# You've Found A Wormhole Key To A Single Planet... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 14, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281 "2013-05-14T01:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHeinrich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecccb3/32.png) [@AHeinrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHeinrich)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/1 "2013-05-14T01:34:20Z")
The scenario: - You’ve found a wormhole key. - You subsequently realize that the wormhole key allows you to open wormholes on demand and transports you to the same planet every time (and can subsequently transport back to Earth too). - This planet is packed with highly futuristic cities and tech. - There’s a catch - the futuristic cities are completely empty and it looks amazingly brand new, like nobody’s ever lived there. There is also absolutely no spacecraft or space tech - but telescopes and observatories and satellites are abound. \*\*What do you do? Live in the city and whiz back and forth to Earth and try to make billions (or trillions) on Earth by selling advanced tech? Or do you investigate (e.g. find “newspapers”, news etc etc) and see what this planet is all about, where it is in the universe and the mystery that surrounds it? Or would you do other things? Thoughts? 🙂 \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/2 "2013-05-14T01:39:36Z")
> [@AHeinrich](#): > > Thoughts? 🙂 Yeah. My thought is that this belongs in MPSIMS. _Reported!_ ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/3 "2013-05-14T01:39:55Z")
Reported for forum change. ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/4 "2013-05-14T01:40:16Z")
I’d probably investigate what the place is about. It seems too good to be true to me. How easy is the technology to reverse engineer? It doesn’t seem to useful if you can’t manufacture it yourself. Reported for forum change. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/5 "2013-05-14T01:42:01Z")
A good place to hide your weed. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/6 "2013-05-14T02:43:58Z")
His Highness, The Exalted One, First Global Emperor Toofs would host the baddest parties in the galaxy. By invitation only, of course. Invitations with access passes to the wormhole would go out to the Victoria’s Secret models, the Swedish Bikini Team, all Hooters female staff, and professional sports teams cheer leaders. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/7 "2013-05-14T02:48:44Z")
Take out everybody on my hit list and use it to hide out if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/8 "2013-05-14T02:50:53Z")
I’d just start charging people to visit. They’ll have to sign something that says anything they find there of value, including information and technology belongs to me. But I’d offer a finder’s fee, I’d want them out looking for stuff. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/9 "2013-05-14T03:16:12Z")
I’d be most interested in what passes for “art” on the planet. If it gives me ideas for my own art, I’d be happy with that. Also I’d see if I could find some reference to the species that built the place, and what became of them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/10 "2013-05-14T03:23:52Z")
Sell access to the world in exchange for a quite reasonable ten percent share of the profits. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/11 "2013-05-14T03:30:28Z")
Since this is not a factual question, let’s move it to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/12 "2013-05-14T04:14:56Z")
Can I open the wormhole back to any place on Earth? If so I have essentially a teleportation device to any place on Earth and that has numerous advantages just by itself regardless of whether I can make any use of the planet itself. This is true even if it takes some time to make the transit. But I certainly explore it to find out as much as I can about it. Does this mean there is other intelligent life in the universe? It would certainly seem to indicate so even if they’re not there now. Where the heck is it? Is it close enough that I can recognize the constellations and see the pesky star (the sun) that shouldn’t be there in the sky so I can infer where it is. I’m torn though. Certainly others are better equipped to learn many things about the planet than I, but If I tell about it I’m certain I’ll lose it to either military or commercial exploitation. I have no doubt I could not possibly win any legal battle involving it. Do I want anyone finding advanced weapons there? Do I have to be concerned about what I’m bringing back to Earth? Are there viruses or microbes on the things or in me? Do the aliens have a moral code that they can’t invade another planet, but if a denizen of such a place voluntarily transports their advanced nanotechnology to terraform (I guess it’s de-terraform) Earth into what they want, it’s within their moral code? ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/13 "2013-05-14T04:17:46Z")
Well I wouldn’t have to worry about paying rent anymore, thats for sure. Yeah, I’d exploit the fuck out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/14 "2013-05-14T04:44:18Z")
Boring, I know, but I tell the authorities. I’m not the sort of guy who does exploring of unknown environments! There might be face-eaties! Let the President send in a Marine team. “Just another bug hunt…” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/15 "2013-05-14T04:53:07Z")
Whatever I do, I’m bringing people and weapons, because this seems like a great way to get killed off by aliens that appear out of nowhere and eat you during the full moon, monsters that live in shadows, asshole beings made of pure energy, or something similarly hard to notice. I’d probably explore it, but I’m going to be insanely cautious whatever I do because hyper-futuristic non-ruined empty city just screams “you’ve walked into a horror movie, good luck.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/16 "2013-05-14T15:24:47Z")
I’d immediately put into place such quarantine measures as I’m capable of, and then call up the CDC and have them do their thing, too. There’s _some_ reason that planet has a whole bunch of tech and no inhabitants, and I don’t want whatever it is happening to Earth, too. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/17 "2013-05-14T15:32:42Z")
Close the gates. This is clearly a trap, designed specifically to attact the more curious members of the human species, like a world-sized roach motel. The owners probably scour it to mantle and rebuild something shiney for the next victim race on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Krouget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b38774/32.png) [@Krouget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krouget)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/18 "2013-05-14T15:51:07Z")
> [@AHeinrich](#): > > Thoughts? 🙂 Do I know what the other side of the wormhole is like, because I’ve already been there? If so, _it may be too late…_ Otherwise, I’d hand the keys over to science and let it do its thing (though I’m sure other interested parties would get involved with ulterior intentions, but that’s likely to happen, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/19 "2013-05-14T16:36:55Z")
I would call my associate Director Nick Fury and inform him. He would almost certainly reactivate the Avengers Initiative. Then, I’d get out of bed (hopefully without waking Pepper) and go down to the lab to work on the Mark VI armor. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281/20 "2013-05-14T17:40:28Z")
I would give the key to **[Phil Plait](http://www.slate.com/authors.phil_plait.html)** and let him figure it out. I’m not the adventurous sort. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youve-found-a-wormhole-key-to-a-single-planet/658281.md?page=2)