Alien encounter

Cath

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Ok, I have some serious questions about alien encounters. I figure we can't be the only planet in the universe that supports life, so...

1. How do you know when you've met an alien?
2. Do they walk among us and look like us, or are they little green/grey/pink and purple-spotted non-human-shaped blobs?
3. Are they benevolent, malevolent, bureaucratic, or just not interested?
4. Any tales of encounters? What was the overwhelming feeling afterwards?

All contributions welcome.
 

kuwisdelu

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1. Ask them.
2. Both.
3. Are humans benevolent, malevolent, bureaucratic, or just not interested?
4. Yes. I'd do it again.
 

StormChord

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1. Being aliens, they lack our human subtlety and nuance in their actions. A good sign of a disguised alien is irrational or situationally inappropriate behavior. Unfortunately, this can make them virtually indistinguishable from the Common Or Garden A-Hole; to play it safe, it's probably best to shoot on sight.
2. Bit of column A, bit of column B. Since you never know what could be an alien, your best test is shooting suspicious things on sight.
3. Much like us, every species of alien has its good and its bad. Except for the Xorathians. Nobody likes the Xorathians. Probably best to shoot on sight.
4. Shooting them on sight worked pretty well.
 

Plot Device

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Ok, I have some serious questions about alien encounters. I figure we can't be the only planet in the universe that supports life, so...

1. How do you know when you've met an alien?

You get this warm fuzzy feeling inside.


2. Do they walk among us and look like us, or are they little green/grey/pink and purple-spotted non-human-shaped blobs?

All of the above.


3. Are they benevolent, malevolent, bureaucratic, or just not interested?

All of the above.


4. Any tales of encounters? What was the overwhelming feeling afterwards?

No comment.



All contributions welcome.

.
 

buirechain

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The answer to 1 really depends on the answer to 2. Obviously, there are going to be great varieties (for one of the weirdest possibilities, read Stanislaw Lem's Solaris). But I think that you have to deal with whether or not the aliens would want to be noticed. There could be tiny blobs that have suits or remote controlled robots that looks like humans (or the native species of the planet). Maybe they're really good at disguise, especially if they wanted to study humans before being noticed. (For that matter, they might not be disguised as humans, in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy there are aliens disguised as mice, running experiments on humans).

As far as 3, as others have said there will be great varieties (probably some we can't imagine). But that might differ between whether they come to us or we go to them. It will take an awful lot of time and energy to travel between the stars. So much energy, especially, that it may not in the least be worth it to come to an occupied planet to take over (especially since there are so many unoccupied planets). But if we were to travel to their planet we would be more likely to the see the full range.
 

aruna

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Aliens can be THINGS too. They can be anything. Just look around you. That candle on the sideboard? Could very well be one. The dvd player? Maybe. The window? Wjo knows. One should aways be suspicious, is my view.
 

Maryn

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Ok, I have some serious questions about alien encounters. I figure we can't be the only planet in the universe that supports life, so...

1. How do you know when you've met an alien?
They speak a language unknown to me--and I have traveled many galaxies, mastering their many tongues. The lifeforms uses words such as "lolcat" and "cray-cray."
2. Do they walk among us and look like us, or are they little green/grey/pink and purple-spotted non-human-shaped blobs?
The aliens most recently encountered were bipeds, somewhat rounded and generally pink in color. Oddly, they objected to my examination, though I returned their plaid or printed flannel garments and knit caps.
3. Are they benevolent, malevolent, bureaucratic, or just not interested?
As I recall, they seemed frightened of my mighty power over their puny life forms. Despite their ingestion of Starbucks and Cinnabon, I could not detect the mental status required for goals such as those you name, any more than I could in tubeflies.
4. Any tales of encounters? What was the overwhelming feeling afterwards?
Though I remained hungry, I allowed them to continue down the paths human make for their vehicles, as their fright amused me so. I assumed, rightly, that other life forms would arrive at the "Rest Area" in time to satisfy my appetites.

Nyram, who has supplanted the weakling fauna Maryn
 

Sophia

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Aliens can be THINGS too. They can be anything. Just look around you. That candle on the sideboard? Could very well be one. The dvd player? Maybe. The window? Wjo knows.

Soooo, this Wjo... where does he like to hang out? Any acquaintances he'd want to get back if they suddenly weren't around? You can tell me. It's for a, er, survey.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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Soooo, this Wjo... where does he like to hang out? Any acquaintances he'd want to get back if they suddenly weren't around? You can tell me. It's for a, er, survey.

Ah yes, Detective Stanley Thaddeus "Wojo" Wojciehowicz of the twelfth precinct police station in New York (original version), Earth, circa. 1978.

A rather delightful city, although a beastly time to be there.