FIRST CONTACT

Six grannies and a great-granny setting sail in an overloaded rowboat, water just below the gunwales, all in dark dresses and the nearly full moon pearlescent between clouds. A slim man rowing, one of their grandsons, ferrying them to the centre of the lake where a spacecraft hovers low. Violet, crimson, a delicate blue, earth’s sky at sunset. They are there to represent us all before this delegation from space, these grannies and a great-granny, none of them swimmers, crossing the water and speaking low. 

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My friend Gregory Betts' essay Listening to Space about the really fascinating project A Sign in Space and creating a message in response to the one send from a satellite going past Mars. I was delighted be able to participate with our band TZT in recording an audio response.