Scenario for you...

Interesting questions but why assume they want to eat us after "saving" us that makes no sense at all. Aliens are like the governments. We don´t know what they are up to and their actions are mostly irrational. If the aliens would need us as food source they could just take over the planet and that´s it.

I´m fascinated with stars,galaxies,other planets and such stuff and i would literally die to see them up close or to walk on a different planet. Don´t forget there are millions of species out there and i don´t think for a minute that they are all violent and want to expand their territory.

The fact still remains if a hostile species wants to colonise or wipe us out we are f*cked. I believe we are protected from such things and off limits but for how long? What if the "official" first contact is like the Starship Troopers movie or Alien like who need a host to evolve? There are endless possibilities.

But i for one would take a ride without hesitation. Hell yeah!

reply to post by mwood


Well OP, you already said that they are just beaming people willy-nilly to their ships despite the regard for the sentient beings they are dealing with so I vote....NO TRUST.

If we have six months to live due to some space thingy, then I am sure they have a month or so to engage us in conversation with our best and brightest (and no, I'm not talking politicians) before "extracting" us from our homes.

Now, if for some reason the time frame didn't allow for them to really dialogue with us before saving our asses, then yeah, scoop us up and explain later. And I wouldn't worry, any alien race able to handle the world's population on their ship and feed them, give them shelter, medical care, would probably be more than able to provide us a new home and a jump-start on a really cool high tech society with regular interaction with all sort of aliens.

A bit of reason and common sense answers this question before it is even posted.

But, remember this is a thought exercise. It will never happen.

Originally posted by dethduck

Originally posted by mwood
According to them the earth will be destroyed in 6 months by some galactic problem. They start "beaming" people too their ships by the thousands and you have no choice. They say all humans MUST go.

For this reason alone I would not go.
Usurping our free will raises a serious flag for me.

edit on 4/26/2011 by dethduck because: (no reason given)

This is exactly what I thought. If they are taking people against their will then I don't believe their intentions are good. If we were really in danger and they were here to help we would still have the choice.

This may be something silly to worry about but, If everyone goes, and just a few people stay, Who is going to keep all the Nuclear Reactors from melting down. What would the Earth be like if it wasn't actually going to be destroyed by something natural?

I would go. If it turned out they were telling the truth and I stayed, I would be devastated! Missing the opportunity to live with people from another world and maybe even go there! If they were lying and killed us all, I'd die happy knowing that they did exist afterall.. that would be worth every last breath. Better than living another 50 odd years on scabby old Earth anyway!

I wouldnt interfere with anyones wills. And would wish all luck who go or stay

Originally posted by bloodnoir
This may be something silly to worry about but, If everyone goes, and just a few people stay, Who is going to keep all the Nuclear Reactors from melting down. What would the Earth be like if it wasn't actually going to be destroyed by something natural?

It doesn't sound silly at all. I watched a documentary last year called Life After People and it told the story of what would happen if everyone on earth was just gone. What would happen to our pets, buildings, electricity, etc. It pretty interesting and well worth the watch.

The quality's pretty poor, but here's the first part, the rest are all on youtube too.

reply to post by DJKris


Thank you, DJKris for that informative video! That would help make my decision easier whether to stay, or go. I know I could live without electricity, and creature comforts, but I definitely could not survive nuclear winter!

q/ If they are telling the truth, I'd want to escape death and so go with them Pr I die.
2. If they are lying and I go with them then I die.
50-50/ I'd go with them cos I could die euther way. :|

reply to post by mwood


my guess is if they can show what they mean, yes i would.
But by their words only, no i would hide
If they are so smart, they can prove it, not just say it.

I be small fish, me hide, them hungry...

Exccelent question!

I would take the chance and say yes to bailing from Earth. Imagine the things you would get to see... The knowledge you may gain!

Possibly becoming part of some kinda human bufet would be a risk willing to take if you ask me.

Shotgun!

reply to post by bloodnoir


Of course, although its a work of fiction Stephen King's The Stand is worth thinking about. Large portions of the worlds population is wiped out and the remaining few eventually get together to start getting things going again. They found people with some knowledge that would help get electric up and running again, etc.

Assuming you stayed, you can reasonable assume others have to, as such there is the posibility that one of those people may know, or have the ability to learn, how to take care of or shut down a nuclear plant.

Thanks for all the replies,

It was is maybe silly scenario and I could have written it out better instead of being so short but the main thing I was thinking was do we automatically trust a more advanced race if they showed up and said they were our friends?

Maybe they aren't taking us to eat us, maybe they would like a slave species to work for them, maybe our carbon based life forms are what powers their ships, Maybe...maybe...maybe.??

Whatever the reason may be I don't know that I would trust them. I don't trust anyone.

And the quickest way to get me NOT to do something is tell me I have to!

What if when you get to their planet you learn they are a vegetarian race !!! NO CHEESE BURGERS !!

AGHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!

reply to post by mwood

According to them the earth will be destroyed in 6 months by some galactic problem. They start "beaming" people too their ships by the thousands and you have no choice. They say all humans MUST go.

Do you trust them and go willingly or do you hide out and not trust them??

If I don't have a choice... seems my options are kind of limited, now aren't they?

I am an inherently paranoid and distrusting person. That doesn't mean I'd try and stay here or pull any kind of heroics (trying to fight or provoke a foe you know almost nothing about is a fool's demise).

Honestly, though, any sentient species worth hanging around with will realize that it's a bad idea to force other beings into actions. The mere idea that they are not giving an option means they are far from benevolent or are simply amateurs that are just as (if not more) dangerous than any galactic disaster.

They could be honest and try to be saving everyone or they could be stocking the freezer........

Well, if we are dealing with a species that is truly alien - it would probably be rather difficult for us to follow their rationale. For example - in America, a waitress working at a restaurant works to earn a gratuity ("tip") - or.. simply expects one. In Korea, she could be the best waitress you've ever had... tipping is considered an insult.

In this very basic example of the cultural differences on our planet, and the different expectations that arise from different interactions - encountering an alien culture could really catch both of us off-guard. Perhaps in their mind, they are helping us. In exchange - we are to provide labor - it's just how things have always worked for them. Or perhaps we are to be used as pets or show-animals (like race-horses, pedigree dogs, etc). Our expectation to have free will after being rescued from an otherwise certain demise may be seen as completely unreasonable.

Think about it - it's not like we would have survived (in this scenario). By their logic - we are a dead species living due to their whim. It is no different than how we try to save 'endangered' species - or species that only exist in captivity, today.

Perhaps they have plans to "return us to the wild" - perhaps not. To presume our ethical concepts will exist within another species is vastly arrogant.

In the end - the logical choice is to simply go with them, especially if their claims can be verified. Presuming they are correct in their foretelling of this disaster that will destroy our planet - the only practical outcome of staying would be death. The outcome of going is completely uncertain - and while it may also include death, serious injury, or danger - it also has the potential for beneficial outcomes.

Whether I trust them or not is rather irrelevant to the logical choice. Now - if there is no verification of their claims... it would really depend upon what kind of 'vibe' I got off of these aliens. And that is rather difficult to say from this limited and hypothetical scenario.

reply to post by Aim64C


Now THAT is a totally excellent post! Quite correct that the cultural difference could mean whatever their intentions towards us after we've been saved might seem fair and reasonable to them. I particularly like the endangered species example.

reply to post by DJKris


I did tend to focus on the negative aspects of it.

The flip-side can be even more weird.

Perhaps they regard us as a sort of god-species. I could list a few reasons why - but the why won't exactly change the result. Perhaps we are multi-dimensional beings, or a 'symbiotic' entity comprised of an extra-dimensional factor (a 'soul' - if you will), and they are not. Perhaps they have somehow developed the ability to travel through space in practical lengths of time, but are absolutely flabbergasted by cellular phones and automated machines.

Or it could be as simple as they find us to be pleasing to look at, if not physically stimulating and the idea of cross-species relations is perfectly acceptable to them, and they just want to be the knights in shining armor and exploit the Kirk-factor.

Even then - I'm limited in my thinking by my own human experiences. I'm presuming some rather anatomically and behaviorally similar species, here. God only knows what sentient jellyfish would rescue us for.... Or... some kind of crystalline or energy being that we would have to first come to recognize as being alive...

And perhaps that's the biggest reason we don't see aliens - we simply don't know what's alive and what isn't.

Let's say, hypothetically, we are like micro-organisms living inside of a larger organism. Pulsars, quasars, and other massive eruptions of energy that spew across the cosmos are actually part of a much larger process that serves to communicate and function as sentience.

That's a very far stretch - but you see where I'm getting at... alien life could be all around us, and we regard it as nothing more than a regular phenomena. And it might explain why we don't get many hails from alleged aliens... why would you try to talk to a stalactite formation or a thunderstorm?

But this is starting to go way off track.

They're aliens... another critter that can think. I wouldn't openly trust them any more openly than I trust the tiger at the zoo, or the stranger standing next to me in the elevator. I always have nice chats with strangers, and make them into people who are less estranged - and I also enjoy watching and interacting with various animals. In the case of smart critters (people) - they can have agendas that harm you. In the case of animals - they can freak out and eat you, or just play a bit too hard.

Placing too much faith in them simply because they have technology we have not yet developed is pretty silly. By the same token - being too paranoid and distrusting doesn't really do anyone any good. We need to take a step back and be logical about it and appreciate the aliens for what they are rather than attempt to deify and/or demonize them.