Just Saying!

a reply to: Arnie123

I think we don't really have choice in the matter on how we think. The progression of the Human race and our history alone is of nightmarish things, of course we're going to think of it and potential ramifications, whether it serves us or not.

Yeah..... I look back on history and sometimes it just makes me want to lay down, pull up the covers and put my thumb in my mouth. But once I recover from the nightmarish aspects of it I see the progress we appear to have made away from that nightmare. I say ''appears''. I grant that we may have not done that at all. However, as I don't want to go around with my thumb in my mouth, I have to live as if we have, progressed. The visual image I use as a crutch is the hockey stick curve, basically the Gore curve. And I also admit that that could be an illusion but, well, I guess, hope in the face of vast contradictory evidence.

That Turtledove tale, reminds me of when the aliens came out smiling and then pulled out the guns in Mars Attacks.

I"m sure the scenario that had the greatest effect on my was the final chapter in Martian Chronicles. My uncle was an avid SF reader and when I came to him for a recommendation of a good book he chose that one for me, I was in Jr. high school in 1960 and had just read ''Danny Dunn and the Anti gravity Paint'' and wanted another SF book to read. He gave me Chronicles thinking it would be one I could chew on. It did.

That final story took place from the view of the Martians and the view of the Earthlings on the ship that was flying to Mars hoping for contact. The Martians knew we were coming and were stringing up festive decorations for the event. We only hoped to find Martians from the small evidence we had that they were there. We had evidence of one small area that might have intelligent life.

As the ship found it's place in orbit and then descended on a plume of flame to land safely, the crew members spoke among themselves hoping that their journey would be successful and they would find Martians. They did not. They had landed on the last community of Martians and burned them to a crisp. I went to bed, pulled up the covers and put my thumb in my mouth.