Utopia War

Chapter 12 - Those Who Are Called 'Us' (i)

The aliens had dispersed a little throughout Hercules Ring since they arrived a little under a century ago. The bulk, however, still lived in a large estate built in the style of the architecture of their former homeworld. The collection of buildings was so large it was virtually a small town.

The increase in biodiversity as one approached the alien "village" was noticeable even from the air. The plants and animals grew more numerous, more diverse, and far less Earth-like.

The aliens had brought with them a library of the DNA-equivalent of every life form on their homeworld. They were carefully introducing new species genetically altered to survive in Earth-like conditions to Hercules. Great care was given to create a self-sustaining, localized ecosystem without significantly interfering with the local flora and fauna. The result was a harmonious blend of Earth and alien life, a mosaic of green and blue.

This is one of the many impressive works that had earned so much reputation for the aliens.

"What do they call themselves?" Min-ji asked Caesar, as their flier zipped across this wonderfully vivacious landscape "You keep saying 'the aliens'. That's note very polite."

"They don't have a language, so they don't have a name for themselves. They just call themselves unhelpful things like 'us'," said Caesar "They don't identify one another by name either. A lot of the individuals do have names though, for the purposes of dealing with humanoids."

"So you're content to call them 'the aliens'?" asked Min-ji.

"Do you have a better suggestion?" asked Caesar "We just use that phrase among ourselves so we know who we're talking about. To the aliens we call them 'you guys'."

Sparkle giggled at the mediocre joke and touched Caesar's shoulder. Min-ji rolled her eyes as hard as she could. The two had been batting eyelashes at each other since they landed on this backwards ringworld and it was turning her stomach.

The spherical flier gracefully swooped down to the ground and opened its door to allow the three passengers to disembark.

They had landed just outside one of the alien buildings. It consisted of a windowless pile of waxy-looking stacks of hexagons connected by a seemingly random assortment of enclosed walkways. It was the same color of green as the surrounding grass.

Two of the aliens emerged from the underground entrance to the building.

They looked like great 9-foot-tall mushroom with skin the consistency of internal organs. The "cap" of the mushroom was in reality a great inflated membrane, a sort of organic balloon. The "stalk" was a mass of dozens of tentacles of varying thickness, some looking like bloated intestines while others were gossamer thin. Many of the medium-sized ones were tipped with different sensory organs.

Sparkle thought they looked like giant jellyfish; Min-ji tried not to make such comparisons.

On their homeworld the aliens could float in the air using the inflated membrane. On the Earth-identical conditions of Hercules Ring, they were forced to rely on a specialized buoyancy field to keep them afloat. These were generated by the EMFMs that each alien on Hercules had implanted.

Another implant each of the aliens could be counted on to have was a basic human mind signaler. The aliens did not communicate with anything resembling a spoken language, but they took to signaling like ducks to water.

Each of the aliens raised four different sensory tentacles, aiming them at each guest in succession.

<Greetings,> signaled Min-ji <My name is Min-ji Cerulean. It's an honor to meet you, I've never encountered a member of your species before.>

<I have encountered many humans,> said the alien on the right.

<As have I,> said the left.

<Allow me to introduce my companions,> said Min-ji <This is Sparkle Amaryllis and Caesar Janesdaughter->

Caesar interrupted with a higher-powered signal that was the equivalent of yelling <Caesar Beowulf Hannibal Janesdaughter, thank you.>

<Sure,> conceded Min-ji <What can I call the two of you?>

<We are those who are called 'us'> replied the alien on the left.

<Do either of you have individual names?> asked Min-ji.

<No,> the two replied in virtual unison.

<You could give us names if it would create comfort for you,> said the alien on the right.

<With deep gratitude we acquiesce to the human desire to name all things,> agreed the one of the left.

<I don't think it would be appropriate,> Min-ji mind-stammered <I mean I'm honored but I couldn't presume to...>

<Your name will be Goldie,> Sparkle signaled, pointing to the alien on the left <You'll be Bandit.>

<Goldie,> said Goldie, trying it out.

<Bandit,> said Bandit.

<We acknowledge and accept that we have been named,> said Goldie.

Min-ji yet out a laugh that was just one degree shy of being crying.