We are Ken Jennings and John Roderick.

We are receiving this message.

We are Ken Jennings and John Roderick. We speak to you from our present, which we can

only assume is your distant past, the turbulent time that was the early 21st century.

Fearing the great cataclysm that will surely befall our civilization, we began this monumental

reference of strange and obscure human knowledge.

These recordings represent our attempt to compile and preserve wonders and esoterica that would otherwise be lost.

So whether you're listening from an advanced civilization or have just reinvented the technology to decrypt our transmissions,

this is our legacy to you.

This is our time capsule.

This is the omnibus. Okay. You have accessed entry 774.E.X. 367,

E.X. 367, certificate number 18461. The Memex.

Promoting the information superhighway, Vice President Gore on Wednesday said he to foresee the day when a youngster

just home from school, given a choice between Nintendo and the

Encyclopedia Britannica, would choose to access the Encyclopedia.

If that is so, that might be even a greater accomplishment than the technology.

Now given the fact that you have not slept very well and you're about to do a math

episode. There will be no math. But it is computer science, which is famously

something that you scorn. I believe is a trade. And something that I disliked so much that I went to the effort of going on a game show to try to get away from it.

And yet, probably, what would you say? 30% of futurelings are computer scientists?

And a surprising number of... 30% of futurelings are computer scientists.

And a surprising number of entries in this reference work

...