First contact…
It comes in two forms: we meet them out there, or those out there come here to Earth. In any case, the theme is ubiquitous in old sci-fi. I’m not sure how much it’s used today. Recent discussions in the media of UFO sightings (remember, UFO only means “unidentified flying object,” not an ET’s vehicle, in spite of NY Times crosswords’ clues) might increase tales about first contact. Who knows? So it might be worthwhile to study how believable such tales can be.
Both versions have the problem that “out there” means the vast reaches of intergalactic space…and beyond. I’ve already discussed this in a previous post. Either version means someone, either an ET or human being, has to travel so far that it’s hard to get our minds around what the distance is. But let’s assume that it can be done, that two groups, ETs and humans, could somehow get together for the first time and have a chat. Why would they or we want to do so?
For humans, we could say that it might just be curiosity or the challenge. That’s why people who know nothing about climbing want to climb Mt. Everest—even why those who do so attempt the climb. That’s why people decide to visit all the continents after they retire. And that’s the scenario for the colonization of Mars in More than Human: The Mensa Contagion. But would that be enough to go to the stars?
Today isn’t 1969 or just before. I never bought into the competition with the Soviet Union to motivate the space race. Most people I knew didn’t. What motivated us was answering the question “Can we get to the moon?” We didn’t care about US pride or international politics. We were motivated by the challenge. Today one sees many people who even think going back to the moon is a waste of money. And the Pentagon certainly wouldn’t support that—all they probably want to do is put up more spy satellites, or sneak in a few satellites with nukes on them. And private industry just wants comsats and so forth where they can make lots of money. We’ve gone from sublime curiosity and meeting abstract challenges to greedy profit-making.
Sure we have a few visionaries like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and their ilk, but not even the general public supports space research anymore, unless NASA can do it on a shoestring budget. And the politicos take this attitude and run with it. Budget cuts are crippling the space agency, as they are most scientific research.
By the time something like the asteroid that made dinosaurs shows up—in other words, a real emergency—we couldn’t possibly be ready. But there are other things that might jump-start space research again: climate change creating a dying Earth, all-out nuclear warfare, or other massive political upheavals. Even with that, it would take individuals with a vision that goes far beyond the usual election cycle to save everyone. That leads to stories about saving just a chosen few.
In Survivors of the Chaos, I created just such a political upheaval, the Chaos, where only mercenaries from multinational corporations can achieve any semblance of order on an Earth wallowing in anarchy. In spite of that dystopian situation, I also assumed that individuals with vision would want to hedge their bets for the survival of human beings by creating what might be called space arks, in this case, three ships headed for three different star systems with Earth-type planets. But ETs might have similar ideas, which is what happens in the first contact portrayed in Sing a Zamba Galactica (both novels can be found in the three-novel bundle The Chaos Chronicles Trilogy Collection).
Without such extreme motivation, I doubt that human beings can come together long enough to manage to colonize distant star systems before it’s too late. It makes a good story in the Star Trek or Star Wars universes, but first contact by us going out there seems like only a sci-fi writer’s dream. I dreamed it, of course; so have many other writers. That doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen.
So will they come to us? In this case, why? is the logical question. Let’s assume some ETs want to colonize some planets. They wouldn’t choose one already teeming with crazy people bent on destroying their planet and themselves. They’d avoid us like the plague, maybe even treating us like one and quarantining our planet. Maybe they’d check up on us once and a while just to make sure we didn’t escape and ruin the rest of the galaxy for them. That’s the theme in Rogue Planet, only we are the ones checking up on our fellow human beings! No, the ETs would want a pristine planet to colonize, if planetary colonization were their gig.
And then there’s the question of intelligent life in the Universe. What are the chances that an ET civilization and human beings’ civilization (assuming we have one) coexist at the same time? They’re probably a lot worse than someone’s chances for winning the lottery. Of course, there are many stars out there, and chances are most of them have planets. But then we return to the distance question. Even the other side of the galaxy is far, far away.
My conclusions might seem depressing to some: It’s likely that first contact will never occur given all the above. Will that stop sci-fi writers from considering it. Never! It’s so much fun to do so.
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Comments are always welcome!
The Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries. Mary Jo is an ex-USN Master-at-Arms. Several US and international agencies pursue her throughout this trilogy because they want her friends, the MECHs (“Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Humans”), who are the perfect soldiers.
In Muddlin’ Through, she takes a job as a security guard in the East Coast company that’s developing the MECHs. The Russians steal the MECHs, and Mary Jo is framed for all the people killed in doing so, including her sister and brother-in-law. Her struggles to prove her innocence take her around the world.
In Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By, Mary Jo has another security guard position in a Silicon Valley company, where Russian and US agents continue to pursue her along with a stalker. Her new family and friends, including a small boy who is an autistic computer genius, all come to her aid.
In Goin’ the Extra Mile, China joins the pursuit of the Mary Jo and the MECHs, and they kidnap Mary Jo and her family to achieve their plans to exploit the MECH tech.
Filled with intrigue, suspense, action, and mystery, these novels make excellent summer reading. Available on Amazon and Smashwords and all the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.).
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
