First Contact in Fiction

[cairocat]

It seems to me that most instances of first contact in fiction places humanity with our back against the wall fighting off a superior and hostile alien species (never mind that the other species is 99% of the time technologically superior). Perhaps this does make a better and more clear-cut story, but it disappoints me that very few stories have ever dealt with humanity coming across a lesser or peaceful race. Considering our nature and our past as a species I don't say it's beyond even our future selves to take over or attack a newfound planet. I'm sure works involving this premise exist, but I cannot think of many. Do you know of any good backwards-alien-invasion stories?

Also, don't say Avatar. Those people were Indians, not aliens.

 

[Zenron]

District 9 starts of with a starving alien population coming to earth. You could try that? I mean, they do have superior technology to the humans, but it isn't the same kind of invasion thing you're used to.

 

[Katana314]

Avatar. Those people were aliens AND indians.

I think you miswrote your sentence though. You say very few stories depict humanity as lesser or peaceful, when MOST alien invasion stories are about humanity getting its ass kicked by invaders.

There was one RTS-style of flash game where you played as aliens being attacked by faceless organizations called the Terrans. They don't talk much about Earth or humanity, but it's obvious what's going on. (No, I don't mean Starcraft)

 

[Jakub324]

Ummm... No, I can't. Avatar was insufferably pleased with itself for a film with a plot that predictable, though. Just knowing it was about human colonisation of an alien planet, I accurately predicted the entire plot.

 

[nukethetuna]

I dunno, conflict is the root of a good story or what have you.

That's why most stories either start off with us already having taken care of/in good standing with the weaker/equal aliens, about to encounter the uber ones.

Well there was that one Twilight episode where they were only interested in "How to Serve Man", and were pretty helpful!

 

[cairocat]

snip

I believe you actually misread. I said "Coming across a lesser or peaceful race," not "Coming across as as lesser or peaceful race"

 

[Mark D. Stroyer]

Well, a couple kinda-sorta-fits that will be brought up repeatedly:

In Babylon 5, a big misunderstanding during first contact between humans and the (rather formidable) Minbari led to the humans shooting first and starting a whole big war that almost killed us all. By accident!

Also, in Mass Effect, first contact involved humans using an uncharted mass relay, which is forbidden, colonizing a restricted planet, and getting it handed to them by the Turians. And then they actually met the Council and got the mess straightened out.

 

[Milkman Dan]

Carl Sagan's novel, Contact, and the movie adaptation featured a peaceful first contact with aliens.

In the Damned Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster, you could argue that the aliens are the "lesser" races in terms of conflict and aggression. When an alliance of aliens is losing a war and desperately looking for new allies, they discover Earth. Humans, as it turns out, are far more suited for combat and war than any known sentient species.

 

[TFielding]

The book Sphere by Michael Crichton is an interesting take on First Contact. I won't go into detail because I forget how to do the spoiler tag. It is one of my favorite books though.

 

[EvilPicnic]

Well, Star Trek is the obvious one. Peaceful Vulcans arrive and all is peachy in the new Federation we form.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

Look for a novel called The Mote In God's Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle.

 

[shadowslayer81]

Back before War of the Worlds (or after, I can't remember), everyone thought that the Martians were a peaceful race and they were going to share all of their technology with us.

 

[kurupt87]

Iain M Banks' Culture novels all deal with a powerful, galaxy spanning meta-human society that often interact with lesser species. The Culture's Contact section generally supplies the main protagonist, although sometimes the lesser society does.

The Culture are, however, the good guys. They're not above getting their hands dirty when they deem it necessary, sending in the military branch of Contact, Special Circumstances, when they do. But; they will, as a society, avoid confrontation if at all possible.

The Player of Games was a great book about the interplay between two species, Matter too if I remember correctly, though a large book for an introduction.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I remember an episode of Stargate SG1, where an alien race finally peacefully make contact with earth to the general population, and integrate themselves and their superior technology into society, but then after a few decades of peace it turns out they are secretly sterilizing the human race, to drive us to extinction and take our planet. They resolve it using time travel or something so they never met the race in the first place.

 

[English Stew]

I don't think this is quite relevant, but it's the first thing that came into my head.
In the novel Calculating God, an alien comes to earth to scientific research. Government agents come to the alien to bring to meet diplomats, but the Alien just wants to stay at a museum and refuses, repeatedly. Becoming exasperated, one of the agents says "Look, you're supposed to say, 'Take me to your leader.' You're supposed to want to meet with the authorities." To this the alien replies "I rather suspect I have more experience at this than you do."

... I thought it was funny.