My Prediction for the End of the World

I am sad to report that my realization that the end of the world is occurring came to me while watching the movie “Police Academy”. The 1984 film is just as bad as I had remembered. It also has all the signs pointing to the end of humanity as we know it. “Police Academy” is 27 years old. I found myself watching the movie for an indication of what has changed in 27 years and for the most part the visual answer would be very little. Aside from the occasional hairstyle or car design, life in 1984 looks remarkably similar to life in 2011. Of course much has changed in 27 years, but most of that revolution is occurring behind the scenes and out of sight. So, my argument is that the world, as we have known it, is ending right before our eyes.

Let’s go to the high tech rumor mill for the first piece of my argument. We seem to understand that the Smartphone is changing us. It is our portal to the Internet. Currently it is a powerful tool for humans to use. At what point does the Smartphone tool actually become part of us? The tiny Smartphone display on my Blackberry annoys me. It is top of the line (for Blackberry anyway) and yet I have to squint when trying to view the weather radar or catch the finer point of a photograph. Apple is working to fix that with better heads-up displays and, if you believe the quite busy Apple rumor community, perhaps the next step is beyond a display to sit on your head like glasses, but rather a display inside of your head.  The Smartphone becomes easier to use because it becomes part of our body.

The Smartphone tool is simply our connection to what really matters: the Internet. The Internet is more than a repository of information- it has become a living world of social interaction and information. Every two days we create as much information as humanity created from the beginning of human origins up until the year 2003. That’s five exabytes of data every two days. That’s a stat rattled off at the Techonomy Conference last year. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt had a great quote during that conference, as relayed in Tech Crunch: “I spend most of my time assuming the world is not ready for the technology revolution that will be happening to them soon.”

Most of the data we create is not that useful: the fact that a friend from college is re-doing his kitchen or that a colleague is enjoying a trip to Bermuda is nice to know and yet not very valuable. However, those tiny bits of information put us in a real-time world with that college friend, the vacationing colleague and dozens, if not hundreds, of other people. You can almost see the information flow starting to breathe when you look at facebook. This isn’t just a set of tools being used by humans- it’s an entirely new way of living. The virtual world is dawning and the world of 1984 might as well be 1900 or 1600 or 1200. In many respects 1984 humans might have more in common with the year 1200 human than year 2050 human.

Two billion people are connected via the Internet and a new study says that $8 trillion worth of e-commerce is conducted each year. The “Internet Matters” report by McKinsey and Company shows that the Internet is merely middle of the pack when it comes to Gross Domestic Product in the 13 countries studied. Yet, as we know, the Internet reaches into every sector of the economy and has drawn the world together. More than 75 percent of businesses use the Internet. The “Internet Matters” report calls for business to optimize their participation in the “global Internet ecosystem.” Ecosystem is a great word for it. Global trading, as aided by technology, is growing daily. Our banking systems are interconnected. Our monetary systems react as one joined system. A tremor in the economy of Greece is felt quickly in the United States.  The interconnected nature of the global economy is expected to keep growing. The question is where will it lead? 

This concept of humans growing closer together due to technology is not a new one. The forest for the trees moment really comes when you see how quickly this interconnectedness is occurring. Take a few steps back from our day-to-day rush and ask yourself: are we changing before our eyes?

In “Police Academy” world of 1984 it was primarily the mass media pulling us together as a planet and most of the technology I have been discussing was still in rudimentary forms. What will happen in the next 27 years? Are we moving rapidly to a new, interconnected, technologically enhanced human? Will that lead to humans in machine form?

There is a reason I’m talking about this in a blog dedicated to the consideration of extraterrestrial intelligence. Perhaps this revolution in human technology is not unique to us at all, but merely a phase that intelligent beings go through in the steady march through evolution? If so, an extraterrestrial might watch such progress and use it as a benchmark to decide when we are worth contacting. Why bother with the silly humans when they are throwing spears and reveling in fire? Why even bother when they are tapping away on typewriters and chatting on huge plastic landline phones? You would want to make contact at a point in human development when the humans might actually be able to understand who and what you are as an alien.

Do I think this all leads to some big moment in the next few months or years where the world will end and we’ll all march off to meet our maker? Of course not. It’s much more dramatic than that. The world as we have known it for thousands of years may be ending even as we speak. It’s probably something we won’t even realize until it’s already happened.

A New Project for SETI

SETI researchers at U.C. Berkeley are not letting funding issues stand in the way of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. A few weeks ago they announced that budget cuts would shut down research conducted in conjunction with the SETI Institute on the Allen Telescope Array. Just last week the Berkeley scientists spoke up again, this time trumpeting the start of a new project focusing on possible planets discovered in the NASA Kepler Mission.

They’re using the massive Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia to pull data from the starfield that Kepler has explored to find 1,253 possible planets in recent months. In particular, they are looking for signals in the star systems of the planets that have shown the most Earth-like characteristics. It will only be 24 hours worth of data, five minutes per likely candidate, but that will take plenty of time to sort through. We can all be involved through the SETI@home project, which uses our computer downtime to help sift through the data looking for that standout signal that would bear closer attention. Of course, Green Bank is where the SETI effort began as Project Ozma 51 years ago.

This doesn’t mean the funding issues are no longer a problem, just that they have found a new project while the SETI Institute works on raising funds to restart the Allen Telescope Array. You can help in that effort as well. Visit the SETI Institute home page for details on donating to the cause.

Ambiguous First Contact

SETI researchers have pointed out that First Contact is likely to be an ambiguous event in many respects. The reception of an alien signal would take much study to determine the origin, with plenty of debate along the way. Even once confirmed as being engineered, what the signal means could take many years to decipher, if that’s even possible. Yet, there are issues that even an ambiguous signal, once confirmed to be of extraterrestrial intelligence in origin, raises for humans here and now. The problem comes in what we don’t know. The discovery of an engineered signal would only show that there is possibly intelligent life out there in the universe. We would have a specific origin of the signal to study for further evidence of life. But is that location necessarily where the intelligent beings are from and where they are now? Perhaps they were just passing through or have a relay of some sort? Perhaps it’s a leftover remnant of a civilization long passed?

The mere fact that there is extraterrestrial intelligence out there would raise a series of troubling questions: exactly where are they? Do they have the ability to get here? Are they already in the neighborhood? Once again, proximity becomes a major issue.

Even an ambiguous signal raises the need for a unified, United Nations led effort to provide a framework for response. Developing a diplomatic framework, even before we know what we might be dealing with, actually makes sense. Having a framework in place means that you have thought through the possibilities and you can respond much quicker to challenges when the need arises. Developing a working relationship between scientists, politicians and diplomats would be important in such a scenario. Groups like the SETI Institute could provide the knowledge and background to help lead United Nations officials in developing a planet-wide response.

The trouble may be far off or may even be something we never confront. It may not even be trouble at all, simply pleasant space aliens with whom we conduct a decades-long conversation across light years of space. Considerations of our defense and safety are still a cautious and practical reaction in the wake of an ambiguous First Contact. It certainly shouldn’t be a panic driven rush to put nuclear weapons in space. It could simply be a series of what-ifs leading us to consider making some long-term changes to make us safer. Perhaps just monitoring our solar system for evidence of visitors? Or a manned observation system in Earth orbit?

The SETI Institute and the United Nations should begin the basic discussions now. It can be an informal and zero-dollar conversation to start. And perhaps it is already occurring and I’m just out of the loop. I know that United Nations officials, such as Mazlan Othman, the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, have attended scientific conferences that have involved SETI researchers and astrophysicists. I hope they have had an opportunity to sit down over coffee, at the very least, to have a reasonable discussion. It could grow into a volunteer task force that reports to COPUOS (the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space). Developing a working relationship now would be quite advantageous if First Contact ever does occur. But please, let’s keep it quiet. The media has proven that they can’t handle the excitement when people talk about reasonable approaches to First Contact.

My Open Letter to Extraterrestrials

I recently referenced a website titled “Invitation to ETI.” The primary part of the website is an open letter designed as a direct welcome to an extraterrestrial civilization. After reading it again I couldn’t help but come up with my own version, with no disrespect intended to the “Invitation to ETI” folks.

My Open Letter to Extraterrestrials

Hello and thanks for reading. You’ve probably been surfing the Internet, trying to figure out what makes humanity tick. First of all, let us apologize for the Internet. We’re not sure why it’s 12 percent porn. We’re also not proud of the fact that most discussion of extraterrestrials focuses on alien abductions and a ridiculous incident in New Mexico. What can we say? We’re a highly excitable bunch. Now, if you have been abducting us, please stop. It’s not the best way to start a new relationship.

You have probably noticed that there isn’t much scholarly work about extraterrestrials. The brave academics and researchers who do write about the topic face criticism and the erosion of professional reputation. There is a small band of dedicated scientists who have brought some degree of respectability to the topic. Please give Frank Drake, Jill Tarter, Seth Shostak or Paul Davies a call. They have been leaders in this area and would have much to discuss with you.

Despite recent advances in technology, which brings us humans much closer in communication, we’re still a highly fractured people here on planet Earth. We have what we call the United Nations. We’re still not entirely sure what we should do with it. We’re apparently scared of losing our cultural and national identities. In all candor, we are still comprised of tribes. We're interconnected, but disorganized and often rather testy.

If you decide to contact us directly it would probably be quite a spectacle here on Earth. Overall, I think we would handle it well. Once we manage to deal with the apocalypse fanatics and the fringe religious groups and endure the political posturing and inevitable power grabs- we should be ready for a rational discussion. Our scientists will have to work in conjunction with our politicians, a relationship that currently isn’t going very well. Nevertheless, they will do their best to put up with each other. We have managed not to blow ourselves up yet with nuclear weapons. We’ve done serious damage to our environment, but we’re working on it-slowly, anyway.

I think an introduction from you would have a transformative effect on our civilization. It would be challenging in the initial weeks and months, but I think such a revelation would bring us humans closer together in the long run. We hope that you’re friendly and have altruistic reasons for wanting to communicate with us. Either way, we would rather know the truth, than continue to labor under the assumption that we are alone in the universe.

So, welcome. And once again- sorry about all of the porn. We hope you otherwise enjoy your Googling and we look forward to meeting you.

The Blind Side

The subject of extraterrestrial First Contact has not been treated well in the popular media. Thankfully, there are serious science writers who have taken the time and effort to put together thoughtful pieces on the topic. Tim Folger published just such an article in Scientific American a few months ago. “Contact the Day After” is an overview of the current state of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) scientific effort and an examination of what might happen after First Contact.

Folger points to the very human reactions of researchers when confronted with a signal that they believe may be of extraterrestrial origin. Seth Shostak with the SETI institute shares as story that he has also talked about in his book. It was an “engineered signal” discovered 13 years ago. Eventually, that signal was determined to be coming from a NASA satellite, but in the meantime, while taking a closer look at the signal, researchers did what humans are prone to do: act human.

“It’s not that people do anything mischievous or malevolent—you’re so caught up in the excitement of the moment, the media are calling you on the phone, people send e-mails to their friends,” Shostak said.

The main point of the Folger article is that SETI based First Contact is likely to occur in a drawn out fashion, with many years needed to study and decipher an alien signal. In the meantime, the public, while initially excited, will have a relatively muted response because of the many unknowns.

“I think the assumption that one day someone is going to announce that we’ve discovered extraterrestrial intelligence, and now the world knows, is a fallacy, because there’s going to be much more ambiguity in the process,” said Douglas Vakoch at the SETI Institute.

Vakoch, and others, realize that First Contact, if it behaves like most other scientific discoveries, will not be an absolute process. There will be debate, many research studies conducted over a great deal of time, and probably a fair amount of controversy along the way. That’s just how human science moves forward. There is rarely the Eureka! moment.

Fair enough. I have said all along that such a discovery is the most likely form of First Contact. However, I still think that the SETI protocols need to be merged with broader protocols, which would describe a diplomatic response, moving in step with the scientific effort. It’s a subject that has yet to even be discussed by the United Nations.

And what if we do experience a Direct First Contact event? What if communication, for whatever reason, is possible and can be conducted relatively quickly? What if we can have a conversation with an extraterrestrial civilization? We haven’t planned for that possibility. You can argue that Hollywood and fiction writers have worked this ground over again and again. And yet it’s a shallow reworking of tired soil that has lent very little to a practical discussion of how we might handle Direct First Contact. It’s the blind side in this discussion. The UFO folks find it boring, because, of course, aliens are currently running Proctor and Gamble. The SETI folks don’t have time to think about it, because they have too much else to do. Science writers touch on the idea from time to time, but leave it behind because of the high wackiness factor. And that leaves us with very little else.

The problem is that Direct First Contact is a much different animal. If we can have an actual conversation with an extraterrestrial civilization, there are many, many considerations to take into account. Threat becomes an immediate issue. The sharing of information is a concern. Diplomatic roles and leadership is a major problem. Politics, economics and even psychology suddenly are some of the most relevant subjects in regards to human response. And yet there very few people actively considering these issues in a rational and thoughtful way.

This little blog isn’t designed to be that forum. It’s simply a “what if” whispered in the dark.

I leave this entry with one of my favorite pieces of writing on this subject. It’s on a website titled “Invitation to ETI.” The open letter is designed as a direct welcome to an extraterrestrial civilization. While you can tell from the tone of the letter that it’s probably much more instructive for humans considering First Contact issues, and most likely written as such, it does set a tone for the conversation that seems well considered.

 

“We will treat you with respect, courtesy, friendship, and caring. We will speak and act truthfully, avoiding lies and deception. We will deal honestly and fairly with you, avoiding any temptation to exploit the situation for personal greed or for any particular nation or organization. Without forsaking our own values and integrity, we will be as empathic, helpful, and flexible as we can in understanding and fostering your goals and plans.”

And of course that’s how we hope they would treat us.

I disagree with those who believe First Contact would be of minimal impact to our society. The effect on the human psyche of First Contact, especially Direct First Contact, would be profound: we are not masters of the known universe any longer. We have neighbors. We cannot control them. There is risk and there is incredible opportunity.

It’s time to move forward.

.

Proximity

In a dangerous situation the severity of a threat is often in direct relation to the proximity of the threat. An Earthquake in Japan creates the highest degree of threat for people who live in Japan and less so for those who live in Finland. A shooting incident is of primary concern for people close to the line of fire and less so for those who live in another neighborhood. The same could be said of First Contact. The threat, both real and perceived, would be in direct relation to proximity. If the aliens in question are 50 light years away, there is much less of a threat than if they are hanging out in Paris, France. Technology is important in these considerations as well. Do the aliens have the ability to travel here, and if so, how quickly?

In a sense, there is an insulation of distance when a disaster strikes or there is an external threat. Still, this blog examines the possible impact of Direct First Contact. That entails an extraterrestrial civilization showing up in our solar system and perhaps here on planet Earth. So, what can we predict in the way of human response to a Direct First Contact event?

There is, of course, no real answer to this question. There are too many unknowns and too many variables. However, we can take a look at how humans react to disasters here on Earth. Bagrow, Wang and Barabasi examine communication immediately after disasters to try and uncover a pattern of human reaction to large scale emergencies. In the March issue of the www.plosone.org journal they published a study that looks at “cooperative human actions under externally induced perturbations.” They scanned media reports to pick a bombing, plane crash and earthquake and then used cell phone records to chart communication activities. For a control group they took a look at similar cell phone records for large concerts and sporting events. The results, not surprisingly, show that proximity is the best indicator of the volume of communication following a disaster. In the bombing the spatial decay of the communication volume came to 2.38 kilometers. In the plane crash that increased to nearly 10 kilometers. In the earthquake it was 110 kilometers. Human communication immediately after a localized disaster is most important for those who could be most impacted. Proximity is the prime motivator.

A Direct First Contact event may start in the same fashion. If an alien spacecraft was to land in New Jersey, it seems likely that, at first anyway, the Jersey residents would be the ones most concerned. However, Direct First Contact has an element that is different from anything we have experienced thus far in human history. Direct First Contact would contain an element of threat for the entire planet at once. Just the revelation that we are not alone in the universe and that we really don’t know much about the new visitors creates a threat. What are their motivations? Can we trust them?

So, what of the human reaction? One would expect that if Bagrow, Wang and Barabasi were to conduct a similar study after a dramatic Direct First Contact event they would find cell phone communication patterns consistent with a large scale emergency- at first. The locations nearest the alien landing would experience the greatest amount of cell phone activity. I suspect though, that they would soon find a reverse effect. As the news would spread across the globe, the level of concern in all corners of the planet would grow greatly, with corresponding cell phone traffic increasing in an expanding pattern outward from the point of contact itself. It would be a pattern unlike anything we have seen. And of course communication is just the start of human reaction. What would happen next?

Recent surveys have found that humans polled about First Contact issues seem relatively nonplussed about the possibility. That term applies well in this case, because while it means unperturbed in the popular lexicon, it also means surprised and confused to such a degree that the person does not know how to react. I would suspect that this may be the immediate response to a Direct First Contact event. A period of stunned silence seems likely, as people simply try to comprehend the news and watch to see what happens next. Extreme reactions of civil unrest or hysterical response could come later, after people have had time to process the information and decide how it fits into their world view. Some may say it’s the end of the world. Others may view First Contact as a sign of religious significance. These people would probably be in the minority; however it is unlikely they would be a quiet minority.

Threat is certainly a legitimate concern in any First Contact event. Whether the aliens are light years away or just down the street, there is some degree of threat, especially perceived threat, until we know more about the situation. Information and education would be the key to keeping people calm, if indeed we should want to remain calm. Transparency would be essential. First Contact would have to be handled in a way that allayed fears and answered many legitimate questions.

I think the positive aspect of a dramatic Direct First Contact event is that it would draw all humans together in a collective living room of sorts. People would gather around televisions worldwide to see what happens next. While there have been many large world events that have brought people together, nothing would compare to dramatic First Contact. For whatever unrest such an event would create, it would also bring humans together in a way we have never experienced before. That common bond could be enough to sustain us through the great challenges that would come After First Contact.

Help SETI Get Allen Array Back On Line

State and federal budget woes have caused the Allen Telescope Array to be put into "hibernation." The Allen Array is the most powerful tool yet in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The SETI Institute has launched a public effort to raise funds to get the Allen Array up and running again. You can help. It may sound like a small thing, and perhaps not an immediate government priority in the larger scheme of things, but the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is growing in leaps in bounds, aided by the many planetary revelations of the NASA Kepler Mission. Take a moment and visit the SETI Institute web site and donate if you can. A few dollars each, from a bunch of us, could help tremendously.

Maybe They Should Just Leave Us Alone

Let’s say that there is an extraterrestrial group, of some sort, out there, somewhere near-by and studying us. I have presented plenty of arguments for why now would be a relatively good time to say hello. Here’s an argument for leaving us alone.

Human development comes from challenge. We want to keep predators at bay, be able to see at night, and cook food to make it more palatable (and release more nutrients) so, 400,000 years ago, humans learned how to control and eventually produce fire. We face a challenge and find a solution, and thus the human race moves forward. The challenges can even come from other things that we create. It could be argued that the age of nuclear weapons has brought countries closer together in diplomacy and turned warfare into a global concern. We currently face a massive environmental challenge, and on numerous fronts. Global warming is just one of the threats. The nuclear crisis in Japan is an example of how our technology can threaten our long term existence. While it may not seem like it in real time, if you take a few steps back for a wider perspective, you can see humans answering these challenges. Nuclear power is undergoing new debate. It seems likely that in the wake of the Japanese nuclear crisis there may be prohibitions on the type of old technology used in those nuclear plants. Upgrading nuclear plant technology will take on a new importance and with it human technology will advance.

What would happen if those challenges disappeared? Science fiction writers love to imagine a world in which we meet extraterrestrials and learn the secrets of the universe. Even slightly more advanced extraterrestrial emissaries could provide radical new insights into science and the universe. Do we really want extraterrestrials spoon feeding us new information?

In a sense, it’s like working out for better health. Even if someone could invent a machine to flex your muscles to build muscle strength, would you really want to do it? Exercise the old fashion way also increases flexibility and strengthens the heart. Perhaps you could find a way to flex those muscles electrically (many bad inventions have claimed to do this) and still do real exercise to benefit the heart and develop greater flexibility, but what of the other benefits of real exercise that we might not fully understand?

Human technological and social development is a complex thing, with millions of interactions each day that will determine how we go forward. If you take away the need for some of that interaction, especially in the sciences, what unintended consequences might we face?

So, maybe the space aliens should just leave us alone and let us develop on our own. However, there is another solution that we probably would not enjoy or understand. Perhaps they should say hello, but with the caveat that they don’t give away any important information. Would we be able to handle that? Can’t you imagine the reaction when the extraterrestrials just say no in response to our questions about science and the universe? Would we understand? Would we feel that we are being treated like kids, or even worse, lab rats for study?

Information will be the most important part of the relationship After First Contact, and the flow of information of upmost concern. We may provide some insights for the extraterrestrials. It is likely though, that if they are advanced in technology they would be the ones providing most of the new information. How much they choose to share and how we respond to that decision could have a big impact on the future of the relationship between two civilizations.

A Suggestion: The Next Fifty for COPUOS

Last week marked the 50^th anniversary of manned space flight. The achievement still brings a sense of awe to many of us. The United Nations marked the occasion with a celebration of sorts. I found the UN news release interesting, because it notes that this year also marks fifty years for the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The committee works to develop the rules that define activities in outer space. There are plenty of pressing matters when it comes to outer space activities: the threat of Near Earth Objects (NEOs), the danger of weapons in Earth orbit, and the accumulation of space junk. I don’t want to infer that the group does not have enough to work on, but there is something they are missing: a clear framework for diplomacy in the event of First Contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.

Argue what you will about SETI protocols and alleged secret NASA contingency plans, there is nothing that I have seen that outlines who should be in charge of diplomacy in a First Contact event. The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) folks have done a good job in defining what should occur in case of a SETI discovery. However, the protocols stop well short of the diplomatic process. And when you think about it, that need for diplomacy could come up in the variety of situations. Perhaps it’s a question of humans sending messages deep into space. Shouldn’t there by a world body charged with determining if that should happen at all and, if so, what message should be sent? Instead, we hold Internet contests to determine those messages.

The most serious need would arise if we did have communication with an extraterrestrial civilization. Even if those messages take dozens of years to travel back and forth over light years of space, there should be an organized process for coming up with our answers, and perhaps more importantly, our questions. Science should certainly be at the forefront of such a conversation, but diplomacy needs to lead the way.

So, COPUOS, happy birthday to you. I suggest that after blowing out the candles you give some serious thought to the next 50 years. The Kepler Mission is turning up potential planets by the spacecraft-load. SETI scientists have new computer firepower that allows them to process data like never before. How long will it be before we hit the big one and find out that we are not alone in the universe? 

I firmly believe that the United Nations is the organization that should be tasked with First Contact diplomacy. It is the only body that represents most humans, in most countries on Earth. COPUOS, and the corresponding United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), are the natural organizations to handle such diplomacy. UNOOSA Director Mazlan Othman took a great deal of flak recently from the media when she merely suggested that COPUOS examine First Contact issues. It’s time to get beyond the snickering and face the facts: we are not ready for First Contact. We have done little to prepare. The impact of such an event would be enormous. Human civilization would be changed forever. Isn’t it worth a few moments of serious thought?

That Brutal Little Blue Planet

How would an extraterrestrial civilization view us?

It’s more than just a casual observation. If First Contact ever does occur (and I’m not saying it necessarily will) what they think of us would be a critical element of the new relationship.

Well, let’s put it in a form easier for us to comprehend: how would we view them? The answer is through the lens of our particular perspective. We would view them in comparison to us. Given that, one would imagine that they might view us in comparison to their type of biology, culture and technology. That could be a pretty high standard, depending on their level of development. If they are a much more advanced civilization they could view us as the brutal, scrappy little planet with major environmental problems. You would almost hope that in such a situation there would be many civilizations that our visitors had studied. This, at least, might help them view us with an element of objectivity. Rather than suffering in a direct comparison with them, we would perhaps be seen as part of a continuum of development that occurs with intelligent beings. They might even classify such civilizations:

Class one: intelligent life developing

Class two: early civilization

Class three: mechanized civilization

Class four: computerized civilization

Class five: destroyed their planet and now looking for a new home

Okay, sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Why does all this matter? How they view us goes directly to the heart of the new relationship. If we are the only other civilization they have run into, they might have high expectations for us, expectations that could be judged by their standards. This could have a huge impact for our future. In the wake of a dramatic First Contact scenario, with a high degree of interaction between ourselves and extraterrestrials, human self-determination will be a big issue. Do we decide our own path forward or are we under the influence of a powerful new friend?