# War of the Worlds in reverse



## Metryq (Nov 8, 2011)

We're not waiting for H.G. Wells' Martians to get here, we're FedEx-ing them some Earth bugs first:

*Tough astronaut bugs to blast off for Martian moon*


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## Snowdog (Nov 8, 2011)

Wherever we go we end up killing off most of the indiginous population. Let's hope that the aliens, when they finally discover us, have adequate quarantine procedures.


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## Metryq (Nov 8, 2011)

Snowdog said:


> Wherever we go we end up killing off most of the indiginous population.



I'd rather be a member of the "winning" biosphere (_The Gentle Giants of Ganymede_) than the losing one (_The Andromeda Strain_).


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## Dave (Nov 8, 2011)

Why don't we just send out Cyanobacteria and Terraform some planets? It would take a few million years so no time to waste.


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## Metryq (Nov 8, 2011)

Dave said:


> Why don't we just send out Cyanobacteria and Terraform some planets? It would take a few million years so no time to waste.



Steven Gould described an accelerated terraforming project in _Helm_. A fleet of advanced probes seeded a suitable planet while the colony ship was in transit. The terraforming was done in waves, with microbes to change the oceans and the atmosphere first, followed by slightly more advanced plants, then big plants and the insects needed to tend them, etc. Any macro animals were brought along with the colony ship.

I'd like to find a peanut butter planet and seed it with chocolate chips—turn it into a giant Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.


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