Hmm: Why aliens will be nice -
- They don't need anything we need
-- either their economy is different from ours due to advancement or radically different environment or
-- a non-zero-sum situation exists where there is way more than enough universe to go around
- They might be able to gain from trade
-- This scenario is plausible even if they can't reach us at all due to interstellar distances. We could trade information far easier than matter.
Hmm - examples:
Suppose you have a sentient race of AIs who view the mind in general terms, abstracted from the particular hardware that sustains it. Their needs might be something along the lines of building and powering vast computer arrays to sustain more AI's, or more computing resources for the existing AI programs. From their perspective, earthlike planets might look as nasty as Venus looks to us - why bother building on a planet with shifting unpredictable fluid dynamic forces within a corrosive atmosphere, being constantly blasted by water? They might be looking for places with relatively static dead environments, ready access to energy and a heat sink. The terminator of mercury would be prime real-estate! Panels on one side, radiators on the other, heavy elements available.
Furthermore, they might want to enlist our aid in colonization rather than sending an invasion fleet. They could send us plans to build their host computers and recieving arrays. Then they wouldn't have to build starships at all - they would just send themselves along with their other transmissions, help us build their spacecraft, and head off for a "gentler" climate.
:-P
Just brainstorming.
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