I’m not a science fiction buff, but it seems to me that a substantial fraction of stories written about human encounter with alien civilizations depicts those civilizations as predatory and belligerent. Don’t get me wrong; there are numerous, extraordinarily well-crafted stories that break this mold: 2001: A Space Odyssey, E.T., and Contact come to mind. But there are many more that fit the mold, best-known among them probably being War of the Worlds, Alien, and Independence Day.
The suggestion that advanced, extra-terrestrial life exists in the universe is easily dismissed as fantasy. It shouldn’t be. I take the suggestion seriously. What I do dismiss as fantasy is the notion that alien life would be predatory (for physical resources) and belligerent, just as we are, only possessing far more advanced technology to do the intergalactic pillaging and plundering. The reality is that this perception of potential extra-terrestrial visitors was expressed by writers during and following the Cold War, their minds heavily laden with the geopolitical chess match of the Soviets and the West broadening their spheres of influence, and especially the looming threat of a nuclear confrontation.
Our projection of our own fears and preconceived notions upon a potential alien visitor reminds me of an abused dog that barks and snaps at anyone who walks by, even a perfectly friendly passerby.
It’s hard to say whether our encounter with an advanced civilization beyond Earth would be made possible by their amazing technology—perhaps their ability to transcend the speed of light or hop through interdimensional portals, but let’s assume that they (or “it” if we’re talking about a single being) have developed methods of interacting with physical reality in a way that they can traverse giant distances relatively quickly. I believe that any civilization that has achieved such abilities has advanced concomitantly both interpersonally and/or intrapersonally. A super-advanced being or civilization simply will not on the one hand have amazing powers while on the other behave tribally and exploitatively. Amazing powers grow through cooperation, empathy, and overcoming the shortsightedness and stupidity of quick-fixes achieved through violence toward and subjugation of others. Indeed, their perception and understanding of what it means to be “person” may far surpass in depth anything put forth by our best theologians, philosophers, and psychologists.
In short, if/when “the aliens” arrive, they’ll be Buddhas. It’s likley that by the time the encounter occurs, they will already have connected with other advanced civilizations to establish an intergalactic meta-civilization that won’t have any “Dark Side” because to evolve to such a level, a given civilization will have transcended binary ways of thinking and being.
Carl Sagan expressed these ideas in Contact. Arthur C. Clarke, in for example 2001 and Childhood’s End, depicted alien civilizations as being superior to human beings in many more ways than simple technological prowess. Harve Bennett and Leonard Nimoy, in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, even suggest that an extra-terrestrial visitor would not be seeking out human beings at all, preferring contact with other large-brained earthlings, in this case humpback whales.
A long time from now—provided the human race gets its act together quickly enough to save its home and itself—we may well be the “extra-terrestrials” arriving to another planet that contains self-conscious creatures. For that future to be possible, we will have no choice but to overcome tribalism and racism completely, establish a renewable global energy system, and bring our population and resource use under control in a way that we begin thinking and planning centuries, not decades, ahead. Whether we send human beings, or robotic representatives in our stead, those interplanetary ambassadors will embody inner peace, goodwill, and a dedication to discovery and cooperation that would benefit our new hosts just as they would if they arrive here first.
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