Mysteries of the Thargoids

Professor Ishmael Palin, the foremost authority on the Thargoids, has authored a short article for the scientific journal The Empirical.

“Recent events have once again brought a focus on the alien species we call Thargoids. I have witnessed governments, militaries and public figures characterise them as a mindless destructive force, akin to a swarm of locusts. I feel it is important to underscore how much is absent from our understanding.”

“Despite many decades of research, the Thargoid civilisation remains totally alien. We still have almost no true understanding of their language, society, culture or objectives. Non-violent interactions with their spacecraft in recent years have provided little insight, other than their commitment to patrolling and harvesting meta-alloy sources. Of course, their willingness to fight is one of the few traits we definitely share.”

“As yet we have almost no knowledge of their hierarchy, beyond broad assumptions that they follow the functional roles of known insect species. Due to the biomechanical nature of their constructs, we are even uncertain about the dividing line between individual beings and their vessels. If living Thargoids have ever been studied, as is rumoured, then it is by clandestine means, concealed from the scientific community.”

“While Thargoids frequently drag ships out of hyperspace to be scanned, not all of these incidents result in an attack. Their hostile reaction to Guardian artefacts may be something like a genetic memory, hard-coded into their technologies. Even the Thargoids’ perception of time could be very different to ours. What we think of as an ancient war might be recent or ongoing from their viewpoint.”

“However, in HIP 22460 we witnessed something new: an active countermeasure to the Proteus Wave. This suggests that their perception of humanity has changed. We are no longer troublesome scavengers claiming the scraps left behind by higher life forms. Instead, we have sought to decimate their numbers again, just as with the Mycoid virus centuries ago. I believe we now have the Thargoids’ full attention.”

“Our future relationship with the Thargoids is uncertain. But I’m keen to offer the reminder that we are dealing with a species of enormous intelligence and complexity, not a horde of voracious animals. We must strive to learn more about them, and hope they have the capacity to view us as something other than an enemy.”