Saturday, June 30, 2007

[Another] twist on aliens


So I know the whole "aliens from another planet" thing has been done. Many times. Many, many times, and without a whole lot of variations. That's the point of an idea I've been tossing around.

See, aliens--like hobbits or ghosts or other forms of otherworldly creatures--give us an opportunity to hold up our own civilization in comparison with another. It's a great tool for modern morality tales or even satire, because with a benchmark comparison our own flaws are amplified. I think most modern writers have considered using alien beings at one point or another, for something.

My own recent idea was in keeping with my theory that by twisting a story element 180 degrees, we can derive a more interesting and less typical scenario. In the case of aliens, rather than having them be an advanced technological society from light years across the univers, why not have them be a not-so-advanced civilization from somewhere nearby? The point of such a story, I would imagine, would be that such a society can thrive without the bells and whistles of modern technology such as laptop computers, instant coffee, and self-cleaning ovens. The aliens themselves may represent an offshoot of humanity; a tribe, so to speak, who at one point in our evolution split off from the main line and left to do their own thing. And they've done great. What would we think of such creatures? How would we treat them, if they truly came in peace? WOULD they come in peace? Who knows?

-Mark

No comments: