I’M PRETTY SURPRISED to read this article at The Guardian that reports on scientists’ predictions if/when we are to come into contact with extraterrestrial life. A report from NASA’s Planetary Science Division, titled Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm Humanity? A Scenario Analysis, describes all sorts of different situations in which the aliens could be seen as beneficial, neutral, or harmful.
For example, aliens might detect a change in the Earth’s atmosphere (as a result of human-induced climate change) and see it as a symptom of a civilization that has spiraled out of control. The scenario plays out that they may destroy humanity to stop us from harming other parts of the galaxy. Or, they might be nice and share their technological advances with us. On the other hand, they could bring disease or accidentally crush us, I imagine like Lennie from Of Mice and Men.
Of course, there is a camp that believes intelligent aliens are already among us. This NASA report makes me wonder if there actually is credibility in this idea. How could anyone take the possible scenarios they list with any seriousness? Anyone could brainstorm a multitude of possible situations — it’s all conjecture. So what’s the point? And why is the report 33 pages long?
Could it be that this is a way to innocently introduce the idea of alien contact to the general public? So it’s less of a shock when they announce that, yes, ETs have been living among us for the past 64 years, when Roswell happened? Maybe they know something about 2012 that the rest of us don’t?
If you start seeing more literature at “credible” sources about alien contact, hypothesizing what it might be like, don’t be surprised when the cat gets let out of the bag.