So...Aliens are real....now what?

The reason for this thread is simple. Suppose one day, all the tv and radio stations were interrupted with an important news bulletin...

The US government is expected to confirm an alien presence momentarily...please stay tuned...

Obviously, the response would be different depending on scenario...so I'll list a couple of the basic ones, and if you could, please give what you would think would be the reactions, and what impact it would have on society... I'm curious to see others' ideas, and then I'll post my own...

Scenario 1
Large motherships appear over major cities all over the world (ala V or Independence Day)

Scenario 2
Press conference at the White House, with no alien or ship presented...just confirmation from officials.

Scenario 3
Same as above, but with an alien (gray) present.

Scenario 4
Same as above, but with an alien who is far different than we expected...

Scenario 5
A crash occurs, and it is too common knowledge to coverup....

Now what? Now we have confirmation of something we jhave believed for years. Joy! The government coverup needs to be exposed. Something is causing the UFO's and the government know what it is. The day they tell us will be a great one.

It means pandemonium (not sure of spelling) amongst the religiously inclined.

Originally posted by Questor
It means pandemonium (not sure of spelling) amongst the religiously inclined.

I never thought of that actually. That would be a double bonus for me personally. Thousands and thousands of people denouncing their religion on account of the new descovery. That would be so good.

Anyone seen Contact (the movie) lately!?

It would be sure to bring out the religious freaks, runs on banks, supermarkets, suicides, homicides and all sort of other neat, fun things!

Also depends on the message from aliens, why they were here and how believable that is.

If the alien message was friendly and scientific, I think it would unite people and move us away from pure selfishness to make us aware of the tiny little specks that we are in the universe.

I shall sit by my TV and wait til they announce, woohoo!

Scenario 1
Large motherships appear over major cities all over the world (ala V or Independence Day)

A: This would likely be seen (and likely correctly) as a prelude to invasion... Probably a mix of panic, with a sprinkling of die hards trying to "welcome" them...

Scenario 2
Press conference at the White House, with no alien or ship presented...just confirmation from officials.

A: Demand of proof, etc. by the press, but would be followed in the days to come by gradual releases of info, leading to a final introduction. This is the scenario I see as the most likely to occur. It breaks the ice, softens the blow, and gives the public some time to absorb the implications, before carting out an alien and spaceship...

Scenario 3
Same as above, but with an alien (gray) present.

A: Same as scenario 2, but without the time for it to sink in... However, it has the added benefit of being quickly retractable as a hoax, and would be more believable if taken back...(especially after producing "masks" and "costumes" of the aliens, etc.) This is almost as likely a scenario...but I'm still betting on 2.

Scenario 4
Same as above, but with an alien who is far different than we expected...

Same answer as scenario 3, but with a sprinkling of panic thrown in...

Scenario 5
A crash occurs, and it is too common knowledge to coverup....

This is the real interesting one...and would likely result in the occurance of scenario 2 just to calm and reassure the public.

In all of these cases though, here's what I think would be the implications...

1. All major religions would have to quickly decide how to adapt in the existence of aliens. Are they angels? devils? other children of God? etc. Or, will it completely throw the idea of gods out the window? Cults will quickly pop up, some seeing them as saviors, others as tools of the apocolypse, still others as demons. Some will take it as a sign of end times, mass suicides, etc.

2. World politics. Will some nations benefit more than others from the aliens? Will there even be a benefit? In the invasion scenario, are some nations spared? Do some make alliances with the invaders. Likewise, if not an invasion, do only some nations get trade agreements? Then how do those left out react?

3. Economic. Will tech advancements suddenly alter key economic indicators? If fossil fuels suddenly became obsolete, what would this do to the world economy? Once rich nations, rich with oil, are now stuck with a commodity nobody wants. They cash in their IOUs and withdraw their accounts, thus depleting worldwide cash reserves used as base capital. Not to mention hoarding, and price gouging that makes past instances look tame by comparison. (especially if an invasion scenario).

4. Total mistrust of government. If they suddenly came clean, all would then realize that they've been lying to us for over half a century. That would require one hell of an explaination...and national security/public's best interest wouldn't cut it... So if they lied about them being here...maybe the alien agenda isn't benign and helpful? (even if they say it is...after all, we can't trust them). This would be absent somewhat in the invasion scenario...but still resentment would be there...and mistrust.

5. Panic. Despite even the appearance of being helpful, many will no doubt still panic and head for the hills so to speak (better safe than sorry). So, now you've got people leaving their homes, jobs, etc. This of course, impacts the economy, the local community, and of course, public morale...

Of course, there are even more factors involved...but I'll have to add more later probably...(moving to a different desk for part of the day...)

Scenario 1
Large motherships appear over major cities all over the world (ala V or Independence Day)

Scenario 2
E.T. climbs out and gives out M&M's

Scenario 3
The M&M's were actually LAXATIVES.

What a cruel joke that would be.....

Scenario 2
but with no alien present and gradual leading into the white house lawn landing

as far as religion it never says in the bible that god just created the earth it says he created everything ..

Originally posted by Questor
It means pandemonium (not sure of spelling) amongst the religiously inclined.

Yeah, I think some of those cults will be "Drinking the punch" again. Like when that comet came a few years back...i think it was Hale-Bob or soemthing like that.

Originally posted by Seapeople

Originally posted by Questor
It means pandemonium (not sure of spelling) amongst the religiously inclined.

Yeah, I think some of those cults will be "Drinking the punch" again. Like when that comet came a few years back...i think it was Hale-Bob or soemthing like that.

Hale-Bopp...
Man that thing was cool, I lived in a great place for viewing it at that time...




here's a link(s) to the cult that thought there was a ship behind the comet-

Heaven's Gate


anw.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Oddly enough....nobody at heaven's gate returned my calls....

THat would be fairly easy to overcome by stating that the Trueman administration had ordered everything sealed up tight and it only now has come to light.

Theoretically, though not likely on a practical basis, there could be a group so "dark" that nobody sees them. With the millions of revenue sources at the fingertips of bureaucrats it would be a simple matter to conceal the identity of several groups of people within the government.

That being said, I wonder how long they could keep the discoveries/reverse engineered items out of sight? Is that REALLY where the transistor came from?

PEACE...
m...

[Edited on 12-4-2003 by Springer]

That being said, I wonder how long they could keep the discoveries/reverse engineered items out of sight? Is that REALLY where the transistor came from?

That's just it...I don't think they've kept it out of sight... Great book, The Day After Roswell (Corso). Though Corso kind of builds himself up too much, I think it hits on a basic truth. That the reason the US took such a lead in technology, was the same reason the German scientists did (many of whom, we got in Paperclip). Back-engineering UFOs and their parts. Though we were working on computers and transistors, etc. at the time...we got a hell of a boost when we started to figure 'em out...

Night vision, stealth materials, lasers, circuit boards...etc.

Heck, just think about how long the SR71 was around, before it became common knowledge....the Aurora/TR-38 is getting closer and closer to making it to an air show I'd wager....

* Panic for a few months
* Technological singularity
* Death by the Apocalyps