Aliens in Fiction

[Brovo]

It simply seems illogical that any alien species even mildly similar in thinking ability would go out of their way to attack us/enslave us.

It's also assuming intent of a species that evolved in a completely different environment, far flung from our own social norms and so on, for untold amounts of time. There is utterly no way to predict their intent.

 

[Asuras]

Except for the moonshine... can't forget the moonshine! So, what you're saying is, they'd only come here for "recreational" purposes?

Well, "recreation with humans" is the only unique thing we have in amounts no other place in the universe has, so yes, that is what I'm saying.

 

[The Ghost Note]

This has nothing to do with what I prefer, but I should drop this tidbit about how real aliens would be very difficult to write. As you wouldn't be able to understand them. They'd have to look, think, and act much differently from the human norms. A lot of aliens in fiction are just different human archetypes.

 

[Protagonist]

It's also assuming intent of a species that evolved in a completely different environment, far flung from our own social norms and so on, for untold amounts of time. There is utterly no way to predict their intent.

It's actually a pretty safe assumption to assume aliens think semi-similarly to us. Humans don't think the way they do by happy coincidence, but rather because that's what's necessary for a sentient race's survival. Mind you, there will almost certainly be massive cultural differences, but some things will probably remain the same.

 

[Brovo]

It's actually a pretty safe assumption to assume aliens think semi-similarly to us.

Except that what's necessary for survival changes based on your environment. I mean, the sheer level of difference between various societies on Earth throughout history, from the Babylonian and Chinese empires to the modern western Democracy and the theocratic mess that is the middle east?

Aside from very basic necessities (ex: sustenance), there is actually very little way to tell what aliens out there will think like.

The sheer fact of the matter is that we have such a tiny, infantile comprehension of the universe around us that the only form of life we know of is our own. The only form of life we know to exist is our own. There are already celestial entities which exist that don't fit into our expectations based on our knowledge of the universe. (Most notably physics.) Ergo, to assume anything of aliens (beyond existence thanks to statistics) is to claim the unknowable. My answer ultimately is I cannot know, nor can anyone else know, what an alien race whose technological abilities far surpass our own would be like, think like, or otherwise. Maybe they all became space robots and abandoned their needs. Maybe they ascended to a form of life through medical science that is beyond our reasoning. Maybe they are like us, evolving from a similar environment that would encourage convergent evolution. I can't know, so I admit not knowing or presuming what aliens will look like, leave alone how aliens behave or what they believe or what they think.

 

[Cpt Toellner]

It seems like the right place to say that i've played multiple inter-galactic nation role-plays with different alien species.

You will always find your "big buff honorable warrior society" species.

People are never afraid of them, they are always weary of the species that control trade.

 

[Kagayours]

Except that what's necessary for survival changes based on your environment. I mean, the sheer level of difference between various societies on Earth throughout history, from the Babylonian and Chinese empires to the modern western Democracy and the theocratic mess that is the middle east?

Aside from very basic necessities (ex: sustenance), there is actually very little way to tell what aliens out there will think like.

The sheer fact of the matter is that we have such a tiny, infantile comprehension of the universe around us that the only form of life we know of is our own. The only form of life we know to exist is our own. There are already celestial entities which exist that don't fit into our expectations based on our knowledge of the universe. (Most notably physics.) Ergo, to assume anything of aliens (beyond existence thanks to statistics) is to claim the unknowable. My answer ultimately is I cannot know, nor can anyone else know, what an alien race whose technological abilities far surpass our own would be like, think like, or otherwise. Maybe they all became space robots and abandoned their needs. Maybe they ascended to a form of life through medical science that is beyond our reasoning. Maybe they are like us, evolving from a similar environment that would encourage convergent evolution. I can't know, so I admit not knowing or presuming what aliens will look like, leave alone how aliens behave or what they believe or what they think.

For all we know, an alien species could evolve that's mostly animal-like, except that they can photosynthesize like plants. Who knows how their culture and societies would evolve when they don't even need to farm/hunt/gather food, and only need sunshine and water to survive? It's an interesting thought.

 

[Windsong]

I think there's a missing option from the poll..

"Can we have sex with them?"

 

[Dipper]

I particularly enjoy "humanoid" aliens. And by humanoid, I mean four-limbed, with a visible head, two hands, and two feet, and probably bipedal. What details constitute that alien are up to the one creating them. Like the Sangheili in Halo, for example, who may/may not appear human at a distance, but up close are vastly different. Easy to associate with, easy to disassociate with, and fun to watch.

Completely otherworldly aliens with bizarre, unfathomable cultures and ways of thinking are also incredibly interesting. I highly doubt alien cultures would resemble human cultures even remotely, because they'd adapt to a completely different world (that doesn't necessarily need to be earthlike at all), and probably have a different mind state, thus a different way of looking at the world. Who knows, they might think of humans as transcendent beings for some unique sensory organ that they don't possess.

Lots of possibilities. That's the wonder of sci-fi.

 

[Protagonist]

For all we know, an alien species could evolve that's mostly animal-like, except that they can photosynthesize like plants. Who knows how their culture and societies would evolve when they don't even need to farm/hunt/gather food, and only need sunshine and water to survive? It's an interesting thought.

That's unlikely. If they only need sunshine and water to live, they wouldn't need to be intelligent. Besides that, brains take more energy than photosynthesis provides. A hybrid system might work, though.

 

[Brovo]

That's unlikely. If they only need sunshine and water to live, they wouldn't need to be intelligent. Besides that, brains take more energy than photosynthesis provides. A hybrid system might work, though.

Yeah, a hybrid system. Also, potentially, it could be a life-form based on silicone rather than carbon. There could also be aliens that have entirely foreign metabolism agents, in the sense that instead of burning sugar and other substance of that nature it burns off something else for energy to keep itself going.

Many possibilities. Until we meet an alien species, though, that's all it remains.

 

[Cpt Toellner]

I think there's a missing option from the poll..

"Can we have sex with them?"

 

[Windsong]

Captain Kirk wannabe.

 

[Asuras]

That's unlikely. If they only need sunshine and water to live, they wouldn't need to be intelligent. Besides that, brains take more energy than photosynthesis provides.

Wrong. Plenty of more "intelligent" organisms subsist off of sunlight and water that are not plants/immobile. Take for example certain species of sea slugs, which utilize engulfed photosynthetic organisms to get their energy. Any organism could benefit from intelligence to facilitate survival, especially if they lack other natural defense mechanisms.

As for energy, while our brains might utilize quite a bit of power, the energy acquired through photosynthesis need not necessarily be too little. Another alien planet could have developed a more efficient photosynthetic system for all we know.

 

[Roose Hurro]

I think there's a missing option from the poll..

"Can we have sex with them?"

I don't know, but you can try...

 

[Protagonist]

I don't know, but you can try...

If it has orafices, the answer is probably. If they give live birth, even more likely.

However, it's more than somewhat unlikely that they won't look super attractive.

 

[Kagayours]

However, it's more than somewhat unlikely that they won't look super attractive.

If we were to discover aliens, it doesn't matter what they would look like -- someone, somewhere, would be sexually attracted to them. I guarantee it.

 

[Protagonist]

If we were to discover aliens, it doesn't matter what they would look like -- someone, somewhere, would be sexually attracted to them. I guarantee it.

That is true.

 

[Roose Hurro]

That is true.

Indeed... humans are very strange creatures when it comes to procreation. Not to mention all their other strangenesses.

 

[Grothnor]

Humans have no breeding season. They may procreate at almost any time, and strangely enjoy doing so.

Also: relevant.