Whether touching down on the White House lawn or simply puttering around in the Solar System, the appearance of an alien starship is valid grounds for alarm. Any civilization able to cross the gulfs of interstellar space is by definition in command of technologies vaster superior to ours. Clearly, humans would be unlikely to win any overt conflict. However, humans might also fail to survive simple indifference to our well-being. Even ostensible charity might be challenging to survive.
Consider these five tales about alien charity, or indifference, or even just plain ignorance…
“The Liberation of Earth” by William Tenn (1953)
The benevolent Galactic Federation intervenes on Earth, providing protection from the malevolent Troxxt. All the Federation requires are certain concessions both reasonable and (thanks to the balance of power) irresistible. Additionally, the Federation facilities transform Earth from a minor backwater world to a military target.
The Troxxt attack! Having driven off the Federation forces, the Troxxt explain to the surviving humans that contrary to Federation claims, it is the Federation who are the villains, against whom the Troxxt are marshalling a common defense. Now humanity, or least the survivors, are part of the glorious resistance… for as long as it takes the Federation to liberate Earth again and begin the cycle anew.
I sometimes wonder if Tenn wasn’t being just the slightest bit satirical with this otherwise heartening tale of mutual assistance and glorious liberation1.
“And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side” by James Tiptree, Jr. (1972)
Luckily for humans, the aliens with whom we share the galaxy may be vastly superior in every respect, but they have no particular dislike of humans or compelling desire to commandeer Earth. The aliens are content to include Earth in their trade networks. A few aliens find humans tolerable for more intimate contact.
While being the junior partner in any trade relationship would be disheartening by itself, the biggest problem turns out to be supernormal stimulus. Many of the aliens are irresistibly attractive to humans. No human can possibly compare. Even the perpetuation of the human race is insufficient reason to settle for humans.
James Tiptree, Jr. being James Tiptree, Jr., it is always a good bet that things are or will be or have been terribly wrong. Even seemingly harmless hobbies like alien key parties will likely end in tears. Or in this case, gradual extinction.
The Jupiter Theft by Donald Moffitt (1977)
Apart, neither the United States of America nor China could manage a crewed mission to Jupiter. By pooling their technical know-how, US/Chinese success in this matter is assured… if the mutual distrust between the two paranoid, oppressive superpowers does not somehow sabotage the mission.
The Cygnans don’t care a toasted fig about Earth or American and Chinese ambitions. The Cygnans simply want to convert Jupiter into fuel and be on their way. Any humans that get in their way will be added to the zoo. The technological disparity is such that the most impact that even the most obstreperous, well-armed humans can achieve is to delay the Cygnans slightly before they leave for deepest space… a delay that will expose the Earth to the Cygnans’ deadly reaction drive as the Cygnan fleet crosses Earth’s orbit.
While Moffitt’s physics are somewhat regrettable, one must acknowledge that he put more effort into his alien biology than is usually the case. It takes the humans a while to work out that they’ve grossly misunderstood Cygnan physiology. The population the humans have been interpreting as larger males and smaller females are all females of varying size. The male Cygnans are present, but because Cygnans have more in common with anglerfish than mammals, have been dismissed as pets.
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede by Inio Asano (2014 onward)
Woefully underinformed about humans, peaceful aliens park their mothership over Tokyo. Japan attempts to blow the craft from the sky. The bewildered aliens lack the means to flee and Japan’s initial efforts fail to annihilate the visitors. While the collateral damage to Tokyo’s hapless inhabitants is significant, the benefits to the defense industry are even more significant.
For high schoolers Koyama Kadode and Nakagawa “Ontan” Ouran, the invasion scare is just part of the background. The pair focus on more immediate concerns, such as Koyama’s hopeless crush on a teacher. Life is a series of zany adventures… at least until a well-meaning person manages to doom the Earth.
Asano manages a nice narrative trick in this manga, doling out endearing escapades long enough to get the reader thoroughly invested before revealing the alarming truth about what’s actually going on, and the tragedy that preceded the current invasion. It all works out for the best… but maybe not in this particular timeline.
Takopi’s Original Sin by Taizan 5 (2021)
Octopoid Nnu-Anu-Kf hails from the Happy Planet. Nnu-Anu-Kf possesses many useful devices, good intentions, boundless optimism, and total ignorance of human nature. As far as Nnu-Anu-Kf is concerned, everyone should be happy. In fact, it’s hard for the alien to grasp that there are people who are not happy at all.
Shizuka was abandoned by her father, is abused by her mother, and is relentlessly bullied by schoolmate Marina. Shizuka is so miserable that even relentlessly ebullient Nnu-Anu-Kf can grasp that something is horribly wrong. The kindly alien sets out to fix Shizuka’s life. Surely there is no problem the correct application of Happy Planet super-science cannot correct!
The corpses soon start piling up…
Japan excels in the production of utterly charming manga featuring quiet stories about characters enjoying to the fullest their delightful, life-affirming existences. Readers wanting a respite from life’s daily crises would be well advised to seek out such tales. But please note: Takopi’s Original Sin is not one of those manga. It’s more of a bleak examination of ill-informed good intentions running aground on the shoals of grim reality.
Science fiction authors being the cheerful crew that they are, there are many stories in which alien charity, indifference, or ignorance are just as dangerous for humans as actual hostility. I might well have missed one of your favorites. If so, please mention it in comments below.
- Still, Earth fares better in this story than it did in Tenn’s 1983 “There Were People on Bikini, There Were People on Attu.” ↩︎
