So, we are always excited about the Extra Terrestrial, right? Since childhood we have been going around thinking, what if life exists on planet other than ours. If yes, how will that be? Obviously we are just at the beginning of the technological advances needed for successful exploration. I mean the distances we need to travel are huge and all this effort based on mere guesswork will be nothing more than a waste of time, money and whatever little life we have. Still, we have come far away from Aristotle’s earth being the center of the universe theory. Copernicus debunked that, but we still haven’t been able to figure out the correct spelling of center. We would leave that up to the British and Americans, because both claim to be the guardians of the world, who can solve all the problems. Some may say that space exploration is cow dung as earth has its own set of problems and we should take care of them, before we mess up the outer space, but these problems and our inability to solve them can be a major reason for our obsession with space exploration.
Last month when comet Oumuamua passed earth, obviously, the level of intrigue was damn high. Now scientists are claiming, it could have been a giant space ship. If it is still considered a decent thing to trust websites like Daily Mail, one scientist has said that may be this cigar shaped comet is an alien ship with broken engines stumbling through our solar system.
Oumuamua (artist impression) Photograph: ESO/M Kornmesser/PA
Some have debunked this by claiming that to be a rebellious alien pilot’s drunken voyage. This said, the question of space travel and us earthling’s obsession is self-centered. We always think that either we are looking for aliens or they are looking for us. What if the aliens are simply travelling and we are scaring them off with our signals? Imagine yourself driving on a highway or freeway, late in the night (in space travel it might not matter if it’s day or night), but in real life, night time driving is far more exciting. Especially when you are alone and there is no sign of civilization things can get a little creepy if not scary. On such a creepy road, if some strange creatures, the kind you have never seen before start frantically waving at you, would you stop? Half of us get scared when dogs chase us, leave alone humans. So should we deploy ships like dogs to chase alien space ships running around? Why should we waste time looking for others when we can just declare that everything belongs to us?
One major question that keeps bothering me is, what we intend to accomplish by communicating with aliens is still unclear? Apart from the most obvious language barrier, we would not know how to relate with them? So when we meet any of the brothers from another mother or galaxy, what are we going to discuss? What is our readiness? Do we have a questionnaire ready? Or do we start with the usual “Hey??? ASL???”. After first 5 minutes, we will be pretty much staring at the ceiling. The only way this can happen is if we meet the aliens at a restaurant that serves alcohol. It’s only then we can probably get into meaningful conversations and understand the cultures better. All this without any butt probes or cavity search.
So, next time the scientists spot a cigar shaped comet, which they confuse with an alien ship, it’s time to put up those Free Alcohol neon signs and clean your beer or whiskey glasses. They might be coming for us. If that is the case, then let’s face them better drunk than sober.
Looney Darindey 