What can we decipher from a photon?
Your elegant post has gotten me to think: Do we have any methods at our disposal to see if a photon does indeed carry something (besides a tiny part of the overall optical image and spectrum) physical of the place it came from?
Imagine having an actual piece of another world, or the Andromeda Galaxy, literally brought right to us. Might save a bit on interstellar/intergalactic travel costs.