Narrator: SCIENCE'S TOP ALIEN HUNTERS
BELIEVE OUR GALAXY IS FILLED WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL BEINGS
WHO COULD ARRIVE ON EARTH ANY SECOND.
THE ALIENS ARE WATCHING US.
WE COULD BE SURROUNDED BY ALIEN PROBES
WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: THEY'RE MASTERS OF INTERGALACTIC TRAVEL.
WARP DRIVE IS ALLOWING ALIENS
TO TAKE SHORTCUTS THROUGH THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME.
Narrator: BUT WHEN THEY GET HERE,
WILL THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS COME AS OUR FRIENDS...
Marcy: HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO INTERACT WITH US
IN A PEACEFUL WAY AND A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY.
THEY WOULD MAKE CONTACT IN ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT OUR CULTURE.
Narrator: ...OR AS OUR CONQUERORS?
AS SOON AS THE ALIENS SPOT THAT WE'RE HERE,
THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA DESTROY US.
Kaku: IF IT COMES TO BLOWS,
IT'S GONNA BE LIKE KERMIT THE FROG VERSUS A T-REX.
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
Narrator: OUR GALAXY CONTAINS AROUND 60 BILLION PLANETS
EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE COULD CALL HOME.
ASTRONOMERS ARE SENDING MESSAGES INTO SPACE,
TRYING TO REACH THEM,
AND IT MAY ONLY BE A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL WE DO.
[ ALARM BLARING ]
BUT WHEN ALIENS DO SAY HELLO BACK, WHAT THEN?
THIS IS PAUL DAVIES,
CHIEF OF THE POST-DETECTION TASK GROUP FOR SETI --
THE SEARCH FOR EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE.
IT'S HIS JOB TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO WHEN ALIENS REACH OUT.
IF WE DID HAVE SOME SORT OF CONTACT
WITH AN ALIEN CIVILIZATION,
THEN IT'S NOT GONNA BE LIKE IN THE MOVIES,
LIKE "MEN IN BLACK."
IT BASICALLY BOILS DOWN TO A TINY GROUP OF PEOPLE.
THERE'S THE SETI SCIENTISTS THEMSELVES
WHO ARE LISTENING FOR SIGNALS, AND THEN THERE'S ME.
MY JOB IS TO COME UP WITH SOME SORT OF PROTOCOL,
A PLAN, IN EVENT THAT THERE IS IRREFUTABLE EVIDENCE
OF "WE ARE NOT ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE."
WHAT DO WE DO NEXT?
WHO DO WE TELL? HOW DO WE RESPOND?
SHOULD WE RESPOND?
AND WHO SPEAKS FOR EARTH?
Narrator: BUT NO MATTER WHICH VIP GETS TO SPEAK FOR MANKIND,
BE IT THE PRESIDENT, THE QUEEN, OR OPRAH,
DON'T EXPECT TO SEE THE MOMENT OF FIRST CONTACT LIVE ON TV.
ANY SORT OF FIRST-CONTACT SCENARIO --
IT'S LIKELY TO HAPPEN IN A WAY THAT NOBODY ANTICIPATED.
SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT
TO TRY TO PREVENT THIS LEAKING OUT TO THE MEDIA
BEFORE THE SCIENTISTS ARE REALLY READY
TO EVALUATE WHAT THEY'RE DEALING WITH,
AND THESE STEPS INVOLVE ALL SORTS OF CHECKS
TO MAKE SURE THE SIGNAL IS GENUINE
AND THEN INFORMING
VARIOUS SCIENTIFIC AND GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS
IN A CERTAIN SEQUENCE.
[ SIRENS WAILING ]
Narrator: IF ALIENS BREAK RADIO SILENCE,
NASA WILL MOBILIZE ITS MEN IN WHITE --
THE OFFICE OF PLANETARY PROTECTION.
HERE, DR. CARLTON ALLEN HAS THE CRUCIAL TASK
OF ANALYZING THE CONTAMINATION RISK TO EARTH
FROM EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPOSURE
AND PINPOINT ANY BIOLOGICAL THREAT WE MIGHT POSE TO THEM.
THE IDEA FROM "WAR OF THE WORLDS"
THAT MARTIANS CAME TO EARTH AND DIED FROM THE COMMON COLD
SOUNDS BIZARRE, BUT IN FACT, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN ECOSYSTEMS COLLIDE LIKE THAT.
AND THAT'S WHAT THE FIELD OF PLANETARY PROTECTION IS ABOUT --
TO PROTECT THE EARTH FROM MATERIALS COMING FROM SPACE.
Narrator: KEEPING EARTH SAFE FROM ALIEN GERMS,
THE PLANETARY PROTECTION DEPARTMENT
HAS BEEN BUSY SINCE THE 1960s.
WHEN NASA WENT TO THE MOON,
ITS RETURNING HEROES WERE QUARANTINED.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
AND TODAY, ALLEN'S FOCUS IS ON CONTAGION FROM THE RED PLANET.
Allen: WE'RE LOOKING NOW AT MISSIONS
TO BRING BACK SAMPLES FROM THE PLANET MARS.
THE STORY OF PLANETARY PROTECTION
GOES TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
THERE MAY BE PLACES ON MARS
WHERE SOME EXTREME FORMS OF MARTIAN LIFE COULD EXIST.
AS WE EXPLORE MARS,
WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO CONTAMINATE
ANY PARTS OF THE PLANET,
BUT WE ALSO, AS WE BRING BACK SAMPLES,
WANT TO MAKE VERY SURE THAT WE DON'T CONTAMINATE EARTH
WITH ANY KIND OF MARTIAN ORGANISMS.
Narrator: AN ALIEN PLAGUE SPREAD BY INTERPLANETARY MICROBES
COULD DECIMATE HUMANITY AS VICIOUSLY AS ANY ALIEN INVADER
DREAMED UP BY SCIENCE FICTION.
BUT AS MINERALOGIST MIKE ZOLENSKY KNOWS,
THESE MINI E.T.s
COULD UNLOCK THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS IN ASTROBIOLOGY.
Zolensky: SO, ARE ALIENS HERE ALREADY?
I DON'T KNOW.
BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE
ARE ARRIVING ON EARTH EVERY DAY,
AND THEY'VE BEEN ARRIVING ON EARTH FOR 4½ BILLION YEARS.
THEY'RE ARRIVING IN METEORITES, ASTEROIDS, AND COMETS.
Narrator: METEORITES ARE FLAMING BALLS OF INTERPLANETARY ROCK
THAT HAVE SMASHED INTO EARTH SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME.
ONCE, THEY WERE A MYSTERY,
BUT NOW THANKS TO NEW IMAGING TECHNOLOGY,
ZOLENSKY CAN SEE WHAT'S INSIDE METEORITE FRAGMENTS.
THE RESULTS ARE AMAZING.
IT'S VERY EXCITING TO HAVE THESE SAMPLES AVAILABLE FOR STUDY.
ONLY NOW HAVE TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED TO THE POINT
WHERE WE CAN ANALYZE SUCH TINY AMOUNTS OF ORGANICS.
THIS IS A METEORITE THAT FELL IN WEST TEXAS,
AND AMAZINGLY, INSIDE THIS METEORITE,
THERE ARE LITTLE CRYSTALS OF SALT.
AND THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THESE CRYSTALS
IS THAT THEY CONTAIN TINY, LITTLE DROPLETS
OF LIQUID WATER -- THE ONLY SAMPLES WE HAVE OF WATER
FROM OFF THE EARTH.
Narrator: ZOLENSKY KNOWS THAT WHERE THERE'S WATER,
THERE'S OFTEN LIFE.
Man: WE HAVE MAIN ENGINE START, ZERO, AND LIFTOFF.
Narrator: AND TO GATHER MORE EVIDENCE
FROM AN INTACT SPACE ROCK,
NASA SENT A ROBOTIC PROBE CALLED STARDUST TO STUDY A COMET
AS IT HURTLED THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
AT OVER 13 MILES PER SECOND.
THE STARDUST MISSION BROUGHT BACK DUST GRAINS
FROM THE CLOUD OF DUST AND GAS THAT SURROUNDS THE COMET WILD 2,
WHICH IS A COMET THAT COMES PRETTY CLOSE TO EARTH
EVERY FEW YEARS.
AND AS THE COMET PASSED BY THE SPACECRAFT,
THE SPACECRAFT OPENED UP A LITTLE DUST COLLECTOR,
SHAPED LIKE A TENNIS RACKET,
AND THOUSANDS OF GRAINS OF DUST SMASHED INTO THE TENNIS RACKET.
WE'RE STILL JUST BEGINNING TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE
ON WHAT THESE SAMPLES ARE.
AND, FOR INSTANCE, WE'VE FOUND AMINO ACIDS,
AND THESE ARE IN ALL OF US --
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS LIFE,
AND HERE THEY ARE IN THE COMET.
Narrator: ZOLENSKY HAS AN ASTONISHING THEORY
THAT AMINO ACIDS CRASHING INTO PLANETS
COULD HAVE SEEDED LIFE BOTH ON EARTH AND THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY.
IT'S THIS IDEA THAT ONCE A LIFE ARISES IN ONE PLACE,
IT SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.
WE KNOW THAT THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE
ARE IN COMETS AND ASTEROIDS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
AND WE SEE EVIDENCE FOR THESE SAME OBJECTS
AROUND OTHER STAR SYSTEMS.
SO, PROBABLY, LIFE IS EVERYWHERE IN SPACE IF IT'S HERE.
Narrator: LIFE COULD BE FLOURISHING
THROUGHOUT THE GALAXY,
AND IF WE'RE SENDING PROBES TO STUDY THEM,
COULD INTELLIGENT ALIENS BE DOING THE SAME?
ARE EXTRATERRESTRIALS WATCHING US ALREADY?
Narrator: SINCE THE 1970s,
NATIONS HAVE SENT PROBES TO STUDY SPACE
AND SEARCH FOR EVIDENCE OF EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.
SO IF WE'VE BEEN DOING IT, HAVE THEY?
IS THERE, OR WAS THERE, ALIEN TECHNOLOGY IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
AND BY TECHNOLOGY,
THE FIRST THAT COMES TO MIND ARE THINGS LIKE PROBES.
AN ALIEN PROBE MIGHT HAVE
FANTASTIC INFORMATION PROCESSING CAPABILITY
OF ENORMOUS INTELLECTUAL POWER.
AND IT'S NOT INCONCEIVABLE, BUT OVER THE HISTORY OF THE EARTH,
THERE'S BEEN SOME ALIEN TECHNOLOGY
IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
OR RIGHT HERE ON OUR HOME PLANET.
Narrator: PAUL DAVIES BELIEVES AN INTELLIGENT ALIEN SPECIES
COULD BE ANALYZING EARTH RIGHT NOW
USING MICROSCOPIC TECHNOLOGY.
IF WE START THINKING NOT IN TERMS OF A PROBE
LIKE OUR PROBES -- YOU KNOW, A BIG CHUNK OF METAL --
BUT IN TERMS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY --
BECAUSE AFTER ALL, YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH A LOT
WITH TINY, LITTLE ROBOTIC DEVICES,
WHICH MAY BE NO BIGGER THAN A BACTERIUM.
WE CAN BE SURROUNDED BY SUCH THINGS
WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT IT.
Narrator: IT SOUNDS LIKE A SCI-FI FANTASY,
BUT EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD BE WATCHING US IN REAL LIFE.
AND CYBERNETICIST KEVIN WARWICK THINKS THE ALIENS' NEXT STEP
WOULD BE TO LAUNCH A MORE SOPHISTICATED RECON MISSION
IN THE FORM OF CYBERNETIC AVATARS.
IT MAY WELL BE ROBOTS
THAT ACTUALLY APPEAR ON EARTH TO START WITH...
...NOT THE ALIENS THEMSELVES.
THE ALIENS WOULD BE ON A DISTANT PLANET
MAYBE GALAXIES, EONS AWAY,
AND CONTROLLING THE ROBOTS THAT WE SEE HERE DIRECTLY
AS EXTENSIONS OF THEMSELVES, IF YOU LIKE.
SO THEIR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ARE CONTROLLING THE ROBOTS,
AND INFORMATION'S BEING FED BACK.
I THINK WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET SOME IDEA
OF WHAT THE ALIEN LIFE FORM ACTUALLY IS LIKE
FROM THE ROBOTS THAT APPEAR HERE.
AS WE HAVE ROBOT HANDS ON OUR ROBOTS THAT WE SEND OUT,
THEY MAY HAVE SOME SORT OF MANIPULATION
THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE ORIGINAL ALIEN LIFE FORM.
Narrator: IF OTHER-WORLDLY BEINGS
SEND PROBES AND EVEN ROBOT AVATARS TO EARTH
AND THEY LIKE WHAT THEY SEE,
IT WON'T BE LONG UNTIL INTELLIGENT EXTRATERRESTRIALS
DECIDE TO COME SEE OUR PLANET FOR THEMSELVES.
THIS IS LES JOHNSON,
A PHYSICIST WITH NASA'S ADVANCED CONCEPTS OFFICE.
HE THINKS ALIEN ENGINEERS
MIGHT APPROACH THE CHALLENGE OF TRAVERSING THE GALAXY
THE SAME WAY WE DO.
Johnson: AS A PHYSICIST,
I HAVE TO MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE WAY THE UNIVERSE WORKS.
THE WAY IT WORKS IN MY LAB --
IT HAS TO BE ABOUT THE SAME WAY IT WORKS IN THE LAB
ACROSS THE STREET, ACROSS TOWN, SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE PLANET,
OR SOMEWHERE ELSE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GALAXY.
AND WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT THAT
AND WHAT IT'S GOING TO REQUIRE TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE STARS,
YOU HAVE TO THINK BIG.
YOU HAVE TO THINK BIGGER THAN THE SATURN V ROCKET,
WHICH TOOK PEOPLE TO THE MOON.
Narrator: THE LIQUID-PROPELLENT-FUELED
SATURN V IS STILL THE MOST POWERFUL ROCKET EVER BUILT.
IT ALLOWED ASTRONAUTS TO TRAVEL 618,000 KILOMETERS TO THE MOON
IN JUST FOUR DAYS.
BUT FOR ALIENS TO GET TO EARTH,
FROM EVEN PROXIMA CENTAURI, OUR NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEM,
MEANS A JOURNEY OF 25 TRILLION MILES.
TO GET THIS ENORMOUS BEAST OFF THE GROUND,
THESE ENGINES HAD TO PRODUCE MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF THRUST
USING CHEMICAL PROPULSION.
IF WE WERE GOING TO TRY TO GO TO THE STARS,
AND THE DISTANCES ARE JUST HUGE,
RIGHT NOW WITH A CHEMICAL ROCKET LIKE THIS,
IT WOULD TAKE 73,000 YEARS.
Narrator: FACED WITH THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN THE COCKPIT,
JOHNSON THINKS EXTRATERRESTRIALS MIGHT CONSIDER
USING A MORE EXPLOSIVE FUEL SYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF A SATURN V, IMAGINE A BATTLESHIP,
SOMETHING REALLY BIG WITH BIG PRESSURE PLATES UNDERNEATH IT,
AND INSTEAD OF CHEMICAL ROCKETS,
YOU EXPLODE SMALL HYDROGEN BOMBS, ONE EVERY FEW SECONDS.
AND AS THE BOMB EXPLODES, IT GIVES IT A KICK
AND IT STARTS IT MOVING
AND IT KEEPS IT GOING FASTER AND FASTER.
AND IF YOU ACCELERATE FOR HOURS
INSTEAD OF THE MINUTES THAT A CHEMICAL ROCKET DOES,
YOU COULD POTENTIALLY PROPEL A SPACECRAFT TO ANOTHER STAR
IN A FEW CENTURIES INSTEAD OF 73,000 YEARS.
Narrator: HYDROGEN-BOMB-POWERED SPACECRAFT
WOULD BE FAST BUT DANGEROUS,
SO JOHNSON THINKS ADVANCED ALIENS
COULD DEVELOP SOMETHING MUCH FASTER AND SAFER
USING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY.
Johnson: MY PERSONAL FAVORITE TECHNOLOGY --
IT'S CALLED A SOLAR SAIL.
WHAT A SOLAR SAIL DOES IS,
IT REFLECTS THE LIGHT TO GET PROPULSION.
YOU CAN'T REALLY FEEL IT HERE ON THE GROUND,
BUT THE SUNLIGHT, AS THE LIGHT REFLECTS FROM YOU,
ARE PUSHING ON YOU.
THEY EXERT A FORCE.
IF YOU GET OUT INTO DEEP SPACE,
THIS FORCE CAN BE SIGNIFICANT, AND IT'S PLENTIFUL.
IT'S ALWAYS THERE.
WELL, THIS PROTOTYPE SOLAR SAIL,
WHICH IS ACTUALLY ONE THAT WE DEVELOPED
FOR SOLAR-SAIL APPLICATIONS,
IS A VERY THIN, LIGHTWEIGHT REFLECTOR.
NOW, IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THIS ONLY SCALED UP DRAMATICALLY,
SOMETHING THE SIZE OF TEXAS WITH THE THICKNESS OF A HUMAN HAIR.
IF THAT WERE TO BE DEPLOYED IN SPACE BY US OR SOMEONE ELSE,
THEY COULD USE THAT TO GET A BIG KICK FROM SUNLIGHT
TO TRAVEL VERY, VERY FAST.
NOW, THIS TECHNOLOGY
DOESN'T REQUIRE MANY FUNDAMENTAL BREAKTHROUGHS IN PHYSICS.
IT'S MORE OF AN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE.
WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO BUILD SOMETHING LIKE THIS
THE SIZE OF TEXAS TODAY,
BUT WE COULD PROBABLY, WITHIN A FEW YEARS,
BUILD ONE THAT'S A FEW KILOMETERS IN SIZE,
AND WITHIN THE NEXT 50 TO 100 YEARS,
SCALE THAT UP TO THE SIZE AS YOU MIGHT NEED,
OR ANYONE MIGHT NEED, TO TRAVEL BETWEEN THE STARS.
Narrator: BUT EVEN USING SOLAR SAILS,
TRAVELING THE FOUR LIGHT YEARS TO EARTH
COULD TAKE A CENTURY OR MORE.
FOR A REALLY EXPRESS JOURNEY OF JUST A FEW DECADES,
ALIENS NEED TO HARNESS THE INCREDIBLE POWER
OF A MYSTERIOUS SUBSTANCE CALLED ANTIMATTER.
NOW, ANTIMATTER IS REALLY THE ULTIMATE FUEL
FOR INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, IT'S NOT THE STUFF OF SCIENCE FICTION.
IT'S VERY REAL.
Narrator: ANTIMATTER CONSISTS OF SUBATOMIC-SCALED PARTICLES
THAT ARE A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE ORDINARY PARTICLES
THAT MAKE UP ALL MATTER IN THE UNIVERSE.
BUT WHEN MATTER AND ANTIMATTER COME TOGETHER,
THE EXPLOSIVE RESULT IS PERFECT FOR SPACE TRAVEL.
THE REASON IT'S A GOOD FUEL
IS BECAUSE WHEN A PARTICLE OF MATTER AND ANTIMATTER
COME INTO CONTACT,
THEY ANNIHILATE AND PRODUCE ENERGY.
NOW, TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH ENERGY THAT IS,
TAKE A LOOK AT THE SHUTTLE BEHIND ME.
THAT EXTERNAL ORANGE TANK CONTAINS ALL THE FUEL NECESSARY
TO GET THE SHUTTLE TO ORBIT.
IT WOULD TAKE 50 OF THOSE TANKS
TO PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT OF ENERGY AS 3 GRAMS OF ANTIMATTER.
Narrator: JUST A TINY AMOUNT OF ANTIMATTER
COULD HELP ALIEN EXPLORERS CRUISE ACROSS THE GALAXY
AT UP TO 67 MILLION MILES PER HOUR,
REACHING EARTH IN A RELATIVELY SPEEDY 42 YEARS.
AND UNLIKE THE FLYING SAUCERS OF SCIENCE FICTION,
AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT COULD SURVIVE SUCH UNIMAGINABLE SPEEDS
NO MATTER WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE.
Johnson: WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SPACESHIPS,
WE USUALLY THINK ABOUT THE SHAPE OF A ROCKET --
TALL AND THIN AND VERY AERODYNAMIC --
AND THAT'S REALLY BECAUSE WE LIVE ON A PLANET
AND WE'VE GOT AN ATMOSPHERE ABOVE US.
WELL, ONCE YOU GET OUT OF THAT ATMOSPHERE,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT ANYMORE.
YOU DON'T HAVE DRAG, SO YOU CAN HAVE A SPACECRAFT
THAT HAS LOTS OF THINGS STICKING OUT ON IT OR NOT.
IT CAN BE A CUBE, LIKE A BORG CUBE.
BASICALLY, ONCE YOU'RE IN SPACE IN A VACUUM,
THE SHAPE JUST DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE.
Narrator: BUT ONCE ALIENS HAVE BUILT THE PERFECT THE VESSEL
FOR GETTING FROM "A" TO "B,"
THEY FACE A MUCH BIGGER CHALLENGE --
TRAVELING TO EARTH
ACROSS THE INFINITE AND DEADLY VOID OF SPACE
WITHOUT GETTING LOST.
Narrator: EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR GALAXY IS MASSIVE.
IT'S 100,000 LIGHT YEARS ACROSS, CONTAINS 100 BILLION STARS
AND AS MANY PLANETS ALL IN CONSTANT MOTION,
JUST 1 OF 200 BILLION GALAXIES
BELIEVED TO EXIST IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE.
SO WHEN EXTRATERRESTRIAL EXPLORERS
SET OFF ON THE LONG JOURNEY TO EARTH...
DR. JOHN PYE IS AN ASTROPHYSICIST
WHO THINKS ALIENS COULD PLOT A COURSE THROUGH SPACE
IN THE SAME WAY SAILORS NAVIGATE THE SEA.
IMAGINE THIS BOAT IS AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT.
THE OCEAN IS THE GALAXY THROUGH WHICH IT'S TRYING TO NAVIGATE.
WE'VE BEEN USING LIGHTHOUSES FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
TO NAVIGATE THE OCEANS.
WE CAN USE THE LIGHTHOUSE TO SHOW
HOW AN ALIEN MIGHT NAVIGATE THE GALAXY
USING PULSARS.
Narrator: PULSARS ARE A RARE TYPE OF STAR
THAT SPIN AROUND HUNDREDS OF TIMES A SECOND,
SHOOTING OUT CHARACTERISTIC FLASHES OF RADIATION
AT REGULAR INTERVALS, EXACTLY LIKE A LIGHTHOUSE.
Pye: FROM OUR SPACECRAFT HERE,
WE CAN USE THE LIGHT FROM THE TWO PULSARS HERE AND HERE
TO TRIANGULATE OUR POSITION.
Narrator: PYE BELIEVES AN ALIEN NAVIGATOR
COULD USE THE FLASHING BEAMS OF TWO OR MORE PULSARS
AS A KIND OF GALACTIC MARKER
TO CONSTANTLY GAUGE THE POSITION OF THEIR SPACECRAFT.
Pye: WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE VERY ACCURATELY
THE TIME IT TAKES EACH PULSE OF LIGHT
TO TRAVEL FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE TO THE BOAT.
USING THE KNOWN SPEED OF LIGHT,
WE CAN THEN DRAW A CIRCLE ON THE MAP.
WE'VE GOT A SECOND LIGHTHOUSE --
WE CAN DRAW A SECOND CIRCLE WHERE THE TWO INTERSECT.
THAT'S WHERE OUR BOAT IS.
AN ALIEN CAN DO THE SAME
USING PULSARS TO TRIANGULATE THE POSITION OF THE SPACECRAFT.
IN SPACE, AN ALIEN WOULD NEED THREE PULSARS, AT LEAST,
TO MEASURE A POSITION BECAUSE, OBVIOUSLY,
SPACE IS THREE-DIMENSIONAL.
ON THE SEA, IT'S TWO-DIMENSIONAL,
SO WE ONLY NEED TWO LIGHTHOUSES TO FIX OUR POSITION.
Narrator: WITH PULSARS
TRIANGULATING THEIR EXACT LOCATION,
THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL SHIP
CAN STEER A PERFECT COURSE FOR EARTH.
BUT TO AVOID OBSTACLES ALONG THE WAY,
ALIENS COULD TRY ANOTHER TECHNOLOGY
THAT'S BEEN USED BY SAILORS FOR YEARS.
THIS BOAT HAS RADAR TO AVOID ANY OBSTACLES IN ITS PATH
IN THE SAME WAY OUR ALIEN SPACECRAFT WILL NEED RADAR
TO AVOID ANY SPACE DEBRIS OR OTHER OBSTACLES.
WE ALREADY HAVE RADAR ON EARTH,
WHICH CAN DETECT SPACE DEBRIS IN EARTH'S ORBIT,
SO IT'S HIGHLY LIKELY THAT ANY ADVANCED CIVILIZATION
WILL HAVE SOMETHING AT LEAST AS ADVANCED AS OUR RADAR TODAY.
Narrator: BUT EVEN IF THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS
DON'T GET LOST ALONG THE WAY,
THE VOYAGE TO EARTH WILL TAKE DECADES.
ASTRONAUT MICHAEL BARRATT HAS SPENT MONTHS
LIVING ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
AND UNDERSTANDS THE CHALLENGES
LONG-DISTANCE TRAVELERS WILL FACE.
SO, EVERY CIVILIZATION THAT WANTS TO TRAVEL
HAS TO THINK ABOUT MIMICKING SOME OF THE CONDITIONS
ON THEIR HOME PLANET THAT WOULD SUSTAIN THEIR BODY.
REMEMBER THAT THEIR BODIES DEVELOPED UNDER GRAVITY,
SO THEY WOULD HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THEIR TRANSIT --
IN PARTICULAR, BONES AND MUSCLES,
WHICH WOULD DETERIORATE IN ZERO GRAVITY.
Narrator: FOR BEINGS WITH CARBON-BASED BODIES LIKE OURS,
YEARS SPENT IN WEIGHTLESSNESS WOULD BE DEADLY.
BUT BARRATT THINKS THAT UNLIKE OUR SPACECRAFT,
AN ADVANCED EXTRATERRESTRIAL VESSEL
WOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY.
YOU CAN SPIN THE SHIP,
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE THE NOTION OF A BIG SPINNING WHEEL,
à LA STANLEY KUBRICK.
Narrator: A SPINNING CRAFT
WOULD CREATE OUTWARD CENTRIFUGAL FORCE,
PULLING THE ALIEN CREW TOWARDS THE SIDES OF THEIR SHIP,
JUST AS GRAVITY ON EARTH KEEPS OUR FEET ON THE GROUND.
Barratt: SPINNING A SHIP HAS ITS PROBLEMS.
IT CAN ACTUALLY BE SOMEWHAT DISORIENTING.
A MORE ELEGANT SOLUTION WOULD BE TO HAVE A PROPULSION SYSTEM
THAT CONTINUALLY THRUSTS AND GIVES YOU A LINEAR G-FORCE,
SO TO SPEAK.
Narrator: WITH NO FRICTION IN SPACE,
ROCKETS DON'T NEED TO FIRE CONTINUALLY TO KEEP MOVING.
BUT IF THEY DID, THE RESULTING LINEAR G-FORCE
COULD CREATE ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY
THE SAME WAY ACCELERATING IN A CAR
PUSHES A DRIVER BACK INTO THE SEAT.
[ ENGINE REVS ]
NOW, IF YOU HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY,
PERHAPS YOU'VE MASTERED THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE GRAVITY,
AND THEN YOU REALLY COULD HAVE
AN ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY FIELD ON YOUR SHIP.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE TECHNOLOGY LEVEL
THAT A CIVILIZATION'S ATTAINED BEFORE IT VENTURES OUTWARD.
Narrator: GRAVITY WILL MAKE THE SHIP COMFORTABLE
AND HELP THE ALIENS STAY FIT.
BUT TO SURVIVE THE TRIP TO EARTH,
THEY'LL NEED SOMETHING MUCH MORE LOW-TECH -- FOOD.
Barratt: YOU HAVE TO CARRY ENOUGH FOOD
TO SUSTAIN YOUR VOYAGE
AND BE AS REGENERATIVE AS POSSIBLE.
THAT MEANS EVERY WASTE PRODUCT IN THE BODY GETS REUSED.
AS IT IS, WE RECYCLE ABOUT 70% OF OUR WATER
ON THE SPACE STATION, SO WHATEVER YOU SWEAT,
WHATEVER YOU PEE, YOU MAY BE DRINKING THAT IN YOUR COFFEE
IN THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS.
AND THE SAME WOULD BE TRUE OF ANY RACE WHO COMES TO VISIT US.
NOW, THE SCALE REQUIRED FOR REALLY LONG FLIGHTS
MIGHT REQUIRE A REGENERATIVE BIOMASS SYSTEM,
WHERE YOU'RE ACTUALLY GROWING GREEN PLANTS,
WHICH WE KNOW ABSORB CARBON DIOXIDE AND GIVE OFF OXYGEN,
BECOME FOOD SOURCES.
SO THAT IMPLIES A LARGER SHIP
WITH A MORE SOPHISTICATED AND CLOSED ECOLOGY.
Narrator: BUT COULD A RACE OF INTERSTELLAR ALIENS
BE SO ADVANCED THAT OUR IDEA OF FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY
IS THEIR ANCIENT HISTORY
AND INSTEAD, EXTRATERRESTRIALS ARE MASTERS OF SPACE AND TIME,
TRAVELING THROUGH THE COSMOS IN WAYS WE THINK IMPOSSIBLE?
Narrator: IN SCIENCE FICTION,
ALIEN SPACECRAFT ZIP ACROSS GALAXIES
FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
UNFORTUNATELY, IN SCIENCE FACT,
THE LAWS OF PHYSICS SAY NOTHING CAN GO QUICKER THAN LIGHT.
BUT PHYSICIST MICHIO KAKU THINKS THE LAW HAS A LOOPHOLE
THAT COULD ALLOW ALIENS TO TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE
USING THE SAME PROPULSION SYSTEM
THAT POWERS THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE.
WARP DRIVE IS SCIENCE FICTION,
BUT IT'S BASED ON A KERNEL OF SCIENTIFIC TRUTH.
IN EINSTEIN'S EQUATIONS, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS
ALLOWING YOU TO TAKE SHORTCUTS
THROUGH THE FABRIC OF SPACE AND TIME.
YOU CAN COMPRESS SPACE IN FRONT OF YOU.
SO INSTEAD OF GOING TO A NEARBY STAR,
THE STAR COMES TO YOU
BECAUSE YOU COMPRESS THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN YOU AND THE STAR.
Narrator: BY ENGAGING WARP DRIVE,
FASTER-THAN-LIGHT TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE,
MEANING ALIENS COULD REACH EARTH
FROM THE NEAREST SOLAR SYSTEM TO OURS IN JUST TWO WEEKS.
BUT HOW COULD A SPACESHIP SURVIVE THE UNIMAGINABLE FORCES
OF BENDING THE GALAXY WITHOUT BEING TORN APART?
PHYSICIST HAROLD WHITE THINKS AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SPACESHIP
WOULD PROTECT ITSELF USING A COCOON OF SPACE
THAT ISN'T COMPRESSED.
WHAT DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE?
YOU'VE GOT THIS CENTRAL SHIP
THAT WOULD BE SURROUNDED BY SOME TYPE OF EQUATORIAL RING
THAT WOULD HAVE ALL THE NEGATIVE VACUUM ENERGY
THAT'S NECESSARY TO MAKE THIS TRICK WORK.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, THIS RING THAT GOES AROUND THE SPACECRAFT
ACTUALLY KIND OF CREATES THIS BUBBLE
THAT ENCAPSULATES THE SPACECRAFT
SO THE SPACECRAFT SITS INSIDE OF THIS WELL-BEHAVED REGION
OF SPACE-TIME.
THE PROPER ACCELERATION IS FORMERLY ZERO,
SO WHEN YOU TURN THE FIELD ON,
RATHER THAN EVERYBODY SMACKING AGAINST THE BULKHEAD
AND MAKING FOR A VERY SAD EPISODE OF "DOCTOR WHO,"
THEY DON'T FEEL ANYTHING.
THE PROPER ACCELERATION IS ZERO.
SO, WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW IS,
WE'RE TRYING TO ACTUALLY GENERATE A MICROSCOPIC INSTANCE
OF THIS PHENOMENON IN THE LABS.
IT'S A VERY SCIENTIFIC PURSUIT.
YOU KNOW, DON'T GET TOO EXCITED.
IT'S NOT ANYTHING WE'RE GONNA BOLT TO A SPACECRAFT
ANYTIME SOON,
BUT IT COULD BE EXISTENCE-PROOF, AS IT WERE.
Narrator: BUT IF AN ALIEN SPACECRAFT HAD WARP DRIVE,
THEY NEED A LOT OF GAS IN THE TANK BECAUSE TO MAKE THE TRIP,
IT WOULD REQUIRE THE ENERGY OF 300 EARTHS.
IT SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE,
AT LEAST FOR A PRIMITIVE CIVILIZATION LIKE OURS.
WHEN PHYSICISTS TALK ABOUT CIVILIZATIONS IN OUTER SPACE,
WE DON'T TALK ABOUT LITTLE GREEN MEN,
WE TALK ABOUT SCALES OF ENERGY.
NOW, WHAT ARE WE ON THIS ENERGY SCALE?
WE ARE TYPE ZERO.
WE DON'T EVEN RATE ON THE SCALE.
A TYPE I CIVILIZATION IS PLANETARY.
THEY HARVEST ALL FORMS OF PLANETARY ENERGY.
THEY CAN CONTROL THE WEATHER.
PERHAPS THEY CAN MANIPULATE EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES,
THEY HAVE CITIES ON THE OCEAN.
EVENTUALLY, THEY EXHAUST THE POWER OF A PLANET
AND THEY BECOME TYPE II, STELLAR,
CONSUMING THE ENERGY OF THE MOTHER STAR ITSELF.
THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO DEFLECT METEORS AND COMETS
AND DELAY ICE AGES.
AN EXAMPLE MIGHT BE THE FEDERATION OF PLANETS
IN "STAR TREK,"
WHERE THEY COLONIZE A FEW NEIGHBORING STAR SYSTEMS.
EVENTUALLY, THEY EXHAUST THE POWER OF A STAR
AND BECOME GALACTIC.
THEY ROAM THE GALACTIC SPACE LANES.
THEY HAVE COLONIES IN HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF PLANETS
WITHIN THE GALAXY,
SORT OF LIKE THE EMPIRE IN THE "STAR WARS" SAGA.
Narrator: TRAVELING IN IMPERIAL-CLASS STAR CRUISERS
AND BENDING SPACE AND TIME TO THEIR WILL,
A GALACTIC ALIEN EMPIRE EONS MORE ADVANCED THAN US
MIGHT REACH EARTH ANY MINUTE NOW.
AND WHEN THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS LAND ON OUR PLANET,
THE VERY FUTURE OF HUMANITY WILL HANG IN THE BALANCE.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: LEADING PHYSICISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
THINK EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD REACH EARTH AT ANY TIME.
[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]
BUT WHEN THE BIG MOMENT ARRIVES
AND ALIENS EMERGE FROM THEIR SPACECRAFT
TO STAND FACE-TO-FACE WITH HUMANITY...
ASTROBIOLOGIST LEWIS DARTNELL
THINKS THE KIND OF EXTRATERRESTRIALS
LIKELY TO COME TO EARTH
WOULD HAVE A PHYSIOLOGY SIMILAR TO OURS.
Dartnell: IF AN ALIEN WERE TO VISIT US,
TO LAND HIS OR HER SPACECRAFT ON THE LAWN OF THE WHITE HOUSE
AND TO STEP DOWN,
WE'D EXPECT THAT IT WOULD BLINK BACK AT US
WITH A PAIR OF UNCANNILY FAMILIAR EYES.
WE'D EXPECT AN INTELLIGENT SPECIES
TO PROBABLY HAVE DESCENDED FROM A PREDATOR ANCESTOR,
TO BE CARNIVOROUS.
AND YOU WANT TO HAVE THROUGH-FLOW GUTS
WITH AN ENTRANCE AND AN EXIT.
IT'S A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY AND EFFICIENT WAY
OF EXTRACTING NUTRIENTS
OF THE FOOD THAT YOU TAKE INTO YOUR BODY WHEN YOU EAT.
THE INTELLIGENT ALIEN WOULD NEED TO HAVE ITS BRAIN,
ITS PROCESSING CENTER,
AT THE FRONT OF ITS BODY WHERE ITS SENSE ORGANS ARE, AS WELL,
TO MINIMIZE ITS REACTION TIME
AND FOR THE SENSE ORGANS TO BE IN THE FRONT
SO IT CAN SENSE WHERE IT'S GOING RATHER THAN WHERE IT'S BEEN.
Narrator: BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL VISITORS
POINT THEIR SENSE ORGANS AT US?
THIS IS THE TOUGHEST QUESTION OF ALL,
A QUESTION SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ALONE CANNOT ANSWER.
AT THE SETI INSTITUTE,
DOUG VAKOCH IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE INTENTIONS
OF AN ADVANCED ALIEN SOCIETY.
WE'RE NOT A DANGER TO ANY CIVILIZATION
THAT HAS WARP DRIVE AND THAT CAN TRAVEL,
SO IT MAKES NO SENSE TO THINK ANOTHER CIVILIZATION
WOULD COME TO DO US HARM.
IT'S MUCH MORE REASONABLE
TO THINK THAT THEY WOULD MAKE CONTACT
IN ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT OUR CULTURE.
Narrator: ASTROBIOLOGIST GEOFF MARCY AGREES.
HE THINKS IT'S COMMON SENSE
TO ASSUME THAT A MORE ADVANCED ALIEN CIVILIZATION
MEANS ALIENS THAT ARE MORE CIVILIZED.
HOPEFULLY THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY
TO INTERACT COOPERATIVELY AMONG THEMSELVES
IN SUCH A WAY THAT, INTROSPECTIVELY,
THEY CAN IMAGINE HOW TO INTERACT WITH US IN A PEACEFUL WAY,
IN A MUTUALLY COOPERATIVE WAY,
AND MAYBE EVEN A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL WAY.
WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE OUR LIBRARIES,
OUR MUSIC, OUR POETRY,
AND SOMETHING ABOUT OUR PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE.
Narrator: LIKE THE FEDERATION OF PLANETS IN "STAR TREK,"
FUTURISTIC EXTRATERRESTRIALS COULD HAVE MATURED
BEYOND CONQUEST AND GREED.
AND ONCE THEY MEET HUMANKIND HERE ON EARTH,
THEY MIGHT WANT US TO JOIN THEM.
ARE THEY INTERESTED IN US 'CAUSE THEY THINK WE'RE DANGEROUS
AND THEY DON'T WANT TO LET US RUN AMOK IN THE GALAXY
OR SOMETHING -- SO THEY'RE COMING HERE TO CONTROL US?
I THINK THAT'S UNLIKELY.
IS IT THAT THEY FEEL THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE
TO SOME SORT OF COSMIC COMMUNITY?
ANY CIVILIZATION THAT IS AGGRESSIVE AND EXPANSIONARY
WILL QUITE LIKELY HAVE SPREAD ALREADY --
WE WOULD KNOW ALL ABOUT IT --
OR THEY WOULD HAVE DESTROYED THEMSELVES.
SO IF THERE IS A GALACTIC CLUB OUT THERE,
I THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE FUNDAMENTALLY ALTRUISTIC
AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR.
Narrator: EVEN IF THE INTERSTELLAR VISITORS
ARE FRIENDLY AND COME TO EARTH TO EXCHANGE CULTURE,
CAN OUR PRIMITIVE SOCIETY COPE?
EVEN A FEW OF THE CRUMBS OFF THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL TABLE
COULD DESTABILIZE OUR CIVILIZATION.
THINK OF IT -- IF ALL OF A SUDDEN
WE WERE GIVEN DISINTEGRATOR RAYS AND GIVEN TELEPATHY MACHINES
AND THE ABILITY TO RE-CREATE MATTER IN ANY FORM,
A REPLICATOR,
THAT COULD DESTABILIZE MODERN CIVILIZATION.
WE'RE NOT READY TO HANDLE THIS VAST TECHNOLOGY.
Narrator: CYBERNETICIST KEVIN WARWICK
THINKS SUCH CONCERNS COULD BE THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES.
FOR HIM, ALIENS WON'T JUST BE
SHOWING MANKIND THEIR TECHNOLOGY --
THEY'LL BE USING IT TO KILL US.
AS SOON AS THEY SPOT THAT WE'RE HERE, THEY MAY WELL SAY,
"HEY, LET'S GO AND DESTROY THAT PLANET
AND TAKE SOME OF THE THINGS OFF IT."
IF THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO COME TO EARTH NOW,
THEY WILL HAVE TECHNOLOGY AND A WEAPON SYSTEM
THAT IS WAY BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAN DEAL WITH,
SO IT MAY WELL BE THE CASE
THAT WE SIMPLY CAN'T DEFEND AGAINST IT.
BEST, REALLY -- IF WE'RE SO INSIGNIFICANT --
KEEP OUR HEADS DOWN RATHER THAN ARGUE OR FIGHT AGAINST THEM.
IF IT COMES TO BLOWS,
IT'S GONNA BE LIKE KERMIT THE FROG VERSUS A T-REX.
IT'S GONNA BE NO CONTEST WHATSOEVER.
Narrator: INSTEAD OF COMING IN PEACE,
EXTRATERRESTRIALS MAY BE HERE AS RUTHLESS SPACE INVADERS,
AND WHAT THEY HAVE PLANNED FOR US
COULD BE NOTHING SHORT OF AN ALIEN APOCALYPSE.
[ GROWLS ]
Narrator: THE MOVIE VERSION OF AN ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH...
...OFTEN SEES HUMANITY ENSLAVED, TORTURED, OR JUST ANNIHILATED.
BUT IN REAL LIFE...
ASTROBIOLOGIST CHARLES COCKELL
DOESN'T THINK HOLLYWOOD GOES FAR ENOUGH
BECAUSE IN REALITY, THE ALIEN PLAN
FOR THE INHABITANTS OF EARTH COULD BE EVEN WORSE.
[ GROWLS ]
SO, WHY WOULD ALIENS WANT TO COME TO EARTH?
WELL, LIFE...
...THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY OF ORGANISMS ON THIS PLANET,
AN INCREDIBLE PROLIFERATION OF LIFE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT LIFE DOES NEED IS ENERGY.
IT NEEDS ENERGY TO GROW AND REPRODUCE,
AND THERE ARE NUMBER OF WAYS IN WHICH IT CAN DO THAT.
ONE WAY IS THROUGH PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
THESE LEAVES ARE COLLECTING SUNLIGHT,
AND THEY'RE USING THE ENERGY FROM THE SUNLIGHT
TO GROW AND REPRODUCE,
BUT IT'S NOT A VERY EFFICIENT WAY OF GATHERING ENERGY.
A MUCH BETTER WAY IS TO EAT THE PLANTS,
AND AN EVEN BETTER WAY IS TO EAT THE ANIMALS
THAT ARE EATING THE PLANTS.
AT EACH STEP, THE ENERGY BECOMES CONCENTRATED
AS IT MOVES FURTHER UP THE FOOD CHAIN.
SO ANIMALS THAT ARE AT THE TOP OF A FOOD CHAIN
ARE GENERALLY HUNTERS,
THE SORT OF ANIMALS THAT LIKE TO EAT OTHER ANIMALS, OR MEAT.
[ GROWLING ]
SO IF ALIENS COME HERE, THEY'LL PROBABLY BE PREDATORS,
AND LIKE US, THEY'LL EAT OTHER ANIMALS.
Narrator: AND IF THE MARAUDING EXTRATERRESTRIAL INVASION FORCE
SEE LIFE ON EARTH AS ONE HUGE COMBO-PLATTER,
THEN THE SPECIAL WOULD SURELY BE US.
SO IF ALIENS DECIDED THEY WANTED TO EAT US,
IT'D BE VERY EASY FOR THEM TO HARVEST US.
FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE VERY CONCENTRATED
AND THERE'S A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF US IN CITIES.
AND SECONDLY,
WE'RE THE MOST INTELLIGENT SPECIES ON THE PLANET.
SO IF THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED THIS PLANET
AS A HABITABLE WORLD, WE WOULD BE THEIR FIRST TARGET.
Narrator: MANKIND'S ONLY CHANCE IS,
THE TASTE OF HUMAN FLESH MAKES ALIENS SICK.
THEIR BIOLOGY JUST MAY BE INCOMPATIBLE WITH OURS.
THEIR PROTEINS AND THE WAY IN WHICH THEY'RE MADE
MAY BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE STUFF OF OUR BIOLOGY.
SO EVEN IF THEY DID WANT TO EAT US, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO.
Narrator: BUT AS THE ALIENS TAKE CONTROL OF OUR PLANET,
BEING EATEN COULD BE THE EASY WAY OUT
BECAUSE COCKELL BELIEVES THAT INSTEAD OF BECOMING LUNCH,
HUMANS COULD BE ROUNDED UP FOR A MORE TERRIBLE FATE --
DISSECTION.
Cockell: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
WE'VE HAD A BLOOD-THIRSTY HISTORY
OF PROBING AND ANALYZING THE HUMAN BODY
TO TRY AND UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS.
MAYBE ALIENS WILL DO THE SAME TO US.
BUT IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS.
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY
TO SCAN THE HUMAN BODY
THAT ALLOWS US TO STUDY SOME OF OUR BIOLOGY IN MEDICINE
WITHOUT DISSECTION.
IF THERE REALLY ARE INTELLIGENT ALIENS OUT THERE,
MAYBE THEY'VE DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGIES
THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO SCAN OUR BODIES
AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S INSIDE WITHOUT HAVING TO PULL US APART.
Narrator: ADVANCED AND HOSTILE ALIEN INVADERS
WILL HAVE NO END OF WAYS TO MAKE OUR LIVES HELL.
BUT THERE IS SOME HOPE BECAUSE PERHAPS,
AS A U.S. PRESIDENT ONCE PREDICTED,
WE INFERIOR HUMANS WOULD FIGHT BACK.
Reagan: I OCCASIONALLY THINK HOW QUICKLY
OUR DIFFERENCES WORLDWIDE WOULD VANISH
IF WE WERE FACING AN ALIEN THREAT FROM OUTSIDE THIS WORLD.
WHATEVER WE THINK OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN,
EVERYBODY AGREES THAT HE WAS A SHREWD JUDGE OF HUMAN CHARACTER.
IF THE ALIENS DO INVADE, YES, WE WOULD BAND TOGETHER.
IT'S PART OF HUMAN NATURE TO SET ASIDE OUR DIFFERENCES
TO COME UP AGAINST A COMMON ENEMY.
IT'S PART OF OUR GENETIC MAKEUP
THAT WE REALIZE THERE'S STRENGTH IN NUMBER, STRENGTH IN UNITY.
THERE HAVE BEEN HUNDREDS OF BOOKS WRITTEN BY PHILOSOPHERS
AND THEOLOGIANS AND STRATEGISTS
ABOUT NOT HOW TO DEAL WITH A WEAKER ENEMY
BUT HOW TO DEAL WITH A STRONGER ENEMY.
WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN FROM THE ALIEN INVADERS.
WE'D HAVE TO LEARN THEIR WEAK POINTS.
WE WOULD HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO USE THEIR ENERGY AGAINST THEM,
HOW TO USE THEIR TECHNOLOGY TO DEFEAT THEM.
THAT IS THE ART OF WAR.
Narrator: BE IT TO FIGHT INVADERS...
[ ALIEN GROWLS ]
...OR BEFRIEND CURIOUS VISITORS, SCIENTISTS ARE PREPARING EARTH
FOR FIRST CONTACT WITH EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE.
WE'VE SEEN WHERE ALIENS MIGHT LIVE,
WHAT THEY COULD LOOK LIKE, HOW INTELLIGENT THEY ARE,
AND HOW THEY CAN TRAVEL ACROSS TIME AND SPACE.
THE ALIENS ARE COMING, AND IT COULD BE SOONER THAN YOU THINK.