A visiting friend was sitting in our living room the other night powering up her laptop so she could copy a disc of Sierra’s photos. She turned to me and asked, “Oh, do you have wireless in the house?” No, I answered, looking expectantly for the explanation. She said, “My computer is picking up two wireless connections. Well, four actually, but two are encrypted.”

Lots of people have had similar experiences, just nobody seated in my living room, before now. I’m not about to make myself a tinfoil hat, though. Instead, I’m reminded of John W. Campbell’s speculation that some alien race could be transmitting channels of intergalactic entertainment all through our part of the galaxy without our knowing because we hadn’t discovered the technology to receive the signal.