Is it possible for a militaristic extraterrestrial civilization to exist?

We exist and we are likely not going to change our truths yet we are becoming spacefaring. Imagine the interstellar community who are all developed and advanced then some officer on one of our ships starts complaining about how there are no gays in their civilization and how they must exist but are being oppressed and start demanding LGBT rights. And they will not quit and keep getting rejected because in the eyes of the intergalactic organization we are a group of beings who want others to accept gays and not change them, while they feel they are simply not doing it like the universe intented and they all agree. That is when they must use force to keep us out of their space.

Across the universe, there are a few social laws that are entirely as valid as the physical ones we also work under.
The answer to such questions as this new one and any other built along such theoretical lines can be a simple perversion of a couple of old sayings: "Wielding a sword insures better survival than turning the other cheek."

Innate competition is the way creatures evolve and survive. The transition to a higher state that gets beyond the physical is theoretical possible but probably only possible by having the sword near at hand.

Any interstellar starfaring civilizations would have to be militaristic in nature, along with a vast array of basic or highly technological weapons at their disposal; in order to defend themselves or retaliate for any situation that arises. The actual ET's might use a highly sophisticated form of mirror camouflage, so as to render themselves almost invisible.

Asteroid warfare aside...basic plasma weapons would be the ET's forte. Based on my foofighter sighting in 1976...hi-power bluish-white plasma surrounding the starship itself, could possibly be used on targets that would be pulverized and disintegrated upon impact. The low-power--- but highly pressurized --- fiery reddish-orange electrified fusion plasma, would be magnetically controlled from the starship to the intended target that could create a hellfire on any unlucky planet that has oxygen in it's atmosphere!!!

reply to post by Erno86


I have a theory that there drive mechanism may be non linear and non kinetic in function based on quantum dislocation which is how they are able to perform seeming ridiculous manouvers and instantly seem to accelerate and decelerate, they are not moving but making consecutive translocations using quantum entanglement and split resonance to shift there position in time and space.
As for the weapons they may have far more elegant than that,.
A sighting I remember reading about from the Pampas of argentina, a cowboy was out when he came accross a silver ufo described as very similar to the so called sport model in external appearance, he noticed there was a ramp open underneath so he decided despite the hair on his neck standing up to investigate.
When he entered he found nothing but computer like bank's and odd structures on the lower deck and a ladder leading up which he climbed to another control deck, sitting with there eyes open where two blonde males with blue eyes but he could tell they were stone dead, a presentmant told him to get out so he did and as he moved away he whitnessed two different shaped flying saucer type ufo appear then move slowly over the downed one shining purple beam's in a sweeping fashion over it before flying off, he needless to say ran away, several week's passed and fearful of ridicule he told others and they went to see this downed ufo only to find a pile of grey ash like dust where it was, another several weeks and the dust had completely dissapeared leaving only a burned circle devoid of grass were nothing would grow for many years and three indentations where the leg's had been.
I puzzled about this tale and assumed it was based on fact and compared it to a similar tale were a man in amazonia was also struck by a purple light from a ufo and litterally fell to pieces but stayed alive even after his jaw fell off after several week's in a hospital where they were trying to find out what was wrong with him (he was breaking into his own home and the ufo flew over and shone the beam at him as he was climbing into his window).

What if they have mastered wave energy to such a degree that they can manipulate time based component's of energy in such as way that matter would litterally untangle and disintegrate, a small emitter theoretically could destroy an entire star system, sun planets and all or eradicate any trace of technology from a planet after they attacked it to return it's inhabitant's to a state of primitive existance but the same technology if understood could easily be blocked or even used to reinforce matter at the wave structure level.

The downed ufo shows the following suggestive pattern's..
The atmic structure collapsed with weaker less dense matter disintegrating first then the metals were left as a grey powder or ash that as the atoms lost cohesion and broke slowly into subatomic particles also eventually evaporated away.
They were able to localize the effected area showing expert control of there technology, they may have attacked another species indicating belligerant behaviour amongst them.

from my opinion, I would say yes, it would, absolutely. I believe the universe at least the one we know of so far, is filled with various forms/kinds of life. Everything from microbial, to bi pedal, to maybe multi-pedal. As well as life based on maybe silicon and maybe even methane based life. Its entirely possible this civilization could be very similar to the "Borg" on Star Trek, being half machine, half non machine entity. This is one reason why we need to be cautious in trying to reach out to a potential new civilzation, as we would not know their intentions if/when we established contact. Its also entirely possible this new civilization could be a machine, the builder life form, have ceded power over to the machine at some point. Its wide open in my opinion.

Looking at our own planet...I have to consider that highly advanced civilizations exist whose aim is to conquer others.

This is actually a MUCH more likely scenario than assuming that alien civilizations are "new age hippies" where everything is peace and happiness.
I am always saying, we try to "contact" others with SETI, sending signals to space or putting information on probes revealing our existence and location...but I think this is naive. We cannot know about the consequences.

Civilizations may exist where there is no such thing as a "morale" or a consciousness for others..where entire planets may be blown apart for whatever reasons that would only benefit them.

In nature, everything "strange" and "foreign" is by default seen as a threat....or at the very least it is regarded as "less important", in the same way as we assume that we're beyond animals and we can do whatever we like with them since we're supposedly the "master race", the only ones with a soul, where we think we are "permitted by god" to "make use" of the Earth and whatever is on it.

Once we come across other races from other planets, I fear it will lead to problems on a magnitude where racism and religious differences here on Earth would be pale in comparison.

reply to post by LABTECH767


I'm an advocate of photon power for a starship that is capable of interstellar travel, including faster than light speeds while in the superluminal realm. I believe the only fuel capable for interstellar travel is starlight photons. The drive for the starship could possibly be some kind of mini-black hole or a derivative thereof, which would make it a "black hole starship."

The bh starship should be easily capable of generating two magnetic fields....one to protect the starship from the fusion plasma --- the other --- to contain the fusion plasma; not to mention the defensive capabilities of generating such a magnetic shield. The plasma would be needed in places that lack starlight, such as in night OP's on dark alien worlds.

Seawater would be injected between the two computer controlled magnetic shields --- while one presses the deuterium laden seawater against the other ---- until the fusion reaction occurs. Once the fusion reaction occurs....the plasma feeds on more deuterium creating more plasma. The swirling plasma currents cause it to be electrified, including the creation of it's own magnetic field.

reply to post by LABTECH767


I did investigate the Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania, USA, UFO landing site around two weeks after the occurrence, which did have eyewitnesses to the account; way back in the spring of 1977. Low-level radiation readings were recorded by an expert with a Geiger counter. A licensed surveyor was sent to locate and drive a wooden guard stake beside each of the 3 approx. foot long triangular landing pod mark's inside of an approx. 30 feet diameter burnt out grassy area in a large field next to an apple orchard. Each tripod landing indentation had a 3/4" diameter x 3/4" deep circular pod mark in the center of each landing pod mark. When I arrived at the landing area...grass was starting to grow in the burnt out landing zone

Absolutely not. Impossible. Next

reply to post by starwarsisreal

727Sky
Anything is possible however the question I would ask would be why ? A true space fairing race (think Star Trek or Star Wars) would be like living in the garden of Eden.

Says who?

Compared to 4000 year old civilization, we have at least that gap in understanding and capability today as Star Trek is above us.

How's that working out?

People (human or ET) who have the will and ability to take more, and control others to get more, will do so.

If you need resources pick an asteroid to mine, you need water pick a comet, what would be the purpose of fighting and conquering when everything is free for the taking ?

Who says it will be free? Somebody will have legal rights to the asteroids. And the asteroid mining franchise. And the customs taxes.

The higher technology the more energy and material inputs you need and a more complex supply chain. Flying Saucer factories aren't "free for the taking". Wind is "free for the taking" now but that's marginally adding to standard of living.

Slaves to much trouble....

Slaves genetically engineered to not have the will and drive to rebel would be exceptionally useful. And guess what? The rich and powerful will have them all, just like back in the day when the rich and powerful had all the slaves.

One of the political problems with the Roman Republic was that non-elite free men could hardly get well paying work because they couldn't compete against, literally, slave labor owned by the owning class. Julius Caesar was a populist dictator on the side of the free men and soldiers, against the economic oligarchy of the patricians.

With the level of Star Trek technology, there could be exceptionally good tracking/monitoring/punishment of dissent or moves to overthrow the power of the elite. We're already starting on this now. What happens when everybody other than the 0.01% of ET ruler is forced to get implants monitoring you for ThoughtCrime, if you want to get a job and eat?

food source not much meat on these bones and I have been told we would taste like pork.. I would be willing to bet there are plenty of planets without sentient life to get in the way of some master race's plans of world domination....

But planets sufficiently nearby with good ecologies would be rare. And guess what? The elite and powerful will take them too. What happens if you somehow find one of your own? Well, it would be illegal to smuggle materials and infrastructure to unapproved colonies, or to take people or money or goods back to civilization.

For every possible benefit, there is just as much motivation for an elite to take it all and control it. Plenty does nothing for personal freedom.

There are always problems in any group but if I had to guess any race of space fairing beings has probably grounded all the trouble makers and has some stern rules against going against the flow or imperial directive...

Exactly. And if equality and personal rights are against the Will of the Emperor?

NoRulesAllowed
Looking at our own planet...I have to consider that highly advanced civilizations exist whose aim is to conquer others.

This is actually a MUCH more likely scenario than assuming that alien civilizations are "new age hippies" where everything is peace and happiness.
I am always saying, we try to "contact" others with SETI, sending signals to space or putting information on probes revealing our existence and location...but I think this is naive. We cannot know about the consequences.

We can only hope that there is more than one powerful space-traveling civilization in the galaxy. If there's only one, we're hosed.

If there's multiple, then there's some balance of power and rules and protocols. Earth would have to negotiate its position wisely in this system, but we could be partially protected if we join the right empire.

It would be like the 19th century imperial history. You'd have to choose between British colonizers or other colonizers. As bad as they were, you were better off if you accepted the British empire vs somebody else's.

The most intelligent civilizations in the universe most likely have developed so far that there is not even any use for weaponry, most likely the only thing they take part in doing that can seem like a sort of war fare, is traveling around stealth fully attempting to pull pranks on all the advanced militaristic intelligences below them in capability, a kind of humiliation by humor, which I suppose is their highest virtue, and greatest source of 'kicks'. Thats at least what I would do, a kind of playing with your food before you eat it, it would be no fun traveling around and just from a far blasting away every civilization one by one.

Sure it is.

Warfare is based on very basic emotions and a military is always needed. Imagine a race that performs genetic sequencing on the genetic material for their offspring right after in-vitro conception. They could then use artificial wombs stacked on top of each-other in large warehouses and ships and then in later life use cylindrical biopods placed together in similar rooms to simply breed who armies in the billions to invade whole planets and swamp them with soldiers.

Such a race would have two options; one is self conflict in which they would ultimately become weak due to only fight against themselves. Another much more plausible option would be for them to expand in every direction in order to keep their war machine going. In such case there would be three outcomes; They would create resistant adversaries that can destroy them or they would run out of adversaries and consume themselves or they would continue to expand until it is no longer possible.

We as a species could meet such alien cultures in any of those phases. Of course we would stand little chance. Also; humanity has the very likely possibly of becoming such a culture in itself.

reply to post by AncientShade


What is the point of the only goal of the civilization being military conquest? Would there be any culture, or point or meaning to their existence, other then multiplying? We are not that advanced but even we cherish things like entertainment/sport/game and leisure now that we have the know how to create ever higher qualities of living. So would these intelligent militaristic aliens be concerned not just in established ability to defend but the constant fear of being conquered that would cause them to preemptively smite all things? Or do you think its possible that all beings that reach a certain height of intelligence see the greater potentials in value and quality and existence in positive interactions with other intelligence, or is real war the highest form of fun, the grandest wager being life?

reply to post by ImaFungi


War creates progress. Most invention happen because of war. War is also the biggest accumulation of emotions and it does in large part eventually heightens a collective groups awareness of each other if not temporary. A race could decide to chose war as a means of growing in technological advancement and collective awareness. Thou many races might decide to chose alternative routes to grow eventually; other races might continue to use it as a source of mental fuel to keep their race pushing in a specific direction.

Important to remember is that we are talking about alien races. The human mind might not be capable of maintaining war indefinitely as a source of collective fuel; other races might be capable of it by nature. A race like that would have a hard time evolving initially but would be nearly unstoppable once it has durable space travel. In almost any encounter with other aliens they would seek war with them and most likely have an edge on every other race except those who have been around far longer.

Remember; war is dynamic and needs a flexible, adaptive culture with energetic individuals and a high resistance and quick renewal in tough circumstances. They would most likely already evolve on a planet that would test a species to their limit in survival and evolutionary competition. Probably a planet far tougher in its condition then Earth.

reply to post by AncientShade


there is nothing noble or good about war, the statements that it is linked to progression and technology is by communistic proxy. Using fear to steal massive amounts of money from a public to use to make money for the parts involved with the industry, and in the process innovating. The guise of war is not necessary to innovate, even militarily.

So a race of war, does nothing but exist, multiply, and destroy, that is their sole purpose and goal, directive, objective. Perhaps most definitely the root of all this is the will to continue ones own existence, obviously. The race being an extension of ones own individuality. The fear of the individual and their races existence being jeopardized by other individuals of races, is what would provoke them to be proactive in finding other races that may threaten them and destroy them.

At the same time I can imagine intelligence beings reaching a certain height of intelligence and seeing the benefits in inter racial peaceful relations. As we can see has happened (to some semi heightened barbaric/civilized matter) on earth between different cultures and the like. We champion peace and entertainment and leisure and progression and innovation and culture and sports and art and friendly competition like the Olympics. So perhaps there are Galactic federations of sorts, that promotes peace through various races, and champions things like knowledge and helpful technological progression, and entertainment, and increasing quality of life.

They might come in and dominate, but if you look at some of the most sucessful militaristic societies in regards to human civilization - if they see any value in you, they're usually happy to take all comers. (Rome is a good example.) You to might have a place among the rank and file, provided you can do something to earn it. Humans in such a civilization might even be in positions of leadership after a generation or two, if not sooner. Perhaps such a civilization is more authoritarian in some ways, maybe egalitarian in some others - particularly if rank is earned. Like the Borg from Star Trek, I suppose you'd have to "prepare to be assimilated".

Now if they don't see much value in you, you're either going to be a bystander that happens to be in the way or just skipped past or ignored on the outskirts of someplace with little or no strategic value. At least that will be the case if you're not technically advanced to do much in the way of taking sides. (It's like inhabitants of South Pacific Islands during WWII. Plenty of military action happening around them, but if where they are is not strategically important - they're just left out of it.)

reply to post by starwarsisreal


Of soulless robots who follow commands yes, with free willed soulful humans no. Any more easy questions?

reply to post by ImaFungi


Then I am afraid we differ in our opinion of wars effect on a species. It was war that helped create the first steel swords and improved upon projectiles and even brought us rockets. What you describe is the scrutiny that happens when wartime is forced upon its population against its will. But war is not always forced upon a population against its will and in those cases in which it isn't it usually resolves around a machinery that has the will of its people as a fuel to move on.

Naturally such a populace would be a populous that is aware of what it is trying to achieve by war and consciously moves to that goal. E.g. during the second World War women in the United States and Great Britain started to work in factories to make shells since their men where at war. They even volunteered for it and looked forward to it. Partly due to the liberation from being a house wife and partly because they believed it was for the greater good. It is not all to hard to believe a species would consider war not as a burden but as a will-full progression in order to advance.

Thou I can see why not all humans might see this in and maybe that is also one of the reasons why humanity is not yet ready to actually meet aliens.

reply to post by AncientShade


I am just claiming that all the technology and weapons can be created without actual war. If it is obviously seen that defense is important, then there is no getting around the need to be prepared to defend, I am stating that I believe all weaponry could have been developed without actual war.

I agree the idea of war and fight is very prevalent, if not the most fundamental aspect of existing, we all in a sense fight for our lives, war with ourselves and the world. The totality of species on earth in this environments and niches is war, as you claim it is how we developed our defenses, it is how the animals developed their poisons and shells and claws and horns, I understand this.

It must then be that our entire military technology and weapon production is for more then war on earth, because there is so much that is not and has not been used (in every category from vehicles and all weaponry to missiles etc.), it is constantly produced, this must be for future endeavors, a preemptive preparation for aliens. Because for a while we have had the capabilities of destroying any and every city, so our exponential military industrial production must be for defense against potential true foreign threats.