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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Aitim Neli

"The locals? Yeah, but - doing it well will be a substantial difference."

Kan Neli

Nod.

It's nearly bloodless.

They do a country at a time; they have planes fly in low and in formation and drop letters in the local language, explaining.

In Portugal the planes go down. The locals shouldn't have had weapons that could do that. Greys who follow up on foot die; it's not apparent of what.

Anitam calls in an airstrike on the palace. It is neat and has no casualties outside it and there are no further problems.

(In Paris Elio feels suddenly unwell and leaves without explanation.)

too-early-and-too-late

Which is rather the last thing on his mind. He Portkeys home holding the French version of the explanatory note.

chanuphis

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Who had an explanation."

too-early-and-too-late

He sputters for a few seconds, gives up, hands her the note - "do you read French -"

chanuphis

"No."

too-early-and-too-late

"Someone else conquered France. An hour ago. They - they flew in with very fast high-precision metal things which I think were just to intimidate us and drop the notes, which say that -" takes the note back - "there's a new government, its agents have colored hair and will be installing infrastructure and landing fields for their devices and distributing payment to laborers who show up to assist with this and to advisors who show up to cooperate with the transfer of the work of governance to their control, they will execute people for acts of violence against their operatives, distinguishable with the colored hair, they have advanced medicine and technology and expect that they can greatly increase lifespans, decrease disease, and make our cities safe, stable and peaceful. Local laws should be understood to remain in force."

chanuphis

"...colored hair."

too-early-and-too-late

"No idea whether that's just so they'll be visually distinct or what. Didn't see any - seemed unwise to be hopping around, they've got to be wizards or have wizards assisting -"

chanuphis

"Who are they? Like - where are they from -"

too-early-and-too-late

"Says 'Anitam'. I've never heard of it. Perhaps there will be future clarifying notes falling from the sky."

chanuphis

"I've never heard of it either. Is that all it says, not - where they're going to install things, or what's next, or why -"

too-early-and-too-late

"It has where they're adding things" he reads her sites in France. "Airport, railroads, medical clinics, spaceport, administrative center, temporary housing where the population of these specific neighborhoods of Paris can be relocated while they replace infrastructure - ...doesn't say why."

chanuphis

"Replace it? - does temporary housing sound to you like something that might mean 'show up and get shot' -"

too-early-and-too-late

"A little. - more than a little."

chanuphis

"Is it the same people causing the weird news from everywhere -"

too-early-and-too-late

"- what other weird news have you been hearing -"

chanuphis