Using the Program Guide of the World Science
Fiction Convention in Dublin, Ireland in August 2019 (to which I will be unable
to go (until I retire from education)), I will jump off, jump on, rail against,
and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the
Program Guide. The link is provided below where this appeared on page 4…
So long, and
thanks for all the fish
Like the
dolphins of Hitchhiker’s Guide, nonhuman life can communicate with humans in
numerous ways including non-verbal interactions, signaling, and even
parasitism. Panelists from diverse fields of research discuss the oddness of
life and the strange ways the natural world talks to us.
Dr Claire McCague:
Canadian writer, scientist and musician
Lionel Davoust: writer;
previously a marine biologist; develops the world of Évanégyre,; composer; hosts
Procrastination, a podcast about the craft of storytelling
Linnea Sternefält:
studies nanoengineering; planetarium docent; produces videos, podcasts about SF/F
films
Becky Chambers:
SF author; nominated for the Hugo
Award; Clarke Award, and Women's Prize for Fiction
I confess that “non-human
life can communicate...including…parasitism.” was what caught my eye.
At first, the
obvious examples leaped to mind: Heinlein’s THE PUPPET MASTERS. But there have
been others as well, the aliens from the ALIEN franchise are another one that
sticks out. Dean Ing’s series “Anasazi” in ANALOG (July, 1980) novel about the “users”
is another one that caught me up in a weird world of biology. I’d just
graduated from college with a biology education degree (which proved to be
useless except for being a substitute teacher. Once I added a Earth science
portion to it, I got a job…) For other “parasite alien” tropes, read through
this: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PuppeteerParasite
I get that dogs
(we had two until recently, only one now); cats (three); horses; and various
other pets of various species, have been trained or bred to respond and
communicate with Humans. You could probably even consider plants as
communicating with us. I’m certain the “rotting meat” plant (carrion flowers – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrion_flower
communicates clearly that it “wants” nothing to do with Humanity; is that what
they’re looking at here? Or is it only “intelligent” communication; in which
case, what is the largest most intelligent parasite on Earth? While the malaria
parasite seems to be noted as “super smart” (https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2012/10/21/a-super-smart-parasite/)
, apparently lots of parasites control our minds: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-hundreds-examples-mind-controlling-parasites-180950312/.
Having suffered
through malaria, reading about the HOW was distinctly creepy.
So…what might
happen? Would we ever “meet a parasitical alien”? Seems to me unlikely. If
parasites evolve on a planet, then they’re going to have hosts that evolved on
the same planet, so making the leap between their evolved host on (say) Ceti
Alpha V (Star Trek: Wrath of Khan) to Human ears…unlikely. Dramatically gross,
but unlikely.
The aliens from ALIEN
are likewise suspect. How is it that they can infect Humans – they have ACID
for blood, for heaven’s sake! What would they possibly get from a Human? Our
blood is iron-based with a pH between 7.35 and 7.45. For “blood” to be able to
eat through armored plating, (speculation here: https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/x2pud/can_an_acid_be_as_corrosive_as_the_alien_blood_in/)
it would need to be (and then looking it up and finding that HF’s pH = 3.27)
some pretty powerful stuff. Certainly making contact with Humans disastrous for
us if not for them. This would seem to indicate that alien parasites would
probably not bother with us.
Of course, people
will argue the point, which is fine. I’m not saying it’s impossible, just unlikely
that parasites that evolve on one world will vault into space on their hosts
and find Humans palatable – or even usable.
What MIGHT happen
is that Humans mess with the genetics of the host of lifeforms that already “occupy
us” and somehow create an intelligent form that would not only take over Humans,
but would do so with maleficent intent…
No comments:
Post a Comment