Chapter 3 Networked
Communications
Most of the work the main character, Dr. Eleonor (Ellie) Arroway, does is based around communications of some sort. She spent her younger years fiddling with long range radio systems, talking to truckers around the country, and this carried through into her research in later years. Ellie’s research in the starting half of the movie revolves around ‘surveillance’ of the stars, listening for any interesting radio signals that may be the signs of intelligent life somewhere else in the galaxy. She does most of this work ‘by hand’, listening for any signals that may be the result of something other than natural occurrence.
With small altercations to a radio signal, she can identify if it is something natural, like the frequency emitted by a pulsar, or if it is something unnatural and potentially sent via some other life in the universe. While working at the Very Large Array, Ellie is listening through headphones as she sweeps the arrays, hearing a very distinct and unnatural sound which matches what their research would assume to be a ‘candidate’ signal. She directs her team to begin analyzing the frequency, to glean whatever data they can from it. While analyzing the signal, Ellie states that the frequency is 4.4623Ghz, or “hydrogen times Pi”: Hydrogen in this case refers to the frequency of the Hydrogen Line, which is approximately 1.42Ghz.
In the 1959 "Searching for Interstellar Communications" proposal, it was theorized that an artificial signal from another civilization would have a frequency of either 4.462Ghz, or 8.924Ghz, equivalent to the hydrogen line frequency times Pi, and 2Pi respectively. The reasoning behind this is that, since Pi is an irrational number, the frequency would need to have been artificial in nature, which is what makes the signal in Contact a ‘candidate’ signal. The signal then cuts out momentarily, returning in pulses of 2, 3, and 5, continuing to transmit sequences of prime numbers in the base 10 numeric system. After further evaluation, the research team is able to decode a video transmission within the signal, as well as thousands of pages of data.
Other, more modern methods of communication appear in the film as well, including video calls between the main character, and an eccentric genius S. R. Hadden, and video communications between government members in other sections of the movie. While there are no direct attempts at censorship explicitly through networked communication, when the government takes over the project, much of the findings are not released to the public until they are further analyzed by the government.
Important to the ending of the movie, the vessel that Ellie supposedly travels through space with, of alien design, has her equipped with video recording and transmitting equipment, which promptly cuts out as the machine turns on. Ellie states that she was traveling through space for 18 hours, in contrast with what observers on earth saw, which occurred instantaneously. While the video transmission received was only static, the video recording on her person recorded approximately 18 hours of footage.
There are very few relations to the internet or other networked communications in the film, as most of the ‘news’ is broken to the public via television, after the government has deemed it acceptable to be released.
Chapter 4 Intellectual Property
Contact, being a sci-fi film, contains an enormous amount of technology and inventions that would likely be protected by intellectual property rights. Chapter 4 of the book breaks down the three primary categories of Intellectual Property: Patents, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets. In the movie, there are a number of programs and technologies being used that exist in the real world. The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute is a federal program that uses high-tech radio equipment and programs to search for extraterrestrial signals that may indicate the presence of other life forms in the universe. The Very Large Array depicted in the movie is one such technology that exists in the real world and is owned by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). It consists of 27 large dish radio telescopes that are used by thousands of scientists worldwide. This array of telescopes has led to many discoveries about our universe. While patents on radio telescopes have long since expired, NRAO relies on numerous patents for the software and specific technology that drives these telescopes.
In the movie, Dr. Elanor Arroway discovers plans for a spacecraft capable of interstellar travel via the use of wormholes. As this technology was not originally created by a human, it’s doubtful that it would be protected by IP rights – but this is purely speculation as regulation for extraterrestrial designs hasn’t been addressed officially. However, as part of Dr. Arroway’s visit with the extraterrestrial life forms, she learns that there are hidden meanings within transcendental numbers. Upon returning to earth, she creates a program to generate long sequences of the number pi, and discovers an undiscovered pattern when represented in base 11 form. This program, and any resulting inventions or discoveries from the use of it would be protected under IP law – as she is the original inventor of the technology.
When looking at the other two categories of IP ownership and Trademarks and Trade Secrets, there are far fewer examples within the film. In Contact, Hadden bought the rights to the Japanese manufacturing process of the interstellar vehicle. This is an example of IP ownership - where a private entity has the rights to a specific technology or manufacturing process. In addition to this purchase, multiple countries helped to develop the first version of the interstellar vehicle in order to gain access to the new technology. It’s unclear how IP ownership would work in this case, but as each country has access to the technology - they’re free to develop what they want with it.
Chapter 5 Information Privacy
Chapter 5 is on privacy and information privacy online. The main scene that comes to mind on this topic is when the main character Ellie meets for the first time with S. R. Hadden. Hadden is an older man who clearly has too much time and money. When Ellie goes to meet him, he greets her with a slideshow of all the private information that he has collected on her. This information consists of both personal and professional milestones in Ellies life from her mother’s and father’s deaths, to her schooling and work history. Ellie is noticeably disturbed by the fact that a stranger knew all this personal information about her.
Today, any of us would be disturbed by this presentation of our life history by a stranger. In chapter 5 of the book, Quinn creates an example of what someone’s ladder of privacy might look like, going from sharing the most information with a spouse to the least with potential rivals/enemies. Despite the ladder ending with potential rivals/enemies, the ladder does not include any allusion to someone who is a stranger. This is because most people would not choose to share any information with a complete stranger.
I think that Ellie is likely much more surprised than someone would be today because the movie takes place in the late 1990’s, when the internet had a much smaller presence and social media was almost non-existent [1]. Today, through diligent searching, a lot of information can be found on anyone who is not extremely careful about their internet presence. Information would have been much harder to collect, especially about one’s personal life when this movie took place.
After this unethical presentation from Hadden, Ellie brings the conversation back to what the meeting was supposed to be about: Hadden contacting her with classified information about her current project. Ellie accuses Hadden of compromising security codes, to which Hadden responds “Once upon a time, I was a hell of an engineer.” This line demonstrates Hadden’s pride at being able to uncover private information, and how little he cares about other’s personal privacy. This scene is the first time that it is shown that Hadden is likely not an ethical person, which is reinforced throughout the movie.
2013L. U. N. 25 Published: May 8, “The Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now,” Small Business Trends, 25-Nov-2019. [Online]. Available: https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/the-complete-history-of-social-media-infographic.html. [Accessed: 17-Nov-2020].
Chapter 6 Privacy and the
Government
Government, both the United States and foreign, plays an enormous role in the film. It’s job is to lead the scientists and public during the event, appropriate manpower and funds to the project, and make critical decisions during the construction of the transportation device. One of these decisions is selecting a pilot for the mission. A panel of representatives from around the world are tasked with selecting a scientist to man the transportation device and travel to meet the Vegans. The panel considered many factors, such as knowledge on the topics, past experience with SETI, and their personal drive and character. This decision was obviously a monumental one, since the selection would be a representation for all of humanity. The main character, Ellie, felt she deserved to go on the mission. After all, she dedicated her life to finding the signal and she was the first to detect it.
The governmental selection board was scrutinous, but it did not (explicitly) violate the privacy of the candidates. However, Ellie was posed a question under oath in one of her hearings that destroyed her chances of being selected. She was asked if she believed in God. This question was important to the members of the board because a large majority of people on Earth believe in some form of God. Ellie, being a skeptic, would not represent this aspect of humanity, a part that is so relevant when discussing the detection of a more advanced species. Ellie answered truthfully and lost her bid for the historic role. Because she volunteered this information, the government board did not overstep its bounds in revealing this information. However, it is important to ask if one’s belief should have been a relevant question to ask, and if the government should have had the right to ask Ellie. If her beliefs are private, which they are, she should have had the right to keep them private. However, under the pressure of the interview, and the stakes of answering, she was forced to reveal that she did not believe in God.
Throughout the movie, the government plays a critical role. It’s reach into private citizens personal privacy is not stated, however. The mission is to travel to another star system, and that goal is achieved without the need to breach such privacy. Only the public figures vying for the primary role in the mission are exposed. This film accurately portrays what an actual selection process might look like for such a mission. One where the personal traits of the selectees is extremely important to the mission. Therefore it is fair for Ellie to have to convey her belief and reveal other personal information to help the board make the best decision for the mission.
Chapter 7 Computer and Network
Security
Most of the scenes in Contact do not relate much to computer and network security, though there are a few scenarios in the movie that, while it isn’t directly shown, some sort of connection is possible.
While trying to decode the information sent over by the unknown species, Ellie, while working late, gets a message from an unknown person on the computer. They then send an image of some of the writing that Ellie’s team is currently trying to decipher, showing that this person (later revealed to be S.R Hadden) was able to get access to internal documents, and was able to somehow access the presumably closed network that the scientists use to share their information.
After the building of the alien device in the United States, it is shown that during some testing of the device, a recognizable religious extremist disguised in uniform has somehow made their way into the facility, who then later sets off an explosive. It is again unclear how exactly this person got there, but it is safe to assume that there was some form of computerized system as part of the security measures for the facility. These security measures, like electronic locks outside commercial buildings for example, usually have easily accessible internal hardware (as they often use the same key as every other model or brand of that electronic system) and have some way of bypassing the system entirely. It is very possible that one of these was used at the facility and was part of the vulnerability that allowed this person access. Phishing could have also been a technique used to possibly give this person access, as public internet was available at this time and the team at this facility would have probably used some form of accessible communications given that it did not seem to be entirely government. Even security measures like ID cards could potentially be spoofed, depending on how exactly the cards and readers work.
In the movie, after the original machine had been destroyed by the extremist, Arroway returns home to find a satellite uplink in her apartment. The uplink connects her to the MIR Space Station, where the billionaire Hadden now resides. In this call, Hadden reveals to Arroway that his company had secretly been building a second machine on a remote island in Japan. The importance of network security for a call like this cannot be understated. Knowing that extremists are targeting these machines emphasises the need for discretion and information privacy so as not to alert the general public that a second machine exists. Due to the nature of satellite communications, the transmission travels through open air – meaning that anyone can intercept it and try to decode it (if the communication is even encrypted). Furthermore, if an attacker gains access to the transmission, they can use the connection to gain entry into systems on either side.
Chapter 8 Computer Reliability
Computer reliability is not relavent to Contact because any computer errors in the movie were impossible to forsee or correct afterwards. The only major computational "failure" was the video device failing to record Ellie's "trip" using the transport device. However, as the trip took no time on earth, I think that the fact that it recorded static for the whole trip is more than it would have been expected to do. The fact that the transport device worked on the first try is unrealistically reliable as they had no real way to test the machine due to not knowing its true nature. A machine created by multiple different countries utilizing that much technology and assembled seems highly unlikely to function correctly first try. This can be shown by 8.4.4 in the textbook, the mission to mars that failed because of different teams working on the project with different units (standard vs. metric). It seems highly unlikely that a project with this many teams from all arount the world could come together smoothly.
Chapter 10 Work and Wealth
Contact has various themes that relate to both wealth and globalism. One of the film’s main driving forces is S.R. Hadden, a former engineer turned billionaire. He is now a mad man, looking to fund scientific endeavors like Ellie’s SETI. The director, Robert Zemmicks, once compared Hadden to Bill Gates, a real-life tech billionaire that made his fortune on topics covered in the chapter, benefiting from globalization, automation, and technological advances in the workplace. Although Hadden’s past is mostly obscured, it can be inferred that his riches likely came the same way. Both Gates and Hadden exist in a “Winner-take-all” society. Hadden’s power comes from the wealth he generated, but in comparing him to Gates, it is understood that this wealth was generated thanks to advances in technology and that he made more than he earned. Regardless, Hadden can fund research to discover the signal, to decode it, then to build a second transportation machine as insurance. In these actions, he gives back much of his wealth to humans, which uses these discoveries and funding to contact an alien race.
Initial construction of the transport machine was undertaken by a consortium of world governments and companies. In the movie it is described as “the most complex and expensive project ever undertaken by mankind.” The total cost of the project exceeded $1 trillion. The concept of globalism applies to this project. First scientific communities across the world shared information on the signal. A global effort to deconstruct the message took place. Once the plans for the machine were deciphered, governments gathered to distribute contracts internationally and build the machine. The countries that participated were able to submit candidates for the mission as well, and the selection panel was made up of scientists and politicians from across the world. The filmmaker wanted to show humanity needed to come together to complete the project, and that the issue was bigger than any one nation. This unity, one born of necessity, is different from the chapter’s arguments for globalism. This sentiment is also reflected in the novel by Carl Sagan.
The United States did lead the project, and arguments arose over who owned and protected the data pertaining to the message. The first machine was built at Cape Canaveral, and the US Government felt entitled to the research operation since it was Government telescopes that discovered the message. A country like the United States would be best equipped to lead a project, but it would be unable to complete it alone. It is also essential to the plot later, since a backup machine needed to be constructed in secret by the Japanese. Success of the project rested on the international scope of the teams constructing it.
A theme greater than globalism is found in the movie, globalism on a galactic scale. When Ellie first receives the message, she hypothesizes that it could be an “Encyclopedia Galactica.” Some information sharing network between civilizations of different worlds. When Ellie travels to the Vagans, she discovers that this is part of their mission, to send plans for such a transportation machine to developing civilizations like Earth, and to invite them to a galactic network of other civilizations. This idea of globalism in the stars would become instantly important to consider when contact is ever made in the real world. The implications of Earth joining such a network are not explored in the movie, but a sequel could show Earth benefiting from the same advantages a third world country gains in a globalist society. Humans would gain access to new technologies and participate in the galactic economy. This last point is the least attached to our reality, but the filmmakers wanted to pose such a question: what comes after Contact?