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The planet looks like an ideal spot for colonization from a distance. Covered with a range of biomes, from lush forest to long coastlines to roaring rivers. However, when the Amentans arrive they quickly notice anomalies on their scans.
A population of humanoids lives on the planet, scattered - sometimes individuals are spotted alone and other times they appear in groups of up to a few thousand. They appear similar to child Amentans, except for a general lack of bright hair colors. Civilization appears primitive - in some cases so primitive that it's confusing how they survive at all, with small groups managing to survive in environments as harsh arctic tundra huddled around campfires, in sandy villages in a desert with a single well. A small number of cities exist, most without obvious sources of sufficient food to support them.
As the Amentans investigate further they notice more anomalies of a far less consistent nature. There's an aurora in the northern hemisphere that shines continuously, day and night. One of the cities appear to change subtly in composition and position constantly, with no obvious construction visible. A group of the humanoids appear to live underwater, alongside a gigantic manta ray, hundreds of feet in breadth. A giant skeleton statue of green crystal seems to be moving. A blur of feathers and wings zooms across the planet like a missile at one point. Except for the humanoid species, none of the anomalies repeat.
These are just the anomalies they notice easily from orbit, more may be found on closer inspection.
They'll wait for the computer to get good enough! A few of the amaliens would actually like to take a break now if that's okay.
Woof!
(Fluffeld races Meelia to the water and jumps around in it splashing people)
Lucien will listen, along with a couple of the other amaliens. They are rather smart and learn quickly, though they don't have any sort of prior exposure to computers. Still, most amentan adults wouldn't grasp novel concepts as quickly as they do.
No one is allowed to talk to these linguists in Cryptophasia but it has a traditional oath idiom about talking about new things one learns in Cryptophasia later. One of the amaliens says it before going over to the linguists to learn.
That's okay as long as they speak strictly nonsentient language while building up the computer model with the linguists.
They're okay that! They'll translate the cool bits of how the translation software works into Cryptophasia later because it's a language-monster and likes language things. Also they'll probably translate the non-cool bits too cause Cryptophasia will probably find those bits interesting too.
Then they can work on that till the sun is going down and the Amentans need to get things squared away to sleep overnight.
The amaliens switch between working with them and playing a few times. When the sun goes down a few of them build a small campfire and after a bit they all cuddle up in a pile to sleep.
So cute <3 There's a couple spare sleeping bags for in case they needed them, like if one got torn, but none have, so Fika can have this one.
Oh wow the sleeping bag goes all around her! She can fit her whole body inside it.
She giggles while popping her head in and out for a bit before falling asleep in it next to the grey's sleeping bag.
Cuuuuuuuute!
In the morning the computer's had a while to chew on the language - and so have the non-quarantined shipboard linguists - and they can have somewhat more fluent conversations! They want to know more details about how Cryptophasia affects people and for how long and through what vectors.
Lucien is the first up - he slept at the edge of the pile outside and doesn't have any trouble extricating himself.
Cryptophasia acts like a language someone learned, he'll explain, except it can also cause you to notice things about it you hadn't before, as if they were always there. It can only affect people if those people can communicate with other people who it is effecting. Written communication won't work, it has to be real time. Also in order to be affected the person needs to put some effort into figuring out the language, though not much.
And if someone is out of communication with other people they - instantly? gradually? - lose the understanding, can't interpret their own memories of Cryptophasia...?
They can interpret their own memories but will realize that they don't really know how they did the translation. It's not instant but only takes a few minutes or seconds.
Okay. There's a blue who's willing to go in with the quarantined linguists up on the ship, having made some advance preparations for limited communication with the rest to make sure she's in good mental health and confirm that she recommends going ahead; they can talk to her, and she is more able than these academics and explorers to represent their people.