(ReacTor) Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans

[James Nicoll]

Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans

Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?

https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

[Robert Woodward]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

Certainly humans have found conquering other humans to be not always
entirely successful.

[William Hyde]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

Two that have been discussed here earlier are Dickson's "The Way of the
Pilgrim" and Silverberg's "The Alien years".

In the former we convince the Aliens that we are not worthy of their
rule, in the latter the Aliens leave for reasons of their own. Despite a
plethora of plucky J. W. Campbell types and a Heinlein clone, we do not
force them to leave.

In Steven Baxter's future history earth is occupied twice. The first
group runs away when a human's action implicates them in something the
Xeelee might disapprove of. In the second case a human tricks the
occupiers onto an action that renders their home world uninhabitable.
They leave Earth, but harbour a resentment against humans that lasts to
the heat-deal of the universe. Some people just can't let go.

While "The Interpreter" by Brian Aldiss is one of his minor novels, it
has a unique solution to alien occupation. In the large empires of
human history there were often pockets which were effectively
independent of the central government for reasons of poverty (not worth
taxing) remoteness, or intractability. While others wage a hopeless war
against Nul, the central character works to achieve this status for
Earth. Our backwater planet in in the empire, but not of it. And
empires don't last forever.


William Hyde

[Paul S Person]

Post by William Hyde

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

Two that have been discussed here earlier are Dickson's "The Way of the
Pilgrim" and Silverberg's "The Alien years".
In the former we convince the Aliens that we are not worthy of their
rule, in the latter the Aliens leave for reasons of their own. Despite a
plethora of plucky J. W. Campbell types and a Heinlein clone, we do not
force them to leave.

Which was why I found /The Alien Years/ to be ... ultimately
pointless.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

"Footfall" by Niven and Pournelle.

Lynn

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

"Footfall" by Niven and Pournelle.

"With Friends like These", Foster.

[WolfFan]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans
/

"Footfall" by Niven and Pournelle.
Lynn

The Snouts never really got that whole ‘rule’ thing down. They were
grossly incompetent: too small a force, dispersed into too many areas, with
no real plan. Frankly, they should not have landed, they should just have
heaved a few rocks and demanded surrender. And if they had down that their
digit ships would not have been dispersed all over, and if the US was stupid
enough to build and launch Michael they digit ships would swarm her. There
would need to be a _fleet_ of Michaels, and even the Snouts, dim as they
were, would notice _that_ being built and thump the building sites good from
orbit.

[Bobbie Sellers]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

"To serve man". Seriously with mushrooms on the side...

bliss

[Bobbie Sellers]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-
humans/

    "To serve man".  Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
    bliss

And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.

bliss

[Bobbie Sellers]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-
govern- humans/

     "To serve man".  Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
     bliss

    And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.
    bliss

That should be Strigoi, i.e. vampires.
bliss

[Robert Woodward]

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-
humans/

    "To serve man".  Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
    bliss

And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.
bliss

Except they weren't a food source.

[Lynn McGuire]

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-
humans/

    "To serve man".  Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
    bliss

And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.
bliss

Except they weren't a food source.

My thought exactly.

Lynn

[Bobbie Sellers]

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-
humans/

      "To serve man".  Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
      bliss

    And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.
    bliss

Except they weren't a food source.

My thought exactly.
Lynn

Well then what do vampires from Planet Earth eat besides
the blood of human persons. Don't tell me that they are all
kindly souls all who abstain from such outrages,for the sake
of the story.

bliss

[WolfFan]

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-
humans/

"To serve man". Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
bliss

And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.
bliss

Except they weren't a food source.

My thought exactly.
Lynn

Well then what do vampires from Planet Earth eat besides
the blood of human persons. Don't tell me that they are all
kindly souls all who abstain from such outrages,for the sake
of the story.

Nah. They’re alien-built nanotech powered by radiation. The reason why
young vampires can’t go out in daylight is that they can’t control
themselves and overeat when in sunlight. It’s a Major Plot Point. Now,
exactly how the alien tech got onto the Earth, when, and why, remains to be
seen but has all the earmarks of a Really Major Plot Point, inbound, at Dead
Slow Ahead as Weber & sharecropper who does the actual writing string things
out. Hint: the Bad Guys in the first book are now Good Guys, compared to the
Real Bad Guys, and were set up by the Real Bad Guys, and the actual invasion
force commander went against policy and has been repudiated. And the Ex-Bad
Guys are joining the Crusade against the Real Bad Guys. I see where Weber &
accomplice can get at least a half dozen books out of this. Probably more.
And, in the meantime, no Bazhell, no Merlin, and Honor is still stagnating.
Bah, humbug. No, I’m not a fan of Space Nanotech Vampires.

Post by Bobbie Sellers
bliss

[Bobbie Sellers]

Post by WolfFan

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by Lynn McGuire

Post by Robert Woodward

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-
humans/

"To serve man". Seriously with mushrooms on the side...
bliss

And "Out of the Dark" fairly recent Stigoi come to the aid of
their food source, humanity. Very hard on the Aliens.
bliss

Except they weren't a food source.

My thought exactly.
Lynn

Well then what do vampires from Planet Earth eat besides
the blood of human persons. Don't tell me that they are all
kindly souls all who abstain from such outrages,for the sake
of the story.

Nah. They’re alien-built nanotech powered by radiation. The reason why
young vampires can’t go out in daylight is that they can’t control
themselves and overeat when in sunlight. It’s a Major Plot Point. Now,
exactly how the alien tech got onto the Earth, when, and why, remains to be
seen but has all the earmarks of a Really Major Plot Point, inbound, at Dead
Slow Ahead as Weber & sharecropper who does the actual writing string things
out. Hint: the Bad Guys in the first book are now Good Guys, compared to the
Real Bad Guys, and were set up by the Real Bad Guys, and the actual invasion
force commander went against policy and has been repudiated. And the Ex-Bad
Guys are joining the Crusade against the Real Bad Guys. I see where Weber &
accomplice can get at least a half dozen books out of this. Probably more.
And, in the meantime, no Bazhell, no Merlin, and Honor is still stagnating.
Bah, humbug. No, I’m not a fan of Space Nanotech Vampires.

Post by Bobbie Sellers
bliss

Since I did not read the followups to the original I was ignorant but
it is not Aliend Tect but Atlantis Tech as explained
in the works of Lynsay Sands.

bliss

[Scott Dorsey]

Post by Bobbie Sellers

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

"To serve man". Seriously with mushrooms on the side...

They call it... MATANGO!
--scott

[Mike Van Pelt]

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

I fondly remember "Pandora's Planet". Christopher Anvil was
always a hoot. It's been some 50 years since I read it though;
I'm not sure how well it'd hold up. Interesting concept...
The aliens have been doing their thing for a very long time,
but they're not quite as intelligent, on average, as humans.

I must have read the Asimov story, but I don't remember
anything about it.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

I fondly remember "Pandora's Planet". Christopher Anvil was
always a hoot. It's been some 50 years since I read it though;
I'm not sure how well it'd hold up. Interesting concept...
The aliens have been doing their thing for a very long time,
but they're not quite as intelligent, on average, as humans.
I must have read the Asimov story, but I don't remember
anything about it.

_Pandora's Planet_ was most recently (as far as I know) re-issued
from Baen with an extra story set in the same universe. I wish
Anvil had done some more on the main storyline, as he had kind of
set up the Humans & Centrans as a useful sparkplug/flywheel combo
at the end of the book, but then introduced a new complication which
he never addressed.

[Gary R. Schmidt]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Mike Van Pelt

Post by James Nicoll
Five Stories About Aliens Attempting to Govern Humans
Maybe conquering humans is a bad idea?
https://reactormag.com/five-stories-about-aliens-attempting-to-govern-humans/

I fondly remember "Pandora's Planet". Christopher Anvil was
always a hoot. It's been some 50 years since I read it though;
I'm not sure how well it'd hold up. Interesting concept...
The aliens have been doing their thing for a very long time,
but they're not quite as intelligent, on average, as humans.
I must have read the Asimov story, but I don't remember
anything about it.

_Pandora's Planet_ was most recently (as far as I know) re-issued
from Baen with an extra story set in the same universe. I wish
Anvil had done some more on the main storyline, as he had kind of
set up the Humans & Centrans as a useful sparkplug/flywheel combo
at the end of the book, but then introduced a new complication which
he never addressed.

Oh yes, "Pandora's Legions", which collects the subsequent short stories
set in the Centran Empire.

And it does have a lovely twist and it is a shame he never went on with it.

Cheers,
Gary B-)