Open Letter to Interested Parties

Thank you for the many inquiries about the 'future communications laboratory'. It is encouraging that so many individuals are interested in such ideas, who believe in the high inteligence of the cetaceans, and the need to reach out to them; to stop their senseless slaughter at the hands of the humans; to learn from earth's oldest sentient beings for reasons no less important than our very survival.

Regrettably, there are not the means nor the time to reply to each one of you in an intelligent and thoughtful manner, congruent to the intelligent and thoughtful responses that have been sent in. It is furtherly regrettable that the barrier to this, and the barrier to the entire endeavour is money.

In plain terms, the majority of the researchers involved in experiments referenced here are below the poverty line, or working another job to support their donated time and not be below poverty. Some researchers are at the mercy of the bus schedules. Recycling videotapes has become basic M.O., at the risk of overwriting some important data. This research is not funded very well at all. One might ask why this is so, if this indeed is important research.

Research in cetacean intelligence and communication IS NOT practiced by mainstream commercial science because they can't figure any way to make money from it.

Research in cetacean intelligence and communication IS NOT practiced by mainstream theoretical science, for it challenges man's pre-eminence on this planet as the most advanced species, and because they can't figure any way to make money from it.

Research in cetacean intelligence and communication IS practiced by mainstream military science, which is a pretty good indicator that there is something there worth investigating.

Research in cetacean intelligence and communication IS NOT practiced by mainstream environmentalist movements, some of which try to actively prohibit contact betweeen cetaceans and humans, furthering the humans' displacement from nature. This is also expressed as rightful compassion for cetaceans who are in captivity. But the closing of oceanariums is a disaster for the education and enlightenment of the great mass of humans' who desparately need to learn about the incredible beings who co-habitate on this planet.

Keep this in mind, most people are not aware that each and every day, more dolphins are killed by humans and human commerical ventures, than the total that have ever been in captivity.

In the utopian future, there will be respect, regard, and rights for all life forms, with humans incorporating a planet-wide view into not just their spirituality, but their material endeavours as well. The killing of cetaceans will cease not from a law being passed, but from each human understanding innately that these are ancient, sentient earth residents, with tremendous intelligence and enormous life force: Not someone to kill, but someone to learn from.

But this future does not exist today, and there are no signs of it happening soon. In the meanwhile, the scant forces who agree about the need to cease the mass cetacean genocide are being run over roughshod by the much larger, better funded, and more cutthroat opposition. Worsely, those scant forces are being further isolated and uncoordinated from each other by infighting and absolutist views, in which someone has decided what the 'proper' view is, and those who do not agree, or those who even associate with those who do not agree, are immediately dismissed. This does nothing but divide an already too small group. Coalitions are not built on rigidity. No two people can ever agree on absolutely every issue, so how could a group ever hope to. It is time to be inclusionary with all people who have, for whatever reason, come to bring humans closer to cetaceans, even if that reason distasteful to you personally.

Coming out of the 60s, there was a growing voice from not just scientific and environmental arenas, but from the general public about cetacean concerns. Cetacean-human contact was at an all-time high, albiet at oceanariums. But with publlic support growing, it was conceivable that the killing of a cetacean would be illegal by the 21st Century.

In three plus decades we've managed to shut down oceanariums, make it illegal in many parts of the world to swim with a dolphin in the wild, and ostracize a significant part of the scientific community who could (or should) be a powerful ally in the battle against their slaughter. And while all this is going on, not only is commercial regulation unenforced and then relaxxed, but our military creates and is implementing what might possibly be the most detrimental technology one could invent for a cetacean, short of nuclear bombs. There can be know doubt that the blasting sound into the oceans will seriously affect cetaceans in an adverse way.

All these things serve to further isolate the humans from cetaceans, and from nature in general. This separation from nature is an ego-centric, near-sided view of the world, with horrible manifestations in how we have chosen to organize our society, our business ethics, and our religions. A survival meta-program can only be judged by how closely it matches reality. We must adopt a larger worldview, incorporating nature into our decision making processes, or else suffer the consequences of our ill-conceived ideas. Those who have encountered a cetacean can understand how it changed them forever. We should not try to limit that.

The humans have a great future ahead, if they can grasp the powerful system that they are a part of, if they can open their minds to ideas that challange the mind and expand the senses, not just stimulate the ones we already know about. If they cannot evolve past such a state, they are doomed to consume everything on this small pietry dish of a planet, and perish by choking on themselves.

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For those who read the previous 'Address from the Future Communications Lab" and thought that bulldozers were already on the move and wanted to apply for one of the human positions, it is not that time yet. We do know of what sounds to be an incredible experiment/lab in the making (they've contracted some bulldozers) in the continental US. Sorry that we are not at liberty to divulge who this is, but it's a good thing to know it's happening.

There are two non-profit associations affiliated with the dolphin research described on these pages.

Earthtrust is the non-profit of which Ken Marten's Project Delphis is a part of. No donation is too small in the help of this important work. Dr. Marten maintains a lab by the donation and good will of Sea Life Park Hawaii. Earthtrust receives no other financial support from Sea Life Park and is there as a guest. Donations to the lab of equipment and tape (we've found digital8 (hi-8) tapes for 3.79 a piece if you buy 50+) are also welcome. Donations of programming are also needed. For example, can you write or direct us to programming (hopefully on a mac or pc) that records audio data up to 80kHz? To donate to Earthtrust contact Dr. Marten at 808-261-8777 directly.

The Human-Dolphin Foundation is the non-profit of Dr. Lilly. Now at 86 years of age, he's basically retired, with new projects (this website for example) being pursued as donations come in. There are many things that could be done: an incredible amount of data to be digitized and preserved--audio recordings, scientific briefs --newsletters--regrettably all again subject to money. To donate to Dr. John C. Lilly, call the Human-Dolphin Foundation directly 808-572-6177.

My apoplgies for this blunt plea for money, but that is the reality of the situation. You won't find much more of this kind of language in these pages, and we are prepared to work on, regardless. Your letters, comments, questions, suggestions are a great morale booster for the people involved.