UPDATE! I discovered the "drake.py" file in my github  was NOT the program I describe here. I re-wrote the drake.py program and have replaced it in the archive.

I enjoy the prospect of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. So it's only natural that I'd like to do something with the Drake equation  "... the probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation)

Happily I found an example of coding this calculation (https://github.com/DeaconDesperado/pydrake) that I could adapt for this project. I've put the code in a repository "Drake"

Files

• drake.py - calculate the Drake equation- based on https://github.com/DeaconDesperado/pydrake
• sagan - Carl Sagan quotes
• wise.py - selects quotes to display
• ncount.py - used for blinking neopixels
• prt.py - allows prt() to print to REPL or HID keyboard input

Copy the files to your NeoTrinkey running (renaming drake.py to "code.py").

Touch pad#1 for the NeoTrinkey to calculate and print out the estimate - since the factors are coded as ranges, you will get different answers every time. After presenting the calculations, the program will also give a random quote from Carl Sagan - he describes the Drake equation in chapter 12 of his book "Cosmos." This is the "Science" part of my project

For fun, touching pad#2 will give a list of the names of the civilized planets - basically generating a random name for as many as the program calculated (plus Earth). Be aware that the number can be large and this will take a while. And yes, this is the "Fiction" part. :)

Change REPL=False to REPL=True to have output go as if typed via the keyboard.

Output looks like this:

How Many Alien Civilations?
Number of stars in the Milky Way 1e+11
Fraction of stars with planetary systems 0.131585
Number of planets suitable for life 4
Fraction of suitable planets that develop life 0.283515
Fraction of life that becomes sentient and eventually intelligent 0.118758
Fraction of intelligent life that advances to the point of communication 0.0128657
Adjustment for incidence of self-destruction 1.10132e-06
possible number of civilizations 25

Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. Carl Sagan

1: Earth
2: Gieuas
3: Zoiah
4: Syoei
5: Mieud
6: Zoafas
7: Syan
8: Theuei
9: Kieei
10: Zoghie
11: Syaie
12: Syafnk
13: Zoyah
14: Paeah
15: Miiah
16: Miuof
17: Reaah
18: Ahghd
19: Aheei
20: Giafn
21: Reud
22: Kiyah
23: Kighn
24: Theie
25: Miud
26: Kieuof

Hope you have fun with this - may it give you something to ponder as you look at the night sky.