities. :D

The only thing even remotely annoying about it is how it demonstrates what shitty workmanship we do nowadays. Our ancient ancestors were much better designers. We of the modern era suck. But then, I already knew that before the show. Fucking worthless plastic crap.

As for that time capsule thing -- why bother? If an ancient Egyptian or Roman isn't building it, it'll be lucky to last 100 years. But if you insist -- make it a paper shoe box in an airtight pocket of stone underground, and put it in a DVD (with player) of "Life After People."

If the next intelligent species can figure out how to view it, they will at least be able to figure out the true nature of those weirdly triangular mountains they've been hiking on (overgrown pyramids, assuming climate change), and that cliff that looks like eroded faces (Rushmore), and that weird concave wall-like structure in that river valley (remains of Hoover Dam).

It really doesnt matter what you put in it because no one will ever see it again anyway.

But Star Trek did an awesome episode where such a time capsule was discovered and it sucked the viewer into a hologram that seemed real and it seemed that the viewer lived an entire lifetime in that culture so it would never be forgotten ( even though it only took like an hour in real time.)

I'd put it in space for one. For two, I'd put the entire History Channel's programming history, complete with special features and the sort in there, along witha DVD player and TV.:D

I'd put it in space for one. For two, I'd put the entire History Channel's programming history, complete with special features and the sort in there, along witha DVD player and TV.:D

Except for the inexplicable UFO, Loch Ness Monster and ghost stuff.

I would dance on its grave.

I don't think it's depressing. I find it hilarious. Especially the part about how the cats take over the cities. :D

Is that the one where the develop wings and jump from office tower to office tower like some seriously deranged flying squirrel?

As for the topic at hand, I wouldn't do a damn thing, other than whatever it is I'm doing now. If something comes along next week and bitch-slaps us back to protozoa, I'll be out camping. I honestly hope I never come to a point in my life where I give a shit about tomorrow and being remembered because that would mean that today has officially become boring. Fuck tomorrow, it may never come, live for today man.

Except for the inexplicable UFO, Loch Ness Monster and ghost stuff.
Well, that would cut the content by half or more.

I would get my name inscribed on a titanium plaque and then have that placed on the Moon, provided that "The Moon is falling out of orbit and will hit the Earth," scenarios isn't what's slated to kill us.

As Alan Moore wrote it, in the dialogue, or rather monologue, of Ozymandias in Watchmen, Richard Nixon and the signatures of the Apollo 11 guys will be the longest lasting testament to individual humans in the event of complete global catastrophe. I want my name up there too.

I'd get a capsule made from titanium or some such metal. I put in it a copy of the Bible, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a Colt. 45 M1911A1, a picture of myself holding a sign that says 'Hey, Put That Back! That's Not Yours!' a few good cigars, and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Basically, what I'd want to find, if I cracked open a time capsule from an ancient civilization.

Then I'd vaccuum pack it(so it'd keep for as long as possible) seal it up, and bury it in one of the old burial chambers in the Pyramids. They kept the Pharaohs safe all those long centuries, it should work for me too.

How would you design some kind of time capsule capable of surviving for hundreds of millions of years and what would you put in it?

Hundreds of millions of years? Useless. Anyway the Earth will be roasted by the Sun in the next 45 hundreds of millions of years.

Anyway, I would assemble a fake skeleton with the bones of thirty different species, then put a golden crown and a scepter on it. Just to puzzle future archaeologists.

Hundreds of millions of years? Useless. Anyway the Earth will be roasted by the Sun in the next 45 hundreds of millions of years.

Anyway, I would assemble a fake skeleton with the bones of thirty different species, then put a golden crown and a scepter on it. Just to puzzle future archaeologists.

5 billion years is plenty of time..

5 billion years is plenty of time..

I should prolly point out that in 4.5 Billion years the greatest achievement of the Earth has been us (or rather me)

anyways I suggest we just leave them to the constant sexing and eating routine which would be no doubt ruined by our concepts of things like work or internets but if I must I suggest leaving some alchohol brewing underground and possibly Marmite

I should prolly point out that in 4.5 Billion years the greatest achievement of the Earth has been us (or rather me)

anyways I suggest we just leave them to the constant sexing and eating routine which would be no doubt ruined by our concepts of things like work or internets but if I must I suggest leaving some alchohol brewing underground and possibly Marmite

Yeah.. I sill maintain that the totality of human achievement has been nothing more than creating ever elaborate ways of obtaining sex and food..

Yeah.. I sill maintain that the totality of human achievement has been nothing more than creating ever elaborate ways of obtaining sex and food..

then explain to me accounting and D&D :p

then explain to me accounting and D&D :p

I wouldn't consider them achievements..

I'd put a cryogenically frozen Peter Andre and Katie Price in there to melt when the door is opened so they'll annoy to death the alien race that is unfortunate enough to find them.

I'd put a cryogenically frozen Peter Andre and Katie Price in there to melt when the door is opened so they'll annoy to death the alien race that is unfortunate enough to find them.

You.

Sicken.

Me.

I'd get a capsule made from titanium or some such metal. I put in it a copy of the Bible, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a Colt. 45 M1911A1, a picture of myself holding a sign that says 'Hey, Put That Back! That's Not Yours!' a few good cigars, and a bottle of Jack Daniels. Basically, what I'd want to find, if I cracked open a time capsule from an ancient civilization.

Then I'd vaccuum pack it(so it'd keep for as long as possible) seal it up, and bury it in one of the old burial chambers in the Pyramids. They kept the Pharaohs safe all those long centuries, it should work for me too.

Or they would have, if not for all the thieves that broke in and busted the mummies up mere hours after the funeral parties left.

I'm telling you people, though, if you want something to last thousands of years, either make it a high-rag-content, acid-free paper in an airtight storage unit, or else make it gold.

I'm telling you people, though, if you want something to last thousands of years, either make it a high-rag-content, acid-free paper in an airtight storage unit, or else make it gold.

you could just preserve whatever you want in a can of bitter! not even time will touch that stuff:)