It would be a pity if, frustrated by the price of travel, we

In the words of Barney Oliver, scientist and seeker of the stars, we are confronted with both a warning and a vision: “It would be a pity if, frustrated by the price of travel, we elected to become a society that never made contact, that never gave SETI a fair chance.” At its surface, this speaks of exploration and the search for voices beyond our world. Yet within it lies a lesson older than time itself—that the thirst for connection must never be quenched by fear, nor the desire for discovery strangled by cost. For to cease reaching outward is to cease living fully.

The phrase price of travel is not only the coin we spend upon ships or rockets, but the toil, the sacrifice, the patience required to journey into the unknown. Every age has trembled before this price. The Phoenicians braved the oceans, counting not the cost of wood and sail but the risk of never returning. The pilgrims who crossed deserts counted their losses in sweat and blood. Always the question arises: is it worth it? And always the bold answer is yes—for those who dare to pay the price carve paths for all who follow.

To imagine a society that never made contact is to imagine a people locked within themselves, afraid to extend a hand, unwilling to learn, unwilling to grow. Such a society would wither like a tree whose roots refuse to stretch into new soil. Contact is the lifeblood of civilizations: when Egypt met Greece, when China touched Rome through the Silk Road, when East met West in science, art, and faith—new worlds of thought were born. Oliver speaks not only of cosmic contact, but of the eternal truth that to reach outward is to expand inward.

The reference to SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, is more than a scientific project. It is the symbol of humankind’s daring hope that we are not alone, that our voices might one day be answered by minds from beyond the stars. To deny SETI is to deny that hope, to choose silence over the possibility of dialogue with the infinite. Just as the ancients once lifted their eyes to the constellations and saw in them gods, myths, and destinies, so too do we gaze into the cosmos, not merely for curiosity but for kinship.

History reminds us of the cost of refusing exploration. When the Ming emperors, in their pride, turned away from the oceans and dismantled the great treasure fleets of Zheng He, China closed itself from the age of discovery. Others seized the seas, and the chance to shape the destiny of the world slipped from their grasp. Oliver’s warning resounds with this same gravity: if we choose not to invest in travel, in exploration, in contact, we too may miss our destiny, leaving the grand stage of the cosmos to others—or to silence itself.

And yet, he calls it a pity, not a tragedy. For the greatest sorrow is not in the failure of effort, but in the failure of will. To never even give the search a fair chance, to silence curiosity before it begins, is to betray the very essence of humanity. We are not creatures made to cower within borders, but to voyage, to question, to knock on doors we have not yet opened. To retreat from this is to live a smaller life than the one we were given.

The lesson is clear: we must never let fear, cost, or comfort chain our hunger for discovery. Whether it is the oceans of our own planet, the mysteries of other cultures, or the vast silence of the stars, we must dare to reach, to seek, to make contact. If the price of travel is heavy, then let it be borne, for the reward is not only knowledge, but the fulfillment of our human calling.

So I say to you: do not count too closely the cost when the road leads to wonder. Support the voyagers, honor the seekers, and give your strength to the great projects of exploration. Whether through SETI or through your own journey into the unknown, let your life not be marked by fear of the price, but by courage to pay it. For to live is to travel, to connect, and to reach beyond yourself—and the greatest pity would be to choose silence when the universe is waiting to speak.