Tabula Rasa Creator Sends Coded Message From Space

Tabula Rasa and Ultima series creator Richard "Lord British" Garriott sent a salute to gamers from space this week.

As the first game developer to head to space, Garriott brought along more than the DNA of select gamers and Stephen Colbert. He also brought along a little game, which GameCulture bills as "the first intergalactic mini-ARG," referring to alternate reality games often used to promote games.

According to the report, Garriott carried into space a card with a coded message using the hieroglyphics of Tabula Rasa, the MMO which launched in November of 2007. Video of Garriott holding the card was broadcast back down to Earth, where a more legible version of the card was posted.

It wasn't long before fans at PlanetTR decoded the message, a translation of Soviet rocket scientist Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky: "Earth is the cradle of humanity but mankind will not be in the cradle forever."

Garriott docked with the International Space Station today and will return to Earth on October 24.