What if...

[samvara]

You had access to a giant, derelict alien spaceship and had to crash it somewhere on the Earth - where would you land?

ETA: Assume a shitty landing rather than a disaster and then assume whoever it landed near just 'won' the technology race - who gets the resource?

Comments

[prk]

My initial thought was Washington DC, but I'd most likely try and bring it down in the ocean or middle of a desert to minimise life loss.

Prk

[samvara]

Assume a shitty landing rather than a disaster and then assume whoever it landed near just 'won' the technology race - who gets the resource?

[prk]

That's a really difficult question - I don't know if there's any country I would really trust with it.

If I rule out the obvious ones I wouldn't trust with it (US & allies [inc AU / NZ], Russia, China, UK, etc), I'm left with looking at Western Europe for countries with sufficient independence & compatible ethic / freedom aspects.

Assuming no time to negotiate, I'd probably land it on Lake Zurich, and coast to a rest right next to Zurich, in Switzerland.

prk.

[samvara]

Might be a very good choice!

[rdm]

Depends on how giant, and how big a crash.

Assuming that it can be slowed to reasonable speeds, and it is sub-city sized, I'd probably park it somewhere near Toodjay.

If it is *really* big, out near Lake Eyre.

And if it cannot be slowed down ... Probably Antarctica, so as to provide the greatest dissipation time for the impact effects, and to give us some chance of survival.

[samvara]

Assume a shitty landing rather than a disaster and then assume whoever it landed near just 'won' the technology race - who gets the resource?

[rdm]

Who gets to play?

Actually, I'll stick with my initial response. We are remote enough that out-and-out invasion is kind of tricky, unlike Norway, and Iceland.

If I trusted the Swiss, I'd suggest there, but really, who trusts the Swiss?

NZland would be another good choice, but they are small enough to be easy to trample.

And while we'll probably sell out to the US, there is a tiny chance that we will not.

Third choice - screw them all.

[rdm]

The Marianas Trench.

Or Bass Strait. Bass Strait does have a history for that sort of thing, after all.

[copracat]

At an airfield in Australia, probably nearest to Siding Spring because if you've been looking at the stars all this time, you deserve first dibs on the giant alien spaceship.

(I am possibly overly thrilled that I have an appropriate icon.)

[samvara]

That's an awesome icon :)

I was wondering if Canada would be a good choice!

[leecetheartist]

Giant and derelict, eh?

I tell you what, I'd land it on the Darling Escarpment or Scarborough beach, 'cause I dislike driving into the rising or setting sun, and it would shade me nicely as well as giving my city something iconic to have a backdrop against...the Bell Tower just doesn't cut it, I'm sorry.

[lilysea]

Norway or Iceland.

Because I trust their politics most (as illustrated through their approach to refugees, immigration, women's rights, domestic violence, and children's rights.

So I feel that they could be "trusted" with the alien technology much more than, say, the US or the UK which operate much more on a conquest/haves and have-nots model.

I would also consider New Zealand.

NZ has strong environmental policies, has refused US nuclear warships, and the NZ economy could really do with the boost.

[samvara]

I like your thinking, NZ is one of my choices as well.

[fred_mouse]

my initial thought was 'in the water, well away from land'. And then I wondered about creation of tsunami, and exactly how large a spaceship that would require, and what about small islands. Which lead me to think that the Solomons might be a option, to raise the level of the land. And to have a bargaining chip with the rest of the world. But it made me wonder how the rest of the small (sinking) islands would do out of that. At which point my brain overloaded.

I did also contemplate Antarctica, but I don't know that I want it in any one country's political space. specially not any of the ones that have large chunks of Antarctica.

And then it would be interesting to see whether Switzerland would succeed in staying neutral if you landed it in Geneva...

[samvara]

Yeah, who do you trust with that kind of toy?

Why bother landing?

[rdm]

Park it in orbit and keep it for yourself and your friends...

Re: Why bother landing?

[prk]

My other thought, was crash it onto Mars, and re-ignite the space race & technological development required just to get there.

But I fear too many governments would go for sabotaging other efforts in a "if we can't have it, noone can" kinda way.

prk.

Re: Why bother landing?

[fred_mouse]

ooh, I like that almost as much as the 'give it to a small 'independent' nation.

and to answer samvara - I don't think I trust anyone with that sort of toy, not even me.