Dark One

I thought Reality Tv was going to be the culprit for that?

Can you take a robot tank home to meet your mother?

Didn't think so...

Viewports and observation domes, I get. Those are things that are neat, provided they are in an easily contained area.

What I don't get is the trend in scifi of putting the bridge/command deck in an easily accessible location with viewports. Like on a Star Destroyer or one of the UNSC ships. Compare with one of the Covenant carriers or ships. The bridge is in the heart of the ship, protected by all the armor and shielding. One lucky shot taking out an entire ship versus having to go through the entire ship to get to the command deck.

Have to wonder about that. They were able to secure a license for at least one episode and they were advertising the dvds. Bandai is pretty much done with for anime at this point, what with only licensing series out anymore. You'd think they'd look for any chance to get some income coming in from previously released series that might not be picked up by any other publisher.

I stayed up to see what they would do for the final Tom section. It was fairly anticlimactic with "Later" up on the screen. It did give me hope, but then, it's [as] so not THAT much hope.

You know what would make it even better as a "joke"?

If next Saturday rolls around and they've still got Tom showing up.

Who said anything about radio signals? Our first thought is to examine stars like our own for planets and life. Why wouldn't they do the same? Provided they've found a way to shortcut space (which we're looking for ways of doing), the energy and distance requirement is meaningless.

Humans do not have a monopoly on curiosity and exploration.


Ya know what...forget it.

It's pointless arguing with you.

Good day to you sir.

Look at what our advanced researchers are doing. They are looking at animals and finding inspiration for new technologies. Like the wall-climbing capabilities of geckos. Show someone that something is possible, and they'll look for ways to either imitate or improve upon it.

See a massive object near the sun? Think on what that would do for either materials science, energy shielding, heat dissipation/absorption, or any sundry of things. People would start looking at ways to imitate that or use the knowledge that it simply IS possible.

What would they do with that information? The mainstream press wouldn't cover it, at best. At worst they'd work to actively discredit it. It would be relegated to conspiracy websites and laughed about. The major universities/think tanks wouldn't touch it, especially if there was any indication their government funding would be pulled if they confirmed it.

And how many of those claims were things that while interesting, were not complete paradigm/society changers here on Earth? Finding an asteroid or watching a comet smash into Jupiter is not exactly the same as someone seeing a flying saucer pulling over for repairs on the Moon.
Most people don't know what they're seeing to begin with.

While yes, there are some that are indeed mistaken sightings, do you truly believe that Venus, or swamp gas, or hallucinations, are responsible for everything?

Look at what the US government has been doing with the various trade treaties and laws related to copyright infringement. They're playing a long game there with 'em. Same as game companies with DLC/online passes/etc.

The truth probably lies in the middle. Dismissing everything is no better than those who claim everything is hidden.

Humans have been in our present form for 200,000 years or so. Do you really think it's inconceivable that there wasn't some visit in that time and they said, "Hmm...we might want to keep a watch on these things...". Come back every so often to see how we are progressing. Probably keep a much closer watch once nuclear energy is discovered and the first fledgling steps into space is taken.

200k years is a long time. Even at 50% of the speed of light, a race could cross the galaxy.

Monkey see, monkey do.

Except that you need to know where to look, what to look for, when to look, and powerful enough scopes to see anything.

They don't have to threaten them all. Just the first one. Control the methods of dissemination of the knowledge, keep the most likely finders under surveillence.

All it takes is leverage. Everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet. And when push comes to shove, who is going to believe the backyard astronomer over the guy with multiple ph.Ds in his pocket?

I don't necessarily believe it. I do believe that the government(s) of the world hide a LOT of secrets and seem to go well out of their way to write stuff off. There's only so many times they can say something is Venus reflecting off of swamp gas and the viewer is drunk.

Maybe, maybe not. People have to play the long game and most simply aren't capable of doing that.

China would be one of the last ones to allow discovery of alien life forms out into the public knowledge. Given their track record with hiding or attempting to block information from their own citizens, I can easily see them not letting the cat outta the bag. Especially if the discovery gives them advancements in weapons tech.

Oh they could. Just because we see them as dysfunctional and unable to put a hat on their head rather than their ***, doesn't mean they actually are that stupid. Those are just the buffoons put out to distract people from the ones that are actually doing things.

Confirmations would be done under strict NDAs and quite possibly the "Say anything and you, your family, your dog, the paperboy, your third grade math teacher, will end up disappeared." treatment.

Face it. They don't want us knowing that stuff because it makes us easier to control. If there were aliens visiting us and they had hyperdrives or whatever, that would take all the power and control away from Terran governments. And there's one thing governments love and that is control.

I can just about say that no Terran government would allow credible and concrete proof of aliens existing to be shown to the unwashed masses. Short of an actual invasion, I can believe that they would cover everything up or at the very least work to discredit those with proof. Even with an invasion, I'd imagine there would be those like that Iraqi PR guy stating everything is fine and there are no aliens while the saucers are disgorging shock troops in the background.

Humans are dumb, panicky animals. We lose our **** over the slightest thing. Can you imagine the result of an actual confirmation of aliens?

*tinfoil hat*

But they couldn't kill Gilligan because all of them were already dead. Gilligan was Satan keeping them from moving on to the Afterlife. Every effort to get off the island was somehow able to be sabotaged by one buffoon. It takes a special kind of maliciousness to do that...

*tinfoil hat*

Are there any other kind of space babes than green-skinned?