Re: Humans as raccoons?

ilya2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:
> Has anyone ever written a story about aliens who take over Earth, and
> regard humans as "charming wildlife"? I know there are stories where
> humans are *pests* living in an alien environment, but what I am
> asking about are stories where the top dogs of said environment
> actually *like* humans, and take some steps to ensure our survival --
> but not to the point of leaving our planet to us. IOW, the way many
> suburbanites view raccoons.

Not quite "charming wildlife," but there was a short story by Fred Hoyle 
(don't remember the title anymore, sorry) in which Martians take over 
the Earth, and find humans to be interesting specimens to be gawked at 
by aliens all over the Galaxy.  Evidently Earth is the only planet in 
the Galaxy with chemical-based life.

There was another story by Robert Silverberg, in which aliens come to 
Earth to meddle in our politics.  In a parallel universe, they try to 
keep us from ever developing space travel, because they see us as a 
threat.
But in our universe, those same aliens decide to take it gracefully and 
let us succeed them as the new rulers of the Galaxy; and so they 
actually meddle in our politics to encourage our conquest of space.  The 
twist is that in the parallel universe, Earth people never develop space 
travel, but they eventually develop telepathic and psychokinetic mental 
powers instead, and destroy the aliens anyway that way.


-- 
Steven L.
Email:  sdlitvin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 the NOSPAM before replying to me.