The human settlers call this planet full of plants, Pax, and finding no signs of intelligent life or a sentient species, set about colonising it. A decision was taken by their starship’s computer that ultimately turns out to be a good choice – at first – because this new planet is better, more habitable and with a well-evolved ecology and abundant chlorophyll.

158 years later, they find themselves awakened from their hibernation but on a strange planet orbiting a different star than the one they’d set course for. They even have a constitution that will guide not just their actions – but of all generations to come – by forming the basis of any society they create when they reach their destination light years away. A group of people, wishing to leave it all behind, come together to make a fresh start in a new home in a far-off planet but without making any of the mistakes that led to the abysmal state of their original home that they are escaping from. “We, the citizens of Pax, covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of all sentient beings and of the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part…” ARTICLE II – Principles and Purposes, The Constitution of Pax (written on Earth in 2065).Įarth is dying. Herein lies the appeal of Sue Burke’s acclaimed debut novel, Semiosis, because the sentient ‘aliens’ are neither animal, mineral nor machine. Failing which, insect-like, or like cephalopods and in many cases intelligent androids or cyborgs. But almost invariably, the strange planets and civilisations are peopled by aliens that look a lot like humanoid bipeds. Since then there have been countless stories of first contact – across books, comics, films and television – that have explored this theme. But it was with Murray Leinster’s 1945 story, First Contact, that it became really popular, enough to establish the term ‘first contact’ in science fiction. Wells’ War of the Worlds first to touch upon it prominently. ‘First contact’, the first meeting between humans and extra-terrestrials – or any two civilisations and sentient races from different planets coming into contact with each other – is amongst the most popular themes in science fiction, with H.G.

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