I've been mulling over a science-fiction story idea for a few days now. Suppose that it is 1000 years from now, and humans are all dead. Suppose that aliens came to Earth and found the remains of ancient cultures that died around 900 years before. These aliens try to make sense of the archaeological data. Now, these aliens use only biological technology. They grow their spaceships, etc. So they have no idea what to make of computers and machinery. Therefore, they conclude that the machines made the biological life on the planet.

Reasons why this would work:
- The main dark humor of the situation would arise from the fact that our archaeologists now really have very few ideas about what many of the artifacts they dig up were for. They interpret them based on their own assumptions about the past.
- The imagined human society of 2100 does much genetic engineering, meaning that there are huge labs of biological material that is "managed" by machines. Furthermore, many elements of people's homes are mechanized, so that in many ways, they live inside huge machines.
- These aliens would believe in evolution, and they would know the geological column is bogus. Therefore, instead of digging down through "layers," they would look for obvious intermediate steps between creatures. There really aren't intermediate steps for biological creatures. Many, however, are readily available for all things mechanical and technological. Thus the conclusion: Machines evolved and created organic life to serve them.
- Human souls leave the bodies when they die. Who can tell from looking at bones and a rusting car side-by-side, which one had the soul?

I could turn a short story into a book, by the simple means of having a community of humans still alive, living in nature, unable or unwilling to use the technology. Then the aliens find them and, though they are highly "ethical" creatures, don't believe the human community should keep them from colonizing Earth - because obviously the humans do not own the planet, but were made by the machines. Could be an interesting story. Too bad I won't have the time to write it. Possibly I will be able to do the short-story version, at least.  ¶ 8:32 AM