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4Humanoids in the Toolshe d • Nee d Space , Wil l Trave l Today, because of continued economic and technological growth, we stand on the threshold of space. Although it may be easy for some to dismiss the dreams an d design s t o coloniz e spac e a s mer e extension s o f Wester n imperialism or of technological thinkin g gone wild, we maintain tha t th e urge t o expand int o spac e i s basic t o our huma n character . W e are th e exploring animal who, having spread over our natal planet , now seeks to settle other worlds.1 The quote fro m Finne y an d Jones makes the genocide of 25 millio n Native Americans 2 an d o f thousands o f Aboriginal Australian s no t only acceptabl e bu t als o inevitable . Human s ar e "explorin g ani mals " wh o cove r continent s an d planet s onl y t o mov e o n an d settle new ones. We can't hel p it, it's our nature. Actually, the boo k containing th e abov e quotatio n i s rathe r thoughtful . Bu t th e au thors d o tak e i t fo r grante d tha t huma n "imperialism " an d tech nology ar e lik e cancer : yo u can' t sto p them . The y hav e t o grow , evolve, tak e over . Thi s i s th e attitud e behin d a n obsessio n ne w t o the twentiet h century , th e obsessio n wit h travelin g i n spac e an d encountering alie n organism s tha t invariably , o r almos t invari ably , tur n ou t t o b e hostile . Bu t spac e trave l is—a t leas t poten tially —a two-wa y street . I f w e coul d evolv e o n thi s plane t t o th e point where we're ready an d abl e to move out an d on, why shouldn' t 84 Humanoids i n th e Toolshe d 8 5 beings ou t ther e i n spac e b e abl e t o d o th e same ? An d wh o say s we're th e firs t an d th e mos t capable ; mayb e someone' s alread y a t it, maybe the y ar e on thei r way , mayb e they'r e alread y here . The notio n o f space trave l owe s a lot , of course, t o our imag e o f ourselves a s bor n explorers , t o Columbus an d Magella n wh o wen t out, discovere d "new " worlds , an d spearheade d Europea n inva sions . An d storie s abou t spac e trave l ow e a lo t t o folklore : th e anthropomorphic monster s o f yor e hav e becom e th e spac e mon sters o f today . A s alread y note d i n chapte r 1 , spac e i s th e ne w "wild" natur e human s woul d lik e t o explore , invade , and , per haps , settle . Some o f ou r earlies t writte n source s dea l wit h human s explor ing th e "wild " an d recountin g thei r meeting s wit h strang e tribe s and unusua l animals . Herodotus , who travele d widel y i n th e the n known world , coul d repor t tha t "i n Ethiopia , nea r th e Egyptia n border a trib e calle d th e Troglodyte s liv e underground . The y ea t snakes and lizards , and thei r languag e resembles th e screeching o f bats."3 I n th e Middl e Ages , traveler s (an d eve n thos e wh o di d no t travel) gave reports abou t humanoi d monsters . There wa s a whol e literature devote d t o Homo monstrosus, "monstrou s man," 4 a creature tha t resemble s human s i n som e traits , bu t ha s other s that mak e i t mor e anima l o r freak. Homo monstrosus...

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