It had been well over a decade since first contact. Since man met “aliens,” since we began learning of their customs, their ways, their desires, and what they wanted of Earth. We were lucky, in that they simply wanted us to join them. See it turns out much of our part of the galaxy was in Federation Space. Thousands of planets, and fewer species. It seems the galaxy teamed with life, and we had been an unaware neighbor. It was always my dream as a child to one day meet aliens, to travel the stars, and to live in worlds like those seen in sci-fi. After years of one disclosure after another, I got all the answers I sought, and I learned so much. And what I learned was that Space, it was so incredibly boring. Boring might not be the best word, perhaps disappointing is more apt, but boring keeps coming to mind.
As below, so above. It turned out that life in space wasn’t all that different from life on earth. It was almost like some sort of cruel joke really. See it turns out all of those ancient alien theories and stories were far more accurate than we could have imagined. It seemed that one of the eldest races in the galaxy was incredibly… human. They weren’t human, don’t get me wrong. Their name escapes me as I write this, but that hardly matters. What you should know is that thousands of years ago, they sort of “Manifest Destinied” all over the galaxy. They spread all over the galaxy, finding planets with life on them and doing all sorts of experiments. It was no coincidence that many major religions across the world had “sky daddies” and “earth mommies.” This race of alien ancestors would land on planets, find a species they deemed “intelligent and evolved” enough, and would genetically alter them. They would splice in their DNA, and edit others. Turns out Earth was just one of countless worlds they had played with. Masters of genetic manipulation, they visited so many worlds like horny teenagers with the latest in gene altering tech, and impregnated worlds with their experiments.
They did it for many reasons. Sometimes they were just looking for interesting DNA to splice into their own, taking their bodies ever closer to “Godhood.” On Earth, it was more like having children in olden days. Sure they did it for fun, for mixing DNA, for making something new and beautiful, but also for the labor. Children to raise and boss around, helping them grow food and dig up precious metals for their factories. After thousands of years they would take their leave, and our past with them forgotten.
All of this led to one lame reality, that alien life was very much like us. Thousands of “human” races across the stars. It was like a science fiction show that didn’t have the budget or imagination to create a unique species for each world, instead seeing very human-like beings on nearly every other planet. Don’t get me wrong, there were unique aliens. Those who evolved without the help or tampering of the elders. Unfortunately there were so many humanoid species, that even those that looked the most different from us seemed like they could possibly have shared a lineage with us at some point or another. The galactic federation had vast archives documenting all of the species' histories. Far too many of us shared the same absent fathers though. It was so incredibly boring to see. Did these elders have no artistic inspiration? Did they have laws saying they have to stick to this general model? It was all so long ago we may never know. While a younger me dreamed of blue skinned, tentacle haired, three breasted alien women; I now find disappointment in a wide range of human colored aliens, most indistinguishable from any random earthling. At least they were more realistically fuckable than what scientists would consider “realistic” for a species alien to our world.
As for life in space, it wasn’t that much different than life on earth. The galactic federation managed to stop major wars from breaking out, but all in all, things weren’t that different. We had hoped they may be able to show us new ways to get along with ourselves, to fix our earthly problems and become better than we are. What we found was much the same. Sure, the vastness of planets meant endless cultures. Endless ideals. Endless amounts of people who thought their “way” was the right way. Politicians who fought and struggled to cooperate. Cultures that clashed and wanted others to stay on their own planets. Sure we opened up trade. We joined the Federation.
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Some would worry about war, but that turned out not to be different than it is now. Sure war was banned, but sometimes worlds would still fight. Many of these worlds were just as divided as our own, and would fight amongst themselves, despite being space bound and trading with the rest of the federation. With such advanced technologies, superweapons were a dime a dozen. Rarely did people commit all out wars like we did in the past. They either found their weapons too powerful, and would destroy that which they aimed to take or rescue; or they would have such advanced countermeasures that with a thought they could shut off a nuke. The press of a button could harmlessly disperse the energy of a weapon like the “death star.” At that point there were only two ways to war. The most common was subterfuge. Use of propaganda, spies, small surgical kill teams, and bribery. Illegal actions kept in the dark to sway galactic politics. Most citizens wouldn’t even know they’re at war. Just another act of terrorism, if they knew anything happened at all. On the flipside was all out war. This was rare. Super weapons were so destructive that they were only really useful for acts of genocide, and those fighting them often had countermeasures that would shut them down without a death. So the only real way to fight was in swarms. Overwhelming your opponent with such mass and force that certainly something would get through and be effective. Luckily relations rarely got so bad that a world would commit itself to murder on such large scales.
Life on every planet varied with each culture. With cultures on earth being so varied, it wasn’t hard to find a planet that reminded you of home. Working classes here that were enslaved by their economic system. Strict theocratic worlds there. Worlds of nomads that lived like hippies, low technology and hardly seeming spacefaring, even if they were. “Freedom” really is subjective.
When it came down to it, things up there really were much like they are down here on earth. It was all so eerily similar that it was disappointing to me.
As for that elder race of space daddies, they were still around. They were part of the galactic federation even! Although their role seemed more to remind us that they were still there than anything, like many of the more elderly races. They looked like gods among men. Giants who took all the best DNA they could find across the galaxy and evolve themselves to gods. It seemed they peaked long long ago. They reached their godhood. Achieved their perfect immortal bodies and advanced their tech to the point that acts of god were things even a child could do. Now their species was like that of a deadbeat absent father. They had long since grown tired of helping their child races grow and evolve. It took incredible amounts of bureaucracy within the federation to get them to do just about anything. They had stopped caring about their labors and had long since found their peace of mind in simply living, for there were no more goals for them to achieve as a species. They had nothing left to conquer and had grown bored with their toys millennia ago. Now they mostly minded their own business. Their politicians in the federation were often either aloof with neglect or pompous with an air of righteousness. Old men who think they should be in charge because they are the oldest, the most evolved, and overall perfect. It was hard to argue that they were anything less. They really were leagues ahead of any species that had been space fairing for anything less than ten thousand years.
When we learned of life in space and all of its wonders and familiarities it took some time to adjust. A decade or so, but no more. Most of us got along easily. The more we learned, the more things changed, the more it all seemed to stay the same. Our scientists would learn much. New avenues of science, philosophy, and our understanding of the universe would emerge as we learned from the many species. For those in those fields it was mind blowing bliss. As for the religious types, they struggled at first. Outburst of violence, accusing cries of demons and angels, acts of terrorism and many confused and lost faithfuls. After some years they would calm down though. They would eventually find solace in putting faces to their “Gods.” Some would worship the elder race as living gods. With actual faces it looked more like worshiping an idol, but is there really much difference? Some religions evolved, finding similar religions amongst the stairs to their own. They would claim that their beliefs are ratified in the many other religions grown separately amongst the stars to reach the same conclusions. “It must be right!” they would say.
As for most of us, life was all the same. We went to work. We watched countries and worlds war over resources, even if not scarce. Leaders manipulate for control over worldly affairs. People kill in the name of their religions. Smugglers transporting illicit goods. Sure our technology hit another revolution and exploded in fantastic ways, but not much would change our people and cultures.
As above, so below; as below, so above. Things really weren’t all that different up in the stars.