Why would Extraterrestrials bother to abduct people? Does the Prime Directive ring a bell?

Home » Why would Extraterrestrials bother to abduct people? Does the Prime Directive ring a bell?

juin 21, 2023

When I was a young kid, I never missed a single episode of Star Trek. I was and still am a huge fan. And one thing in particular that always fascinated me was their respect for certain ‘galactic’ rules. One of them was called: “The Prime Directive” ⁽¹⁾ aka « Starfleet General Order 1” or the « Non-interference Directive.” In this fictional universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive is a guiding principle that prohibits Starfleet personnel and spacecraft from interfering in the normal development of any extraterrestrial society. In other words, normal cultural evolution is considered sacred and should not be tampered with. In a way, this directive also aims to protect unprepared civilizations from the danger of starship crews that introduce advanced technology, knowledge, and values before these civilizations are ready. It’s been featured in many Star Trek episodes as part of a moral question over how best to establish diplomatic relations with new civilizations.

But the reason I bring this up is that even if this directive is in the realm of science fiction, it’s not so farfetched and I could easily imagine it being applied to our own reality. With this in mind, why would any extraterrestrial civilization want to share its advanced technologies with a less advanced, primitive, and violent society like ours? And what would their motivation for abducting earthlings against their will and making them undergo unpleasant experiments be?

Of course, several far-out speculative theories and ideas have been floating around for a long time when it comes to “alien abductions,” ranging from studying human DNA to conducting a breeding or genetic experiment, to attempting to create a hybrid species by combining human and extraterrestrial DNA, to being interested in Earth’s resources, such as minerals, water, or biological materials. Some “abductees” or contactees have even described their encounters with extraterrestrial beings in a more positive light, saying they came to convey spiritual or metaphysical messages or to study human behavior, emotions, and social interactions.

I want to make it clear that it would never occur to me to question or second guess what people who claim to have been abducted or contacted by extraterrestrials have felt. I’m only trying to look at this phenomenon objectively and try to explain it.

Imagine that we, earthlings, had the technology to physically travel outside our solar system and we discovered another inhabited planet whose humanity has a level of science significantly inferior to our own. How would we deal with such a civilization? To answer this question, let us first imagine that there was a cosmic law that states that any time a civilization with the technological means to travel in space is able to do so at speeds exceeding the speed of light and perform maneuvers that defy not only the imagination but also the known laws of physics it also means that it has reached a superior level of wisdom that has enabled it to overcome violence and self-destruction. If such a cosmic law actually existed today, what would this mean for our humanity? It would mean that due to our lack of wisdom and warmongering tendencies, there is still a chance we might self-destruct. Such cosmic law would mean that there is a natural selection taking place at the cosmic level, a sort of safety mechanism that prevents any civilization from spreading violence in space. Therefore, any civilization with the ability to travel in the intersidereal space has necessarily mastered its aggression and is without question peaceful and respectful of life.

So, this begs the question: “Why in the world would a peaceful civilization with a technology thousands of years superior to our own come all the way here to abduct and traumatize humans? Nothing justifies such an act. Nothing. Not to dismiss our own technological advancements, but with the little science we have, we are already able to analyze the chemical composition of stars or planets located light years away from us, to know if they can support life as we know it, to share human scans via the internet, to perform remote surgeries ⁽²⁾, to do computer dissection (Digital dissection) ⁽³⁾, to do multi-task and do it remotely. Now, let us imagine what we will be able to do in 10, 15, or 20 years with our science progressing exponentially. I let you imagine what it will be like 100 or 1000 years from now!

To me, it’s obvious that we will not have to abduct humans (therefore taking them without consent) and animals to study them. I also believe it’s best to look at what science is telling us in order to explain what people claiming to have been abducted have actually experienced⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾.

Extraterrestrials love us, care about what’s happening on our planet, are making us aware of the dangers that await us, and, to a certain extent, are protecting us against ourselves. But above all, they are also preparing us for their imminent return ⁽⁶⁾. I conclude on a more reflective note: What if these extraterrestrials actually created us and all life on Earth scientifically⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾?

Food for thought!

Daniel Turcotte, director general, Embassy for extraterrestrials
danielt@ETembassy.org