- Challenge of interstellar travel means aliens will be too advanced to need food or slaves
- Perspective from head of SETI alien-hunting project
- 'We would not be the first aliens they had encountered,' says scientist - due to age of universe
When we first make contact with aliens, they won't be toothy horrors from beyond the void, obsessed with eating or enslaving the human race, says one of Earth's most seasoned alien-hunters.
The technological challenges involved in faster-than-light travel would mean that the aliens were so hi-tech they would have no need for slaves, and would probably have their own ways of manufacturing food.
‘Often the aliens of science fiction say more about us than they do about themselves,’ said Jill Tarter, who announced on May 22nd that she was stepping down as Director of the Center for SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Research.
Michael Fassbender in trailer for Ridley Scott movie Prometheus: But when we first make contact with aliens, they won't be toothy horrors from beyond the void, obsessed with eating or enslaving the human race, says one of Earth's most seasoned alien-hunters
Sigourney Weaver confronts the alien in Alien 3: The technological challenges involved in faster-than-light travel would mean that the aliens were so hi-tech they would be unlikely to view us as food or incubators for their young
Tarter is to continue her research into aliens even after retirement, but she has headed Earth's search for radio signals from space for 35 years.
‘While Sir Stephen Hawking warned that alien life might try to conquer or colonize Earth, I respectfully disagree,' says Tarter.
"...so hi-tech they would have no need for slaves, and would probably have their own ways of manufacturing food..."
ReplyDeleteUnless, of course, their hi-tech way of manufacturing food involves alien lifeforms (namely us humans) as a key component. If they're at a point of near starvation for a fresh ingredient, such a long trip doesn't seem like such a bad way to go.
@EvilGrins