Humans are the vulcans of the galaxy

[blast flame]

Inspired by this tweet.

So the year is 2100. Humanity has just developed FTL. We have anti-aging, great medicine and so forth but beyond that no groundbreaking transhumanism. We get out into the galaxy to find that aliens are all hissy, emotional wreaks and us humans are actually the vulcans of the galaxy. How do we as a civilization react?

[Aratech]

A large number of people will no doubt lose faith in sentient civilization as a whole.

"As messed up as we are... and we're still the most emotionally sane? This does not bode well..."

[Alex12]

Roughly in order:
Well, didn't see that coming.
Yay, they'll be easy to conquer!
Wait... why are they all such emotional wrecks?

[Hiver]

Originally Posted by Alex12

Roughly in order:
Well, didn't see that coming.
Yay, they'll be easy to conquer!
Wait... why are they all such emotional wrecks?

Their stars have all been right.

[Imperator Pax]

interesting...

[cypress_z]

The aliens are all emotional weaklings?

... Excellent!

KILL KILL KILL!!!

Slaughter them all! The stars will be ours!

[Ford Prefect]

There's a significant amount of irony in suggesting that Vulcans are somehow paragons of emotional stability.

[Darth Raptor]

Yeah, but what if the aliens are all emotional wrecks and they still have the capability to wipe out our entire fleet with the push of a button?

[Hymenbreach]

I put money into self help stocks.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, We are from Alpha Centuari Beta is now in the shops.

[cypress_z]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

There's a significant amount of irony in suggesting that Vulcans are somehow paragons of emotional stability.

Yeah, but there's a great deal more in suggesting that HUMANS might be the paragons of emotional stability.

Now where was I? Ah yes.

MAIM KILL BURN! MAIM KILL BURN! MAIM KILL-

Wait, that's missing something. Ah, I know.

RAPE KILL BURN! RAPE KILL BURN! RAPE KILL BURN! FOR HUMANITY!


(Sorry folks, I was just re-reading the Authority.)

[Vander]

Originally Posted by Aratech

A large number of people will no doubt lose faith in sentient civilization as a whole.

"As messed up as we are... and we're still the most emotionally sane? This does not bode well..."

This. If humans are the most sane species, then the galaxy is flatly fucked because we all know we aren't really sane overall.

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by cypress_z

Yeah, but there's a great deal more in suggesting that HUMANS might be the paragons of emotional stability.

Haha, yeah, okay, I can't really disagree with that.

[Agent23]

And probably devoid of other starfaring races,because if they all are less stable than us they would have all wiped themselves out after the discovery of nuclear weapons.

[Hectonkhyres]

Colonize everything openly available for colonization down to the last orbiting rock and then lock down anything our species controls and lock it down tight. Gratuitously powerful, overlapping defense systems and zero alien contact in any human systems. We will trade with anybody willing to trade... but it will be our traders doing so around their worlds or via carefully controlled quarantine stations out in our system's oort cloud. I don't trust these Mon-Keigh within several astronomical units of anything important.

Second, we set ourselves up as a race of calculating Space-Jews. Try to get ourselves into the corporate and governmental hierarchy of anyone who will have us, get ourselves put on advisory councils, trying to by up stakes in local economies, you name it. Now, while slowly spreading our grasp through totally legitimate channels, we rig things so that our holdings stay pristine while the Mon-Keigh are doomed to inevitable social collapse brought on by their being insane motherfuckers. We outlast them and pick up the pieces faster than they can after whatever happens is over and done with.

[cypress_z]

Originally Posted by Agent23

And probably devoid of other starfaring races,because if they all are less stable than us they would have all wiped themselves out after the discovery of nuclear weapons.

Or they'd be the type to be too afraid to actually use them. We were certainly scared to use them - a less emotionally stable civilization might be utterly petrified by terror of nuclear Armageddon until the danger passes and they're already on multiple worlds.

[Agent23]

Originally Posted by Hectonkhyres

Second, we set ourselves up as a race of calculating Space-Jews. Try to get ourselves into the corporate and governmental hierarchy of anyone who will have us, get ourselves put on advisory councils, trying to by up stakes in local economies, you name it. Now, while slowly spreading our grasp through totally legitimate channels, we rig things so that our holdings stay pristine while the Mon-Keigh are doomed to inevitable social collapse brought on by their being insane motherfuckers. We outlast them and pick up the pieces faster than they can after whatever happens is over and done with.

Heh,screw Vulcans-we will be the galaxy's Darhel

[blast flame]

Originally Posted by cypress_z

Or they'd be the type to be too afraid to actually use them. We were certainly scared to use them - a less emotionally stable civilization might be utterly petrified by terror of nuclear Armageddon until the danger passes and they're already on multiple worlds.

Anger and hatred are emotions too.

[Thait]

Originally Posted by blast flame

Anger and hatred are emotions too.

Yes but the driving need to survive would hold them in check. you could be quite a bit less sane than an average human and have no desire to die or kill yourself. And being less sane wouldnt necessarily mean you would lose your understanding of concequences if you launched the nukes.

You are also assuming that by the time they get nukes they arnt some one world government, who would they nuke at that point?

Though there likely is some races out there that either wiped themselves out or came close to it. There's no reason to believe that humans are some kind of base level sane and you can only go higher from there.

[blast flame]

Originally Posted by Thait

Yes but the driving need to survive would hold them in check. you could be quite a bit less sane than an average human and have no desire to die or kill yourself. And being less sane wouldnt necessarily mean you would lose your understanding of concequences if you launched the nukes.

You are also assuming that by the time they get nukes they arnt some one world government, who would they nuke at that point?

Though there likely is some races out there that either wiped themselves out or came close to it. There's no reason to believe that humans are some kind of base level sane and you can only go higher from there.

Yes but I was just addressing Cypress's assertion that the aliens would be scared pushovers.

[Imperator Pax]

since we're the vulcans does that mean it'll be what a thousand years until anyone else gets FtL

[cypress_z]

Originally Posted by blast flame

Anger and hatred are emotions too.

Yes. I was indicating there were two potential paths they could tread. Self destruction, or self preservation.

We're much more likely to encounter cowards in space than psychopaths. The psychopaths will probably wipe each other out in the nuclear age. The cowards won't.

If there's one thing true of evolution, it's not survival of the fittest. It's survival... of the ones who survive.

Not the fit; not the elite; not the Nietzscheian ideal ubermensch. Just the ones who survive to produce offspring.

We're living creatures like everything else. It's part of our base nature to compete with everything that CAN compete with us, and wipe out non-human competition. Every OTHER creature in nature does this too. And while we're intelligent creatures, and on an individual level might show mercy towards the alien weak, as a group we're utterly merciless. A man, or a group of people might tolerate space nutjobs for a while. As a true collective, however, humanity will do it's utter best to grind them into absolute nothingness.

[Imperator Pax]

never cypress discount the stupidity of large groups of people though

[Galahad]

Here is what is going to happen.

1. We will meet some pre FTL species recovering from a world war.

2. They are very emotional, temperamental and dynamic compared to us. We have become stagnant and dull.

3. Eventually two of us will form an interstellar alliance that eventually leads to a federated star nation.

4. Over next two hundred years humans will be outbred and outcompeted by this next race.

5. By 300 years from First Contact over 95 percent of our military, industry and planets are controlled by the new race. We are a small but visible minority. Even the capital of our federation has shifted to their homeworld. They are the dominant species and rest of the galaxy view them as the federation not us.

[Q99]

Then due to time travel mishap our home world will be destroyed two hundred years from now in an effort to revitalize the franchise

Originally Posted by cypress_z

If there's one thing true of evolution, it's not survival of the fittest. It's survival... of the ones who survive.

Not the fit; not the elite; not the Nietzscheian ideal ubermensch. Just the ones who survive to produce offspring.

I'll just add the statement that this is precisely the intended meaning of 'fittest' in 'survival of the'.

[Roi Danton]

Originally Posted by Galahad

5. By 300 years from First Contact over 95 percent of our military, industry and planets are controlled by the new race. We are a small but visible minority. Even the capital of our federation has shifted to their homeworld. They are the dominant species and rest of the galaxy view them as the federation not us.

That is actually a quit good idea if you want your planet to be safe by not doing anything. Sneaky Vulcans...