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It's a common answer to the Fermi Paradox ("if life is likely, why don't we see it?") in the sci-fi world. Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space [1] series of boo
by AceJohnny2 8y ago
It's a common answer to the Fermi Paradox ("if life is likely, why don't we see it?") in the sci-fi world. Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space [1] series of books (highly recommended) have the same premise, as does Greg Bears "Forge of God" [2] and from 1987 and its followup "Anvil of Stars". Also, I hear (haven't read it yet), Peter Watts' "Blindsight" [3]
Also the late Stephen Hawking's fears.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space_universe
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forge_of_God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forge_of_God
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel)
- komali2 8y agoSpoilers. In Blindsight, humans are the only intelligent lifeform in the Galaxy that are conscious. Thus, they're the only ones that produce art, entertainment, or just talk to each other for "no reason." Other intelligent life in the Galaxy does communicate, but only to exchange resources in a mutually beneficial way. So when a bunch of Earth transmissions of War of the World's or talk news finally make it out there, one set of aliens begins receiving and decoding this information. As it becomes clear the information is meaningless and worthless, it becomes obvious to the non-conscious aliens that humans are waging an information attack on the entire galaxy. They are essentially ddosing the Galaxy with worthless em radiation. So, the aliens come to kill them. Luckily the space vampires beat them to it.