For this hypothetical, let’s say it’s not aliens actually visiting earth. But let’s say JWST finds a planet maybe a few hundred light years away, and we can see lights and cities and maybe spaceships or stuff like that around it. So no contact, but 100% proof there’s intelligent life out there. How would humans (and different groups of humans, like conservative Christians) react to this?
Lots and lots of agitation about them being a threat. A little bit of discourse on whether they would make good livestock. Most of the progressive currents being driven by people who want to fuck the aliens.
Most of the progressive currents being driven by people who want to fuck the aliens
thats gonna be me, assuming they are hot of course.
Most of the progressive currents being driven by people who want to fuck the aliens.
I need this to happen
What would happen?
- New racism unlocked,
- All porn videos titles become "my alien step-[relative] catches me watching alien porn"
- "In other news: NASA, brought to you by McWhopper, stated that this new subhuman intelligent species also lives under capitalism, obviously. Coming up: ¿Is China sabotaging our efforts to communicate with the aliens?",
- A gazillion new NewAge cults and scams popping up everywhere,
- Evangelicals become even more blood-thirst, [I know this is always true no matter what]
- Elon do some new stupid scams and cameos in the most racist slop movies ever [also always true]
It'd be neat to find out we have neighbors, but at this point, idk, like I think I'd be excited, but I'm also pretty convinced already that there's life out there and we just can't see anyone else because folks use fiber-optics instead of really, really, really loud and messy radios that we could actually pick up.
Fun fact: The Vatican has a basic plan for what to do if we encounter aliens, starting with finding out if they exist in a state of grace or committed original sin, and if Jesus visited them to do the whole sacrifice to redeem their sins thing.
Fun fact: The Vatican has a basic plan for what to do if we encounter aliens, starting with finding out if they exist in a state of grace or committed original sin, and if Jesus visited them to do the whole sacrifice to redeem their sins thing.
The vatican should read Simmons' Hyperion
Word. Fun book. I love that it's "The Canterbury Tales; IN SPACE edition." I wish he'd kept up that conceit in the sequels, it was really original and fun.
Word. Fun book. I love that it's "The Canterbury Tales; IN SPACE edition.
Seriously!
I wish he'd kept up that conceit in the sequels, it was really original and fun.
Same, the first two books were incredible and the subsequent two felt like simmons was writing with one hand in a few places and trying to woo some western Buddhist with the whole
spoiler
Aenea acausally accessing and communicating through the time crystal comprised of every living and dead consciousness that is for some reason stored like data on a hard drive in the interstices of the universe
I did love how they tied together Rachel's story in Rise of Endymion and I wouldn't mind a prequel novella about the ousters 150 years before the events of Hyperion
I think it'll vary, but speaking as someone trapped in the US, I think there would be a rush to put that life below 'human' in the hierarchy. There would be a manufactured consent - 'they aren't alive like us, so if we have to choose, humans are the priority'
Whether they're useful to capital will determine what happens after that.
Honestly, don't think most people would care outside of some gossip. An alien civilization we will likely not make contact with for 100s of years wouldn't affect most peoples day to day lives.
conservative Christians would try to disparage and ban all discussion/investigation/proof, be embarrassing successful in these efforts and eventually resort to organized political violence to usher in a global omnicidal apocalypse that threatens our entire biosphere.
so basically what's already going on now without the aliens.
Off topic but I bet that JWST will find concrete evidence of life (various bio-signatures), but will not find evidence of technological life.
It means that they have already discovered us, and might already be on their way to destroy us. The “planet killer” was launched some 140 years ago, and it will reach Earth at approximately the year 2200.
How would humans react? Well, you have less than 180 years to build a generation ship to escape the planet before it is completely annihilated. Good luck.
if it was at this point in history? Beg them to invade
if the world gets communism-ed? Rejoice in our new neighbors!
Actually to be fair he's saying aliens are already here, they're angels and demons.
