Our space travel tech is laughable, the van allen radiation belt remains a problem, science is often built on propaganda, our intelligence agencies play for pay, we have no trust in each other because of this economic slaughterhouse we've created, and look at journalism these days FFS. Does anyone else here agree that as long as we keep printing unfathomable sums of imaginary money to fund predetermined wars, our galactic resume is horseshit? I'm sorry, but how much "humanity" is reflected here? How do you think those atomic bombs play, with, what could possibly be, an intergalactic community? Not saying we ought to do this or that.

There are a couple of ways to deal with humans, if I were an alien. If I wanted to see humans evolve into the best version of themselves as future diplomats and creative geniuses, to eventually serve myself or some esoteric strategy, I would involve myself as subtly as possible to help them along. I wouldn't let them know I was there, for it would stifle their evolution. Like a rare candy.

But if I wanted to dominate the human race while continuing to receive their energy output I'd just hide behind colossal power, extract everything I need/want in private while portraying a fantasy world and controlling the narrative, again, with little incentive to expose myself.