[Comlab] Pioneer Plaque Assignment

The pioneer plaque is designed to illustrate pens, which has been an essential writing tool throughout human history. We designed the image in the shape of radiation, considering the way that the hetapods are described in Chiang’s Stories of Your Life. Instead of giving a clear and linear history or disassembly of pens, we tried to mix different parts of the pen, the way we use pens and different aspects of a pen together to show a possible plaque that the hetapods might understand. On the top of the circle, there’s the converter of a pen, which provides the ink and support continuous writing. The second graph on the clockwise side, there is a hand holding a pen, signifying the way human beings use a pen. Since the hetapods or other aliens might does not have a similar “hand” organ as human being, the illustration of a hand can be also be considered as the way human hold the pen. In this sense, the concept of “hand” can be interpreted further as a more abstract concept of utilizing. The third one is the feed part of a fountain pen, which is the part that allows ink to flow when the pen is being put to paper but ensures ink does not flow when the pen is not in use. Next, is the side graph of the nib, mainly to show the curve and the thickness of a nib. Following, is a close-up of a nib, giving a more detailed graph to show the aliens how the writing part of pen looks like. The last is the cap of a pen. Since it relatively participates less in the process of writing and works mainly as the protector of the nib, we made it a bit farther to the middle of the whole image.