"Transmission"

This is a model of a proposed installation for the Headlands Center for the Arts, titled "Transmission". It is a self-contained radio transmitter, roughly the size of a large refrigerator. It broadcasts an endlessly repeating recorded vocal message out into space. The message consists of a greeting and ten statements about the earth and its inhabitants, intended for any intelligent life forms that might intercept it. The message is spoken in Esperanto-a language invented over a century ago with the ideal of fostering peaceful communication between all peoples. The statements include such as "on earth, we receive all of our energy from our sun" and "all humans have equal rights". While the statements are presently untrue, they reflect the curious dichotomy between the ideal world that humans profess they desire, and the world for which they settle. Between when "Transmission" begins its broadcast and when it reaches our nearest neighboring systems, will the statements become true?