I think "Alien" is a misleading and archaic term, and ultimately meaningless.
When we have the technology to alter our physical form in any way we desire, there will be no distinction between one form of sentient life and another. There will only be self-aware entities, in whatever shape they choose, building and destroying culture as quickly as their imaginations tire of the fad.
Thoughts?
We're almost there already. You ever do 6th street in Austin on a Friday or Saturday night?
ReplyDeleteGood one, DD. :)
ReplyDeleteThe term "extraterrestrial" has always struck me as ludicrous. Here we are, less than a speck of dust on the cosmos, yet we label everything outside our tiny sphere of influence as if Earth were the center of everything.
People born on that side of the river are aliens to those on this side.
I write about the Kin, a feline race who considers that their world is not "inside" the borders of a conquering race called the humans. The human worlds exist outside the boundaries of the Kin. All that is important to the Kin is that you are either one of them, or you are not. Their word for alien is "nahee" which translated literally means "not us."
How like humans now, who see things that are different from their own culture as alien, weird, or unworthy, whether it refers to skin color, gender, sexual preference, or country of origin.
Excellent, quick blog. Made me think, and it's a topic I've considered often. Nice to meet you, btw! First time visitor. Um... an "alien", I guess. =^_^=