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[MetalSlimeHunt]

An Antimatter-Matter rocket might be able to accelerate something to .9c in a vacuum if given a large enough travel distance.

[i2amroy]

An Antimatter-Matter rocket might be able to accelerate something to .9c in a vacuum if given a large enough travel distance.

So could an impulse engine that's not strong enough to move itself off of your desk.

Due to the relative lack of friction in space, just about any type of engine could move an asteroid to a high percentage of c, it's just that it would take that much longer to hit your target and you would have to do that many more calculations to figure out where to aim it so it hits your target in 100 years.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Obviously I meant a reasonable but large travel distance.

[kaijyuu]

If you consider the weight of the fuel, there's probably a minimum propulsion before you can reach any particular speed before running out of fuel. Antimatter/matter fuel would probably be the most efficient, while regular rocket fuel wouldn't get you anywhere near .1c before adding fuel outweighs (heh) any additional speed gain.

[RedKing]

Due to the relative lack of friction in space, just about any type of engine could move an asteroid to a high percentage of c, it's just that it would take that much longer to hit your target and you would have to do that many more calculations to figure out where to aim it so it hits your target in 100 years.

Which isn't as much of a problem when your target is a planetary body with a predictable orbital path. Hell, we do the same thing now, just with shorter distances and smaller timeframes, in order to get a probe to rendezvous with Saturn years after it was launched, for instance.

Obviously, we need to equip Earth with lateral thrusters so we can dodge. 

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Obviously, we need to equip Earth with lateral thrusters so we can dodge. 

Why do that when we can simply employ the Selenic Terra Defense Shield?

[RedKing]

Obviously, we need to equip Earth with lateral thrusters so we can dodge. 

Why do that when we can simply employ the Selenic Terra Defense Shield?

I'm thinking that if Luna got hit by a RKV, we're still gonna have a really bad day.

[Hanslanda]

Obviously, we need to equip Earth with lateral thrusters so we can dodge. 

Why do that when we can simply employ the Selenic Terra Defense Shield?

I'm thinking that if Luna got hit by a RKV, we're still gonna have a really bad day.

Indeed. Even if we somehow, miraculously weren't hit by the expanding cloud of lunar chunks (which we would) then we would still probably have to contend with another RKV and this time we would have no shield.
And if they didn't destroy the moon with one shot, they'd knock it wildly off course, which is a far worse result in my opinion. Dying like a certain beloved fictional character in the Yuuzhan Vong war doesn't particularly appeal to me.

[Loud Whispers]

Has anyone thought of the possibility that if two sentient entities were to bump into each other, they would just stay away?

I mean, what if no one even wants to be found?

[Dutchling]

Has anyone thought of the possibility that if two sentient entities were to bump into each other, they would just stay away?

I mean, what if no one even wants to be found?

Dead aliens won't ever find us.

[darkrider2]

Has anyone thought of the possibility that if two sentient entities were to bump into each other, they would just stay away?

I mean, what if no one even wants to be found?

Once humans know about the existence of another race, existentialism will kick in and pretty much change everything, and it will already be too late for that.

How about instead of contemplating first contact where the aliens are just like on a megaphone going, HI HUMANS, WE ARE MAYBE PEACEFUL DEPENDING ON HOW CYNICAL YOU ARE.

Why don't we contemplate whether you'd have the stereotypical "government hides shit from us" or if they'll be up front about it, since governments and I hope the UN will probably have more to do with interspecies relations than anything else.

[Karnewarrior]

I'm betting the aliens wouldn't be so unobtrusive. I'm betting that if they don't broadcast a radio signal across the whole planet, to be picked up by everyone not tuned into a radio station at the time (everyone switching channels), they're contacting every nation on the planet, since they don't know who has the political clout and who they should side with yet. So every government on the planet has to be corrupt enough to want to hide the aliens, potent enough to do it, and trusted enough that there aren't numerous hackers trying to break into CIA databases daily. That doesn't hold for every country, so the knowledge will spread regardless of who actually tries to cover it up.

The only way that'll happen is if the entire U.N gets together and votes in legislation against it, which would sort of defeat the purpose since that's even more people to leak the story on accident.

[The Scout]

Well I showed up late. But I do have a few cents to add. If aliens showed up and they were hostile, we would probably all band together. Nothing brings humans together like a cause we can all fight for. Especially for our continued survival. The entire world would be geared towards producing armor, vehicles, and guns. Research would be geared towards ballistic weaponry, the fuel and power systems for certain types. We'd wage guerrilla warfare across the world, until they decide to leave us alone or until we die. All we could hope for is an advanced alien race dedicated towards energy based weaponry and ground based combat. We'd have no way to prevent them from slicing us and anything we make to pieces, but they'd be unlikely to prevent us from filling them with bullets. We couldn't fight an enemy that was content with blasting us from space until our planet was a barren wasteland. Because humans are bastards that would rather die in a hopeless war in the defense of their planet and livelihood then submit to "aliens". I certainly wouldn't let me them take me without a fight, no idea what they would do to me. D:

[kaijyuu]

I certainly wouldn't let me them take me without a fight, no idea what they would do to me. D:

I assure you, their goal would be simply to serve man

[Askot Bokbondeler]

i'd rather be enslaved than exterminated. if a technological superior alien showed up, i know where i'd pledge my allegiance