AdvocateSaint: I like how it’s *pause,* and not *end.*
“Okay, so we defeated the alien threat to our world. Now let’s go back to almost destroying it ourselves.”
Landlubber77: Well that’s just being pragmatic.
xwing_n_it: So Ozymandius was right.
FlyingSpacefrog: Plot twist: the Cold War isn’t actually over. It’s just on pause. Source: am space alien.
DeeDeeInDC: There’s a great twilight zone episode where aliens come to earth and the USA and Russia (and the rest of the world) have to work together to achieve peace on Earth. twist makes it one of the best 80’s revival zone episodes. watch it! https://youtu.be/fbT1fCHOjfI
GreyHexagon: “If they can pause the Cold War you can pause that online game” – probably someone’s mum
Ddesh: TIL Reagan asked to pause the Cold War in case of alien invasion and Gorbachev kindly agreed to play along with whatever the hell he was talking about.
barsoapguy: Sounds like the start of a 1980s version of the movie independence day .
readinreadin: People always assume Reagan was being nutty, but I think he was a genius to ask this question. Americans and Russians did not trust each other. There was a lot of hatred and a lot of fear. Often you can unite people who otherwise don’t get along by mentioning an external enemy, like the English and French who became friends by fighting the Germans together. ( https://polandball.cc/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/mxzUpoS-600×397.png ) He forced Gorby to think for a moment and acknowledge that we’re all part of a single human tribe. Also, you can think of the aliens as a metaphor for nuclear weapons. If we can unite to save humanity from aliens, then can’t we unite to save humanity from nuclear weapons?
KelGrimm: “Okay, so if aliens come on down and start wrecking house, you promise not to bomb my shit, right?”
“Da, and if some ET motherfucker starts stepping around Moscow, you agree to not send some flying freedom my way?”
“Agreed. Sounds like we have a deal Mr.Gorbachev.”
“Deal.”
“I just have a small little demand about a wall though..”
loveiselephant: When I first read that I thought it said, “…in Case of an Allen Iverson.”
TheComputerInside: Soooooooooo…… in case of alien invasion… XCOM?
EmbraceTheDepth: Ancient Aliens has an episode about this.
frasier_crane: I wonder how the conversation started.
R1ckJamesBitch: Let’s just smoke some weed.
The_Anony_Mouse: And so, XCOM was born.
1rexas1: This feels like a writing prompt
Rangerhmb: I’m ready to join the Xenonauts! Or Xcom. Whichever is first
Harkov311: I mean I feel like this would have happened, agreement or not. But it’s nice to know there was an official agreement I suppose.
nurdboy42: Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.
Stardustchaser: They were adversaries, not idiots.
mazeltov_cocktaill: Just posting to say that I got this observation from a thoughtful article that argues for the importance of all human beings working together, and that we should not let ideologies that pit us against one another win. I think it’s a message that needs to be amplified in today’s increasingly fractured and tribal times (In the US, at least):
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/12/this-little-rock-and-all-who-sail-on-it
Justinxip: Super late and no one will see this but at a quick glance, I thought the title said “in case of an Allen Iversion”
ILaughAtFunnyShit: Could you imagine?
Joining forces with the entire world, battling side by side, humans of all races and religions, for years to fend off an invasion from unknown creatures. Being willing to lay down your life if necessary to protect that human being from earth next to you as you both battle to exhaustion knowing that if you lose everyone on earth is doomed to parish or if they’re lucky, become slaves to the new overlords. But despite all odds you are able to push the alien force back and force them to retreat back to the abyss where they came from allowing everyone to earth to celebrate ***the*** most important victory of all time where everyone on earth can participate together.
Only to say “Time In” and go back to hating each other over some stupid bullshit a few days later because they were born on a different chunk of land than you.