Chrononauts: An Evolutionary Angle
| From an evolutionary standpoint, some
enthusiasts and researchers consider the notion that if today's
pop, iconic aliens really do exist, then they are likely our own
descendants from many thousands of years in the future. In this
case, they may or may not still be technically extraterrestrial,
if only because some of our indeterminably distant grandchildren
may well be born on another planet. People frequently put forth the idea that "visitors" or "grays" are quasi-humans with inter-dimensional maneuverability of some kind. Without entirely ruling out ideas involving alternate or additional realities, focus, however, on certain consistently purported continuities of physiological traits between them and ourselves. These suggest a relatively simple origin much closer to home -- one in which time, itself, presents the only real space separating this "alien" civilization from our own. On the subject of their having come from another star system all together, the whole "astronomical time & distance to the nearest possible source..." argument becomes moot on an evolutionarily backlit stage. Extraterrestrial hypotheses regarding humans' own beginning are not very viable, either, considering the ever-expanding paleoanthropological evidence from our fossil record. Despite positive likelihood of ET life somewhere, the chances of us and our first and only contacts, together, exhibiting such similar, convergent anatomical evolution seem staggeringly improbable. These creatures are depicted as being more physically like ourselves, even, than a bat is like a bird, or a dolphin is like a shark. Examples of parallel evolution between virtually unrelated species right here on this planet pale in comparison to these aliens' uncanny resemblance to us. Notice the apparent succession of contour facial features from archaic Homo sapiens all the way through the so-called aliens. Any humanoid could initially appear to have a grossly exaggerated cranium and eyes if, in actuality, the surrounding structures were considerably undersized in proportion, including reduced (in thickness, not necessarily in definition) brow ridge, cheekbones, shoulders, neck, plus especially dwarfed jaw and teeth. The cranial capacity may be little larger (if any) than our own -- perhaps alluding upon first impression. There is reason to assume that, in the future, there may be even further shrinkage of our own vestigial Cro-Magnon-like protrusions or buttresses -- continuance of the going trend. This applies to the entire postmodern physique, hypothetically making us a veritable missing link in ourselves. Although scientists speculate that humans may evolve an even larger nose to adapt to airborne pollution, it is easy to envision standardized residential air filtration of some sort becoming a vital norm in the relatively near future. In a quite typical evolutionary response to increased reliance upon man-made apparatus, the nose may gradually recede, possibly even being a consequence of subterranean or submarine living with such respiratory support. Although environmental conditions which influence human evolution are undoubtedly different today than they were thousands of years ago, one consistent and prevalent phenomenon which began long ago is the de-evolutionary effect which intelligent advancements inevitably have upon us. With the advent of culture, we developed clever new ways of using the things around us to protect us, assist us, and even compensate for individual shortcomings. One endowed with, for example, less fracture resistant bones could avoid or survive problems associated with such a vulnerable condition, provided some degree of personal skillfulness is used and/or empathy from others is in effect. These usually harmless, though gradually more means-dependent traits, in turn, eventually homogenize into the available gene pool, so long as examples like the said individual typically survive and breed. Marked reductions of structural robusticity of the body are largely byproducts of social progression toward lifestyles which tend to be either safer and more forgiving, or somehow provided for along these lines. Physiological characteristics which are no longer critical for procreation may be subject to eventual recession. This could (or has) lead to the fading of certain characteristics found desirable or convenient, despite their not being essential to actual survival or reproduction in modern environments. Some people, even today, would be suited for a better quality of life, were they to have less fragile skeletons or stronger muscles, like were more common among our predecessors. Imagine the results of our virtually entropic condition prolonged over hundreds more generations, and then review the more compelling alien encounters. Considering technology's relationship with human's current wide lack of natural selection, traits which would go sorely missed may fall prey to an almost iatrogenic genetic atrophy. Things could be punctuated as such especially after becoming debilitative or burdensome in any way. Given possibility of time travel, hypothetical victims of this erosive dwindling due to time and dependency upon science may eventually turn back toward the relatively archaic genes of a period like ours. Much like domesticated animals with bloodlines too far removed from nature's more well-rounded selectivity, reintroduction of 'earlier' genes might be healthy for them in the sense that it can help compensate for traits which have drifted (a known practice among animal breeders). If even moderately durable bone mass, for example, remains practical for accidents' sake, this and other waning qualities might no longer be taken for granted and, instead, be greatly valued in future retrospect. This agenda of reintroduction neatly accounts for procedures allegedly performed upon those claiming abduction, specifically tissue sampling or reproductive physiology related tampering. Also, 'primary examination' reports have frequently included procedures eerily analogous to things such as scoliosis screenings. Humanoid extraterrestrial visitation can seem even more far-fetched than chrononaut theories involving the stretch of time travel, especially after wrestling with the incomprehensible difficulty of the mingling of our genes with those of a genuinely unrelated extraterrestrial, as suggested in hybrid scenarios. The term "human being" has previously defined us as highly adaptable and thus exhibiting few limiting specializations. If there is any truth to abduction lore, however, it may be that our anatomically postmodern descendants eventually prove otherwise, requiring us to either redefine 'human', or exclude them as such. |
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