Introduction
Suppose the Great Silence is not silence at all. Suppose we are inside a carefully tended preserve, wrapped in quiet glass. Advanced neighbors watch from the dark and decline to interfere. They study our growth, quarantine our worst impulses, and wait for signs that we can carry a conversation without turning it into a weapon. This is the Zoo Hypothesis. If it is true, the first step toward contact is not to shout louder. It is to show maturity.