When I think of a second sentient species coming around, some questions pop into my mind.
(1) Will we allow this species to coexist with us?
(2) How will we treat this race?
(3) Will we give them any room to grow?
(4) Am I going to start seeing fundies holding signs that say "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Ape"?
I recently read a science fiction novel that addresses this point. It's called
A Very Ugly Little Boy by... can't remember the author. The story is about a time machine that could grab a hold of any object or being from the past and bring it here to our time for us to study. The people in charge decided to kidnap a neanderthal child to study. Throughout the story, we see that the nurse who is hired to take care of the boy is able to teach him how to talk fluently in english as well as readj, write, and do math. In other words, toward the end of the story, if you don't notice that he's physically different than other boys, you wouldn't be able to tell that he belongs to another species. The nurse is the only person that recognizes that he's a sentient being, while everyone else treats him like an animal that could talk, read, write, and do math.
It's a science fiction story, yes, but it does bring up a very good point. Given our very long violent history of slavery, cultural extermination, and genocide even though we belong to the same goddamn species, I honestly don't see how another sentient species could arise while we are still around. In fact, I predict that the threshold is learning how to use fire. If the chimps learn how to use fire, we will begin seeing extermination squads sent out to eliminate this species. Let us not forget that christians who try to justify the Israelite's extermination campaign of the Cannanites support killing 2 year old toddlers and pregnant women because they
might pose a threat to "god's people" in the distant future.
™ Version 4.2
