Do you know what would be very un-dramatic?
If we did in fact find intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, only it was just as intelligent as we were. We could look at them through telescopes, perhaps send probes or radio signals, but that would be it. They could send the same back to use, only they'd get out message in a few millions years, and we theirs.
Telephone conversations with one-second delays are bad enough. Imagine having to deal with the possibility of extinction in between messages.
Try making a movie out of that, see what you get. I would imagine we'd forget about those aliens after some time had passed, or until we made a vehicle that could take us there in a reasonable amount of time.
This is why I'm more excited to hear about new developments in space travel than I am place to go. Seems to me, a place to go is just maddening with no way to get there.
However, a vehicle is a little boring an pointless without someplace for it to take you to, so I can see the other side of it. I might be the only one who worries about this sort of thing, but when you think about it, the odds of us finding an alien civilization at the same time we invent a space ship that could travel to it are a little slim.
My opinion, the odds of either happening are nil. I think science fiction should turn its imagination to stories about humans finding a way to live on this planet without using up all the resources. If Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov can spur scientist to create space ships and robots, I think we need some fiction books about crap that matters, i.e. sustainable energy.
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You're exactly right about that last part. I figure something as sublime as that would give our techno-logic superiors a kick in the ass.
ReplyDeleteHowever you're not the only who ponders about those kinds of things. I too find myself wondering about space in general and exactly how we would actually contact whatever beings we find in our galaxy. And you made a great point; if I was to call you and say "Hey, we're going to the movies in a few hours, you in?" And you don't get the message for say... 10 or so years. By then I'd LONG forgotten about that and may have died. Whereas you get it and are like "WOAH! AWESOME! ... Who are you?"
The funny part is the radio and TV signals we've been bouncing around have also been out in space for a long time.
ReplyDeleteWe might get a response in 100 years asking what all that World War II stuff was about.