Righteousness…seems but an unrealized ideal, after all; and those maxims which, in the hope of bringing about a Millennium, we busily teach to the heathen, we Christians ourselves disregard. – Herman Melville, White-Jacket
It was the day for which humanity had been waiting for so long: the Millennium, the arrival of the Kingdom, the day religions had awaited for half of recorded history. But when the saviors arrived to usher in a Golden Age of peace and prosperity, they were neither gods nor angels nor prophets, nor even the odd fetus-like entities so many movies and books had depicted for decades; they were people, very much like ourselves. Oh, there were some obvious differences; they were taller, and more symmetrical, and their skins were as white as alabaster, and there was not a sign of disease or deformity or developmental difficulty amongst them: in more primitive times they would most certainly have been taken for gods. But, they hastened to assure us, they were as mortal as we, and really not very different except for being more technologically advanced. Furthermore, they had come to share their wisdom and technology with us so that we, too, might achieve the level of perfection and happiness they had achieved.
At first, people had thought the video was a clever fake, a hoax that was sure to go viral and thereby promote some new Hollywood film. But as the weeks went by and no trickster appeared, and the free goods people sent for via their website were revealed by scientists as having no earthly origin, the truth began to dawn: this time it was real. Later, the Visitors explained that because they had no wish to frighten us by a sudden arrival, they had observed us for some time and decided that this was the best way to introduce themselves. It also, some pointed out, conveniently bypassed the possibility that governments approached via diplomatic channels might deny them permission to contact the citizenry, or even hide the fact that they existed, and thereby keep all the goodies the Visitors had to offer for themselves.
And what goodies they were! Little sticks that plugged into computers or phones and protected them from all hazards, from viruses to surveillance to power surges. Easily-installed devices that allowed a car to get 100 km per liter of gasoline without producing any hazardous emissions. Keychain-attachable “panic buttons” that rendered the user impervious to unwanted physical contact. Filters that silently scrubbed the air in a building of all known pollutants without rendering it stale. Stylish clothing that fit anyone and never got dirty or wore out. Nonstick cookware whose surfaces couldn’t be scratched by utensils or eroded by washing. Everlasting batteries for low-power devices. And many, many more, all for the asking. Once they had established their goodwill, they announced that these “trinkets” (their word) represented just the tip of the iceberg, those aspects of their technology which we could use directly and without special instruction; there was plenty more which their trained personnel would be happy to use on our behalf, and to teach our professionals to use also: weather control. Super-light, super-strong materials. Anti-gravity. Ways to boost immune response so the body could fight off any infection, and a means of healing any injury. Teleportation. Synthesis of any substance, no matter how rare.
Of course, there were objections from those whose businesses were undercut or even eliminated by the alien’s gifts, but they responded by launching a program to retrain professionals and give grants to convert factories into producing the new goods…all for free. As you might expect, some people objected to that as well; they hinted darkly at devil’s bargains, hidden price tags and bills mankind might be loath to pay when they came due. But there was no enslavement, no cookbook, no looting of Earth’s resources; the Visitors explained that their religion taught them to help others, and that the payment for which they hoped was spiritual, not economic. That announcement was the tipping point; most of the remaining resistance evaporated afterward, and most of those who still grumbled were atheists and clergymen who were unhappy with the throngs converting to the alien’s religion (for which temples were springing up like mushrooms). Them, and the people who profit from human misery: with both want and mental illness eradicated, cops and prosecutors had at first turned toward enforcing victimless crimes with a vengeance, only to find the new technology made that nearly impossible; the Visitors offered them pensions under their “displaced professions” program.
My first glimpse of the big picture came less than two years after they arrived; it started with my skipping a period, and learning to my chagrin that I was pregnant despite having been on the pill since high school. My gynecologist knew better than to suggest that I had done something wrong, so she wrote it off as “one of those things” and directed me to her new partner, who was handling the obstetrical side of the practice now. It was the first time I had been in a room with one of them alone; she was as tall as any man I ever dated, and though her voice was gentle and her mouth smiling, her golden eyes pierced me and I was seized by a fear I could not explain.
“So, the nurse tells me congratulations are in order!” she beamed.
“Congratulations? How do you get that? I didn’t exactly plan this, you know.”
“Life is full of happy surprises; your people didn’t know we were coming until we arrived, either!”
Under the circumstances, that statement seemed vaguely menacing. “Yeah, well, that would be fine if I wanted a baby right now, but I don’t.”
“Oh, don’t worry; we have a program to support mothers-to-be with financial difficulties.” I tried not to recoil from the hand she had placed on my arm; its cool, pale, long fingers made me feel as though some sort of reptile had climbed up on me.
“It’s not that; I have a good job. It’s just that I’m only twenty-five; I’m not ready to settle down with a baby yet.”
“Oh, but you’re at almost the ideal age!” she cooed reassuringly.
“I would think your science would make considerations like that moot.”
Was that a flicker of hostility in her eyes? “Well, of course, but isn’t it better to have fewer complications even if those complications can be corrected?”
“You’re changing the subject. I’m not worried about complications; I’m just not ready to be a mother yet.”
“I understand. Well, don’t worry, we have an adoption program, too.”
“No, you clearly don’t understand. I don’t want to go through a pregnancy and then endure the emotional wrench of giving it away; I just want an abortion.”
The eyes registered horror, but just for a moment. “Oh, well, we don’t do those here.”
“Yes, I know that, but I thought you could recommend a good facility.”
“Well, there aren’t as many of them as there used to be, you know; now that we can save babies down to sixteen weeks, a lot of women are just opting for fetal adoption instead of abortion.” In response to my “What the hell?” look she continued, “at sixteen weeks we schedule an appointment to transfer the fetus to an artificial womb, from which it can be adopted either immediately or after birth. Here, you can read up on it,” she said, pressing a pamphlet into my hand; “we’ll schedule a follow-up for next week so you can have time to think.”
From there, I went straight to the lab where my friend George works, and handed him a package from my purse. “Can you test these and tell me what’s in them?”
“They’re birth control pills; I don’t have to test them. We can just look it up.”
“Humor me.”
He looked exasperated for a second, then suddenly brightened. “Hey, I can use this new analyzer we just got from the Visitors; it’ll give us their exact composition in seconds!” He put one of the pills into the analysis chamber, followed the menus to set everything up, and then frowned again as the results came up. “Damn, I must’ve done something wrong. Cholecalciferol, pyridoxine hydrochloride, cyanocobalamin, calcium pantothenate, ascorbic acid…this is the formula for a multi-vitamin, not a hormonal contraceptive.”
“A prenatal vitamin, I’ll bet.”
“Beg pardon?”
“Nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong. But tell me, could these have been manufactured by the Visitors?”
“Well, in a plant using their machines and personnel, very likely.”
“Thanks, you’re a doll.”
“What’s this about?”
“Later,” I whispered. “The walls have ears.”
I was able to take care of my problem without the doctor’s help, but it wasn’t easy; in fact, the nearest open clinic I could find was three hours away. And then I started investigating, and though what I found did not really surprise me, it certainly scared me. Pregnancies in most of the world way up, but those in certain areas way down; I couldn’t see what the low-birthrate areas had in common, but I suspect it’s a high prevalence of some bad genetic trait. Same-sex marriages down, same sex divorces way up. Occupancy in psychiatric hospitals and substance abuse programs dramatically down…as are sales of beer, liquor, tobacco and cannabis. And fast food. And sweets, pastries, potato chips, ice cream and everything else Puritans had long condemned as “unhealthy”. Movie and fiction sales way down, self-help book sales way up. Attendance at the Visitor temples way, way, way up. And so on, and so forth; the world is turning into a prohibitionist’s idea of paradise.
How are they doing it? My guess is that if they’re willing to give women placebo birth control, they’re not above slipping mind-altering chemicals into food, water or whatever else they can get their sterile white hands on. And if they can turn people off to booze, weed and chocolate, they can probably shape the human mind any way they like; I’m sure those who remain unmoved can be “cured” by more intensive therapy, just like they’re “curing” gay people and women who didn’t want children. As for why, well, isn’t it obvious? They’re more like us than we imagined. The word for someone who crosses vast distances to help and enlighten primitives is “missionary”; the Visitors have come to save our souls, whether we like it or not.
See. There was a cookbook.
Just like the Bible is a cookbook.
They’re all here to ‘serve’ us, you know.
There are a number of science fiction stories which a technologically advanced alien civilization visits Earth with the ability to solve all of mankind’s problems but unfortunately the greed and stupidity of mankind messes everything up. The Twilight Zone episode cabrogal and Maggie is referring to—To Serve Man—basically warns against the temptation to look for a savior that will bring utopia. I’ve read Maggie’s blog for some time now and I know what she thinks about both saviors and utopias, so the ending to this story did not surprise me.
Interestingly I was thinking about “To Serve Man” just before I read this entry. I sometimes wonder if the message of that episode is just as you say, eddie, or if there’s something of an additional context. The aliens come and enable mankind to vastly improve the Earth (no need for war, vastly increased food supplies eliminate hunger, etc.), yet humans in their greediness are seduced by the promise of an even better life on the alien’s world, so they foolishly leave a perfectly good home which leads to their doom.
So I suppose besides the “beware of utopia” canard, I thought an additional moral was “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”.
I always wondered what the aliens would have done had humans suddenly decided that enough was enough and politely declined to leave Earth? Especially since it’s not made clear what happened to the lady who tells our hero the truth. Did the aliens grab her too, as well as the technicians who translated the book? Would the aliens have then resorted to full-on abduction and destroyed the Earth for good measure?
Interestingly enough, the only twilight zone episode I caught during the new years scifi marathon was “To Serve Man”
And you know, only an idiot wouldn’t examine the health of a gift horse, or more relevently, a gift car. Just because it was free is no reason to ignore it’s safety and usefullness!
And really “beware x” is pretty uselessadvise. What you want to say is “question everything, especially authority, and make informed decisions, regardless of whether you are gunna be a follower or not.”
Could be a much longer story. Im a sucker for invasion of culture stories.
Maggie, did you ever see the movie Fast Five? There’s a brief scene in the movie that I think you would appreciate about how the Portuguese won over the natives during the colonization of Brasil.
I think I like this better than the twilight zone episode. I always thought it was a bit odd that the alien were interested peaceably farming a sentient species when humans are not that difficult to brainwash, as a species. Also, why would they ever “accidentally” leave that book lying around?
Your message is better to, commenting on both the roles of religious motivations and the subtle horror of a Victorian style “utopia”.
Honestly, I think the whole genre of “utopian” fiction should be reclassified as a sub genre of horror.
The closest popular scifi to an actual utopian future is the original Star Trek, and even that has some subtle horrors to it, and, you know, wars.
I’m not sure I’d call what the aliens were doing in “To Serve Man” farming, per se, since it seemed to me that it was more like culling the more gullible and foolish humans who, despite what the Earth had become, were still wanting more and more.
But having read this story, I’m put in mind of the phrase ‘pick your poison’. Let’s imagine the events in this story could actually happen. Given that thanks to these aliens there appears to be no further need for governments and law enforcement and given that we don’t have the benefit of knowing what these aliens do when they don’t get their way, would we take a chance with the aliens or take the world that we have now at this very moment?
For two reasons I’d say “go with the devil you know”.
Firstly, on the face of it an alien ‘mission’ would be harder to kick out than a human government or corporate despotism if push came to shove.
More importantly, they are alien.
I’m not just spouting xenophobia here but pointing out that given their completely different evolutionary path it is most unlikely they would have developed a morality similar to ours. If it seems they have they are probably faking it and given that they crossed interstellar space to ‘help’ us you would have to seriously wonder what’s really in it for them (not likely to be just because they think we taste good on a burger).
Imagine what sort of morality even a feline or insectoid civilisation might have in comparison to our own. Now imagine how different one that shares no biological ancestry at all with us might be (unless panspermia holds and we have a unicellular ancestor in common). A morality that different to ours would probably be indistinguishable from ‘evil’.
Of course we’re already doing the same thing to ourselves.
Governments and corporations are actually composite organisms that evolve in an entirely different environment to the one we did (realpolitik or ‘the market’). To imagine they share human morality because humans are among their components is tantamount to thinking your own values are built up from those of your cells and organs. And in the fight to survive against their predators (each other) governments and corporations have no qualms whatsoever about sacrificing as many human beings as need be.
The aliens are already among us.
They have already taken over.
No way, it was definitely farming- They were using technology to improve the health and stability of the human population, and were also implementing control strategies to keep them content and in line. Even the harvesting method was designed to maintain careful control.
Why is why the book made no sense at all. It… was the equivalent of putting up a fence to protect and fence in your sheep, but then leaving the gate open!
In any case, I think the true brilliance of this story is that you can easily find yourself thinking “well, they’re not so bad, they didn’t actually force her to have a baby, and they didn’t stop her from getting the abortion”, and you need to almost shake yourself out of it and say whoa, slippery slope, and OMG, I almost started sliding!
Thank you! That’s exactly the effect I was looking for.
Fair enough. I guess it’s been too long since I last saw the episode, though it is one that sticks in the memory to be sure. The issue with the book though, is why I sometimes have to giggle at the thought that “The Twilight Zone” was such a serious classic. Yes, it was well made and had very good performances, but there always seems to be at least one element that deflates the premise and either almost negates it or makes it seem more campy (at least when viewed today).
And with regards to your point about Maggie’s story, I’ll admit I found myself thinking along the same lines. Admittedly, I’m coming from the male perspective, but in addition to the fact that aliens didn’t force her to have the baby (yet), it’s established that the alien’s technology is thus that our heroine practically didn’t need an abortion anyway, even though she doesn’t want the child.
Granted, the caveat of a sixteen-week wait seems like a sneaky way to get around a prospective breeder’s reluctance by giving her enough time to get her used to the idea, but still I thought, “gee, these aliens are so brilliant they’ve seemingly found a way to settle the abortion issue, one of the most destructively contentious social issues of our time!”
With regards to the other tactics these “Puritaliens” use in this story, such as the ‘curing’ of homosexuality, I think that’s something screaming to be elaborated upon. Is the mind-control so good that one would never know a given person was ever gay in the first place or is it similar to “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” or someone who comes back from one of those horrid summer camps, seemingly normal but with something very important missing? I also scratched my head at the idea that self-help books would be the reading material of choice in this new world. Why would the aliens want that if they’ve got their temples to herd people into? Finally, are the people in the low-birthrate areas also being denied the benefit of the alien technology, in a bid to kill off the undesirables?
I confess that despite those questions, which if this were a real scenario I’d want to have answered, the world described in this story is incredibly tempting (as Storm Daughter already noted), especially in the world that we have right now. I suspect anyone who opens a newspaper or reads Maggie’s Links column would probably feel likewise.
Superbly written! This is how a cautionary tale should be done.
I’m waiting for Puritans to start converting people into perfect Christians with brain surgery. Anything they don’t like will probably be declared a mental disease, and “treated”. Out of Christian charity, of course. Compassion is the new hate, you can abuse and exterminate people as much as you want, as long as you do it for their own good.
Such surgery could actually create a society of perfectly happy people. Makes you wonder about happiness as a major value.
(Pardon my English. It’s not my first language.)
Start?
Do know know anything about the history of the mental health profession? They’ve been trying to do this for years!
“Childhood’s End” with a weird, nasty twist. Nice job Maggie.
I fail to see how any of this is a bad thing.
I had the thought that maybe the REAL aliens were entirely different and only appeared in the guise they did so they would be accepted by the earth people!
A new Jurassic Park movie is being made. There are discussions online about what the plot will be (details beyond “dinosaurs eat people”). I suggested that a radical plot line would be:
As you might imagine, not everybody liked this idea, though they had to admit that nobody would see it coming.
Stephanie Meyer : The Host. Recommended reading. 😎
I was reminded of Rudy Rucker’s novel Realware, in which aliens give us magical gadgets that can create anything that we imagine; in the end, abundance itself (rather than any hidden agenda) is deemed to be harmful, and humanity voluntarily gives up the gadgets. I didn’t quite follow that.
Comments reminded me of this story.