How easily would aliens occupy earth if they decided to invade?

[endersblade]

Say you could take an entity like the combined arms of the current US military and transport it 100 years in the past. How much credible opposition would it face if given the goal of conquering the world? How about 200? 1000? 1,000,000? 4,000,000,000 years? There quickly comes a point where it ceases to be called a conflict at all.

In fact, if the US had really set it's mind to it; they could have completely eradicated all threats to them and established a decisive strategic advantage over all of humanity when they first developed nuclear weapons and were the sole nuclear power on the planet for 4 years until the soviets tested their first weapon. There were many military figures who argued this point and plans were made at the time to push for this very thing. That was only 70 years ago.

Man invents swords. To counter, man invents chainmail.
Man invents crossbows to counter. Man then invents plate armor to counter.
Man invents guns to counter. Man then invents kevlar.
Crossbow bolts can puncture kevlar, even knives can.
Man invents Lasers. Man invents some sort of anti-laser armor.
Kinetic weapons can probably easily pierce this, and so can all the previous weapons.
Man invents the tank. Man counters with anti-tank weapons, which are also conveniently strong against the human body in general, armor or no.

The point is, throughout history we have created weapons, created armor to counter, and then created weapons to counter the new armor, and in the process make armor that is now vulnerable to previous tiers of weapons. Just based on human inventions, as that's all the concrete evidence we have so far, there really isn't a universally superior type of armor. There is always some way to counter it or get around it. Iron Man suit? EMP. Suit of armor 2 inches thick, made of the strongest material on earth? Most likely now too slow to move, and quicker moving enemies will overrun you. If you can get into armor, there is a way to pull you out of it.

And your blurb about the US essentially taking over the world - you know WHY they didn't? Because the entire world would turn on the US. superior numbers almost always trump superior tech. You may be able to spray 1,000 rounds a minute with a chaingun, but eventually you'll have to reload, and that 1,000 rounds a minute won't really put a dent in an army of several million. It's the reason we've never invaded China. Outnumbered thousands to one, our troops would get obliterated just by sheer numbers. We would have to rely on nukes to thin their population first, and then it wouldn't even be worth invading China.

And again, this all boils down to, we're still talking about humans with human technology. We have no idea what the aliens would be bringing, and as such, there is a possibility that we would be able to counter them.

[Thoughtcrime]

Man invents swords. To counter, man invents chainmail.
Man invents crossbows to counter. Man then invents plate armor to counter.
Man invents guns to counter. Man then invents kevlar.
Crossbow bolts can puncture kevlar, even knives can.
Man invents Lasers. Man invents some sort of anti-laser armor.
Kinetic weapons can probably easily pierce this, and so can all the previous weapons.
Man invents the tank. Man counters with anti-tank weapons, which are also conveniently strong against the human body in general, armor or no.

What happens when the technological gap is unassailable in the time it takes your opponent to wipe you out or otherwise make opposition non existent? The Mayans can give you the answer to that question. Or not.

And your blurb about the US essentially taking over the world - you know WHY they didn't? Because the entire world would turn on the US.

Actually the reason was purely ethical, this is well documented. There was no doubt that the plan was militarily
sound, the debate was over how abhorrent an idea it was to preemptively annihilate a quarter of the world's population in order to secure American dominance. Numbers don't mean anything in a one sided nuclear exchange, and world opinion means about as much when you maintain a decisive advantage.

[Ehrenpanzer]

Man invents swords. To counter, man invents chainmail.
Man invents crossbows to counter. Man then invents plate armor to counter.
Man invents guns to counter. Man then invents kevlar.
Crossbow bolts can puncture kevlar, even knives can.
Man invents Lasers. Man invents some sort of anti-laser armor.
Kinetic weapons can probably easily pierce this, and so can all the previous weapons.
Man invents the tank. Man counters with anti-tank weapons, which are also conveniently strong against the human body in general, armor or no.

The point is, throughout history we have created weapons, created armor to counter, and then created weapons to counter the new armor, and in the process make armor that is now vulnerable to previous tiers of weapons. Just based on human inventions, as that's all the concrete evidence we have so far, there really isn't a universally superior type of armor. There is always some way to counter it or get around it. Iron Man suit? EMP. Suit of armor 2 inches thick, made of the strongest material on earth? Most likely now too slow to move, and quicker moving enemies will overrun you. If you can get into armor, there is a way to pull you out of it.

And your blurb about the US essentially taking over the world - you know WHY they didn't? Because the entire world would turn on the US. superior numbers almost always trump superior tech. You may be able to spray 1,000 rounds a minute with a chaingun, but eventually you'll have to reload, and that 1,000 rounds a minute won't really put a dent in an army of several million. It's the reason we've never invaded China. Outnumbered thousands to one, our troops would get obliterated just by sheer numbers. We would have to rely on nukes to thin their population first, and then it wouldn't even be worth invading China.

And again, this all boils down to, we're still talking about humans with human technology. We have no idea what the aliens would be bringing, and as such, there is a possibility that we would be able to counter them.

All this nonsensical gibberish is assuming the aliens are completely and totally mentally retarded, send forth 1 to 3 skirmish forces and decide to withdraw for 30 years to allow humans to draw up a defence plan. You clearly have no clue about WHAT exactly is required for space travel, beyond what little pittance humanity has achieved, much less what kind of weapons that could provide or defend from

[Shadee]

The US would protect the world by uploading a virus or something to the aliens like in Independence Day or Trump would negotiate a deal with them.

[Thoughtful Trolli]

Did somebody post that one SMBC Comic where the human just hands his leash over to the alien?

If that hasn't happened in the last 11 pages, somebody post that one SMBC Comic where the human just hands his leash over to the alien.

(PSA would not work in real life because we know anyone who does that is just another human in an alien disguise and would challenge with lethal force non-stop, presuming a real alien would have an overwhelming power to subdue even beyond the ego, or perhaps a wealth of blessings and pleasures to lavish the newly captive human with to the point the alien is at the disadvantage to our pleasure, but no sentient would be that stupid so we're immune to enslavement)

[Gandrake]

we'd be too busy fighting over starbucks cups to give a fuck

[Glnger]

hands off approach, if they have any knowledge of us, "we have ship loads of technology and the ability to stop death, but we can only give it to one country" or "the earth pop most fall down to 4billion" and sit back and watch the nukes fly.

Honestly, how many seconds do you think we'd deliberate this? we'd nuke the entire southern hemisphere just so that there wouldn't be anyone left to complain.

Then the aliens would be like "welp, that's all we needed to see" and get back in their spaceship and go home and quarantine our planet off "pinewood derby" south park episode style.

[Jimusmc]

chances are they are NOT immune to our viruses ect we vaccinate for.. you infect them with it.

[Doctor Funkenstein]

Your interpretation of aliens is the hippy, pacifist, pop-culture version. This is, yet again, you insulting people who think differently than you. Look in the mirror hypocrite.

No, your view is the idiotic one.

AGAIN: Have we blown the Moon or Mars to smithereens? We're alien invaders of those worlds. If we were to master cryogenic sleep or similar technologies and used it to travel to another star system, does that mean we have the technology (let alone desire) to waste all those resources and effort just to blow it the fuck up for shits and giggles?

Your view is, again, fucking idiotic. "Oh, they can travel to other worlds, THEY ARE EVIL DOMINATORS INTENT ON DESTROYING ARVARYTHAINGS, and there's nathin' we cin do to stopz itttt! AHHHHHH!!!"

So. Fucking. Dumb.

To borrow Trump's tactic of repeating shit to get people like you to get it into their head, I offer these three points:

1.) There's no reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.
2.) There's REALLY no reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.
2.) There's REALLY no FUCKING reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.

[Shadowferal]

If he wants to take over, we'd have a problem.

[Ripster42]

No, your view is the idiotic one.

AGAIN: Have we blown the Moon or Mars to smithereens? We're alien invaders of those worlds. If we were to master cryogenic sleep or similar technologies and used it to travel to another star system, does that mean we have the technology (let alone desire) to waste all those resources and effort just to blow it the fuck up for shits and giggles?

Your view is, again, fucking idiotic. "Oh, they can travel to other worlds, THEY ARE EVIL DOMINATORS INTENT ON DESTROYING ARVARYTHAINGS, and there's nathin' we cin do to stopz itttt! AHHHHHH!!!"

So. Fucking. Dumb.

To borrow Trump's tactic of repeating shit to get people like you to get it into their head, I offer these three points:

1.) There's no reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.
2.) There's REALLY no reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.
2.) There's REALLY no FUCKING reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.

To repeat this so you'll get it in your head: the universe is limited. If any race gets it into their head that they're willing to do whatever it takes to survive as long as possible, they're going to eliminate all possible competition for resources.

Just knowing that such a worldview is possible only increases the likelihood that other races will take a hostile approach to all other potential rivals, if for no other reason out of fear that if they don't do it, we'll do it to them. If you don't think humanity has literally wiped out other tribes then you're ignorant/idiotic. Take your pick. We have the tech now to wipe out all complex life on earth (and I'm not talking about nuclear weapons).

It wouldn't even have to be something like "evil" that compels a race to genocide, but fear. So fucking dumb to think that all aliens have a concept of good/evil beyond what's good for survival. There's no reason to project benevolence on aliens.

Just because you can't think of a reason, doesn't mean people who can actually use their brains can't.

[Shiny212]

Any civilization capable of interstellar travel wouldn't need to invade another planet. We have absolutely nothing of value to such a species. Likewise if we were able to go to other stars.

The idea of alien invaders is infantile.

Pfft where's your imagination. A civilization capable of interstellar travel could for example be socially and culturally interested in aliens (us) they could be conquerors, or in need of slave labor, or perhaps interstellar travel is cumbersome to them aswell, and they stumble on us inadvertently and use our planet and our species for their own designs.

There's no way to know what aliens would want or be capable of should they come visit.

- - - Updated - - -

No, your view is the idiotic one.

AGAIN: Have we blown the Moon or Mars to smithereens? We're alien invaders of those worlds. If we were to master cryogenic sleep or similar technologies and used it to travel to another star system, does that mean we have the technology (let alone desire) to waste all those resources and effort just to blow it the fuck up for shits and giggles?

Your view is, again, fucking idiotic. "Oh, they can travel to other worlds, THEY ARE EVIL DOMINATORS INTENT ON DESTROYING ARVARYTHAINGS, and there's nathin' we cin do to stopz itttt! AHHHHHH!!!"

So. Fucking. Dumb.

To borrow Trump's tactic of repeating shit to get people like you to get it into their head, I offer these three points:

1.) There's no reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.
2.) There's REALLY no reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.
2.) There's REALLY no FUCKING reason to invest all that effort, energy, OR time to go to some alien world just to dominate/destroy/whatever the fuck you think they're out to do to you.

Just as plausible that we the humans would regard aliens as evil if they did anything aggressive towards us should we encounter them as it is that aliens visit us in the first place. It might not be evil from their point of view however, maybe it's culturally essential to them that they harvest our organs, or occupy our planet and run experiments on us, to "help" us even. Maybe they'd be altruistic about it, but we'd certainly call them evil.

[beanman12345]

It would depend. They would probably spread an airborn virus that would kill us very easily very quickly. I don't think they'd do the whole Destroy city after city with big booms but that is fun for the movies, it would really not be a quick extermination as humanity is quite spread out.

However I personally think that any alien that has the intelligence and know how to make it all the way across vast eons of space wouldn't just come to destroy us. I feel they would be above that. Wishful thinking maybe.

[draganid]

aliens drop tailor made pathogen into atmosphere.

Humans die

aliens take over.

simple as that.

you skipped the part where they abduct some hillbilly and preform anal probes on him to get our dna to engineer the pathogen, release him back to earth and nobody believes him!

[Doctor Funkenstein]

To repeat this so you'll get it in your head: the universe is limited.

ROFL

That's about as wrong as you can literally get. The universe is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay bigger than you can clearly even begin to BEGIN to begin to comprehend if you honestly think that.

I mean, Jesus Christ.

But sure, it's "limited" in the "so limited that you'll never reach that limit" sort of way.

Just because you can't think of a reason, doesn't mean people who can actually use their brains can't.

"Use your brains." That's hilarious, especially considering the above.

And again, you completely fucking ignored every point I made. Is the Moon still there? Is Mars still there? Is every other planet we've visited still there? How the FUCK does "being able to visit another planet" equate to "INSTANT DESTRUCTION THAT NOTHING CAN STOP, MOUHAHAHAHAA!" I mean, maybe we could get a Rover to use a tiny rock hammer to start picking at Mars, and maybe after a few million years it might start making a notable dent in the surface... Does that count?

[Shadowferal]

If dragons zoomed in from a different space-time continuum things could get interesting, especially if they had a radioactive fire-breath.

[dextersmith]

If Earth gets in the way of a trans-galactic highway then they will get interested in Earth. It will either be moved to the the side a bit or removed entirely if it poses too much of a hazard for passer-bys.

Marvin the alien wanted to destroy earth because the eye sore obstructed his view.

[Martymark]

Strange that so many people here assume that aliens would land and wade into melee combat where our numbers and weapons would matter. It would be much more efficient to just sent 999,999,999 asteroids with nanomachine terraformers to every planet in the universe with resources they want.

[slime]

If they are organic and can travel vast distances in space then their tech would be something else. We would have no idea what they could be capable of...
But one thing I'm pretty sure of, they aren't coming here to "invade", because that is somewhat a caveman type attitude. Advanced beings able to travel all over the galaxy would probably have much easier/faster/better methods of taking a planet or whatever they might need from it.

You'd hope that after advancing to those technical levels - their whole purpose isn't to demonstrate alpha superiority to an inferior race of being, but seeing how shit works on Earth, wouldn't be that big a surprise.

[Deleted]

Lets face it guys. If an extraterrestrial species with the ability to travel the stars decided they wanted earth it's highly unlikely that we have anything that would be able to stop them. How long would it take them to conquer earth?

If humans can wipe all life on earth in a matter of moments with the weapons already at our disposal, any entity powerful and advanced enough to travel here can do it even faster. So you want to discuss whether we would die in 5 minutes or 5 days? Cool. I fail to see the point.