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A DELIBERATE COSMIC SILENCE OF
ADVANCED EXTRATERRESTRIALS Interstellar travellers
may observe a deliberate silence toward less advanced species to allow their
growth to cosmic consciousness, that is, the consciousness that universal and
intelligent life should be preserved. This silence would not be broken until
that aim is reached and proved by a coherent cosmic behaviour of the less
advanced. The dissemination of life would also be made impossible without it.
In this page :
- A Russian-Doll Mother Model - A
chess model of behavior
- A choice of non-violence. -
1st rule for cosmic survival
- About gifts, truck and trade -
Mutual respect
- Sharing a common value with ET A
Russian-Doll Mother Model of Intelligent Life Do we definitely
exclude the existence of advanced beings wise enough to survive and undertake
interstellar travels? Or could they have given up the idea of a galactic
colonization? If they do exist or have existed long enough, they would
unlikely have remained for ever in their system without any interstellar
exploration of other nearby stars, be it because of pure curiosity. Simple
precaution and self defence would also have led them to do so anyway. From
our terrestrial experience and according to all astronomical observations, we
know that life is risky everywhere and that simple survival is a continual
challenge to all living beings in this Universe. For safety reasons, the
environment cannot be ignored. As
a water source in a dry land, no habitable place should long remain free.
Intelligent beings are therefore led to master the whole space accessible to
them, even for not letting it to other potential adversaries. This
natural urge would even lead any species to control the evolution of the less
advanced ones as soon as interstellar travels become possible, and as already
mentioned, man should also do so if it appears that he is the most advanced. It
should again be stressed that the great interstellar distances imply still
greater “distances” between interstellar travellers and non travellers. If
proximity could not allow very large development gaps within terrestrial
nations, the case is different between a civilization capable of interstellar
travels and all others. Access to interstellar travels means in fact an
advance of thousands to millions of years or more for the leader, thus
allowing a discrete control of the very evolution of the less advanced
species in a kind of Big-brother apartheid supervision (“soft imperialism”).
Man could so be controlled since the beginning without being aware of it, and
even without any perspective to know definitely the truth on it. And this
would not be in contradiction with his own natural urge to control less
advanced species in his turn, in a kind of Russian-doll model of an apartheid
control system where each mother-doll controls all its baby-dolls inside
itself, without knowing for sure whether it is itself inside a still bigger
mother-doll or not. As
control from above can neither be confirmed nor excluded, preservation of
universal and intelligent life requires a downward control of the
less-advanced species by any intelligent species reaching the capability of
interstellar travelling. A Kind of Mother’s Love A mother who had
to abandon her new-born child will generally observe a long silence if she
really loves him despite her behaviour. And she will not break this silence
unless her child, finally growing in consciousness, learns the secret of his
birth and wishes to meet her. Could similar
circumstances be unimaginable between the human species and advanced ET
observers? They could have been observing us all along our evolution, and
such a cosmic experience would inevitably have left some feelings behind. Irrational
explanations are sometimes given to answer the paradox of this long cosmic
silence kept by eventual ET observers. Neglecting the fact that such beings
capable of interstellar travels would be far more advanced than man by
thousands or millions of years, some still pretend that they would have sent
an ambassador to the White House if they really existed! With such a claim,
we take for granted that we have already given sufficient proofs of mankind’s
intelligence to advanced extraterrestrial observers. But it could still be
far from it. Could
a species unable to ensure its own survival and the survival of terrestrial
life be considered by neutral observers as truly intelligent? We have probably to
reconsider what is really meant by intelligence in the field of cosmic
relations. Advanced observers could still be waiting for a true demonstration
of man’s intelligence before making any move in our direction! A long silence
between two people, or between two species, can also be deliberate. Anyway, this call for an extraterrestrial embassy does not take into
account the fathomless cultural and intellectual ditch probably existing
between mankind and such advanced civilizations. It should be considered that
communication would be difficult and even impossible. If we can see some
advantages for mankind in an eventual dialogue, what would be the interest
for such advanced beings? We could be as far from them as from the primates
of our planet, and we do not entertain true dialogues with monkeys! Do We Really Want Peace ? Would we still be
ready to welcome ET on our planet if there were no prospect of gifts for us
in return? We would most
probably treat them like “our friends the beasts”. In view of the life
conditions imposed to them by our consumer civilization, their lot is not of
very great concern for most of us. Many of their
species are now condemned to death in a more or less distant future. Why would it be
different in relations between mankind and such advanced beings? His
“grandeur”, often too much asserted, makes man to ignore too frequently his
cosmic smallness and insignificance! The cosmic
silence so far observed could also be due to other reasons, as in the
following example : The Mafiosi and
the most meritorious citizens! If all Mafiosi
were asked to have themselves registered at some special office, this office
would probably receive no inscription. Another office charged to register
“the most meritorious citizens” would likely receive no visit of the bests of
the kind, the concerned being also the less inclined to claim such qualities.
These simple
examples show unambiguously that there are many objective reasons to explain
the absence of extraterrestrial ambassadors at the White House. Showing an Unambiguous Choice of
Non-Violence If
extraterrestrials advanced enough to observe mankind or visit us on our
planet do exist, let us not consider them from the start as primitives or
idiots. They would pertinently know: - that their existence is highly
probable for mankind, - that despite this human awareness and our long experience of
terrestrial colonization, we do not consider any other type of more peaceful
cohabitation between peoples on Earth, nor with them, - that we are prepared at a more or less distant term to undertake a
similar colonization of the Solar System and of the Galaxy, and that peaceful
interstellar cohabitation would then be problematical, and even impossible. Unless we send them rapidly an
unambiguous message on our real goodwill to use non-violence and
unselfishness in any eventual interstellar cohabitation, we are potential
enemies for them. Enemies who should at best be kept at a secure distance, or
who should still better be eliminated before they become too dangerous for
universal life. Weeds should be uprooted in due time before an overall proliferation,
and we should expect no other attitude from advanced observers as long as we
follow this destructive consumer model of development. Unless we change
rapidly, we will soon be considered as dangerous “metastases” of a general
cancer of cosmic life that should not be allowed to proliferate in the Solar
System and beyond ! We cannot expect any extraterrestrial reply to our calls (SETI, etc.). Any echo in present conditions could even be a bad omen ! But how could we send them a peaceful message? How could they trust us
as long as we cannot demonstrate our real goodwill and our capability to keep
our word in any circumstances? Who on Earth could make such promises of peaceful and unselfish
relations to extraterrestrials? Nobody has the authority and the appropriate
means to keep such a promise. As
a matter of fact, such extraterrestrials would not be so advanced if they
were to believe us on word! But their cosmic silence could also mean something else to us. We also
use silence as a practical means in our relations with people who are very
close to us, notably in case of deep differences of opinions and in conflicts
with our friends and relatives. We use that kind of silence quite very often
indeed! When we intimately know that any further word would bring nothing to
better our relations with the other one, we often consider silence as the
best attitude to make him change. At least, if he really cares for us! Silence has often no other aim: that
our partner proves he really cares for us by acting as we are expecting him
to do! In such circumstances, we are not expecting simple words from the
other part, but some concrete action, a definite move, another attitude
toward us! If he fails to meet our expectations, he can then join the
category of our potential adversaries or even enemies. Extraterrestrial observers may have
such feelings for mankind. They may really care for us. After all, they may have observed
mankind’s evolution for millions of years and they could not have remained
impassive all along if it were the case. And if they have been observing us
for so long, how can we even imagine that they had no part in our growth?
Still, they gave us no concrete proof of their eventual presence and role in
man’s evolution, and they remain silent. But was this cosmic silence so total
along man’s evolution? Looking rationally at our past history, we may anyway
foster some serious doubts about it. Some of us would then reply: -“But we are also ready to nurture such feelings toward them too as
soon as they break this long cosmic silence!” But if they could have their reasons to nurture such feelings towards
the human species, what would be our own reasons to do so? About Gifts, Truck and Trade Do we really want to welcome extraterrestrials? Beyond, of course, simple contacts in view of exchanges of gifts or
for an eventual exploration of new market opportunities and other common
business. It would be wrong from our part to foster such hopes. It is obvious
that material exchanges would inevitably end in the exploitation of the
weakest species, that is, of mankind. As a matter of fact, gifts are the first exchanges between two
civilizations at a very beginning, as it was in fact the case with the
arrival of the first white navigators in tropical or other territories of the
Earth a few hundreds years ago. These symbolic exchanges were then relatively equitable for all
parties. Then came the practice of truck, a somewhat less fair one, the
stronger party (or the wiser, who is finally the stronger too) imposing his
law. As the dominant partner, he could display a larger choice of objects,
thus devaluating those of the other party. Finally came pure trade (with the money, the Stock Exchange), with the
market laws and the rest of it. The laws of the strongest! There is therefore no interest in view for mankind in such exchanges
with extraterrestrials who would be much more advanced than us in all
possible domains, as colonized and enslaved nations of the Earth earned
finally nothing in their trade with the Whites who possess almost all the
riches of this planet by now. Market exchanges between beings with no common values end inevitably
with the exploitation of the weakest party.
On which basis could we establish relations with eventual
extraterrestrial observers? Could we have similar values allowing us to
contemplate the possibility of undertaking common projects in the future? After all, if they could already know a lot about us, we know nothing
about such eventual beings. What could we have in common? Does it mean that the only common values available for exchanges
between two civilizations are reduced to material objects, such exchanges
resulting almost inevitably in endless conflicts and mutual exterminations? We could not accept it! Sharing a Common Value with ET A further analysis
shows that we could have a common value to share with extraterrestrial
civilizations, that is, the preservation of intelligent life in the Universe!
This concern for universal life should be common between stellar
civilizations and it could be used as a basis to undertake mutual, or at
least, parallel cosmic projects. Universal and intelligent life is a precious
value that should be preserved above all, and we could at least agree on
that. What are we prepared to do to let
them know our deep and even cosmic concern for the preservation of
terrestrial and universal life, and above all, how far are we prepared to go
to prove it? A true cosmic demonstration of our
real concern for intelligent life preservation in the Universe could be
expected from mankind in a near future, and we should be prepared to it. We refuse to consider that the cosmic
silence observed so far could be deliberate and that advanced ET beings could
even have obliterated all evident traces of their eventual passages on Earth
in order to let us grow independently to cosmic consciousness. Even in
current life, there could be sometimes peaceful and non peaceful reasons to
behave so, as for the generous benefactor wanting to remain anonymous, or the
hunter or the criminal anxious to leave no trace that could lead to him. Anyway, a normal dialogue is only possible between stellar
civilizations of equivalent levels of development, and advanced
extraterrestrial beings would have to resort to some kind of cosmic
subterfuge to address a message to mankind without any potential violence
contained in it. In view of their considerable advance in all domains
(sciences, technologies, philosophy, etc.), an indisputable demonstration of
their existence would in fact be an attitude of violence toward us. If they
are non-violent, and they should be so since they survived, they are
therefore condemned to keep silence face to us, expecting probably in return
that we grow intelligent enough to understand the complexity of the cosmic
game in which we are as themselves engaged. We are probably expected to give
them an adequate reply, as a chess master silently waiting until his partner
pupil makes the right move after taking into account all chessboard
positions. This cosmic silence could be an ultimate and subtle means used by
advanced beings to express their cosmic concern for the preservation of
universal life and to bring less advanced species such as mankind to adopt a
more rational attitude in making the move expected. We could well be engaged
in a sort of cosmic game of chess where silence is required. After their
first move, the extraterrestrials would now be awaiting for man’s next move.
A chess game model of behaviour could be the most appropriate means to poise
our respective unbalanced relations in total cosmic discretion while
preserving non-violence and unselfishness. Each partner should
rationally know where the pieces are placed on the chessboard. There is no
need to speak. Silence is even required. The most intelligent subterfuge could well be a “wordless message”
expressed by this cosmic silence! Since they are probably aware of our
knowledge of their existence, they will then wait the most intelligent reply
from mankind to their wordless message. They will therefore be waiting for
mankind’s next rational move in the cosmic game. A Chess Model of Cosmic Behaviour The equation posed to mankind in this
cosmic chess-like game is: Extraterrestrials should rationally exist and have been observing us
for aeons, somewhere, behind our terrestrial frontier. They should therefore be far more advanced than us. So, they had the
first move in any cosmic game with mankind. They remain silent. Why? If we bet on their existence as we should rationally and statistically
do, what could explain this silence
unless it is deliberate, unless they are expecting something from us? Hence, the next move belongs to us. This would be required for peaceful relations with advanced ET awake
to cosmic consciousness long before mankind. If they have been witnesses of
man’s evolution, silence was required from their part during our long and
difficult growth to consciousness, and action is now required from our part.
The day’s work has to start. It will soon be expected from us to give some
sign of our cosmic awakening and consciousness by “opening the windows and
putting on the radio” in order to let them know that we are ready to
cooperate in the preservation of terrestrial and universal life. Are they already prepared to engage relations with mankind when the
time has come? They only could decide so. We cannot answer to this question
as long as this cosmic silence remains as heavy as it is, and it will
probably remains so until we can prove our cosmic consciousness in an actual
preservation of terrestrial and universal life. It belongs to us to give evidence of our sincere goodwill for
non-violent and unselfish relations, and the best way to do it seems quite
simple as far as extraterrestrial observers of mankind are concerned: Only man’s behaviour in his realizations and daily actions would be a
convincing means to address a welcome and love message to such advanced
extraterrestrial beings. The above considerations allow us to define a first attitude to adopt
in order to persuade them and survive: First Rule Required for Man Cosmic
Survival In testimony of our goodwill for
non-violent and unselfish cosmic relations, any human project should take
into account an extraterrestrial existence which is at least as probable as
our eventual solitude in this Galaxy. This choice of non-violence decided from the start of any human
project would be the only peaceful and rational attitude left to us toward
such advanced beings. All human projects would be submitted to this first rule of survival.
Space and environmental projects would be particularly concerned since they
apply to the common patrimony of all
thinking beings of this Universe. Mutual Respect Suppose that we are in the house or a
united family where parents, children, grandfather and grandmother live
together. The eldest ones do not sleep much during the night. They are awake
well before the others in the early morning, but they try to do as little
noise as possible when they go around in the kitchen and in the living room.
Being noisy would unduly awake the younger members of the family. It
would be a true demonstration of selfishness and violence from the eldest to
behave so. They must
therefore restrain themselves to observe a night silence when they are
awake. Peaceful relations in the
family command it! But when time has
come to get up and go to work or to school in the morning, it
would also be a form of selfishness and violence from the younger
members of the family to remain too long in bed, thus compelling the eldest
ones to silence. The grandparents should be free to play piano or be busy in
the garden, and a late awakening of the family could also upset them: Are the
children sick? Won’t they be late at work and at school? etc. When time has
come to get up, non-violence and unselfishness require from the younger to
demonstrate that they are well awake by opening the windows, putting on the
radio, etc. The grandparents should not be compelled by their silence to play
the part of the alarm-clock! Selfishness is a
form of violence which does not allow peaceful relations. If we are actually
“hominized”, our cosmic forefathers are expecting us to awake! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ IS Mankind Willing to Survive? by
Benoit Lebon (English pages from a book first published in French : Une
hominisation extraterrestre vers la vie éternelle, Editions Société des
Ecrivains, Paris, 2006. Also with Trafford Publishing, 2006, Canada, all
rights reserved. No part of these pages may be used under any form without the written
prior permission of the author.) Comments and proposals
are welcome. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |