Gods from outer space: science fiction as theology

[jimbob]

Alien visitation is as entertaining as a dose of the clap.

I must admit that I didn't bother to read any of the sequels.

The Sublimed civilizations in the Culture novels are pretty close to being godlike to those in "the Real".

As is the Excession. Which was an outside context problem

An Outside Context Problem was the sort of thing most civilisations encountered just once, and which they tended to encounter rather in the same way a sentence encountered a full stop.

The usual example given to illustrate an Outside Context Problem was imagining you were a tribe on a largish, fertile island; you'd tamed the land, invented the wheel or writing or whatever, the neighbors were cooperative or enslaved but at any rate peaceful and you were busy raising temples to yourself with all the excess productive capacity you had, you were in a position of near-absolute power and control which your hallowed ancestors could hardly have dreamed of and the whole situation was just running along nicely like a canoe on wet grass... when suddenly this bristling lump of iron appears sailless and trailing steam in the bay and these guys carrying long funny-looking sticks come ashore and announce you've just been discovered, you're all subjects of the Emperor now, he's keen on presents called tax and these bright-eyed holy men would like a word with your priests.

 

[Peter May]

Alien visitation is as entertaining as a dose of the clap.

I must admit that I didn't bother to read any of the sequels.

The Sublimed civilizations in the Culture novels are pretty close to being godlike to those in "the Real".

As is the Excession. Which was an outside context problem

Sorry, do I not understand, but why would they bother! Even if they knew we where here, which they don't, by default, and Seth Shostak said so, and I believe him.

 

[Andy_Ross]

I must admit that I didn't bother to read any of the sequels.

The Sublimed civilizations in the Culture novels are pretty close to being godlike to those in "the Real".

As is the Excession. Which was an outside context problem

I would say the Ships and their AIs in the Culture were almost God like.

 

[catsmate]

Rendezvous with Rama?

A good example. Roadside Picnic is probably the classic one, though set in the aftermath of the alien visit.

Alien visitation is as entertaining as a dose of the clap.

Rama wasn't a visitation, the aliens weren't interested in us at all.

 

[catsmate]

I would say the Ships and their AIs in the Culture were almost God like.

True, but within the Culture they were a known and (somewhat) understood pantheon.

 

[jimbob]

I would say the Ships and their AIs in the Culture were almost God like.

Except that there are entities whose power they can't understand, even if they know how all but one came to get their power.

 

[HansMustermann]

That's certainly true. I was more concerned with the superpowerful ones.

Which is itself a distinction that wasn't originally stated.

There's another type that I've thought of: the trickster or mischief maker, someone who makes life miserable for others for their own enjoyment. On Star Trek, Trelane and Q.

There are plenty more, though. E.g.,

- the concerned anthropologists: e.g., the Vulcans in NX-01 Enterprise. They're not interested in either enslaving you or making you a god, but are quite concerned that you don't evolve too fast into a threat to them.

- the imperialists: frankly, I'd expect this to be THE most likely case if we encounter a very advanced alien civilization. They wouldn't be either friendly or hostile per se, but if you assemble alien ipads and antigrav shoes for them, you can buy some of that for 100 times the price they pay you to make one. With the occasional show of force or gunboat diplomacy (as in, you get their fully armed flagship and its admiral to talk to you about your attitude; kinda like what Picard does, come to think of it) to make sure you respect their patents and such, and stay in their sphere of influence, but otherwise they don't really give a crap. Much less effort than invading you and keeping you in line the medieval way.

- the tourists: probably at the same time as the others, but it could also be that it turns out to be the only thing where the economics work out. Basically expect a bunch of alien yuppies who just drop by to take their family photo naked in front of St Paul's cathedral and other Earth landmarks, and some of them to have sex with the locals. These probably wouldn't be hostile, and hell, some might even be annoyingly friendly after sampling enough of the local booze or catnip, but they wouldn't care about getting you out of your misery either.

Basically there are lots of ways for one to amuse oneself without playing God, and I'd expect that that would be realistically the case when we encounter any aliens.

 

[Peter May]

A good example. Roadside Picnic is probably the classic one, though set in the aftermath of the alien visit.


Rama wasn't a visitation, the aliens weren't interested in us at all.

Yes, I understand that, and I adore all the Rama books, the jibe wasn't
intended as a snub at AC C.
What would be really be nice would be the Movie of Rama, or what?

 

[dudalb]

Then there is the whole "NOrse Gods were not Gods,but highly advanced alien humans who visited Earth and were taken to be Gods by the ancient Norsemen" routine in the Marvel Universe. (Same for the Greek gods, though Marvel has not gotten around to briging them into the MCU yet).

 

[Foolmewunz]

I was always fond of the conceits in the plot of Moorcock's "Behold the Man". God (well, his kid) as a time-traveler from our own race in the future who winds up repairing history so that it matches the fiction of the believers.

 

[The Man]

- the imperialists: frankly, I'd expect this to be THE most likely case if we encounter a very advanced alien civilization. They wouldn't be either friendly or hostile per se, but if you assemble alien ipads and antigrav shoes for them, you can buy some of that for 100 times the price they pay you to make one. With the occasional show of force or gunboat diplomacy (as in, you get their fully armed flagship and its admiral to talk to you about your attitude; kinda like what Picard does, come to think of it) to make sure you respect their patents and such, and stay in their sphere of influence, but otherwise they don't really give a crap. Much less effort than invading you and keeping you in line the medieval way.

ie: "They Live" just inter-dimensional entrepreneurs

- the tourists: probably at the same time as the others, but it could also be that it turns out to be the only thing where the economics work out. Basically expect a bunch of alien yuppies who just drop by to take their family photo naked in front of St Paul's cathedral and other Earth landmarks, and some of them to have sex with the locals. These probably wouldn't be hostile, and hell, some might even be annoyingly friendly after sampling enough of the local booze or catnip, but they wouldn't care about getting you out of your misery either.

ie: "E.T." just a camping trip

 

[The Man]

Then there is the whole "NOrse Gods were not Gods,but highly advanced alien humans who visited Earth and were taken to be Gods by the ancient Norsemen" routine in the Marvel Universe. (Same for the Greek gods, though Marvel has not gotten around to briging them into the MCU yet).

Star Trek took care of the Greek gods in "Who Mourns for Adonais ?"

 

[Andy_Ross]

Stargate SG1 was full of aliens as gods.