What is the best reaction to an alien encounter ?
Our universe is so immense, that it is very tempting to imagine that Earth may not be the only planet hosting life. The idea of some alien life visiting Earth has been developed countless times in science-fiction books, movies, and other media.
What if they really existed, and came to visit us ? What if for some reason the first person they encountered was a simple citizen (not a State president, not a UN member, nor anyone with a special position to handle this situation) ? That citizen could be you. What should you do ?
Should you interact with the alien or wait until he does the first move ? Should you run away or fight him ? Should you call some State agent to inform the situation, or try to keep it secret ? Should you even believe it's real, or assume it's a dream or a fake ?
There are many UFO or alien testimonials, yet none of them has been generally and scientifically confirmed. We will then assume that such alien encounter is unprecedented, and that we can only try to guess which action would be most likely to have a positive outcome.
Each thesis developed here will be one possible action. Each must be independent from the others, yet they do not necessarily exclude each other as many actions could be done successively.
As an alien encounter can take various forms, it is recommended to clearly state which hypothesis you assume in your claim (when relevant). For example "If the alien is humanoid, then..."., or "If the alien seem dangerous, then..."