To the Editor,
The reddish glow emanating from Mars has excited our imaginations ever since man first gazed thoughtfully up at the night sky. The people at NASA have performed another mind-boggling task: landing a complex package of scientific instruments on a distant planet.
Just imagine if some benevolently intelligent extraterrestrial witnessed Curiosity, the aptly named mobile laboratory, landing on Mars. What lofty expectations the extraterrestrial would have for the life forms that accomplished such an intellectually challenging feat.
Now imagine that extraterrestrial deciding to visit our planet and by sheer happenstance selecting for its destination the latitude and longitude of Aleppo, Syria. Oh my God, wouldn’t that naïve extraterrestrial be in for the galactic disappointment of its existence!
Lloyd Atkins,
Vernon