Based on the events that take place in the “To Serve Man” episode of The Twilight Zone, I would say certain aspects of the encounter between humans and extraterrestrials is likely while certain parts are not as likely. The aspects that I would consider likely are the idea and thought that highly intelligent beings would want to come to Earth and help us to become a more civilized and peaceful species. If extraterrestrials do visit us here on Earth, they will have likely studied us from afar before making contact to understand how we work and run our lives. After studying us for some time they will feel an obligation to teach us how to better ourselves and our world. They might see us as children, due to our ignorance and violence, and feel a maternal need to correct us and teach us to act more like them in a peaceful way. With more intelligence, they will want to help us reach their level of emotional intelligence. Another aspect that I believe will happen is humans performing scientific testing on the aliens, because we are a curious species that likes to classify everything and understand the meaning and the workings behind all that we encounter, biological and mechanical. The aspect of the “To Serve Man” episode that I don’t agree with is that the aliens would eat us. Personally, I wouldn’t want to eat a human because of all the junk the average person puts into their body. Humans are probably the most fatty and cancerous form of meat to consume. As the Standard American Diet becomes globalized and widespread in other countries, more and more humans are getting fat, developing cancer, and fighting diseases. An intelligent species would not want to consume meat that is that toxic.
The first contact aliens would have with us would be from afar and it would be out of curiosity and to better learn about humans and the earth, as a whole. Aliens would be altruistic based on Maslow’s Hierarchy, which states that the more intelligent someone is the more emotional intelligence they
have which then leads to them being more developed as a species and thus more peaceful. After much studying and observation aliens may decided to visit us. I believe the first thing that would happen if aliens contacted us, it would be hidden from the public, if possible. Primarily to prevent massive chaos and panic, but also maybe to keep power in the hands of the elite and not in the public. I like to think that it’s a possibility that aliens have already made contact with us but the leaders of our world and country and keeping it from us for either our own good or for their benefit. If this is the case, the world would not change because of contact between humans in aliens.
If the aliens are to get beyond the leaders of the world and the public does know about the contact with aliens, then I do believe the world would absolutely change. The reasoning behind this is the same logic as the idea that every child is born into a different family, even if they are technically born into the same family biologically. Experiences with the world, others, and yourself are altered by interactions and adding in aliens to create more interactions with more life forms changes the whole dynamic of how we think, talk, and act. Operating on the fact that the aliens we make contact with are peaceful, our entire perspective and perception of the world will be different. Yet, the degree in which the world changes will be based on how the aliens introduce themselves to our culture. They could be seen as the next cool thing or could only have their fifteen-minutes of fame, like the moon landing. The introduction of aliens can alter religious constructs,
inter-species relationships, economic means, politics, and humans’ emotions as a whole.
Religions might be affected because some humans may begin to worship the aliens and see them as higher beings. It will destroy ideologies that state we, as humans, are special and the only ones God created. This realization that we are not specially made by a God will alter people’s perceptions of themselves. Another thing that may change is the relationship between humans and the aliens. Will there be romantic relationships or even sexual, this would bring about ethical debates. Seeing as we have only just recently accepted the idea of same gender couples, and even still are facing challenges with that, it might stir the pot if there are inter-species relationships. This could cause further divide between humans. The ways in which the economy may change is due to the fact that initially people will panic, which will cause an economic slump. This economic slump will cause some humans to resent the presence of the extraterrestrials. Although there may be an initial slump I can see a market that can blossom from the marketing of alien merchandise, photos, and even selling of tickets to speak to the aliens. Shows like “The V” are a good example of how humans would react if we encountered aliens. People would become fans of them and some may even look to them as god-like. Economically, people would profit from aliens through selling t-shirts and other items with the aliens on them.
Politically, the ways the world would change is through how the arrival affects the ways
governments work together. The logistics of who would contact and talk to the aliens directly would be in question and who has the power to speak to them. Would the UN oversee reaching out to the aliens or would individual countries take it upon themselves to contact them? A conflict that may arise from this logistical issue, is a deeper divide between the global south and the global north, since countries that have more power will likely be able to contact the aliens while countries with lower economic status may not have that advantage. Countries could also utilize momentary, initial chaos to gain power over its citizens. Overall, I don’t think the negative aspects of alien contact will be a product of the aliens but rather from human interaction and our reaction to the arrival. A highly intelligent species that can travel far distances in space and find other lifeforms will be part of an incredibly advanced society. Societies that advanced will have far more emotional intelligence than we as humans do now, and we likely understand a far greater amount about other species and emotions. If they are smart enough to find life in the vastness of the universe then they are smart enough to know how to go about interacting with a new species without causing them harm.
I don’t necessarily think it would be a particularly good thing if we made contact with aliens, but I also don’t think it would be a bad thing either. Most things in life aren’t as extreme and dramatic as books, television, and other forms of media make it out to be. Events tend to be mediocre and average at best. I think there would be both excitement and fear in the beginning but after some time humans would adjust to the new lifeforms around us and the heightened emotions would fade. I don’t see why another species would have the need to kill all humans and try to take over our world, as seen in much of popular media. It seems like an unproductive route to looking for a new planet to inhabit or to find new sources of food. If I were looking for a new planet for my species to live on I would find one with simple organisms like bacteria and easily move in without all the fuss of killing a whole species that will try to fight back the entire time. Similarly, if I were searching for organisms to consume, I would not go light years away to only find quite fatty, cancerous meat.
