# What science fiction series have FTL travel but no intelligent alien life? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 25, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074 "2011-11-25T19:36:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/21 "2011-11-26T00:47:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ll agree that “We Also Walk Dogs” isn’t actually part of the Future History, which is why I didn’t mention the aliens in it, but I’m not sure about “The Long Watch”/_Space Cadet_– I think that there’s enough room in the timeline for Scudder to have been before, after, or between those stories. You could be right, but it’d be a tough fit - but since this is a hijack, I’ll drop the topic here, and maybe start another thread sometime to discuss this in detail ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/22 "2011-11-26T01:01:42Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > If we’re including TV, _Firefly_, of course. Although we don’t know officially if they have FTL. The humans that left Earth that Was may have used a near light-speed ship to get the Firefly multi-star system. At least from Serenity and the Series as far as I can remember. I have’t read the comics and other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/23 "2011-11-26T01:41:25Z")
Good point: I’d forgotten the FTL requirement in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/24 "2011-11-26T01:54:41Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Since I see no restriction in the OP excluding _television_ series, the reimagined _Battlestar Galactica_ has no aliens. > > Edward James Olmos told the producers that the first time they sent him a script with aliens in it, they’d have to rewrite it to explain why Adama died off-screen between episodes, because he’d be out the door. Though it’s an open question just what exactly Virtual-Six, Virtual-Baltar, and the entity which does not like to be called “God” really are. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/25 "2011-11-26T01:58:30Z")
I was thinking about extra-solar critters. I won’t believe any of the Methuselah’s Children lore until Hazel Stone herself parks outside and gives me a nice back rub. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/26 "2011-11-26T02:08:05Z")
The anime series _Cowboy Bebop_ has FTL Gates but no aliens. In an unusual twist, they have FTL but are also confined to the Solar System. Melissa Scott’s Silence Leigh trilogy has FTL, no aliens. IIRC Vonda McIntrye’s _Superluminal_ had no aliens, but did have FTL good enough that there’s a station at “the edge of the universe”; complete with a bar that has a huge window that shows nothing but blackness, an infinity of starless space. I recall an obscure novel; _A Matter of Oath_s by Helen S Wright; FTL, no aliens. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/27 "2011-11-26T02:19:25Z")
_Hyperion_? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/28 "2011-11-26T02:42:25Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > _Hyperion_? I don’t remember any. There are the Ousters, who are alien in form (myriad) and culture, but they are self-altered humans. Also, the TechnoCore are human-created AIs (or not created by humans, it’s complicated…), but also serve as an “alien” culture. There are several species mentioned, and I can’t remember if they’re sapient-intelligent or not, like the “balloon” species on… Jupiter, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/29 "2011-11-26T02:43:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > _Hyperion_? If you’re talking about Dan Simmons, that’s only mostly correct. The majority of the region has been colonized by humans, but there are a handful of aliens around. It is true that many of the apparent aliens in the story are actually human or modified humans. (I was actually thinking of this one, but it has to be ruled out). ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/30 "2011-11-26T02:47:53Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > There are several species mentioned, and I can’t remember if they’re sapient-intelligent or not, like the “balloon” species on… Jupiter, maybe? There may not be any actual sapient non-humans around, so it probably does qualify. I forgot about the ‘intelligent’ alien life requirement. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/31 "2011-11-26T02:50:15Z")
Actually, at the very end of the series, one character is revealed to have been an alien all along - the only intelligent alien in the books. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/32 "2011-11-26T02:59:18Z")
_Legend of Galactic Heroes_[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend\_of\_the\_Galactic\_Heroes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Galactic_Heroes) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/33 "2011-11-26T03:17:47Z")
Most obvious: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and his Robot books. I think he was working on an explanation for that when he died. Jack McDevitt’s books went on for years without meeting intelligent aliens, though there were signs of them. He eventually met up with them, though. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/34 "2011-11-26T10:35:18Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > It may not be quite what the OP is after, but [Red Dwarf](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dwarf) has FTL, and no alien intelligent life – in fact, practically no intelligent life of any kind at all. I googled this because I could have sworn they did actually encounter alien aliens at one stage but the closest it seems is mention of the “Pan-Dimentional Beast from the Mogydon Cluster” in an episode. It’s not seen on screen however, and there’s not enough information to say humans didn’t create it either. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/35 "2011-11-26T10:52:56Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Actually, at the very end of the series, one character is revealed to have been an alien all along - the only intelligent alien in the books. Which one? I don’t recall this… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/36 "2011-11-26T14:21:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Which one? I don’t recall this… A. Bettik - the blue-skinned android they encounter on Hyperion, who later plays a bigger role in the \*Endymion \*books. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/37 "2011-11-26T16:48:05Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Though it’s an open question just what exactly Virtual-Six, Virtual-Baltar, and the entity which does not like to be called “God” really are. I know what they were, a cop out Bullcrap ending. Sorry, couldn’t help myself… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/38 "2011-11-26T16:59:57Z")
There was nothing at the end of BSG that wasn’t carefully built up throughout the entire series’ story arc. The fact that you didn’t like it doesn’t mean that it was copout. ---
**Author:** ![Kylede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kylede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kylede)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/39 "2011-11-26T17:29:00Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Most obvious: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and his Robot books. I think he was working on an explanation for that when he died. Actually I think there was. After Asimovss death, his Estate Hired the Hard SF Three B’s ( Gregory Benford, Breg Bear, and David Brin) to witer 3 more novels about “Foundation” and aliens who were destroyed by robots lead by R. Daneel Olivai who were sent out in space and terraform for human colonization. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074/40 "2011-11-26T17:38:49Z")
> [@Kylede](#): > > Actually I think there was. After Asimovss death, his Estate Hired the Hard SF Three B’s ( Gregory Benford, Breg Bear, and David Brin) to witer 3 more novels about “Foundation” and aliens who were destroyed by robots lead by R. Daneel Olivai who were sent out in space and terraform for human colonization. Were the robots, including Daneel Olivai, tied into the Foundation universe in Asimov’s first three books, or did that happen only in the sequels? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-science-fiction-series-have-ftl-travel-but-no-intelligent-alien-life/604074.md?page=3)