Space Alien Invasion: Science Channel's 'Are We Alone?' Considers ET Confrontation With Earthlings

An alien invasion is headed our way. While it's the stuff of sci-fi books, movies, TV series and hi-tech video games, what if Earth suddenly faced a real threat from out-of-this-world invaders?

How would the human race survive an encounter with an unknown civilization from another world?

Even President Ronald Reagan, speaking at the United Nations in 1988, suggested that the countries of Earth would unite over an impending confrontation with an invading species from outer space.

The Science Channel is about to unleash a month-long series of special programs all aimed at trying to answer the provocative question that Mankind has always wondered about: "Are We Alone?"

Beginning March 5, four world premiere episodes will feature scientists hunting for alien life, including how humans may respond to a scenario of ETs coming to Earth.

"One idea is that these aliens have left their home world and they're out looking around," according to Hakeem Oluseyi, professor of physics and space sciences at Florida Institute of Technology.

Oluseyi is featured in the Science Channel's first two episodes of "Are We Alone?" in which an alien invasion and its aftermath are depicted. He told The Huffington Post that an alien civilization that has embarked on a very long journey from their world to ours may do it for one of two reasons.

"One reason is they had to leave their home world. The recent Russian meteorite taught us that in order for a species to continue indefinitely into the future, it must develop the ability to leave its home planet. Planets and stars are temporary physical entities and there's a small window of time for any individual planetary surface to harbor life."

Oluseyi suggests the other reason why ETs may come here is because "they're just like us. What I mean by that is that they are intelligent -- they want to find other life and civilizations -- and that would be worth the cost. I think something like that would be a very well planned event."

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hypothetically, the best thing for human to do is merge with the aliens. Have sex with the Aliens and produce a new "race" of hybrid human/aliens. we can mix our knowlegde or lack knowledge of the earth their evolved intelligence. i'm down with doing it with an alien. cause i wanna like have powers and stuff afterwards.

Rococo said:

hypothetically, the best thing for human to do is merge with the aliens. Have sex with the Aliens and produce a new "race" of hybrid human/aliens. we can mix our knowlegde or lack knowledge of the earth their evolved intelligence. i'm down with doing it with an alien. cause i wanna like have powers and stuff afterwards.

Only 1 post into it, and it's already turned into a sex thread!!!

No, of course we wouldn't.

However, a few things:

1. If an alien race is able to survive it's industrial and technology revolutions, be coordinated (and cooperative) enough to traverse the vast reaches of space, and reach us, I highly doubt it would be a terribly confrontational society. I mean, we have the technical apability of sending people to Mars, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen in my lifetime. If an alien race can get here I just don't see the first thing it wanting to do is launch itself into a conflict where it is vastly outnumbered even if it is technologically superior.

Let's consider for a moment:

1. Voyager 1, the fastest manmade object ever is going through space at several thousand kilometers an hour ( 35 or 40 thousand). It took 10 years to move beyond the orbit of all the planets, and now 30 years later hasn't even come close to reaching the edge of our solar system. It won't even reach the star it's pointed towards for another 100,000 years. It would take any one of our fastest rockets 80,000 years to get to the nearest star. Even with futuristic propulsion systems (using anti-mater) in the future, we would never be able to get to alpha centauri (only 4 light years away) in less than 50 to 100 years with human crews. Given all the technology we currently have, building the fastes possible ship we can build today, and sparing absolutely no expenses, no human being will ever ever ever make it to the edge of our OWN solar system in his or her lifetime.

However we've proven that negative-energy appears to exist, and this is a necessary component of 'bending space time' to allow a spaceship to move space around it, and travel faster than the speed of light. The problem is that we can't concievably build anything today big enough to bend that much space-time. Morgan Friedman narrates an amazing science show on this that you can download on iTunes called "through the wormhole". But let's say that this is possible--you can build machines eventually that can bend enough space-time. Then it's only a matter of time, no? But any alien species out there that could do this, would have to be at least as smart as we are, and possibly more cooperative.

I just don't see galatical domination as being high on their agenda. There are so many different ways that you could wipe out the dominant species on a planet then to make some elaborate entrance and wage convential war.

Which brings me to #2.

2. There would need to be no alien invasion. Such an advance species would master nano technology long before faster-than-light travel (if that can ever be done). And a simple army of microscopic robots that invade our bodies and prevent us from resisting or violently retaliate would do the trick. We would even know we're being invaded, and the nano-bots could be undetected by our immune systems. So upon meeting with human beings, if the humans showed signs of aggression, the nano bots could paralize us, release chemicals that subdue us, or just kill us--and we'd never know it was happening. or they could do the same to sterilize the entire planet of it's dominant species (if they want to take the planet for themselves).

There would be no reasons for them to

1. use us as food---they could synthetically grow their own

2. use us for labor---seriously? traversing space-time and having the knowhow to perform miricles, but not knowing how to solve it's own labor woes? In the future, there will be no labor as we know it--it will be handled by robots, bot large and microscopic.

3. meddle in our affairs--we now suspect there are billions (I mean BILLIONS) of planets in habbitable zones around stars. The gas giants may have moons (and their massive magnetic fields would protect the ones close in), and the rocky ones would likely have water (the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, with oxegen not being that much less available).

The list just goes on and on, but, a doomsday scenerio involving aliens is just silly to me. We would have lost the war before they even arrived at our doorstep.

.

[Edited 2/27/13 13:05pm]

I don't know. I just keep remembering what someone said, I forgot who, that if an alien wanted to take over our world they wouldn't even have to get close to the planet and bother even getting into a fight if they're intelligent enough to master moving around the galaxy. Send some little contagion, mess with our tectonic plates, send a asteriod, it would all depend on what they want with the planet. Hey they could send something like in ST 4 send a probe that disrupts everything and blocks out the sun.

THEORETICALLY that all sounds logical, but really....

Klingons and Romulans fought the Federation.

It could happen. An advanced alien race could pounce just because they wanted to.

imago said:

No, of course we wouldn't.

However, a few things:

1. If an alien race is able to survive it's industrial and technology revolutions, be coordinated (and cooperative) enough to traverse the vast reaches of space, and reach us, I highly doubt it would be a terribly confrontational society. I mean, we have the technical apability of sending people to Mars, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen in my lifetime. If an alien race can get here I just don't see the first thing it wanting to do is launch itself into a conflict where it is vastly outnumbered even if it is technologically superior.

Let's consider for a moment:

1. Voyager 1, the fastest manmade object ever is going through space at several thousand kilometers an hour ( 35 or 40 thousand). It took 10 years to move beyond the orbit of all the planets, and now 30 years later hasn't even come close to reaching the edge of our solar system. It won't even reach the star it's pointed towards for another 100,000 years. It would take any one of our fastest rockets 80,000 years to get to the nearest star. Even with futuristic propulsion systems (using anti-mater) in the future, we would never be able to get to alpha centauri (only 4 light years away) in less than 50 to 100 years with human crews. Given all the technology we currently have, building the fastes possible ship we can build today, and sparing absolutely no expenses, no human being will ever ever ever make it to the edge of our OWN solar system in his or her lifetime.

However we've proven that negative-energy appears to exist, and this is a necessary component of 'bending space time' to allow a spaceship to move space around it, and travel faster than the speed of light. The problem is that we can't concievably build anything today big enough to bend that much space-time. Morgan Freeman narrates an amazing science show on this that you can download on iTunes called "through the wormhole". But let's say that this is possible--you can build machines eventually that can bend enough space-time. Then it's only a matter of time, no? But any alien species out there that could do this, would have to be at least as smart as we are, and possibly more cooperative.

I just don't see galatical domination as being high on their agenda. There are so many different ways that you could wipe out the dominant species on a planet then to make some elaborate entrance and wage convential war.

Which brings me to #2.

2. There would need to be no alien invasion. Such an advance species would master nano technology long before faster-than-light travel (if that can ever be done). And a simple army of microscopic robots that invade our bodies and prevent us from resisting or violently retaliate would do the trick. We would even know we're being invaded, and the nano-bots could be undetected by our immune systems. So upon meeting with human beings, if the humans showed signs of aggression, the nano bots could paralize us, release chemicals that subdue us, or just kill us--and we'd never know it was happening. or they could do the same to sterilize the entire planet of it's dominant species (if they want to take the planet for themselves).

There would be no reasons for them to

1. use us as food---they could synthetically grow their own

2. use us for labor---seriously? traversing space-time and having the knowhow to perform miricles, but not knowing how to solve it's own labor woes? In the future, there will be no labor as we know it--it will be handled by robots, bot large and microscopic.

3. meddle in our affairs--we now suspect there are billions (I mean BILLIONS) of planets in habbitable zones around stars. The gas giants may have moons (and their massive magnetic fields would protect the ones close in), and the rocky ones would likely have water (the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, with oxegen not being that much less available).

The list just goes on and on, but, a doomsday scenerio involving aliens is just silly to me. We would have lost the war before they even arrived at our doorstep.

.

[Edited 2/27/13 13:05pm]

I watched that. Bloody brilliant.

Nice post, btw.

Fauxie said:

imago said:

No, of course we wouldn't.

However, a few things:

1. If an alien race is able to survive it's industrial and technology revolutions, be coordinated (and cooperative) enough to traverse the vast reaches of space, and reach us, I highly doubt it would be a terribly confrontational society. I mean, we have the technical apability of sending people to Mars, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen in my lifetime. If an alien race can get here I just don't see the first thing it wanting to do is launch itself into a conflict where it is vastly outnumbered even if it is technologically superior.

Let's consider for a moment:

1. Voyager 1, the fastest manmade object ever is going through space at several thousand kilometers an hour ( 35 or 40 thousand). It took 10 years to move beyond the orbit of all the planets, and now 30 years later hasn't even come close to reaching the edge of our solar system. It won't even reach the star it's pointed towards for another 100,000 years. It would take any one of our fastest rockets 80,000 years to get to the nearest star. Even with futuristic propulsion systems (using anti-mater) in the future, we would never be able to get to alpha centauri (only 4 light years away) in less than 50 to 100 years with human crews. Given all the technology we currently have, building the fastes possible ship we can build today, and sparing absolutely no expenses, no human being will ever ever ever make it to the edge of our OWN solar system in his or her lifetime.

However we've proven that negative-energy appears to exist, and this is a necessary component of 'bending space time' to allow a spaceship to move space around it, and travel faster than the speed of light. The problem is that we can't concievably build anything today big enough to bend that much space-time. Morgan Freeman narrates an amazing science show on this that you can download on iTunes called "through the wormhole". But let's say that this is possible--you can build machines eventually that can bend enough space-time. Then it's only a matter of time, no? But any alien species out there that could do this, would have to be at least as smart as we are, and possibly more cooperative.

I just don't see galatical domination as being high on their agenda. There are so many different ways that you could wipe out the dominant species on a planet then to make some elaborate entrance and wage convential war.

Which brings me to #2.

2. There would need to be no alien invasion. Such an advance species would master nano technology long before faster-than-light travel (if that can ever be done). And a simple army of microscopic robots that invade our bodies and prevent us from resisting or violently retaliate would do the trick. We would even know we're being invaded, and the nano-bots could be undetected by our immune systems. So upon meeting with human beings, if the humans showed signs of aggression, the nano bots could paralize us, release chemicals that subdue us, or just kill us--and we'd never know it was happening. or they could do the same to sterilize the entire planet of it's dominant species (if they want to take the planet for themselves).

There would be no reasons for them to

1. use us as food---they could synthetically grow their own

2. use us for labor---seriously? traversing space-time and having the knowhow to perform miricles, but not knowing how to solve it's own labor woes? In the future, there will be no labor as we know it--it will be handled by robots, bot large and microscopic.

3. meddle in our affairs--we now suspect there are billions (I mean BILLIONS) of planets in habbitable zones around stars. The gas giants may have moons (and their massive magnetic fields would protect the ones close in), and the rocky ones would likely have water (the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, with oxegen not being that much less available).

The list just goes on and on, but, a doomsday scenerio involving aliens is just silly to me. We would have lost the war before they even arrived at our doorstep.

.

[Edited 2/27/13 13:05pm]

I watched that. Bloody brilliant.

Nice post, btw.

I'm gettin more pessimistic as time goes by about faster-than-light travel.

Mostly because if could bend space-time, then you could travel just about anywhere instantly through space. Ergo, you wouldn't even need to be from a nearby star system or in this galaxy. You could come from any galaxy...any one of the trillions upon trillions of stars in the billions upon billions of galaxies, because bending space-time means that distance is no longer relevant.

it only takes 1... just 1 single species in the trillions out there amongs all the galaxies to do this in order to populate the entire universe if they wanted. This obviously has not happenned.

Fauxie said:

imago said:

No, of course we wouldn't.

However, a few things:

1. If an alien race is able to survive it's industrial and technology revolutions, be coordinated (and cooperative) enough to traverse the vast reaches of space, and reach us, I highly doubt it would be a terribly confrontational society. I mean, we have the technical apability of sending people to Mars, and it doesn't look like it's going to happen in my lifetime. If an alien race can get here I just don't see the first thing it wanting to do is launch itself into a conflict where it is vastly outnumbered even if it is technologically superior.

Let's consider for a moment:

1. Voyager 1, the fastest manmade object ever is going through space at several thousand kilometers an hour ( 35 or 40 thousand). It took 10 years to move beyond the orbit of all the planets, and now 30 years later hasn't even come close to reaching the edge of our solar system. It won't even reach the star it's pointed towards for another 100,000 years. It would take any one of our fastest rockets 80,000 years to get to the nearest star. Even with futuristic propulsion systems (using anti-mater) in the future, we would never be able to get to alpha centauri (only 4 light years away) in less than 50 to 100 years with human crews. Given all the technology we currently have, building the fastes possible ship we can build today, and sparing absolutely no expenses, no human being will ever ever ever make it to the edge of our OWN solar system in his or her lifetime.

However we've proven that negative-energy appears to exist, and this is a necessary component of 'bending space time' to allow a spaceship to move space around it, and travel faster than the speed of light. The problem is that we can't concievably build anything today big enough to bend that much space-time. Morgan Freeman narrates an amazing science show on this that you can download on iTunes called "through the wormhole". But let's say that this is possible--you can build machines eventually that can bend enough space-time. Then it's only a matter of time, no? But any alien species out there that could do this, would have to be at least as smart as we are, and possibly more cooperative.

I just don't see galatical domination as being high on their agenda. There are so many different ways that you could wipe out the dominant species on a planet then to make some elaborate entrance and wage convential war.

Which brings me to #2.

2. There would need to be no alien invasion. Such an advance species would master nano technology long before faster-than-light travel (if that can ever be done). And a simple army of microscopic robots that invade our bodies and prevent us from resisting or violently retaliate would do the trick. We would even know we're being invaded, and the nano-bots could be undetected by our immune systems. So upon meeting with human beings, if the humans showed signs of aggression, the nano bots could paralize us, release chemicals that subdue us, or just kill us--and we'd never know it was happening. or they could do the same to sterilize the entire planet of it's dominant species (if they want to take the planet for themselves).

There would be no reasons for them to

1. use us as food---they could synthetically grow their own

2. use us for labor---seriously? traversing space-time and having the knowhow to perform miricles, but not knowing how to solve it's own labor woes? In the future, there will be no labor as we know it--it will be handled by robots, bot large and microscopic.

3. meddle in our affairs--we now suspect there are billions (I mean BILLIONS) of planets in habbitable zones around stars. The gas giants may have moons (and their massive magnetic fields would protect the ones close in), and the rocky ones would likely have water (the most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen, with oxegen not being that much less available).

The list just goes on and on, but, a doomsday scenerio involving aliens is just silly to me. We would have lost the war before they even arrived at our doorstep.

.

[Edited 2/27/13 13:05pm]

I watched that. Bloody brilliant.

Nice post, btw.

re. 3. though, lots of habitable zone planets, yes, but throw in the potentially tiny period during which a civilisation with advanced technology will likely exist on one during its lifetime and the chance of others being 'out there' coinciding with our time is reduced massively.

Fauxie said:

Fauxie said:

I watched that. Bloody brilliant.

Nice post, btw.

re. 3. though, lots of habitable zone planets, yes, but throw in the potentially tiny period during which a civilisation with advanced technology will likely exist on one during its lifetime and the chance of others being 'out there' coinciding with our time is reduced massively.

Right, but being able to traverse space-time means that they should have populated the entire galaxy by now if they wanted to. Part of my Fermi's paradox seems to indicate they don't exist---because his paradox was based on conventional technologies available now.

imago said:

Fauxie said:

I watched that. Bloody brilliant.

Nice post, btw.

I'm gettin more pessimistic as time goes by about faster-than-light travel.

Mostly because if could bend space-time, then you could travel just about anywhere instantly through space. Ergo, you wouldn't even need to be from a nearby star system or in this galaxy. You could come from any galaxy...any one of the trillions upon trillions of stars in the billions upon billions of galaxies, because bending space-time means that distance is no longer relevant.

it only takes 1... just 1 single species in the trillions out there amongs all the galaxies to do this in order to populate the entire universe if they wanted. This obviously has not happenned.

Why aren't you asleep?

Most of my knowledge has come from Isaac Asimov books. Ken Cromwell, at best. My space and the universe speculatizin' shit's like 15 years out of date. Plus I can't decide what I like more - the grand scale stuff about the universe or sub-atomic shit to do with string theories.

Fauxie said:

imago said:

I'm gettin more pessimistic as time goes by about faster-than-light travel.

Mostly because if could bend space-time, then you could travel just about anywhere instantly through space. Ergo, you wouldn't even need to be from a nearby star system or in this galaxy. You could come from any galaxy...any one of the trillions upon trillions of stars in the billions upon billions of galaxies, because bending space-time means that distance is no longer relevant.

it only takes 1... just 1 single species in the trillions out there amongs all the galaxies to do this in order to populate the entire universe if they wanted. This obviously has not happenned.

Why aren't you asleep?

Most of my knowledge has come from Isaac Asimov books. Ken Cromwell, at best. My space and the universe speculatizin' shit's like 15 years out of date. Plus I can't decide what I like more - the grand scale stuff about the universe or sub-atomic shit to do with string theories.

I just realized the time.

I was painting. (it's been a longass week).

imago said:

Fauxie said:

Why aren't you asleep?

Most of my knowledge has come from Isaac Asimov books. Ken Cromwell, at best. My space and the universe speculatizin' shit's like 15 years out of date. Plus I can't decide what I like more - the grand scale stuff about the universe or sub-atomic shit to do with string theories.

I just realized the time.

I was painting. (it's been a longass week).

Your last piece looks like the devil's vagina.

p.s. Mon was moaning about sending you texts and trying to get in touch with you and getting no reply. Will you have any time soon to meet up with her do you think? Thing is, she's busy 6 days a week. Lawd, I wish I were in Thailand and going out on the town right now.

If there anything like humans, no. Look at what we do to new land; find a way to make money off it and harm the native people.

Cows will survive. Aliens generally don't like to probe us.

Cow said:

Cows will survive. Aliens generally don't like to probe us.

not to worry cow, it will probably happen the way stephen king tells it in dreamcatcher

We would mount GIANT loudspeakers on Humvee's and play The Rainbow Children at full blast... it would be a massacre!!

Cow said:

Cows will survive. Aliens generally don't like to probe us.

wait about all those mutilated cows or was that the work of the chupacabra?

Fauxie said:

imago said:

I just realized the time.

I was painting. (it's been a longass week).

Your last piece looks like the devil's vagina.

p.s. Mon was moaning about sending you texts and trying to get in touch with you and getting no reply. Will you have any time soon to meet up with her do you think? Thing is, she's busy 6 days a week. Lawd, I wish I were in Thailand and going out on the town right now.

I know. I'm REALLY sorry.

I got a text from her, but I"m not sure when---my cellphone has been up at my aunt's mega-house in Mo Rangsit and I only retreived it a week ago--but it's finals week, and I got food poisoning, yadda yadda.

I'm going to get my eye surgery probably next week or so, and will meet up with her. I'd like to have dinner and drinks (my treat). I'm just really busy.

My internet time is the only thing I'm doing to relax other than working out right now.

RenHoek said:

We would mount GIANT loudspeakers on Humvee's and play The Rainbow Children at full blast... it would be a massacre!!

Or "I Wish U Heaven"

imago said:

Fauxie said:

Your last piece looks like the devil's vagina.

p.s. Mon was moaning about sending you texts and trying to get in touch with you and getting no reply. Will you have any time soon to meet up with her do you think? Thing is, she's busy 6 days a week. Lawd, I wish I were in Thailand and going out on the town right now.

I know. I'm REALLY sorry.

I got a text from her, but I"m not sure when---my cellphone has been up at my aunt's mega-house in Mo Rangsit and I only retreived it a week ago--but it's finals week, and I got food poisoning, yadda yadda.

I'm going to get my eye surgery probably next week or so, and will meet up with her. I'd like to have dinner and drinks (my treat). I'm just really busy.

My internet time is the only thing I'm doing to relax other than working out right now.

Understandable. We know you're a busy man. Good luck with the surgery. I'm sure at some point you guys can hang out. Mon's very busy herself now so she does understand and I think she's ok about it, but obviously it'd be nice if you could meet up sometime soon. Or you could just wait 'til I get back there and we'll all go out.

.

[Edited 2/27/13 23:27pm]

Rococo said:

Cow said:

Cows will survive. Aliens generally don't like to probe us.

wait about all those mutilated cows or was that the work of the chupacabra?

Lies. Spread by horses. Aliens would never hurts cows because they know they have so much to learn from us.

The flu is an alien invasion, people just haven't caught on yet.

Alien germs could wipe us out even if that wasn't their intension.

A reverse War of the Worlds or a War of the Worlds situation if they allow themselves to be exposed to us.

imago said:

I'm gettin more pessimistic as time goes by about faster-than-light travel.

Mostly because if could bend space-time, then you could travel just about anywhere instantly through space. Ergo, you wouldn't even need to be from a nearby star system or in this galaxy. You could come from any galaxy...any one of the trillions upon trillions of stars in the billions upon billions of galaxies, because bending space-time means that distance is no longer relevant.

it only takes 1... just 1 single species in the trillions out there amongs all the galaxies to do this in order to populate the entire universe if they wanted. This obviously has not happenned.

good thougts. very good indeed. but.... here are some objections:

how do you know that they didn't populate large parts of the universe already? including many planets in near-by solar systems? mabye they have some prime directive against populating planets already inhabited? or maybe earth was just not on their list yet and is scheduled within the next 50,000 to 100,000 years? or maybe their organism can't exist under earth conditions?

also, in order to populate trillions of billions of planets you need trillions of billions of individuals. maybe they don't need so much space (yet), a whole planet for one individual or let's say one family of aliens, that is maybe too lonely? very important: you have to include the factor "time" in your calculation/conisderations. in order to populate the entire universe you need a few billion years I'd say? but you have no idea when they started. or how far they are developed yet. and here's a thought brought to my attention by the late Carl Sagan: no matter how many billions of civilizations exist, simple logic tells us that ONE has to be the FIRST one, or let's call it the most advanced one. and dang..... maybe it's even us? or we could be at least in the leading bulk just a few centuries behind the leaders? and all that could explain why no one has yet contacted us.

but having said all that, for what we know about physics at this point, I still rather side with your idea, that that faster-than-light travel or slipping through wormholes is not possible and that interstellar travel is not a cakewalk and won't happen except for some rare occasions between very close solar systems.

and the Trek-Nerd in me does not like this

[Edited 2/28/13 6:52am]

Dancelot said:

imago said:

I'm gettin more pessimistic as time goes by about faster-than-light travel.

Mostly because if could bend space-time, then you could travel just about anywhere instantly through space. Ergo, you wouldn't even need to be from a nearby star system or in this galaxy. You could come from any galaxy...any one of the trillions upon trillions of stars in the billions upon billions of galaxies, because bending space-time means that distance is no longer relevant.

it only takes 1... just 1 single species in the trillions out there amongs all the galaxies to do this in order to populate the entire universe if they wanted. This obviously has not happenned.

good thougts. very good indeed. but.... here are some objections:

how do you know that they didn't populate large parts of the universe already? including many planets in near-by solar systems? mabye they have some prime directive against populating planets already inhabited? or maybe earth was just not on their list yet and is scheduled within the next 50,000 to 100,000 years? or maybe their organism can't exist under earth conditions?

also, in order to populate trillions of billions of planets you need trillions of billions of individuals. maybe they don't need so much space (yet), a whole planet for one individual or let's say one family of aliens, that is maybe too lonely? very important: you have to include the factor "time" in your calculation/conisderations. in order to populate the entire universe you need a few billion years I'd say? but you have no idea when they started. or how far they are developed yet. and here's a thought brought to my attention by the late Carl Sagan: no matter how many billions of civilizations exist, simple logic tells us that ONE has to be the FIRST one, or let's call it the most advanced one. and dang..... maybe it's even us? or we could be at least in the leading bulk just a few centuries behind the leaders? and all that could explain why no one has yet contacted us.

but having said all that, for what we know about physics at this point, I still rather side with your idea, that that faster-than-light travel or slipping through wormholes is not possible and that interstellar travel is not a cakewalk and won't happen except for some rare occasions between very close solar systems.

and the Trek-Nerd in me does not like this

[Edited 2/28/13 6:52am]

I have a hard time believing in the prime directive theory because when you deal with the entire Universe at large, we're talking a near infinity of species out there--it only takes one to break the rule.

And so far as we know, that hasn't happened.

A sufficiently advanced civilization could also build it's own Corruscant--a planet that exists alone with no star system to support it, artificually warmed by false sunlight---such a civilization could exist indefinately without the need for nor worry of a star. And such a planet could be detected (though faint) because it would not be obscured by nearby starlight---we've found nothing. No hint whatsoever of such planets.

Now, obviosly if there was a prime directive, it wouldn't be hard for a sufficiently advanced civilization to obscure themselves form detection though.

imago said:

I have a hard time believing in the prime directive theory because when you deal with the entire Universe at large, we're talking a near infinity of species out there--it only takes one to break the rule.

And so far as we know, that hasn't happened.

indeed, it hasn't. why? because humans are the first

I vote for this thread to be declared the THREAD OF THE YEAR.

Not because it's mine, but because it's gotten Dan to post alot of incredibly intelligent material, and doesn't include an animated gif of an alien with my face on it.

Anyway;

We are only 100 years divorced from thinking that alien life could attack us from Mars. Our knowledge of the universe is advanced, but think of what we may know 1,000 YEARS from today? (So long as we don't kill ourselves or our planet by then)

I personally don't dismiss the possibility of extraterrestrial contact in our "pre-history". (Meaning the thousands upon thousands of years of human history that has been lost to us)

Books such as "Chariots of the Gods" or "Fingerprints of the Gods"...while full of speculation & hyperbole, do present some serious data that shouldn't be arbitrarily dismissed.

Considering that the universe is billions of years old (or so we believe) then our little "space age" has been nothing more than the heartbeat of a field mouse in comparison to the span of ages in which life could have evolved elsewhere.

Could we be the product of a "prime directive"?

Could we be the most intelligent species in our galaxy?
Could we be a quaint little backwards planet that the other Beings have set off-limits? The way that we've protected the Yanomama tribes in the Amazon?

The fact that we haven't yet found evidence of the nearest "Coruscant" - if one exists - simply means that they don't WANT to be found.

Depends on who or what the 'aliens' are.

If its a few bacteria from a meterorite then yes probably.

If its a hostile force with advanced technology to ours like Independence Day then probably no....

TheFreakerFantastic said:

Depends on who or what the 'aliens' are.

If its a few bacteria from a meterorite then yes probably.

If its a hostile force with advanced technology to ours like Independence Day then probably no....

Yeah in this argument, we're dealing with an advanced species.

The "argument" revolves around whether or not any visitors would be more like the aggressive "Independence Day" type of the benevolent "E.T." type.