First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient species' first encounter with another one, given they are from different planets or natural satellites. The theme commonly explores topics including xenophobia, transcendentalism, and basic linguistics by adapting the anthropological idea of first contact to extraterrestrial cultures. ^{[citation needed]}

History[edit]

Murray Leinster's 1945 novelette "First Contact" established the term first contact in science fiction,^[1] although the term first appeared in Leinster's 1935 story "Proxima Centauri".^[2]

The conceptual idea of humans encountering an extraterrestrial intelligence for the first time dates back to the second century AD, where it is presented in the novel A True Story by Lucian of Samosata.^[3] The 1752 novel Le Micromégas by Voltaire depicts a visit of an alien from a planet circling Sirius to the Solar system. Micromegas, being 120,000 royal feet (38.9 km) tall, first arrives at Saturn, where he befriends a Saturnian. They both eventually reach the Earth, where using a magnifying glass, they discern humans, and eventually engage in philosophical disputes with them. While superficially it may be classified as an early example of science fiction, the aliens are used only as a technique to involve outsiders to comment on Western civilization, a trope popular at the times.^{[citation needed]}

The first notable example of intelligent aliens invading the Earth is The War of the Worlds (1897) by H. G. Wells, in which Martians mount a global invasion of Earth.^[4]

Throughout the 1950s, stories involving first contact were common in the United States, and typically involved conflict. Professor of Communication Victoria O'Donnell writes that these films "presented indirect expressions of anxiety about the possibility of a nuclear holocaust or a Communist invasion of America. These fears were expressed in various guises, such as aliens using mind control, monstrous mutants unleashed by radioactive fallout, radiation's terrible effects on human life, and scientists obsessed with dangerous experiments." Most films of this kind have an optimistic ending. She reviewed four major topics in these films: (1) Extraterrestrial travel, (2) alien invasion and infiltration, (3) mutants, metamorphosis, and resurrection of extinct species, and (4) near annihilation or the end of the Earth.^[5]

The 1951 film The Day the Earth Stood Still was one of the first works to portray first contact as an overall beneficial event.^[6] While the character of Klaatu is primarily concerned with preventing conflicts spreading from Earth, the film warns of the dangers of nuclear war.^[7][8] Based on the 1954 serialized novel, the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers depicts an alien infiltration, with the titular Body Snatchers overtaking the fiction town of Santa Mira. Similarly to The Day the Earth Stood Still, Invasion of the Body Snatchers reflects contemporary fears in the United States, particularly the fear of communist infiltration and takeover.^[9]

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke depicts a combination of positive and negative effects from first contact: while utopia is achieved across the planet, humanity becomes stagnant, with Earth under the constant oversight of the Overlords.^[10] Stanisław Lem's 1961 novel Solaris depicts communication with an extraterrestrial intelligence as a futile endeavor,^[11] a common theme in Lem's works.^[12]

The original pilot episode for Star Trek, "The Cage", presented the issue of first contact.^[13] As "The Cage" was never broadcast, "The Man Trap" was the first episode to portray first contact. The 21st episode, "Return of the Archons", introduced the Prime Directive, created by producer and screenwriter Gene L. Coon.^[14] Since its creation, the Prime Directive has become a stable of Star Trek,^[15] and the concept of a non-interference directive has become common throughout science fiction.^[16]

The 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind depicts first contact as a long and laborious process, with communication only being achieved at the end of the film.^[17] In contrast, the characters in Rendezvous with Rama never manage to communicate with the titular spacecraft.

In 1985, Carl Sagan published the novel Contact. The book deals primarily with the challenges inherent to determining first contact, as well as the potential responses to the discovery of an extraterrestrial intelligence.^[18] In 1997, the book was made into a movie.

The 1996 novel The Sparrow starts with the discovery of an artificial radio signal, though it deals mainly with the issues of faith and actions taken following the discovery of an extraterrestrial intelligence. The Arrival (1996), Independence Day, and Star Trek: First Contact were released in 1996. The Arrival portrays both an indirect first contact through the discovery of a radio signal, as well as an alien infiltration similar to that of Invasion of the Body Snatchers;^[19] Independence Day portrays an alien invasion similar in theme and tone to The War of the Worlds;^[20] and Star Trek: First Contact portrays first contact as a beneficial and peaceful event that ultimately led to the creation of the United Federation of Planets.^[21]

The 1994 video game XCOM: UFO Defense is a strategy game that depicts an alien invasion, although first contact technically occurs prior to the game's start.^[22] The Halo and Mass Effect franchises both have novels that detail first contact events. Mass Effect: Andromeda has multiple first contacts, as it takes place in the Andromeda Galaxy.^[23]

The Chinese novel The Three-Body Problem, first published in 2006 and translated into English in 2014,^[24] presents first contact as being achieved through the reception of a radio signal. The Dark Forest, published in 2008, introduced the dark forest hypothesis based on Thomas Hobbes' description of the "natural condition of mankind",^[25] although the underlying concept dates back to "First Contact".^[26]

The 2016 film Arrival, based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life", depicts a global first contact, with 12 "pods" establishing themselves at various locations on Earth. With regard to first contact, the film focuses primarily on the linguistic challenges inherent in first contact, and the film's plot is driven by the concept of linguistic relativity and the various responses of the governments.^[27]

Types[edit]

Due to the broad definition of first contact, there are many variations of the methods that result in first contact and the nature of the subsequent interaction.^[28] As a plot device, first contact is frequently used to explore a variety of themes.^[1]

Notable examples[edit]

1890s[edit]

• 1897: The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

1900s[edit]

• 1901: The First Men in the Moon H. G. Wells

1940s[edit]

• 1940s: In Fredric Brown's Puppet Show, an obvious and self-proclaimed alien negotiating with humans is actually something else entirely.
• 1945: "First Contact" by Murray Leinster

1950s[edit]

• 1950s: A classic series of stories using this theme is the "interstellar trader" series by Andre Norton.
• 1951 film "The Day The Earth Stood Still"

1960s[edit]

• 1960s: A for Andromeda
• 1960s: The god-like Firstborn from Arthur C. Clarke's Time Odyssey series.
• 1960s: The Star Trek television franchise explored the theme in depth and introduced the concept of the Federation's Prime Directive— a law forbidding first contact (or covert interference) with any races not sufficiently advanced for such an encounter, using capability for faster-than-light travel as the basic benchmark for first contact. The movie Star Trek: First Contact depicts humanity's first contact with an alien culture, the Vulcan race, in Bozeman, Montana on 5 April 2063, after the passing Vulcans' attention is attracted by the detection of the energy signature from scientist Zefram Cochrane launching humanity's first warp flight. In the Star Trek: Enterprise episode Carbon Creek, it is revealed that Vulcans first made contact with humans in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania in 1957, without revealing themselves as aliens. A Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "First Contact" explored the scenario from the opposite viewpoint when a Human, William Riker, is injured on an alien world while disguised as an inhabitant of the planet's civilization (which had no previous knowledge of extraterrestrials). Another notable depiction of first contact in Star Trek: The Next Generation is the episode "Darmok" where humanity (in this case the United Federation of Planets) makes first contact with a race called the Tamarians, a species that exclusively communicates with metaphors.
• 1961: Solaris (novel)^[29]
  • A major theme of a number of works of Stanisław Lem, the most well known being Solaris (while his most thorough examination can be found in His Master's Voice), is the inherent impossibility of meaningful communication with alien races.^[30]
• 1968: His Master's Voice (novel)
• 1969: All Judgment Fled by James White features the political and psychological stresses imposed by first contact when a six-man team of astronauts is sent to investigate an alien ship that has taken up an orbit near Mars. It has been cited by the science fiction author and editor Mike Resnick as a particularly notable contribution to the type.^[31]

1970s[edit]

• 1972: The novel The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov explores simultaneously the potential unity of all races, and the possibility of conflict inherent in all first contacts: even as members of different races understand each other, their disparate ways may endanger both their worlds, even the fabric of their respective universes. This gap between individuals and their respective societies is characteristic of the First Contact plot of E.T. Other explorations of the theme in popular culture include encounters with predatory or semi-sentient races as in Alien and Independence Day.
• 1974: Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's The Mote in God's Eye was written to be, in Niven's words, "the epitome of first contact novels". Here it is humanity that plays the role of visiting aliens, as the religious, technological, political, psychological, military, cultural, and biological implications of first contact are explored.
• 1978: Life on Another Planet
• 1977: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  • The theme of first contact, ranging from friendly collaboration to menace or conflict, has been visualized a number of films and television series. Among the more famous are Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the television series V.
• 1979: Alien

1980s[edit]

• More modern treatments, using radio rather than spaceships, include The Hercules Text by Jack McDevitt, Life on Another Planet by Will Eisner, and Contact by Carl Sagan.
• 1980s: By contrast, in the works of Iain M. Banks, the Contact division of the galactic civilization calling itself the Culture (which features in the majority of Banks' science fiction) frequently manipulates less advanced civilizations, steering them towards peaceful progress, especially those that may become aggressive or dangerous, under the pretext of maintaining the balance of galactic power; a notable exception being the short story The State of the Art, in which the Culture decides not to contact Earth so they can use it as a control against which they can measure their manipulations of other societies. Novels such as The Player of Games and Look to Windward delve into the psychology of first inter-species contact in considerable depth. In the novel Excession, Banks coins the phrase Outside Context Problem in relation to first contact.^{[citation needed]}
• 1980s: Gary Larson occasionally used a humorous version of the theme in his The Far Side comics, such as showing an alien falling down the steps of a flying saucer, thereby ruining a dramatic entrance.
• 1980: The Orion Loop, Soviet film co-written by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov
• 1982: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• 1982: Nor Crystal Tears
  • Also written from the alien's point of view is the novel Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster.
• 1983: V (1983 miniseries)
• 1985: Contact by Carl Sagan.
• 1985: Schismatrix
• 1986: The Hercules Text by Jack McDevitt.
• 1987: Fiasco by Stanisław Lem
• 1987: The Forge of God

1990s[edit]

• 1990s: Examples of the mutual inscrutability and the potentially unbridgeable gaps between races which—by their very natures—are just too different to bond or even to accept each other, include Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence concept of the dark matter photino birds, the god-like Firstborn from Arthur C. Clarke's Time Odyssey series, and Stanisław Lem's planet Solaris and the events of the novel Fiasco. In other cases, such as Greg Bear's The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars, or Bruce Sterling's Schismatrix, aliens are presented as falling into a highly diverse spectrum, some easily relating with humans, others too alien for meaningful communication.
• 1993: Anvil of Stars
• 1996: The Sparrow by anthropology-trained Mary Doria Russell draws parallels with early Jesuit explorations and the philosophical or religious ethics which surround first contact
• 1996: Independence Day
• 1997: Contact
• 1998: Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang, made into a film Arrival released in 2016

2000s[edit]

• 2006: Blindsight by Peter Watts
• 2007: Halo: Contact Harvest
  • In the novel Halo: Contact Harvest, humanity's first contact with aliens is on a human agricultural colony, where an initially peaceful meeting (although preceded by aliens walking into an anti-insurgent trap set up human military) with an alien alliance known as the Covenant turns violent, eventually resulting in a 27-year war.
• 2007: Mass Effect
  • The backstory of Mass Effect features the First Contact War, caused by an alien military patrol observing a human ship, which was unknowingly breaching galaxy-wide conventions, attacking it and occupying a seemingly poorly defended colony, only to learn of humanity's military prowess in a swift counterattack. The conflict was quickly smothered by the galactic community, but the reputation and bitterness persist until the events of the games.
• 2008: The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, a Chinese science fiction novel (first serialised 2006)

2010s[edit]

• 2016: Arrival, film adaptation of the 1998 novelette Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang

2020s[edit]

• 2020: Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis
• 2021: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

See also[edit]

• Ancient astronauts – Pseudoscientific claims of past alien contact
• First contact (anthropology) – The first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another
• Potential cultural impact of extraterrestrial contact – Topic in futurism
• Search for extraterrestrial intelligence – Effort to find civilizations not from Earth
• Extraterrestrials in fiction

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• "Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrial Encounters" by Ronald Story (2001) ISBN 0-451-20424-7 (It was the result of a collaborative Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia Project (ETEP); excerpts online Archived 24 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine)