IT'S SCI-FI'S MOST INSPIRING VISION --
THE COLONIZATION OF THE GALAXY --
AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU HOW IT COULD COME TRUE.
Dr. Kaku: ALONG THE WAY, I MEET A MAN WHO WANTS TO DIGITIZE ME
AND BEAM ME TO THE STARS...
SO YOU COULD PUT ME ON A DISK?
...I GET SOME ADVICE FROM THE SCI-FI-LOVING PUBLIC...
IF I DON'T WANT TO BE AN OLD MAN BY THE TIME I GET THERE,
I GOT TO SUSPEND MY ANIMATION.
...AND I USE THE POWER OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM'S BIGGEST PLANET
TO HELP ME EXPLORE THE FURTHEST REACHES OF SPACE.
I'M DR. MICHIO KAKU.
I'M A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST AND A SCIENCE-FICTION FAN.
JOIN ME AS I SHOW YOU HOW TO MAKE SCI-FI SCIENCE.
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
Dr. Kaku: IMAGINE IF THE EARTH WASN'T OUR ONLY HOME.
IMAGINE IF WE COULD POPULATE THE ENTIRE MILKY WAY GALAXY
WITH A VAST NETWORK OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS.
NOW, OF COURSE, ALL OF THIS IS JUST A DREAM,
BUT I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS DREAM COULD BECOME A REALITY,
AND I'M GONNA FIND OUT HOW.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HOOKED ON THE IDEA OF COLONIZING SPACE.
Narrator: YOU'LL LIVE A STRANGE, TOPSY-TURVY LIFE
OF MEN WHO LIVE AS NO OTHER MEN HAVE LIVED BEFORE.
[ RUMBLING ]
Dr. Kaku: IN THOSE OLD SCI-FI MOVIES,
ASTRONAUTS RISKED THEIR LIVES TO SPREAD LIVE TO OTHER WORLDS.
BUT COMING UP WITH A MASTER PLAN TO COLONIZE OUR GALAXY
IS A MIND-BOGGLING CHALLENGE.
OKAY, HERE'S THE PROBLEM. WE WANT TO COLONIZE THE GALAXY.
HOW ARE WE GONNA DO IT? WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS WE FACE?
ANY THOUGHTS?
UNLESS IF YOU COULD FABRICATE SOME KIND OF WORMHOLE
CONNECTING ONE POINT IN THE GALAXY TO ANOTHER...
JUST TELEPORT.
ZORDON TELEPORTS US WHEREVER WE GOT TO GO.
SLINGING AROUND PLANETS LIKE THEY DO FOR THE MOON ON THE MOON MISSIONS.
WOULD YOU GUYS BE WILLING TO SIGN UP
FOR A MULTI-GENERATIONAL TRIP TO THE NEARBY STARS?
I CAN'T SEE THAT OUT OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY AT ALL.
LIKE THE SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON.
[ LAUGHS ]
LIKE THE SCI-FI FANS, I'M GONNA THINK BIG.
I'M GONNA BUILD
A GIANT, GALACTIC REPUBLIC OF HUMAN COLONIES
THAT GOES WAY BEYOND EVEN THE FEDERATION IN "STAR TREK."
MY PLAN HAS TO MEET THREE BASIC OBJECTIVES.
FIRST, SCOUT THE ENTIRE GALAXY
AND FIND SUITABLE PLANETS FOR HUMAN COLONIZATION.
AND, SECOND, BUILD SELF-SUFFICIENT SETTLEMENTS
COMPLETE WITH RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND, THIRD,
SAFELY TRANSPORT HUMAN COLONISTS TO POPULATE THEM.
OKAY, SO THIS IS WHAT I'M TAKING ON --
THE MILKY WAY GALAXY --
A GIANT SPIRAL OF STAR SYSTEMS AND GASES
100,000 LIGHT-YEARS ACROSS...
OUR PLANET -- ONE TINY SPECK TOWARDS THE OUTER EDGE.
THE IDEA OF COLONIZING THE ENTIRE GALAXY
GOES WAY BEYOND ANY CHALLENGE EVER UNDERTAKEN.
IT'S A REAL TALL ORDER.
THE MILKY WAY GALAXY CONTAINS A MIND-BOGGLING NUMBER OF STARS --
ANYTHING UP TO 400 BILLION.
NOW, THAT'S FOUR TIMES
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVER LIVED.
SCI-FI HAS ALWAYS ASSUMED
THAT WE'LL EXPLORE THE GALAXY IN MANNED SPACECRAFT.
BUT WITH AS MANY AS 400 BILLION STAR SYSTEMS TO VISIT, NO WAY.
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.
DR. PEI ZHANG OF THE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
IS THE BRAINS BEHIND A NEW GENERATION OF ROBOTIC DRONES,
OR SWARMBOTS.
THEY'RE JUST LIKE TOY HELICOPTERS
IN THE SENSE THAT THEY'RE CHEAP.
THE DIFFERENCE IS, THESE THINGS ARE SOMEWHAT SMART
AND THEY HAVE SENSORS.
WHAT KIND OF SENSORS ON THESE THINGS?
YOU CAN PUT ANY SENSORS YOU WANT.
SO YOU CAN SENSE TEMPERATURE, YOU CAN SENSE LIGHT.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY TAKE PICTURES.
AND THEY CAN DO MORE THAN THAT.
THEY SHARE INFORMATION USING ONBOARD RADIOS.
THE RADIOS WILL SAY, "HERE'S A WALL.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE."
AND TO SENSE A WALL, IT JUST HIT THE HALL.
AH. SO THEN ONE OF THEM LEARNS
AND THEN TELLS THE OTHERS, "WATCH OUT."
EXACTLY. IT'S LIKE AN ANT.
THEY LEAVE A PHEROMONE TRAIL, AND THE REST CAN FOLLOW.
CAN YOU IMAGINE MILLIONS OF THESE THINGS
INTO OUTER SPACE?
WELL, CERTAINLY.
SPACE IS A VERY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT.
A FEW OF THESE THINGS CAN GET DESTROYED,
BUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS STILL WORKING.
SO INSTEAD OF SENDING CAPTAIN KIRK INTO OUTER SPACE,
WHICH IS WASTEFUL,
WE JUST SEND MILLIONS OF THESE THINGS
THAT ARE VERY CHEAP, EXPENDABLE, AND INTELLIGENT.
CAPTAIN KIRK MIGHT NOT BE TOO HAPPY, BUT SURE.
[ LAUGHTER ]
THESE SWARMBOTS ARE AMAZING.
ALREADY THERE ARE PLANS TO USE THEM UNDERWATER,
ON THE BATTLEFIELD, IN FIRES, EVEN HURRICANES.
IN THE FUTURE, IT'S GONNA BE OUTER SPACE...
BECAUSE MY PLAN
IS TO USE SWARMBOTS TO SEARCH FOR HABITABLE PLANETS.
BUT HOLD ON.
HOW AM I GONNA MAKE ENOUGH OF THEM
TO EXPLORE 400 BILLION STAR SYSTEMS?
WELL, THAT PROBLEM HAS ALREADY BEEN SOLVED FOR ME
BY MOTHER NATURE.
THE VIRUS -- ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ORGANISMS
KNOWN TO MAN.
THE SECRET TO ITS SUCCESS -- SELF-REPLICATION.
VIRUSES HIJACK THE MACHINERY INSIDE LIVING CELLS
TO CRANK OUT COPIES OF THEMSELVES.
WHAT MAKES THE VIRUS SUCH A FORMIDABLE ORGANISM
IS THE SPEED AT WHICH IT MULTIPLIES.
ITS GROWTH IS EXPONENTIAL.
TO UNDERSTAND THAT, LET'S START WITH ONE BOWL.
AND THEN IN THE NEXT GENERATION, IT REPRODUCES ITSELF.
SO THEN WE HAVE TWO BOWLS.
AND THEN EACH BOWL, IN TURN, DOUBLES ITSELF.
SO THE NEXT GENERATION, WE HAVE FOUR BOWLS.
AND THE GENERATION AFTER THAT, EIGHT.
NOW, A REAL VIRUS CAN PRODUCE UP TO 100 OR SO COPIES OF ITSELF.
SO FROM 1 VIRUS, WE GET 100,
THEN 10,000, THEN 1 MILLION, 100 MILLION.
THEN WE GET GET 10 BILLION.
STARTING FROM 1 VIRUS, WE GET, IN 5 GENERATIONS,
10 BILLION VIRUSES.
THAT'S THE POWER OF EXPONENTIAL GROWTH.
IF MY SWARMBOTS COULD MIMIC
THE ABILITY OF VIRUSES TO SELF-REPLICATE,
EXPLORING THE ENTIRE GALAXY WOULD BE AN ACHIEVABLE GOAL.
WE MAY HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO THAT VERY SOON,
THANKS TO NANOTECHNOLOGY.
NOW TECHNOLOGY IS THE EMERGING DISCIPLINE
OF THE CREATION OF MACHINES THAT OPERATE AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO CREATE MICROSCOPIC, NANOSCOPIC ROBOTS
THAT ESSENTIALLY CAN TAKE
THE RAW MATERIALS THEY FIND AROUND THEM
AND RE-CREATE, REPLICATE THEMSELVES OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN,
SUCH THAT THEY HAVE OVER TIME A MASSIVE NUMBER OF THESE DEVICES
THAT CAN OPERATE IN PARALLEL.
WORKING TOGETHER, HUGE NUMBERS OF THESE TINY MACHINES
WOULD HAVE ALMOST LIMITLESS POWER
TO SHAPE THE WORLD AROUND THEM.
A SWARM OF NANOBOTS WOULD HAVE ENOUGH TOOLS
TO CREATE AN ENTIRE COLONY SUITABLE FOR HUMAN HABITATION.
THEY'LL BEGIN BY SEARCHING THE GALAXY.
MANY PLANETS WILL BE UNSUITABLE FOR HUMAN LIFE.
THE SWARMBOTS WILL MINE THEM
FOR THE MINERALS THEY NEED TO REPLICATE BEFORE MOVING ON.
WHEN THEY FIND HABITABLE PLANETS,
THEY'LL START BUILDING.
WELL, I SOLVED ONE PROBLEM --
USING SELF-REPLICATING SWARMBOTS TO EXPLORE THE GALAXY.
BUT NOW I HAVE AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM --
THE PROPULSION SYSTEM.
I MEAN, AFTER ALL,
THE MILKY WAY GALAXY IS 100,000 LIGHT-YEARS ACROSS.
TO EXPLORE THAT, I NEED NEW PHYSICS.
COMING UP NEXT,
I FIND OUT HOW THE MILKY WAY'S GIGANTIC NATURAL MAGNET
WILL HELP SLINGSHOT MY SWARMBOTS
TO INCREDIBLE SPEEDS...
"APPROACH THE SPEED OF LIGHT."
I MEAN, THAT'S HUGE, RIGHT?
...AND I MEET SOME WOULD-BE SPACE PIONEERS.
HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE THAT ONE DAY WE WILL BE AMONG THE STARS?
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
WE SCIENTISTS DON'T SPEND ALL OUR TIME
BURIED UNDER A BOOK, STUCK IN A LABORATORY.
SOMETIMES WE LIKE TO DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY WILD
TO GIVE US A FRESH, NEW PERSPECTIVE,
AND I LIKE TO SKATE.
I DESIGNED AN ARMY OF SELF-REPLICATING SWARMBOTS.
THEY'LL SEEK OUT HABITABLE PLANETS
AND MANUFACTURE ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE
OUR FUTURE COLONISTS WILL NEED.
BUT THERE'S A HUGE PROBLEM TO OVERCOME.
THE DISTANCES MY SWARMBOTS WILL HAVE TO COVER ARE IMMENSE.
LET'S SAY ONE CIRCUIT AROUND THIS ICE RINK
IS EQUIVALENT TO THE DISTANCE FROM THE EARTH TO THE SUN.
THAT'S 93 MILLION MILES.
IN COMPARISON, TO REACH THE NEAREST STAR, PROXIMA CENTAURI,
I'D HAVE TO TRAVEL AROUND THIS RINK
A QUARTER OF A MILLION TIMES.
AND IF I WANTED TO REACH THE OUTER EDGES OF OUR GALAXY,
I'D HAVE TO DO MORE THAN 6 BILLION CIRCUITS.
EVEN FOR HAN SOLO, IT'S A BIG TASK.
I NEED TO FIGURE OUT
HOW I'M GONNA COVER THESE HUGE DISTANCES.
THIS GUY'S GONNA SHOW ME.
MEET MASON PECK -- SPACECRAFT ENGINEER AND SCI-FI FAN.
Peck: WE'VE GOT PLAIN WATER HERE.
I'M GONNA ADD SOME BAKING SODA TO IT.
THAT DISSOLVES IN THE WATER
AND SEPARATES INTO CHARGED PARTICLES.
THEY'RE ATTRACTED TO THESE TWO ELECTRODES HERE --
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE.
NOW, THERE'S A CURRENT NOW FLOWING THROUGH THIS WATER.
IF I ADD A MAGNET,
THE MAGNET CAUSES THE PARTICLES TO MOVE IN A CIRCULAR PATH.
NOW, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO SEE, SO LET ME ADD SOME PEPPER.
MAYBE THAT'LL HELP ILLUSTRATE
JUST WHERE THESE PARTICLES ARE MOVING.
IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY,
YOU'LL START TO SEE THE SWIRLING MOTION.
THAT'S THE LRIGHT? FORCE,
EXACTLY RIGHT.
A CIRCLE IN A MAGNETIC FIELD.
THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
SO THE MAGNET IS WHAT MAKES THIS POSSIBLE.
NOW, HERE'S THE KILLER QUESTION.
HOW CAN YOU USE THIS AS A PROPULSION SYSTEM
TOINTO SPACE?GS
RIGHT.
YOU'D NEED A HUGE MAGNET,
AND FORTUNATELY WE HAVE ONE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,
AND THAT'S JUPITER'S MAGNETIC FIELD.
WHAT WE'D HAVE IN MIND WOULD BE TO MAKE A SPACECRAFT
SMALL ENOUGH THAT CAN ACT AS A CHARGED PARTICLE
IN THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF JUPITER.
ANY SMALL SPACECRAFT WITH AN ELECTRIC CHARGE
WILL STICK LIKE GLUE TO JUPITER'S MAGNETIC FIELD,
WHICH MEANS THAT I COULD ACCELERATE THEM
TO HIGH SPEED AS THEY ORBITED THE PLANET.
AT SOME POINT, YOU TURN OFF THE CHARGE.
WHEN YOU TURN OFF THE CHARGE, THEY GO ZINGING AWAY.
HOW FAST CAN YOU PROPEL A CHIP OR A PARTICLE THIS WAY?
WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW HOW TO DO NOW
IS MAYBE A FEW THOUSAND MILES PER SECOND,
AND THAT'S A NOTICEABLE FRACTION OF THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
A FEW HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW, I DON'T SEE A LIMIT.
THERE'S NO REASON WHY THIS COULDN'T APPROACH THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
"APPROACH THE SPEED OF LIGHT."
THAT'S HUGE, RIGHT?
IT'S A LOT OF SPEED.
JUPITER'S HUGE MAGNETIC FIELD
IS 20,000 TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THAT OF THE EARTH.
MASON'S IDEA TO USE IT AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR MY SWARMBOTS
MAY BE CENTURIES INTO THE FUTURE,
BUT IT'S A STROKE OF GENIUS.
IF I GIVE MY SWARMBOTS AN ELECTRIC CHARGE,
I CAN BIND THEM TO THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF JUPITER.
ONCE I'VE ACCELERATED THEM TO NEAR LIGHT SPEED,
I CAN SWITCH OFF THE CHARGE
TO SLINGSHOT THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS ACROSS THE GALAXY,
WHERE THEY'LL BUILD COLONIES ON HABITABLE PLANETS.
BUT AS SCI-FI FANS KNOW, POPULATING THEM WON'T BE EASY.
WHEN YOU GET ON THAT SHIP, YOU'VE JUST ACCEPTED THE FACT
THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA SEE THAT OTHER PLANET,
AND MAYBE YOUR KIDS WON'T, AND MAYBE YOUR KIDS' KIDS WON'T.
BUT SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE,
MAYBE ONE OF YOUR DESCENDANTS IS GONNA SEE THAT OTHER PLANET.
LET'S TRY NOT TO MOVE EVERYBODY IN
AND NOT REALIZE IT'S A COLONY OF BUGS
OR A COLONY OF KILLER CREATURES
THAT'S GONNA COME OUT AND MAUL YOU TO DEATH.
[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]
GALACTIC COLONIZATION SOUNDS LIKE SUCH A CRAZY IDEA.
NOW, I CAN SEE HOW WE MIGHT USE ROBOTS TO EXPLORE THE GALAXY
IN THE COMING CENTURIES.
BUT HOW DO WE TRANSPORT HUMANS TO COLONIZE IT?
THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER BALL GAME.
THE NEAREST POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANET
OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM IS 20 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.
EVEN IF WE COULD TRAVEL AT 1% OF LIGHT SPEED,
IT WOULD STILL TAKE 2,000 YEARS TO GET THERE.
BUT THAT'S 25 HUMAN LIFE SPANS.
THE CREW WOULD NEVER MAKE IT TO THE STARS ALIVE.
BUT MAYBE THEIR DESCENDANTS MIGHT.
IN FACT, MAYBE THAT'S THE TRICK --
A MULTI-GENERATIONAL STARSHIP.
IT'S A CONCEPT THAT RESEARCHERS ARE ALREADY WORKING ON.
THE SIZE OF THE STARTING CREW
DEPENDS ON HOW FAR YOU WANT TO GO,
HOW MANY GENERATIONS WILL BE REQUIRED.
AND, OF COURSE, THERE'S MORE IN THE STARTING NUMBER,
DEPENDING UPON HOW MANY GENERATIONS
ARE GOING TO BE IN SPACE.
TO REACH EVEN THE NEAREST DESTINATIONS IN OUR GALAXY
WOULD REQUIRE A CREW OF PERHAPS 160 PEOPLE.
WHAT WE HAVE IN MIND
IS A COMMUNITY VERY MUCH LIKE A COMMUNITY ON EARTH
IN WHICH GRANDPARENTS WILL HAVE AUTHORITY OVER YOUNGER PEOPLE.
WE'RE FORESEEING KIND OF A SPACE TRAVEL THAT WOULD BE FUN.
I LOVE THIS IDEA.
IT REMINDS ME OF A FAMILY BUSINESS
THAT'S PASSED DOWN FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.
Dr. Kaku: BUT, HEY, LET'S BE REAL.
MOST FAMILY BUSINESSES DON'T LAST
BEYOND THE THIRD OR FOURTH GENERATION.
BICKERING, JEALOUSY COMES INTO THE PICTURE.
PEOPLE LOSE THEIR FOCUS.
IT'S A SHAME,
BUT MULTI-GENERATIONAL SHIPS WON'T WORK.
TO POPULATE THE GALAXY, I'M GONNA NEED A SCI-FI SOLUTION
THAT'S EVEN MORE OUTLANDISH.
IN SCIENCE-FICTION MOVIES LIKE "ALIEN" AND "2001,"
THE HERO GETS FROZEN SOLID,
AND THEN THEY THAW HIM OUT YEARS LATER.
WELL, HANG ON.
THERE IS A PROBLEM, AND THAT IS ICE CRYSTALS.
LET'S SAY THAT THIS BAG
REPRESENTS ONE OF YOUR CELLS IN YOUR BODY.
AS YOU FREEZE IT, ICE CRYSTALS BEGIN TO FORM,
WHICH EVENTUALLY RUPTURE THE CELL WALL, KILLING YOU.
SO SUSPENDED ANIMATION COULD BE A DEATH WARRANT.
BUT I THINK THERE'S A WAY AROUND THIS.
TRADITIONALLY, WE MAKE ICE CREAM BY FIRST TAKING LOTS OF ICE
AND THEN ADDING A SECRET INGREDIENT -- SALT.
NOW, WE KNOW THAT WATER FREEZES AT 0 DEGREES CENTIGRADE.
BUT WHEN I ADD SALT,
IT CHANGES THE FREEZING POINT TO 16 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.
SO WE HAVE A LIQUID SOLUTION AT -16 DEGREES.
SO THEN WE ATTACH IT TO MILK.
THE MILK IS EXPOSED TO SUPER-SUPERCOLD LIQUID,
AND IT FREEZES, GIVING US ICE CREAM.
IN THE FUTURE, WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO LOWER
THE FREEZING POINT OF BLOOD -- NOT WITH SALT
BUT BY GENETICALLY MODIFYING OUR BODIES --
SO WE CAN FREEZE PEOPLE WITHOUT KILLING THEM.
SUSPENDED ANIMATION IS A GREAT CONCEPT,
BUT THERE ARE BIG RISKS.
SPACE RADIATION DESTROYS CELLS AND BREAKS DOWN DNA.
EXPOSURE OVER LONG PERIODS COULD BE LETHAL.
THE LAST THING I WANT IS FOR MY CREW TO DIE IN TRANSIT.
TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO...
I'M STILL WRESTLING WITH THIS PROBLEM --
HOW DO YOU SAFELY TRANSPORT COLONISTS ACROSS THE GALAXY?
YOU KNOW, MULTI-GENERATIONAL SHIPS,
SUSPENDED ANIMATION -- THEY'RE JUST TOO RISKY.
I NEED AN EVEN MORE RADICAL SOLUTION.
AND MY FRIEND MAX TEGMARK SAYS HE'S GOT ONE FOR ME.
SO, MAX, YOU'RE AN ASTROPHYSICIST.
WHY ARE YOU PLAYING WITH LEGO?
I WANT TO SEND A COPY OF YOU TO ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM.
AND HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT?
WELL, IF I WANT TO SEND AN APPLE PIE TO A FRIEND IN CHINA,
I'M NOT GONNA PUT IT IN A BOX AND MAIL IT THERE.
LIKEWISE, I DON'T WANT TO PUT YOU IN A SPACESHIP
AND HAVE YOU SIT THERE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
I'D NEVER MAKE IT.
IT MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE TO SEND THE BLUEPRINTS OF YOU.
AND THE RECIPE, YEAH?
YEAH.
AND THE RECIPE FOR BUILDING YOU
IS THIS DNA MOLECULE I'M PUTTING TOGETHER HERE.
RIGHT NOW, I'M WORKING ON THE BLOOD.
THE CODE OF LIFE.
THAT'S RIGHT.
AND ONCE I'M FINISHED WITH THIS --
IT TAKES UP LESS THAN 2 GIGABYTES.
SO YOU GONNA PUT ME ON A DISK?
I CAN PUT YOU RIGHT HERE ON MY U.S.B. DRIVE.
IT'LL FIT, AND THIS IS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO E-MAIL,
WITH SOME LASER TECHNOLOGY, TO A DISTANT SOLAR SYSTEM.
E-MAILING MY DNA BY LASER ACROSS THE GALAXY
TO A COLONY WHERE AN ARMY OF SWARMBOTS WILL USE IT
TO BUILD A PHYSICAL CLONE OF ME IN AN INCUBATOR?
IT'S AN OUTRAGEOUS IDEA.
I LOVE IT.
NINE MONTHS LATER, THERE'LL BE... [IMITATES BABY CRYING]
[Chuckling] A LITTLE BABY MICHIO THERE
WHO WILL BE EXACTLY IDENTICAL, WITH EXACTLY THE SAME BODY.
WHATAND PERSONALITY?ES
YEAH, THAT'S THE CATCH.
IT TAKES MUCH MORE THAN 2 GIGABYTES
TO STORE THE MEMORIES OF YOUR BRAIN,
AND THE BABY MICHIO WILL BE A BLANK SLATE.
SO THE EASIEST WAY TO REMEDY THIS
IS TO IMPLANT MEMORIES STRAIGHT INTO HIS BRAIN.
IF WE COULD E-MAIL MY MEMORIES AND PERSONALITY, TOO,
THEY COULD BE DOWNLOADED
INTO THE BRAIN CELLS OF MY GALACTIC CLONE.
SO, LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT.
YOU'RE GONNA TAKE MY GENETIC CODE,
E-MAIL IT TO A COLONY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GALAXY,
INCUBATE ME, HATCH ME,
AND THEN, LIKE THE MOVIE "MATRIX,"
YOU WOULD JACK IN ALL MY MEMORIES
AND THERE I AM -- ON ANOTHER STAR SYSTEM.
I'M NOT SAYING IT'S EASY OR EVEN POSSIBLE, NECESSARILY,
BUT THIS IS CLEARLY THE BEST SHOT WE HAVE OF DOING THIS.
THIS IS IT.
THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN I FINALLY FACE THE FANS.
WELL, FOR US, IT'S NOT COLONIZING A PLANET.
IT'S TAKING OVER A PLANET.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO TALK TO MICHIO.
LIKE, HE'S JUST SUCH AN INSPIRATION TO ME --
ALL HIS BOOKS AND TV SHOWS AND EVERYTHING.
Woman: EXTREMELY SMOOTH COMPLEXION.
Dr. Kaku: HOW MANY SCIENTISTS HAVE THEIR MAKEUP DONE?
SO, AM I BEAUTIFUL YET?
YOU KNOW, I TRULY BELIEVE THAT OUR DESTINY IS IN THE STARS,
BUT WHAT MAKES ME NERVOUS IS THIS --
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES CENTURIES IN THE FUTURE.
WE'RE STICKING OUR NECKS OUT ON THIS ONE.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
OKAY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
TODAY I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A PLAN TO COLONIZE THE GALAXY.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE THAT ONE DAY WE WILL BE AMONG THE STARS?
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
WELL, ME TOO. HOWEVER, THERE'S A PROBLEM.
THE MILKY WAY GALAXY HAS HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF STARS,
TRILLIONS OF PLANETS.
HAN SOLO WOULD BE AN OLD MAN
GOING FROM PLANET TO PLANET, STAR TO STAR.
THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY.
SO LET'S HAVE STEP 1 -- SWARMBOTS --
CHEAP, EXPENDABLE --
BY THE BILLIONS BEING SENT INTO OUTER SPACE.
AND STEP 2 -- WHAT IS THE ENERGY SOURCE OF THE PLANET JUPITER?
THE MAGNETIC FIELD IS HUGE AROUND JUPITER.
THEY WHIP AROUND JUPITER,
REACHING NEAR THE SPEED OF LIGHT,
AND THEN WE AIM THEM TO THE NEARBY STARS.
THE NEXT STEP -- THEY BEGIN TO SCOUT OUT THE DIFFERENT PLANETS.
MOST OF THEM ARE UNSUITABLE.
SO THEY MAKE COPIES OF THEMSELVES, LIKE A VIRUS --
FROM 1 SWARMBOT TO 2 TO 4 TO 8 TO 16 --
AND THEY TAKE OFF AGAIN, LOOKING FOR THE NEXT PLANET.
ONCE THEY FIND A SUITABLE PLANET,
THEY CREATE INCUBATORS TO CLONE HUMANS.
AND THE LAST STEP IS, FROM THE PLANET EARTH,
WE SHOOT OUT INSTRUCTIONS FOR OUR DNA
AND EVEN OUR PERSONALITY AND OUR MEMORIES.
THE SWARMBOTS RECEIVE THE SIGNAL
AND THEN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CLONING YOU,
AND, JUST LIKE "THE MATRIX," PUTTING IN YOUR MEMORY.
THIS IS HOW TO COLONIZE THE GALAXY.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
THE THOUGHT THAT MY GRANDKIDS
COULD POSSIBLY BE A PART OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT --
I THINK THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.
IT'S VERY SCIENTIFICALLY PLAUSIBLE,
BUT IT RAISES SO MANY ETHICAL QUESTIONS.
WHAT, WITH ALL THEM SLINGSHOTTIN' 'ROUND JUPITER
AND STUFF, DR. MICHIO KAKU, I THINK YOU GOT THAT ROCKETRY.
SIGN ME UP! GIT-R-DONE!