The original post: /r/aliens by /u/KaneOak on 2024-11-22 11:18:33.

Likely:

• Hysteria. The knowledge that we are not alone in the universe upends a lot of religions. It’s unnerving for Americans in particular to know we’re not top dog and that there are threats we can’t address.
• National security. If we are reverse engineering the technology, it’s like the Manhattan Project. Whoever gets the tech first rules the world. It’s likely that other governments are working on it and we do not want to show them how far we are.

Less likely but I worry about it:

• There is some truth about the whole thing that is so horrifying that it could cause real panic and chaos. Like the aliens have some kind of hostile intent, that we’re preparing for an invasion/war, they are using our biological material for a bad purpose. Imagine what happens if the government tells people that.

What do you think?