Interview with Professor Hans Nylander…
Steve: Maybe we should start with your saying something about yourself.
Nylander: I’m a South African astrophysicist. I do research and teach at a Johannesburg university and belong to the staff of South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), acting as a theoretical consultant. The SAAO facility features the South African Large Telescope (SALT), a cooperative venture financed by South Africa, Germany, Poland, New Zealand, the U.S., and the United Kingdom. It’s the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere.
Steve: How does that relate to this Mensa Contagion?
Nylander: I was the first scientist to visit the landing site. The artifact was clearly a dispersal vehicle. And the virus it contained was dispersed. I’m no contagious disease expert, but I knew whatever was in that pod didn’t originate on Earth.
Steve: Is it true that you named the virus, though?
Nylander: That has more to do with my scientific background. My adopted son, Oscar, who’s also my grad student, discovered it came from the direction of Mensa, a constellation that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. Seemed like a good name.
Steve: So the name has nothing to do with that club for geniuses?
Nylander: It has more to do with South African mythology. A scientist named the constellation by Latinizing the name for our mountain Tafelberg. If the virus makes people smarter, I guess there would be a double meaning. I suppose that club for geniuses might object if people think a contagion is named after them. But I wasn’t responsible for the popularization of the name; the media was.
Steve: Let’s return to this delivery vehicle. Could it be some secret project of one of our enemies?
Nylander: You mean some country here on Earth? No way. The virus is affecting everyone. No, some ET civilization made it—probably a lot of them—and peppered their near space with the pods.
Steve: For what reason?
Nylander: Your guess is good as mine. I first thought it was an attack because some people died. But the virus mutates so fast that the killer versions are disappearing. Some people think that its purpose is to make Earth more habitable for the ETs when they arrive, what sci-fi writers call “terraforming”—only in this case, maybe we should call it “terra-refurbishing.”
Steve: What do you think?
Nylander: I’m in the latter camp. But it seems like a lot of trouble to go to. Some think the virus is a gift from the ETs, though.
Steve: Why would they say that?
Nylander: We’re still deciphering the glyphs inside the capsule, but it’s reminiscent of what we put on our probes—a short history of the ETs’ civilization, I’m told. You can apply my same argument, I guess. Why bother if the ETs’ mission wasn’t to change everything here as a precursor to an invasion? People who believe the ETs’ intentions were good consider me paranoid.
Steve: What have we learned so far from the messages in the capsule?
Nylander: Oscar thinks they’ve described some dark matter particles, for one thing, which we’re still looking for. They clearly knew about the Higgs. The ETs also offer a list of all DNA possibilities.
Steve: You mean possible versions of life?
Nylander: At least about the different possibilities for genetic codings. They’re clearly more advanced than we are. The information in the capsule touches most sciences. Well, not social sciences.
Steve: Do we know anything about them? Their social structures? How they sent the capsules?
Nylander: The why’s probably more important than the how. We’re working on the other two questions, trying to keep it open and international. That’s complicated by the contagion, of course. We pass on anything pertinent to the CDC and similar organizations. Of course, you have all kinds of nuts screaming, “Government conspiracy!” or “The ETs are invading!” And they scream loudly. I’m in the second camp, although my version is “The ETs will be invading.”
Steve: How do you think this will all shake out?
Nylander: Again, your guess is as good as mine. The situation is fluid and volatile. It isn’t easy to keep up.
Steve: Thank you, Professor, for being so candid.
Nylander: That’s me for sure, although people sometimes use stronger language.
[Quip #3: “Why do I have to report on an orgy in Lafayette Park?” said TV reporter Karl Johns.]
In elibris libertas….
