# What’s your favorite alien? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486 "2019-10-08T18:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/1 "2019-10-08T18:04:28Z")
Not a particular alien individual, like Yoda or ET. What fictional alien race / species do you find most interesting, and why? I’m currently re-reading Larry Niven’s **Ringworld** , which has rekindled my fascination with [Pierson’s Puppeteers](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierson%27s_Puppeteers). Niven gave them an intriguing combination of traits: - Highly intelligent and advanced herbivores - Genetically predisposed to “cowardice” as a survival mechanism - Two-headed and three-limbed, making them seem very non-human, but not in the campy way many fictional aliens are portrayed - An obscure sense of humor, usually opaque to humans, yet they are very comical Niven also avoided giving too much exposition about Puppeteers (at least in what I’ve read so far), leaving them a bit mysterious. I’d so love to meet one. So what fictional alien would you most want to have a carrot juice with? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/2 "2019-10-08T18:06:50Z")
Vulcans - Intelligence is sexy! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/3 "2019-10-08T18:11:30Z")
The Trafalmadoriams in Slaughterhouse Five. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/4 "2019-10-08T18:22:16Z")
Paul. In that movie. Forget the name of it. Paul was funny. ETA, seems ‘Paul’ was the name of the movie, as well. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/5 "2019-10-08T18:35:17Z")
Well, I’m for sure NOT having carrot juice with **Alien**. But it is my favorite. A perfect monster. What I like to think about is what the hell kind of planet did this beast evolve on? What else lives there? Mind boggling. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/6 "2019-10-08T18:36:00Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Niven also avoided giving too much exposition about Puppeteers (at least in what I’ve read so far), leaving them a bit mysterious. I’d so love to meet one. There are many more books (starting with several in the Ringworld series) that tell you more about Puppeteers! > [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > So what fictional alien would you most want to have a carrot juice with? The females from Species would give immense short-term satisfaction…:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/7 "2019-10-08T18:38:56Z")
I really like the society of the aliens from the World War series. Very slow changing reptilian aliens who send off a slower than light fleet to invade Earth sometime in the middle ages, but arrive during world war 2, where they are shocked by the rapid advance of the human technology. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/8 "2019-10-08T18:40:38Z")
From books — H Beam’s “Little Fuzzies” From movies Alien ------- how did they get into space? Are they actually technological or did they just travel by infesting others? Neither the books or movies made it totally clear although there was evidence they were just parasites. High-speed-acid-oozing parasites. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/9 "2019-10-08T19:16:41Z")
**Tweel** from Stanley G. Weinbaum’s _a Martian Odyssey_ and _Valley of Dreams_ > **[Tweel (A Martian Odyssey)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweel_(A_Martian_Odyssey))** > > Tweel (also referred to as a "Tweerl", the exact pronunciation of the word is said to be impossible for humans) is a fictional extraterrestrial from the planet Mars, featured in two short stories by Stanley G. Weinbaum. The alien was featured in A Martian Odyssey, first published in 1934, and Valley of Dreams four months later. Weinbaum died of lung cancer soon after, and a third installment in the series never saw fruition. Tweel remains one of the most recognised aliens in early science fiction... > **[Quality Over Quantity: The Best of Stanley G. Weinbaum](https://www.tor.com/2017/12/14/quality-over-quantity-the-best-of-stanley-g-weinbaum/)** > > Sometimes, a story hits you like a ton of bricks, and you immediately resolve to look for more by that author. For me, “A Martian Odyssey,” by Stanley G. Weinbaum was one of those stories. I read i… ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/10 "2019-10-08T19:44:32Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Well, I’m for sure NOT having carrot juice with **Alien**. But it is my favorite. > > A perfect monster. What I like to think about is what the hell kind of planet did this beast evolve on? What else lives there? Mind boggling. These are the same questions I have about the title alien in _The Thing_(1982). ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/11 "2019-10-08T20:13:05Z")
I tend to subscribe to the theory that the xenomorphs of Alien were genetically engineered. It solves all the evolutionary questions. My only unanswered question is, were they originally created as “super soldiers” under command and control (who later got loose), or just meant to be an “area weapon”, as it were, denying access to regions. I like the puppeteers, and recommend most if the “…of Worlds” series. It really adds to their character. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/12 "2019-10-08T20:27:17Z")
I’m fond of the Gil’Dan/Gil’Dishpan from DC comics. Slug-like or brain-like aquatic aliens who get around in non-aquatic environments in water-filled floating globes. Who spent their first few centuries of interacting with humans with a humiliating name due to a mistranslation…they tend to get annoyed when it’s mentioned after they figure it out. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/13 "2019-10-08T20:38:18Z")
The Solomons, from _3rd Rock from the Sun_. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/14 "2019-10-08T20:54:57Z")
Kiff kroker ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/15 "2019-10-08T21:00:54Z")
The \*\*Traeki \*\*from Brin’s \*Uplift \*series. Each one a consensus organism consisting of a stack of toruses, as tall as a human, each one with their own skills and abilities, arranged around a shared memory core. New rings may be found living wild, or specially bred. In hiding from their own “descendants”, who has been Uplifted with dictatorial “master rings” that, through shock torture, control the other rings and turned the peaceful, gentle, indecisive Traeki into the monomaniacal, genocidal, religious fanatic Jophur, who are one of the most feared species in five galaxies. I would not want to share a drink with the latter - like Daleks made out of inner tubes, basically… ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/16 "2019-10-08T21:02:31Z")
Definitely the Oankali from Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis books. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/17 "2019-10-08T21:12:52Z")
Hard to pick just one. The Ishtarians, from Poul Anderson’s _Fire Time._ The symbiotes, from Hal Clement’s _Needle_ and _Through the Eye of a Needle._ ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/18 "2019-10-08T21:18:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I tend to subscribe to the theory that the xenomorphs of Alien were genetically engineered. It solves all the evolutionary questions. My only unanswered question is, were they originally created as “super soldiers” under command and control (who later got loose), or just meant to be an “area weapon”, as it were, denying access to regions. I never thought that at all. C&C? I just figured they were indeed “bugs”. That whole instinct to build Geiger nests and chest bursting seems very biological to me. I figure that home planet was one hostile sumbitch. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/19 "2019-10-08T21:33:51Z")
Vulcans. Hands down. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486/20 "2019-10-08T21:40:38Z")
The most dangerous non-sapient monster in science fiction, for my money, is the grendels, from Niven’s _The Legacy of Heorot_. They basically have rocket-fuel blood, which enables them to move faster than anything else on their planet, and basically all parts of their body are weaponized. Their weakness is that when they use their super-speed, they tend to overheat, so they need to very quickly get back to water, before they cook themselves. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-alien/841486.md?page=2)