This just in!
Visitors from beyond the stars have arrived.
What secrets could our
intergalactic friends share?
What wonders could
these space chums unveil?
They DO NOT come in peace.
The aliens have arrived,
and they’re here to lay down the law.
Humans are no longer
at the top of the food chain,
and we’re now at the mercy
of our alien overlords.
I, for one, welcome our alien overlords.
For centuries,
humans have been calling the shots on Earth.
Just ask the animals we use as food,
keep in zoos,
hunt for sport,
or even have around the house as pets.
We’re in for quite the shock
when our new intergalactic masters show up
and give us a taste of our own medicine.
What, exactly, would they do to us?
Well, we may become the new animals.
We’d be treated as a commodity
to be bought, traded and sold.
And if these aliens are anything like we are,
we’d also be their lunch.
Human cells are made up of proteins,
nucleic acids and membranes.
If the aliens had the same
basic biochemistry as us,
they would be able to convert our
tasty, nourishment-filled bodies
into energy for themselves.
Would aliens start farming us en masse?
What sort of intergalactic economy
could be created by
using humans like livestock.
In China alone,
the pork industry is worth $128 billion (U.S.),
and has 433 million pigs ready to barbecue.
There are 17 times as many
humans on the planet.
To an alien food connoisseur,
would we be just as tasty?
Human burger, anyone?
What if we were seen as a delicacy
to be distributed across the Universe?
Or, what about just pieces of human?
Even to us, body parts are a hot commodity.
A heart is $1.4 million to transplant,
and worth $119,000 on the open market.
Kidneys are around the $200,000 mark.
Livers are $157,000,
and bone marrow is $23,000/gram (0.03 oz).
We’re dealing with human economics here,
but this idea can be applied to the concept
that we are Earth’s new cattle.
We’re a living organism
that might be sold to someone,
or something.
Somewhere.
In space.
But what if the aliens
didn’t think we were delicious?
What if they thought we were …
cute?
Well, in the U.S.,
there are nearly 70 million dogs
being kept as pets,
and 74 million cats.
Brazil has 191 million
feathered best friends.
Would the aliens keep us as pets?
Or, even worse,
what if they kept us in captivity
and gawked at us?
You know, like we do with animals in zoos.
There are approximately 6,000 species
in zoos around the world.
About 8,000,000 animals in total.
The aliens may not have as much variety
in human zoos,
but we sure are an entertaining bunch.
Imagine a group of alien children
on a school trip,
watching you in your natural habitat.
“See, children?”
lectures the alien headmistress.
“The human is on its phone again.”
So, there's not a lot to look forward to.
But it makes us think
Well, the Earth looks like
a nice place to set up shop,
on paper.
Earth has plate tectonics
that help to keep the climate stable,
a global magnetic field that keeps
solar winds from getting close,
and the added bonus of a moon
that stops Earth from wobbling
on its axis too much.
That combination would look
appealing to the aliens,
and it’s something they might have a
difficult time finding anywhere else.
And what about us?
Well, we already know
we’d not only be delicious,
but profitable.
With the aliens having a monopoly
on the human market,
they could start making
more rewarding changes to their new home.
Considering they’re intelligent enough
to travel light-years to get here,
how hard could it be to redevelop a planet?
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Now back to your regularly scheduled
alien invasion.
The truth is,
we don’t know for sure
what the aliens' plans would be.
This is only one of several scenarios
that could happen if we faced an alien invasion.
What if the aliens are
already planning to head our way?
Surveying the land
and getting to know these strange humans
who call Earth home?
What if aliens were already watching us?