Humans Not The Dominant Species Of the Universe.

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Just finished up the restarted, "Twice Removed", and it is still echoing in my synapses.

The other day I watched an old movie, "Starship Troopers" and was disappointed. Apparently they decided to rework it in 2011, and they made a right muck up of it, in my opinion. The first movie was intact, but the others were not recognizable. The Videography was dark and they strayed from the original plot line. What a mess. I wish they'd left it alone. It was childish and immature but fun.

I'm thinking of another story that was a one off by a very good author, that ends with her and her adopted daughter's escape from an awful colony planet. I'm hoping I'll eventually remember the author or the name of the story. No, I suppose not. :(

Ashleigh Blayze :))))

Perhaps the idea that humans are inferior to other races? Perhaps an idea for a story?

Gwen

PS I think that some of these authors come here to write a story for a College Class, and then disappear.

Comments

Humanity

Amethyst's picture

I'm glad that my story resonates so much with you.

The original Starship Troopers was hilarious, mostly because it seemed to actually take itself seriously, but everything after that was horrible.

I believe that we can't be alone in the universe, but really we don't have very strong senses and as a species we can be somewhat frail. The idea for humans as an inferior species could work and I've often seen that idea referenced in various works of Sci-fi and there are various ways you could bring that point across in a story.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

Are we alone in the universe?

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

Let’s look at the odds. Go out into a dark night away from any large metropolitan city when the Milky Way is visible. Mind you the plethora of stars you see are but a fraction of all the stars there are. Some are too dim or too distant to see with the naked eye. But for our purposes let’s consider only those stars that we can see. Now, let’s eliminate any star that isn’t the same kind of star as our sun (shape, size, age and makeup).

To further weed out stars, let’s assume that only one in ten of those stars that are the same kind of star as our sun have a planetary system. Now let us assume that only one in ten of those that have planetary systems have at least one planet orbiting in the habitable zone. After that, let’s suppose that only one in ten of those planets supports some kind of life. Then let’s say that only one in ten of those support vegetation and that only one in ten of those also supports animal life.

Now let’s say that only one in ten of those support intelligent life.

After all of that, you would still have over 100 billion planets supporting intelligent life. Oh, and let’s not forget that the Milky Way isn’t the only galaxy out there, and that none of the stars in the other galaxies are visible to us.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt

The Drake Equation

The Drake Equation
From WlkiPedia:
'The Drake equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.[1][2]

The equation was written in 1961 by Frank Drake, not for purposes of quantifying the number of civilizations, but as a way to stimulate scientific dialogue at the first scientific meeting on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).[3][4] The equation summarizes the main concepts which scientists must contemplate when considering the question of other radio-communicative life.[3] It is more properly thought of as an approximation rather than as a serious attempt to determine a precise number.

Criticism related to the Drake equation focuses not on the equation itself, but on the fact that the estimated values for several of its factors are highly conjectural, the combined effect being that the uncertainty associated with any derived value is so large that the equation cannot be used to draw firm conclusions.'

Kris

{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}

Scientologists Have An Interesting Premise.

One book asserts that Earth is a Prison Planet, and that is not without president. Lots of Australia's got there that way, and American Colonists were seen as the scum of the earth. Will the word generator in my head start churning something out?

Scientology

A religion pulled out of Hubbard’s ass, he even stated in an interview with Readers digest the easiest way to get rich in America was to invent a religion, a few years later Scientology was born

Someone heard that conversation

In the very early 80's I had a speaker in a Creative Writing class that said he heard that conversation between two reporters of the "San Francisco Chronicle" ((??)). One was L. Ron Hubbard, and the other was some guy. The speaker, a famous author himself, that rode in on a very nasty, sexy looking Harley, with full leathers and beard and mustache and all that. Looking back, I would have loved to ride behind him with that hot steel between my thighs. :) Though I did not know it at the time.

After many years as a devout Christian, and some time as a fervent Muslim, I can confirm that being flashy, shouty and sexy would qualify you to found a Mega Church.

Frederik Pohl, I believe, was

Frederik Pohl, I believe, was the individual who discussed the drunken bet that led to Scientology in "The Way the Future Was".


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Starship troopers

The movies are nothing like the book, the director could not even be bothered to read it, but then again, the book would never be made into a proper movie, it doesn’t agree with Hollywood’s politics

There's also the inverse.

There's also the inverse.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/wiki/ref/universes/jenkinsverse

The Jenkinsverse is all about humans not being the dominant culture out there - but it's because we're basically death walking to the other species, so they don't want us out there. We're on a Death World, where even the bacteria are insanely aggressive by galactic standards.

As for Starship Troopers? The only thing that has in common with the Heinlein book is the name. There's an interesting background to the movie and that title - it's worth looking it up.

Also, see Alan Dean Foster's "The Damned Trilogy" - which is that Humans aren't dominant, but we're an aberration to the 'civilized' galaxy.

One of the biggest themes in a lot of those stories is that the aliens are out there, but they don't want to talk to anyone that hasn't figured out how to leave their own solar system. They're not interested in ours, because better sources of materials are closer to home. Basically - we're not interesting enough to care about :)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Space Travel May Be Impossible?

Lately, I am hearing that because of Cosmic Rays, and other Nasties, it may be impossible for humans to spend extended time in space. We are seeing the negative effects from just using the International Space Station. In any Moon or Martian bases, we may have to bury our habitats deeply underground?

Years ago, I think I read a Sci Fi Story where the occupants of a spaceship were in the center of a huge sphere for shielding.

I think the word would be

I think the word would be difficult, not impossible. Short term exposure to radiation, we're built to withstand, and even thrive upon.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15673519

The problem becomes with long term exposure. The "fix", as it were, is to find ways to block or alter the incoming radiation - after we've found out what actually causes the problem. (Such as the difference between UV A, B, and C - beneficial vs detrimental)

The issue with shielding? It has to be dense, or thick, or both. Both of those end up equaling heavy, which is prohibitive to push out of a gravity well. We've know for decades that Mars habitats would have to be predominantly underground, because Mars doesn't have much of a magnetic field or atmosphere. So that's no surprise :) The moon? Same thing - no atmosphere, no magnetic field to speak of.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Try David Brin's "Uplift" Series

joannebarbarella's picture

In a universe filled with sentient species humans are pariahs beneath contempt because every race is supposed to have a patron that "uplifted" them into sentience and humans have no patron.

I enjoyed Sundiver with

I enjoyed Sundiver with humans and uplifted dolphins, but Brightness Reef about de-evolving species was too different for me.

Ashleigh Blaze

That’s Legacy of the Anari by Ashleigh Blaze is definitely the story your thinking of it’s one of my all time favorites I hope we will get book 2 someday.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

College Writers

I have a feeling that she wrote while she was in College.

The truth maybe closer than out there

0.25tspgirl's picture

One of the more compelling theories about why we can’t find signs of other intelligent life is that they don’t want us too. Premise 1: bulk freight is to costly to ship interstellar. Premise 2: those species who have made it to interstellar are rational and peaceful. Thesis: we have nothing the aliens want (too costly to ship home). Equally it’s too costly to ship enough military here to take our planet. Premise 3: past bad experience has created a star trek prime directive equivalent. Premise 4: nasty neighbors are restricted to stellar only until they are no longer nasty. Thesis: we are among those nasty neighbors. (Support: the entirety of human history.) What do our interstellar neighbors do? They quarantine us. This includes routing all traffic including communication around us invisibly. They also keep a close eye on us (UFO anyone?). Makes some sense doesn’t it?

BAK 0.25tspgirl

The Foundation Trilogy

I think perhaps the most plausible explanation I have seen is in "The Foundation Trilogy". I've been thinking of rereading it.

:)

Gwen

Humans are not dominant in

Humans are not dominant in Anne McCaffrey's Catteni Sequence books (Freedom's Landing etc.)

Very Very Rare

It's very rare when a sequel or a remake is better than the original.

Sure, they can spend more money on it. Sure, they can add lots of special effects. But, capturing the original spirit, flavor, and artistry of the original? So rare it's hardly worth seeing, if you saw and liked the original.

Two remakes immediately come to mind. A Spanish film, "Abre Los Ojos," remade in English a few years later as "Vanilla Sky." Blech! Tom Cruise was dating Penelope Cruz, who costarred in the original, and, well, the rest is ignominy.

Then, there was a French film, "La Femme Nikita," a stunner of an action film, later remade in English and as a TV series. Just... nope!

They remade "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" series in English. Believe me, watching the original Swedish trilogy with subtitles is a small price to pay for such a superior experience.

I admit to watching the series of "Hanna" and enjoying it, but the 2011 movie starring Saoirse Ronan was more fun, maybe because new ideas have more impact. And Ronan acted the hell out of that part so well, it's hard to see someone else even try. The writers of the tv series have had to reach pretty far at times to keep it going. Hasn't "jumped the shark" yet, so that's good.

And Star Wars fans will hate me, but, while I enjoyed a couple of the sequels, none of them ever made the impact that the first one did. Ditto, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.

As for Starship Troopers... I bought that DVD, haven't rewatched in years, but couldn't imagine watching a remake or sequel. I'd rather rewatch the original. Or an original of something else. Something NEW.

Here's two sci-fi/action recommendations for you. I streamed them both, then bought one of the Blu-rays. Going to buy the other one soon.

"Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets"
"Alita: Battle Angel"

Species

This whole thing presupposes that there are alien races out there, and there is no proof of that. Why, even the biblethumpers say there isn't! The math says there are. The problem with that is that mathematics does not have to have a 1 to 1 relationship with the universe as we see it. So I was taught in algebra 2 in the 10th grade.

I have faith that there are other species besides us in the universe. The various religions have faith in the existence of a god. Neither them nor I can prove that those entities actually exist. Question everything you have been told, everybody lies. You just don't know what they lied about or why.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

Biblethumper???

Patricia Marie Allen's picture

I guess I could plead guilty to being a Biblethumper but I don't see the exclusivity of God (The one true god) and other planets with intelligent life.

My argument is the God never does anything for no reason or by accident. Given that premise, is seems more than a bit presumptuous to assume that the vastness of the universe and the infinite number of stars and planets in the universe serve no purpose, or that God created all of that just so only one planet would be in the right position around it's sun to support life and create mankind and then to leave all the rest just to just be there.

If the stars were there just to make the heavens beautiful, or aid mankind in navigation, then what are all the rest, the one's not visible to the naked eye for? What are all the other galaxies there for? If this was all the reason for stars, then one galaxy would have done and then only the visible stars necessary. Whats more, there'd be no need of planets circling any other star than the sun. For that mater, there'd be no need of any other planets in our solar system.

No, God had a reason for all of the other worlds out there. Men are just too self-centered to allow that there just may be species just as important to God as we are. We would do well to remember that God is God and what He wants is what will happen. It is with His permission that we are allowed to screw up the world we have and live any flipping way we want. It could very well be that the rest of his creation is better than we are.

Hugs
Patricia

Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt

Bacteria

Bacteria. By numbers, by mass, by longevity, by adaptability, bet on bacteria.

Kris

{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}