Technically, everything is possible (unless it violates the laws of physics, i.e. I am not sure about the part with making new universes), so yes, there is a posibility.
Is there a good reason to focus on this specific scenario, instead of the billion other possibilities?
Thanks for your response.
The reason why I'm concerned about this scenario is because this would be the worst possible outcome for anyone, in my opinion. The other possibilities wouldn't cause as much suffering.
The key problem with your question is that you ignore the evolutionary pressures. To become an intergalactic civilisation it's necessary to be very good at cooperation because it means that many actors have the capability to blow everything up.
Other evolutionary pressures are about using resources effectively. Torturing people on earth wouldn't be an effective use of resources.
Thanks for your response.
I do take evolutionary pressures into consideration in the list of reasons why this scenario is unlikely. I state that "highly intelligent aliens may be more likely to have evolved to be kind toward others." However, it's also possible that aliens "(or a group or an individual) have evolved to feel sadistic pleasure when they harm others who don't belong to their group."
Aliens who are excellent at cooperating with others may not necessarily be kind toward those who belong to out-groups. Lack of empath...
If aliens could torture us, another alien race could come and save us.
This is a great point.
I considered this possibility when I was writing my post. However, it's possible that the sadistic aliens would be capable of making our planet invisible to others, or that the benevolent aliens never travel close enough to Earth to be aware of us.
I recently thought of the possibility of this scenario while reading about the Fermi paradox. This may sound highly unlikely and like the plot of a sci-fi horror movie, and there is no evidence that it will happen. However, is there a possibility of this happening?
Scenario:
Highly technologically advanced aliens become aware of our existence or are already aware and decide to torture us (possible motivations are listed below).
They are able to make themselves invisible to us and travel to Earth or to send AI to do the same. Then, they enter our bodies (e.g. through nanobots). They edit our genomes to make us immortal and only able to do things that are necessary to keep ourselves alive (e.g. drinking water). Or they upload our minds.
They can then cause us pain and even edit our genomes to cause us to experience more pain (e.g. by adding more pain receptors). It could be possible for them to torture us until the end of the universe, if they have the ability to generate enough energy to keep us conscious. Even after the end of the universe, it might be possible for them to torture us in a different universe (Zeeya Merali writes about the possibility of creating a new universe in A Big Bang in a Little Room).
The following consists of more of my ideas about this. Obviously, please feel free not to read it.
Possible motivations for why aliens may want to torture us include:
A possible reason for why aliens may torture us, without necessarily wanting to, is:
Reasons why this scenario, although unlikely, may be possible:
Reasons why this scenario is unlikely include: