The Sirens of Titan

The specific nature of the moon means that Rumfoord and Kazak are "permanently materialized on Titan" (127). Many parts of the moon are named after them and they live in a perfect reproduction of the Taj Mahal. They share the moon with Salo, an 11-million-year-old, tangerine-colored being with three eyes and three legs, each of which end in an inflatable suction pad. As the "most handsome, healthy, clean-minded specimen of his people" (128), Salo was chosen to carry a message from his home planet across the universe. The message is sealed in lead and hangs around his neck. Salo is forbidden from reading the message until he reaches his goal. However, he is still 18 million light years away because he crash-landed on Titan nearly half a million years ago. Salo is technically a machine, as are all beings on Tralfamadore. As such, he cannot break the "orders" (129) given to him on his home planet.

Salo's spaceship is suffering from a technical problem. He requires a missing part. In the thousands of years which he has spent on Titan, he has busied himself with sculpture, gardening, and closely observing life on Earth. While watching Earth, he saw a message written to him on the planet from Tralfamadore.