Nothing fancy about this post, I am just making some speculations for conversation.
I think that an advanced civilization, similar to us and not
too far advanced than we are presently, will take evolution into their hands and
will go either one of two ways: (1) Genetic manipulation over time to create an ideal "perfect" vision for themselves, or (2) Augmentation through
cybernetics, which I think would be more likely since it would be more a more immediate change. Through the route of becoming an alien cyborg, they
may very well keep improving themselves until they are more mechanical than biological, and possibly to the point of where they immortalize themselves
by "downloading" their mind into a completely non-biological android, inevitably leading up to the point to where they are no longer a biological
race. Becoming a machine would be pretty efficient, as you're no longer burdened by biological needs. Your body is replaceable, and I assume you'd
be better suited for space travel than any biological being would be. I think that a civilization, no matter how advanced, will still be driven
primarily by curiosity, and will always have questions that they'll strive to answer.
That's why I think that an advanced race of aliens, even millions of years ahead of us, would take the time to interest themselves with us "ants".
I use that term referring to the idea that we will be to ETs what ants are to us.
But we study ants. And other insects, and microscopic
single-celled organisms. Unless all planetary habitats are carbon copies, they'll have some amount of interests in us.
The other thing I thought about is where would they be? I don't think they would have a home world anymore. Planets are hazardous. I think it would
be more efficient to bring your civilization out into space with your own artificial planet. They would definitely need an abundant and
self-sustaining power source, but beyond that there's little need for anything else. I think the vast, vast emptiness of space would be safer than
remaining on their world. It would seem pretty optimal if you had total control of your planet, and can move it anywhere you wanted. Leave mother
nature behind.
Would a race of immortal minds in the body of androids be cold, emotionless, and destroy anything in their path? I don't necessarily think so. I
think there would be the desire to preserve who they are at there core in order to avoid that. If they were able to perfectly emulate their brains,
then they could still have allowed their senses to be simulated in the same way as when they were organic. I respectively disagree with Stephen
Hawking's assertion that they we would see a similar situation to when Europe came over to the Americas. Surely if they have harnessed the power of
stars, we would have nothing they want. I also have always felt that empathy is a defining trait of advanced evolution. The key to your survival is
not to kill your enemies, but to seek not to make enemies in the first place. Violence in our species continues to decline at an expanding pace (no
matter what the news channels might tell you).
Another question I think about when the discussion of aliens comes up is that in the immeasurable vastness of space, how would they even find us?
Certainly they won't go galaxy hopping hoping to find something interesting. But consider that right now we are looking for and discovering planets
in the habitual zone that could potentially support life as we know it. With better technology and knowledge, we might even be able to gather more
evidence of the certainty of life on these planets. So this race that I've theorized wouldn't have taken a shot in the dark to find us, they may
have found the evidence they needed for life on our planet millions of years ago, so that they'd know the journey is worth the travel.
The big question though, is how would they introduce themselves to us? They may not be here right now. The UFOs on this planet that stump everyone may
just be unmanned science vessels, like the rovers on Mars. (With respect to everyone and their beliefs here: I don't have a story to tell of
experience with an alien or UFO, so I remain agnostic to it all with a strong, interested open mind). They might introduce themselves the same way we
usually have to introduce ourselves to a really shy and guarded person: Making slow attempts to connect without overwhelming, and trying to build up
trust and acceptance, which takes time. The term "soft disclosure" is used a lot here, and I think it makes the most sense. First contact will
completely change everything, it would arguably be the biggest moment of mankind. You might be ready for it, but I'm sure you can imagine the mass
panic and hysteria it would cause if they showed up and rang Earth's doorbell. They might have experience in introducing themselves to other beings
and have their own plan. They are waiting for us to be ready. We, as a whole, are just beginning to accept the likelihood that there is life out
there. Not just the
possibility, but the
probability. I think we are close to that with every new discovery. The next step is finding
actual alien life, likely just microbes, maybe even fossilized life. I think there is a possibility of this happening in our lifetime. This part would
be the acceptance, we now know we're not alone and we're all thinking about the step after, finding intelligent life. This may be the point where
they decide to test the waters, so to speak. I don't think it will be a face to face conversation, if it was possible at the time. We would just need
a confirmation that there is intelligent life out there. At this point I think they could open communication. Still not face to face, but from a
distance, they tell us about themselves. I think they will have to remain our long distance relationship for a long time until everybody is used to
this idea that we are actively communicating with an intelligent extraterrestrial species...where it's almost like yesterday's news. I think that
finally, at this point, there could be a face-to-face meeting. The first message they will probably get across to us is "We're an independent
species, we won't be caught up in your politics nor interfere with your development, we come in peace and with respect". They may not allow us any
of their technology at all, unless they are able to share it evenly with the entire planet.
And that's where my thinking ends. I'd love to read your thoughts.