Most interesting concept/form of alien beings?

[Kyriakos]

Inspired by the concurrent tavern thread on a sci-fi-related matter

The 'grays' are way too boring, in my view, as a concept of an alien form.

Giger's 'Alien' had a distinctive form, despite some strange (or unscientific?) concepts attributed to it in the films (such as having a sort of corrosive acid as 'blood').

Insect-based aliens tend to look more ominous, most of the time anyway. Not surprising, given than most insects look 'alien' to begin with

Alien 'gods' like Yog-Sothoth are even more interesting for me:

 

[AlpsStranger]

Oh yeah, Lovecraft.

Spoiler :

 

[Kyriakos]

Lovecraft-inspired aliens often look very cool, although it seems they aren't really based on his actual descriptions. For example Yog-Sothoth (iirc) is not ever described, and the closest description to him is one of his sons, the brother of Wilbur Whitely. And from that description it seems the being mostly looked like some sort of amorphous mass with the head of a caterpillar and various other smaller protrusions in an overly anomalous body.

 

[Murky]

Probably the shape shifters because the possibilities of forms they can take on are endless.

 

[Rashiminos]

Aliens can shapeshift, so I guess the question is which forms would you find intriguing?

 

[Kyriakos]

Not entirely, given that not all aliens supposedly can shape-shift. And even those who can (i suppose) most of the time would have a "true" form as well, or no form as a basis, in which latter case (in my view) that original form would not really be 'interesting' by itself.

 

[El_Machinae]

I watch UFO abduction documentaries to get my sci-fi fix every once in awhile. And, honestly, I find their conception of 'the Greys' to be quite interesting. Hyper-dimensional automatons with hyper-technology that uses humans as experimental subjects. Most of the recent sci-fi I've read puts AI characters as being vastly more important than the biological characters, so I don't really have any modern 'favorite' races. That said, I liked the aliens in Skyline (the movie) quite a bit more than other people did.

 

[Lillefix]

I remember the doglike aliens in "A Fire Upon the Deep". When we first meet them from their own pov(they behave completely rational and humanlike btw), I could not for the life of me understand what was going on. I've so far never read about aliens like them.

Spoiler :

Each individual is a pack of four or five doglike things. When I first read it. I thought it was an alien with lots of eyes and very big since it could see from several directions.

 

[bhsup]

Tholians!

 

[Smellincoffee]

Even though they're a work of juvenile fiction, I always liked the Andorians from Animorphs.

They ate by absorbing crushed grass through their hooves, communicated through thought-speak, had those tails, and were basically elves (in being more 'in tune' with nature, as well as highly aristocratic. They were led by princes and war-princes..) They also invented the box that allows people to morph into different animals.

Oh, my favorite subtle element from this universe: other creatures on their world had six limbs, a nod to their planet having its own evolutionary history.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

I have came across conception which defines extraterestial life as existent on subtler levels such as subtle physical. These beings can project they form into gross material similar way ghost can give someone smart slap or realy hard kick despite the fact that its "only"a vital being. There is no technology involved. Only knowledge and mastery of their own level of existence.

 

[Kyriakos]

Thank you all for the interesting posts

I watch UFO abduction documentaries to get my sci-fi fix every once in awhile. And, honestly, I find their conception of 'the Greys' to be quite interesting. Hyper-dimensional automatons with hyper-technology that uses humans as experimental subjects. Most of the recent sci-fi I've read puts AI characters as being vastly more important than the biological characters, so I don't really have any modern 'favorite' races. That said, I liked the aliens in Skyline (the movie) quite a bit more than other people did.

I had seen some pages that claimed the "greys" supposedly were an experiment of other alien races, and a sort of biological automaton (robot more or less, but with a sense of free will). However they also claimed that they originally were a species by themselves, who just got altered genetically by their conquerors.

A bit of a sad story, in a way they are depicted as victims who go on to victimise others.

 

[Perfection]

Killer Klowns

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Species 8472. http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Species_8472

 

[Lillefix]

I had seen some pages that claimed the "greys" supposedly were an experiment of other alien races, and a sort of biological automaton (robot more or less, but with a sense of free will).

That's UFO/XCOM Enemy unknown.

 

[Kyriakos]

^Haven't played that game (always hated sci-fi...) but this theory is widespread in entirely non-game youtube videos on 'aliens'.

 

[bhsup]

^Haven't played that game (always hated sci-fi...) but this theory is widespread in entirely non-game youtube videos on 'aliens'.

Probably -because- of the original XCOM back in the early 90s. The idea entered the social consciousness and from there took off.

I mean, let's face it, the greys don't actually exist, so those ideas have to originate somewhere initially.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

Probably -because- of the original XCOM back in the early 90s. The idea entered the social consciousness and from there took off.

I mean, let's face it, the greys don't actually exist, so those ideas have to originate somewhere initially.

Grey aliens date from before X-COM. The earliest description comes from H.G. Wells.

 

[Lillefix]

Grey aliens date from before X-COM. The earliest description comes from H.G. Wells.

I think he refers to the idea that the greys are genetically engineered to serve the needs of another more shadowy alien race.

 

[eduhum]

I always try to see if someone has an idea of an alien non-human based.
Non anthropomorphic, no eyes, no nothing, no flesh. These are 'earthly' concepts. Just something entirely different.