I've got a list of names | Glowfic Constellation

Afen is disappointed in the universe. He bounds back and forth across his room explaining why to his wife, his infant granddaughter, the end table, and a reporter flabbergasted by her good luck and cringing silently against the wall in the hopes he won't remember she's there.

"There is no reason to suppose that a species evolving independently of Amentans, with their own evolutionary history and living mammalian species likely related to theirs, would end up looking like us. None. Every explanation every scientist has ventured to the press has been unimaginative and unconvincing retroactive refitting of bad models to baffling data. Aliens shouldn't look like us but with different hair colors. Aliens that are not made out of carbon at all would be unsurprising; aliens with only as much physiological dissimilarity as exists between us and animal species on our planet would be mildly surprising; aliens with opposable thumbs would be truly remarkable. This is not remarkable and biologically enlightening; this is just inconsistent with everything we understand about the universe. It doesn't teach us new things about evolution; it should make us rethink evolution. - don't quote that part, they'll take it out of context."

Reporter nods rapidly.

"All of that said, I've picked up three of the languages and I'm working on building a good machine translator, it's a challenge with as little as they've produced in the way of electronic records. I'm absolutely going there to meet them as soon as the politicians figure out what to do with themselves."

"Do you have any predictions about that?"

"About politics? Why would I have predictions about politics? They deliberately obscure relevant information, for one thing, and for another it's deathly boring."

"- I mean, sir, surely you hear from your son about -"

"I have seven children and some of them are very dense indeed but not quite dense enough to try to interest me in politics."

"I was referring to -"

"I know who you were referring to. If you want a statement from Aitim go bother Aitim."

"Thank you for your time."

"I did not alter my activities in response to your presence and therefore you can't yet be said to have wasted any of my time though you should go before you do."

...out skitters the reporter.

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"Nearest my house. ...my friend was warning people outside a different clinic and they called the police on him and the police dragged him off. He was being real polite and quiet, too, just saying 'excuse me sir, you should know, it wasn't these aliens but it was aliens'. But I guess the police can do whatever they want, can't they, we don't have rights anymore.

...I guess it's good of you not calling them. That's decent."

"If you dry up our business we'll have to move, I suppose you don't care."

"I want to live in a country where people don't get sterilized by doctors who think they know everything and other people don't get dragged away by the police for saying that it happened. I want big human families with five, eight, ten kids helping on the farm or helping with each other or exploring the woods that go on forever. I want doctors who've heard of real medical ethics. I want what we had before you marched in here and stole it. I think you should move all the way to Anitam, and this time you should stay there."

He gives a deep, tired sigh. "Can I get you to go away? You're making Amta miserable."

"She wouldn't be miserable if she stopped thinking that you can rip peoples' countries out from under them at gunpoint and expect simpering gratitude in return. But I'll leave. Because it was decent of you not to call the police."

"Goodbye."

"Try to occasionally feel guilty when you're having us sterilized and executed to free up space for your own kids. Not all the time, that'd be a drag, but you could try to spare an hour once a month for it."

He leaves.

Ana and Hala experience Christmas!

Hala notifies Aaron that her mother prefers actual presents and probably Susanna does too.

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He makes a face.

"...I guess I have not explained to her all of the things that are magical and characteristically a present and it might not be worth her time to learn that because she's working. ...but she could still hire someone to pick out good presents for her, she's got no reason to think I have a comparative advantage at picking things she wants. ...I guess if we were actually married that'd be a reason but we're not. ...I could pay Kitty to get her presents? Kitty has a comparative advantage at knowing what Susanna will want but can't go shopping."

He consults Kitty for present advice, with a long list of things sold in Diagon Alley or historically given by Ways as presents for reference.

"Gosh," says Kitty. "I mean, you don't have to get her anything, if you don't want to."

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"- well, she'd be the only person I wasn't getting anything and that would be weird."

"I guess we can go in together on something." She identifies appealing magic items.

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Aaron owl-orders things. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Usually I just tell her stories, for Christmas, like I did when we were kids."

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"Awwww. That's a good present, no one else could give it."

"If I try to make her something I usually don't finish by whenever I meant to give it to her."

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"I give everybody money."

"...okay."

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"So then whatever they want, they can go and get it."

"I guess."

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"Hala said I shouldn't give Susanna money."

"It seems a little silly."

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"The marginal value of money to her is pretty low."

"I don't know what that means."

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