Hawking warns against contacting aliens
Does the Pentagon have a battle plan in event of
extraterrestrial aggression?
Since the dawn of time, humans have watched the stars
for the arrival of something, some arrival, some vehicle, being, or god.
Galileo imagined beings on the moon and the Voyagers, which last saw the Earth’s
atmosphere in the 1970s, have passed Pluto, the last planet in our solar system.
In August 2012, Voyager 1 left us all behind and hit interstellar space—the
void between our solar system and the next solar system in the Milky Way. We’re
in it now, folks. All we need now is for a spaceship from another civilization
to see it and wham! the nose of the craft turns toward Earth, and maybe it’s four miles
long, contains smaller planetary invasion ships hanging from racks like shirts
in a dry cleaners. It’s all automated, sniffing out life like Voyager, except
with an entirely different intent.
Steven Hawking, the genius whose extraordinary
mathematical and interstellar mind is not trapped in a wheelchair, warned that
this might happen when talking about SETI, the scientific project that sends electronic signals into deep
space in hopes of receiving a response from other life forms.
“I imagine they might exist
in massive ships," Hawking said, "having
used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would
perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they
can reach."
Uh Oh. That sounds familiar. It happens all the
time in nature. Humans invade other countries and try to eradicate their
citizens. Locusts, ants, even chimpanzees overrun their fellows when there’s
not enough food or other resources.
The U.S. military plans for
everything to protect us, but the Pentagon does not plan South Africa’s
response to invasion by other countries; France does not plan England’s
response, nor does Italy plan Australia’s response. In other words, if Earth is
attacked there must be a coordinated plan in place that includes the militaries
of all nations.
Such a coordinated,
world-wide battle plan to defeat insect bastards swarming over our planet from
vehicles hanging in our daylight skies does not exist. So we might as well admit it: we’re goners if Voyager catches something’s attention. We have a
50-50 chance. Either they’re going to be kindly researchers or deadly pests.
Of course, the visitors
could be something worse: passive aggressive. The aliens would act like
everything’s OK between us but would leave nasty comments on sticky notes on
cars, trees, and windows on buildings.
I’ll take a direct attack
any day.
