Granted, it is more likely than not that what we will see next month will be a rehash of everything we already know, along with the Government saying they don't know anything conclusive about what these objects are either. Even without anything mind-blowing coming out in next month's report, an interesting possibility exists based on the more compelling recent leaks.
In a vacuum from other sightings and accounts from the past, recent disclosures and accounts from the likes of Commander David Fravor and others would seem to show that these objects at bare minimum seem to operate in a peculiar and even conspicuous manner. I think an accurate characterization of "peculiar and conspicuous" can logically be inferred, as any intelligently designed and operated vehicle that originates from outside our solar system (or anywhere else, like another dimension, or an NTI, etc), and presents the capabilities they seem to have, should in turn be more than capable of avoiding radar, thermal, or even visual detection by a number of means that are even accessible to human militaries already.
So perhaps they're indifferent to us being aware of them, which is certainly possible. That indifference would likely rule out the "zoo" or "nature preserve" theory however, as such a motivation would be aided in them concealing their presence. It doesn't seem logical that their intentions are malevolent either for a number of reasons (why haven't they done anything already, what is there to gain from Earth that can't found or synthesized much easier elsewhere in the universe, if being done for some religious reason then how has such a hostile and violent species not already destroyed itself, etc, etc... suffice to say, and reassuringly enough, its doubtful they're here intent on doing us harm...probably, so don't panic. I digress). So assuming they're not here to kill us all hopefully, and assuming they're not here doing some bunk-ass science by flaunting the broad principle of maximum mitigation of any interference with the subject of your study, what else could they be here for? There are limitless possible answers, possibly as many as there are stars out there. But to presume that we would be woefully incapable of understanding the motivations of an alien species could be either selling humanity short, or giving the aliens too much credit before we've even talked to them.
And one interesting possibly I've though about, is the peculiarly conspicuous behavior that has been described and recorded in recent leaks. Especially with the case of David Fravor who described the famous "tic-tac" as mirroring his movements as he descended toward the object to get a better look. It would be hard to call that behavior anything other than mimicry, and equally hard to classify mimicry as anything other that an attempt to communicate. Basically what I'm saying is that the visitors flying around our airspace very conspicuously is their way of saying "Hi!" If we were to assume, or maybe (and hopefully) learn that this is the case, then it would be reasonable at that point to consider that First Contact has just taken place.
It would make sense for them to take this approach if they were indeed intending to make contact. It's less overt, and therefore less panic inducing than say, landing in the middle of Times Square. Granted, this possibility doesn't account for the kinds of stories and retellings of encounters in the past. But if we take at face value, what is perhaps the most compelling evidence to date, it raises this interesting possibility.
If we were to assume, or hopefully learn, or at least objectively infer this possibility to be indeed the case, then the question becomes "what now?" Do we attempt to respond, and if so, how? Unsurprisingly, there are already a number of carefully contemplated go-to plans for such an event. Perhaps the most informed standard would come from the international presence of SETI (https://iaaseti.org/en/declaration-principles-concerning-activities-following-detection/) which makes reference to the 1967 UN Treaty regarding international conduct in space, which has a small subsection on communications with extraterrestrial intelligences.
Contained therein of those documents, there are two discernible primary concerns; first, transparency with both the international scientific community, and the public media. Secondly, there are a number of stated provisions regarding concern for contamination both from and to an extraterrestrial intelligence.
The first concern makes enough sense. In addition to alerting other foreign leaders, and the Secretary General of the UN, it would make sense that any pertinent scientific data gleamed from a first contact situation, especially one involving an on-Earth visitation (the protocols seem to treat this form of first contact to be the least likely scenario, compared to simply receiving a radio communication, without any ability to reply in real time) would best be shared amongst all scientists, and be made freely and easily accessible. The second concern is also pertinent, as the thought of an 'Andromeda Strain' type scenario is valid to be held. There is also concern about passing some Earth-born pathogen to the visitors. Aside from the latter possibly touching off an intergalactic war if taken the wrong way, it would just be a real bummer to kill off the visitors right as they arrive to pump up the volume on the space beats. But I think either is actually unlikely as a vastly advanced alien species would probably have thought about that too, and taken appropriate measures to protect against the same thing (sorry 'War of the Worlds' fans). Additionally, it has been argued that due to a lack of "biological intimacy" between the biologies of earthbound species and extraterrestrial visitors, "The chance that extraterrestrial [pathogens] would be deadly to humans is zero." (https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/06/16/would-extraterrestrial-bacteria-be-dangerous-to-humans/?sh=1402d2037601).
But again, the protocols seem to give less concern to the possibility of an on-earth visitation over that of a received radio (or some other form of communication) signal. In fact, there is a scale for judging the significance of encountering/discovering/communicating with an Alien species, called the RIO Scale (https://iaaseti.org/en/rio-scale-calculator/), and TLDR from that link if you haven't already checked it out, is that it being confirmed that visitors are here on Earth, pings the maximum possible score of "Extraordinary."
There may be a lot of hand-wringing by the sources of science and academia that wrought both the UN and SETI protocols for first contact, as it must be shocking to their expectations that an on-earth visitation would happen instead of a radio signal. But all the same, perhaps more careful consideration of those same protocols is warranted. The ability to communicate with any visitors in real time, runs at the same speed as to be subject to real time consequences that could become immediately and totally beyond our ability to overcome or cope with. Granted, alien visitors likely don't intend to do us harm, but that lack of intent doesn't preclude us pissing them right the fuck off, and blowing us up out of spite. Maybe its a machine species that is incapable of dying, and they think mortality is a gift..."Oh for realz, you can die! Cool, lemme help you out... G'aw, if I could just do this to myself, I'd be like so happy! Hold on, let me get my phaser beam out, and I'll set y'all up!"
Again, unlikely. But also unworthy of being concerned about, as what would be the point? There is very likely nothing we can do about such scenarios. (I can already hear the groans from the obese camoclad members of the "Y'all Qaeda" weekend militia at the insinuated inferiority of their collection of military penis extenders against the capabilities of any 'aliens') If the visitors are here with a hostile agenda, or prove to be exceedingly easy to offend, or have some weird death-fetish, we're probably done for, one way or the other. Millions of years of disparate existence over cosmic spans of distance, without any potential or possibly relatable basis of biological, cultural, linguistic, or ethical values means we aren't going to overcome a shitty predator species. As such, there is little utility in worrying about this possibility too much.
So let's again assume they're deliberately trying to get our attention, or trying to make contact. Do we respond? The UN Space Treaty, and SETI protocols don't appear to have too much in the way of suggesting who should be the one, or ones to be our points of contact to the aliens, or what our message should be, or how we should attempt to go about relaying that message. Going back to my assertion that conspicuous flight through our airspace is a less threatening way of communicating, I would think our best approach would be to respond in a measured way. I hate to mention either movie on this subreddit, but the only examples I can think of at the moment come from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the lighted helicopter from "Independence Day." It does make sense though, as it would be difficult to imagine that some form form of audio, or visual communication as threatening. If they've been watching us for years, they're probably aware of what we use our military jets for, so it may be better to use civilians, preferably scientists, using civilian means and infrastructure. Science, and science alone is our one and best guide to moving forward at that point. It is the only universal touchstone that we could hope to have commonality with them on.
As such, assuming that extraterrestrial visitation is confirmed, and assuming we make the decision to attempt to contact them, such an effort would be in no better hands than that of NASA, with appropriate collaboration from ESA, JSA, CNSA, and Roscosmos. International collaboration is important for any number of reasons, which I don't have time to get into. But at the very least, the discovery of an extraterrestrial intelligence should be enough for us to stop squabbling over petty bullshit. Any future where the confirmed knowledge and even presence of an extraterrestrial intelligence on our planet would be scarcely imaginable as an American, Russian, or Chinese future as much as a human future. Nations and borders would still exist, nothing would change there. But I think it would be a watershed moment where the steady march towards irrelevance for such boundaries would inevitably begin. Even if the aliens gave us nothing material, their presence alone would be enough I feel, to shape humanity positively for said future. Or they could tell us how they're huge Fortnite fans, in which case "FIRE ALL THE NUKES!"
Submitted May 26, 2021 at 09:18PM by McMikey99 https://ift.tt/3fnuuK5
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