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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chanuphis

"Would it ever be useful to bring someone along?"

too-early-and-too-late

"I had Karen the first time for backup - you know, come to think of it, he might find it reassuring to interact with people who aren't me and can't lie to him."

chanuphis

"Well, I'll come along sometime if you like."

too-early-and-too-late

"Sure, why not."

And he takes her with when he goes to drop in on Aitim that Friday.

Aitim has taken to having Kan take the kids out for a walk when alien wizards are visiting. "Hello. Nice to meet you, Miranda."

chanuphis

"My reputation precedes me. Hi."

"I pushed internet to Britain early specifically so Timothy would have less excuse to drop in at complete random, and he wrote ahead. Get anywhere on rescuing Tahike?"

chanuphis

"We don't really have any ins with the Swiss, it'd amount to a home invasion. I'm not saying it doesn't warrant a home invasion but the strategic picture isn't great."

"Would it be helpful for us to formally open relations with the wizarding societies and negotiate extradition treaties and so on?"

too-early-and-too-late

"I don't think the Swiss talked to their own Muggle government when it was, you know, Muggles who'd lived in Switzerland for centuries and not colorful-haired invaders. Also I think what makes extradition treaties work is that both sides benefit, and you're not going to arrest any wizards they'll wish you were obliged by treaty to hand over."

chanuphis

"And you'd have to openly acknowledge knowing we exist."

Sigh. "Not that openly, ideally - but it'd definitely have to reach more ears than it has so far. I don't want to tell my people about wizards while wizards still have the capacity to abduct and mind-control and torture them with impunity, it'll cause a panic..."

chanuphis

"Yep. We're scary. There's defenses against most of the mind stuff but it's time consuming to learn and I'm not actually sure Muggles can learn."

"It's not so much the 'scary' as the 'impunity', it's legal to own a gun in Anitam and you're not dramatically scarier than that, but if you shoot someone with the gun you hang for it. People can live with powerful neighbors, not so much neighbors who are above the law."

chanuphis

"It is probably impractical to assemble your own wizard cops."

"Probably?"

chanuphis

"I mean, wizard cops are a thing, they are not unaffordable or impossible in principle."

"Are they hireable to get that woman out, or is that not the kind of thing they do?"

chanuphis

"By and large they regard Muggles as approximately animals, and not as useful as the kinds you can turn into potions ingredients."

"Is - whatever is going on here - in fact against your laws?"

too-early-and-too-late

"Depends what's going on there. The Unforgiveables are still unforgivable, I don't think Switzerland is one of the places that lets you hunt Muggles for sport -"

"Ah."

chanuphis

"It might be illegal solely because whoever was noticed at it. And that's more on us than on them."

"Well, if we can prevent problems in future by blanketing the area with 'missing person: suspicious disappearance' posters every time someone goes missing that's something."

chanuphis