Alien spacecraft lands in major city.

[invisible]

What would you do if fellow space travellers reached our world and landed right out in the open. Flee or watch and wait? I'd flee. My parents always told me never to trust strangers. Nobody would be stranger than an extra-terrestrial.

Even if they are only stopping for repairs, I wouldn't trust them to play nice, or our own military not to screw up for that matter. Just what exactly is earth's first contact plan? Is there one?

[Luckmeister]

Hmmm...I would probably try to observe them without being seen. I think what most people would do would depend on how the aliens presented themselves.

If the ship was dark, angular and had a deep growl eminating from its bowels, they would probably run away.

If the ship had a golden glow, was halo shaped and had harp music wafting out, they would probably kneel in reverence and quickly think up a name for their new religion.

But if the ship had "Prize Patrol -- You may already be a winner" written on it in dazzling neon lights, it would be instantly swarmed by crazed humans, each wanting to be first to reach it.

[clint]

Even if they are only stopping for repairs, I wouldn't trust them to play nice...

This would be a particularly interesting, but also potentially very dangerous, scenario.

On the plus side:
- they haven't come for outright destruction or colonization
- they might be willing to trade
- there might be an opportunity for a longer-term collaboration

On the other hand:
- they have not come for "humanitarian" reasons or out of scientific curiosity
- it's not an official contact: whatever rules their society normally imposes for dealing with alien species might be ignored by this party
- it's an emergency: playing nice, or avoiding collateral damage, might not be very high on their priority list

[kevin1981]

Hmmm...I would probably try to observe them without being seen.

Yes, basically hide and watch what happens.

[skep155]

I'd probably run for the hills. However if they were stopping for repairs it would present us with a handy opportunity to trade with them. Then again there's always the potential for someone to misunderstand the nature of the deal.

[astromark]

I see a trend... So, may I ask ? What would you do?

If a vehicle containing what appeared to be aliens landed in a city park ?

Regardless of any apparent actions friendly or not. Getting some distance from that place might be my action of choice...

[Canis Lupus]

Wait to see what their females looked like.

[Paul Beardsley]

Well presumably they're pretty powerful to have got here in the first place.

If their intentions are hostile, running for the hills is probably not a useful course of action, as they are probably capable of levelling said hills, and eager to do so.

If their intentions are benevolent, it might be a good idea to be on the scene early.

So my ideal self would stick around, try to talk to them, be an ambassador for the human race, and so on.

But my real self would probably react with more fear, not least because there could be some unfortunate misunderstandings at the early stages, even if they are benevolent.

[Jeff Root]

It would be astronomically unlikely that I would be anywhere nearby.
Even if we specify that it lands in an open field within five miles of where
I am right now, the chances of my seeing it are so miniscule as to be
dismissed.

But if, miraculously, I was right there when it came down, I would be looking
in the windows before they had time to open the hatch. In case they could
read English, I would write on index cards, saying, "Hi! Welcome to Earth!
My name is Jeff Root. How can I help you folks?" and hold them up to the
window. And of course I'd say the same aloud in case they could hear me.

This is important. This means something!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[EDG]

I'd be watching the news quite intently.

[Luckmeister]

But if, miraculously, I was right there when it came down, I would be looking
in the windows before they had time to open the hatch. In case they could
read English, I would write on index cards, saying, "Hi! Welcome to Earth!
My name is Jeff Root. How can I help you folks?" and hold them up to the
window. And of course I'd say the same aloud in case they could hear me.

This is important. This means something!

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

If you watch the 1950s version of War Of The Worlds, you may rethink that choice.

[EDG]

If you watch the 1950s version of War Of The Worlds, you may rethink that choice.

Or ID4, for that matter.

[Trakar]

What would you do fellow space travellers reached our world and landed right out in the open. Flee or watch and wait? I'd flee. My parents always told me never to trust strangers. Nobody would be stranger than an extra-terrestrial.

Even if they are only stopping for repairs, I wouldn't trust them to play nice, or our own military not to screw up for that matter. Just what exactly is earth's first contact plan? Is there one?

Its unlikely that a landing craft is the primary interstellar vessel, the highest priority should be placed upon capture of one of the creatures for an in-depth study and the same goes for samples of their technology. Landing in a major city unannounced and without prior contact establishes several areas of grave concern.

[hypergreatthing]

Try and establish communications with them. Chances are if they knew where to land, they did their homework and could communicate.

[ggremlin]

I would stay away from the immediate area of the craft. It has just completed a long voyage of unknown duration with a who know what type of propulsion system that may be dangerous to us carbon-based life forms. Also it may have automated defense systems to deal with those type of reception meetings we so helpfully beamed into space in the form of movies.

[xylophobe]

I would stay away from the immediate area of the craft. It has just completed a long voyage of unknown duration with a who know what type of propulsion system that may be dangerous to us carbon-based life forms. Also it may have automated defense systems to deal with those type of reception meetings we so helpfully beamed into space in the form of movies.

What other base could life exist in other than carbon-based?

These aliens would be obviously more advanced than our civilization which would presuppose that they already had rules of engagement with other life forms. They would probably observe us, if this was their first visit.

If their ship was disabled then they would eventually emerge to find whatever it is they needed to fix the ship.

We would probably do something stupid like bring in tanks, artillery, trigger-happy troops, and do flyovers with military aircraft. It would all turn ugly in short order and then the aliens would radio back to home to send in the battlestars to annihilate humanity.

At least we would see something kool before we died.

[Jeff Root]

True, the Space Shuttle has hydrazine, nitrogen tetroxide, and ammonia
onboard, which are all highly toxic, but if it somehow landed in the middle
of a city and I was one of the people nearest by, I would walk right up to
it and offer directions to the astronauts. Or whatever they needed.

If an alien spacecraft landed in the middle of a city, it would be a pretty
clear indication that it was designed for landing in cities, and would be
reasonably nontoxic. I wouldn't worry about it any more than I worry
about the fumes from a car-- which I do worry about, but not enough to
make me run away whenever I see one.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[swampyankee]

If they landed in LA or the Village, it's possible nobody would notice

I suspect that the answer to what people would do would very much depend on where they land and what the local and global political climate is like.

[Kinetic]

I'd get a group of people and attempt to overwhelm the visitors (provided they hadn't attacked first). Thus would begin the glorious Human Galactic Empire.

In reality I'd stick around but hide. There's no point running, I wouldn't be able to get far enough away if they were hostile.

[kamaz]

Below is an account of such UFO encounter by a police officer from my country:

At about 1 a.m. we get a phone call from a leader of a village 10 km out, that an UFO has landed near the village. Me, my partner, and the dispatch officer (an old, big guy) get in the car. We go to the village and wow. Everyone's out and looking at the fields. About 1.5 km out, there really is an UFO sitting in the middle of the field. I see it moves from time to time, it's lit up, I can even see the silhouettes of walking aliens. The villagers are all too scared, so three of us move forward. The dispatcher lags behind, because he is not that courageous. We start to run. Suddenly I hear "Help, they got me!" from behind. We turn around, switch on the torchlights, and the guy is sitting waist-deep in the mud. We help him out, and we go closer to the spacecraft. I get goose bumps. We approach, and find that the UFO is a repair train, repairing the railroad. It was a one track line, so they could only work at night. We get the dispatcher home, so he can change into a clean uniform.

I think it's pretty representative. If it was really an alien craft, it would have probably went the same way. I think that our animal nature would kick in: Run away, hide and observe. If there are no outright hostilities, the most brave ones will slowly approach the craft and see what it is about. Then probably someone will try to trade something. Assuming nobody gets hurt (accidentally or otherwise), the initial encounter would probably go pretty smoothly. My biggest concern would be the reaction of so-called authorities. Compared to an average mob, these guys are completely irrational and unpredictable.

[eburacum45]

What other base could life exist in other than carbon-based?

One alternative to carbon-based organic lifeforms would be artificial lifeforms made from metals, plastic and silicon. On the other hand a highly advanced artificial life form might largely be made from carbon based materials; carbon is an extraordinarily useful material. Large parts of a hypothetical advanced artificial lifeform might consist of diamond, or carbon nanotube, for instance.

If so you probably wouldn't want to try to beat it in unarmed combat.

[swampyankee]

One alternative to carbon-based organic lifeforms would be artificial lifeforms made from metals, plastic and silicon. On the other hand a highly advanced artificial life form might largely be made from carbon based materials; carbon is an extraordinarily useful material. Large parts of a hypothetical advanced artificial lifeform might consist of diamond, or carbon nanotube, for instance.

If so you probably wouldn't want to try to beat it in unarmed combat.

Probably wouldn't help too much if you're armed and it isn't. Bullets probably wouldn't bounce off, but it may move fast enough to actually catch them and throw them back

[Jason_Roberts]

I'd probably ask: "You traveled all of this way just for us? What was wrong with a phone call?"

[Canis Lupus]

I'd probably ask: "You traveled all of this way just for us? What was wrong with a phone call?"

Fair enough question really, and you'd have to wonder about the motivation of just showing up on the doorstep uninvited and unannounced.

[Noclevername]

Fair enough question really, and you'd have to wonder about the motivation of just showing up on the doorstep uninvited and unannounced.

If they can appear unannounced, that assumes some kind of FTL travel, as any technological artifact moving into our Solar System at great speed would probably be pretty noticeable from a long way off-- their waste heat if nothing else, and in all probablility their braking system, whether it be solar sail, magnetic field or retro-rockets. For them to just "pop" into view without any prior detection either means effectively some form of teleportation (in which case this may simply be the easiest way for them to explore), or some form of stealth or cloaking technology which apparently violates the laws of thermodynamics (in which case not only are their intentions probably hostile or at least sneaky, but their technology is at the indistinguishable-from-magic stage. In which case I, for one, welcome our new godlike overlords.)

[MaDeR]

I consider probability of this scenario as practically zero (and this is ommiting chances of happening this to me versus anyone else on Earth). Reality is not Z-class SF movie, folks.

[swampyankee]

Well, the most important thing to remember is that some ships just don't need to land. I do tend to think the likelihood of this is infinitesimally small, but probabilities have never stood in the way of a good discussion of hypotheticals.

[invisible]

It hasn't happened yet. So the probability is extremely unlikely. I wouldn't say zero. Its a long way between stars but that might not matter to some species. Or robots.

[AGN Fuel]

If it landed in the centre of Sydney, I can pretty much guarantee it would have a parking ticket on the windscreen 15 minutes later.

[Quotheraving]

Any advanced alien race that intended us harm would hardly be likely to land in a major city, that seems to be going a little out of their way simply for the amusement of being able to tell us to our faces "Die puny earthcreatures!"... I'd stay.