What If First Contact was with...

It's over 20 years since the arrival of The Next Generation's finest cinematic voyage. With April 5th 2063 some 44 years away I wondered what would have happened if things had gone another way.

We've seen two sides to humanity's first contact situation; one in which a hand shake and some Roy Orbison are the Vulcans' initial impression of Earth and the Mirror Universe where the visiting aliens are murdered and their ship pillaged.

But here's a thought, what would have happened if it had been another alien race that had been humanity's first meeting from the great beyond in 45 years time? Who would be the most likely culprits? Here are SKoST's suggestions for outcomes of that fateful day if things had been a little different...

1. Klingons

If these guys had been the first race humanity encountered then we might have gone straight back home, bolted the door and turned off the lights. Their warrior ways would have probably ended with the Earth subjugated into the Klingon Empire and enslaved for generations. Certainly the helplessness and poverty-ridden Earth would have been no match for a well-armed Klingon army. Likely that the Regency we saw in the Mirror Universe would have taken hold 300 to 400 years earlier...

2. Andorians

Suspicious of just about everyone and everything, first contact initiated by the Andorians might have seen a tentative partnership established but, as with the Vulcans its likely that we would be seen as a lesser race and one maybe to be exploited and used. Notably they could look to inhabit the Arctic and Antarctic as bases of operation but the rest of the planet might have been a bit too warm. For one thing, the connection between Vulcan and Earth would have evolved differently thanks to the Andorians suspicions as seen in Enterprise.

3. Tellarites

Could this have been the most frustrating of first contacts? A meeting that could have ended with neither side happy and humanity confused as to what is out in the galaxy? The ever argumentative (and pig-masked) Tellarites aren't the first race that would spring to mind as potential first visitors to Earth but don't forget they were one of the original founders of the Federation.  First contact might have been a part fraught with the Tellarites given their demeanour and might have set humanity back another 20 to 30 years on its space programme.

4. Orions

The doors of their ship open and half the population is under the spell of the women. The Orions quickly overrun the planet and have humanity under their thumb within weeks. While not violent as perhaps would be a Klingon invasion, the Orions' control over the human race means there is no resistance at all. On a good point there would have been a lot of dancing but not much more.

5. Ferengi

Declaring themselves as owners of half the galaxy, the Ferengi see Hew-mons as another business opportunity. Not worth conquering but certainly there are ways to exploit the civilisation and make a ton of profit. The relationship sours when the Human race starts meeting other cultures who give them a more realistic take on the nature of the Ferengi and the penny drops. The Ferengi wouldn't have presented an aggressive front but that might have meant leaving humanity open to another attack or colonisation by another major power.

What other civilisations could realistically have presented themselves at first contact if it hadn't been for the timely arrival of the Vulcans?

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