1 | '''Basic Trope''': Humanity encounters an intelligent alien species for the first time. |
2 | * '''Straight''': The crew of the starship ''Lazarus'' arrives in their destination solar system and picks up coherent radio signals from one of the planets. |
3 | * '''Exaggerated''': ...And then from another ... And another ... And another... |
4 | * '''Downplayed''': SETI picks up a radio signal from several light years away, and starts sending radio signals in response. |
5 | * '''Justified''': [[{{Infodump}} The crew exobiologist explains]] that life is likely to evolve everywhere that human beings would find habitable in the universe.[[note]]In RealLife, this is one of the many ideas that the UsefulNotes/FermiParadox calls into question.[[/note]] |
6 | * '''Inverted''': |
7 | ** An alien species completely vanishes from the universe, never to be encountered again. |
8 | ** An intelligent alien species encounters humans for the first time. |
9 | * '''Subverted''': |
10 | ** As the ''Lazarus'' closes in on the planet, they discover that it is actually Earth. |
11 | ** The radio signal turns out to be from the crash site of [[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} Voyager I]]. |
12 | * '''Double Subverted''': ...Millions of years after WorldWarThree, when a new species has replaced humanity. |
13 | * '''Parodied''': |
14 | ** A crew of geeks looking to see if intelligent life may be found in a biker bar after they get a response to a message they sent to there in a parody of SETI. |
15 | ** The aliens turn out to be extremely stupid, not intelligent at all. |
16 | ** It turns out that the humans have met these aliens several times before, but found them so boring they forgot about them. |
17 | * '''Zig Zagged''': |
18 | ** Two HumanSubspecies from long-separated lineages encounter for the first time. |
19 | ** The ''Lazarus'' finds out that the signals are an automatic message sent by machines, whose intelligent creators died out or moved unimaginably far away eons ago. |
20 | * '''Averted''': AbsentAliens. |
21 | * '''Enforced''': The story is being written for a collection of first-contact novellas. |
22 | * '''Lampshaded''': "I don't believe it! To find extraterrestrial life on our first voyage out of the solar system... It's fantastic!" |
23 | * '''Invoked''': The ''Lazarus'' was sent to its target solar system because spectral analysis of the planet indicated the presence of life. |
24 | * '''Exploited''': The ship exobiologist uses FirstContact as an excuse to [[TheMutiny seize control of the ship]]. |
25 | * '''Defied''': The ''Lazarus'' immediately leaves the solar system when the signals are discovered. |
26 | * '''Discussed''': "In the event of possible alien contact, starship crews are advised to proceed with extreme caution. Standard protocols are listed in Appendix L of ''[[FictionalDocument The Terran Science Fleet Manual]]''." |
27 | * '''Conversed''': "What kind of aliens do you think they'll turn out to be?" |
28 | * '''Implied''': The future Earth in the story has an AlternativeCalendar based on years "Since Contact". |
29 | * '''Deconstructed''': The alien species is [[StarfishAliens so radically different from humanity]] that no [[StarfishLanguage communication]] or [[BlueAndOrangeMorality understanding]] is possible. |
30 | * '''Reconstructed''': The radical differences between the humans and the aliens are not unbridgeable thanks to convergent evolution, and so both species can gain [[OddFriendship great benefits from their interactions]]. |
31 | * '''Played For Laughs''': The aliens make a ridiculous ClicheStorm upon meeting humans. |
32 | * '''Played For Drama''': The arrival of aliens threatens our place in the universe, leading to existential crises. |
33 | ---- |
34 | Back to Main/FirstContact |
35 | ---- |
36 | %% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion: |
37 | %% |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext PlayingWith / FirstContact
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load