Lets say we find an alien probe, what happens? How do we react?

[MHR]

Congress seizes on the opportunity to dig new lines in the sand about space-exploration and the betterment of the human condition vs governmental paranoia and defunding abortion. And then the whole thing boils down to funding and re-election.

Scientists work around the clock exploring every technology and theorizing every angle all while bitching about the lack of funding.

Tens of thousand of people burst out to where the capsule was found wearing goofy alien costumes and holding signs to the sky, smoking weed, and proceed to have alienstock 20XX or an Occupy Earth event that goes on for months. Guards at area 51 are annoyed.

The X-files get renewed for 8 more seasons.

 

[Catnip1024]

If they took the time to send out something like Voyager... Chances are they're more peacefully minded than war-like, like humans are.

Humans, or rather states, put on this display of peacefulness and prosperity, but the question is what happens when the resources run out? If climate change and population growth meant there was only enough food for 50% of the current population, and the state in charge of the farmland wasn't willing to share. Same with interstellar competition (but a bit more difficult).

Slightly more on subject - I don't know what speed Voyager achieves, but assuming it is possible to achieve massless propulsion (NASA were doing some tests a while back), then it should be feasible to get a probe up to about 0.1c - with it being a one way mission, there is no need to worry about braking, and the only thing limiting acceleration is power and time. So there are a few places within a century or two's travel which could be sending out the message. As for radio signals - well, there is a lot of background noise in the universe, and we don't know what frequencies they would operate on. Unless it was a focused radio message, it's unlikely to get picked up.

I admit, there are a lot of assumptions, but I'm not an interstellar rocket scientist. Although if they were fuel less, we would have to find a name other than rocket. Microwave scientist?

 

[Zontar]

Really depends on how we come across it. If it's not here at Earth we'd likely study it and try and learn all we can from it (hopefully like us they'd have left things on it for us to learn from).

If it's here at Earth that it finds us, immediate and total military frequency jamming on the global level by the US military in an act of full communication spectrum white-noising, with a cruise missile being sent to any location with the equipment to brake through the white noise that attempts to do so. This isn't speculation but current US state policy due to the fact that communicating with an alien probe that has come to our planet may be an extinction level event, and no matter how low the risk may be argued to be the stakes make it unacceptably high.

In the game of life and death on the species level, no chances are tolerated, and optimists get no say in the matter. That may sound like what asshole military man from alien movies say, but it's also what reality supports completely, as does the scientific community. In an actual alien contact movie the scientists would be just as terrified as everyone else.

 

[madwarper]

It frightens me to think... But, in a few months, we may end up building a space wall. And, get the Martians to pay for it.

 

[C5H5-NiNO]

It depends on the tech in the alien probe. If it's vastly superior to our own, then whoever got their hands on it and reverse-engineered it would have an unprecedented advantage over other groups. If one nation gets it, and keeps it a secret, that would be one outcome. One (small) nation gets it, everyone finds out, and they don't try to keep it, but demand some kind of international stewardship. One (powerful) nation gets it, everyone finds out, and WWIII breaks out over possession of it and rights to reverse-engineer the tech.

If the tech is similar to our own, then it doesn't really get us anywhere, except to inform us that we're not the only intelligent tool-users in the universe in recent history. I have to assume that there would be consideration given to opening communication, but people would realize that would be immensely expensive and terribly slow. I imagine that in the end the compromise would be to send a return probe saying, "We got your message, would you like to meet at a neutral location to share knowledge?"

Be realistic though, we'd both be kind of sending messages in bottles, and we'd have to consider that this is not the only or most advanced life we could encounter. We also should consider that it's a trap, and any number of other possibilities.

We figure out whether their planet is habitable, and then open fire. Let's be honest, that is the most logical course of action. They may or may not be hostile yet, but if they are using the same resources as us, it's all just a matter of time. And by the time we can travel there, hopefully the dust will have settled a bit.

I'm a terrible person...

If they took the time to send out something like Voyager... Chances are they're more peacefully minded than war-like, like humans are.

The contradiction being that humans took the time to send something like Voyager... namely Voyager(s), and we're not peaceful at all.

Really depends on how we come across it. If it's not here at Earth we'd likely study it and try and learn all we can from it (hopefully like us they'd have left things on it for us to learn from).

If it's here at Earth that it finds us, immediate and total military frequency jamming on the global level by the US military in an act of full communication spectrum white-noising, with a cruise missile being sent to any location with the equipment to brake through the white noise that attempts to do so. This isn't speculation but current US state policy due to the fact that communicating with an alien probe that has come to our planet may be an extinction level event, and no matter how low the risk may be argued to be the stakes make it unacceptably high.

Most countries have a lot of plans and policies on the books; they represent options, not directives. Only a stupendous idiot would attack something that might be a bomb, or invaluable. I will point out that stated policy makes a great cover for, "We destroyed the probe, as our policy dictates, under a total communications blackout." which in reality could be, "We've got it Mr. President."

 

[Zontar]

Most countries have a lot of plans and policies on the books; they represent options, not directives. Only a stupendous idiot would attack something that might be a bomb, or invaluable. I will point out that stated policy makes a great cover for, "We destroyed the probe, as our policy dictates, under a total communications blackout." which in reality could be, "We've got it Mr. President."

I don't think you understand what the policy of the US is. There is no plan to attack a probe, to even touch it. On the contrary, the policy is as far removed as one can possibly get from attacking it. Nothing, attack or signal, is to be directed at such a probe. It is not to be engaged with, if it is unaware of our existence, we are not to make ourselves known to it. If it asks a question, no response is to be given in any way, shape or form.

US policy is of complete lack of interaction between any alien probe and Earth, with the use of the US military to ensure this state of affairs due to the possibility of an attack.

This, funny enough, came as a result of recommendations by NASA on the matter.

 

[Torgo Nudho]

Really depends on how we come across it. If it's not here at Earth we'd likely study it and try and learn all we can from it (hopefully like us they'd have left things on it for us to learn from).

If it's here at Earth that it finds us, immediate and total military frequency jamming on the global level by the US military in an act of full communication spectrum white-noising, with a cruise missile being sent to any location with the equipment to brake through the white noise that attempts to do so. This isn't speculation but current US state policy due to the fact that communicating with an alien probe that has come to our planet may be an extinction level event, and no matter how low the risk may be argued to be the stakes make it unacceptably high.

In the game of life and death on the species level, no chances are tolerated, and optimists get no say in the matter. That may sound like what asshole military man from alien movies say, but it's also what reality supports completely, as does the scientific community. In an actual alien contact movie the scientists would be just as terrified as everyone else.

It really depends on the probe. If it's the equivalent of our 1960's NASA technology, and broadcasting in radio, I think "scared" would just be "cautious". Not to mention that starting a war with another country over broadcasting, which would be the ultimate case of trying to unspill milk by the way, seems dumb.

 

[Zontar]

Not to mention that starting a war with another country over broadcasting, which would be the ultimate case of trying to unspill milk by the way, seems dumb.

Broadcasts can be jammed, it's why the policy involves jamming every frequency right away, and only then sending a missile at whatever could get thought that attempts to do so.

It may sound dumb, but when you're gambling the existence of our species airing on the side of caution is best (it should also be noted that pretty much every major economic power is in agreement with the US in terms of policy towards an alien probe orbiting Earth. The only countries which are likely to ignore the policy are ones that the US would be more then willing to start a fight with)

 

[Torgo Nudho]

Not to mention that starting a war with another country over broadcasting, which would be the ultimate case of trying to unspill milk by the way, seems dumb.

Broadcasts can be jammed, it's why the policy involves jamming every frequency right away, and only then sending a missile at whatever could get thought that attempts to do so.

What possible good does sending something that goes no faster than around 550 mph, after something that broadcasts at the speed of light? Jamming would be unwelcome, but jamming is not something we could do for the entire world, all of its satellites, and all of its means of communication. We don't have the presence everywhere, and we don't have the energy. Even if the US has investment in the incredibly dubious technology to blanket the planet in interference against radio and the like, you could simply shine a laser and use morse code if you felt like it.

It may sound dumb, but when you're gambling the existence of our species airing on the side of caution is best (it should also be noted that pretty much every major economic power is in agreement with the US in terms of policy towards an alien probe orbiting Earth. The only countries which are likely to ignore the policy are ones that the US would be more then willing to start a fight with)

It sounds dumb, because it's dumb, and nothing described is workable, or would work. I'm not sure by the way, that Russia for example, is a country that would listen to us and we'd also like to start a fight with.

 

[Zontar]

What possible good does sending something that goes no faster than around 550 mph, after something that broadcasts at the speed of light?

I think it's more the threat then anything else. If you have the ability to get through a full spectral communication's blackout via flooding all frequencies with white noise, you're one of very few places on Earth, and being threatened with a 100% chance of death is a very good deterrent.

It sounds dumb, because it's dumb, and nothing described is workable, or would work. I'm not sure by the way, that Russia for example, is a country that would listen to us and we'd also like to start a fight with.

Russia is one of the nations onboard with the policy (when I said "every major economic power", I did mean every single one). Given the risks involved, it's not really a surprise either given the price if things turn out to be less then ideal is the insured extinction of our species.

If anything China would be the wild card, but even then that would assume their leadership hasn't become ludicrously more risk prone then they currently are.

 

[Asita]

Depends. What does it look like? Because I'm much more optimistic about studying an obelisk than I am a marker. That said, I'd be rolling on the floor laughing like a madman if it ended up being the signal in Contact

I mean yeah, naturally we'd have to study the darn thing, but we'd want to keep it very well contained until we were certain that it didn't have anything particularly harmful on it...like a bomb, or Space Flu that caught a ride on the probe, or a bootleg copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special. *shudder*

 

[Pyrian]

Nothing, attack or signal, is to be directed at such a probe. It is not to be engaged with, if it is unaware of our existence, we are not to make ourselves known to it.

...the policy involves jamming every frequency right away... It may sound dumb...

It sounds outright contradictory - we're going to play dead and avoid detection by broadcasting on every frequency as loud as we can? You are aware that jamming signals are very, very easily detected - in fact that's how they function - right?

 

[Zontar]

It sounds outright contradictory - we're going to play dead and avoid detection by broadcasting on every frequency as loud as we can? You are aware that jamming signals are very, very easily detected - in fact that's how they function - right?

I'm aware of how it functions, but the hope is that it won't be actively looking for signals directed at it, which is pretty much guaranteed to happen if one appears given how every idiot something that can broadcast is likely to try.

It's a long shot, probably snowball's chance in hell of working, but hey, I'm not the one who makes policy, and I sure as hell am not the one who tries to figure out how to deal with aliens or the fact they're much, much more likely then not to be of the 40k variety instead of Star Trek one.

 

[C5H5-NiNO]

Most countries have a lot of plans and policies on the books; they represent options, not directives. Only a stupendous idiot would attack something that might be a bomb, or invaluable. I will point out that stated policy makes a great cover for, "We destroyed the probe, as our policy dictates, under a total communications blackout." which in reality could be, "We've got it Mr. President."

I don't think you understand what the policy of the US is. There is no plan to attack a probe, to even touch it. On the contrary, the policy is as far removed as one can possibly get from attacking it. Nothing, attack or signal, is to be directed at such a probe. It is not to be engaged with, if it is unaware of our existence, we are not to make ourselves known to it. If it asks a question, no response is to be given in any way, shape or form.

US policy is of complete lack of interaction between any alien probe and Earth, with the use of the US military to ensure this state of affairs due to the possibility of an attack.

This, funny enough, came as a result of recommendations by NASA on the matter.

I don't think you understand how EM spectrum transmission/jamming actually works, or the implications of this "policy" as you've described it. As someone who does understand, it's just nonsensical. Here's what you're saying, translated in terms of real effects.

In case an alien probe is detected (which by the way, means we've already sent plenty of EM radiation at it, and it's close, or it's HUUUUUUGE, or it's transmitting actively and powerfully, or highly directionally in which case...) no one is to make contact, and in your mind we shut down any attempt to contact it. We do this, in your estimation, by turning a vast amount of energy production into any antenna that can broadcast, which we then have broadcast noise on all frequencies, as "loud" as possible. The result, from the perspective of any probe would be a planet that, upon noticing said probe, suddenly begins to shine like a beacon all over huge swathes of the EM spectrum. It would be impossible to mistake as anything other than a deliberate response, and would be the equivalent of saying, "Yo! We see you, and we know what you are."

Which is, if I take your meaning, the exact opposite effect intended. Now, I can't imagine the janitor at NASA making a mistake like that.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

If they took the time to send out something like Voyager... Chances are they're more peacefully minded than war-like, like humans are.

Humans, or rather states, put on this display of peacefulness and prosperity, but the question is what happens when the resources run out? If climate change and population growth meant there was only enough food for 50% of the current population, and the state in charge of the farmland wasn't willing to share. Same with interstellar competition (but a bit more difficult).

That's a lot of ifs and a lot of speculation based on mostly fear mongering. The fact is we don't have enough reliable climate data, we can make guesses based on ice and rock core samples, but they're not the most accurate as we constantly learn new things that change those estimates. Considering what we do know it's very unlikely that humans have any actual impact on climate change, which is a natural and largely unpredictable variable, more over we're not even the biggest greenhouse gas producer, insects are... Regardless any species that's not yet even interplanetary, such issues will be restricted to their home world. Any such issues held by an interplanetary, or interstellar capable species, more likely than not they can solve their issues simply by utilizing other resources already in their possession. If they're not a FTL species, then any planetary issue will only affect the local population, not colonies elsewhere. They just won't know that say, their homeworld collapsed, at least not until long after the fact. We aren't competition to any interstellar species, at worst we're a pest to be wiped out, assuming they want our world badly enough, while it's possible our world could be so toxic to them that it's unworthy of being looked at twice. Which also means their world, or worlds would be just as toxic to us.

Slightly more on subject - I don't know what speed Voyager achieves, but assuming it is possible to achieve massless propulsion (NASA were doing some tests a while back), then it should be feasible to get a probe up to about 0.1c - with it being a one way mission, there is no need to worry about braking, and the only thing limiting acceleration is power and time. So there are a few places within a century or two's travel which could be sending out the message. As for radio signals - well, there is a lot of background noise in the universe, and we don't know what frequencies they would operate on. Unless it was a focused radio message, it's unlikely to get picked up.

I admit, there are a lot of assumptions, but I'm not an interstellar rocket scientist. Although if they were fuel less, we would have to find a name other than rocket. Microwave scientist?

NASA has been experimenting with ion drives and the concept of solar sails, the former is still a reaction drive that requires fuel, just a very tiny amount... The latter is totally reaction-less method of travel, but it loses acceleration the further it gets from a nearby star. Either way the Voyager probes have neither, they've been ballistic for a long time, although they've gotten some assists from gravity catapults. Anyways anything traveling at a significant percentage of light speed isn't really feasible as probe, simply because any probe at that size isn't going to survive to deliver information, or collect it. If one was aimed at Earth and didn't spend half of it's voyage decelerating, it'd hit the planet with more force than all of the thermonuclear bombs we've ever detonated. If it did spend half the voyage decelerating, it'd have to be aimed at us intentionally... Which would mean that the aliens already know how many potentially habitable planets orbit each star. If that's the case and we get a probe, instead of a cluster of spacerocks traveling at a fraction the speed of light, then it's likely they don't see us as a thread and don't intend to be a threat to us.

More likely we'll catch an antiquated relic similar to the Voyager probes, that's been drifting ballistic for a very very long time, even if it's from the vicinity of say, Proxima Centuari, it will have been drifting for thousands of years. It may be unrecognizable too, or so damaged and/or degraded it's mostly worthless scrap. Deep space isn't a kind place to things drifting though, it's a very hostile place full of dangers we can't even see to chart. If you take the calculation of the potential planets that bare life, then the chances something managed to survive long enough to be come sapient and get to the point we were at in the 1977... It will be a miracle if either Voyager probe survives to be picked up by intelligent extra terrestrials, so us ever finding one will be about the same.

 

[Catnip1024]

That's a lot of ifs and a lot of speculation based on mostly fear mongering. The fact is we don't have enough reliable climate data, we can make guesses based on ice and rock core samples, but they're not the most accurate as we constantly learn new things that change those estimates. Considering what we do know it's very unlikely that humans have any actual impact on climate change, which is a natural and largely unpredictable variable, more over we're not even the biggest greenhouse gas producer, insects are... Regardless any species that's not yet even interplanetary, such issues will be restricted to their home world. Any such issues held by an interplanetary, or interstellar capable species, more likely than not they can solve their issues simply by utilizing other resources already in their possession. If they're not a FTL species, then any planetary issue will only affect the local population, not colonies elsewhere. They just won't know that say, their homeworld collapsed, at least not until long after the fact. We aren't competition to any interstellar species, at worst we're a pest to be wiped out, assuming they want our world badly enough, while it's possible our world could be so toxic to them that it's unworthy of being looked at twice. Which also means their world, or worlds would be just as toxic to us.

It was a hypothetical example, to show that there are real and valid reasons to want to wipe out competition. And we are currently interplanetary, we just don't have a clear cut incentive to become interstellar.

FTL is irrelevant - if they could travel at that speed, they would probably find us before some crappy old probe did. Assume they can travel around the 0.1c mark. They get themselves a range of 10, 20 Light Years, in which the only habitable planet they come across is ours. That's the scenario in which competition kicks in, and that's the one we should worry about. Hope for the best case, plan for the worst, and all...

Space is big. Nice planets are at a premium.

NASA has been experimenting with ion drives and the concept of solar sails, the former is still a reaction drive that requires fuel, just a very tiny amount... The latter is totally reaction-less method of travel, but it loses acceleration the further it gets from a nearby star. Either way the Voyager probes have neither, they've been ballistic for a long time, although they've gotten some assists from gravity catapults. Anyways anything traveling at a significant percentage of light speed isn't really feasible as probe, simply because any probe at that size isn't going to survive to deliver information, or collect it. If one was aimed at Earth and didn't spend half of it's voyage decelerating, it'd hit the planet with more force than all of the thermonuclear bombs we've ever detonated. If it did spend half the voyage decelerating, it'd have to be aimed at us intentionally... Which would mean that the aliens already know how many potentially habitable planets orbit each star. If that's the case and we get a probe, instead of a cluster of spacerocks traveling at a fraction the speed of light, then it's likely they don't see us as a thread and don't intend to be a threat to us.

No, the type of drive I was referring to was this one: http://www.sciencealert.com/the-em-drive-still-producing-mysterious-thrust-after-another-round-of-nasa-tests. Basically, microwave in a funny shaped container, which generates thrust and only requires electricity, generated through whatever means.

Like, it's probably experimental error, but while we're all theorising...

As for the deceleration, we have to assume the probe a) doesn't know we're here, and b) isn't aimed right at us. It could just be skimming the edge of the solar system, or even further out than that, for all we know. Although could you not also decelerate through the use of gravity wells as well?

 

[Pseudonym]

So does this thing land on earth or does it pass us by? I'll assume it just (crash)lands here, (despite the astronomically low odds of that) otherwise getting a hold of it might be impossible or too much of a hassle, assuming we even detect the thing.

The first question is: who finds it, and after that, which countries' secret service or militairy manages to get it. I expect it to dissappear in some American facility or otherwise the facility of some other lucky major power that is willing and able to tell other countries to fuck off. That country will keep the probe carefully hidden while its scientists and maybe some token scientist from allies and other superpowers study it. After two generations and the certainty that nothing of militairy value is to be gained from the probe (anymore) what is left by then probably ends up in some museum somewhere. If we are really lucky it might end up with some country that it's diplomatically inopportune to rob but that isn't a large power itself either. In that case it might be studied more openly and more internationally.

As for the rest of the world. We conclude that aliens do in fact exist (or have existed) and go on with our lives. Besides the conspiracy people of course who will amongst other things claim that it was all a plot and no probe ever existed and the other conspiracy people that will claim that there where aliens on the probe, etc. Some space agencies might get a boost in funding for a while from the resulting enthousiasm.

 

[C5H5-NiNO]

That's a lot of ifs and a lot of speculation based on mostly fear mongering. The fact is we don't have enough reliable climate data, we can make guesses based on ice and rock core samples, but they're not the most accurate as we constantly learn new things that change those estimates. Considering what we do know it's very unlikely that humans have any actual impact on climate change, which is a natural and largely unpredictable variable, more over we're not even the biggest greenhouse gas producer, insects are... Regardless any species that's not yet even interplanetary, such issues will be restricted to their home world. Any such issues held by an interplanetary, or interstellar capable species, more likely than not they can solve their issues simply by utilizing other resources already in their possession. If they're not a FTL species, then any planetary issue will only affect the local population, not colonies elsewhere. They just won't know that say, their homeworld collapsed, at least not until long after the fact. We aren't competition to any interstellar species, at worst we're a pest to be wiped out, assuming they want our world badly enough, while it's possible our world could be so toxic to them that it's unworthy of being looked at twice. Which also means their world, or worlds would be just as toxic to us.

It was a hypothetical example, to show that there are real and valid reasons to want to wipe out competition. And we are currently interplanetary, we just don't have a clear cut incentive to become interstellar.

FTL is irrelevant - if they could travel at that speed, they would probably find us before some crappy old probe did. Assume they can travel around the 0.1c mark. They get themselves a range of 10, 20 Light Years, in which the only habitable planet they come across is ours. That's the scenario in which competition kicks in, and that's the one we should worry about. Hope for the best case, plan for the worst, and all...

Space is big. Nice planets are at a premium.

Assumptions you're making:

A species with advanced technology that has decided to become nomadic in "big empty space".
Said species has no home planet, or no intent to return given the time-scales involved here.
Species is either extremely long-lived, or treats endeavors measured in hundreds or thousands of generations differently than we do.
Species doesn't evolve the way we would, if we left our home system for many thousands of years, nor do their goals change.
"Nice" to us is "Nice" to this species.
"Nice" is harder to make than it is to take.

I don't think most of those are likely to be true. I think an intelligent species with good technology is more likely to build megastructures or terraform locally, than they are to just roll the dice and hope for the best. For one thing, such a journey would utterly cut you off from your original species and culture, effectively forever. How many years of round-trip lag would it take before communications with home became perfunctory? How many generations of beings who had never known a life off the vessel before communication that would take generations for a single round-trip message?

Meanwhile they have insane ability to produce or harness energy, since they've been self-sufficient in deep space for an arbitrarily long time. Why aren't they using that energy, closer to home, to fix whatever is wrong with their planet? If we had that kind of energy global warming would be a joke, easily solved. If you can be independent from a home star and planet, why not just stay in your neck of the woods anyway? You know what's there, your intuition will still work, you won't encounter anything unexpected and terrible.

I really want you to paint a picture of a species that is both a threat at a such a remove, and also so stupid that they're a threat.

 

[Catnip1024]

Assumptions you're making:

A species with advanced technology that has decided to become nomadic in "big empty space".
Said species has no home planet, or no intent to return given the time-scales involved here.
Species is either extremely long-lived, or treats endeavors measured in hundreds or thousands of generations differently than we do.
Species doesn't evolve the way we would, if we left our home system for many thousands of years, nor do their goals change.
"Nice" to us is "Nice" to this species.
"Nice" is harder to make than it is to take.

I didn't make the first assumption there - I'm envisaging an equivalent one-planet civilisation, like we are. Which either does or doesn't know we exist, but given they are sending probes is exploring the possibility of colonising other planets. They are within the local area, say up to 10, maybe 20 lightyears away.
Treating endeavours as a multi-generational thing is not that abstract - if our planet were dying, I'm sure people would be willing to get on a ferry away to the unknown. People who talk about terraforming are taking the same long-term gameplan approach.
Evolution wouldn't be a massive issue if the journey was less than say 100 years. If you managed to keep travel conditions roughly approximate to planetary conditions, there shouldn't be major drivers to evolve.
I assume some commonality, because there needs to be some commonality for us to be able to understand their communications. They almost certainly live on a rock planet, it's cool enough that the surface isn't liquid, and warm enough that there is some energy to power an ecosystem.
As for the last point, do you really think if we had another 6 or 7 Earths in the solar system we wouldn't have gone and ruined them, rather than fixing our own planet?

I don't think most of those are likely to be true. I think an intelligent species with good technology is more likely to build megastructures or terraform locally, than they are to just roll the dice and hope for the best. For one thing, such a journey would utterly cut you off from your original species and culture, effectively forever. How many years of round-trip lag would it take before communications with home became perfunctory? How many generations of beings who had never known a life off the vessel before communication that would take generations for a single round-trip message?

Redundancy. Sticking with your own solar system means all you have can be wiped out by one swoop of misfortune. If you move into another, you can set up a place for those people to go to when the worst happens (sun dies, etc). It's not rolling the dice in a mass migration, it's sending a wave of settlers in a calculated gamble for an immense benefit.

Regarding communication, I expect there would be some way to speed up messaging with a network of relay probes. Not to any real "quick" extent, but enough that you are only a couple of years behind as opposed to a century. Sure, transfer of people would not be practical except in extreme circumstances, but that was never the point.

A good parallel would be with the first settlers who went to America from Europe. It was a long journey, it was a gamble, and there was not necessarily going to be a way back. But people were willing to make that sacrifice.

Meanwhile they have insane ability to produce or harness energy, since they've been self-sufficient in deep space for an arbitrarily long time. Why aren't they using that energy, closer to home, to fix whatever is wrong with their planet? If we had that kind of energy global warming would be a joke, easily solved. If you can be independent from a home star and planet, why not just stay in your neck of the woods anyway? You know what's there, your intuition will still work, you won't encounter anything unexpected and terrible.

I really want you to paint a picture of a species that is both a threat at a such a remove, and also so stupid that they're a threat.

Well, nuclear reactors could power your ships. Energy for the propulsionless engines, energy for heating and everything else. The only issue is how over-engineered it would need to be to make sure you could withstand a number of bits failing.

As for global warming being a joke - no, immense energy can't help you there. Reason being, cooling things down usually means shifting heat from one place to another. On a planet, there's no easy outlet. Most of our refrigeration systems produce net heat due to the energy used to move energy around. And run with chemicals which damage the environment more.

As for painting a picture of a species that could do it, look back at a lot of human cultures, and imagine if they became dominant / were taken to the nth degree. An authoritarian Soviet style regime, convincing the people that this was for the good of the species whilst using it as an excuse to reduce the population a bit. A deeply religious cult, who see us with our two eyes and four limbs and believe we are demons. The losing side on a planetary world war, throwing themselves into the abyss to avoid the consequences of their actions.

If in doubt, ask yourself "would American generals in movies do it?"

 

[Pyrian]

Here's an interesting article on the subject, albeit more from a "long distance" point of view:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-happens-if-et-phones-us/

Apparently, there are protocols, they're voluntary, and are already known from existing false alarms to break down immediately.

We're doomed.