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"I'm a fairly visual thinker. In doing science, I think in terms of pictures of things happening, and then do the mathematics."
- Gregory Benford
 |
| Alien Watch on Earth | ||
| Monitoring of Earth to ascertain its level of development. |
This is perhaps the earliest use of the idea that aliens are watching human development, and will interfere if necessary to prevent them from advancing.
| From: President To: Secretary, Council of Scientists. I have been informed that the inhabitants of Earth have succeeded in releasing atomic energy and have been making experiments with rocket propulsion...
 (Atomic explosions on Earth) Equip an expedition to the satellite of Earth immediately. It is to keep a close watch on the planet and to report at once if rocket experiments are in progress. The greatest care must be taken to keep our presence on the Moon a secret...
From: C.B.E.P.S. We, the inhabitants of the planet you call Mars, have for many years observed your experiments towards achieving interplanetary travel. These experiments must cease. Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization. They had begun to realize that we were intercepting all their radio transmissions, and some messages have been broadcast directly to us. They state that they have agreed to ban all rocket experiments, in accordance with our wishes. This is as unexpected as it is welcome. Even if they are trying to deceive us, we are perfectly safe now that we have established the second station just outside the atmosphere. They cannot possibly develop spaceships without our seeing them or detecting their tube radiation. The watch on Earth will be continued rigorously, as instructed. |
| Technovelgy from Loophole,
by Arthur C. Clarke. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1946 Additional resources -
|
Readers may recall these words from War of the Worlds (1898) by HG Wells:
I'd also point out this ominous statement by science fiction author Cixin Liu in his 2008 novel The Dark Forest:
No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us.
“The universe is a dark forest. Every civilization is an armed hunter stalking through the trees like a ghost, gently pushing aside branches that block the path and trying to tread without sound. Even breathing is done with care. The hunter has to be careful, because everywhere in the forest are stealthy hunters like him. If he finds other life—another hunter, an angel or a demon, a delicate infant or a tottering old man, a fairy or a demigod—there’s only one thing he can do: open fire and eliminate them. In this forest, hell is other people. An eternal threat that any life that exposes its own existence will be swiftly wiped out. This is the picture of cosmic civilization. It’s the explanation for the Fermi Paradox.”
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More Ideas
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More Ideas
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Tech news articles related to Loophole
Tech news articles related to works by Arthur C. Clarke
Alien Watch on Earth-related
news articles:
- 'If Anyone Is Watching Earth...'
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| Is There A Global Problem With Who Is Having Children? |
| Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine |
| The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On |
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'Our study of your race has convinced us that you are not fitted to leave your planet in the present state of your civilization.'
'...the spreading beam of the deranging ray struck them, and Then one toppled and fell. Then another.'
'Within seconds the material was spread out over fifty yards, in a matter of hours it might occupy several cubic miles of space...'
'The men are dead, but their acquired wisdom lives on and I am the beneficiary.'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.'
'After twenty generations of shillyshallying...'
