Questions to Ask an Alien
For anyone playing the first-contact game: a teacher setting a writing or discussion prompt, friends around a table, a science fiction writer working out a visitor, or a kid who wants to know about alien pets. The 66 questions run in the order a real meeting might, through The visit, Home world, Their society and About us, and finish with a Funny group and one For kids. Each note says what a reassuring or a worrying answer sounds like, or what to ask next.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The visit
Do you come in peace, and how would we be able to tell?
Why ask it
The line everyone knows, so say it first. Any visitor will answer yes, which is why the proof matters: a reassuring one offers something we can check, such as leaving when asked. Be wary of a visitor whose idea of peace is everyone doing what they say.
Why did you come to Earth, of all places?
Why ask it
Every other question is a way of checking this answer. Reassuring ones are specific and a little dull: a survey, a wrong turn, curiosity about one odd signal. Vague kindness ('to help you') and any mention of what Earth has plenty of are where a story turns dark.
How did you get here, and how long did the trip take?
Why ask it
The distance is the hard part of any answer: light itself needs more than four years to arrive from the nearest star beyond the sun. So the visitor either spent a very long time traveling or knows a way around that limit. Make the answerer choose one and stay with it.
Who else is out there besides you and us, and how did meeting them go?
Why ask it
Whether the galaxy is crowded or nearly empty is the thing most people want from an alien, so let the answer run. If they have met others, listen to how they describe the meetings that went badly. 'A misunderstanding' said about two different worlds is a pattern.
How did you find us, and what was the first sign that anyone was here?
Why ask it
Give the group the real candidates: radio and television leaking outward for about a century, the oxygen in our air, city lights on the night side, the probes we have sent. If it was television, ask which program arrived first and what they concluded from it.
How long were you watching before you said hello?
Why ask it
'We only just arrived' and 'since before you built cities' are two different stories. A long watch sets up the next question, which is why they chose now. An answer that dodges the timing is itself worth noting.
Who sent you, and do they know you have arrived?
Why ask it
It sorts an explorer from an envoy from a runaway. If nobody back home knows, the visitor is alone and the room usually softens toward them. If a report is due, ask what is going in it.
Who did you leave behind to make this trip?
Why ask it
The visitor stops being an idea and becomes someone with a family. If the journey lasted longer than a lifetime, the one answering was born on the way and has never seen home at all. Leave a pause after that one.
What nearly went wrong on the way here?
Why ask it
Every traveler has this story, and it hands a writer both the ship and the crew: what broke, and who fixed it. In a group game, give the alien thirty seconds and no more, or it turns into a film plot.
Are there more of you on the way?
Why ask it
What everyone is listening for is the number. One ship is a visit. If a fleet is coming, ask what it is carrying and who decided to send it before the first conversation was over.
Can you go home again, and do you plan to?
Why ask it
A one-way trip changes what the visitor needs from us, which is somewhere to stay. That makes it a good discussion prompt on hospitality: what would we owe a stranded stranger, and who would decide?
Home world
Where is your home, and how would we find it in our night sky?
Why ask it
Asking them to place it in our sky is what makes this work. Have whoever is answering point, or draw a quick star map. A writer should settle now whether home is a planet, a moon, a ship or nowhere fixed, because every later answer leans on it.
What do you call yourselves, and what does the name mean?
Why ask it
A name that translates as 'the people' or 'the ones who talk' is the reassuring kind, and plenty of human names for ourselves mean little more. The worrying version is a name that means 'the owners' or 'the only ones'.
Is this what you really look like, or a shape you chose so we would not panic?
Why ask it
Fair to ask of any visitor who looks conveniently like us. A disguise picked out of kindness is reassuring until someone wonders what is underneath, so ask that next. Whoever is playing the alien gets a free pass to describe the real body in detail.
What does the sky look like from where you grew up?
Why ask it
Two suns, a ringed giant filling half the horizon, or no stars at all under permanent cloud. Follow up by asking what their old stories say about that sky. A people who never saw stars would have come late to the idea that anyone else was out there.
What do you eat, or does your body get its energy some other way?
Why ask it
Useful in a science class because it leads straight to food chains, and soaking up light like a plant is a fair answer. If they eat, ask what, and whether it puts up a fight. In a story, the uneasy version is a visitor who answers while looking at the questioner a moment too long.
Which senses do you have that we lack, and which of ours seem strange to you?
Why ask it
Push past the list to the consequence. A species that feels magnetic fields would never have needed a compass, and one with no hearing would have no music and no idea why we stop to listen to it. One sense, followed all the way through, beats five named in passing.
How long does one of you live, and how do you count the time?
Why ask it
A year is one trip around a star, so their unit will not match ours, and working out the conversion is a tidy math problem for a class. A lifespan of thousands of our years changes everything else they say: how patient they are, and how long a journey is worth making.
What would hurt me first if I stepped onto your world with no protection?
Why ask it
Gravity, the air, the heat, the light or the wildlife. Whichever they pick sketches the whole planet in a sentence, which is why writers like this one. A cheerful 'nothing, you would love it' has earned a suspicious second question.
Are you the only intelligent kind on your world, or one of several?
Why ask it
Sharing a planet with a second thinking species would shape everything about them, from politics to manners. Ask how the two get along, and listen for whether the visitor says 'we' or 'they' when describing the other.
How does one of you start out in life: born, hatched, grown or built?
Why ask it
This keeps the biology at a level a ten-year-old can talk about. 'Built' is the answer to chase, since it means the visitor may be a machine sent by somebody else. Then ask who did the building and whether they are still around.
Do you sleep, and if you dream, what are the dreams about?
Why ask it
Grand questions get speeches, and this one tends to get something personal instead. A species that never sleeps has the whole night to fill, so ask what they do with it. Good for a quiet moment in the middle of a long round.
Their society
Who makes the big decisions where you come from, and how did they get the job?
Why ask it
'Take me to your leader', turned around. Expect a ruler, a council, a hive mind or nobody at all. How they got the job matters more than the title: chosen, born to it, or simply the oldest one left.
Do your people still fight wars, and if not, how did the last one end?
Why ask it
'We outgrew it' is the hopeful answer and the one to poke at: outgrew it how, and how long did that take? The uneasy answers are 'there was nobody left to fight' and a long pause before the word 'still'.
What happens on your world to someone who breaks the rules?
Why ask it
A society shows itself here faster than anywhere. Repair and teaching are the gentle answers. 'We no longer have anyone who breaks the rules' sounds peaceful for about two seconds, so ask what happened to them.
Do you have anything like money, and if not, how do you decide who gets what?
Why ask it
Best with older students, since it forces a look at how we do it. The common picks are that everything is shared, everything is earned, or machines make enough for all. Whichever it is, ask who does the jobs nobody wants.
How do you talk to each other, and is it possible to lie that way?
Why ask it
Sound, light, scent, touch or thought all work as answers. The lying half is the real question. A species that cannot lie has told the truth all evening, and one that has never met a lie is about to have a hard time on Earth.
Do you have music or stories, and will you share one with us?
Why ask it
Insist on the performance: whoever is playing the alien has to hum the tune or tell the story, however short. The strongest answers fit the body they invented earlier, like music felt through the floor by a species with no ears.
What do your people disagree about most?
Why ask it
Screen aliens tend to arrive as one planet with one opinion, and this breaks that open. A writer who can answer it has a real civilization. If the visitor insists they all agree, treat that as the most worrying answer available.
What is the biggest problem your civilization solved, and what did solving it cost?
Why ask it
Hunger, disease, energy and aging are the usual picks. The cost is the half to press on. A problem solved by giving up privacy, choice or the home planet itself is a cautionary tale, and the group will hear it as one.
What do you know about the universe that we have not worked out yet?
Why ask it
Allow one thing only, explained in plain words: what came before the beginning, whether anything outruns light, what most of the universe is made of. A class can first list what our own science still marks as unknown, then vote on which gap to ask about.
What have you still not figured out?
Why ask it
A visitor who says 'nothing' is lying or dull. The answers that land are the familiar ones: boredom, loneliness, what to do with a very long life. People find it oddly comforting that starships did not fix those.
What is the first thing your young are taught?
Why ask it
Whatever comes first is what that society values most: how to survive, how to share, how to obey or how to ask. In a classroom, have students say what they were taught first and compare the two lists.
Who is remembered as a hero where you come from, and for what?
Why ask it
An explorer, a peacemaker, or the one who refused an order. Then ask whether the visitor agrees with the choice. A hero remembered for a conquest tells you something about how they may read a planet like ours.
What counts as rude among your kind?
Why ask it
The practical first-contact question, and best asked before you have done it. Staring, showing your teeth in a smile, or asking questions at all could each be the offense. In a group it gets a laugh, then a round of people checking their own manners.
What do your people believe about how everything began?
Why ask it
The answer may be a measurement, a sacred story or both at once. Keep it about their account and what it says about them. It is not the moment to settle a disagreement about beliefs among the people in the room.
About us
What was the first thing you noticed about humans?
Why ask it
Easy to answer, so it suits the moment the talk turns from them to us. The best answers are things we have stopped seeing: that we walk around balanced on two legs, that our eyes leak when we are sad, that we cover most of ourselves in cloth.
What about us makes no sense to you?
Why ask it
Where a group gets both funniest and most honest. Lawns, neckties, alarm clocks and standing in line all come up. Each answer is really a person pointing at something they find odd about their own life, which is the whole use of an alien.
What are we getting right?
Why ask it
Ask it after a run of criticism, when the room needs it. Hold out for something specific: music, the way strangers help after a disaster, dogs. 'You have potential' is not an answer.
What would you teach us if you could, and what would you keep to yourselves?
Why ask it
Cures, clean energy and faster ships are what people ask for. What the visitor refuses to hand over says more: 'you would hurt yourselves with it' is a verdict on us, and the group should argue with it.
Which of our problems did your people once have, and how did you get past it?
Why ask it
The wise-elder question, so handle it with care: the answer shows what the person playing the alien thinks the fix is. In a classroom that is the point. Ask whether the fix would work here and who would object.
Are we ready to meet whoever else is out there, and what would we need to do first?
Why ask it
This is a test with conditions attached. 'Stop fighting each other' and 'look after your planet' are the standard ones. The harder follow-up is who on Earth would have the standing to agree to them.
Who on Earth should you be talking to instead of me?
Why ask it
Nobody speaks for the whole planet, and this makes a group notice it. A scientist, a president, a poet and a child each get nominated. Have everyone pick one and defend the choice; it turns into a real debate quickly.
Which of our movies and stories about aliens got you most wrong?
Why ask it
One for film fans. Invasions, abductions and little green men are all available to complain about. A visitor who is offended is funnier than one who is amused, and one who goes quiet at a particular title is a plot.
What do you find beautiful here?
Why ask it
Rain, an ocean seen from above, a city at night, a bird landing. It doubles as a writing exercise: describe one ordinary thing as someone who has never seen it and has no name for it.
If you could take one human thing home with you, what would it be?
Why ask it
Say 'thing' clearly, so nobody gets collected. A bicycle, a recipe, a songbook. The reason matters more than the object, because it shows what their world is missing.
What would you warn us about?
Why ask it
Keep it for a round that has already turned serious. A specific warning chills more than a general one: 'do not answer the next signal' does more than 'be careful'. For a writer, the answer is usually the story.
What do you most want to ask us?
Why ask it
It turns the game around. The person playing the alien has to invent a question, and the group has to answer on behalf of humanity. It is often the best ten minutes of the session, so leave room for it.
Funny
Which of the things blamed on aliens was really you: the crop circles, the pyramids or my missing socks?
Why ask it
People made the first two, so the only honest confession left is the socks. Ask what a spacefaring civilization wants with one sock from each pair, and do not accept 'research'.
Which animal did you assume was in charge when you first got here?
Why ask it
Cats, ants and cars are the standard answers, and the car one is an old joke for a reason: from above, they look like the residents and we look like the staff. Have the alien explain the evidence.
What Earth food have you tried, and which one do you never want to see again?
Why ask it
Whoever answers gets to describe a food they dislike as if meeting it for the first time, and that is where the comedy is. Fizzy drinks, hot sauce and anything served in gelatin do well.
Why do you always land in an empty field and never downtown?
Why ask it
The oldest habit in the genre, finally questioned. Parking, shyness and bad experiences with traffic all work. It is a quick one, good for pulling a quiet person into the game.
If you left Earth a review, how many stars would you give it and what would it say?
Why ask it
'Three stars. Lovely oceans, loud locals, gravity a bit much.' Have everyone write one and read it aloud, which makes it a five-minute warm-up for a class as well as a table game.
Can you do your impression of a human?
Why ask it
The answer has to be acted out, not described. Small talk about the weather and checking a phone every ten seconds are the usual targets. Skip it with a shy group or one that has just met.
What is the most embarrassing mistake you have made since you landed?
Why ask it
Greeting a mailbox, trying to pay with a leaf, bowing to a lawn sprinkler. It suits the person who likes telling a story, and one mistake per alien keeps it moving.
Did anyone on your ship ask 'are we there yet', and how far in?
Why ask it
The joke is that a starship turns out to be a family car, so play it straight: who picked the route, who touched the temperature controls, and who had to be moved to another seat. It lands well straight after a serious answer about the journey.
Do your people tell scary stories about being taken away by humans?
Why ask it
This flips the genre, and there is a fair point inside the joke: we do catch animals, tag them and let them go again. Ask what the alien version of the story sounds like around their campfire.
For kids
What is your name, and can you teach me how to say it?
Why ask it
Children invent clicks, whistles and very long vowels. Have the whole group say it back, then try writing it on the board. Agreeing on a spelling is half the fun.
How many arms and legs do you have, and what do you use them all for?
Why ask it
Hand out paper, because this is a drawing prompt as much as a question. Count the limbs together and give each one a job: one for waving, one for snacks, two for steering. Hang the drawings up and the class has a whole crew.
Do you have pets on your planet, and what are they like?
Why ask it
Ask how many legs the pet has, what it eats and where it sleeps. Then ask its name, which is where the giggles come from. Simple enough for the youngest children in the room.
What games do alien kids play at recess?
Why ask it
Have the children invent the rules and then try the game outside. Low gravity gives them a lot to work with, such as a jump rope where one jump lasts a full minute.
Do you go to school, and what is your favorite thing to learn?
Why ask it
It lets a child compare the answer with their own day. 'How to fly the ship' is the popular one. Follow up by asking what homework looks like on a spaceship.
What is your favorite color, and is it one we can see?
Why ask it
There is real science under it: bees can see ultraviolet light that our eyes cannot, so a color we have never seen is a fair answer. Ask the child to give the new color a name and say where it shows up.
Can I see inside your spaceship?
Why ask it
Turn this into a cutaway drawing of the ship. Where does everyone sleep, where are the snacks kept, and which button is nobody allowed to press? Every ship drawn by a child has that button.
Are you scared of anything?
Why ask it
It helps a nervous child. An alien who is afraid of bathtubs, puppies or the dark stops being frightening straight away. Keep the answers small and silly; with young children the visitor should never be creepy.
Would you like to be friends, and what should we do together first?
Why ask it
Young children always hear a yes, so the talking is in the plan. Work out the day aloud: where would you take a visitor who has never seen a playground, a library or rain?
How to play first contact with these questions
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Setting it up
Decide who answers
A question for an alien needs someone to be the alien. In a group, one person takes the part for five questions and then hands it on. Alone, with a journal or a story draft, you write both sides. In a classroom the teacher can play the visitor first, which shows the students how much detail an answer is allowed to have.
Agree what kind of visitor this is
Before the first question, settle three things: whether this is a comedy, a mystery or something tense, whether the visitor came alone, and whether it can already speak our language. Leave the visitor's intentions open, since finding those out is what The visit is for. Thirty seconds on this saves the round from one person playing a comedy and another playing a horror film.
What is said stays true
The one rule worth enforcing. If the alien said in question three that its world has no night, that still holds in question thirty. Have someone keep a running list of facts. The fun of the later groups, Their society and About us, comes from answers that have to fit what was established in The visit and Home world.
Follow the order, or cut it short on purpose
The groups run the way a careful meeting would: why are you here, what is home like, how do you live, what do you make of us. With little time, take two from each of those four. Funny and For kids stand on their own and need no build-up.
Ways to run it
The press conference
One person, or a team of three, sits at the front as the visitors. Everyone else is the press and gets one question each, with one follow-up. Teams of aliens have to agree on answers in a whisper before they speak, which is entertaining to watch and keeps the invented world consistent.
You only get five
Tell the group the ship leaves in ten minutes and there is time for five questions, no more. Each person picks their five from the list and ranks them, then the group has to agree on one shared set. The argument about which questions matter most is the activity, and it works without anyone playing the alien at all.
A writing prompt for a class
Give each student one question from Home world, one from Their society and one from About us. They write the visitor's three answers in the first person, then swap papers and write one follow-up question for their partner's alien. Younger classes can do the same with the For kids group and a drawing in place of the paragraph.
Interviewing your own invention
For a writer building a species, answer the Home world and Their society groups in the character's voice, quickly and without stopping to fix contradictions. Read it back the next day. The contradictions are usually where the interesting parts of the culture are, and About us will show how the character sounds when it has an opinion.
Real science to stand on
Nobody has met one
As far as anyone has shown, life has not yet been found anywhere beyond Earth. Every answer in this game is invented, and it is worth saying so to younger children who may not be sure. What is real is the search: astronomers have found thousands of planets circling other stars since the 1990s.
Space is very big
A light year is the distance light covers in a year. The nearest stars beyond the sun are a little more than four light years away, and most are vastly farther. Any answer about the journey has to deal with that, either with a very long trip or with an invented way around it. Asking which one is a good habit.
What a visitor could know about us
Human radio and television signals have been spreading outward for roughly a century, growing fainter as they go. So a visitor from nearby might, in principle, know our broadcasts and nothing else about us. That is a useful limit when someone playing the alien seems to know everything.
When it goes flat
The alien is just a person in a costume
If every answer sounds like a human from a slightly different town, go back to the body. Ask one question from Home world about senses, lifespan or what they eat, then ask how that changes the last answer they gave. A different body is the quickest route to a different mind.
The alien knows everything
An all-knowing visitor ends the conversation, because there is nothing left to find out together. Give the alien blind spots: things it has not understood about Earth, questions it cannot answer about its own history. 'I do not know' is a perfectly good line for a visitor.
It gets too dark for the room
Invasion answers arrive quickly with teenagers and can unsettle younger children. If the mood tips, switch to the Funny group or ask what the visitor finds beautiful here. With small children, start and stay in For kids, where the visitor is always friendly.
One person does all the inventing
Pass the alien's part around every few questions, with the new player bound by everything said so far. Quiet players often do best with the short ones in Funny, where a one-line answer is enough.