Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

Human Skin

"I think humans get a bad rap."

"That's an interesting take, a large portion of the GA community....."

"A large portion of the GA community has never met a human. If there is one thing that I have learned after decades in the bush studying alien flora and fauna is that sentient life like us tend to be afraid of things that we don't understand. Its not that that's a bad thing necessarily, it is likely a preprogrammed instinct that has kept us alive for a very long time."

"I see..."

"Here, let me explain further. Think of soemthing you are scared of, weather it be animal or object or whatever else have you, and tell me if you have experience with that thing you are scared of. People who are afraid of.... Lets say earth snakes often don't have much experience with them. Yes they may have seen them, come across them, or what have you, but they have never actually interacted with them, they don't understand them. This rule can apply to anything. People who are afraid of weapons for example are generally the kind of people that don't know how to handle them. The mystery sets them up for fear and their lack of knowledge allows them to prescribe fantastical powers and horrific imaginings to the object. If this can be done with objects, then it can be done with animals for sure."

"So you aren't afraid of being bitten by an earth snake?"

"There is a big difference between being realistically cautious and respectful and being afraid. I am cautious of earth snakes, and I respect them enough to learn about them, and to understand the kind of situations that are going to put me in danger. Just like a soldier understands how to work his weapon, how to make it safe and how to make it unsafe. People with experience don't necessarily have fear, but they have the right amount of respect."

"But that doesn't make sense, someone who has been bitten by a snake or shot would probably disagree with your analysis on experience."

"I'm sure they would, but there is a difference there as well. Just because you have interacted with an object, doesn't mean you have experience. You had an incident not an experience. Being shot or being bitten by a snake is relatively rare and has heavy context in situation. Snakes don't bite unless they find it absolutely necessary. Venomous snakes for instance don't want to bite you, you are far too big to be wasting venom on, and they would rather not waste venom on things that cannot be eaten. In the case of getting shot, It differs from snakes, but I would point out the person behind the barrel is the snake in this case and sentient creatures are far more terrifying than animals."

"I see?"

"As far as both weapons and snakes go, I would rather be in control of both situations. I want to be the one in charge of the weapon because I respect it and know how to use it because I can't trust the same thing out of other people. The same thing goes with snakes, I like to control the situations in which I meet snakes, and the best way to do that is to understand them. This docuseries is a way to give the population caution and respect for life, but not fear."

"Ignorance breeds Fear, and I am here to Cull ignorance."

***

This, is Earth.

Far above its surface, I can't help but find it beautiful. I have been to a hundred planets in my lifetime, I have pushed through dense jungle and trapsed across arctic tundra to see exotic sights and animals, and even after all of those years, I think that she is the most beautiful.

You see all that blue.

Those are earth's many oceans as she is covered in approximately 2/3s salt water. Their oceans are so deep that they know more about the vastness of space than they do about their own planet.