Liman of Earth

If aliens asked nicely, would you go with them?

Credit: Norman Lockyer

What if aliens asked you to go with them into deep space?

And they aren’t space elves — humans with pointy ears — but truly alien beings, like squid or giant cassowary, with eyes as deep as space and vocal sounds that makes us want to suck our thumbs, curled up on the floor.

Would you go with them, if they asked?

I think about this question a lot.

Unless they were actually giant birds, which are terrifying, I would go. No knowledge on earth compares with seeing the universe from the vantage point of another planet. Sorry fam.

And though I’m pretty sure overshoot is going to trip us up before we get there, I do fantasize about a future in which humans are a space-faring folk.

What a shift in perspective that will be.

Imagine meeting another earthling at a bar on some distant planet.

Like meeting someone from your home town when you’re on the other side of the world. Back home you have no social glue. Here, you’re instantly bonded.

That effect only gets stronger the further you are from home.

If two humans ever meet in space, we will both be ‘of earth’, like Jesus of Nazareth. The place we are from — our customs and biology — will become our bond, even if we speak different languages and have conflicting beliefs.

On a foreign planet, humans would all be part of the family ‘of earth’. We’d inclined to help each other. It’s how we are.

It’s too bad we’d have to cross the galaxy to realize our fraternity. To realize the gravity (no pun intended) of our situation. Instead, most people seem obsessed with proving their better than others, rather than helping others.

Why is that?

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. We’re on a rock, hurtling through space. We should be cooperating, not competing.