Aliens: The Definitive Guide (2013) s01e02 Episode Script

Narrator: SCIENCE'S TOP ALIEN HUNTERS BELIEVE OUR GALAXY IS FILLED WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS WHO COULD ARRIVE ON EARTH ANY SECOND.
THE ALIENS ARE WATCHING US.
WE COULD BE SURROUNDED BY ALIEN PROBES WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: THEY'RE MASTERS OF INTERGALACTIC TRAVEL.
WARP DRIVE IS ALLOWING ALIENS TO TAKE SHORTCUTS THROUGH THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME.
Narrator: BUT WHEN THEY GET HERE, WILL THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS COME AS OUR FRIENDS Marcy: HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO INTERACT WITH US IN A PEACEFUL WAY AND A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY.
THEY WOULD MAKE CONTACT IN ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT OUR CULTURE.
Narrator: OR AS OUR CONQUERORS? AS SOON AS THE ALIENS SPOT THAT WE'RE HERE, THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA DESTROY US.
Kaku: IF IT COMES TO BLOWS, IT'S GONNA BE LIKE KERMIT THE FROG VERSUS A T-REX.
-- Captions by VITAC -- CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS Narrator: OUR GALAXY CONTAINS AROUND 60 BILLION PLANETS EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE COULD CALL HOME.
ASTRONOMERS ARE SENDING MESSAGES INTO SPACE, TRYING TO REACH THEM, AND IT MAY ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL WE DO.
[ ALARM BLARING .]
BUT WHEN ALIENS DO SAY HELLO BACK, WHAT THEN? THIS IS PAUL DAVIES, CHIEF OF THE POST-DETECTION TASK GROUP FOR SETI -- THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.
IT'S HIS JOB TO FIGURE OUT WHA TO DO WHEN ALIENS REACH OUT.
IF WE DID HAVE SOME SORT OF CONTACT WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION, THEN IT'S NOT GONNA BE LIKE IN THE MOVIES, LIKE "MEN IN BLACK.
" IT BASICALLY BOILS DOWN TO A TINY GROUP OF PEOPLE.
THERE'S THE SETI SCIENTISTS THEMSELVES WHO ARE LISTENING FOR SIGNALS, AND THEN THERE'S ME.
MY JOB IS TO COME UP WITH SOME SORT OF PROTOCOL, A PLAN, IN EVENT THAT THERE IS IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE OF "WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE.
" WHAT DO WE DO NEXT? WHO DO WE TELL? HOW DO WE RESPOND? SHOULD WE RESPOND? AND WHO SPEAKS FOR EARTH? Narrator: BUT NO MATTER WHICH VIP GETS TO SPEAK FOR MANKIND, BE IT THE PRESIDENT, THE QUEEN, OR OPRAH, DON'T EXPECT TO SEE THE MOMENT OF FIRST CONTACT LIVE ON TV.
ANY SORT OF FIRST-CONTACT SCENARIO -- IT'S LIKELY TO HAPPEN IN A WAY THAT NOBODY ANTICIPATED.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TRY TO PREVENT THIS LEAKING OUT TO THE MEDIA BEFORE THE SCIENTISTS ARE REALLY READY TO EVALUATE WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH, AND THESE STEPS INVOLVE ALL SORTS OF CHECKS TO MAKE SURE THE SIGNAL IS GENUINE AND THEN INFORMING VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS IN A CERTAIN SEQUENCE.
[ SIRENS WAILING .]
Narrator: IF ALIENS BREAK RADIO SILENCE, NASA WILL MOBILIZE ITS MEN IN WHITE -- THE OFFICE OF PLANETARY PROTECTION.
HERE, DR.
CARLTON ALLEN HAS THE CRUCIAL TASK OF ANALYZING THE CONTAMINATION RISK TO EARTH FROM EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPOSURE AND PINPOINT ANY BIOLOGICAL THREAT WE MIGHT POSE TO THEM.
THE IDEA FROM "WAR OF THE WORLDS" THAT MARTIANS CAME TO EARTH AND DIED FROM THE COMMON COLD SOUNDS BIZARRE, BUT IN FACT, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ECOSYSTEMS COLLIDE LIKE THAT.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE FIELD OF PLANETARY PROTECTION IS ABOUT -- TO PROTECT THE EARTH FROM MATERIALS COMING FROM SPACE.
Narrator: KEEPING EARTH SAFE FROM ALIEN GERMS, THE PLANETARY PROTECTION DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN BUSY SINCE THE 1960s.
WHEN NASA WENT TO THE MOON, ITS RETURNING HEROES WERE QUARANTINED.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE .]
AND TODAY, ALLEN'S FOCUS IS ON CONTAGION FROM THE RED PLANET.
Allen: WE'RE LOOKING NOW AT MISSIONS TO BRING BACK SAMPLES FROM THE PLANET MARS.
THE STORY OF PLANETARY PROTECTION GOES TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
THERE MAY BE PLACES ON MARS WHERE SOME EXTREME FORMS OF MARTIAN LIFE COULD EXIST.
AS WE EXPLORE MARS, WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO CONTAMINATE ANY PARTS OF THE PLANET, BUT WE ALSO, AS WE BRING BACK SAMPLES, WANT TO MAKE VERY SURE THAT WE DON'T CONTAMINATE EARTH WITH ANY KIND OF MARTIAN ORGANISMS.
Narrator: AN ALIEN PLAGUE SPREAD BY INTERPLANETARY MICROBES COULD DECIMATE HUMANITY AS VICIOUSLY AS ANY ALIEN INVADER DREAMED UP BY SCIENCE FICTION.
BUT AS MINERALOGIST MIKE ZOLENSKY KNOWS, THESE MINI E.
T.
s COULD UNLOCK THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS IN ASTROBIOLOGY.
Zolensky: SO, ARE ALIENS HERE ALREADY? I DON'T KNOW.
BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE ARE ARRIVING ON EARTH EVERY DAY, AND THEY'VE BEEN ARRIVING ON EARTH FOR 4½ BILLION YEARS.
THEY'RE ARRIVING IN METEORITES, ASTEROIDS, AND COMETS.
Narrator: METEORITES ARE FLAMING BALLS OF INTERPLANETARY ROCK THAT HAVE SMASHED INTO EARTH SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME.
ONCE, THEY WERE A MYSTERY, BUT NOW THANKS TO NEW IMAGING TECHNOLOGY, ZOLENSKY CAN SEE WHAT'S INSIDE METEORITE FRAGMENTS.
THE RESULTS ARE AMAZING.
IT'S VERY EXCITING TO HAVE THESE SAMPLES AVAILABLE FOR STUDY.
ONLY NOW HAVE TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN ANALYZE SUCH TINY AMOUNTS OF ORGANICS.
THIS IS A METEORITE THAT FELL IN WEST TEXAS, AND AMAZINGLY, INSIDE THIS METEORITE, THERE ARE LITTLE CRYSTALS OF SALT.
AND THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THESE CRYSTALS IS THAT THEY CONTAIN TINY, LITTLE DROPLETS OF LIQUID WATER -- THE ONLY SAMPLES WE HAVE OF WATER FROM OFF THE EARTH.
Narrator: ZOLENSKY KNOWS THAT WHERE THERE'S WATER, THERE'S OFTEN LIFE.
Man: WE HAVE MAIN ENGINE START, ZERO, AND LIFTOFF.
Narrator: AND TO GATHER MORE EVIDENCE FROM AN INTACT SPACE ROCK, NASA SENT A ROBOTIC PROBE CALLED STARDUST TO STUDY A COMET AS IT HURTLED THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM AT OVER 13 MILES PER SECOND.
THE STARDUST MISSION BROUGHT BACK DUST GRAINS FROM THE CLOUD OF DUST AND GAS THAT SURROUNDS THE COMET WILD 2, WHICH IS A COMET THAT COMES PRETTY CLOSE TO EARTH EVERY FEW YEARS.
AND AS THE COMET PASSED BY THE SPACECRAFT, THE SPACECRAFT OPENED UP A LITTLE DUST COLLECTOR, SHAPED LIKE A TENNIS RACKET, AND THOUSANDS OF GRAINS OF DUS SMASHED INTO THE TENNIS RACKET.
WE'RE STILL JUST BEGINNING TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE ON WHAT THESE SAMPLES ARE.
AND, FOR INSTANCE, WE'VE FOUND AMINO ACIDS, AND THESE ARE IN ALL OF US -- YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS LIFE, AND HERE THEY ARE IN THE COMET.
Narrator: ZOLENSKY HAS AN ASTONISHING THEORY THAT AMINO ACIDS CRASHING INTO PLANETS COULD HAVE SEEDED LIFE BOTH ON EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY.
IT'S THIS IDEA THAT ONCE A LIFE ARISES IN ONE PLACE, IT SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
WE KNOW THAT THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE ARE IN COMETS AND ASTEROIDS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM, AND WE SEE EVIDENCE FOR THESE SAME OBJECTS AROUND OTHER STAR SYSTEMS.
SO, PROBABLY, LIFE IS EVERYWHERE IN SPACE IF IT'S HERE.
Narrator: LIFE COULD BE FLOURISHING THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY, AND IF WE'RE SENDING PROBES TO STUDY THEM, COULD INTELLIGENT ALIENS BE DOING THE SAME? ARE EXTRATERRESTRIALS WATCHING US ALREADY? Narrator: SINCE THE 1970s, NATIONS HAVE SENT PROBES TO STUDY SPACE AND SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.
SO IF WE'VE BEEN DOING IT, HAVE THEY? IS THERE, OR WAS THERE, ALIEN TECHNOLOGY IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM? AND BY TECHNOLOGY, THE FIRST THAT COMES TO MIND ARE THINGS LIKE PROBES.
AN ALIEN PROBE MIGHT HAVE FANTASTIC INFORMATION PROCESSING CAPABILITY OF ENORMOUS INTELLECTUAL POWER.
AND IT'S NOT INCONCEIVABLE, BU OVER THE HISTORY OF THE EARTH, THERE'S BEEN SOME ALIEN TECHNOLOGY IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM OR RIGHT HERE ON OUR HOME PLANET.
Narrator: PAUL DAVIES BELIEVES AN INTELLIGENT ALIEN SPECIES COULD BE ANALYZING EARTH RIGHT NOW USING MICROSCOPIC TECHNOLOGY.
IF WE START THINKING NOT IN TERMS OF A PROBE LIKE OUR PROBES -- YOU KNOW, A BIG CHUNK OF METAL -- BUT IN TERMS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY -- BECAUSE AFTER ALL, YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT WITH TINY, LITTLE ROBOTIC DEVICES, WHICH MAY BE NO BIGGER THAN A BACTERIUM.
WE CAN BE SURROUNDED BY SUCH THINGS WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: IT SOUNDS LIKE A SCI-FI FANTASY, BUT EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD BE WATCHING US IN REAL LIFE.
AND CYBERNETICIST KEVIN WARWICK THINKS THE ALIENS' NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO LAUNCH A MORE SOPHISTICATED RECON MISSION IN THE FORM OF CYBERNETIC AVATARS.
IT MAY WELL BE ROBOTS THAT ACTUALLY APPEAR ON EARTH TO START WITH NOT THE ALIENS THEMSELVES.
THE ALIENS WOULD BE ON A DISTANT PLANET MAYBE GALAXIES, EONS AWAY, AND CONTROLLING THE ROBOTS THAT WE SEE HERE DIRECTLY AS EXTENSIONS OF THEMSELVES, IF YOU LIKE.
SO THEIR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ARE CONTROLLING THE ROBOTS, AND INFORMATION'S BEING FED BACK.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET SOME IDEA OF WHAT THE ALIEN LIFE FORM ACTUALLY IS LIKE FROM THE ROBOTS THAT APPEAR HERE.
AS WE HAVE ROBOT HANDS ON OUR ROBOTS THAT WE SEND OUT, THEY MAY HAVE SOME SORT OF MANIPULATION THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE ORIGINAL ALIEN LIFE FORM.
Narrator: IF OTHER-WORLDLY BEINGS SEND PROBES AND EVEN ROBOT AVATARS TO EARTH AND THEY LIKE WHAT THEY SEE, IT WON'T BE LONG UNTIL INTELLIGENT EXTRATERRESTRIALS DECIDE TO COME SEE OUR PLANET FOR THEMSELVES.
THIS IS LES JOHNSON, A PHYSICIST WITH NASA'S ADVANCED CONCEPTS OFFICE.
HE THINKS ALIEN ENGINEERS MIGHT APPROACH THE CHALLENGE OF TRAVERSING THE GALAXY THE SAME WAY WE DO.
Johnson: AS A PHYSICIST, I HAVE TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOU THE WAY THE UNIVERSE WORKS.
THE WAY IT WORKS IN MY LAB -- IT HAS TO BE ABOUT THE SAME WAY IT WORKS IN THE LAB ACROSS THE STREET, ACROSS TOWN, SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET, OR SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GALAXY.
AND WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT THAT AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE STARS, YOU HAVE TO THINK BIG.
YOU HAVE TO THINK BIGGER THAN THE SATURN V ROCKET, WHICH TOOK PEOPLE TO THE MOON.
Narrator: THE LIQUID-PROPELLENT-FUELED SATURN V IS STILL THE MOST POWERFUL ROCKET EVER BUILT.
IT ALLOWED ASTRONAUTS TO TRAVEL 618,000 KILOMETERS TO THE MOON IN JUST FOUR DAYS.
BUT FOR ALIENS TO GET TO EARTH, FROM EVEN PROXIMA CENTAURI, OUR NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEM, MEANS A JOURNEY OF 25 TRILLION MILES.
TO GET THIS ENORMOUS BEAST OFF THE GROUND, THESE ENGINES HAD TO PRODUCE MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF THRUST USING CHEMICAL PROPULSION.
IF WE WERE GOING TO TRY TO GO TO THE STARS, AND THE DISTANCES ARE JUST HUGE, RIGHT NOW WITH A CHEMICAL ROCKET LIKE THIS, IT WOULD TAKE 73,000 YEARS.
Narrator: FACED WITH THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN THE COCKPIT, JOHNSON THINKS EXTRATERRESTRIALS MIGHT CONSIDER USING A MORE EXPLOSIVE FUEL SYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF A SATURN V, IMAGINE A BATTLESHIP, SOMETHING REALLY BIG WITH BIG PRESSURE PLATES UNDERNEATH IT, AND INSTEAD OF CHEMICAL ROCKETS, YOU EXPLODE SMALL HYDROGEN BOMBS, ONE EVERY FEW SECONDS.
AND AS THE BOMB EXPLODES, IT GIVES IT A KICK AND IT STARTS IT MOVING AND IT KEEPS IT GOING FASTER AND FASTER.
AND IF YOU ACCELERATE FOR HOURS INSTEAD OF THE MINUTES THAT A CHEMICAL ROCKET DOES, YOU COULD POTENTIALLY PROPEL A SPACECRAFT TO ANOTHER STAR IN A FEW CENTURIES INSTEAD OF 73,000 YEARS.
Narrator: HYDROGEN-BOMB-POWERED SPACECRAF WOULD BE FAST BUT DANGEROUS, SO JOHNSON THINKS ADVANCED ALIENS COULD DEVELOP SOMETHING MUCH FASTER AND SAFER USING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.
Johnson: MY PERSONAL FAVORITE TECHNOLOGY -- IT'S CALLED A SOLAR SAIL.
WHAT A SOLAR SAIL DOES IS, IT REFLECTS THE LIGHT TO GET PROPULSION.
YOU CAN'T REALLY FEEL IT HERE ON THE GROUND, BUT THE SUNLIGHT, AS THE LIGHT REFLECTS FROM YOU, ARE PUSHING ON YOU.
THEY EXERT A FORCE.
IF YOU GET OUT INTO DEEP SPACE, THIS FORCE CAN BE SIGNIFICANT, AND IT'S PLENTIFUL.
IT'S ALWAYS THERE.
WELL, THIS PROTOTYPE SOLAR SAIL, WHICH IS ACTUALLY ONE THAT WE DEVELOPED FOR SOLAR-SAIL APPLICATIONS, IS A VERY THIN, LIGHTWEIGHT REFLECTOR.
NOW, IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THIS ONLY SCALED UP DRAMATICALLY, SOMETHING THE SIZE OF TEXAS WITH THE THICKNESS OF A HUMAN HAIR.
IF THAT WERE TO BE DEPLOYED IN SPACE BY US OR SOMEONE ELSE, THEY COULD USE THAT TO GET A BIG KICK FROM SUNLIGH TO TRAVEL VERY, VERY FAST.
NOW, THIS TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T REQUIRE MANY FUNDAMENTAL BREAKTHROUGHS IN PHYSICS.
IT'S MORE OF AN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS THE SIZE OF TEXAS TODAY, BUT WE COULD PROBABLY, WITHIN A FEW YEARS, BUILD ONE THAT'S A FEW KILOMETERS IN SIZE, AND WITHIN THE NEXT 50 TO 100 YEARS, SCALE THAT UP TO THE SIZE AS YOU MIGHT NEED, OR ANYONE MIGHT NEED, TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE STARS.
Narrator: BUT EVEN USING SOLAR SAILS, TRAVELING THE FOUR LIGHT YEARS TO EARTH COULD TAKE A CENTURY OR MORE.
FOR A REALLY EXPRESS JOURNEY OF JUST A FEW DECADES, ALIENS NEED TO HARNESS THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF A MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE CALLED ANTIMATTER.
NOW, ANTIMATTER IS REALLY THE ULTIMATE FUEL FOR INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, IT'S NOT THE STUFF OF SCIENCE FICTION.
IT'S VERY REAL.
Narrator: ANTIMATTER CONSISTS OF SUBATOMIC-SCALED PARTICLES THAT ARE A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE ORDINARY PARTICLES THAT MAKE UP ALL MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE.
BUT WHEN MATTER AND ANTIMATTER COME TOGETHER, THE EXPLOSIVE RESULT IS PERFECT FOR SPACE TRAVEL.
THE REASON IT'S A GOOD FUEL IS BECAUSE WHEN A PARTICLE OF MATTER AND ANTIMATTER COME INTO CONTACT, THEY ANNIHILATE AND PRODUCE ENERGY.
NOW, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH ENERGY THAT IS, TAKE A LOOK AT THE SHUTTLE BEHIND ME.
THAT EXTERNAL ORANGE TANK CONTAINS ALL THE FUEL NECESSARY TO GET THE SHUTTLE TO ORBIT.
IT WOULD TAKE 50 OF THOSE TANKS TO PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY AS 3 GRAMS OF ANTIMATTER.
Narrator: JUST A TINY AMOUNT OF ANTIMATTER COULD HELP ALIEN EXPLORERS CRUISE ACROSS THE GALAXY AT UP TO 67 MILLION MILES PER HOUR, REACHING EARTH IN A RELATIVELY SPEEDY 42 YEARS.
AND UNLIKE THE FLYING SAUCERS OF SCIENCE FICTION, AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT COULD SURVIVE SUCH UNIMAGINABLE SPEEDS NO MATTER WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
Johnson: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SPACESHIPS, WE USUALLY THINK ABOUT THE SHAPE OF A ROCKET -- TALL AND THIN AND VERY AERODYNAMIC -- AND THAT'S REALLY BECAUSE WE LIVE ON A PLANET AND WE'VE GOT AN ATMOSPHERE ABOVE US.
WELL, ONCE YOU GET OUT OF THAT ATMOSPHERE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT ANYMORE.
YOU DON'T HAVE DRAG, SO YOU CAN HAVE A SPACECRAFT THAT HAS LOTS OF THINGS STICKING OUT ON IT OR NOT.
IT CAN BE A CUBE, LIKE A BORG CUBE.
BASICALLY, ONCE YOU'RE IN SPACE IN A VACUUM, THE SHAPE JUST DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE.
Narrator: BUT ONCE ALIENS HAVE BUILT THE PERFECT THE VESSEL FOR GETTING FROM "A" TO "B," THEY FACE A MUCH BIGGER CHALLENGE -- TRAVELING TO EARTH ACROSS THE INFINITE AND DEADLY VOID OF SPACE WITHOUT GETTING LOST.
Narrator: EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR GALAXY IS MASSIVE.
IT'S 100,000 LIGHT YEARS ACROSS, CONTAINS 100 BILLION STARS AND AS MANY PLANETS ALL IN CONSTANT MOTION, JUST 1 OF 200 BILLION GALAXIES BELIEVED TO EXIST IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.
SO WHEN EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPLORERS SET OFF ON THE LONG JOURNEY TO EARTH DR.
JOHN PYE IS AN ASTROPHYSICIST WHO THINKS ALIENS COULD PLOT A COURSE THROUGH SPACE IN THE SAME WAY SAILORS NAVIGATE THE SEA.
IMAGINE THIS BOAT IS AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT.
THE OCEAN IS THE GALAXY THROUGH WHICH IT'S TRYING TO NAVIGATE.
WE'VE BEEN USING LIGHTHOUSES FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO NAVIGATE THE OCEANS.
WE CAN USE THE LIGHTHOUSE TO SHOW HOW AN ALIEN MIGHT NAVIGATE THE GALAXY USING PULSARS.
Narrator: PULSARS ARE A RARE TYPE OF STAR THAT SPIN AROUND HUNDREDS OF TIMES A SECOND, SHOOTING OUT CHARACTERISTIC FLASHES OF RADIATION AT REGULAR INTERVALS, EXACTLY LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE.
Pye: FROM OUR SPACECRAFT HERE, WE CAN USE THE LIGHT FROM THE TWO PULSARS HERE AND HERE TO TRIANGULATE OUR POSITION.
Narrator: PYE BELIEVES AN ALIEN NAVIGATOR COULD USE THE FLASHING BEAMS OF TWO OR MORE PULSARS AS A KIND OF GALACTIC MARKER TO CONSTANTLY GAUGE THE POSITION OF THEIR SPACECRAFT.
Pye: WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE VERY ACCURATELY THE TIME IT TAKES EACH PULSE OF LIGHT TO TRAVEL FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE TO THE BOAT.
USING THE KNOWN SPEED OF LIGHT, WE CAN THEN DRAW A CIRCLE ON THE MAP.
WE'VE GOT A SECOND LIGHTHOUSE -- WE CAN DRAW A SECOND CIRCLE WHERE THE TWO INTERSECT.
THAT'S WHERE OUR BOAT IS.
AN ALIEN CAN DO THE SAME USING PULSARS TO TRIANGULATE THE POSITION OF THE SPACECRAFT.
IN SPACE, AN ALIEN WOULD NEED THREE PULSARS, AT LEAST, TO MEASURE A POSITION BECAUSE, OBVIOUSLY, SPACE IS THREE-DIMENSIONAL.
ON THE SEA, IT'S TWO-DIMENSIONAL, SO WE ONLY NEED TWO LIGHTHOUSES TO FIX OUR POSITION.
Narrator: WITH PULSARS TRIANGULATING THEIR EXACT LOCATION, THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL SHIP CAN STEER A PERFECT COURSE FOR EARTH.
BUT TO AVOID OBSTACLES ALONG THE WAY, ALIENS COULD TRY ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT'S BEEN USED BY SAILORS FOR YEARS.
THIS BOAT HAS RADAR TO AVOID ANY OBSTACLES IN ITS PATH IN THE SAME WAY OUR ALIEN SPACECRAFT WILL NEED RADAR TO AVOID ANY SPACE DEBRIS OR OTHER OBSTACLES.
WE ALREADY HAVE RADAR ON EARTH, WHICH CAN DETECT SPACE DEBRIS IN EARTH'S ORBIT, SO IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY THAT ANY ADVANCED CIVILIZATION WILL HAVE SOMETHING AT LEAST AS ADVANCED AS OUR RADAR TODAY.
Narrator: BUT EVEN IF THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS DON'T GET LOST ALONG THE WAY, THE VOYAGE TO EARTH WILL TAKE DECADES.
ASTRONAUT MICHAEL BARRATT HAS SPENT MONTHS LIVING ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION AND UNDERSTANDS THE CHALLENGES LONG-DISTANCE TRAVELERS WILL FACE.
SO, EVERY CIVILIZATION THAT WANTS TO TRAVEL HAS TO THINK ABOUT MIMICKING SOME OF THE CONDITIONS ON THEIR HOME PLANET THAT WOULD SUSTAIN THEIR BODY.
REMEMBER THAT THEIR BODIES DEVELOPED UNDER GRAVITY, SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THEIR TRANSIT -- IN PARTICULAR, BONES AND MUSCLES, WHICH WOULD DETERIORATE IN ZERO GRAVITY.
Narrator: FOR BEINGS WITH CARBON-BASED BODIES LIKE OURS, YEARS SPENT IN WEIGHTLESSNESS WOULD BE DEADLY.
BUT BARRATT THINKS THAT UNLIKE OUR SPACECRAFT, AN ADVANCED EXTRATERRESTRIAL VESSEL WOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY.
YOU CAN SPIN THE SHIP, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE NOTION OF A BIG SPINNING WHEEL, à LA STANLEY KUBRICK.
Narrator: A SPINNING CRAFT WOULD CREATE OUTWARD CENTRIFUGAL FORCE, PULLING THE ALIEN CREW TOWARDS THE SIDES OF THEIR SHIP, JUST AS GRAVITY ON EARTH KEEPS OUR FEET ON THE GROUND.
Barratt: SPINNING A SHIP HAS ITS PROBLEMS.
IT CAN ACTUALLY BE SOMEWHAT DISORIENTING.
A MORE ELEGANT SOLUTION WOULD BE TO HAVE A PROPULSION SYSTEM THAT CONTINUALLY THRUSTS AND GIVES YOU A LINEAR G-FORCE, SO TO SPEAK.
Narrator: WITH NO FRICTION IN SPACE, ROCKETS DON'T NEED TO FIRE CONTINUALLY TO KEEP MOVING.
BUT IF THEY DID, THE RESULTING LINEAR G-FORCE COULD CREATE ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY THE SAME WAY ACCELERATING IN A CAR PUSHES A DRIVER BACK INTO THE SEAT.
[ ENGINE REVS .]
NOW, IF YOU HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, PERHAPS YOU'VE MASTERED THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE GRAVITY, AND THEN YOU REALLY COULD HAVE AN ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY FIELD ON YOUR SHIP.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE TECHNOLOGY LEVEL THAT A CIVILIZATION'S ATTAINED BEFORE IT VENTURES OUTWARD.
Narrator: GRAVITY WILL MAKE THE SHIP COMFORTABLE AND HELP THE ALIENS STAY FIT.
BUT TO SURVIVE THE TRIP TO EARTH, THEY'LL NEED SOMETHING MUCH MORE LOW-TECH -- FOOD.
Barratt: YOU HAVE TO CARRY ENOUGH FOOD TO SUSTAIN YOUR VOYAGE AND BE AS REGENERATIVE AS POSSIBLE.
THAT MEANS EVERY WASTE PRODUCT IN THE BODY GETS REUSED.
AS IT IS, WE RECYCLE ABOUT 70% OF OUR WATER ON THE SPACE STATION, SO WHATEVER YOU SWEAT, WHATEVER YOU PEE, YOU MAY BE DRINKING THAT IN YOUR COFFEE IN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
AND THE SAME WOULD BE TRUE OF ANY RACE WHO COMES TO VISIT US.
NOW, THE SCALE REQUIRED FOR REALLY LONG FLIGHTS MIGHT REQUIRE A REGENERATIVE BIOMASS SYSTEM, WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY GROWING GREEN PLANTS, WHICH WE KNOW ABSORB CARBON DIOXIDE AND GIVE OFF OXYGEN, BECOME FOOD SOURCES.
SO THAT IMPLIES A LARGER SHIP WITH A MORE SOPHISTICATED AND CLOSED ECOLOGY.
Narrator: BUT COULD A RACE OF INTERSTELLAR ALIENS BE SO ADVANCED THAT OUR IDEA OF FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY IS THEIR ANCIENT HISTORY AND INSTEAD, EXTRATERRESTRIALS ARE MASTERS OF SPACE AND TIME, TRAVELING THROUGH THE COSMOS IN WAYS WE THINK IMPOSSIBLE? Narrator: IN SCIENCE FICTION, ALIEN SPACECRAFT ZIP ACROSS GALAXIES FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
UNFORTUNATELY, IN SCIENCE FACT, THE LAWS OF PHYSICS SAY NOTHING CAN GO QUICKER THAN LIGHT.
BUT PHYSICIST MICHIO KAKU THINKS THE LAW HAS A LOOPHOLE THAT COULD ALLOW ALIENS TO TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE USING THE SAME PROPULSION SYSTEM THAT POWERS THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE.
WARP DRIVE IS SCIENCE FICTION, BUT IT'S BASED ON A KERNEL OF SCIENTIFIC TRUTH.
IN EINSTEIN'S EQUATIONS, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS ALLOWING YOU TO TAKE SHORTCUTS THROUGH THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME.
YOU CAN COMPRESS SPACE IN FRONT OF YOU.
SO INSTEAD OF GOING TO A NEARBY STAR, THE STAR COMES TO YOU BECAUSE YOU COMPRESS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND THE STAR.
Narrator: BY ENGAGING WARP DRIVE, FASTER-THAN-LIGHT TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE, MEANING ALIENS COULD REACH EARTH FROM THE NEAREST SOLAR SYSTEM TO OURS IN JUST TWO WEEKS.
BUT HOW COULD A SPACESHIP SURVIVE THE UNIMAGINABLE FORCES OF BENDING THE GALAXY WITHOUT BEING TORN APART? PHYSICIST HAROLD WHITE THINKS AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPACESHIP WOULD PROTECT ITSELF USING A COCOON OF SPACE THAT ISN'T COMPRESSED.
WHAT DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE? YOU'VE GOT THIS CENTRAL SHIP THAT WOULD BE SURROUNDED BY SOME TYPE OF EQUATORIAL RING THAT WOULD HAVE ALL THE NEGATIVE VACUUM ENERGY THAT'S NECESSARY TO MAKE THIS TRICK WORK.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, THIS RING THAT GOES AROUND THE SPACECRAF ACTUALLY KIND OF CREATES THIS BUBBLE THAT ENCAPSULATES THE SPACECRAF SO THE SPACECRAFT SITS INSIDE OF THIS WELL-BEHAVED REGION OF SPACE-TIME.
THE PROPER ACCELERATION IS FORMERLY ZERO, SO WHEN YOU TURN THE FIELD ON, RATHER THAN EVERYBODY SMACKING AGAINST THE BULKHEAD AND MAKING FOR A VERY SAD EPISODE OF "DOCTOR WHO," THEY DON'T FEEL ANYTHING.
THE PROPER ACCELERATION IS ZERO.
SO, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS, WE'RE TRYING TO ACTUALLY GENERATE A MICROSCOPIC INSTANCE OF THIS PHENOMENON IN THE LABS.
IT'S A VERY SCIENTIFIC PURSUIT.
YOU KNOW, DON'T GET TOO EXCITED.
IT'S NOT ANYTHING WE'RE GONNA BOLT TO A SPACECRAF ANYTIME SOON, BUT IT COULD BE EXISTENCE-PROOF, AS IT WERE.
Narrator: BUT IF AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT HAD WARP DRIVE, THEY NEED A LOT OF GAS IN THE TANK BECAUSE TO MAKE THE TRIP, IT WOULD REQUIRE THE ENERGY OF 300 EARTHS.
IT SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE, AT LEAST FOR A PRIMITIVE CIVILIZATION LIKE OURS.
WHEN PHYSICISTS TALK ABOUT CIVILIZATIONS IN OUTER SPACE, WE DON'T TALK ABOUT LITTLE GREEN MEN, WE TALK ABOUT SCALES OF ENERGY.
NOW, WHAT ARE WE ON THIS ENERGY SCALE? WE ARE TYPE ZERO.
WE DON'T EVEN RATE ON THE SCALE.
A TYPE I CIVILIZATION IS PLANETARY.
THEY HARVEST ALL FORMS OF PLANETARY ENERGY.
THEY CAN CONTROL THE WEATHER.
PERHAPS THEY CAN MANIPULATE EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES, THEY HAVE CITIES ON THE OCEAN.
EVENTUALLY, THEY EXHAUST THE POWER OF A PLANET AND THEY BECOME TYPE II, STELLAR, CONSUMING THE ENERGY OF THE MOTHER STAR ITSELF.
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO DEFLECT METEORS AND COMETS AND DELAY ICE AGES.
AN EXAMPLE MIGHT BE THE FEDERATION OF PLANETS IN "STAR TREK," WHERE THEY COLONIZE A FEW NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEMS.
EVENTUALLY, THEY EXHAUST THE POWER OF A STAR AND BECOME GALACTIC.
THEY ROAM THE GALACTIC SPACE LANES.
THEY HAVE COLONIES IN HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF PLANETS WITHIN THE GALAXY, SORT OF LIKE THE EMPIRE IN THE "STAR WARS" SAGA.
Narrator: TRAVELING IN IMPERIAL-CLASS STAR CRUISERS AND BENDING SPACE AND TIME TO THEIR WILL, A GALACTIC ALIEN EMPIRE EONS MORE ADVANCED THAN US MIGHT REACH EARTH ANY MINUTE NOW.
AND WHEN THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS LAND ON OUR PLANET, THE VERY FUTURE OF HUMANITY WILL HANG IN THE BALANCE.
[ GROWLS .]
Narrator: LEADING PHYSICISTS AND ASTRONOMERS THINK EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD REACH EARTH AT ANY TIME.
[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING .]
BUT WHEN THE BIG MOMENT ARRIVES AND ALIENS EMERGE FROM THEIR SPACECRAFT TO STAND FACE-TO-FACE WITH HUMANITY ASTROBIOLOGIST LEWIS DARTNELL THINKS THE KIND OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS LIKELY TO COME TO EARTH WOULD HAVE A PHYSIOLOGY SIMILAR TO OURS.
Dartnell: IF AN ALIEN WERE TO VISIT US, TO LAND HIS OR HER SPACECRAFT ON THE LAWN OF THE WHITE HOUSE AND TO STEP DOWN, WE'D EXPECT THAT IT WOULD BLINK BACK AT US WITH A PAIR OF UNCANNILY FAMILIAR EYES.
WE'D EXPECT AN INTELLIGENT SPECIES TO PROBABLY HAVE DESCENDED FROM A PREDATOR ANCESTOR, TO BE CARNIVOROUS.
AND YOU WANT TO HAVE THROUGH-FLOW GUTS WITH AN ENTRANCE AND AN EXIT.
IT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY AND EFFICIENT WAY OF EXTRACTING NUTRIENTS OF THE FOOD THAT YOU TAKE INTO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU EAT.
THE INTELLIGENT ALIEN WOULD NEED TO HAVE ITS BRAIN, ITS PROCESSING CENTER, AT THE FRONT OF ITS BODY WHERE ITS SENSE ORGANS ARE, AS WELL, TO MINIMIZE ITS REACTION TIME AND FOR THE SENSE ORGANS TO BE IN THE FRONT SO IT CAN SENSE WHERE IT'S GOING RATHER THAN WHERE IT'S BEEN.
Narrator: BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS POINT THEIR SENSE ORGANS AT US? THIS IS THE TOUGHEST QUESTION OF ALL, A QUESTION SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ALONE CANNOT ANSWER.
AT THE SETI INSTITUTE, DOUG VAKOCH IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE INTENTIONS OF AN ADVANCED ALIEN SOCIETY.
WE'RE NOT A DANGER TO ANY CIVILIZATION THAT HAS WARP DRIVE AND THAT CAN TRAVEL, SO IT MAKES NO SENSE TO THINK ANOTHER CIVILIZATION WOULD COME TO DO US HARM.
IT'S MUCH MORE REASONABLE TO THINK THAT THEY WOULD MAKE CONTACT IN ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT OUR CULTURE.
Narrator: ASTROBIOLOGIST GEOFF MARCY AGREES.
HE THINKS IT'S COMMON SENSE TO ASSUME THAT A MORE ADVANCED ALIEN CIVILIZATION MEANS ALIENS THAT ARE MORE CIVILIZED.
HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO INTERACT COOPERATIVELY AMONG THEMSELVES IN SUCH A WAY THAT, INTROSPECTIVELY, THEY CAN IMAGINE HOW TO INTERAC WITH US IN A PEACEFUL WAY, IN A MUTUALLY COOPERATIVE WAY, AND MAYBE EVEN A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY.
WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE OUR LIBRARIES, OUR MUSIC, OUR POETRY, AND SOMETHING ABOUT OUR PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE.
Narrator: LIKE THE FEDERATION OF PLANETS IN "STAR TREK," FUTURISTIC EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD HAVE MATURED BEYOND CONQUEST AND GREED.
AND ONCE THEY MEET HUMANKIND HERE ON EARTH, THEY MIGHT WANT US TO JOIN THEM.
ARE THEY INTERESTED IN US 'CAUSE THEY THINK WE'RE DANGEROUS AND THEY DON'T WANT TO LET US RUN AMOK IN THE GALAXY OR SOMETHING -- SO THEY'RE COMING HERE TO CONTROL US? I THINK THAT'S UNLIKELY.
IS IT THAT THEY FEEL THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO SOME SORT OF COSMIC COMMUNITY? ANY CIVILIZATION THAT IS AGGRESSIVE AND EXPANSIONARY WILL QUITE LIKELY HAVE SPREAD ALREADY -- WE WOULD KNOW ALL ABOUT IT -- OR THEY WOULD HAVE DESTROYED THEMSELVES.
SO IF THERE IS A GALACTIC CLUB OUT THERE, I THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE FUNDAMENTALLY ALTRUISTIC AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR.
Narrator: EVEN IF THE INTERSTELLAR VISITORS ARE FRIENDLY AND COME TO EARTH TO EXCHANGE CULTURE, CAN OUR PRIMITIVE SOCIETY COPE? EVEN A FEW OF THE CRUMBS OFF THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL TABLE COULD DESTABILIZE OUR CIVILIZATION.
THINK OF IT -- IF ALL OF A SUDDEN WE WERE GIVEN DISINTEGRATOR RAYS AND GIVEN TELEPATHY MACHINES AND THE ABILITY TO RE-CREATE MATTER IN ANY FORM, A REPLICATOR, THAT COULD DESTABILIZE MODERN CIVILIZATION.
WE'RE NOT READY TO HANDLE THIS VAST TECHNOLOGY.
Narrator: CYBERNETICIST KEVIN WARWICK THINKS SUCH CONCERNS COULD BE THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES.
FOR HIM, ALIENS WON'T JUST BE SHOWING MANKIND THEIR TECHNOLOGY -- THEY'LL BE USING IT TO KILL US.
AS SOON AS THEY SPOT THAT WE'RE HERE, THEY MAY WELL SAY, "HEY, LET'S GO AND DESTROY THAT PLANET AND TAKE SOME OF THE THINGS OFF IT.
" IF THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO COME TO EARTH NOW, THEY WILL HAVE TECHNOLOGY AND A WEAPON SYSTEM THAT IS WAY BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAN DEAL WITH, SO IT MAY WELL BE THE CASE THAT WE SIMPLY CAN'T DEFEND AGAINST IT.
BEST, REALLY -- IF WE'RE SO INSIGNIFICANT -- KEEP OUR HEADS DOWN RATHER THAN ARGUE OR FIGHT AGAINST THEM.
IF IT COMES TO BLOWS, IT'S GONNA BE LIKE KERMIT THE FROG VERSUS A T-REX.
IT'S GONNA BE NO CONTEST WHATSOEVER.
Narrator: INSTEAD OF COMING IN PEACE, EXTRATERRESTRIALS MAY BE HERE AS RUTHLESS SPACE INVADERS, AND WHAT THEY HAVE PLANNED FOR US COULD BE NOTHING SHORT OF AN ALIEN APOCALYPSE.
[ GROWLS .]
Narrator: THE MOVIE VERSION OF AN ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH OFTEN SEES HUMANITY ENSLAVED, TORTURED, OR JUST ANNIHILATED.
BUT IN REAL LIFE ASTROBIOLOGIST CHARLES COCKELL DOESN'T THINK HOLLYWOOD GOES FAR ENOUGH BECAUSE IN REALITY, THE ALIEN PLAN FOR THE INHABITANTS OF EARTH COULD BE EVEN WORSE.
[ GROWLS .]
SO, WHY WOULD ALIENS WANT TO COME TO EARTH? WELL, LIFE THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY OF ORGANISMS ON THIS PLANET, AN INCREDIBLE PROLIFERATION OF LIFE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT LIFE DOES NEED IS ENERGY.
IT NEEDS ENERGY TO GROW AND REPRODUCE, AND THERE ARE NUMBER OF WAYS IN WHICH IT CAN DO THAT.
ONE WAY IS THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
THESE LEAVES ARE COLLECTING SUNLIGHT, AND THEY'RE USING THE ENERGY FROM THE SUNLIGHT TO GROW AND REPRODUCE, BUT IT'S NOT A VERY EFFICIENT WAY OF GATHERING ENERGY.
A MUCH BETTER WAY IS TO EAT THE PLANTS, AND AN EVEN BETTER WAY IS TO EAT THE ANIMALS THAT ARE EATING THE PLANTS.
AT EACH STEP, THE ENERGY BECOMES CONCENTRATED AS IT MOVES FURTHER UP THE FOOD CHAIN.
SO ANIMALS THAT ARE AT THE TOP OF A FOOD CHAIN ARE GENERALLY HUNTERS, THE SORT OF ANIMALS THAT LIKE TO EAT OTHER ANIMALS, OR MEAT.
[ GROWLING .]
SO IF ALIENS COME HERE, THEY'LL PROBABLY BE PREDATORS, AND LIKE US, THEY'LL EAT OTHER ANIMALS.
Narrator: AND IF THE MARAUDING EXTRATERRESTRIAL INVASION FORCE SEE LIFE ON EARTH AS ONE HUGE COMBO-PLATTER, THEN THE SPECIAL WOULD SURELY BE US.
SO IF ALIENS DECIDED THEY WANTED TO EAT US, IT'D BE VERY EASY FOR THEM TO HARVEST US.
FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE VERY CONCENTRATED AND THERE'S A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF US IN CITIES.
AND SECONDLY, WE'RE THE MOST INTELLIGENT SPECIES ON THE PLANET.
SO IF THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED THIS PLANET AS A HABITABLE WORLD, WE WOULD BE THEIR FIRST TARGET.
Narrator: MANKIND'S ONLY CHANCE IS, THE TASTE OF HUMAN FLESH MAKES ALIENS SICK.
THEIR BIOLOGY JUST MAY BE INCOMPATIBLE WITH OURS.
THEIR PROTEINS AND THE WAY IN WHICH THEY'RE MADE MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE STUFF OF OUR BIOLOGY.
SO EVEN IF THEY DID WANT TO EA US, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO.
Narrator: BUT AS THE ALIENS TAKE CONTROL OF OUR PLANET, BEING EATEN COULD BE THE EASY WAY OUT BECAUSE COCKELL BELIEVES THAT INSTEAD OF BECOMING LUNCH, HUMANS COULD BE ROUNDED UP FOR A MORE TERRIBLE FATE -- DISSECTION.
Cockell: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, WE'VE HAD A BLOOD-THIRSTY HISTORY OF PROBING AND ANALYZING THE HUMAN BODY TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS.
MAYBE ALIENS WILL DO THE SAME TO US.
BUT IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS.
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY TO SCAN THE HUMAN BODY THAT ALLOWS US TO STUDY SOME OF OUR BIOLOGY IN MEDICINE WITHOUT DISSECTION.
IF THERE REALLY ARE INTELLIGENT ALIENS OUT THERE, MAYBE THEY'VE DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGIES THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO SCAN OUR BODIES AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S INSIDE WITHOUT HAVING TO PULL US APART.
Narrator: ADVANCED AND HOSTILE ALIEN INVADERS WILL HAVE NO END OF WAYS TO MAKE OUR LIVES HELL.
BUT THERE IS SOME HOPE BECAUSE PERHAPS, AS A U.
S.
PRESIDENT ONCE PREDICTED, WE INFERIOR HUMANS WOULD FIGHT BACK.
Reagan: I OCCASIONALLY THINK HOW QUICKLY OUR DIFFERENCES WORLDWIDE WOULD VANISH IF WE WERE FACING AN ALIEN THREAT FROM OUTSIDE THIS WORLD.
WHATEVER WE THINK OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN, EVERYBODY AGREES THAT HE WAS A SHREWD JUDGE OF HUMAN CHARACTER.
IF THE ALIENS DO INVADE, YES, WE WOULD BAND TOGETHER.
IT'S PART OF HUMAN NATURE TO SET ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES TO COME UP AGAINST A COMMON ENEMY.
IT'S PART OF OUR GENETIC MAKEUP THAT WE REALIZE THERE'S STRENGTH IN NUMBER, STRENGTH IN UNITY.
THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF BOOKS WRITTEN BY PHILOSOPHERS AND THEOLOGIANS AND STRATEGISTS ABOUT NOT HOW TO DEAL WITH A WEAKER ENEMY BUT HOW TO DEAL WITH A STRONGER ENEMY.
WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN FROM THE ALIEN INVADERS.
WE'D HAVE TO LEARN THEIR WEAK POINTS.
WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO USE THEIR ENERGY AGAINST THEM, HOW TO USE THEIR TECHNOLOGY TO DEFEAT THEM.
THAT IS THE ART OF WAR.
Narrator: BE IT TO FIGHT INVADERS [ ALIEN GROWLS .]
OR BEFRIEND CURIOUS VISITORS, SCIENTISTS ARE PREPARING EARTH FOR FIRST CONTACT WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.
WE'VE SEEN WHERE ALIENS MIGHT LIVE, WHAT THEY COULD LOOK LIKE, HOW INTELLIGENT THEY ARE, AND HOW THEY CAN TRAVEL ACROSS TIME AND SPACE.
THE ALIENS ARE COMING, AND IT COULD BE SOONER THAN YOU THINK.