{"id":2256,"date":"2021-05-29T12:49:16","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T19:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2256"},"modified":"2021-05-29T12:49:16","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T19:49:16","slug":"envoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2021\/05\/29\/envoy\/","title":{"rendered":"Envoy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Start your story with the arrival of a strange visitor in a small town.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite stereotypes to the contrary, many small towns remained cold and unfriendly, wildly suspicious of strangers. Doubly so for those outside that town\u2019s main demographic. Skin color, dress, hairstyle, even accent were all excuses to ignore or outright shun strangers. How much more so when the stranger is not even the same species?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The envoy landed quietly in the forest, far away from human eyes. This was her first assignment; assessment of humans to determine readiness to join The Community. They\u2019d started exploring their own star system, sent noisy inquiries into the stellar void, and even sent scout drones beyond their heliopause. Depending on assessment, humans would either be allowed to communicate and trade with their neighbors or would continue to be cloaked in the no-contact order that had been in place since life first arose on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello. I am Kay. Nice to meet you,\u201d she said, practicing the local language. Her species was chosen as the closest available bipedal, laterally symmetrical, four-limbed envoy of roughly equivalent size and form as humans. She checked her flex armor and the attached recording devices. It wouldn\u2019t do her any good if they attacked her face, but the job came with risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sounds of their languages were strange, and the surgery to her vocal tract and tongue to speak them left her unable to speak her own language, or even say her own name. Still, she hoped they could bring the humans into The Community. They made a staggering amount of raw, primitive art; the kind most species had forgotten how to make, and she had studied it in-depth for many cycles now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She knew from their moving-story-arts that walking on the road was unwise, so she kept to the shoulder. The town was a collection of small buildings, each a different style, and all built by hands and labor, not the automated printing used by much of The Community. As she walked further into town, she attracted stares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These humans were shorter and stockier than she, their skin color dependent on the red of their blood and the amount of brown melanin they carried within. Her own skin was blue-green, shifting to purple under white light, and highly UV reactive. Their eyes were small in proportion compared to hers, while their noses were large. They had five fingers on each hand, like her, but only one opposable thumb, while she had one on each side of her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feeling that this was as good a place as any to begin, she tried talking to passersby. \u201cHello. I am Kay. Nice to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her attempts were met with stares, people crossing the street to avoid her, and rude comments. It was after one of those rude comments that a human finally stopped to talk with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stopped his vehicle on the road next to her, red and blue lights flashing on top of it. The brown and tan uniform, the weapon at the waist, and the badge told her that this was an official. If the moving-story-arts were right, this person\u2019s job was to protect people and catch lawbreakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHello. I am Kay. Nice to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHi Kay. I\u2019m Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Andy Berg.\u201d His hand rested casually on his pistol, while he peered closely at her face. \u201cThat\u2019s a neat costume and all, but this probably ain\u2019t the town to do that in. You\u2019re scarin\u2019 folks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is not my intent to scare any of you. I am here as an envoy, to determine the readiness of your kind to join The Community.\u201d As she spoke, she gestured, her odd hands catching the eyes of the deputy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cY\u2014you got some sort of deformity thing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. I am not deformed, but I am also not human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you have any ID?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStandard genetic ident,\u201d she said, holding a finger out to swipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pulled out a card with his picture and writing on it. \u201cAn ID, like this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I am not in possession of such a document.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go to the station and get this figured out. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She did as he commanded, and felt metal restraints placed on her wrists. He opened the back door of his vehicle to put her in, and she swung her arms over her head, rotating them into a more comfortable position in front of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHo\u2014how did you do that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo your arms not move like this?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, they don\u2019t. Just…don\u2019t do anything stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will not. My intelligence was a deciding factor in becoming an envoy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they arrived at the station, she allowed herself to be led in to where he pointed at a chair for her to sit in. She sat and slipped her hands out of the cuffs and handed them back to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat the\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas I wrong in doing this? I apologize. I am not familiar with all of your customs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we start from the beginning? Where are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was raised on station 875-439, just over nine light years from here, and trained there to become an envoy. My species comes from a planet around the star you know as Gliese 876.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy wrote in his notebook without looking up. \u201cUh-huh, I see. And what\u2019s the name of your planet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot say it.\u201d She stuck her tongue out to its full fourteen inches to point out the scars along the sides and top. He stared, surprise evident on his face. \u201cThe surgery I underwent to speak your languages has left me unable to speak my own.\u201d She grabbed his pen and scribbled marks on the sheet he\u2019d been writing on. \u201cThis is how the name of my planet is written. And it is also my name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLucky for me you speak English, I guess?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI speak about half of all human languages; 3,224 to be precise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWow, okay.\u201d Andy studied the odd creature. \u201cI\u2019m really not sure what I\u2019m supposed to do here. I should<\/em> call the Feds, but they\u2019d probably dissect you or something. I don\u2019t think you\u2019re a threat, though, so I won\u2019t do that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thank you for not having me dissected. It would not be the first time it happened to an envoy, but I do not desire such a fate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy laughed. \u201cI don\u2019t think any of us want that.\u201d He leaned closer, staring into her large eyes. \u201cWhy did you come here, rather than go to the President or the UN or somethin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy mission is not to create the trade and communication agreements. Instead, my mission is to see if humans are ready for such things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be honest, I\u2019m still kind of creeped out by you, but I\u2019m tryin\u2019 my best to be a good host.\u201d He leaned back and sighed. \u201cI\u2019d guess, though, that based on how everybody treated you in town, your assessment is no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am but one of 300,000 envoys assessing your people over the next seven rotations of your planet. I have not amassed enough data to make a determination on my own, but the recordings made by my armor will be collated with that of my peers to make a final decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t worried some of \u2018em might be killed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is likely that many will. But duty requires that I do my job to the best of my abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy stood. \u201cI\u2019m gonna grab a coffee. Want anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is a hot drink made from a seed containing a stimulant, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess that\u2019s one way to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like to try this drink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy returned with two cups of coffee and offered one to Kay. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t they send someone that looks more…human?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur species is the closest in terms of size, shape, motation, and limb number and placement. We have also determined that your foodstuffs are compatible with our species.\u201d She sipped the drink, holding it in her mouth long enough to get a complete sense of its flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you think of the coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is bitter, but not unpleasant.\u201d She attempted a smile, knowing it was appropriate to the situation. Due to her overly wide mouth, it merely made her even more disturbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spite of his smile, his unease showed, and he quickly looked down at his coffee. \u201cWhat kind of trade would we be talkin\u2019, if we pass muster?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kay sniffed at the coffee. Even with her limited olfactory sense, it was a strong scent. \u201cRare foodstuffs like this, information, minerals, technology, labor, and art. Your first and second planets are prime candidates for material mining rights. The possibilities are limitless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat happens when ya\u2019ll decide we ain\u2019t worthy, though?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think that is likely?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andy scowled into his coffee. \u201cAfraid so. \u2018Course, I see the worst of people, because of my job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf that determination is made, your scout drones currently outside your own star system will be disabled. The blockade on communication with your system will remain in place. Nothing else will change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAin\u2019t that just how it goes? You want somethin\u2019 to change it don\u2019t; want it to stay the same, it changes. But at least now we know we ain\u2019t alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIndeed. That is an unfortunate side-effect of the envoy mission. Given enough time, however, your kind will forget us, except as myths.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHave you…your people…been here before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are the first envoys to your world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re here for seven days?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is correct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere you stayin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pilot\u2019s chair in my ship is adequate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope. That won\u2019t do.\u201d Andy finished his coffee and crossed his arms. \u201cI\u2019ll put you up for the week. Ain\u2019t no one else in this town going to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can tell I make you uncomfortable,\u201d she said, \u201cand do not wish to intrude on your space. Your offer is very kind, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know what would make me even more uncomfortable? Knowin\u2019 you travelled all this way to end up here and didn\u2019t no one put you up for a few days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She studied his face, trying to correlate his expression with the human expressions she\u2019d been taught. He seemed to be holding two contradicting feelings at the same time. Kay found that interesting. \u201cI will accept your offer, if only to enjoy more of this beverage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He laughed. \u201cWho knew coffee would be the thing that gets us talkin\u2019 to aliens?\u201d Andy raised a finger, as if to make a point. \u201cI have an idea. We\u2019re goin\u2019 to the diner for breakfast. My treat, seeing how you probably don\u2019t have any money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not. Will there be more coffee?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d He smiled and she found it both welcoming, and somewhat threatening, as his teeth showed. \u201cI can introduce you around to some folks, let \u2018em know you ain\u2019t dangerous. They see you havin\u2019 eggs and grits with coffee, they\u2019ll be more likely to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen I shall be glad to accompany you. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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