[djrconcepts]

This story reminds me of that episode on the TV show, The Orville. Season 1 Episode 9. Both the Navarians and Bruidians lay claim as the planet's original settlers. An ancient artifact containing residual DNA is discovered. They agree to a neutral third party to analyze the DNA to determine the planet's original settlers. Spoiler alert: Toward the end of the episode, the analyzed DNA determines both groups shared a common ancestor

[queuebert]

Or the TNG episode 'The Chase' where it's revealed that humans, Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians all came from a common ancestor.

[wslh]

I think in the case of humans, all from planet earth, it is trivial to go back and find an obvious common ancestor [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_common_descent?wpr...

[JumpCrisscross]

> in the case of humans, all from planet earth, it is trivial to go back and find an obvious common ancestor

It is trivial to demonstrate the likely existence of a common ancestor. It’s far from trivial to find them.

[fsckboy]

don't forget Vulcans, and there are also half-Bajorans, right?

[bee_rider]

That seems like it must be using sci-fi as a lens for social commentary—an age-old tradition, of course.

[iisan7]

Narurally. I think it's widely recognized that social commentary is what distinguishes science fiction (which casts a lens on possible futures extrapolated from our present) from fantasy (escapism, mythology, or hedonism).

[aragilar]

So Discworld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld) or Earthsea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthsea) are science fiction for you?

[iisan7]

well, the first line of the linked page says these are "comic fantasy" and "high fantasy" respectively, so no (though I think Discworld is arguably sci fi). But I get your point and concede that genre boundaries are not solid but more like intersecting clouds.

[hoseja]

Orville is really thinly veiled most of the time.

[jraby3]

Biblically it’s already understood that Jews and Muslims share a common ancestor.

[mseepgood]

Scientifically it's already understood that all life on earth shares a common ancestor.

[someplaceguy]

Even platypuses? (Platypii?) (Platypora?) (Platypae?) (Platypodes?) Platypods, definitely.

Are you absolutely sure they weren't engineered by some alien mad scientist? Or even a sane one, just for giggles?

[pyinstallwoes]

Not Octopoda!

[sneed_chucker]

It's pretty well understood linguistically as well

[gattilorenz]

Doesn’t the bible predate Islam?