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From: jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Meeting Advanced Aliens
Message-ID: <15835@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Jul-85 09:47:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: watmath.15835
Posted: Fri Jul 19 09:47:19 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jul-85 11:26:27 EDT
References: <410@ttidcb.UUCP>
Reply-To: jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner)
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 54

[...]

Possible answers to the question "Where are the aliens?" (most of
which have appeared in numerous SF stories):

(a)   They are here.  They're just clever enough to disguise themselves
      or conceal themselves or avoid capture.  (Certainly very reasonable;
      human spies can go undetected for years, even in the most suspicious
      of environments.  Non-humanoids would find this more difficult, but
      they could easily observe from a short distance.)

(b)   Any race sufficiently advanced to have achieved inter-stellar
      travel has also achieved "civilization" in the sense that they
      are above interfering with the development of other species.
      Therefore they let us develop in peace and stay out of our way
      until we have evolved past animalistic aggression.

(c)   Some race is sufficiently advanced to maintain inter-stellar
      peace, at least in the local region of space.  Maybe there are
      a lot of nasties out there, but the local rulers believe in
      non-interference and have sufficient clout to enforce the policy.

(d)   Several races are actively at war in space.  Either earth is in
      a demilitarized zone, or it is militarily unimportant.  The warfare
      takes up the time and effort of participants and they don't waste
      energy on planets that are no current threat.

(e)   Space races are terrified of humans for some reason.  Or of earth
      in general (e.g. because there are numerous diseases here, because
      something nasty lives here secretly, etc.).

(f)   FTL travel is impossible.  Inter-stellar travel requires the colony
      ship approach or suspended animation.  Everything is subject to
      relativistic effects like time dilation.  This makes exploration
      much more difficult and time-consuming.  It just so happens we
      haven't been found yet; indeed, many races may decide that
      inter-stellar colonization is economically pointless and may do
      their best to live at home.

(g)   Earth is the only planet where life (or technological life) ever
      developed...or at least the only planet in the neighbourhood.

I've probably left out a few explanations from the list.  Variations
are many; take (c), for example, inter-stellar peace-keepers who prevent
nasties from interfering.  These could be benevolent beings; malevolent
beings who wipe out any race that ventures into space; a doomsday ship
that was programmed by someone to hang around Jupiter and shoot anything
that happens by; a natural or artificial barrier that makes our region
of space difficult to enter; and so on.

Okay guys, hop on the bandwagon and add to the list.

				Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo