An innocent robotics researcher's lab has been demolished, the roboticist is dead, the lab assistants range from dead to traumatized, and a pocket everything on one of the rioters shows a recent text exchange - innocent, but anything could be code.
The greys arrest the other party to the conversation.
This is all new for Kib but he is happy to figure things out with such an enthusiastic companion.
Happy alien subsequently adds planning dates with Kib and acquiring presents for Kib to his dizzying socialization routine.
Kib is available for most things other than long walks in the woods.
"Where do you find all these people?" he wonders, as a houseguest departs.
"She was arguing with a vendor over the quality of his glassware. I told her about a different vendor that seemed to sell more what she was looking for and then asked how she can tell about quality and then tried to puzzle out with her how durable sheet glass must be manufactured. The fellow last night had a dog that was trained but not petted and I was curious why so I asked. The person who made that jacket I gave you asked how I dyed my hair and I explained the less-absurd parts of the story and we speculated over blue hair dye options awhile. There's not, like, a secret."
" - well, I learn things from the conversations which might be useful for reconstructing all of industry, they give me discounts on things, they tell me when I can find nice things for other people, I can hear from one person that they're looking for an apprentice and meet a different person who'd be a good apprentice and introduce them and they'll both consider themselves to have been done a favor -"
"...so you just like accumulating favors owed and keep track of people to follow up?"
"More or less? I am reliably a useful person to take a problem to and then people do it more, and if I need a favor from them I can get it and if it's useful for it to be known that I'm more helpful to people who get on board with some project of mine then I can do that..."
"I do it even when I don't have anything I want in return, there's just so much lost because people aren't in touch with people they'd collaborate well with."
"See, it makes sense when you list examples but if I try to think how I'd go about doing the same thing I come up blank."
"I think most people find it exhausting, it's all very intangible. I am not sure a societyful of mes would work very well but there should certainly be a sprinkling."
"They would have an abundance of anything you can get just by talking to the right people and a dreadful shortage of everything else. Which includes, of course, food, and software, and houses."
"I would probably build a sewage system with my own hands if it was the only way to have one but I'd be very sad about it. Blues are one person in two hundred, back home, that seems about the right percentage. Though there are other blue skillsets than mine."
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