Anthropic Paradox

Anthropic Paradox

The Blast Off was lined with photos of rockets charging into space. George settled into the bar stool, took a drink and put the glass down. Joe recognized this as the preparations prior to the start of a story and hoped he had heard it only a few times before.

A stranger appeared next to George and asked, "May I purchase a drink please?"

"Sure, bourbon OK?" Joe asked.

"That would be fine. Is this sufficient?" He reached into a pocket and dropped a dollar coin on the bar. It bounced a few times and Joe slapped his hand down to keep it from rolling off the bar. "Hope I didn't damage the wood."

George started, "Don't worry about hurting this bar. It's rock maple, hardest wood known. Why back in the early days we were even thinking of using this as a heat shield on the early Mercury test flights. But somebody's cousin had some political connections so..."

"Not quite." Joe interrupted glanced at George than added, "Tell you what. You tell us a story we haven't heard and the drinks are free. For as long as you keep talking."

"Thanks. I accept your proposition. My name is Carpenter. I bought this property but I can't develop it. Turns out there are residents and I can't get rid of them."

"This is Florida, every landlord tells story."

Carpenter looked from the bartender to George then at the walls covered in photos of rockets and stars and galaxies. "How about the truth?"

The Joe poured a drink but kept his hand on the glass. "All stories told in a bar are true. Keep going."

"I'm not from around here. Not Florida, not even the USA." His eyes focused on the glass and he licked his lips but Joe kept his hand on it. "Not even this planet, not even this universe."

Joe's grip on the glass loosened.

"I bought ...

... middle of paper ...

...o hard to travel in is inconsistent. Pour us both a drink, on me."

Joe started pouring the drinks. " His story does neatly explain both Fermi's Paradox and the anthropic principle and why didn't he know where the exit was?"

"Two drinks, downed fast, strange bar. It's easy to get confused. Don't tell me that you of all people are starting to believe what you hear in this bar."

Joe lifted the bar rag and slid George's drink over. It caught on something and spilled down George's pants. Both men stared at the rock maple bar top. The drink had snagged on an impression in the bar. It was an eighth inch deep and matched the form of the locket.

The two friends looked at each other.

"It makes you wonder if humans are the residents he was talking about," George said. He relaxed in the bar stool. "You know they tried to evict me once. I was young, right out of college..."