If we want to plan for the real thing, we can draw on over a century of science fiction speculation about the threat of extraterrestrial intervention. Or, if UFOs/UAP already appearing in our skies and waterways are extraterrestrial, then we can apply science fiction as a supplemental tool to evaluate the real implications. The fictional ET intervention model leans heavily towards outright invasion with humans the intended target. This bias perhaps stems from the human ego, which may reject an alternative scenario in which ET show up not for the purpose of doing us harm, but still bringing incidental yet potentially catastrophic consequences. Much like invasive plant and animal species on earth when they crowd into new ecosystems.
H.G. Wells published two early science fiction accounts that resonate with these scenarios. The War Of The Worlds (1898) is the classic invasion-from-outer-space story. The First Men in the Moon (1901) is also a science fiction classic, and though not specifically recognized as a tale on the perils of interplanetary invasives it can be read with invasive species in mind.
The War Of The Worlds is famed for its invasion of earth by loathsome looking Martians, who are masters of what today would be recognized as advanced robotics. Most notably, giant tripod machines in which the invaders travel, firing deadly heat ray weapons and scooping up humans for their nutrient value. The Earth is saved when the Martians are wiped out by terrestrial germs.
In The First Men in the Moon, two space travelers from Earth arrive on the Moon and discover a civilization of large, insect-like people dwelling beneath the surface. They call them Selenites. The explorers mean no harm. But they can take superhuman leaps thanks to the Moon’s weaker gravity. And, in a moment of panic one of them swings at a Selenite captor and learns how weak shelled these beings are when his fist crushes right through him. Though the humans thought themselves peaceful, from the lunar perspective they were a ferocious, super-powerful species and a threat to the Selenite world. One explorer escapes back to Earth but has no way to return to the Moon. The other is a prisoner on the Moon and broadcasts messages home until the transmissions are mysteriously cut, perhaps because of what he told the Selenites about human ways-including war. The Selenites dodged the threat of utter destruction by this fearsome invasive species that had briefly terrorized them, no harm intended.
Overt, systematic extraterrestrial attacks would point to invasion as with H.G. Wells’ Martians. But visits by extraterrestrials may de facto amount to an invasive presence, as in The First Men in the Moon, with no actual intent by the ET to do harm. The invasive threat may potentially be as damaging as a deliberate ET invasion. Planetary security in the wake of close-up ET contact may require as much insight into natural sciences, and the full range of planetary human vulnerabilities, as to the study of security policy and military science.
© 2024 Michael Harris Hoffman. All rights reserved.