I’ve watched my share of Star Trek. And there’s a lot of talk about not interfering with less technologically advanced civilizations or cultures.
Meanwhile, the Stargates of the world take a more bumbling approach.
I’m not going to debate the difficulties of either of these approaches, but I will say that I get it: when I started writing first contact for my Drifting Amalgams universe, things got complicated. So, I began thinking through what influences the narrative of first contact.
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Are There Moral (or Other) Mandates Present in Making First Contact?
The reason for space exploration is key.
Using the Star Trek / Stargate comparison, Star Trek is on a scientific exploration mission. Stargate is, first and foremost, looking for weapons and technology …to use as weapons. Speaking very simplistically, this results in a very different experience when meeting a peoples for the first time.
Science exploration often carries the idealized desire to do no harm. Whereas, when you’re just looking for weapons, you’re less likely to care about the repercussions of your actions.
When I’m writing through this idea of intent, I think more broadly about what drives the space exploring nation. Is their focus more inward or outward? And what values are they progressing?
If their intentions are more selfish, the consequences of the species’ encounters may be more destabilizing for the people they encounter.
Frankly, a destabilizing approach can make for good entertainment. So, sometimes I go the selfish route just for the ability to drive the plot along. My pentapardi, for instance, are strongly interested in capitalistic endeavors, so their strongest mandate is to wait until a culture is mature enough to (arguably) enter a legally binding contract before contacting them. In the meantime, they have no qualms with “borrowing” a planet's resources without permission.
My Unified Government Wants to Talk to your Unified Government: Cultures and Tribal Affiliations
I find societal distinctions to be one of the more complicated concepts in science fiction.
Where some simplify this by having a unified planetary government mostly encountering one culture–without really mentioning any other peoples on either planet, others lean into how messy multiculturalism can be.
This latter approach takes the complexities of having multiple societies into account, but it brings with it a wealth of other challenges.
How do you decide which culture to make first contact with first? Does the explorer wait for all planetary cultures to be ready for contact before reaching out? Does the explorer only contact the most advanced culture–possibly advancing them even farther ahead of the least advanced?
Again, this is where the more selfish approach is easier to manage. With my pentapardi, they contact any culture that’s ready as soon as they're ready. Essentially, they expand out to all the planets they can–using the resources they need–and make contracts to use those resources if and when anyone on the planet questions them about what they’re doing.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating for selfish species writing. What I will say, though, is that from one perspective it may make for the easier method when creating alien interactions.
How much do you know about the Species You’re Contacting?
Foreknowledge is another area where schools of thought diverge.
In some narratives, explorers learn what they can about the culture and people they intend to visit. Alternatively, checking ahead to ensure their relative safety on the planet is thought of as the minimum reconnaissance required.
Either of these approaches can be great for creating drama. If the characters don’t already have a plan based on knowledge of the people before they encounter inhabitants, they are more likely to make mistakes that range anywhere from social faux pas to starting or aiding a planetary war. But even if a landing team scouts ahead, it’s easy to miss something or have spotty intel.
This is another area where I like to think about diversity outside of current human expectation. Even after a full investigation, explorers can encounter energy-based and fully robotic as well as parasitic and symbiotic peoples in a surprising way. And this can help evolve the explorers culture by giving them a means to evolve their beliefs about sentience.
Do you show Your Cards? Technology, Spaceships, and Alien Airspace
Finally, I have to think about how my species arrive at a point of first meeting. Do they come in a spaceship? Do they need to worry about appearing as though they may be invading the airspace of the people they’d like to visit?
If they arrive in a spaceship, is it the same quality of technology as what the people they’re visiting have? And on that note, do they share technology?
If so, why? A lot of these questions also speak to what my cultures are willing to think of as advanced and what they’re hoping to gain from their extraplanetary interaction.
A lot of things to think about when it’s time to make first contact.
Until next time, keep creating.