Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 54 — page 71: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

be a period of sheer incredulity, The majority of the population would simply refuse to admit that there could be such a thing as extra-terres- trial visitors, and would dismiss the whole thing as an elaborate hoax. Conviction would come soon after, the sight of the landed vessels and their crews would become common- place, and inevitably each nation would look to its arms. That would come first, before any attempt at contact had been made, for man is a victim of his own fear and to him the inexplicable and strange is always dangerous. So the armies would be mobilised, the fleets warned, the squadrons alerted and the menacing mouths of cannon would greet our visitors from space. Then would come the negotiations. They would have learned our language—learned, rather, the tongue of each country, and, as intelligent and civilised beings, would be first toler- antly amused then utterly disgusted at our methods. Each nation would seek to gain the advantage over every other country. They would bargain, haggle, plead, warn and misrepresent. They would question and, since our motivations are so often dictated by fear, they would probably beg with one hand on a gun and their promises would be tinged with threats. At this early stage the indoctrination of years could not be forgotten, and negotia- tions would be conducted with but one thought in mind To get what we could and beat the other fellow any way we can. That stage would be passed when we learned that the aliens had their own ideas and did not intend to give us their science for the asking. They would have arrived in force, not to give us better ways of killing ourselves, but to establish themselves here permanently as an extension of their Stellar Empire or, as far more likely, to help and guide us on our long road from primitive animal to civilised human. And then the nations of the world would band together against a com- mon enemy. For they would be enemies. Any- thing which tries to alter the scheme of things is considered to be a threat, and must be treated accordingly. We are arrogant creatures, with a supreme conviction that of all living things, we are the master. That arrogance has lifted us from the mud and slime, and set our foot on the path towards the stars. Nothing is better than we are— nothing, not even our fellow men, and to prove it we would drench the world TWENTY-TWO comiclbooks.con