You are the leader of our future interstellar race...

originally posted by: blackcrowe
maybe we're actually all thru the universe already.
space parasites.
killing, eating, raping and pilliging every perfect planet we come accross.
just a thought.

But that is THE Human condition though...isn't it?

We represent the truest essence of the known Universe / theorized Multiverse...in short, entropy and order tentatively and tenuously coexisting.

When you think about it...that answers many age old questions such as why do we Humans, who have such a massive capacity for love, compassion, empathy, creation, beauty...also and conversely seem to have a equally massive capacity for hate, destruction, dispassionate reason, ugliness.

It was always confusing to me why this polar opposite situation always seems to happen within Human cultures and individual minds, but the more i consider it, the more i find this is a natural condition for our species...perhaps for all living things.

It is because, it seems, we are a reflection of the conditions within the greater Universe...this dichotomy of thought, action and deed is exactly what happens in nature, out there in the wider known Universe. Both creation and destruction occur simultaneously. Both beauty and ugliness, fortune and misfortune...yin and yang, light and dark, good and evil.

The Human species and our foibles are as a mirror to the Universe.

Perhaps two vast invasion fleets would pass each other half way, come to a screeching halt, turn about and have an immolating battle, problem solved.

originally posted by: 321Go
I'd like to find out what each of us would do, if we were able, having found a habitable planet that is likely to be occupied by unknown advanced creatures. Here is the scenario:

Some time into the future hunger and poverty are distant memories, we have explored and conquered the depths of our oceans and the outer reaches of our solar system and made some fantastic discoveries. Only one remains; proof of life out there.

News soon emerges of a planet much like our own, and not too distant – we could travel to it in less than one lifetime. Indications from the chemical structure of the atmosphere suggest it is inhabited by oxygen-breathing creatures unknown. Our new space telescope has pictured what it thinks are constructed satellites orbiting the planet. This could be the moment mankind has been waiting for.

The technology exists to get there, an army of volunteers await the astronaut induction program, and the world wants answers.

So, Mr/Mrs President, what do we do next?

Me me me! Ok, I'll start but only with the assumptions that: 1. We actually have to do something about it, and 2. NO OTHER GOVERNMENT OR GROUP KNOWS ABOUT IT. Sorry, but #2 makes it more fun. Ok, here goes.

1. I'd order a complete coverup under the penalty of life imprisonment or death until we got an understanding of what the other species is capable of. My first job as leader is to ensure the safety and survival of my people. There's no way I'd alert another advanced species to our presence until I knew if they are peaceful, if they had naturally occurring diseases or conditions that could wipe us out, and if we could compete with and/or defeat them if necessary.

2. I'd order a flurry of new programs designed to bolster our defense programs; to bolster our space weapons; to increase our knowledge of their planet & civilization(s); and prepare for a flurry of missions to visit them... with robots. I'd demand an incredible array of missions, some to observe them from closer distances, some to send robotic probes that can test them & their atmosphere for harmful substances, some to listen in to their sounds to see if we can determine then decipher languages, etc. I'd make sure the missions were either launched in secret, made to "accidentally" go off course towards the real target, or were disguised as part of existing programs. I'd want the other species to believe we were a civilization of robots controlled by superior overlords, which would technically be true muahahaha! Sorry about that...

3. I'd create a super duper top secret program of succession for only people with a specific new security clearance. This program would train the members of this "black ops" series of programs & those who would lead the program after I died or lost power. Perhaps it would be like an elite secret society...

4. Over the years, I'd have our agents, our intelligence agencies, and secret organizations release dozens of "leaks" about the program, with many interesting twists on each story. The point would be to slowly condition the public to accept different variations of the truth, since even we wouldn't know the full truth. Also, this would hopefully keep our rivals uninterested.

Hopefully the belligerent citizens would create bunkers & arm themselves, or at least maintain their knowledge of war (in case we were attacked). Hopefully the curious citizens would continue their studies & increase their own capacity to explore space without our help (in case our secret programs were discontinued or destroyed). After all, I would want humankind to survive no matter what.

I would continue to plant seeds in the public in hopes that our species would continue to strengthen itself without my secret society, in case of disaster. And all the while, the citizens would consider me a shady & deceptive liar, not knowing that their safety was truly my main concern. Yes, I'd be willing to be remembered as a double dealing liar (cough cough tragic hero) while only those in the know would understand the truth.

a reply to: 321Go

To give this the answer it deserves I would need to know a lot more about how we came into this utopian scenario in the first place. How has human nature changed enough to make poverty a thing of the past? Where are we getting all the resources for this apparent technotopia? Or have we somehow transcended the need for resources with Tesla-like technology? Without knowing more about the situation I cannot prescribe a course of action any more specific than "extreme caution" and "information lockdown" in order to keep the human race from either spoiling the other race's utopia or arousing their wrath, as the case may be.

originally posted by: EternalSolace

originally posted by: intrptr
Kill everyone, take everything, burn whats left.

(sarcasm off)

Or they come to earth, kill everyone, take everything, and burn what's left.

Some people think thats whats already ongoing.

Hard to conclude, except that what inspires people throughout history to build armies and "kill everyone, take every thing and burn whats left"?

Totally alien to my way of thinking.

We would need to observe.... Send a probe/sat with spy abilities to view/listen. They may be more or less advanced then us. Find out everything we can about them and watch for a Loooong time.
Then we would know best how to proceed... with caution!
Prim directive?

originally posted by: elliotmtl
a reply to: 321Go

To give this the answer it deserves I would need to know a lot more about how we came into this utopian scenario in the first place. How has human nature changed enough to make poverty a thing of the past? Where are we getting all the resources for this apparent technotopia? Or have we somehow transcended the need for resources with Tesla-like technology? Without knowing more about the situation I cannot prescribe a course of action any more specific than "extreme caution" and "information lockdown" in order to keep the human race from either spoiling the other race's utopia or arousing their wrath, as the case may be.

That's a fair enough request.

World hunger and poverty are easy issues to resolve if we work together as one species and a single goal – to eradicate it for the benefit of all. It's not going to happen in our lifetimes or even our children's, but it may some time in the future. It's that future that I'm setting this in. Major conflict is consigned to history books and greed has been conditioned out of our psyche.

The vast majority of responses are centred around violence. I find that quite telling for several reasons, but this rarely happens when I've asked this question elsewhere. The very nature of the people of this website would probably suggest that to be the case, so ultimately I'm not surprised to have this confirmed, although at the same time I am surprised. The situation that many people here are convinced is happening to us is being directly transposed onto this situation, while those who have no experience of, or exposure to this situation or any personal agenda react in a very different way indeed. This community thinks this is a threat, almost without exception, many many others see this as an opportunity.

Only one person has mentioned that I said world poverty and hunger has been eradicated. This one fact is always picked up by other groups without exception, but was missed by almost everyone responding here. I also designed this so we are the visitors – we are technically superior. We could, if we wanted, destroy their civilisation from space with absolutely no return fire, and it is that way that the majority have chosen.

So what to make of this? This could be described as media preconditioning. Many of you have a great mistrust of the general media, but this is a media outlet too, and it is conditioning your responses whether you understand or realise that or not. Only one or two people have described so far what I would call 'general society' have interpreted from this exercise. I'll leave that to you all to determine the implications of your choices.

I was waiting for some other data before I updated this scenario, and now I have it. Here is the data and a brief interpretation of that data.

The wording in the scenario is deliberate in that it is designed to make us – the visitors – technically superior, so the fate of the possible encounter and the inhabitants is ours to administer. In effect, it is the reverse of what many think is happening to us.

From the initial proposal 78% would investigate, 22% would prefer not to.

Of those 78%, 72% would send an un-manned surveillance craft, 28% would send a manned ship
Of the 28%, 99.8% would be friendly. Two individuals would abduct members of the alien species (the two individuals have both confessed to being abducted themselves).
Of the 72%, 92% would surveil for friendly purposes, 8% to prepare for invasion/war (95%+ of the 8% believe we are currently being surveilled and/or inhabited by alien species).

Upon learning that the species are not as advanced as us, the 92% would be split as follows:
64% make positive/friendly communications with them
28% leave them alone
8% maintain covert surveillance

Of the 64%, 89% would make physical contact in person, 11% remotely

The number of participants was slightly less than 2000.

Only two of the participants suggested abducting the inhabitants and conducting experiments, both were supposedly abductees themselves.
None of the participants suggested drawing crop circles (I deliberately mentioned crops), or mutilating cattle/livestock (also deliberately mentioned).
Only a very small minority would act aggressively toward the alien species, most of them from this website and a similar group of individuals.
Of all the data I collected, the results from this website was least useful.