Yeah, really. It amuses me that people think we'd stand a chance. Do the ants stand a chance when we place a hand grenade in their anthill? We'd be so seriously outclassed that it's not funny. People mention our "thermonuclear weapons" like it's some holy mantra, forgetting that these guys likely would be lobbing thermonuclear weapons at each other on a simple ship to ship skirmish like they were simple flak shells. Their most powerful weaponry would be something truly catastrophic, like antimatter or quantum energy or even a freaking singularity.
We'd be literally ****ed.
We have God on our side and he will protect us from the enemy. The only questions are is our God stronger than their God or is our God and their God the same being?
Seriously, it would take an omnnipotent being for us to survive an encounter with hostile aliens at our current level of development.
We have God on our side and he will protect us from the enemy. The only questions are is our God stronger than their God or is our God and their God the same being?
Seriously, it would take an omnnipotent being for us to survive an encounter with hostile aliens at our current level of development.
You know, in that whole "aliens:humans :: humans:ants" thing, there's one part we seem to be ignoring.
When was the last time you saw humans trying to invade and take over an anthill? We either ignore them or destroy them, but we don't bother with trying to invade them or enslave them. And for the most part, we don't eat them, either. (Yes, there are exceptions to that last, but only in isolated areas; it's hardly a widespread thing that requires invading anthills left and right.)
And yes, it would be trivially simple to eliminate us - an asteroid a mile across would do the job, and eliminate most other life on Earth in the bargain - but the initial question had to do with invasion, not destruction. If the aliens are to us as we are to ants, they'd have no reason to invade. And if matters are more equal, I don't think we'd be as easily defeated as all that in the long run.
Yeah, really. It amuses me that people think we'd stand a chance. Do the ants stand a chance when we place a hand grenade in their anthill? We'd be so seriously outclassed that it's not funny. People mention our "thermonuclear weapons" like it's some holy mantra, forgetting that these guys likely would be lobbing thermonuclear weapons at each other on a simple ship to ship skirmish like they were simple flak shells. Their most powerful weaponry would be something truly catastrophic, like antimatter or quantum energy or even a freaking singularity.
We'd be literally ****ed.
As said in the previous page (link); at that point we are not talking about an "invasion" anymore for several reasons.
It makes no sense to invade an anthill (except for oddity's like the dropped smartphone example). And if we are serious for the removal of said ant-hill (ie. pest control) by the means of an hand grenade it would not be much of an invasion either.
You know, in that whole "aliens:humans :: humans:ants" thing, there's one part we seem to be ignoring.
When was the last time you saw humans trying to invade and take over an anthill? We either ignore them or destroy them, but we don't bother with trying to invade them or enslave them. And for the most part, we don't eat them, either. (Yes, there are exceptions to that last, but only in isolated areas; it's hardly a widespread thing that requires invading anthills left and right.)
And yes, it would be trivially simple to eliminate us - an asteroid a mile across would do the job, and eliminate most other life on Earth in the bargain - but the initial question had to do with invasion, not destruction. If the aliens are to us as we are to ants, they'd have no reason to invade. And if matters are more equal, I don't think we'd be as easily defeated as all that in the long run.
As said in the previous page (link); at that point we are not talking about an "invasion" anymore for several reasons.
It makes no sense to invade an anthill (except for oddity's like the dropped smartphone example). And if we are serious for the removal of said ant-hill (ie. pest control) by the means of an hand grenade it would not be much of an invasion either.
edit:
Or what jon says
I gather you never saw kids holding magnifying glasses over anthills burning away individual ants at random. The potential for sheer cruelty for cruelty's sake exists in the universe.
Yes, it is true that it's far more likely that they'd just ignore us, our pissant Type 0 Civilization being far beneath their notice. However, I think you err in assuming that they wouldn't use the mentioned orbital bombardment tactics to completely destroy our infrastructure if they actually wanted to conquer and enslave our population for whatever reason. In fact, that would be the logical first tactic.
You know, in that whole "aliens:humans :: humans:ants" thing, there's one part we seem to be ignoring.
When was the last time you saw humans trying to invade and take over an anthill? We either ignore them or destroy them, but we don't bother with trying to invade them or enslave them. And for the most part, we don't eat them, either. (Yes, there are exceptions to that last, but only in isolated areas; it's hardly a widespread thing that requires invading anthills left and right.)
And yes, it would be trivially simple to eliminate us - an asteroid a mile across would do the job, and eliminate most other life on Earth in the bargain - but the initial question had to do with invasion, not destruction. If the aliens are to us as we are to ants, they'd have no reason to invade. And if matters are more equal, I don't think we'd be as easily defeated as all that in the long run.
Well, the thread *IS* operating under the situation that aliens are already bent on kicking our asses and what humanity can do to fight them :cool:
Also, for humans, sometimes those ants are a pest. What do we do with something considered a pest? We wipe them out
"We don't know who struck first, us or them. But we do know it was us who scorched the sky.
At the time they were dependant on solar power, It was believed they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun."
^somethin like that. We'd end up destroying ourselves... If the aliens couldn't finish us.
They would not be used to earth bacteria and infections so all we need to do is give them something like the common cold, for us humans, colds can be a minor discomfort but for an alien race it could be quite deadly
"The meaning of victory is not to merely defeat your enemy but to destroy him, to completely eradicate him from living memory, to leave no remnant of his endeavours, to crush utterly his achievement and remove from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the meaning of victory."
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans."
True enough. Even if the aliens are friendly, then our culture will be irreparably harmed. Our drive for scientific progression would cease since it would be centuries before we will adapt to the scientific knowledge given by the aliens and create new scientific knowledge.
If they have FTL technology and are invading Earth, they're already making strategic errors - the only thing on this planet you can't get more easily in space is us - so hoping for tactical errors as well isn't that far-fetched, one would think.
Depends on why they've decided to invade. I could only see it if:
- Planets with the Earth's ecosystem are extremely rare - and for whatever reason said aliens don't have the ability to terraform closer/uninhabited worlds to suit their needs.
- They need/want to establish a colony world and need all resources (meaning we, the indigenous population need to go.)
But if they have the tech to cross interstellar space; they could probably also devise a weapon deliverable from orbit that could wipe out the majority of the human race without them needing to engage us on the ground; and those that remain wouldn't be able to mount a counterattack that would force them to abandon their plans - or leave an earth we and or they could thrive on.
Again, given the resources and technology need to cross interstellar space - if such a race of aliens wanted us cleared - there wouldn't be much we could do. They'd know enough about us and Earth to be able to eradicate us without a lot of damage to what they came for. <-- I say that because if they couldn't they wouldn't waste the resources to make the trip.
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
After they check out Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the Interwebz, what makes anyone think they'd be stupid enough to allow us anywhere near anything they have with value? Even as an enemy?
If I were them, I post a fence around Sol with big signs on it in all languages which say,
"Leave them be. They'll kill themselves off in about three or four generations. Saves us the bother of attacking them."
Then, just for giggles, I'd send a truckload of the extra terrestrial equivalent of smallpox infected blankets to Earth. Along with about US $24.00 dollar's worth of cheap costume jewelry.
A six year old boy and his starship. Living the dream.
hmm..... well, if the XCom games are any indication, we'd get our asses handed to us till we can kill enough of them to salvage working weapons, learn to use their tech, then obliterate them.
And then the latest one comes out and from the trailers has the aliens conquer the planet 20 years before it takes place.
They would not be used to earth bacteria and infections so all we need to do is give them something like the common cold, for us humans, colds can be a minor discomfort but for an alien race it could be quite deadly
You know, people have been bringing up this trope over and over in this thread, and while it's valid, no one ever considers the flip side of the coin.... :rolleyes:
What if the aliens bring a disease with them that's minor to their species, but devastating to ours?
Then, just for giggles, I'd send a truckload of the extra terrestrial equivalent of smallpox infected blankets to Earth. Along with about US $24.00 dollar's worth of cheap costume jewelry.
Of course, you do realize that the $24 (a reference to the sixty Guilders--the Dutch currency of the time--that was the value of the goods with which Peter Minuet "purchased" the island of Manhattan from the natives) is $24 as it was back under the pre-World War One gold standard, where one ounce of gold equaled twenty dollars. In other words, he spent about 1.2 ounces of gold, which while absurdly cheap for a land title, is still a lot more than the restaurant dinner for two people that $24 would buy today.
I gather you never saw kids holding magnifying glasses over anthills burning away individual ants at random. The potential for sheer cruelty for cruelty's sake exists in the universe.
Yes, it is true that it's far more likely that they'd just ignore us, our pissant Type 0 Civilization being far beneath their notice. However, I think you err in assuming that they wouldn't use the mentioned orbital bombardment tactics to completely destroy our infrastructure if they actually wanted to conquer and enslave our population for whatever reason. In fact, that would be the logical first tactic.
Thats why we have two extremes with the ant comparison of which neither is an invasion in the conquest sense. One is not because we are so far beneath them they would just not "see" us and the other would be a wipe out without us ever getting the idea of what just happened, just like ants would never getting the idea about a human planting a grenade in their nest or kids with magnifying glasses.
To have this kind of invasion scenario you need aliens that not that far different on the technological understanding scale as we are and they need a reason. It might be mundane stuff as removing future galactic competition (at which our chances are probably at worst; they would just drop a few asteroids and be done with it) or living room; which is less likely since that would mean their natural environment would be nearly exactly like earth. Even to a species coming from a earth like planet the difference might be enough that our gravity might crush their bones, our air might cough them blood & our water has just the wrong amount of bacteria & our dim daylight might cause permanent blindness in 10 seconds and severe burn & death in 30 up to a min. So: Having a species feeling at home invading here would be as scary as the invasion itself.
Something so far beyond our understanding as humans are to ants... I doubt it would have any of these troubles.
If an alien invasion got thwarted by Earth microbes, then the aliens were probably not so bright to begin with. I guess it's not impossible for an advanced alien civiilzation to be super stupid. However, that Tom Cruise movie was just a movie.
But if we assume aliens capable of building space ships etc are actually not some imbecile morons, what do we do then?
Thats why we have two extremes with the ant comparison of which neither is an invasion in the conquest sense. One is not because we are so far beneath them they would just not "see" us and the other would be a wipe out without us ever getting the idea of what just happened, just like ants would never getting the idea about a human planting a grenade in their nest or kids with magnifying glasses.
To have this kind of invasion scenario you need aliens that not that far different on the technological understanding scale as we are and they need a reason. It might be mundane stuff as removing future galactic competition (at which our chances are probably at worst; they would just drop a few asteroids and be done with it) or living room; which is less likely since that would mean their natural environment would be nearly exactly like earth. Even to a species coming from a earth like planet the difference might be enough that our gravity might crush their bones, our air might cough them blood & our water has just the wrong amount of bacteria & our dim daylight might cause permanent blindness in 10 seconds and severe burn & death in 30 up to a min. So: Having a species feeling at home invading here would be as scary as the invasion itself.
Something so far beyond our understanding as humans are to ants... I doubt it would have any of these troubles.
Ah, but the question is not why they would invade. The question is, would we stand a chance if they did? And it's very clearly evident that we couldn't. We can barely escape our own gravity well. So when an advanced civilization can simply park itself in orbit and blast away at the surface in safety and comfort, how are we supposed to fight back?
It wouldn't be probable for us to ever come close to achieving a victory over such a superior foe.
Nevermind that there are other reasons than "future competition" and "living space" for why they'd invade. For instance, they might want to simply strip mine the entire solar system to build one of their ridiculous superstructures. After all, you need a lot of raw material to build something like a Dyson Sphere.
It's actually not inconceivable that our microbes would be so foreign to alien beings as to be unable to infect them. Of course, in that case they couldn't use us for food, either...
There's also chirality to consider - the "handedness" of their chemical makeup. Most chemicals on Earth, including DNA, are dextrorotary - that is, they "wind to the right", as it were. There's no special reason, however, why an alien ecology might not be built on a levorotary basis; we've seen that in, for instance, the Mass Effect games, where turians and quarians are levorotary life forms. (That's why, for instance, the bartender on Ilium advises you not to eat the nuts in the red bowls - "they'll give you cramps.") Levorotary life forms couldn't eat anything on Earth, and would be well-advised to boil and filter their water to make sure there aren't any dextrorotary bacteria or virii hiding in there...
Every guess is a good guess. It would depend on great many factors and perhaps there are a few we don't even consider but that would be relevant.
Just because they're supposed to be technologically more advanced it doesn't mean they would outright win. They can very well be advanced in some fields and not in others. Numbers, tactics, ideologies, etc are also relevant.
How is their society? We are technologically advanced in weaponry because our nations, tribes, groups, have always been adversarial. A less divided species would perhaps be less apt at war.
Imagine that their average soldier is nothing but a brute armed with good weapons. It can be countered by a greater intelect and better tactics.
On the other hand imagine that their average soldier is not only well armed but it is also extremely well trained and smarter than most of us. Imagine that they are even more aggressive than we are.
Very little - if any - chances for us.
The multitude of possibilities is endless.
Every guess is a good guess. It would depend on great many factors and perhaps there are a few we don't even consider but that would be relevant.
Just because they're supposed to be technologically more advanced it doesn't mean they would outright win. They can very well be advanced in some fields and not in others. Numbers, tactics, ideologies, etc are also relevant.
How is their society? We are technologically advanced in weaponry because our nations, tribes, groups, have always been adversarial. A less divided species would perhaps be less apt at war.
Imagine that their average soldier is nothing but a brute armed with good weapons. It can be countered by a greater intelect and better tactics.
On the other hand imagine that their average soldier is not only well armed but it is also extremely well trained and smarter than most of us. Imagine that they are even more aggressive than we are.
Very little - if any - chances for us.
The multitude of possibilities is endless.
Your assumption is in line with the continued, flawed thinking that the aliens would be stupid enough to enter our atmosphere while we could still manage a resistance. They're not going to land troops or dogfight with our jets. Such would be the tactics of a civilization that's already sharing the planet.
Your assumption is in line with the continued, flawed thinking that the aliens would be stupid enough to enter our atmosphere while we could still manage a resistance. They're not going to land troops or dogfight with our jets. Such would be the tactics of a civilization that's already sharing the planet.
It's not flawed because you say it's flawed. You are as much as an expert in things that no one knows they exist as I am.
You also assume. You assume their ships have weapons. You assume they do not have some form of morals or honor that oblige them to look their enemy in the eye before defeating him. You think as a human as do I, so none of us knows what or how they would think.
It's not flawed because you say it's flawed. You are as much as an expert in things that no one knows they exist as I am.
You also assume. You assume their ships have weapons. You assume they do not have some form of morals or honor that oblige them to look their enemy in the eye before defeating him. You think as a human as do I, so none of us knows what or how they would think.
So you're implying that the alien invaders are morons. Okay.
So you're implying that the alien invaders are morons. Okay.
I'm not implying anything, I'm actually stating very clearly that all options are a possibility and that we have no way of knowing. It's all conjecture and guesses based on what we are, what we know, how we act and how we think.
I'm not implying anything, I'm actually stating very clearly that all options are a possibility and that we have no way of knowing. It's all conjecture and guesses based on what we are, what we know, how we act and how we think.
You may not think you're implying anything, but your assumption of "honorable look in your foe's eyes when you could easily pummel him into submission from above" tactics are the tactics of an idiot. It's allowing the enemy an advantage that can be avoided.
And frankly, if their ships didn't have weapons... why would they even be attacking? Wouldn't they be peaceful instead?
You may not think you're implying anything, but your assumption of "honorable look in your foe's eyes when you could easily pummel him into submission from above" tactics are the tactics of an idiot. It's allowing the enemy an advantage that can be avoided.
And frankly, if their ships didn't have weapons... why would they even be attacking? Wouldn't they be peaceful instead?
I stated an example. A possibility. I started by saying there are many, and perhaps many we can't even consider, for a multitude of reasons. I didn't list all the possibilities, nor did I order them from the most to the least likely. And again, I couldn't because what is mostly likely to me, may not be to other people, nor an alien race.
There were indeed human groups and ideologies that made people act in a given standard even in conflict and war time. Things they would not do, even if they were "a moron, not to take the advantage". Some people do care about the means to the end. If an alien race would indulge such a notion? I don't know, but again it's possible.
As for the ships with weapons, it depends on their level of technology and what they can or can't do (engineering, construction, power, etc...)
You want real answeres to things that are only "what ifs"
Orbital bombardment until all opposition is suppressed would have the minor side effect of destroying the biosphere, rendering the whole question of "invasion" pretty much moot. It's well known that if your goal is simple planetary destruction, the best methods of doing so are pretty well foolproof and unstoppable. However, the initial question, the one proposed for debate, is one of invasion - that is, attempting to seize and control the planet with its biosphere still intact (exact reasons why are unimportant. Maybe they're just sentimental that way).
The boy with the glass burning the ants certainly has no interest in subjugating the insects, nor in controlling their hill - he is merely being casually cruel. He's not invading, just destroying, certainly the easier of the two.
Any alien that comes to Earth will be apex-predators, a cow don't have time to build space-ships, they need to eat the whole day, only the one that eat others have time to do other stuff, like building space-ships.
Ah, but the question is not why they would invade. The question is, would we stand a chance if they did? And it's very clearly evident that we couldn't. We can barely escape our own gravity well. So when an advanced civilization can simply park itself in orbit and blast away at the surface in safety and comfort, how are we supposed to fight back?
It wouldn't be probable for us to ever come close to achieving a victory over such a superior foe.
Nevermind that there are other reasons than "future competition" and "living space" for why they'd invade. For instance, they might want to simply strip mine the entire solar system to build one of their ridiculous superstructures. After all, you need a lot of raw material to build something like a Dyson Sphere.
Yes, the question is not why they but if we stand a chance if they do. But that inevitably leads to a pile of other questions of which are why they do and at what power/techlevel they operate.
And the question ist still "would we have a chance if they invade us" not "if they plan to annihilate us" which is what your answers are mostly based on. You have some very valid ideas these cases; but again, these where the right answers to the wrong question.
The plan for "invasion" already "limits" the possible scale from godlike beings we cannot grasp, cannot even be aware of even if they want (ant vs humans again) to something we can.
Considering the nearly endless pool of human imagination that still leaves a massive amount of what could happen. Maybe they are nearly godlike and pop in to our existance and mindcontrol the whole in 10 minutes without even a shot fired; not even requireing spaceships. Maybe they something else that has only slightly better ground combat equippment but never had any experience in ground warfare situations (less warlike among themself then we & humans their first contact).
Well like others have gone with what happens in other sci fi shows I thought I'd tell you what the Japanese think of alien invasions in their anime
Gunparade March (which I'm buying) starts in early 1945 and World War 2 ends early because Aliens attack. The nations of Earth all band together to fight. The War lasts for 57 years.So in that universe we obviously have the tech to fight them.
As for the Tenchi series,there is no need for aliens to attack as Earth is already a planet belonging to the Empire of Jurai which all world leaders know about and contact Jurai regulary. (Colony World 00315) so that could be a possibility!
As for my personal view as others have said it all depends on what they want to do with us. If they want people as slaves they have to invade and possibly we could win on the ground. However if they just want our planet then they'll just hit us from orbit and we'd lose.
Comments
We have God on our side and he will protect us from the enemy. The only questions are is our God stronger than their God or is our God and their God the same being?
Seriously, it would take an omnnipotent being for us to survive an encounter with hostile aliens at our current level of development.
GOD you say?
When was the last time you saw humans trying to invade and take over an anthill? We either ignore them or destroy them, but we don't bother with trying to invade them or enslave them. And for the most part, we don't eat them, either. (Yes, there are exceptions to that last, but only in isolated areas; it's hardly a widespread thing that requires invading anthills left and right.)
And yes, it would be trivially simple to eliminate us - an asteroid a mile across would do the job, and eliminate most other life on Earth in the bargain - but the initial question had to do with invasion, not destruction. If the aliens are to us as we are to ants, they'd have no reason to invade. And if matters are more equal, I don't think we'd be as easily defeated as all that in the long run.
As said in the previous page (link); at that point we are not talking about an "invasion" anymore for several reasons.
It makes no sense to invade an anthill (except for oddity's like the dropped smartphone example). And if we are serious for the removal of said ant-hill (ie. pest control) by the means of an hand grenade it would not be much of an invasion either.
edit:
Or what jon says
I gather you never saw kids holding magnifying glasses over anthills burning away individual ants at random. The potential for sheer cruelty for cruelty's sake exists in the universe.
Yes, it is true that it's far more likely that they'd just ignore us, our pissant Type 0 Civilization being far beneath their notice. However, I think you err in assuming that they wouldn't use the mentioned orbital bombardment tactics to completely destroy our infrastructure if they actually wanted to conquer and enslave our population for whatever reason. In fact, that would be the logical first tactic.
Well, the thread *IS* operating under the situation that aliens are already bent on kicking our asses and what humanity can do to fight them :cool:
Also, for humans, sometimes those ants are a pest. What do we do with something considered a pest? We wipe them out
At the time they were dependant on solar power, It was believed they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun."
^somethin like that. We'd end up destroying ourselves... If the aliens couldn't finish us.
-Lord Commander Solar Macharius
True enough. Even if the aliens are friendly, then our culture will be irreparably harmed. Our drive for scientific progression would cease since it would be centuries before we will adapt to the scientific knowledge given by the aliens and create new scientific knowledge.
Depends on why they've decided to invade. I could only see it if:
- Planets with the Earth's ecosystem are extremely rare - and for whatever reason said aliens don't have the ability to terraform closer/uninhabited worlds to suit their needs.
- They need/want to establish a colony world and need all resources (meaning we, the indigenous population need to go.)
But if they have the tech to cross interstellar space; they could probably also devise a weapon deliverable from orbit that could wipe out the majority of the human race without them needing to engage us on the ground; and those that remain wouldn't be able to mount a counterattack that would force them to abandon their plans - or leave an earth we and or they could thrive on.
Again, given the resources and technology need to cross interstellar space - if such a race of aliens wanted us cleared - there wouldn't be much we could do. They'd know enough about us and Earth to be able to eradicate us without a lot of damage to what they came for. <-- I say that because if they couldn't they wouldn't waste the resources to make the trip.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
If I were them, I post a fence around Sol with big signs on it in all languages which say,
"Leave them be. They'll kill themselves off in about three or four generations. Saves us the bother of attacking them."
Then, just for giggles, I'd send a truckload of the extra terrestrial equivalent of smallpox infected blankets to Earth. Along with about US $24.00 dollar's worth of cheap costume jewelry.
The Federation has been able to recrystallize dilithium since Star Trek IV.
Actually the Romulan's ancestral homeworld of Vulcan is perfectly fine, and still has an environment capable of supporting their form of life.
And then the latest one comes out and from the trailers has the aliens conquer the planet 20 years before it takes place.
You know, people have been bringing up this trope over and over in this thread, and while it's valid, no one ever considers the flip side of the coin.... :rolleyes:
What if the aliens bring a disease with them that's minor to their species, but devastating to ours?
Of course, you do realize that the $24 (a reference to the sixty Guilders--the Dutch currency of the time--that was the value of the goods with which Peter Minuet "purchased" the island of Manhattan from the natives) is $24 as it was back under the pre-World War One gold standard, where one ounce of gold equaled twenty dollars. In other words, he spent about 1.2 ounces of gold, which while absurdly cheap for a land title, is still a lot more than the restaurant dinner for two people that $24 would buy today.
Thats why we have two extremes with the ant comparison of which neither is an invasion in the conquest sense. One is not because we are so far beneath them they would just not "see" us and the other would be a wipe out without us ever getting the idea of what just happened, just like ants would never getting the idea about a human planting a grenade in their nest or kids with magnifying glasses.
To have this kind of invasion scenario you need aliens that not that far different on the technological understanding scale as we are and they need a reason. It might be mundane stuff as removing future galactic competition (at which our chances are probably at worst; they would just drop a few asteroids and be done with it) or living room; which is less likely since that would mean their natural environment would be nearly exactly like earth. Even to a species coming from a earth like planet the difference might be enough that our gravity might crush their bones, our air might cough them blood & our water has just the wrong amount of bacteria & our dim daylight might cause permanent blindness in 10 seconds and severe burn & death in 30 up to a min. So: Having a species feeling at home invading here would be as scary as the invasion itself.
Something so far beyond our understanding as humans are to ants... I doubt it would have any of these troubles.
But if we assume aliens capable of building space ships etc are actually not some imbecile morons, what do we do then?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Kn6S6_TEqU
Ah, but the question is not why they would invade. The question is, would we stand a chance if they did? And it's very clearly evident that we couldn't. We can barely escape our own gravity well. So when an advanced civilization can simply park itself in orbit and blast away at the surface in safety and comfort, how are we supposed to fight back?
It wouldn't be probable for us to ever come close to achieving a victory over such a superior foe.
Nevermind that there are other reasons than "future competition" and "living space" for why they'd invade. For instance, they might want to simply strip mine the entire solar system to build one of their ridiculous superstructures. After all, you need a lot of raw material to build something like a Dyson Sphere.
There's also chirality to consider - the "handedness" of their chemical makeup. Most chemicals on Earth, including DNA, are dextrorotary - that is, they "wind to the right", as it were. There's no special reason, however, why an alien ecology might not be built on a levorotary basis; we've seen that in, for instance, the Mass Effect games, where turians and quarians are levorotary life forms. (That's why, for instance, the bartender on Ilium advises you not to eat the nuts in the red bowls - "they'll give you cramps.") Levorotary life forms couldn't eat anything on Earth, and would be well-advised to boil and filter their water to make sure there aren't any dextrorotary bacteria or virii hiding in there...
Just because they're supposed to be technologically more advanced it doesn't mean they would outright win. They can very well be advanced in some fields and not in others. Numbers, tactics, ideologies, etc are also relevant.
How is their society? We are technologically advanced in weaponry because our nations, tribes, groups, have always been adversarial. A less divided species would perhaps be less apt at war.
Imagine that their average soldier is nothing but a brute armed with good weapons. It can be countered by a greater intelect and better tactics.
On the other hand imagine that their average soldier is not only well armed but it is also extremely well trained and smarter than most of us. Imagine that they are even more aggressive than we are.
Very little - if any - chances for us.
The multitude of possibilities is endless.
Your assumption is in line with the continued, flawed thinking that the aliens would be stupid enough to enter our atmosphere while we could still manage a resistance. They're not going to land troops or dogfight with our jets. Such would be the tactics of a civilization that's already sharing the planet.
Aliens don't need to do these things. They can park in our orbit and hit us from there until all of our infrastructure is rubble.
It's not flawed because you say it's flawed. You are as much as an expert in things that no one knows they exist as I am.
You also assume. You assume their ships have weapons. You assume they do not have some form of morals or honor that oblige them to look their enemy in the eye before defeating him. You think as a human as do I, so none of us knows what or how they would think.
So you're implying that the alien invaders are morons. Okay.
I'm not implying anything, I'm actually stating very clearly that all options are a possibility and that we have no way of knowing. It's all conjecture and guesses based on what we are, what we know, how we act and how we think.
You may not think you're implying anything, but your assumption of "honorable look in your foe's eyes when you could easily pummel him into submission from above" tactics are the tactics of an idiot. It's allowing the enemy an advantage that can be avoided.
And frankly, if their ships didn't have weapons... why would they even be attacking? Wouldn't they be peaceful instead?
I stated an example. A possibility. I started by saying there are many, and perhaps many we can't even consider, for a multitude of reasons. I didn't list all the possibilities, nor did I order them from the most to the least likely. And again, I couldn't because what is mostly likely to me, may not be to other people, nor an alien race.
There were indeed human groups and ideologies that made people act in a given standard even in conflict and war time. Things they would not do, even if they were "a moron, not to take the advantage". Some people do care about the means to the end. If an alien race would indulge such a notion? I don't know, but again it's possible.
As for the ships with weapons, it depends on their level of technology and what they can or can't do (engineering, construction, power, etc...)
You want real answeres to things that are only "what ifs"
The boy with the glass burning the ants certainly has no interest in subjugating the insects, nor in controlling their hill - he is merely being casually cruel. He's not invading, just destroying, certainly the easier of the two.
Yes, the question is not why they but if we stand a chance if they do. But that inevitably leads to a pile of other questions of which are why they do and at what power/techlevel they operate.
And the question ist still "would we have a chance if they invade us" not "if they plan to annihilate us" which is what your answers are mostly based on. You have some very valid ideas these cases; but again, these where the right answers to the wrong question.
The plan for "invasion" already "limits" the possible scale from godlike beings we cannot grasp, cannot even be aware of even if they want (ant vs humans again) to something we can.
Considering the nearly endless pool of human imagination that still leaves a massive amount of what could happen. Maybe they are nearly godlike and pop in to our existance and mindcontrol the whole in 10 minutes without even a shot fired; not even requireing spaceships. Maybe they something else that has only slightly better ground combat equippment but never had any experience in ground warfare situations (less warlike among themself then we & humans their first contact).
Gunparade March (which I'm buying) starts in early 1945 and World War 2 ends early because Aliens attack. The nations of Earth all band together to fight. The War lasts for 57 years.So in that universe we obviously have the tech to fight them.
As for the Tenchi series,there is no need for aliens to attack as Earth is already a planet belonging to the Empire of Jurai which all world leaders know about and contact Jurai regulary. (Colony World 00315) so that could be a possibility!
As for my personal view as others have said it all depends on what they want to do with us. If they want people as slaves they have to invade and possibly we could win on the ground. However if they just want our planet then they'll just hit us from orbit and we'd lose.