Not Invented Here

The Face was once described as the Mac (Think Different) version of Stanley Kubrick's MS-DOS buried monolith. One had to be dug up once it was found, while the other just patiently stared out waiting to be seen and recognized.

The man most responsible for bringing the "Face" to light didn't buy it.

You could see the gears meshing in his head as he at once appreciated the reality of the concept, while at the same time deciding not to officially acknowledge a metaphor better than his own.

Therein lies the problem...

Like a Ring of Power forged in some TOP SECRET Mordor, the lure of being the "authority" on the very truths you seek to uncover, dooms the search itself to evolve into a never-ending enterprise that must be supported and ultimately leaves all who started with hope - exhausted, confused and despondent - whether they realize it or not.

Hope, however, does spring eternal and Truth has a way of being recognized in an instant, even when conspiracy itself becomes a business.

Luckily, Artists function under a different set of rules and covenants than Scientists and Politicians, and sometimes Art can reach escape velocity; launching its payload into an orbit high enough for all to see.

In 1968; long before Viking discovered what could only be a mile wide human face staring out from the plains of Cydonia, 2001: A Space Odyssey, had already introduced Humanity to all the concepts that would be puzzled and argued over for the next forty years - proving that there was a moment when the "strength of Men" did NOT fail.

Hidden within the film that changed the lives of everyone who saw it more than twice, were the basic tenents of what has become a yearly cycle of lectures, conferences, books and interviews continually explaining what only needs to be understood once... the Extra-Terrestrial origin of Consciousness, and the efforts of the few to control the many.

Dr. Heywood R. Floyd's "pep talk" during his briefing of the scientists at Clavius Base; with it's acknowledgment of the need for "adequate preparation and conditioning" before the discovery of intelligent life off the Earth is released to the public pretty much covers Brookings in a few sentences. When the nervous and relieved laughter dies down though, the message turns deadly serious: "However, I accept the need for ABSOLUTE SECRECY in this ..."

Not clear until the sequel, the true lesson of Space Odyssey is the disastrous result of such secrecy; not only for those whose lives depend on knowing the Truth, but those tasked with lying to keep the secret at all costs.

Here; four years beyond 2001, have things changed at all?

The first NASA Astronaut to reach The Face or the ruins of Cydonia, will probably empty their urine bag on proof of an older, perhaps wiser Civilization as the rest of the crew set up cameras pointed at the wrong angle to "prove" that there was nothing there all along.

iParty Presidential Candidate / February 10, 2007