In light of the recent attacks on several stations in the Pleiades, the focus has rightly been on evacuating the survivors and getting them to safety. But a glaring question remains unanaswered: What is to be done about the Thargoids?



Some would say that this aggression by the Thargoids must not go unanswered, and that we must respond robustly and aggressively. It is a compelling and strong argument, but it is not the only option that we have. There are other ways we might be able to deal with this.



The Thargoids could easily have destroyed Titan's Daughter and Oracle. They could easily have snuffed out the lives of hundreds of thousands of human beings. Instead they chose to disable the station reactors only. Why?



Even during the first so-called "hyperdictions", the Thargoid ships were content with simply scanning their targets, not destroying them. If they were aggressive, why did they not simply destroy these ships on sight?



At Maia, we saw ships that appeared to have been destroyed by the Thargoids, but it was never clear who the aggressor was, or what had happened. Calmer voices, myself included, argue that we know so little about the Thargoids, their society or culture, that we cannot possibly hope to enter into a conflict with them at present.



Professor Boden Tench, principal researcher for Aegis at Titan's Daughter, stated the following on the 8th of December, 3303. He said, and I quote:



"...it’s entirely possible that their concepts of territory differ dramatically from our own.”



As we all know by now, Titan's daughter was one of the stations that recently came under attack. It is important to note that it is only stations under the control of Aegis that have come under attack, to date. Again I ask, why?



Could it be that the growing human presence in the Pleiades has triggered this backlash? Or that the actions committed by Aegis in the name of research constituted, in the minds of the Thargoids, an act of territorial aggression?



Have we not learned anything from the near act of genocide committed by INRA so long ago against the Thargoids?



In emotionally charged times like this it is easy to forget that we are dealing with an utterly alien culture and society to our own. And as the drums of war are beaten by shadowy organizations like Aegis, I call for those who wish for a saner, more humane approach to these creatures to make their voices heard.



Wars can start with words, and for those who agree, we need to start pushing back against the narrative of a "Thargoid Threat", challenging those who do not wish to see beyond their noses. I am not saying we leave humanity defenceless, far from it, but we need a fundamental rethink in how we frame our interaction with the first sentient life form we've ever encountered in human history. I am frightened of how many will react to this statement, and of being called a traitor to humanity, but then I fear for the fate of humanity far more, should we enter into a war that could spell the doom of all of us as a space-faring race.