When flying saucers visit Earth they are immediately blasted out of the sky by all the military resources we can throw at it – Well, that’s the Hollywood way of dealing with things.
In reality, how would we deal with the prospect of alien visitations? It’s a question that has taunted us for decades, and a range of scenarios run from the plausible to the outright incredible.
On the possibility of direct attack, Professor Stephen Hawking claims ET contact is dangerous, because they ‘may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria’.
The Debate
Theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku warns:
If they are hostile, it would be like Bambi meeting Godzilla if we ever had to fight them…we would present no military challenge to such an advanced civilisation…We would be a pushover for them. Forget all the Hollywood movies.
Ryan Sprague, the author of Somewhere in the Skies notes that so far UFOs don’t seem to represent an alien threat to humanity:
It would appear that we’ve been so aggressively conditioned to believe an invasion would be catastrophic and malevolent beyond comprehension, that any advanced civilisation would come to our planet with an agenda of taking over and using our resources to it’s advantage.
While I can understand this pessimistic view, the decades and decades of possible alien visitation here on the planet already, and the countless UFO sightings throughout the world, would indicate that if they were to do such a thing, they would have done it already.
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Could Aliens Even Reach Earth?
UFO sceptic Robert Sheaffer isn’t too concerned about the threat of an alien invasion either, he says:
Well, I would worry about an alien invasion about as much as I would worry about a Zombie Apocalypse. Both are equally implausible.
First, any supposed alien invaders would have to find us. Given that they would be at least several light years away in some other solar system, and probably much farther than that, finding us and learning what earth is like is not so easy.
Second, they need to somehow get here, which is very difficult, even if we assume they have advanced technology, because fundamental physics tells us that they would need insanely large amounts of energy to accelerate space ships to relativistic speeds – and then to decelerate them when they arrive.
Even nuclear fusion power is woefully inefficient compared to what would be needed. If they are bringing along scary armaments and supplies, that’s just more mass to add to their armada.
Protection And The Lack Thereof
Whatever the facts of UFOs as alien invaders, what should we do to protect ourselves other than to have a tin foil hat at the ready?
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and their Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (CUPUOS) is not geared for such possibilities.
UNOOSA director Simonetta Di Pippo tells us:
UNOOSA and COPUOS Member States consider a range of space science and space exploration topics, fields in which the topic of astrobiology sits. However, the Office for Outer Space Affairs has been given no mandate by Member States to consider the question of potential advanced or intelligent extraterrestrial life.
For this reason there is no protocol or process for any contact by extraterrestrial life.
The Threat Of Artificial Intelligence
Michael Michaud author of ‘Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering Extraterrestrials’ (2007) says we shouldn’t be concerned because as he observes in his book, ‘UFO advocates have not yet proven their thesis that some UFOs are visitors from other worlds. I also said that aliens stepping out of a spacecraft on the Earth may be the least likely form of contact.’
He goes on to wonder, ‘Why would extraterrestrials make such a long journey? If they are capable of interstellar flight, they won’t need the Earth’s territory or resources.’
Michael thinks, ‘A more likely scenario is a visit by an unmanned interstellar probe equipped with artificial intelligence. Intelligent machines don’t need the massive spacecraft required to transport biological beings over vast distances, and they are patient.’
Invisible Defence In The War Of The Worlds
‘Assuming they do somehow get here,’ says Robert Sheaffer ‘presumably it is because they believe that they can live on our Earth, if they can only get rid of us. H.G. Wells was onto something when he had his fictional Martian invaders killed off by earthly microbes. Our bodies consist of not just ‘us,’ but an entire biome of separate organisms: the bacteria in our gut, microbes and mites living on our skin, etc.
Sheaffer adds:
It is doubtful that our bodies could survive in an entirely alien biosphere with different parasites, different foods, etc. The same problem would apply to any alien beings who might come here.
Sprague agrees that, ‘we simply can’t even begin to comprehend their genetic make-up, whether or not they posses any type of progressive knowledge, or even if they harbour emotions, empathy, ethics, or morals.’
A Technological Gamble
Malcolm Robinson founder of Strange Phenomena Investigations (SPI) observes that situations of contact between human civilisations set a disturbing precedent:
We have learned that when any technological superior race gets involved with an inferior race the inferior race usually comes off worse (as the history of this planet has shown). We can only hope that when that day comes, when another technological race meets mankind it will not prove to be disastrous and to our disadvantage.
That is a good reason for not trying to send signals out to alien civilisations in our galaxy, but has the horse already bolted as our planet has already beamed radio messages out to celestial targets since 1962?
Michael Michaud says we shouldn’t worry:
The vast majority of those signals are too weak to reach the distance of the nearest star. As Frank Drake has pointed out, we actually are becoming less detectable because of changes in the way we use radio technology. The powerful one-time message he sent from Arecibo in 1974 was aimed at a distant star cluster, not at nearby stars.
A United Front
Philip Mantle, Veteran UFO researcher, author and publisher at FLYING DISK PRESS , doesn’t think UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin, but says if we were invaded we would cope with the situation and ‘Mankind would hope to pull together as one to stand up to any such invasion.’
Sprague, is equally optimistic:
I believe that factions of the world would unite…and others would separate. Science and religion would be shattered overnight, but would continue.
Our hope would be to benefit and expand our own sciences and core beliefs by finding some way to communicate with this advanced civilisation.
What If We Don’t Know We’ve Been Invaded?
Neuro-psychologist, Gabriel G. De la Torre, professor at the University of Cádiz thinks there is a distinct possibility of aliens visiting, but says:
I am not sure we will be fully conscious about it. The main problem in this topic is it has been approached in a very simplistic way.
I don’t think we can be a real problem for Cosmos in any way. It is more probable we may be researched rather than destroyed.
Stealth is a possible approach, however I can not imagine an equal to equal agreement with people of Earth….I don’t think we could even understand their strategy.
As to whether they might secretly manipulate humanity, Gabriel says:
I think this could actually happen even without humans noticing…
If they conform to another consciousness state of mind they could try to operate in our belief systems and consciousness in a subtle way until a more physical approach is convenient for both sides of the communication process. This could be a gradual process.
Even in the radio message approach, this may happen. I don’t believe they will exchange codes, numbers and pictures in the same way we are trying to do. These messages if they happen anytime will have a deeply rooted message direct to our own consciousness.
Reasons To Be Cheerful
If there is ever any kind of alien contact Malcolm Robinson, hopes it could be positive:
It will be both enlightening and wonderful which may change not just our technology but medicine and the way we look at ourselves in the cosmos. As a researcher into the UFO enigma I look forward with anticipation to that day which I hope will be in my lifetime.
So with bacteria, unity, perhaps a little humility, the prospect of an alien invasion needn’t necessarily strike fear into our hearts. It could be the driving force behind bigger and better things.
Ultimately, we just don’t know.
