Represent the Human Race Before

¶ … Represent the Human Race

Before answering the question of what I would send it I were able to send one thing to intelligent life existing elsewhere in the universe, I feel like I must be honest and acknowledge that I would not sent anything to intelligent life anywhere else in the universe. If the history of man has taught one thing, it is that more advanced civilizations that take an interest in less interested civilizations take over them with extreme prejudice and cause tremendous destruction when they do so. If intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe and has the capability of traveling to Earth, I think it would be naive and unrealistic to assume that they would come in peace. Therefore, if we found intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, I think that the smartest course of action would be to hide from them and do as little as possible to draw attention to the Earth.

However, if I were required to send one thing to life somewhere else in the universe, I would choose to send an electronic book with the collection of Elvis Cole / Joe Pike novels written by author Robert Crais, available in several different languages. I would simply assume that an intelligent civilization with the capability of sending us signals that it existed would have mastered some type of written communication. Therefore, if they received an electronic reader with several different languages, I would assume that they would possess the ability synthesize all of those languages and somehow translate them to their native language, if they did not already have a means of translating human communications to their language.

I would choose that particular series of novels for several reasons. First, the novels do a fantastic job of explaining that Earth is already populated by a race of violent, greedy, and mean people. The novels are based on the lives of two private detectives and a series of cases that they encounter. Throughout those cases, they encounter human traffickers, drug gangs, murderers, kidnappers, and blackmailers. The novels touch on issues of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination. In other words, they paint many humans as simply disagreeable and dangerous, which would hopefully make them realize that we probably are not a species they want to try to enslave.

However, if the intelligent alien life was not dangerous and did not have evil intentions towards human beings, then the books would also explain some of the wonderful parts of human existence. In this series of books, one encounters parents willing to do anything to protect their children, friends who risk their lives for one another and people who do stupid but wonderful things for love. They portray a human race that, despite all of its terrible faults and downfalls, is, ultimately, redeemable. I would want aliens to understand this because I would assume that they already had the ability to access human communications channels. Watching television news, they would have to assume that human beings were essentially self-centered and generally would not do much to help their fellow human beings. I would want them to understand that the average human being actually has disdain for those types of people.