on-the-sonic-habits-of-terra

Contained in these pages is the outcome of several years of observation of, and communication with the people of Terra. Since contact was made remote efforts to stall their spacefaring technology were successful, granting us valuable time to assess the risk they may pose. The purpose of this document is to establish whether they can be allowed to join the galactic community, and if so how their society can best be integrated. We will argue that there is much to be gained by close contact with the Terrans, and that this contact can be established safely with careful sociotechnological engineering.

The matter of greatest concern is the relationship of terrans to sound, their ability to endure extreme levels of it, and the phenomenon called "music". Music is the deliberate structuring of sound for the purpose of aesthetic pleasure. Terrans are born with specialized sense organs for the detection of subtle details in sound (called ears), and to them this does not register as a pain or fear signal, but is analogous to any other ordinary sense. Terrans express confusion at the danger we expeirience from sound, as it poses little danger to them. From this it is clear that there is a fundamental difference in biology on their planet. Without obtaining tissue samples of terran animated life the nature of this difference will be impossible to establish.

The most prominent argument against allowing Terrans to leave Terra is the fear that they may pose an existential threat to other sapients. Terran sonic technology is remarkably advanced even in comparison to the very best in the galactic community. This is made even more striking by the primitive nature of their technology and society in other respects. Noise cancellation and sound insulation is rarely employed on Terra, and both deliberate and accidental noise abounds. To outsiders this may seem as a life of incessant violence. This leads to a perception of both savagery and military strength. In chapters 1-3 we will argue in detail that this perception is inconsistent with actual observations of Terrans. Precedents in cultural integration have shown that levels of militarism far greater than that of Terra are not insurmountable in interstellar relations. There is no sign that the Terrans will continue to have incentive for supremacy in a post-scarcity heterogenous society. Signs of belligerence from Terra are clearly to be motivated by the same form of fear. Furthermore, their sonic technology, though advanced, is not weaponized. Music in particular usually aids social bonding within their societies and is not a weapon in their eyes, or more appopriately, their ears. The fear of Terran society is, we argue, a resurgence of common and understandable fear in the face of the unknown. It should be an incentive to learn more, rather than to prolong ignorance.

Of more realistic concern is the question of access to terra for non-terrans, and the safe interaction of Terrans and non-terrans in a common environment. In chapters 4 and 5 we describe these problems as well as proposals by both Terran and galactic scientists to overcome these barriers.

Contact with creatures so different from any known previously is scientifically and culturally invaluable. Though there are risks involved in this contact, it is essential that our efforts are focused on overcoming these risks and effecting mutual prosperity.