The Hercules Text is a 1986 science fiction novel by Jack McDevitt. It tells the story of a message of intelligent extraterrestrial origin received by SETI-scientists. The Hercules Text was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1986.
The story emphasizes the various characters' reactions to the event, according to their specific scientific background. For example a priest's speculations on the implications for religion, a psychologist's theor...
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The Hercules Text is a 1986 science fiction novel by Jack McDevitt. It tells the story of a message of intelligent extraterrestrial origin received by SETI-scientists. The Hercules Text was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1986.
The story emphasizes the various characters' reactions to the event, according to their specific scientific background. For example a priest's speculations on the implications for religion, a psychologist's theorizing about the aliens' psyches, the scientists' consideration of the implications of the new knowledge for their own specialties and the president's concern for the implications for national defense.
The novel is set in an ongoing Cold War scenario. Unlike other First Contact stories, there is no dialogue between the senders of the message and mankind, as the received radio-signals have travelled through space for several thousand years.
The message is received with a large Radio Telescope, the fictional Hercules Array, which was built on the...
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