Male Alien: “These humans think that we’re so fascinated with them. Why do they believe that?”
Female Alien: “Star Trek.”
M: “What’s that?”
F: “A TV show that these humans came up with. On every episode, their Starship Enterprise travels to another planet, and the inhabitants are always their intellectual equals. So, they’re convinced that if Aliens visit their planet, they will be of the same intellect.”
M: “But that’s ridiculous!”
F: “Not to humans. They think they reside at the intellectual pinnacle of creation. Not to be surpassed. Although they are evidently generous enough to entertain the notion that other planets might achieve similar heights.”
M: “Wow. How nice of them. But, surely you can’t be serious. It’s only a TV show. Don’t these humans understand that if aliens were to visit their planet, they would be of a far superior intelligence? Humans don’t know the slightest thing about interstellar travel.”
F: “True, but they believe the problem is merely one of ignorance, not of any limitation on their innate intelligence. They are convinced it’s only due to a lack of sufficient time to develop the appropriate technology. They can’t imagine that it might be due to an inherent lack of brainpower. Their God-like affliction is probably due to being the smartest creatures on their planet.”
M: “So they are convinced that whatever lifeform steps out of the visiting UFO will be their intellectual peers? They can’t envision that their intellect might seem to us as their dogs appear to them?”
F: “Exactly. You also have to consider the way that humans treat the other animals on their planet. They either eat them or keep them as pets. So, the idea that an alien species might treat them similarly is a bit too uncomfortable to consider. It’s safer for them to view visiting aliens as a bunch of smart guys like them that just happen to have a more advanced civilization due to the passage of time.”
M: “I suppose that makes sense. Pretty scary to think that we might eat them, huh?”
F: “Haha. I’ve never tried roasting one. They might be tasty. Lots of them are pretty hefty, too. Plenty of meat on those bones!”
M: “That’s because they overfeed themselves, which creates all sorts of health problems. You’d think they would know better, especially with their so-called superior intelligence. So, what should we do with these humans? It’s almost impossible to convey any meaningful information to them. Their means of communication are far too primitive.”
F: “We shouldn’t do anything, other than maybe give them some friendly advice. Our task is to observe, not interfere. It’s their job to figure things out.”
M: “Well, they certainly don’t seem to be doing a very good job of it. They’re ruining their planet! They’re killing off all of the other lifeforms. They even kill each other. Increasing the planetary temperature, building incredibly destructive weapons, and then selling the technology to whoever wants it. Don’t they understand the risks?”
F: “Individually, yes. Globally, no. They’re incapable of cooperating to limit the proliferation of their destructive technologies. What’s particularly alarming is their recent discovery of genetic engineering. Even worse, they are convinced that they can control this Genetic Beast. They don’t seem to understand that their track record of deploying new technologies for only benign purposes is not very good.”
M: “I’ll bet a lot of earth’s other creatures are rooting that these foolish humans will invent a virus that only kills them, and leaves the rest of earth’s inhabitants in peace!”
F: “Not likely. Earth’s other creatures are too ignorant to understand the danger.”
M: “Just like the humans?”
F: “Exactly!”