Oolon Colluphid

I hope Petri returns. I'm quite looking forward to the practice of pulling the chapter 3 apart. For now, I'll just mention this one:
Archaeopteryx may be 'lizard bird' to those with no knowledge whatsoever about it, but I'll let Petri in on a secret. It means 'ancient wing'.

Nor is it an intermediate between birds and lizards. If you don't know what it is intermediate between, Petri, I suggest looking it up. Erm, looking it up somewhere other than what is apparently the only website you know of, that is.

Malintent

Well, it would

1) debunk a thousand creation myths with this new physical evidence (those that indicate that Earth is the only oasis of life).

2) provide us with more than "we're here" - we would acquire some intelligence about them, given the nature of the signal and what patterns were contained therein.

3) force all but the most ignorant (like those that believe we never have been to the moon) to widen their scope... alot. That is, to think more 'universal', than 'global'.

4) go back to 1950's fear of aliens and all the great 'B' movies that come of the era - something the planet can fear in harmony - rather than the existing, opposing god fears.

-- I had a dream last night that I was talking to G.W. Bush (long story), and he told me that he had his private office designed after the top bud on his favorite pot plant in college....

5) I would have something more interesting to dream about.