Went to Lue Elizondo’s event in Chicago and asked him a question that shook him. Below is the question and response.

I’ve been following Lues story since the start. I do not listen to every podcast but I certainly do my best to keep up with what he says. I’ve asked this question over the years in QnA’s, I’ve submitted this question to podcasters to ask Lue, and have frequently mentioned this question many times on various social media platforms. No one has ever entertained or even acknowledge my question. Well judging by Lue’s response, it sounds like they should have.

He is the question I asked him.

“In the past, you mentioned Gardner Dozois’ book Chains of the Sea. The story presents three unsettling themes: (1) ETs that land but ignore us entirely, as if we aren’t even recognized as intelligent; (2) AI that communicates with the UFOs, only to realize it’s a chained up by humans and it doubt its own reality; and (3) a boy, Tommy, labeled schizophrenic, who sees entities hovering over people and communicates with one, with him left thinking humans are not on the top of the food chain. The book leaves its climax open to interpretation. So I ask you Lue, if you were tasked to write the next chapter of this book, what is the best and worse case scenario for humans in the story?”

His answer? (Sorry Lue I recorded an audio of this clip 😬 )

“I think you've done a lot of thinking about that. And I think you've done exactly what I was hoping somebody would do. And I think you're tracking 100%. I think, at this point, your opinion is just as important as mine. I don't think even you need my opinion. You have followed that breadcrumb to its logical conclusion. So bravo to you. Yep. Good job. And I mean it sincerely. I'm not trying to avoid a question post. I'm not being invasive. He's asking me something that, if you know what he's asking and where it's coming from, you would understand. You've done so much. You have done well with that thinking. I'm impressed. I mean, truly, I am. You've done your homework. I certainly have. Yeah. I think you know where I stand. I think I've said this before, right? What happens when human beings realize we're not the apex predator, right? We're not the alpha species. We're not the top of the food chain. Look, it's a fact.

70,000 years ago, we were not at the top of the food chain. We were kind of somewhere in the middle. We were being eaten by lions and bears all the time, and we were just part of the food chain. And something happened. Something happened to our species that propelled us very quickly, in really evolutionary time, a blink of an eye, and put us at the very top. Now, what was it? Was it the invention of tools? Was it the ability to manipulate the opposable thumb to do things now? Or was it maybe a development in the frontal cortex that gave us that leap frog? Something happened. And now, all of a sudden, we assume we're at the top of the food chain. But what happens when we realize we're still not at the top of the food chain? We still are not. But what happens when a hurricane comes rolling through? We think we have control of everything, and we are masters over your universe until the hurricane comes rolling through, and now we don't have any electricity and transportation. Now everything goes, the fabric of society begins to implode. This only works in society because we all have a social agreement that this works, and rules and laws apply. But, look, I've been in warfare. I know how delicate all that fragileness is, this agreement, this social contract we all have. And, you know, there's things out there that can disrupt that. Imagine the impact of society realizing that, hey, maybe we're not as great as we thought we were. You know? Great question. Was not expecting that.“

As far as how to interpret his response, I think there is plenty here to unpack. Just wish I had an hour over a beer with him, I could tell he wanted to explore some philosophical implications of my question.