Types of extraterrestrial beings

[Kyriakos]

Inspired by the other ongoing alien-centered thread here

1)The Greys

Iirc the Greys are said to be some sort of genetic experiment of more advanced races of aliens. They do not have the ability to reproduce naturally, and thus are a species in decay and nearing death. They are the ones mostly associated with human abduction stories.

2)The Reptilians

Reptilians are supposed to originate in the Draconis system (hence their name, since draco is latin from dragon). They are argued to be "shapeshifters", that is be able to alter drastically the way they appear to humans in regards to their form. Some popular alien-based conspiracy theorists have argued that the Reptilians have been in our planet for millenia, and are in general the heads of all remaining royal families and other powerful groups.

3)Pleiadians

Supposed to originate in the Pleiades star system, therefore named that way.

In general a human-looking alien race, with more curvy bodies. I suppose the main industry in their planets is porn-based.

-Some other fun stuff i found online:

Map of the areas with the most agressive alien populations/numbers, in Europe:

(Notice that Kosovo is still in Serbia in that map. I am sure that if it was on its own it would be alien-central already ).

That unnamed alien species easily is the coolest one of all

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I thought the types in the title referred to behaviour, e.g. aggressive, observer, or diplomatic. And then you could have subtypes differentiating subtleties such as aliens who want to enslave vs. annihilate and aliens who want to uplift vs. trade.

 

[Kyriakos]

You can provide such info/"info" if you want There are loads of stuff on this matter online.

 

[Winner]

Biologically, I think that almost everything is possible. I do think, however, that spacefaring species need to meet some conditions (like, for example, have some manipulatory appendages to build stuff - it is all fine and great if you're a species of cetacean geniuses, but if you have no limbs to build anything, you'll never even reach the stone age).

A staple of sci-fi is the "aquatic aliens" trope. I think this is VERY unlikely, since you can't light any kind of useful fire in an aquatic environment. Unless such a species is capable of surviving on land (i.e. have some amphibian features), it is also unlikely to move past its stone age-equivalent (read 2061: Odyssey Three by A.C. Clarke).

Culturally, anything is possible.

 

[Kyriakos]

Well as you know they could develop "greek fire" type of "fire", ie some sort of liquid-fire

I think that this is the St Gkrizos of Cappadocia:

 

[Lord Baal]

Biologically, I think that almost everything is possible. I do think, however, that spacefaring species need to meet some conditions (like, for example, have some manipulatory appendages to build stuff - it is all fine and great if you're a species of cetacean geniuses, but if you have no limbs to build anything, you'll never even reach the stone age).

A staple of sci-fi is the "aquatic aliens" trope. I think this is VERY unlikely, since you can't light any kind of useful fire in an aquatic environment. Unless such a species is capable of surviving on land (i.e. have some amphibian features), it is also unlikely to move past its stone age-equivalent (read 2061: Odyssey Three by A.C. Clarke).

Culturally, anything is possible.

Bio-chemical processes? The Xenomorphs excreted material for use in their nests and to build traps, could not an aquatic creature do something similar on a basis that we would consider technological? It's not fire, obviously, but there are chemical reactions similar enough to fire that an aquatic species might be capable of.

 

[Winner]

Bio-chemical processes? The Xenomorphs excreted material for use in their nests and to build traps, could not an aquatic creature do something similar on a basis that we would consider technological? It's not fire, obviously, but there are chemical reactions similar enough to fire that an aquatic species might be capable of.

Well, sure, but I can't imagine a technological civilization which can't smelt ores to produce metals. Mastery of fire and metallurgy have been crucial for technological progression of the human species. We've had civilizations which existed without that technology, but they all ended badly when they encountered competition from those who did have it.

Simply put, while I do not exclude aquatic civilizations, I don't think they can get very far in terms of technology. They'd probably forever be stuck in the stone age, only being able to produce simple tools. They could of course build huge underwater cities (after all, the Aztecs did so without metals and even the wheel on land which they created), but without the ability to get out of the water, light fire and produce metal tools, they would not progress any further. They would probably try to explore land in the same way humans explored shallow waters by holding breath and diving, but it would be pretty hard for them and they wouldn't have the technology to establish a permanent presence on land. It's a chicken and egg problem - you need stuff like metals, plastics, rubber, etc. to move from one medium (water) into another(air) for an extended period of time, but you won't have these materials until you've produced them on land.

Therefore, I submit that most if not all alien species with advanced technology evolved from land dwelling life forms.

 

[Perfection]

You forget the infiltrating kind of aliens, the sort that either invade someone's brain and force them to do the biddings of the alien overlords or wholesale swap out the person for a sinister alien duplicate.

 

[Yeekim]

Well, sure, but I can't imagine a technological civilization which can't smelt ores to produce metals. Mastery of fire and metallurgy have been crucial for technological progression of the human species.

There are a lot of creatures who produce their own building materials. Bees make wax, spiders make webs, snails make shells...

 

[Kyriakos]

Some types of ants have developed farming (fungi farming) and a form of animal husbandry (smaller insects used by the ants for their natural substances, which can be taken without killing the creature). And obviously they do not even have fingers at all. So many things are possible.

 

[Perfection]

There are a lot of creatures who produce their own building materials. Bees make wax, spiders make webs, snails make shells...

http://www.andrewmaynard.com.au/poop.htm

 

[Winner]

There are a lot of creatures who produce their own building materials. Bees make wax, spiders make webs, snails make shells...

Yes, sure, but these are evolved features which help the species in a particular survival strategy. Human civilization is capable of producing thousands upon thousands of different materials (metallic alloys, glass, ceramics, plastics, carbon composites, etc. etc.) which we need to do the stuff we do. To reach a certain level of technology, you have to be able to produce all of them. For instance, I can't imagine us being able to reach orbit without metals.

So, unless these aliens evolved in such a way they can literally crap spaceships, I doubt they can ever get out of their home planet without going through a broadly similar technology development process we have. Since fire and ore smelting are crucial first steps, aquatic species have a hell of a handicap to start with.

 

[El_Machinae]

Yeah, I'm with Winner. Technologically, they'd need to be land-based. Now, if they were spreading due to simple Darwinian principles, then I'd not be so sure. The process would select for species that spread. All you'd need is a spore-eruption system that exceeds escape velocity and spores that can terraform a decent variety of locations.

I'm most fond of the greys. The people who report grey abduction tend to be less zany than those who interact with reptilians and the Nordics.

 

[Ajidica]

As long as with avoid the ones with the probes, I'm sure we're set.

 

[Civ'ed]

Well as you know they could develop "greek fire" type of "fire", ie some sort of liquid-fire

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Greek Fire float on water?

 

[bhsup]

I notice an utter lack of spore based lifeforms being mentioned here. Silicon as well.

(you youngsters may not get this reference)

 

[Kyriakos]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Greek Fire float on water?

I do not know- i suspect no one does in reality... But it seems at least likely that it could expand on water, so to some degree it should be usable below the surface too i guess.

Of course it is highly unlikely/entirely impossible that any stone-age civ would just discover that sort of "fire" anyway

 

[El_Machinae]

I notice an utter lack of spore based lifeforms being mentioned here.

Silicon as well.

 

[bhsup]

Oh heck man, I'm sorry I honestly don't know how I missed your post, particularly given you're one of the posters I actively try to ensure I don't just skim over...

 

[Formaldehyde]

(you youngsters may not get this reference)

What is even worse is that it is a more recent remake of the original...

And still no mention of this alien?