What is the scariest thing we could discover in our search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence?
A human civilization that has already reached the Type III level.
Imagine this: Humans on Earth are just an experiment of a school science fair that was abandoned by a more advanced civilization. To their surprise, they did not expect that life on Earth would eventually survive and grow up to interstellar communication, let alone an interstellar journey.
We have always been fascinated by the idea that extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is a humanoid creature with grey or green skin, a hairless head and big eyes. Sometimes we think of it as a non-biological humanoid like a robot, a non-elemental being that has a different phase from normal matter, or a monstrous animal with no intelligence other than to eat and survive. But we never once imagined that the other ETI is human, the Homo sapiens that advanced enough to build a Type III civilization.
A Type III civilization can capture all the energy emitted by its galaxy, and every object within it. They may also be able to tap into the energy released by the supermassive black holes believed to exist at the centre of most galaxies. They can travel and communicate across the galaxy via wormholes and subspace. They can manipulate matter and energy at will, and create artificial structures of cosmic proportions. They are the masters of the galaxy, and possibly beyond.
Such a discovery and revelation would destroy the very foundation of our life, culture, and belief. Everything we once held firm would shatter in seconds, as we realize that Earth is not the center of the universe, nor are we the best or the only creatures.
Humans on Earth are just a school science fair project that eventually evolved and grew up due to the universe being in the right moment to sustain us long enough to reach interstellar communication and journeys. Eventually, the other advanced humans think Earth should grow at its own pace and find its own path, then shut us out for good.
How would we recover after such a finding?
Would we try to contact them, learn from them, or challenge them? Would we unite as a species, or fall into chaos and conflict? Would we embrace our cosmic kinship, or reject our alien ancestry? Would we accept our fate, or fight for our future?
These are the questions that we may have to face someday if we ever encounter a Type III human civilization in our search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It would be the most terrifying and thrilling discovery of all time, and it would change everything we know about ourselves and the universe.
Ad Astra,🚀
RW
