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Please wait for your question to be answered before complaining that I haven't answered you. If I missed it, I'm sorry. I've ignored a couple of questions because they were silly or insulting, so please be nice if you want to be answered. I can be reached at boonefromulath@googlemail.com if you want to be sure I read your question. Hello. As I stated in the title of this thread, I am an alien. More specifically, I am from a planet two arms away from this arm of the galaxy. I am unsure how to describe it's position in your own astronomical terms, but in the majority of the images and renderings of our galaxy that I have seen on Earth, we are two arms clockwise of yours. I have been exploring your planet, Earth, for one and a half years, having landed in the United Kingdom in 2007. (This is due to unavoidable miscalculation on the part of my people - the latest data we could get as to where your population is most advanced is several hundred years old. I had expected Britain to still be the dominant state - congratulations on the swift development and independence of America.) The first man I encountered was a man dressed as what I think was a town crier, who gave his name as Boone when asked. I should note that for the duration of my stay, I am remaining disguised as a human for reasons I will explain later. Boone and I had a rather confusing dialogue (both of us were rather bewildered at each other's manner of speaking. I was still somewhat unfamiliar with English conversation, and he switched dialects mid-dialogue, as it were). It was later a source of much amusement to me when I discovered that he had been some sort of salesman for insurance. Nevertheless, I adopted his name as I assumed it was an acceptable name for a human, and after studying forms of address for a short period, I came to introduce myself as Mr. Boone. I am here on a [recreational] and exploratory visit, as is one of my personal [hobbies]. (I use square parenthesis to denote where I have used a word or phrase that is not entirely accurate, but the closest approximation in English). I am sure that some humans would be disappointed that I was not here to make an official 'first contact', but that is the situation. My species is not generally accustomed to introducing new races to the [network of communicating planets] of this galaxy. I am, by choice, not intending to introduce new technology or medicine to your race. I am not prohibited from doing so, nor am I prohibited from making official contact, but I, and most other people of my society, would not do so, for reasons which you may or may not like, understand, or want to hear. For now I will offer the explanation that it would be [wrong] to alter your planet's future by giving you technology you have not discovered. This explanation carries a note of truth, but the real reasons are more complex and I may discuss them at a later date. about me, my planet and my people The phonetic spelling of my name is approximately awr-bt-n[yi]-ah. The 'yi' is in square parenthesis as it is not quite representative of the vowel sound my language has that yours does not. While on Earth, Mr. Boone is my preferred name. I am 58 years old, identify myself as an unskilled [scientist], and have travelled to 7 [lonely] planets and nearly all planets of the [network], of which there are more than 20. My excursions to [lonely] planets last between six months and three years, and I produce no in-depth scientific reports when I return from them. I intend to stay the full three years and perhaps even longer on Earth, as your planet is in extreme turbulence and I find it engrossing. My own planet is called (again, best approximation) Ulath, which is a corruption of an ancient word for 'floor' or 'base' in my language. It is slightly larger than Earth, is approximately 40% water and 60% land, and has lower gravitational pull which I understand is due to a lower density, though I have never studied that branch of [science]. I intend to in the future. Because of this, there are many more flying creatures on my planet than yours, though the most intelligent are land-dwellers. The planet's structure is somewhat similar to Earth, tectonically, and you will find that this is the case in many life-supporting planets. However, Ulath is much colder than Earth, and many regions of land are untenably cold for us. Most Ulath creatures live in regions of about 'twenty below freezing' in your terms, and traveling on many parts of Earth would be incredibly unpleasant for a Ulath native without sufficient modification. My particular species are known to themselves as (approximately) "melrins". Like you, we have two arms, two legs, a torso and a head, two eyes and a mouth. Our ear-analogs also number two, though we have no noses, smelling instead through our mouths. We have thin inner skin surrounded by thick, solid keratinous material, thinner and less even at the joints and on the stomach. We are generally better than humans at swimming. Many melrins spend their whole lives on Ulath, doing as they wish. A percentage of the population travel to other planets, but if any have been to Earth, I found no record of it. We are significantly more technologically advanced than you, but not as far as you might think. You could be much closer to where we are now if you had chosen different things to study and investigate, but perhaps it is best that you remain as you are for a while longer. Our society has not had a war in tens of centuries, indeed it is difficult to envision circumstances on Ulath that would lead to war. The planet has a population of perhaps 800,000,000, with the believed highest population in history being four billion. what i think about your planet Earth is somewhat interesting in that despite developing in a similar way to most life-supporting planets of it's age, it has had possibly the most conflict I have seen in what describes itself as 'civilisation'. While I have never seen a planet that had ended war at this stage of development, your planet has a LOT of war for surprisingly little reason. The things you are doing with medicine are wonderful! You are certainly the most advanced species of your age that I know about. The distribution of medicine is rather suspect but the science you have behind it is amazing. I hope that you can resolve the issues you have soon and really get to work on this, you could really make a lot more people happy with a bit of effort. Your food, also, is phenomenal. Everything is so intense here! It varies greatly from area to area but the intensity of flavour is fantastic. Particular favourites include Marmite, pepper, garlic and curry, all of which I have consumed great amounts of. Your desserts are a little sweet for my liking, but less sugar-based sweet things like sweetened tea, coffee and fruit are fantastic, and I will certainly be taking samples of them back to Ulath. My advice to you is to come up with a decent substitute for meat, and then you will be the finest chefs in the galaxy. why I have revealed myself here I have chosen to reveal myself in several mediums across the Earth - sometimes to singular people, sometimes to groups. I have chosen this place as my next reveal for several reasons. One is because as near as I can tell, this is the Internet area comprised of the largest mix of differing and open-minded intelligences - I could find nowhere where I expect that I will be asked more interesting questions. I also chose a comedy forum as I am interested in the structure of human humour, which varies greatly from that of other planets. I am sure that this introduction is not nearly adequate to describe my situation as a being, which is why I'm turning it over to you. I will answer as many relevant questions as are put to me (with some reasonable exceptions). I will not answer anything that would lead to significant change in your technology or society. If you ask a science question, I can point you in general directions, but you really must do the work on your own. Also bear in mind that there are a lot of things I do not know even about melrin technology. Otherwise, please ask away and I am only too happy to answer. I hope also that you will permit me to ask a few questions of my own, later on. Mr. Boone fucked around with this message at May 18, 2009 around 16:43 |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:07 |
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Ozmodai posted:Is life on your planet carbon or silicon based? Carbon, same as every planet I know of. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:11 |
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Unused posted:How many arms do you have? I ask that you read what I have written before asking new questions, to avoid repetition. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:13 |
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Traffic Reporter posted:Being that you chose GBS, I feel it is my duty as an ambassdaor of the internet to ask how aliens poop. The basic mechanism is the same. We have equivalents to the anus. Motorball posted:What do you feel about our pulpy, smelly, dun-covered bodies that often accumulate cheeto crumbs? The human body is fairly well-designed, but it is difficult to adjust to how soft your skin is. Big Mean Jerk posted:Have you come to our planet To Serve Man? No. I looked up "to serve man" since you had capitalised it, making me think it was a phrase or proverb, and found a rather interesting example of what melrins consider 'humour'. Wow, a lot of questions. Please be patient while I answer what I can. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:19 |
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how do you achieve interplanetary flight? at what speeds? [/quote] Superlight speeds, using a peculiar trick of physics that humans have not discovered yet. We discovered it by studying the outer reaches of the universe, and how light and particles interact out there. I can tell you little more. Bograth posted:What government or authoritative structures do you have in place? Haven't had them for a long, long time. They went away along with war. Chem posted:How is the latency communicating across the cosmos? Can we expect to develop faster-than-light communications? Yes. I am not currently communicating with Ulath as it would be about as efficient to bring all the information when I go back myself. If I've missed your question, I have either assumed you were joking, or will return to it. Hadn't expected so many at once. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:24 |
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Ozmodai posted:What do you do to earn money here on Earth? Haven't needed the stuff so far. If I did, I could manufacture a reasonable facsimile myself. Emmitt Nervend posted:What do you think of the portrayal of aliens in movies? Specifically, I would like your opinions on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Independence Day, ET, K-PAX, and Spaced Invaders. I have seen only Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET and K-PAX. Your fiction is interesting, but I spend more time actually interacting with humans than watching your fiction. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was not particularly realistic, it was clearly just slightly mindless entertainment. ET is a child's movie teaching morals. K-PAX was interesting and surprisingly realistic in portraying what an alien might do when visiting Earth, although my own travels have differed greatly. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:30 |
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Khad posted:You said you were 58 years old. Are those in your years or our years? How long are your years on your planet? Years are an Earth term, so it's your years. Our years are about four times as long. A melrin would live for about six-hundred Earth years, but it's very variable, and some live to a thousand. Kaddish posted:How long, converted into Earth time, did it take you to get here? Four months your time, perceived it as about a week. Powdered Toast Man posted:You mentioned that the population of your home planet is now approximately 800 million, but has peaked at 4 billion in the past. Is this decline due to people leaving for other planets, or was there another reason involved, such as disease or war? This is complex, so I will come to it later. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:34 |
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oddIXIbbo posted:Greetings, Melrins consume natural resources - plants, fungus and the like. Power is mostly star-based (you'd call it solar). Resources are plentiful, and some melrins cultivate them for recreation, giving them to others if they are needed. There are enough of these melrins to provide for most of the planet, and when there aren't, you usually find or cultivate your own. Wisdom and compassion are words I'd put in square parenthesis. Wisdom is knowledge and compassion is consideration. Our goal in life is to enjoy life. I'm sorry I'm being so slow - this is rather like conversing with fifty people at once. If someone could suggest a better system I'd be grateful. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:40 |
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LE posted:edit: Also, how did you originally come across SA? One of the singular people I revealed my existence to taught me a little about the internet. He is a user of this site. Powdered Toast Man posted:You mentioned that the population of your home planet is now approximately 800 million, but has peaked at 4 billion in the past. Is this decline due to people leaving for other planets, or was there another reason involved, such as disease or war? Conscientious decision due to problems of overpopulation. The Mash posted:Do you have music where you're from? If so, what's it like? Our ears are very different in structure - we have very bassy music. Bob the terrible posted:what kind of defences do your planet have? if you had to choose, what would you say was your spieces greatest physical flaw? None. If ever we encounter a warlike planet with the ability to travel here, we will find a solution then, but no such situation is likely to occur. Inge posted:How do you cope with higher gravity? Lower gravity. Very easily. toehorse posted:How much of the conflict you see in our civilization would you attribute to our culture and how much to our biology? Mostly to culture, and some to your reproductive biology. Bring It On, DEA posted:Can ya jab ya reproduction thingo up an earth girlies cooch or what guv'? Have you considered doing any earth based porno movie work if so? No. I'm a different species, I can't reproduce with any Earth animal, nor are our organs compatible. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:55 |
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PriorMarcus posted:How does your race view individuals such as yourself, who have chosen to leave the home world and frequent other planets? No, not really. There are some people who will be interested to hear of my experiences on this planet, but I am viewed as you would view one of your own people visiting another country. It was likely different when space travel was first attepted, but I have little knowledge of history - only the basic stuff. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 09:57 |
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Adolescence posted:Do you believe in god? No. It is established enough on Ulath that there are too many working alternate explanations to support the God hypothesis. Mystery Steve posted:Does your home planet have skateboarders or and board related sports? Bicycles yes (well, something similar), skateboards and similar things no. reflir posted:Are there philosophers in space? Not to the extent you have them on Earth. Most melrins are content with life and don't need philosophy to make it more interesting. PirateMathew posted:Are you willing to take people back to your homeland, and if so, can I? Never have before, so unless you've got an excellent reason, probably not. Neutrino posted:We have a means of interstellar flight available to the masses here which has the acronym of LSD. Have you ever taken a trip with it? What do you think? Haven't tried any strong drugs for fear that I could damage my disguise. We dont have mind-altering substance use in any great capacity on Ulath, so I remain uninterested. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:01 |
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Stryder posted:You say there are no records of your species ever visiting us before yourself. How did you come to have any information about our planet, then? Through the Internet, we have several utilities for mapping directions to locations, but the information must still be provided by initial explorers. Also, you say that the only information you had on our species was several hundred years old. Is this because of a delay in receiving terrestrial radio signals, or simply a lack of data? We can scan for life-supporting planets from Ulath but the data is thousands of years old. As I travelled towards Earth, I was able to get newer data, but only because I was moving towards you. My computer scanned for population density and found it in the UK. I know of no other visitors to Earth since I found no reports about it on Ulath. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:05 |
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Comfortador posted:Do structures like religion exist in the known universe on planets other than ours? You're going to love this one - all of the more advanced species in the galaxy have completely abolished religion. Racism doesn't occur at all - in the case of Ulath, there are no different races. Walked posted:Do you find yourself attracted to humans, or is it merely the same as living amongst an entirely different species disguised as one of them? Imagine living as a dog with a human brain. You would not be attracted to dogs. Powdered Toast Man posted:Is there life elsewhere in our solar system (for example, on Mars, Europa, or Titan)? I understand if you don't know, as it may not be important to you. If there is, it'll be single-cell and not give out enough energy that I picked it up on my way here. Probably there is nothing at all. Professor K posted:How do you reproduce? Sexually, like all higher lifeforms. We have something similar to pornography, but I will refrain from discussing it because humans are obsessed with sex and I don't want to derail the discussion. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:09 |
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QuelleFuck posted:Do you come from an agrarian/communal society? Do the melrin have commerce, trade, etc? Did you ever? How does society work, in general, on Ulath? Used to have trade, now if it occurs, it's between friends rather than in markets. Lyim_X posted:You seem to be well traveled. Have you encountered any other life forms than ourselves? Can we expect to make contact with other species in our lifetime based on our technology advancement? Possibly, but it's 100% more likely that they've made contact with you. .haze posted:What is the most technologically advanced species in the Universe? How far are we technologically from them? It's the planet that first visited another in the galaxy and set up the [network]. It's name would be useless to you, but now all planets in the network are as advanced. You are not as far away as you might think. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:13 |
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ACanofPepsi posted:Can you describe, in detail, the methods used by your species to retain nutrients and sustenance? In detail? No. I will, but at a later time - I'm trying to take care of short-answer questions just to keep up at the moment - I'm sure things will die down eventually, so I'll get into deeper matters then. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:14 |
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toehorse posted:One of the greatest problems on earth today is that we have widely varying systems of understanding and the resultant differing knowledge sets from each system. How have cultures on other worlds solved this problem? War? A universal standard of education? Or are we fucked? You may be 'fucked', you may not be. Scientific advancement will hopefully bring down religion, and after that it will hopefully be easy to stop fighting. Romana posted:So what would happen/how would you react if you were outed for being an alien? Since any government would want to do terrible things to you for sake of curiosity. Would you just run away or jedi mind trick them? I would be able to evade capture and I'd either change disguise or go home. I wouldn't stand out in a crowd, I look like you guys. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:17 |
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hobofood posted:Superlight speeds, using a peculiar trick of physics that humans have not discovered yet. We discovered it by studying the outer reaches of the universe, and how light and particles interact out there. I can tell you little more. How do you deal with causality violation being an almost daily occurence? Have any of your wars been fought with causality-violating tactics, and if so, how do you know which side won? [/quote] Causality violation does not happen, and even if it did, we didn't develop superlight travel until after wars had ceased. Until you actually develop superlight, please do not speculate on it's effects - most of your theories are, frankly, bunkum. Anonymous Zebra posted:Okay, so that's how you don't consume renewable resources...but what about non-renewable stuff? For example, aluminum is a very plentiful resource on Earth but we are about to run out of the stuff in the next few decades because we use it for some many things (planes, cars, soda cans). The same thing can be said for the rarer metals that we use for the circuits in our computers, phones, video game systems...How can your species just sit around and enjoy life without a huge cosumption of these elements? Easily. Most of my species uses very little energy and resource, we are much more naturalistic than current humans. If we need resources, we can take them from uninhabited planets. Honestly, all the energy you need can be gotten for free, and with your current technology. Emmitt Nervend posted:When you first got here, what was your knowledge of Earth? Was most of the stuff here new to you? Did you eat bananas with the peel still on and stuff like that? How did you learn English? Why did you choose English to learn? Did you know you were coming to an English speaking part of Earth? It was mostly new stuff, and I made a few schoolboy errors. Learning English was a matter of using the same technology that makes my disguise work, and is too advanced to easily explain. As far as we know, and we know a lot, when you die, you die, and that's all. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:27 |
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Big Mean Jerk posted:Mr. Boone, how many inhabited planets have your people visited? How do you get around your planet (subway, plane, car, etc.)? The same way I came to Earth, in a vehicle unlike anything you have currently. Call it a car for simplicity's sake, though it is very different. A one-man car. RobotFriedChicken posted:At what point in documented history do most civilizations establish contact with other life in the galaxy? For example - how long was your species alive before you made first contact with alien life? We were in Stage 6, and you are in Stage 3. I will explain this in detail later on. King of the Cows posted:How many other races of beings have achieved interstellar travel? Are any of them hostile to your race or other races? More than 20. No. Emmitt Nervend posted:What was the actual landing on Earth like? Did you just 'beam in' yourself or did you have a ship? If you had a ship, how did you avoid being seen, and where is it now? It's a kind of ship, though nothing like what you would be expect. I'm not telling you where it is, but if you find it, feel free to go back to Ulath on it  Just ask somebody to send it back.
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:33 |
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Dolphin posted:Are you concerned that your immune system hasn't had the benefit of evolving on Earth? What are the chances that microorganisms on our planet will eat you alive? My disguise is tailored to keep everything out. We bury them, but without coffins. They are then returned to the ecosystem. reflir posted:Can't you use your superior technology to solve this issue? For example, you could establish communications with fifty other members of your species and ask or barter them for help, you could make copies of your own mind, loop back and forth through time, etc. Loop back and forth through time, heh. I'm an alien, not a superhero. The Reverand Me posted:How may other intelligent species are you aware of in the galaxy? There are thousands, hundreds of which we have visited, tens of which I have visited. No. He's wrong, but evidently not as wrong as you think
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| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:37 |
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softcorps posted:Like you said, you're not going anywhere for a while so what's the rush? I'm not going back to Ulath for a while. I'm not planning to sit at a keyboard for the rest of my time here. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:38 |
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softcorps posted:I'd like to start by saying that if this is a fake post, you will have your answer about our planet and war. 1. It does, and I'm more like a human male than a human female. My disguise is male. 2. Advanced stuff. I'm not qualified to say how it works, only that it works. 3. Same tech as my disguise. It's all done by computer. Yes, we all speak the same language, but not between planets. 4. Protecting the body from hailstones. Will go into more anatomic detail a little later. 5. No. Google turned up a couple of interesting things, I'll read further and get back to you. 6. I look like a human. If I get hold of a camera at some point I'll take a couple. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:43 |
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Troubled Joe posted:Have any other species visited Earth? Don't know, but probably not. Your own air vehicles, meteorites, hallucination and lies. There are no extraterrestrial lights in the sky, it doesn't work like that. No such thing. Hallucinations and tricks of the light. No, and nothing. Right now, me. Big Mean Jerk posted:I'm guessing that at a certain age, an individual chooses to die? Why was this method in particular chosen? Actually, melrins are capable of having sex without reproducing - it's a conscious choice to reproduce. Ages ago, children were encouraged, now they are not. Nobody will stop you having them, though. Crows Turn Off posted:Also, if you don't want people to know you're around, why did you even make this thread? Or, if you DO want people to know you're around, why did you post it on a semi-anonymous forum instead of on CNN or something? Call me up on this in a few pages. I want to tell you, but it would take too long for now. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:47 |
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I cant rhyme posted:Do your babies look the same? "The same"? No, though I intend to try it before leaving. A lot of flying ones, more than you have. Land animals tend to have either thick keratinous scales/shells, or dense fur. Yes, I've been all over and will report on my travels later on. Mikuru Beam posted:do you have a mate Mr Boon? what are you courting and mating rituals like? There's no real 'courting'. Instead of the human idea of sexual interaction and love, melrins tend to mate with people they consider close friends. Usually but in no way exclusively, [monogamy] is practiced. I do not currently have anyone I regularly mate with, since I'm away a lot. Destitute Newt posted:I don't really have a question, but any alien who likes Marmite is alright with me. Welcome to Earth! Countdown, which I am hopeless at. Deal Or No Deal strikes me as a rather pointless game. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:54 |
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reflir posted:Don't you see the usefulness of sharing information now that you have become more acquainted with the internet? Why are you so informationally insular? Is this particular to melrins, or are all galactic civilizations like this? There were plenty of travel reports available - our system is all about sharing information. But there were no reports on Earth. This means that either nobody has uploaded a report, or (more likely) nobody has visited. bear is driving! posted:How is society structured on your planet? Do yo have families? How are child birth and parenting different than from on Earth? Big question, so I'll have to file it in the 'answer later' files. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:56 |
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Troubled Joe posted:Could you possibly spend a bit of time explaining your culture, history, natural history, etc, please? I really should have constructed a more detailed history before I posted here. Tomorrow I will put together a little document to fill you in on history a bit more - until then, please, no more historical questions. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 10:59 |
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Troubled Joe posted:Are there heroes to your people? Names that carry through your history? If so, what brought them their fame? Will you be famous on your return for being the first Melrin on Earth? What do you think of Earth's (or the west's) fascination with fame and celebrity? It's interesting but only because Ulath does not have it. The last heroes disappeared with the last wars. wldmn13 posted:In regards to information you can actually share, what one question would you ask if you were a human asking you a question, and what is your answer to that question? "Can I come back with you?" "For what reason?" Digeridude posted:Mr. Boone, You can email me at boonefromulath@googlemail.com if you wish to contact me privately, and I will get back to you tomorrow. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:03 |
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Mikuru Beam posted:so...we're dumb to you? That was not the intent of the metaphor. Ezzie posted:I know science is not your general subject but I would be hoping you could give any examples experienced on your planet of what happened to make the universe appear into existance, our current idea is the big bang, is this similar to yours? yes. We have it in a lot more detail, but the Big Bang theory is essentially correct. Heran Bago posted:How many other intelligent or self-aware species are there on Ulath? Within the [network] of life supporting planets, do any presently show an interest in Earth, war, or technology? None on Ulath. A few planets had two intelligent species, but one inevitably destroys the other. Nobody is interested in Earth - you have very little to offer right now. Noobicide posted:What can you tell us about the size and shape of the universe? It's out there, and you can look for yourself. As far as we know, if other universes existed, there would be no way to get to them. Icesler posted:Who would win in unarmed combat? a Melrin or a human? A melrin. Harder skin. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:08 |
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spud posted:Do we have to reduce our CO2 emissions to save the planet or is it all bollocks thought up by the government? "save the planet"? You'd be saving yourselves, not the planet. If you get killed by global warming, it's not the end of the world. Something else would arise and maybe do a better job of keeping the place habitable. I don't think anybody is a good leader. Gay Rumsfeld posted:How have you kept artificial intelligence from taking over and wiping out your entire civilization? Also, have you heard of Bill Adama? We didn't keep it from happening, it just... didn't happen. Not everything is a possible apocalypse. I know of the character but have not watched that series. Watty posted:What do you suppose our best bet is for our next major source of energy, such as fusion, fission or other sources? Solar is a good bet, but there are others you haven't looked into. I doubt it's a good idea to reveal my political affiliation, particularly as I don't have one. Cardinal Ximenez posted:Why can you not tell us about science? Alright, here's the shocking truth - you're still having wars, so we don't want you to develop light travel yet because you'd come out and meet us and probably try and invade something. If you develop unaided like everyone else, you'll probably abolish wars before you get out here. The galaxy can do without you for now. Hamshake posted:Tell us a joke from your homeworld, so we can get a feel for the type of humor a melrin may have. Alright, let's see... a vaguely literal translation of a Melrin joke would be "Where there is doubt, a melrin should not modify the face." That doesn't translate very well, but it's similar to "He was a brave man that first ate an oyster". It applies to the first experiments with the appearance-changing tech that I'm using - he was a brave man that first had his face reconfigured. It doesn't work very well in English because it can't be translated and keep it's wordplay. spikenigma posted:a sentence on each pls: Only a few questions at a time, please. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:20 |
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Please wait for your question to be answered before complaining that I haven't answered you. I am somewhere at the beginning of page 4 right now. I will get to your question and answer it. If I missed it, I'm sorry. I've ignored a couple of questions because they were silly or insulting, so please be nice if you want to be answered. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:30 |
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Motorball posted:Are the other sapients mostly oxygen breathers, or are there some methane or hydrogen huffers about? In that case, does their worldview differ greatly from your own? All of the planets I have visited or interacted with are oxygen-dependent. Zantesukin posted:Describe an average day for a melrin. What do you do for fun, how do you live life to its fullest? The [day] before I came to Earth, I awoke and travelled to a nearby [social hall], where I conversed with another melrin for several hours about travelling, something which he had some experience with. After that I returned home and ate some of the edible fungus that grows in abundance near my home. I wasn't in the mood to prepare it, but untreated was fine. I planned my journey (I had been thinking about travelling to Earth for a few days), told a few friends I would be gone for a while and left the next [morning], then slept again. Faded Mars posted:Surely, friend alien, Freddie Mercury has the finest singing voice in all known civilized worlds? Far too high-pitched for melrins. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:36 |
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spikenigma posted:why? - it would take you less time to type a few words as a response to each point than some of the answers you've given No, it would take more time. Everybody else wants questions answered too, don't be so greedy. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:38 |
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The Reverand Me posted:From your observations, how likely do you think it is that Humans will develop interstellar travel? Is our current technology at all related to your methods? If you last long enough you will develop it. You're smart guys. The second question is like asking whether swords are related to the development of guns - it really doesn't apply. Digeridude posted:Mr. Boone, please answer the following, if you could: I have absolutely no idea what Group you are talking about, unless you mean the [network]. There are no 'parts', no law of contact, never heard of Otho, no idea. Intel5 posted:You say that your planet is much colder, does it have mountainous terrain like our rocky mountains? Do your people enjoy snow sports such as skiing? In any case there is a percentage of the Terran population that would readily live out the rest of their lives exploring and zipping about your planets colder regions, the lower gravity would be an amazing experience. It does, and [snowsports] exist, although they are quite different due to differing nature of [snow]. They are closer to [motorsports] than skiing. I don't know about "ideal", but what we have is 4% hydrogen, 40% nitrogen, 50% oxygen, 3% neon, and the rest is made up of a mix of the other nonreactive gases, CO2, water vapour and methane. Similar to yours but not proportional. Again, you'll find this on all life-supporting planets - life is fairly specific in what it needs. No idea, I'm not a chemist. It's more, but I'm not sure how much more. Yes, but none in the [network]. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:49 |
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AndrewRawrRawr posted:You say that your species now lives to ages of 600-1000 years old. Has this always been the lifespan of your species? With our current biology do we have hopes of achieving similar lifespans? No, it has increased over time, and if you last long enough, your lifespans will too. Our keratinous outer layer has become thinner due to the advent of [housing] - we no longer require the protection from hail so badly, and the increased agility was a selection bias a long time ago. There are others, but that is the easiest to explain. Both are good, prevention is better, I suppose. Hamshake posted:Do the melrins have any form of livestock? (you mentioned eating meat alternatives, but for any other resources such as fur, milk, etc) No. Most, if not all melrins are [vegan]. I am too, but make some exceptions when travelling. No, we leave the animals alone in general. Magnetic projectile weaponry with a lot of armor-piercing power. We maintain relations through sharing knowledge and technology. There is no leader, and the concept of one is considered quite unusual. Same as you guys. Happiness and sadness. Everything else is just an in-between. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 11:56 |
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I'm going to have to take a break from answering questions for a short while, but before I leave I want to draw attention to this:spikenigma posted:ok then, how many questions per post are we allowed? This is one of the primary differences between our societies. If I had been a human visiting Ulath and posted this, then nobody would have asked that when told to post less questions. They would have simply brought the question number down to what everybody else was posting. Melrins are far more considerate and [in-sync] with each other than a lot of humans. Alright, I'll be back later - gonna go talk to some people and eat food! |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 12:01 |
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Lots of questions answered, up to the middle of page 6!Barcode Mk2 posted:How does your version of FTL travel work? Since it only took you about four months to get here, I'm assuming you have FTL capability. Alcubierre warp drive? Traversible wormholes stabilized with exotic matter? If you perceived it as a week, does that mean its affected by something similar to relativity? Different again. The physics behind it are something you haven't picked up on yet, and we found it when observing the outer parts of the universe. Light and particles interacting and other such jazz. I'm not an expert in relativity, but I know it plays a part. I just know that I perceived only a week in what was actually months. JDee posted:This thread is great! My question: Do you like Fish N Chips? I have not tried fish (I have tried other non-vegetarian food out of morbid curiosity, but normally I do not eat any meat, making some exceptions when travelling). Fish smells interesting and perhaps I will try some. I found chips (British, I assume you mean) to be bland and uninteresting without drenching them in vinegar. Powdered Toast Man posted:Without compromising your identity, is it possible for you to provide us with some information that would serve as conclusive proof that you are indeed who you say you are, and all of this is true? I assume that you would know better than us what information would serve that purpose the best. If I were to prove that I were an alien, your government would come looking for me and I would be forced to go home. After that, they would know for sure that there was extra-terrestrial life, and so would everyone. It would shake up your society violently enough to change where you are going, and you might develop things before you normally would have, and maybe get out into the galaxy before you stop blowing shit up. That wouldn't do, so no. No proof. ProvostZak posted:Who builds your advanced technology, including your transport vehicle and disguise, and the manufacturing plants, power stations etc on your homeworld? Similarly, who/what maintains them? Whoever wants to. There are melrins who [manufacture] them as their recreation. One of the surprising things humanity hasn't learned yet is that there are people who like to do pretty much everything, and will do it for free. I asked for it from a melrin who told me he had one. He had no plan to use it, so he gave it to me. Presumably he got it by asking a [manufacturer]. No. It's a big galaxy, there's plenty of everything to go around. There are various theories. Some say we are at a plateau (nicer word than stagnant), but I personally think that as long as things remain undiscovered, there is more potential to grow. Digeridude posted:More questions: No. When I came to Earth, as I've said, I found the concentrate of population in Britain. It was after I set up my disguise, learned the language and 'moved in' that I discovered that there were entirely separate languages on your planet (which is a rare phenomenon). So no, I cannot speak whatever it is you speak without returning to my [vehicle] and redesigning my disguise, which is hidden in a place that would require a lot of organisation to get back to. Also, I like my current disguise and would never get it quite right the second time. Yuki Akuma posted:Just thought of more questions... "Intelligence" is an odd concept. I have no way of comparing brain function between my guys and your guys, but it comes down to knowledge, in the end. You may slowly evolve to be faster, but it makes little difference - once you know something, you know it, if you see what I mean. Longer than historic record survives. We [socially evolved] to your class tens of thousands of years ago - don't worry. You're not slow. We have conducted life-creating experiments on other planets, but have not permanently 'seeded' a planet with life in the sense you mean it. No other planet I know of has done so, but it is possible and thus likely. Baron Von Awesome posted:How do we stack up to similarly evolved civilizations? How does our culture compare? Are we the best poets, if not, who is? Who would you say is most likely, of the ones you have visited, to obtain superlight next? You are the most warlike by a long shot. I have no real mind for poetry, but it is established that poetry is related primarily to fighting and sex, so you guys are probably way up there. As for superlight, I really don't know. It's not you guys. I have visited a planet about your age which is on the verge of becoming non-religious, so it might very well be them. Tuff Ghost posted:How many orifices do you have? Out of those how many will fit a human penis? Where are you now? Melrins have three 'orifices', a waste-hole, a mouth, and sexual organs. The primary difference between us and humans in this regard is that solid and liquid waste come out of the same hole. WTF BEES posted:Have your or any people in the network come across creatures native to space itself? Are there "unknowable horrors" out in the cosmos? Are their still any big mysteries left unsolved even by those in the network? What about other networks? We're never going to know everything. If there are creatures that were native to a vacuum we haven't found them, and I can't think of any reason they would exist. keykey posted:if your time is roughly 4 times our time then how did you perceive 4 months as a week? wouldn't you perceive it as a month? That's not what I mean. You perceive time differently when travelling at superlight. Clanpot Shake posted:Does your species actively research artificial intelligence? How far have you gotten? There, and back again. We developed fairly decent artificial intelligence but after a while it became pretty useless. It's much easier to use simple machines to do complex tasks than to introduce complex intelligence. Fox1 posted:I'm in the UK at the moment, can we meet up for beer? or a cupcake? Sure! Tell me where you're at and if I'm going to be in the area I'll give you the ol' shout. We wouldn't place probes to gather information on you guys, because - shocking truth again - the rest of the galaxy is not remotely interested in you. Nobody is waiting on tenterhooks for me to get back and tell them about you. I'm not here as part of any organisation, I'm a [tourist]. Whatever we like! Some melrins [farm], some [manufacture], some do nothing. Some travel to other planets and eat Marmite. Mikuru Beam posted:"To learn." No, I came here because I like exploring other places, it's not a knowledge thing. Even if I were to take somebody back, it probably wouldn't be someone I found on the Internet. So you can all stop emailing me begging to come back. toehorse posted:It is a common belief that if a being of your kind would make its presence known to the general populace it would be a strong arguement against extremist religious beliefs. Did this factor into your decision to engage with us here today on SA? I have little to no interest in ending your religions. That's up to you, I'm afraid. TommyFilth posted:Mr. Boone, a deceased quasi-scientist of ours, Mr. Terence McKenna, believed that certain forms of plant life - in particular, psilocybin-bearing mushroom colonies - shared a group mind much older than the human mind as it currently exists. Whether by design or sheer happenstance, consumption of the plant body of one of these entities allows the human mind and the plant mind to cohabitate the same higher dimensional space for a short period, allowing communication. Can you offer any insight into this? Hallucinogenics are just that. You're not tapping into other minds, you're just making your own do odd things. HORSE RAPER posted:Mr. Boone, are there members of other sentient species that only seem to be happy when they are actively detracting from everyone else's enjoyment of a situation? Are there snide or pompous melrins? I ask this because it's hilarious to imagine humanity reaching the stars, only to discover that they are populated by total assholes. Yes, there are, but they're all on [lonely] planets. When they grow into warless beings, they'll likely join us. It's a pretty good system. Big question, later answer. Barcode Mk2 posted:What kind of advancements would we have to make in order to attact the attention of the rest of the galaxy? We've been beaming signals out in all directions since we discovered radio, but nobody's answering. Nobody's listening, and your signals have only gone so far. If you're going to meet with aliens, you're going to have to find them, develop superlight travel, and go introduce yourselves. KakerMix posted:Howdy Mr. Boone. You are talking about eugenics, and yes, it happened. In a big way, and not in a way you would consider ethical. Tomorrow I will be posting a little guide to classes of civilisation, and there'll be a big section on eugenics there. Madox posted:Hello Mr Boone. Thanks for talking with us. Yes Sort of No Xinlum posted:Do any other worlds have the equivalent of the internet? Yes, it's a pretty universal idea. Videogames exist in a sense, but for recreation most melrins do whatever they want to. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 13:21 |
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Digeridude posted:The most amateur mistakes are It's a mistake for an alien not to know his chemistry? I would be interested to know how you distinguish a real alien from a fake one. For the rest of my time today I'll be answering random questions from the last two pages, so if I miss something you think is important please repost it after a couple of pages. AlbinoHagfish posted:I didn't see this asked, I hope I didn't skim over it, but did you evolve from a predatory species or a prey species? Or maybe something entirely different? Most recently 'predatory', but everything is prey, or at least evolves from prey. invision posted:What is the closest thing to melrin music that we have on earth? When someone is listening to dance music a few rooms away and all you can hear is the bass buzzing through the wall, that reminds me of melrin music quite a lot. Mikuru Beam posted:actually there are about ten planets on the Wiki page for "Extraterrestrial liquid water"...any of those OP? It's none of those, and I couldn't point it out to you since it's too far away. Digeridude posted:Ooh, here's one: All life that I know of has DNA, the only difference is the amount. Strangely enough, there is no correlation between the amount of DNA and the complexity of the living thing. scarycactusjunior posted:What color is your native sky? How many natural moons do you have? It's a rich, calming orange, and we have no visible moons. There are some large boulders orbiting, so I'm told, but nothing you can see from the ground. One of the most unsettling things about visiting different planets is that sky colours change, and your mood goes with them. Holy Calamity! posted:This sounds so goddamn...logical. I'm a young male, and as I "grow up" and experience darker sides of the world I always find myself wondering, as cliche as it sounds, why we can't all get along. No, I don't, that's your word. Holy Calamity! posted:I have to imagine this is because every being is intelligent enough to see the uselessness of conflict? How do you react to the random violence / disrespect you see in day-to-day life? You're in the UK, so Chavs would be a good example of this random, senseless hatred. Like I said, intelligence has little to do with it, it's what you actually know. There is less violence in day-to-day life than you might think, but when it does happen, I stay away from it. Psignorian posted:What did I say about surveillance? As far as I know, that hasn't happened and is unlikely to. Troubled Joe posted:Thanks for answering so far and sticking around. Much appreciated. The [network] is twenty-plus planets and it spans nearly a sixth of the galaxy. It's people number in the hundreds of billions, and they all have access to fast travel across the galaxy, they have all somehow abolished war, and despite not all of the races associating with each other by preference, we've gone thousands of years without blowing each other up. But we haven't been to other galaxies, we've only observed them. We haven't even been to all the life-supporting planets in our own galaxy. The most fascinating thing I've ever thought about is what's out there, in those trillions and trillions of galaxies. How many networks? How many peoples? Rattus Amicus posted:- how much do you know about some controversial aspects of our history, for example, was Atlantis real? I don't know any more than you do about your history. Philip K. Dick. He has very melrin-esque humour. Holy Calamity! posted:Do melrins even have a term for empathy? It sounds as if you've evolved to simply have it, as apposed to humans who must be taught to consider others. Is this the case? Why would anyone want to annoy another of their species? It's one of those things that less-developed species have which I always have trouble understanding. It all comes down to your trade system, which is inherently flawed. If you got rid of the idea that one thing is worth another thing, you might be a bit more peaceful. "An eye for an eye" is not a good credo to have. spikenigma posted:and I'm sure 2 galaxies from here, a species would be honoured to have illicited such interest, and endevoured to answer the points with a few quick words. Especially as the post could have been answered in about 60 seconds or less No, really. You asked about twenty questions. I'm happy to answer, but you seem convinced that I'm the enemy, out to not answer any of your questions for some reason. I don't know why that is. Most of you have been pretty good about this, by the way, so thanks for that. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 14:05 |
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Fox1 posted:Hi again, could you use your computer (as in the current PC/mac you are using) to draw your written language/script/symbols and show us here? I can and will, though it'll be crude and ugly. Our writing system works on what you might call line weight, and is difficult to replicate with pens, though Paint looks like it could do it easily. I'll write up an example tomorrow - I seem to be locked into answering questions for a while yet. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 14:09 |
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Bow2Gaijin posted:You said your planet is bigger than earth, and has more land mass. Also that your population is at 800,000,000 and was once 4 billion but was over populated, since earth is at about 6.5 billion people (I know we're over populated but we seem to be Far more fertile, and it's better suited for humans than most of my planet is for melrins. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 14:12 |
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Arthe Xavier posted:As it is now, the first millionths of a second - or the very, very beginning of the process ( of Big Bang ) - are a mystery to us. Have you managed to actually peek into the very moment our universe was born, or is it a no-go zone for you as well? Are you just as baffled about why it all happened as we are? We have gone far enough back that we know how our universe got started, but what happened before the event that set it all off is still an unknown. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 14:13 |
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Darkside543 posted:And what do you think of our weaponry? It would be nice if you threw the stuff away. |
| # ¿ Apr 16, 2009 14:14 |
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