OUR FRIENDS FROM OUTER SPACE

What would an alien llfeform be like? And what can we expect them to do about US, should they ever really arrive on planet Earth? As to the reality of alien forms, we should refer to Arthur C Clarke, who advised that if you want to theorise on what they would look like, visit a zoo.
In doing so, the sheer diversity of life-types you will see will tell you it is impossible to speculate on alien-forms unless we actually see them. But what about their motive, and the eventual fate of ourselves?

HOLLYWOOD FUN

Hollywood gives us oodles of scenarios, usually based around the basic idea of malevolence. Words such as ‘invasion’ abound, as if they will be superior beings wiping us out without a second thought.
Whether this is based on reasoned argument, or whether it is a fact that friendly, cuddly aliens wouldn’t make a spectacular movie – ET excepted – I’ll leave to you. However, that they would have superior technology goes without saying.
After all, they’d have got here, wouldn’t they? But to understand alien psychology, perhaps we would be best advised to look at ourselves, our past, and our probable future.

EVOLUTION AND SPACE TRAVEL

During the nervy days of the Cold War, mankind learnt the power of technology. We had to – we could have destroyed ourselves if we hadn’t. And this is perhaps the most important point to realise about any alien forms who had broken out of planetary confinement to explore deep space.
Technology is so powerful that if people don’t learn to live with each other, we’ll destroy ourselves. And as evolution seems to be a constant of life, then we can argue that, to get to the stage of star travel, then the lesson would have to be learnt or any alien form would have wiped itself out before going to the stars.

FRIEND OR FOE OR …

Bearing this point in mind, we can argue that any alien form that reaches us will be benevolent, realising the importance of getting on with others. So the most likely scenario for alien contact should not involve our total destruction by a race of Klingon-like warriors.
However, this does not necessarily mean we will be safe. For there could be a sting in the tail – lf they have one, that is.
It is all to do with sentience. We, as a species, have self-awareness. It is this which makes us human, and our awareness leads to a distinct category of behaviour patterns concerning other animals.
Classifying ourselves as the most sentient beings on planet Earth, we naturally put ourselves at the top of the evolutionary tree. Some other animals, we decide, are not that far behind us. Close runners-up are dolphins, dogs, monkeys and cats.
Due to the degree of sentience we have allowed them, we keep them as cuddly pets or planet-mates and have a distinct dislike for anyone who hurts them.
On the other hand, cows, pigs and sheep are thought to be, in a word – thick. Hence, rather than treating them as near equals we farm them, kill them, chop them up and roast them.
We don’t do it for nasty reasons, but for survival requirements – we need to eat (vegetarians excepted). However, we can argue that any alien form that visits us would have a superior intelligence to us.
Which prompts the question, would they class US as sentient? Let us hope so. For if not, no matter how benevolent they may think they are, we could be dog meat.

(c) Anthony North, February 2008

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