First Contact? Perhaps not

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

Spock, in Star Trek II “The Wrath of Khan”

As we keep searching for signs of life in the vastness of the universe, we may want to ask ourselves: “What would a highly advanced alien civilization think of us Earthlings?” I had a bit of fun imagining such a scenario, based on the universe created by the great Gene Roddenberry.  

Stardate 70520.7. Aboard the Vulcan survey ship Vaankara, captain’s ready room.

Captain Daath to science officer T’moth: Please report.

T’moth: We have concluded our survey of Earth-based humans, sir, and a full report for the High Council has been uploaded to the ship’s database.

Daath: Are humans making significant progress towards first contact readiness?

T’moth: No, sir. They exhibit a number of problematic characteristics that make them remarkably illogical, despite their apparently promising level of intelligence.

Daath: Elaborate.

T’moth: Their capacity for logical thinking is quite uneven. While some individuals of this species exhibit advanced logical abilities and adequate scientific talent, large numbers of them remain at a pre-scientific stage, and have done so for thousands of their years without apparent sign of progress.

Daath: How is this possible?

T’moth: We are not certain, sir. DNA samples taken by our covert operatives do not support a genetic origin for this uneven level of civilization. However, human genomes are quite peculiar. They contain gene combinations that enable this species to display remarkable intelligence and cooperativity, co-existing with gene combinations that enable them to display a highly aggressive, selfishly emotional attitude similar to our ancient Vulcan ancestors.

Daath: That is quite worrisome.

T’moth: Indeed, sir. And the coexistence of adequately civilized and completely barbaric groups among humans suggests that without extensive training, their species remains prone to extremely uncivilized behavior.

Daath: Examples, if you please.

T’moth: Yes, sir. At this time, the species has been unable to reach planetary decisional unity, even as they realize that they are facing significant degradation of their environment, caused in large part by their primitive industrial technology. They have no planet-wide organization, except for a loose assembly of different “countries” which has little or no decisional powers.

Daath: That is illogical.

T’moth: It is, sir, and a minority of humans appear to realize this. Yet, a majority of them remain quite shortsighted, preferring to devote energies to tribalism and the short-term accumulation of resources rather than uniting to secure the future survival of their planet. Humans seem to be largely unable to envision their whole planet as a common habitat, and insist on drawing imaginary borders between tribes characterized by different customs and cultures.

Daath: How are these cultures different?

T’moth: Human are highly creative and have overactive imaginations, sir. Their creativity has helped them develop reasonably effective technology, and they are now in the early digital era. Yet, their overactive imagination is overly prone to wishful thinking. Different tribes of humans have created imaginary “gods” that they unquestioningly believe in, despite the complete absence of evidence.

Daath: “Gods”?

T’moth: Yes, sir. These are imaginary supernatural beings, to whom humans attribute extraordinary powers, including violating the laws of physics and even being responsible for the origin of the observable universe. These beings are supposedly invisible and undetectable by any instruments, yet many humans firmly believe in their existence. They participate in elaborate group rituals to communicate with these beings, request favors from them, and promise them token gestures of subservience.

Daath: Fascinating.

T’moth: Indeed, sir. But the picture is even more complex. Different tribes strongly identify with the different “gods” they created, and maintain that these beings give them rights to territory, resources and authority over other tribes. One of the longest lasting tribal disputes is centered on a small land area between the subcontinents of Eurasia and Africa. Different tribes have fought over this unremarkable area and the ancient ruins it contains for thousands of their years. One tribe maintains that the only acceptable “god”, who created the universe, granted them sole ownership of this area. Another tribe maintains that this is false, and claims that the same “god” subsequently changed his mind, and sent a human emissary to the planet to preach broader altruism. Yet, the same tribe does not practice altruism, and has repeatedly used their version of “god” as a justification to prey upon other tribes. This tribe controlled the area in question for some time, and relinquished it to the first tribe after finding it of limited practical value. Yet another tribe, which claims to worship the same “god” as the other two, maintains the he changed his mind not once but twice, and sent another emissary to the planet with a slightly different message than the other. This emissary apparently authorized the third tribe to convert the other two to their system of beliefs using violence if necessary, and gave ownership of this area to the third tribe. At this time, sir, these tribes appear completely unable to share the area in question without fighting.

Daath: This is completely illogical.

T’moth: Indeed, sir. Our theory is that these tribes create “gods” as symbols of tribal identity, and then create complex rituals to distinguish themselves from other tribes they compete with.

Daath: What do these rituals consist of?

T’moth: Generally, group efforts to curry favor from their gods through chanting and making magical gestures. Some rituals are most bizarre. Some tribes maintain that these all-powerful “gods” wish the males to wear facial hair and the females to cover their faces with cloth. Others maintain that the gods don’t allow the consumption of certain foods or certain sexual practices. Several practice ritual mutilation of the genital organs of juvenile males and females. A group of tribes appear to worship an ancient execution device consisting of two perpendicular arms to which victims were nailed and left to die of respiratory failure.

Daath: Barbaric.

T’moth: Yes, sir. The overactive imagination of this species presents peculiar challenges. An even more serious drawback we discovered is an apparent inability to distinguish wishful thinking from data.

Daath: How so?

T’moth: Just as they firmly believe in the existence of mythical, undetectable and all-powerful beings, humans are prone to believing whatever produces a pleasant emotional response in them. In other words, sir, they believe not what they can observe but what they wish to believe. And they are using their primitive mastery of digital technology not to disseminate accurate information but to spread unscientific beliefs and even complete fabrications, which are promptly believed by large groups of individuals for exclusively emotional reasons.

Daath: Most illogical. Apparently this species has not yet mastered control of their emotions.

T’moth: No, sir. In fact, a majority of them make their decisions largely based on emotions, and use defective logic only to fabricate justifications for their emotional choices. As a result, they are unable to form a consensus on even the most urgent problems. They have a remarkable tendency to squabble amongst themselves. At this time, there are numerous armed conflicts on the planet, which involve the killing of uninvolved civilians. This has been a constant throughout Earth history, sir. We believe the main reason is that this species evolved from primitive lifeforms that lived in groups conflicting with one another.

Daath: That is a serious weakness. How can they manage their planet in such an inefficient fashion?

T’moth: Rather poorly, sir. Humans have not yet fully accepted the concept that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. They are in constant conflict amongst themselves for control of valuable resources, using deception and violence. Some individuals control resources that would support hundreds of millions of humans, without apparent need for them. Once these individuals die, their possessions are transferred to their progeny, irrespective of merit. Humans call this practice “inheritance”. As a result, families and groups of individuals concentrate valuable resources in a completely illogical fashion, whilst millions of other do not have access to basic necessities.

Daath: How do they assign leadership responsibilities?

T’moth: Customs vary in different areas of the planet, sir. Some areas are ruled by powerful individuals who use deception or violence to gain the support of their populations, and maintain such support by attacking other tribes. Others hold periodic surveys of the population, which they call “elections”, to select temporary leaders. Adults express their votes and leadership responsibilities are assigned to those who receive a majority of these votes.

Daath: This seems to be a logical process.

T’moth: Only in appearance, sir. The individuals who compete for these leadership positions are not necessarily the most talented, the most knowledgeable or the most suitable for specific duties. Some are simply most adept at manipulating the emotions of voters using deception and false promises.

Daath: Emotions again…A remarkably primitive species. How could they possibly have developed sufficient scientific knowledge to warrant a survey?

T’moth: Fascinatingly, sir, educated individuals from all the human tribes we have studied are capable of grasping complex scientific concepts, including quantum mechanics and space-time continuum theory.

Daath: Are you implying that these barbarians might discover warp drive technology?

T’moth: Yes, sir. Primitive experiments exploring transporter technology have been successfully carried out, and the discovery of a warp-field generator in the relatively near future cannot be ruled out. We have computed the probability of Earth reaching warp drive technology within the next 200 of their years at 0.48, sir. Over 400 years, the probability increases to 0.63, provided the current pace of scientific progress remains unaltered.

Daath: But not 1?

T’moth: No, sir. The probability of scientific progress is balanced by a significant probability of environmental collapse from overpopulation and excessive use of primitive combustion-based power sources. Humans appear to be unwilling or unable to adapt to their changing environment with sufficient speed. They do not wish to abandon ancient technologies they are used to, even though they have developed more efficient ones. We have computed the probability of environmental collapse at 0.55 over the next 100 years, sir. In other words, humans will only discover warp drive technology if they don’t destroy their own habitat first, which would bring this species back to pre-industrial times. That may be a desirable outcome, given the utter unpreparedness of the species to join other spacefaring civilizations. The two probabilities are not independent, because adoption of a more logical mindset by a larger fraction of humans would increase the probability of environmental salvage and warp drive discovery. At the moment, however, there is significant uncertainty as to whether humans are capable of consistently adopting logic over emotionalism as a species. Additional biological experiments are required to determine why, sir.

Daath: Understood. Please prepare your recommendation for advanced genomic investigation on the cellular specimens we collected from unwitting human subjects. We must determine whether this species is capable of achieving an adequate level of civilization before acquiring warp drive technology. A warp-capable barbarian species would pose a significant danger to the Federation, and we may be forced to take extreme measures against them, such as blockading their star system. These studies will be carried out on Vulcan, by scientists chosen by the High Council. If we remain too long in this system, there is a non-negligible risk we’ll be detected, in violation of the Prime Directive. We must depart at once.

T’moth: A wise precaution, sir. I should point out that humans show a peculiar fascination with space, and have built reasonably powerful observation devices that explore the universe through many physical measurements. They are also using primitive robotic spaceships to explore their star system. They may soon be able to detect Federation activity, even accidentally. With their overactive imagination, they fantasize about alien species. Some suspect they are being monitored, but most discount the possibility. I recommend that their detection efforts be thwarted by confounding the signals received by their detection devices, until the species reaches a sufficient level of civilization. At this time, it is uncertain whether they will ever do so. This recommendation is included in my report, sir.

Daath: I concur. It is imperative that humans remain isolated and that their development or lack thereof be carefully monitored. They are clearly unprepared for first contact. Helm: Bring us about and set a course for Vulcan, warp 6

Helm: Aye, sir. Setting a course for Vulcan, Warp 6.

Daath: A commendable summary, T’moth. I shall examine your full report en route to Vulcan, and I believe the High Council will find it adequate. Live long and prosper (making a Vulcan greeting sign).

T’moth: Live long and prosper, sir (exits captain's ready room).