First Contact VS Post Contact Scifi Stories

[Spacescifi]

 

Here we will discuss the merits of both.

First Contact Stories:

Pros:

1. You get to show how you wish, want, or think first contact should go.

Cons:

1.You either have to contrive a way to understand human languages, or use the tried and true method that Cortez and the Spanish used with the Aztecs. Send a few alien misssionaries or slaves, have them learn the language and then pick them back up after two years. If  humans refuse to give them up, forget about that planet or just start taking human slaves to learn their language while they teach you theirs. Either way it will take time, which is often at a premium in movies.

2. Humans and aliens are not familiar with each other, and to accurately depict this would take longer than a movie to truly do justice.

Post Contact Stories:

Pros:

1. Aliens and humans already know each other, so they also have translators already available, which is a lot more logical than somehow already having a translator that understands english in a first contact scenario.

2. You can tell ANY story you want, as long as it is not about first contact, and you can even go there, just briefly.

Cons:

Can't think of any. Can you?

EDIT: I always find it amusing how on both Star Trek and especially the Orville how humans ask questions about their alien allies they should already know. If you do not know the basics about the crew members you will be working with closely and it is ALL on file, then how did that guy ever get to be a commander? Namely... the Orville's Captain and his near to nothing understanding of Moclans initially.

 

 

Your thoughts?

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by Spacescifi

[KSK]

I don't see any of your cons for a First Contact story as being disadvantages, not least because none of them are actually necessary. Roughly speaking, you could think of First Contact as a  three step process:

1.  First Contact itself and the shock and/or awe of finally meeting the unknown. 

2.  Learning to communicate.

3.  Getting to understand each other.

Your story needs to include one of those (it's not really a First Contact story without that ) but including more than one is really very optional. A good film is perfectly capable of doing justice to any one of three, probably any two, although I agree that including all three would be a stretch. But including all three isn't necessary.

For step 1, I can think of at least two classic films (2001: A Space Odyssey, and Contact by Carl Sagan) where 'meeting the unknown' was really the whole point of the film. In both cases, the unknown was literally unknowable, so steps 2 and 3 were irrelevant. 2010: The Year We Make Contact, went into step 2 in a bit more detail and in a very one-sided manner but utterly ignored step 3, which again, was a big part of the film.

For step 2, Arrival was an excellent example of that and the short story that the film was based on, was even better. Interestingly, the premise of both was one that you don't seem to have considered which was aliens coming to Earth to teach us their language.

If you want a step 2, step 3 combo, you could try Enemy Mine.

If you want a step 3 film, I'm fairly sure that Star Trek has you covered in one film or another.

Admittedly, a pure Step 3 film is stretching the definition of  First Contact a little, but you could argue that you haven't really made contact in any meaningful way until you understand who, or what, you've made contact with, so I think it's still valid. In any case, a pure Step 1 film would definitely count as a First Contact film and, as shown in my examples, there's absolutely no need to wedge any language learning (contrived or otherwise) into the story.

Edited September 16, 2019 by KSK

[kerbiloid]

Men In Black. They are already here.

[razark]

13 minutes ago, KSK said:

2.  Learning to communicate.

We've been sending out huge amounts of communication since we learned about radio.  This is likely with any species we would be wishing to make contact with as well.

Learning to communicate may be the earliest and easiest step.

 

For example, in Star Trek, Vulcans had been observing Earth for a long time before actually making contact.

[KSK]

38 minutes ago, razark said:

We've been sending out huge amounts of communication since we learned about radio.  This is likely with any species we would be wishing to make contact with as well.

Learning to communicate may be the earliest and easiest step.

For example, in Star Trek, Vulcans had been observing Earth for a long time before actually making contact.

Very true and I personally prefer that idea of observing from afar to Spacescifi's missionaries or slaves approach. TVTropes (of course) points out some flaws with the idea but I'm not sure I completely agree with them.

Edited September 16, 2019 by KSK

[cubinator]

I really liked Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where music was the medium of first contact. 

[Spacescifi]

1 hour ago, razark said:

We've been sending out huge amounts of communication since we learned about radio.  This is likely with any species we would be wishing to make contact with as well.

Learning to communicate may be the earliest and easiest step.

 

For example, in Star Trek, Vulcans had been observing Earth for a long time before actually making contact.

 

True, but TV tropes already points out how the signals would not come in clear light years away. That is actual a huge reason why I do not use it.

Besides, my depictions of aliens usually means they are like humanity plus. Meaning they have many of the things we do plus more, including TV and FTL.

It's not better or worse a method per se, but if fictional aliens have FTL scanners good enough to learn english and stream TV lightyears away, they also would be able to spy on anyone using such broadcasts. Nevermind that FTL scanners could possibly be weaponized, inasmuch any normal lightspeed scanner can also be.

You almost do not need starships unless you really want something from a planet.

58 minutes ago, KSK said:

Very true and I personally prefer that idea of observing from afar to Spacescifi's missionaries or slaves approach. TVTropes (of course) points out some flaws with the idea but I'm not sure I completely agree with them.

 

I just like the idea of boldly going to new worlds without knowing much, which a lack of super FTL scanners but a possession of starships does support.

I wilk grant you that aliens could covertly FTL a probe into the solar system disguised as any astroid and learn stuff that way.

However, I also like Cortez method because it has been proven to work so well he conquered a country.

I also know that to speak a language fluently it helps immensely to spend time around the natives speaking it.

 

EDIT: I guess I really never cared for first contact as the reactions are very stereotypical on the human side.

"They will kill us all!"

"What can you give us?"

"Wanna be our new gods? We have a history of giving devotion to inanimate objects, ideals, animals, and each other, so why not you too?"

"Uh, can we uh.... you know? Are we uh.... reproductively compatible?"

That is the kind of stuff aliens will learn if they grow to understand humans.

I am always interested in point 3 the most. Aliens and humans coming to understand each other and even tolerate or grow a friendship out of it.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2019 by Spacescifi

[razark]

5 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

TV tropes already points out how the signals would not come in clear light years away.

It's made clear that the Vulcans were doing it from Earth orbit in the 1950s in one of the series, so it makes more sense.

 

Of course all this sci-fi magic technology exists (or doesn't exist) purely on the whim of the writer, for the purpose of telling a story.  If the writer wants the story to be about how the two species interact and resolve conflicts based on the two cultures colliding, the aliens will speak English.  If the writer wants the story to be about the two species having to learn to communicate, the aliens will speak something else.