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301 way? Might not the reality prove hideously and tragically different? Pro- posing a scenario in which a superior civilization took over the Earth and started to run it for us, MacVey concluded that they probably would run it for themselves. Any benefit accruing to us might be more fortuitous than intentional.'* Jill Tarter speculated that more advanced extraterrestrials will act in our best interests, but added an important caveat. Their altruism is likely only if their own longevity and stability do not demand the elimination of our emerging technology.'” Perhaps we are thinking on too small a scale; one can imagine altruistic acts that rise far above sending messages packed with useful information. If we were seen as a species endangered by natural threats to our planet, such as collisions with black holes, an altruistic species might intervene to eat nt ven protect us. We can hardly rely on that expectation. The burden of proof lies on those who think that alien behavior will be more noble than ours. A Dubious Utopia Assuming altruistic motivations for the tutelage of less advanced civili- zations may be naive. In Arthur Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, alien Overlords assume control of the Earth. Under their benevolent dictator- ship, our planet becomes a scientific and industrial utopia. Only later do the Overlords’ intentions become clear: They are evolving humans into a more acceptable species, through human children with excep- tional powers. The Overlords depart, taking the gifted children with them and leaving the rest of human civilization behind to disintegrate.'" Most scenarios for contact assume that we are dealing with a united civi- lization speaking with one voice. We usually picture them as representing their entire species, and we imagine them attempting to communicate with humanity as a whole; communication is between whole civilizations, not between individuals. We should be wary of treating an advanced civilization as if it were a single individual, with a single set of goals and a single set of moral values. This is not the case in our own civilization and is even less likely to be the case in a more advanced civilization.'" Although we value diversity among humans, we tend to envision each type of alien as uniform in its characteristics. This, commented Brin, is the kind of stereotyping that we now try to avoid on Earth. The first exemplars of communicating aliens that we meet may be atypical. Moreover, they may have reasons not to convey this to us.'!” They Speak as One They Speak as One