Emails, boring texts, FaceTimes and airdrops are old news. We live in an age of instant communication. I can text someone in Ethiopia, and they can call a friend in South Korea who can email a colleague in Peru. All of that could happen within the time it takes for a praying mantis to rip the head off its prey, which is to say very fast.

The world is at our fingertips, and yet, as that one guy in the Spider-Man books said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” All this connection doesn’t just come with responsibility, it comes with some real dangers too. Emails hacked, texts recorded, calls listened in on – the list of ways your information can be stolen is long. But there remains an element of solution to one’s communication troubles: Pigeons. I know, I know.

Before you start complaining about how dirty pigeons are, and how I’m basically asking for the Avian flu to come back, let me explain. I am talking about a completely different species than the ones we see lounging in subway tunnels and pooping on unsuspecting pedestrians. No, these carrier pigeons are different – quick, loyal and discrete. With a carrier pigeon you wouldn’t have to fear your information being stolen by some hacker.

Let me paint you a picture of what life might look like with a carrier pigeon by your side. You could wake up and instead of sending a text to your friend across campus, you would simply write your message and attach it to your pigeon. And off it would go hopefully to return with a letter from your friend. Now doesn’t that just sound like a good time? Sure carrier pigeons are extinct so bringing them back may take some work, but if they could bring dinosaurs back in “Jurassic Park” then they can do it with carrier pigeons. With pigeons with our letters and by our sides, the future of communication looks bright and bird-shaped.