🚀 go-pugleaf

>Of course, I were the alien, I would come back in about a century; 
>I don't think we're really ready to deal with aliens.

>% appear near the shuttle, the crew would turn around and head for home, under
>% orders from the ground, since they're not equipped for alien contact.

>what equipment would you take to an alien encounter?. How are the astronauts 
>not equipt to handle an encounter with aliens?.

Among other things, the body of law is not ready for such an encounter. I
believe I read somewhere that if intelligent aliens were to land in the
US, they would be legally classified as animals (and a non-native species
without an import license at that). If there were any complaints, it would
be the duty of the police to apprehend the aliens and keep them for later
sale or destruction. These instructions might not actually be carried out,
but an intelligent alien would think twice before visiting such a place.

I know somebody who designed a street-legal electric car. He was unable to
get the state to waive the usual requirements, so he had to bolt a
non-functional muffler to the underside before he could get it licensed :-)
                                  John Roberts
                                  roberts@cmr.icst.nbs.gov