>>> Dawkins is the genius who, when pressed, said hed believe life on Earth was seeded by aliens before he’d believe that God was responsible for it. <<<
The notion of “directed panspermia” has been kicked around for a while. Crick and Orgel coined the term back in 1973, but the underlying idea has been a staple in sci-fi for over a century.
Dawkins was just being a consistent Epicurean-style athiestic materialist. I wasn’t surprised.
Before answering, consider that only a 2,500 year technological, political, and cultural difference existed between the Central American Native Americans and the Spanish conquistadors. What if the difference had been 25,000 years? Or 250,000 years, or 2.5 million years, or ... well, you get the picture.