Did you ever consider the possibility that, while we sit here on Earth wondering about whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, someone, or something, a few million light-years from here, is doing the same thing?

Imagine a denizen of the planet Gliese 581d in the constellation of Libra, sitting on his front porch, contemplating the heavens, and rubbing his chin with his seven fingers and wondering whether or not he and his kind are alone in the universe. We’ll call him Bleem, which is better than what his wife will call him if she catches him taking it easy on the porch while she’s inside slaving away over the dishes.

From now until Aug. 24, you can make contact with Bleem and his fellow Gliese 581d-ites.

Visit the Web site www.hellofromearth.net, and you can post messages 160 characters or less, that will be transmitted to Gliese 581d, considered the nearest Earth-like planet outside our solar system.

Imagine the possibilities. Of course the messages will take 20 Earth years to reach the distant planet, and the same amount of time for a reply, unless they’ve discovered really, really, really high-speed Internet.

The spokesman for the project [COSMOS magazine editor], Wilson da Silva, said “It’s just like a message in a bottle cast out into the stars. What’s interesting is not just whether there’s anyone listening, but what the public will say to intelligent life on another planet.”

So what would you say to an alien? And how would you say it? We Earthlings use more than 6,700 different languages to communicate among ourselves. Many of us can only understand the language we grew up with, so how could we hope to communicate with another species?

Besides the language barrier there is the barrier of non-shared experience. Trying to explain Earth to an alien race would be like trying to describe color to a person born without sight.

Bleem and his ilk may be shaped like anything but bi-peds with two arms, two eyes and opposable thumbs. They may look more like Yoda, or Kermit the Frog, or like a lamp, for that matter.

If this Web site could be used for expedited communication with the denizens of Gliese 581d, and if we could overcome the language barrier, an online chat with Bleem might go something like this ...

Me: “Tell me about your form of government.”

Bleem: “Government? Explain.”

Me: “Government is a group of people we choose to tell us what to do.”

Bleem: “Oh, we call them wives.”

Me: “No, governments do things like collect taxes, which means they order us to give them a percentage of the money we earn. If we don’t, we get in serious trouble.”

Bleem: “Yes, as I said, we call them wives. Mine is named Xurpney. She is the love of my life.”

Me: “I’m sure she is. So you don’t elect leaders? Then who keeps you safe?”

Bleem: “From what?”

Me: “From criminals, from other countries that declare war on you.”

Bleem: “Explain criminals.”

Me: “People who steal other people’s things or hurt them. Some even kill other people.”

Bleem: “Explain steal.”

Me: “Taking things that don’t belong to you.”

Bleem: “Explain kill.”

Me: “To terminate one’s existence.”

Bleem: “Xurpney threatens to do that to me when I don’t help around our abode. She is simply attempting to be humorous. I hope.”

Me: “I’m sure she is. But on our world there are some really bad people.”

Bleem: “Why are they bad?”

Me: “Who knows? Greed, lack of education, lack of moral fiber.”

Bleem: “Moral fiber is good for you. It helps keep one regular.”

Me: “That’s a different kind of fiber. Moral fiber is what helps you determine right from wrong.”

Bleem: “Yes, that is what I said, regular. Anyone not doing what is right would be said to be acting irregularly. Why, what did you think I meant?”

Me: “Never mind.”

Bleem: “Very well, but please explain war.”

Me: “That is when nations attack each other and try to conquer one another. There is a great deal of killing and destruction. When wars end, winners and losers are declared.”

Bleem: “That is a very strange concept. When members of your species die and there is massive destruction, how can anyone win?”

Me: “You just don’t understand humanity. But we are not all about war and crime and destruction. We have the Golden Rule, which says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Bleem: “We have the same rule, though what color it is we do not specify. It was given to us by our creator.”

Me: “You mean ...”

Bleem: “Yes. Why, did you think you humans were special, or something?”

Me: “Wow, I had no idea.”

Bleem: “You learn something new every day. By the way, when are you going to come visit us?”

Me: “It will be some time. We presently don’t have the technology for long-distance space travel.”

Bleem: “I know, I was just attempting humor. You Earthlings are so gullible. But I do like the new paint job on your abode.”

Me: “Wait. How do you know about that?”

Bleem: “Remember the garden gnome the next door neighbor had on his front lawn? And the next day it was gone and you thought a neighborhood kid had stolen it? That was no garden gnome.”

Should you decide to send a message to Gliese 581d, let me know and send along the text. In the meantime, be nice to garden gnomes.