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Help from Extra-terrestrials? A central point of the Teilhard view of the future is that humans will evolve a higher state of consciousness and that a new order of society will emerge based on love, nurturing, and cooperation, rather than competition, aggressiveness, and war. What will this new society look like? Who can tell? It has been characteristic of the evolutionary process that, although in retrospect the major advances have seemed quite logical, the actual result and the process of getting there have been a complete surprise. We can confidently expect, therefore, that the unprecedented challenges we now face will be resolved in a way we cannot even imagine, and that this would be consistent with the way evolution has operated in the past. Nonetheless, for what it’s worth, we can speculate. Suppose our deliverance would come through the help of extra-terrestrials. Are there such creatures? Is there life beyond Earth? The possibility of a human-like race beyond Earth was not discounted by medieval theologians, nor was it thought to be ruled out by Church teachings. It was supposed that such a race might be still in the state of original grace, not having suffered the fall and expulsion from the equivalent of the Garden of Eden. On the other hand, they might have gone through a similar test and failed, thus requiring a Redeemer. In this case, it was possible that the Christ would be born among them and work out a Redemption. How seriously this medieval speculation was taken is hard to say, but it seems likely that the theologians were covering themselves in case the unexpected came to pass. Would that they had also prepared the way for the surprises that came with the discoveries of Galileo. Modern consideration of the question of extra-terrestrial intelligent life, of course, takes a quite different tack. It is estimated that there are several hundred billion galaxies in the universe and that each galaxy may contain several hundred billion stars. That very many of these stars have planets is taken for granted, and some of these planets are beginning to be detected. The number of planets in the universe, therefore, is so large that the probability that many of them harbor intelligent life seems to approach certainty. What would these intelligent beings look like? While it is possible that life would develop in a completely different form, based on an element other than carbon, without photosynthesis, without needing oxygen, it is unlikely that a completely different chemical basis would develop, given that our own form functions so efficiently. It is also difficult to imagine a morphology that would not include a spine and brain, along with organs for the senses. In addition, the basic vertebrate structure of head, torso, and four limbs seems to be a solution well worked out over years and unlikely to be matched by a different form. In short, it is likely that extra-terrestrials would look a lot like us. How about the timing? Not all life-bearing planets would have come into existence at the same time, and the coming of an advanced alien intelligence might be faster or slower than our own. Human intelligence on Earth has been in existence for some millions of years out of a planetary lifetime of about four billion years, and what could be considered an advanced civilization only for a few centuries. So the window for advanced life forms would be like a brief burst in an otherwise slow process. Alien intelligent life in different places might be still in the stone age or possibly more advanced than we are. If any of these more advanced forms were able to contact us, they might teach us some things that would help our survival. It is well known that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have consistently been sighted and tracked by reliable witnesses over at least the last fifty years. The UFOs have performed feats of speed and maneuverability that defy current understanding and technology. If they are piloted by aliens, they must be from a much more advanced society than our own. Would they be hostile? If so, perhaps we would need weapons in space to protect ourselves. But if Teilhard is right, their advanced technology would be accompanied by higher consciousness, including compassion and benevolence. In short, they might be anxious to help us overcome the crisis which our foolishness has brought us to. What an unexpected surprise that would be! Conventional scientific wisdom would consider all of this absurd. For one thing, the distances are so enormous that messages traveling at the speed of light (the maximum, says Einstein) would require years. In the quantum-mechanical world, however, it is well established (by the Bell hypothesis) that at least in the microscopic world two particles know one another’s state instantaneously even when separated by extremely long distances. So the Einstein limitation may not hold in all circumstances. And if particles are not limited this way, perhaps UFOs are not either. Even further, what would a higher state of functioning of our minds allow? There is good evidence that at least some individual persons have extra-sensory perception. Suppose this ability became widespread. Could we then count on ESP communication with aliens? Suppose we could be taught how to materialize objects out of the air as we needed them. Doing so would be forbidden by the laws of thermodynamics, of course, but these laws are already violated by radioactive processes and there is no reason to assume that no other violations are possible. If we could, our material shortages would disappear. Suppose we could learn to extract energy out of the void (the quantum field), in some way not yet understood. Again, thermodynamics forbids it, but, again, it might be overcome. That would make unlimited energy available to all. Suppose alien visitors could teach us spiritual techniques to overcome our self-centeredness, our fear, our greed, our aggressiveness and bring us to serenity and love. Would that not be a wonderful fulfillment of Teilhard’s dream? All of this has been speculation, based mostly on what we presently know or at least can imagine. Do we think Evolution is less creative than our speculation? No, we can confidently expect a pleasant surprise. Still, it is not a time to sit back and wait. We need to continue to press forward with our efforts, knowing that the Creator within each of us is working through us. We can be comforted that our own contribution, small as it might be, will be integrated with all the others, and that the solution will emerge a pleasant surprise. Still, wouldn’t it be great to build an I-Thou relationship with
an alien? Dom Roberti |