{"id":2738,"date":"2024-12-07T12:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2738"},"modified":"2024-12-07T12:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T19:26:00","slug":"ambassador-in-a-pear-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2024\/12\/07\/ambassador-in-a-pear-tree\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambassador in a Pear Tree"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u201cThey sent a juvie. A freshly molted breeder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I\u2019m sure. He even introduced himself as a male.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm. He might<\/em> be a breeder, but maybe they have male drones. Have you thought of that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, no. I guess they could. But still\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

\u201cI mean, well, he\u2019s all squishy. His carapace hasn\u2019t hardened, and he molts it and grows a new one every day, sometimes twice or three times in a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClothes. You\u2019re talking about clothes. Did you even read the information packet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI read it! I mean, sort of. \u2026 I skimmed through it \u2026 this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook here, in the packet, it says they put on clothes, coverings of cloth. It even says not to be alarmed if their coverings are changed multiple times in a single day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh. But why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy? Because we\u2019re supposed to have at least some<\/em> idea of the ambassador we\u2019re meant to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I mean, why do they cover themselves with cloth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve been through the packet, but that part isn\u2019t clear. I think it might be a religious thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have religion?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I just thought that was an us<\/em> thing. Besides, he\u2019s a male. What would he need religion for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProbably a drone, remember?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I mean\u2026. They\u2019re just\u2026 weird, in a not good way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince you\u2019ve seen him, tell me, what does he look like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUgh! Just, gross. I mean, a freshly molted drone or breeder is, you know, whatever, but he\u2019s just disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not explaining anything, and you\u2019ve never seen a breeder, much less a freshly molted one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I have. I used to work in the nursery with my clutch sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know that. Still, you haven\u2019t described anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay. He\u2019s got limbs for grasping and manipulating, and limbs for locomotion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, so does everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeparate. Limbs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe can only grab things from one end and walk on the other? Or do they alternate?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. I mean, imagine a grub. Now put it on end, with the head at the top. Then split the bottom third into two walking limbs and stick two grasping limbs on opposite sides of the thorax.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat about the other limbs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow you\u2019re telling lies. The best circus performers can walk on three limbs\u2026barely. It takes incredible strength and balance, but you\u2019re saying they walk on just two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll. The. Time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not kidding, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, I wish I was. I kept seeing him in my nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat bad, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. Looking right at me with those two eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich two?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only two he has!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait, four limbs, two eyes? Does he have a single antenna or something as well?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo antennae.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo\u2026what in the name of the Great Mother<\/em>?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I mean, I don\u2019t think so, unless all the stuff on top of his head is millions of tiny antennae.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUgh. Why did the Empress Mother agree to talks with these disgusting things? I mean, they can\u2019t even emote without antennae.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I think they emote with their face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat, like mandibles wide open in surprise or something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo mandibles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut how do they\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have squishy faces that move around, and bits of bone behind soft, fleshy things around their mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that\u2019s what they are. I mean, he bared them at everyone he met. It\u2019s like bits of their endoskeleton are sticking out inside their mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou saw the inside of his mouth? How intimate! How did you stand being that close to him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no, it\u2019s not like that. With no mandibles to hide it, and with how big<\/em> his mouth is, you can\u2019t help but see inside when he talks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOof. Just stop. I think I\u2019m going to be sick.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, I almost lost my meal when I saw him yesterday, but that\u2019s okay. I\u2019ll stop talking about him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease do. I\u2019m terrified of having to work with him now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, you could always ask for a transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Empress Mother would feed us both to the grubs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. Especially since she\u2019s been busy with her new breeders. I mean, she\u2019s got thousands of soldiers in this clutch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlong with twenty or thirty thousand drones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh! There\u2019s a new queen in the latest clutch!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou listen to too many unsubstantiated rumors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTwo of my clutch sisters still work in the nursery. They said the queen grub is twice as fat as any of the others. They had to move her away from the soldier and drone grubs, since she\u2019s so fat she can\u2019t move or even eat without help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAww, she sounds so cute!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you want to see a picture?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow did you get\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClutch sisters in the nursery. Take a look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, Great Mother, she\u2019s so cute I can\u2019t stand it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook, look! You can already see all twelve eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I may faint from how adorable she is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t she just, though?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cQuick, put it away, I hear someone coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWait, is that\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, Mother, it is. Act like you didn\u2019t see him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo late. What is he doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s showing his mouth bones and wagging a grasping limb at us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoing what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe calls it waving. Just do it back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s showing more of his mouth bones. Do I have to keep looking at him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re okay to look away now. It seems like he\u2019s in a hurry to go somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank the Great Mother! It looks like he\u2019s going to fall over at any second. It\u2019s giving me vertigo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow you see what I mean by weird, and not in a good way?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do. That\u2019s disturbing. Huh, do you smell that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFruit, but I\u2019m not sure what kind. I mean, mixed fruit for soldier meals, maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe, but they wouldn\u2019t be carrying it anywhere near here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t look up. He\u2019s coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo late. He\u2019s wagging his limb again. What is he carrying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, looks strange, but smells sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowdy, ladies! I\u2019m Steve, the new ambassador from Earth. Y\u2019all are pretty. You remind me of my red-knee \u2014. I heard y\u2019all like fruit, and want you to have these \u2014 from the tree I brought with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2026 uh, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGot to run. See you ladies tomorrow morning!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you understand what he said?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith that accent? Not even close. I mean, where\u2019s the translator?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were a couple words I didn\u2019t catch. He called us pretty, said we look like some red-kneed something or other, and gave us these fruits he grows on a tree that he brought with him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t help it, I have to try this. I mean, it\u2019s so\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWow, this is lovely. You know, even though he looks a little, disgusting, I think I could get used to this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, maybe he\u2019s not that<\/em> disgusting after all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Write a story that solely consists of dialogue. (No dialogue tags, actions, or descriptions. Just pure dialogue!) available at Reedsy \u201cThey sent a juvie. A freshly molted breeder.\u201d \u201cAre you sure?\u201d \u201cYeah, I\u2019m sure. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-Ia","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2739,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions\/2739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}