This writing prompt from about a year ago on the other site is relevant:
Aliens take over the Earth. They then announce that they will be forcing the humans to work a "tyrannical" 4 hours a day 4 days a week in exchange for basic rights like housing. Needless to say they are very confused when the humans celebrate their new alien overlords.
Link, if you wish
A civilization capable of interstellar imperialism* would be focused on long-term exploitation of less primitive societies, so they would probably manage us better than the current elites do. A more educated, healthy worker is simply more productive than the alternative, especially in the long term.
- unless it is some kind of swarm of space locusts that just devour everything in their path.
Or they would manage us to their own desires. I wouldn't say imperialism of conquered peoples went well for people on Earth.
Hell, there are several noted cases of deindustrialization, like the British Raj in India, where the imperial power pushed a civilization back into resource extraction. Why would an alien civilization colonize us for anything other than natural resources?
And there are several examples where humans weren't treated well in a resource extraction economy. Sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean were where slaves went to die.
Why would an alien civilization colonize us for anything other than natural resources?
Space is full of mineral resources, going to a random planet with a relatively high gravity well just for some rocks would be counter productive. And an advanced civilization would probably use a lot of automation for resource extraction.
And there are several examples where humans weren't treated well in a resource extraction economy. Sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean were where slaves went to die.
That part is true. But the question is what could the aliens get from us that couldn't be made for cheaper closer to their planet?
I know aliens haven't found this planet because Musk is still alive, and he's a threat to their goals.
I would find it more likely that they wipe us out to make way for colonizers of their own. They probably have no use for us, save maybe a couple to keep on display in a captive breeding program. They would likely have the technology to perform any work we could, but better and faster.
A civilisation that can travel between stars will probably see us as we see bugs. If we are annoying they destroy us, if we don't bother them, they won't care about us. We think we have some merit and knowledge and that we are special to be interesting to higher species, how often do you wish to uplift, enslave or destroy ants?
Aliens have probably intercepted internet traffic at this point and without setting foot on the planet have decided that it isn't worth the visit.
eating popocorn from a distance, wearing safety gogles like galactic adults
Calling their friends around the galaxy to watch this new content they found that's hilarious
protected by rain ponchos and plastic sheets like expectant audience members and a gallagher show
Enslaves us and treat us like property? Oh how original
Kidnap me, take me to an undisclosed secret location, probe my bodily orifices, water board me, hold me for several days or weeks and them dump my naked self back in some random location?
If I can put it in as medical leave, I'm in.
A few years ago I wrote a short story about a benevolent alien alliance coming to earth because they observe planets with intelligent life to evaluate if they're worthy of joining the alliance.
They say they usually take 10ish years to do a complete evaluation but it took less than 3 for them to determine not only are we not worthy, but they are officially quarantining our solar system. The basis of their determination: 10 people on this planet have the resources and means of legitimately end all suffering and make this planet a utopia, but they would instead poison and burn 3/4 of the planet to hoard more of those resources for themselves.
Sounds like the hate us for our freedoms.
Time to bring back 'freedom fries' at mcdonalds and go to war with some aliens.
Hahaha yes; funny short story. Hopefully nobody violates the quarantine. :)
Post it, please?
It's not on my drive, and I think I may have completely lost it, but here's a synapsis from the last time I posted it...
The whole premise was on some rando day all screens with sound on earth (kinda live V), started broadcasting a message from the ambassador from the Concordium, and it’s all one giant monologue from him. He just says that anytime they find advanced, intelligent life in the galaxy they monitor them for roughly 11 of our years to ensure they’re advanced enough and are able to exist within their structure and harmony. But it took less than 3 for them to determine we are not, cannot, and never will never be functionally capable of it. One cited example is there at 10 individuals on the planet with enough wealth and resources to legitimately end hunger and poverty, and advance the civilization 100 years in maybe 10, but they’d rather burn the planet and let over 1/3 of the population suffer and die just to increase their already obscene wealth. Others include individuals damaging or killing themselves and others in displays of barbarism for mere entertainment, hate based on superficial features, and constant warring not towards the advancement of peace and prosperity but material goods and archaic resources that only further destroy the planet. As a result, our solar system is considered quarantined; they will not enter it, nor are we allowed to leave. If we attempt to they will eliminate us so we don’t poison the rest of the galaxy as we have our own planet. Only twice have they encountered warring species similar to us, and both times theose species's intention was to try and build advanced warships to conquer their way out of their solar systems, but because of their nature they both ended up destroying themselves and their planets in the process.
It ends with the transmission being cut, and the ambassador being asked if he thinks this could make humans unify and work towards the goal of bettering themselves to the point of being welcomed into the Concordium. He replies it has never happened in their recorded history
"we're here to take over your planet"
"Yes please"
.
Is there a scifi story where the aliens are actually benevolent? Could be funny; they are just genuinely kind but the human mind cannot grasp that and continues to distrust them.
"IT'S A COOKBOOK"
Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke.
Just finished this. Pretty unique story.
Does Star Trek count? I would be remiss for not bringing up Star Trek given the opportunity to insert it into a conversation. I bet the aliens will love that.
OOP has clearly never played "Stellaris".
Ironically that argument only works for the USA, and definitely the country more fixated in UFO is USA, maybe because of the military idk
I dunno, 3 Body makes a good argument for China being the country of origin for the person that ultimately betrays humanity to the aliens because how much worse could it actually get?
Yes don't work only for US... North Korea, China, Afganistan, some places in africa that still have dictators...
I for once have free health care, sick leave, maternity leave, many vacation days a year (by law) an mostly everyone works 40 hours a week, with the exception of special cases.like doctors, fireman etc. .... I'm ok without an overlord
But what if they take you to their planet and show you their advanced society that everyone works a 3-days week and have great healthcare, just to send you back to Earth afterward??
Aliens probably watch earth like a trashy reality show. Just full cringe all the time
Don't forget the universal truth that it can always get worse.
You mean will
Not give US healthcare again.
There, I fixed it.
"No one will save you" entered the chat
there is no one to help
you helped them all
This is why we vote for Kang.
I think along these lines when someone talks about the dangers of agi suggesting a terminator type thing.
The rise of the robots isn’t what most 'AI doomers' are worried about. What a truly malicious AGI could do would be along the lines of simulating your consciousness and placing you in eternal simulated hell. However, the more realistic fear is that it might treat us the way we treat ants. We have nothing against them, but we’ll wipe out a colony without a second thought if we need to build a house there.
Yeah this is still along the lines of im not worried about it. Im worried about non general ai being programmed for the service of humans to gain advantage over others.
Oh you sweet summer child of a blog poster. The aliens could make us live like say, how things are going for the Ethiopians, Syrians, Congolese, Lebanese, Palestineans, Yemeni, Russians etc.
Or like people have lived through most of history. Especially as a someone who presents female, that seems especially non ideal.
There's always the possibility that they'll improve the status quo.
why would they bother? We'd eventually bite the hand that feeds us. Its 100% inevitable.
Please send otherworldly crop rotation and irrigation strategies we don't wanna starve again like the potato blight
Wait... "The" ufo sightings? Is this person using language incorrectly, or have i been living under a rock.
There was a bunch of drama in UFO communities a couple of years back where Congress was seemingly taking the possibility seriously but it faded away.
I'm pretty bummed, honestly, we need an uplift bad.
Perhaps we were invaded long ago.
It would explain a whole lot of inhuman behavior humanity has seemed to be engaging in.
Yes, we can't possibly be the myopic architects of our own demise.
Posadism always proves itself correct
Don’t forget the anal probing they’ve been known to dabble in
Go on...
Mother effing Prime Directive!
Edit: realized Prime Directive is a proper noun. Corrected Capitalization.
Wouldn't they be allowed to make contact once the civilization reaches out to space? Or was that just in the Orville?
They were allowed to make contact once the civilization achieved warp drive in some form. With warp drive, the civilization would run into other space faring civilizations eventually. So an attempt was made to make that first meeting, peaceful.
Wait, are you saying Donald Trump is actually human??
He's alien as a human
dumb as a post and shits his pants.. seems pretty human.
This is pretty mich the plot of Three Body Problem.
It's really not even close..
Not in the books, it isn't.
Well, there's at least one character and organization that thinks the aliens couldn't do any worse then what humans have already done.
Ever seen Battlefield Earth?
The aliens really liked it. It's going to be on endless loop on every streaming service, including YouTube.
Rape. Us. All.
To Serve Man
Fuckingcapitalists
The anunaki created us to harvest gold for their ships 👽
Kodos 2028
