Could this be First Contact?

[W_L]

I had originally thought of starting this topic in Science and Tech, but the impact of this idea would go beyond our current science, if it were true.

 

Then I considered, maybe I should limit this topic to the Pit, since there are so many big questions this raises that could cause debates, but it's not really an issue of ideology, rather its controversy comes from human perspective.

 

So this topic is probably best suited for general lounge and for prospective authors out there, I can't imagine a better way to excite your muse than a potential groundbreaking discovery that would actually be taken directly from Carl Sagan's Contact. As the theme of GA's prompt is "Into the Stars", take flight with this potential discovery. (I know mine has as I am preparing an entry)

 

https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2019/02/05/harvard-avi-loeb-aliens

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/science/ct-harvard-astronomer-aliens-20190204-story.html

 

Think of it, if this really is an alien vessel and it could be proven, either empirically that its acceleration is artificial, or via observation that would remove the potential as stellar matter/asteroid/comet alike, then wouldn't this be the greatest discovery in human history?

 

The discovery of fire, agriculture, irrigation, engineering, atomic energy, and genetics would be footnotes compared to such an event in human history.

 

Then again, would mankind be afraid to know this truth, deny that it's a reality, and try to forget that we ever made contact with another civilization. Carl Sagan suggested the latter as much in his science fiction/speculative fiction book, Contact, which left readers with the impression that while we may not be alone; mankind preferred our isolation in the cosmic scheme than be merely one species among many others.

 

I always wondered how would people respond to such a discovery if it were to happen in my lifetime; maybe Sagan was right or maybe he was too pessimistic of humanity. Only time will tell.

[Bill W]

I've always thought it was mankind's ego that made them believe that we were the lone inhabitants in a universe filled will billions, no trillions of stars.  Since there are portions of the universe that are far older than our solar system, it is very possible that a civilization or civilizations could have evolved that are far advanced to ours, and they would look at us in the same way that we look at a chimp, or possibly even something less evolved.  

 

If such a civilization were to be discovered, or even the remnants of one were to be discovered, I'm convinced that many would still be unwilling to accept it, for doing so would mean that mankind isn't the greatest or the top of the food chain.  It would be similar to the reaction of the Catholic Church when Galileo attempt to convince it that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system.  I'm sure there would be some who might attempt to offer alternative explanations or merely dismiss the evidence as something else, but for those who believe the evidence, it would cause them to rethink many of their beliefs, including religious ones, and that would totally change humanity forever.    

[W_L]

18 hours ago, Bill W said:

I've always thought it was mankind's ego that made them believe that we were the lone inhabitants in a universe filled will billions, no trillions of stars.  Since there are portions of the universe that are far older than our solar system, it is very possible that a civilization or civilizations could have evolved that are far advanced to ours, and they would look at us in the same way that we look at a chimp, or possibly even something less evolved.  

 

If such a civilization were to be discovered, or even the remnants of one were to be discovered, I'm convinced that many would still be unwilling to accept it, for doing so would mean that mankind isn't the greatest or the top of the food chain.  ...

 

 

I agree with your @Bill W sentiments.

 

To me, it's kind of sad to imagine that if this were real alien probe, it could fall on deaf ears.

 

Imagine this, an alien civilization, heard our radio signals from 100 years ago, then sent a probe to our solar system with the best technology they can manage in order to verify that we were here; I would honestly feel touched. They can't go to warp speeds, beam people up, or make science magic, but they still sought to answer that question: Are you out there?

 

May be they're technologically advanced than us by a few decades (Solar Sails are feasible at the moment, advanced power systems for long range probes have been around since Voyager probes, and we can find earth like planets with our telescopes so we know where to send it), but it shows something far more important that an alien species can pool together resources and do something like this, they're far better than we are as evolved species.

 

We can't even maintain joint space missions or an international space station without egos and national pride getting in the way.

 

Maybe, it's better for them if they know we exist and we deny their existence; we might end up sending an invasion force under the pretense they violated our stellar space.

[Bill W]

@W_L don't forget that there are more than just radio and television signals that alien civilizations might have picked up on to learn about our existence.  We've sent multiple probes that have exited the solar system: Pioneer 10 (1972), Pioneer 11 (1973), Voyager 1 (1977), Voyager 2 (1977), and New Horizons (2006), and if there are aliens capable of interstellar travel, they might have already observed, studied, or even intercepted one of those probes.  I'm not sure if any of this will come to light in my lifetime, or even yours, but eventually I believe it will come out that we are NOT alone.