Abduction, Breeding and Adoption
Just Technology, No Magic
Arthur Clarke: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
If of all the women in North America, my wife wasn't the one who reminded the alien of his girlfriend, favorite actress, or mother, I would not have been cuckolded.
The aliens from the planet Chuch had traveled forty light years to Earth, yet nothing about their technology seemed magical. The ch is pronounced closest to the Hebrew letter chaf. Though no Chuchan elementary school teacher would find any human pronunciation of the word acceptable. They had developed computer technology 5000 years ago. Everything since has been improving that science. They took 50 years to go the forty light years. They had an average life span of 170 earth years. They were not necessarily longer lived than humans. They had developed medicines and vaccines that had increased a life span similar to humans. As a spacefaring species, they had many ships exploring their section of the galaxy, and many missions. The leaders of the alien civilization recognized that the last 5000 years had been a time of incremental improvements, but devoid of inspirational breakthroughs. This ship's job; find an intelligent species with which you can breed, and hope for hybrid vigor.
The reason for this mission was that the Chuchan version of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) had picked up our electromagnetic signals, i.e. radio and television. It was the third intelligent species they received, but the first that was biologically similar. A Chuchan would need less time in makeup to pass for human than Judy Garland needed to play Dorothy. Their SETI had better receivers, and computer translation programs, but with two weeks training, our SETI scientists would fit comfortably into their work environment. When our TV programs were dubbed into Chuch's languages, Chuchan's loved Lucy even more than the Americans.
The Chuchan ship could not warp space. It was simply the fastest conventional ship they could design. It reached 90% of the speed of light. That however meant a one hundred year round trip to Earth. So it was designed as a world ship. That is a ship that was self-sustaining. Most of the fruits and vegetables were grown hydroponically, but there were several square miles of soil. Enough animals were brought on board to preserve the species in space. The Chuchans also bred. By the time they approached the Sol solar system, one third of the crew was born on the ship. While one of the Chuchan crew member's name was close to Scotty, there was nothing like a transporter. Crew got to a planet by shuttle. The ship was not cloaked. It was painted "black hole" black. It was a simple way to avoid detection. There was no Chuchan slut ray. The Chuchans wanted to breed with both women and men. They knew that humans had to be studied if it were to be successful on a large scale. Thus, the need for abductions.
Roswell was unfortunate. Chuchan error is a lot like human error. A piece wasn't bolted well on the shuttle. There are good metallurgists on an Air Force base used for testing experimental aircraft. They knew immediately the alloy was more advanced than theirs. They didn't know whether it was foreign, alien, or an experiment from a US factory. They didn't want Congress to know that they didn't know. So there was the cover up. There were no little green men, or alien corpses. The alien abductions however were real.
Chuchans had access to most of Earth literature through the internet. They read Niven's "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex", and considered his argument that Lois Lane would have a better chance of breeding with an ear of corn than an anthropoid from another solar system. They understood this mission had a limited chance of success. They considered the goal so important, however, that it was worth the expense.
For more than 50 years, the Chuchans have been abducting humans for experimentation. Their best hope had been that they could extract genes to enhance Chuchan breeding. What they found was beyond their wildest expectations. Mammalian reproduction was constant on a universal level. Chuchans and humans could reproduce and birth fertile offspring. Not even artificial insemnation was needed. The sexual reproduction was the same for both species. They had inseminated the eggs of female abductees, both in incubators, and using Chuchan women as surrogates. They had used human sperm to impregnate Chuchans, both artificially and naturally.
The first abductions were people they could isolate. One or two people driving on empty rural roads were the ideal target. A shuttle would land ahead of the car. A road block would be set. Tranquilizer darts would disable the people and they would be taken to the ship. DNA would be sampled. Sperm and eggs would be taken, and live actions of the people would be observed. Most subjects were returned to the vehicles they left. However, the Chuchans first injected them with a high level of alcohol. If the subjects told an embarrassing story, they would not be believed.
Within the first five years, they had enough confidence of their knowledge to plant Chuchans as undercover agents. By this time, Chuchans had successfully grown hybrid babies. They found that 97% of babies developed from human sperm and Chuchan eggs could pass for human under any but the most intrusive examination. The statistics were the same regardless whether the babies were developed in artificial wombs or Chuchan females. 67% of zygotes developed from Chuchan sperm and human eggs could similarly pass for human.
Chuchans were advanced enough to conquer Earth. They had a better plan. They wanted a partnership. But they wanted it on the most favorable terms for them. They would plant Chuchans in large cities to live like humans in order to understand society.