Flying On The Fringe

How many hands could a “person” have?

Depends on your definition of a “person.”

In science fiction and fantasy, our characters don’t have to be human, or they might be human with enhancements or different genetic characteristics. On Earth, most vertebrate land animals have four limbs. Even snakes evolved from lizards. Why? How many hands, or fingers, or toes, could a human have?

“The condition of having no more than five fingers or toes—in this context, ‘most species’ means a subgroup of jawed vertebrates—probably evolved before the evolutionary divergence of amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians) and amniotes (birds, mammals, and reptiles in the loosest sense of the term). This event dates to approximately 340 million years ago in the Lower Carboniferous Period. Prior to this split, there is evidence of tetrapods from about 360 million years ago having limbs bearing arrays of six, seven and eight digits. Reduction from these polydactylous patterns to the more familiar arrangements of five or fewer digits accompanied the evolution of sophisticated wrist and ankle joints–both in terms of the number of bones present and the complex articulations among the constituent parts.” (Michael Coates, associate professor in the department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago and co-editor of Evolution & Development, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-most-species-have/

In evolution, it’s far easier to lose properties than to create something that didn’t previously exist. So snakes lost all their digits, horses evolved to use only one digit which forms a hoof, and others utilize two or three digits.

What strikes me as interesting in the chart is that the first creature in the tetrapodomorpha branch, Eustenopteron, has six fins, not four. Two are lost by the appearance of Tiktaalik. Could that option still exist in our genome? One scientist, Yacine Kherdjemil, demonstrated that by reproducing the fish-type regulation for the hoxa11 gene, mice develop up to seven digits per paw, i.e., a return to ancestral status https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161005132654.htm. Chart at right from https://earthsky.org/earth/elpistostege-ancient-4limbed-fish-fin-origin-human-hand?

There’s no particular evidence to prove that four limbs are better than six or eight. “You could consider it somewhat arbitrary,” said Edward Daeschler, associate curator at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Land vertebrates all share the same basic design, but could it be different? Absolutely.” (https://www.livescience.com/33284-what-if-first-animals-crawl-out-sea-six-legs.html)

Some believe six or eight limbs are simply less practical, that the extra legs would get in the way. On the other hand, there’s no reason why an extra pair of limbs couldn’t function both as legs and as arms as needed. Wouldn’t that be cool? I used that approach in my sentient insect species, the Rakshi, who appear in my third book, Salvation’s Star, (to be released sometime this spring depending on COVID-19). Scientists also claim insects with an exoskeleton couldn’t evolve to be as large as a human, because the exoskeleton couldn’t sustain that much weight. Though it’s never occurred on Earth, there’s no reason an animal on another planet couldn’t have developed both a skeleton and an exoskeleton.

Most appearances of extra limbs or digits are genetic anomalies or defects. However, another hint of what might have been, or what might still be possible for humans, comes from research by Yacine Kherdjemil, who demonstrated that by reproducing the fish-type regulation for the hoxa11 gene, mice develop up to seven digits per paw, i.e., a return to ancestral status. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161005132654.htm

If a story that takes place on Earth, I find it harder to become fully immersed in plots that defy science. While I’ll admit I enjoyed the X-men movies, I never could develop a deep affinity for an array of characters, each of whom mysteriously developed genetic mutations independent of each other, and so many different mutations at one time. Nature doesn’t work that way.

That said, taking a look at the mutations independently, some are certainly plausible. Wings? Birds developed from the same common ancestor as humans. Apelike characteristics? Apes are closely related to humans. Invisibility? Never heard of any Earth creature who could pull that off other than through camouflage. The X-man would work better for me if there had been an evil mastermind at center stage who was manipulating the genome to create the mutations. Maybe a feline gene could have explained Wolverine’s ability to extend his claws.

But who am I to question an icon of fantasy who made millions?

World-building is a critical component of science fiction and fantasy. For me, creating other worlds and the societies that inhabit them is what inspired me to write science fiction in the first place. In my mind, even the most exotic worlds should be based on science. That said, things can get pretty weird.

In this blog, we’ll look at some of the extremes under which life can exist. Maybe the better question would be, under what conditions could it NOT exist? Extreme levels of several elements seem to present barriers to the development of advanced life. Life may survive under extreme conditions, but in a reduced state of metabolism similar to hibernation. Some seeds and microbes can sustain life for years while waiting for more suitable environmental conditions. On the other hand, there is ample proof that some life thrives within certain boundaries. However, if an environment shifted from moderate to extreme over a long period of time, more advanced organisms might be able to develop adaptations, especially in terms of finding or building suitable habitat.

The key elements that serve to inhibit life include lack of water, salinity, alkalinity/acidity, temperature, radiation, pressure (air and water), and poisons. For each of these elements, there is at least one organism on earth that can withstand extremes. Salinity and oxygen are two that readily allow the development of advanced life forms, so for the purposes of my blog, I will dismiss those. Given enough time, it wouldn’t surprise me to have dolphins, whales, and maybe octopi join us as sentient lifeforms (if they haven’t already, and we’re just too stupid to know it). If you don’t know why I included octopi, do some reading on these amazing creatures—my top pick for inspiration in alien life.

Water

Water seems to be a critical limiting factor, enough so that NASA is using the presence of liquid water as its primary focus in seeking extraterrestrial life. The Atacama desert in Chile is one of the oldest, driest, hot deserts on Earth, with areas receiving on average less than 15 mm of rain per year, and other areas receiving no rain at all for years at a time.

In 2003, a team of researchers published a report in which they duplicated the tests used by the Viking 1 and Viking 2 Mars landers to detect life, and were unable to detect any signs in Atacama Desert soil in the region of Yungay. The region may be unique on Earth in this regard, and is being used by NASA to test instruments for future Mars missions. Later, however, the team duplicated the Viking tests and found that they missed signs of life in soil samples from Antarctic dry valleys, the Atacama Desert, and other locales. However, in 2014, a new hyperarid site was reported, Maria Elena South, which was much drier than Yungay. (Wikipedia)

Nonetheless, life flourishes on the borders of the Atacama Desert. Fog from the ocean is common and produces pools or lakes called lomas, which provide a water source. (Photo by Leon Petrosyan on Wikipedia) Over 500 species of flora have been gathered within the border of this desert. Some are succulents that can store water, and others have adapted to postpone periods of growth and flowering until rain does fall. Animals such as the leaf-eared mouse, guanacos, the South American gray fox, several species of birds, lizards, beetles, and wasps have also adapted to living there.

People in the Atacama have a history of collecting water from the air. For hundreds of years, native people in the Andes harvested water by capturing the morning dew. They dug pits into the ground to hold buckets and made funnels from branches to channel water into the buckets. Lids made of branches and leaves kept the water from evaporating. The trap was left overnight and the water collected in the morning after dew formed. They have also been capturing water from fog for over a decade using screens that have very small mesh. The water in the fog condenses on the screens and drips into troughs below. Pipes carry the water to where it will be used. The idea caught on and now there are fog collectors installed in 25 countries in Africa, South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Asia. How’s that for a great world-building idea? https://www.windows2universe.org/vocals/water_clouds.html

Temperature:

The upper limit for DNA and chlorophyll is about 158 degrees F (70^o C), and the lower limit is about 5^o F (-20^o C). The lowest temperature for active microbial communities is about -0.4^o F (-18^o C). Below these limits, many organisms can survive, but at reduced metabolic states. https://space.nss.org/life-in-extreme-environments/ I have to say, when I did my research, these limits blew my mind. I expected a much broader range. Cold-blooded creatures like frog and turtles use water frozen outside their cells to insulate them, but they remain dormant at colder temperatures. Other organisms must have special proteins, cryoprotectants, to allow them to survive thawing, or must be able to produce molecules that lower the freezing point of water.

In case you’re wondering, when a human is placed in cryogenic suspension, all the water must first be removed from their cells and replaced with a cryoprotectant. https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/genetic/cryonics2.htm

Penguins use a combination of blubber and feathers to insulate them against the Antarctic cold. Emperor Penguins can withstand temperature at the bottom of the temperature range, down to -20^o C (-4^o F).

Tardigrades, commonly called “water bears,” can survive temperatures from -391^o F (-235^o C) to 304^o F (151^o C) in hibernation mode. They can also survive up to 6,000 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level. Don’t let the photo fool you—this guy’s a lot smaller than he looks. This was taken with an electron microscope. (Photo from ame616.tumblr.com on Pinterest) I really want to pet one!

On earth, the only organisms that thrive at extremely high temperatures are Archaea or Bacteria (some have even been found in volcanic vents!), but some Eukaryotes can thrive at low temperatures and extremes of high acidity or alkalinity, pressure, and salt. Eukaryotes have a nucleus surrounded by a cell membrane and include all higher life forms.

Other metabolic dangers

Substances such as mercury, arsenic, cadmium are toxic to most earth life. Humans have used small amounts of poisons such as snake venom and even arsenic to develop resistance to such toxins. Oxygen is also toxic to some earth life forms, known as anaerobics.

If humans can train their bodies to resist toxins within the space of a single lifetime, what could they accomplish over generations? With a carefully crafted world, almost any environment could be made believable. Make it more real by thinking carefully about how your people adapted. What are their homes like? What do they eat? What health problems do they suffer?

Radiation also damages DNA, though some microbes seem to be resistant to that as well.Scientists are fairly certain that microbes even survive the rigors of space on asteroids. Could an advanced life form develop a similar ability? How long would that take? The first human ancestors appeared about 2.5 million years ago. Homo erectus was the first to migrate out of the comfortable environment of Africa about 1.9 million years ago, and Homo sapiens didn’t appear until about 300,000 years ago. How would we have developed if radiation levels had gradually increased over that time?

Enjoy your new world.

Thanks for visiting. Join me again next week for more world-building science.

Readers, welcome to part 2 of my interview with Juradaa, Herald of Communications for the people of the Tai-ii-katch system of worlds. Herald Juradaa is speaking to us from a space station orbiting planet 9-6. Last week we focused on life aboard the Tai-ii-katch space colonies. This week, we delve a little more into their family life.

S: Herald Juradaa, can you tell me a little more about family life in your colony?

J: Family is not a common term among my people—I’m looking at the translation. Ah, I believe I understand. We do not live in family units as you do. We have two sexes, male and female. Males and females mate when and with whom they please. If no children are desired at a particular time, we have effective means of reproduction control. Such is necessary to prevent overpopulation. Each female has a quota of young that she is allowed to birth. Our children are raised communally in kintales. Their quarters are similar to the adult quarters, although the youngest children share a sleeping area. Each pod has a recreation and eating area, and an adult lives in each pod with them. The children also have communal activities with children from other pods.

S: Are the children also educated in the kintales?

J: For the first ten years, then they are tested for the specialties they will pursue. Depending on the type of job they qualify for, they receive another two to ten years of schooling.

S: What percentage would you say need the least schooling, and what types of jobs do they do?

J: About half require two years of advanced schooling, and those jobs tend to be what you would identify mostly as service jobs. In many cases, those young people receive more of their training in the workplace. Those requiring the most schooling are those headed into research and technology development. Of course, as with any advanced society, there are a broad range of professions in between.

S: What do young nantrans do for fun?

J: There are times when it seems to me their favorite pass time is causing trouble, but they participate in simpler versions of many of the same sports as adults. The young males especially enjoy mock combat, though we have little use for that with our technology. It’s mostly a way to test each other’s strength.

S: That seems rather dangerous.

J: Not as bad as it looks. The fire is designed not to damage the ship’s walls, but admittedly, some of their games can get out of hand. Our young people are intelligent, imaginative, and inventive, and our maintenance techs spend an inordinate amount of time repairing our youths’ games gone awry and their inventive experiments, some of which come dangerously close to sabotage.

S: What happens to the ones who misbehave?

J: They are reprimanded and lose privileges, usually lose the opportunity to compete in sports for a while. They are also required to assist in repairing what they have damaged, so they will understand it is not a harmless prank when it costs someone else time and labor. My preference is to require them to do the work by hand, without the aid of robots. It is not a popular lesson, but very effective.

S: You sound like you might have had a few of those lessons yourself.

J: Oh, of course. I once rerouted a wastewater conduit into a fountain near the station’s command deck. I spent a month on cleaning duty using only hand tools and a bucket. But that is part of youth, isn’t it—to do stupid things and learn the consequences? I believe the more intelligent the species, the more likely such pranks are. It seems to be an integral part of the developing self discipline.

S: I agree. Human children are prone to pranks as well. In my country, we even have a holiday devoted to that purpose. We call it Halloween. Children, and even adults, dress in costumes and go from door to door saying “trick or treat.” The implication is that if you don’t give them candy, they will play a trick on you. The most common one seems to be draping rolls of toilet paper, a very thin paper, over peoples’ trees. It can be extremely difficult to clean up after.

J: How are the children punished?

S: They aren’t usually punished for pranks during Halloween, as long as they don’t do any real damage. Most of them make a point of doing it in secret, though I suspect the victims have a good idea who the culprits are.

J: That sounds interesting. I’d like to learn more about that. Perhaps allowing one day for such activities would make it less of a problem the rest of the time.

S: It might be worth a try. In our case, it is also connected with some ancient religious beliefs as a time when spirits rise from the dead for one night. Few people see it that way any more. Now it’s mostly just for fun. Can you tell me about the practice of religion among your people?

J: We have no religion—we outgrew such nonsense long ago. We rely on science. I believe that at some point in our ancient past, our ancestors may have followed some religion, or perhaps even more than one. There are a few ancient stone ruins on our home planet that were excavated centuries ago. Historians may keep records of such things, but it holds no interest for me or most other nantrans.

S: Do your people keep any animals as pets?

J: Yes. I had a ginjee as a child. They are very affectionate, but also somewhat mischievous, so they provide good lessons for children in properly caring for them. They fly, and they’re very good at zipping out of open doors and windows if you don’t watch them. At one time, our home planet had a broad variety of species that have gone extinct, but have been cloned or re-bred in our space colonies. We also have a number of species from other planets, several of which children often keep as pets.

S: What is life like on the other planets you’ve colonized? Are some of them more livable?

J: Most are nothing more than sources of minerals, metals, and other resources for us. The workers there live in habitats similar to those on 1-4. This is a picture from 6-4 near one of our mining sites. Some of them do have beautiful geologic formations.

S: So those other planets didn’t have any lifeforms on them?

J: Most did not. A couple had mostly microbial life and lower flora like mosses and algae. Most of the lower lifeforms have gone extinct over the centuries as the native habitats and atmosphere declined.

S: You didn’t make any effort to preserve the native species? I’d think that having destroyed your home planet, you’d be more inclined to protect the new ones you colonized?

J: For what purpose?

S: Just so they would continue to develop.

J: Once we have taken what we need from them, further development would serve no purpose. Most of the mineral resources are laid down in the early stages of a planet’s development, and lower life forms have no use for those. The plants and animals that we consume as food can be easily maintained in our planetary habitats and orbiting colonies.

S: But it seems—immoral, or at least unethical, to destroy the native life on a planet just to extract the resources you want to use.

J: Why would that be immoral? They are there for our taking. We are not waging war with anyone over them. It is no different on your planet. You have stripped out much of the natural mineral resources of your first planet, and now seek to mine others.

S: We are trying to preserve the resources and animal life of our planet, however. That is an ongoing battle, and I can’t say we’ve been very successful yet, but at least we are aware of the need to do that.

J: I can not see any point in wasting resources on such an effort, unless the ones you are trying to preserve are used for food, or provide other necessary elements.

S: I gather then that none of the planets you colonized had native sentient species.

J: One had a sentient species of lower intelligence. Those have been trained as workers.

S: Isn’t that rather like enslaving them?

J: If you train an animal to work, to farm a field or to pull a vehicle, is it a slave? The sub-nantrans are well-cared for.

S: But, if allowed to evolve naturally, they might continue to develop as humans have.

J: More likely they would die out long before that stage. It would take a million years or more in the best case. We don’t intend to wait around. We will leave these planets behind in another five or six decades and move on to more lucrative ones. If the sub-nantrans do not choose to move with us, I suppose they will be left to their own devices on their native planets. I doubt many of them would choose to stay behind.

S: It doesn’t sound like the planets will be habitable by the time you get done with them.

J: Not without artificial habitats.

S: Well, Herald Juradaa, it’s time for me to draw this to a close. We’ve learned a great deal about your people. Thank you so much for talking with me.

J: Well. I’ve learned some interesting things about your people as well. Good life and prosperity to you.

S: Thank you. The same to you.

Readers, next week we’ll depart from the alien interviews for a while. I’ll be writing about science issues for science fiction writers. I’m no scientist, but I hope I can offer some information and links that will prove useful. If you have any ideas you’d like discussed, post a comment on the science for scifi thread on my author’s page at https://www.facebook.com/authorsusaneschbach/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCFwI66spZ4vmAvKzgplo-CPfPBkqrjEesQ-S4fbOH_aAdNOPKG11s3gPxxpn0N0aK6MZ9GQvXaSpnk

S: Today I’m speaking with Juradaa, Herald of Communications for the people of the Tai-ii-katch system of worlds. Herald Juradaa is speaking to us from a space station orbiting planet 9-6.

S: Herald Juradaa, thank you so much for talking with us today.

J: You are welcome.

S: First, I want to ask about your world, or worlds. I gather your people have spread to many other planets from your home world. Is that correct?

J: Yes. We control a region encompassing twelve stars surrounding our home star of Selada. Our home planet was originally called Nantra, but it is now designated as 1-4, first sun, fourth planet out. We still refer to ourselves as nantrans, however.

S: Do some of your people still live on 1-4?

J: Probably a few thousand maintenance workers. There are few mineral resources left, but some salt water.

S: It sounds like you pretty much stripped your home world. How livable is it?

J: The workers there live in enclosed habitats where it is quite comfortable. Much of the labor is mechanized, of course, but sometimes requires maintenance. We also raise herds of binox, kerps and anjas, some of our food animals.

S: The animals can tolerate the atmosphere?

J: There are some areas on some planets where the air and soil are less contaminated, and animals can be raised outside. The majority are raised inside habitats. We’ve developed complexes of living quarters, agricultural areas, and service areas connected by transportation systems. Though the atmosphere on our planets is not pleasant, inside it’s quite comfortable. My people have been living in controlled environments for almost a hundred generations.

S: Where do you live? On one of the other planets?

J: No, my family lives in an orbital colony at 6-3.

S: An orbital colony—like a space station?

J: (He’s laughing). Not anything like the Earth station I’ve seen images of. Ours is the size of a small moon.

S: Wow. How long have you lived there?

J: For the past ten standard cycles. Since our empire encompasses many stars and planets, we’ve developed a standardized time-frame for life on the station. It is used by everyone in the empire for general communications, although for harvesting and other jobs that are specific to a particular planet or moon, the workers sometimes use a localized frame of reference.

S: I see. But doesn’t that much time in space have detrimental physical effects.

J: No. Our bodies have adapted over time, and our stations have gravity and clean atmosphere. Much more livable than a planet. This is a picture of one of our agrarian centers. 

S: So, did you grow up in a space colony?

J: Yes. Almost all of us do. The few who are working on planets are normally stationed there for one or two tours of duty at a time, though some individuals seem to prefer smaller communities and choose to stay on planets for most of their lives.

S: Our astronauts who remain on our space station for extended periods of time have a difficult time adjusting to Earth gravity when they return. But we don’t have artificial gravity. Is that a technology you might be willing to share with us?

J: That’s a possibility. It is something you will have to develop if you intend to do any long-term space exploration. From what I have seen, your race is only in the earliest stage of that.

S: That’s true. We haven’t even settled another planet in our own solar system yet, though that is expected to happen within a couple of decades. Artificial gravity and faster propulsion would help a lot.

J: We will have to see what you can offer in trade.

S: Tell me about life on a space station. What do people do for fun?

J: We enjoy sports, theater, socializing with extended family and friends. This is one of our arenas. Seven different sports can be played here. My favorite is one called gumbat. Two teams of twelve people each compete to put flying batties into the scoring window. A battie looks like a ring, fatter in the middle where a power mechanism allows it to fly. There are three attackers controlling batties and nine defenders on each team. The defenders try to shoot down the batties before they enter the window, which is only slightly bigger than the battie. We also have races and competitions on the track around the outside, both among individuals and races on a vehicle called a darter. It has wheels, but can fly as well as scoot on the ground. We also enjoy a lot of competitions of physical strength and ingenuity. Our arenas can simulate a number of different conditions, fire, ice, water, and we have some designed for underwater and plasma competitions.

S: Plasma?

J: Yes—a viscous fluid—it requires a special suit and is difficult to move through—very challenging.

S: What are your living quarters like?

J: This is my home. Several adults live together and share areas like the kitchen. We have a common recreation area where we can watch the vendeer—similar to what you would call television, but we also can access that from our private sleeping quarters. We have a constant flow of information and entertainment.

This area is one of the work stations where we process minerals and other resources mined from the planets. Our space colonies require a broad range of metals. We also extract elements that are used as fertilizer for plants and food for some of the organisms raised on board.

S: Do you ever get tired of small, enclosed spaces, ever get the urge to enjoy wide open spaces and fresh air?

J: I find the air in the colony far fresher than what I’ve encountered on planetary surfaces. The atmosphere on a planet is difficult to control over a broad area. It becomes contaminated with dirt, dust, air-borne microbes. I usually wear a filtration device when I’m outside one of our habitats. Our homes are beautiful and very comfortable.

S: Your experience makes me appreciate our own planet all the more.

J: I’ve seen visuals of your planet. You haven’t yet done as much environmental damage as we did to our home world, but you’ll have to change many of your procedures soon, or you will end up as we have. Though, to be honest, I am happy with my life here, and I’ve met only a few who would choose a different life. Some of our people have relocated outside our empire to planets with whom we trade.

S: Interesting. It’s good to have choices.

J: Indeed.

Readers, join me again next week as I continue the interview with Juradaa. There’s a lot more of interest to come.

Readers, this week I chatted with two ladies, Oba (below left) and Nipi (below right), from the planet Dudra. They have a very interesting story.

S: So, you are contacting us from Dudra, correct?

N: Yes. We very much appreciate your willingness to listen to us. We are not ambassadors, nor do we have any position of importance.

S: That’s fine. We are very interested in the ordinary people of the planets we have made contact with. How did you become aware of Earth?

N: Our council learned of your planet through trade contacts with other worlds. Information about Earth was released in one of our world news bulletins. Oba and I have been trying to learn everything we could about your world, to see if it would be an option for us to relocate to.

S: Why are you seeking to relocate to another planet?

N: On Oba’s home planet of Ka’Ran, love between members of the same sex is absolutely forbidden. The entire planet is governed by a strict religious order. Those who violate the codes are often put to death, including priests who dare to challenge the High Order. We could not even freely speak through interplanetary communications. We had been trying to find a way to be together for several years before Oba had the opportunity to emigrate to Dudra. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of our planet is very polluted. Many of us have adapted somewhat, but Oba struggles to breathe, and must wear a mask with an oxygen supplement any time she goes out. I understand your atmosphere is oxygen rich.

S: It is, though we are fighting our own battles with pollution. Plus, though our people now know that sentient, advanced species inhabit other worlds, it is a recent discovery for us. Until a few years ago, many Earthers refused to believe that was possible, and many are still not comfortable with the idea. We often have problems with discrimination between races, differing religious beliefs, and differing lifestyles among our own people that lead to violence. There are aliens living among us, but they are human, or have taken human form, so that they blend in well. The only non-human aliens here at present are those serving in temporary ambassadorial roles, and they are well-guarded by our police forces.

N: That is sad to hear. We had hoped for much better news. At least on Dudra we are safe and not discriminated against, but the lifestyle here is… difficult.

S: How did you and Oba meet?

N: She was a speaker at a trade conference here on Dudra several years ago. I attended and was impressed by what she said. We felt a deep bond almost immediately, but Oba had to keep it secret because of the religious stigma on her world. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have moved there. Ka’Ran is a water world of great beauty, with a thriving culture of visual and performance art, literature, and architecture. Dudra is quite bleak by comparison.

S: Has Dudra made any strides toward dealing with its pollution problems?

N: We are working on it. That is one of the topics Oba addressed at the conference I attended. In Ka’Ran’s underwater cities, air quality maintenance is critical. They have developed some advanced technology that Dudra may be able to adapt to its use. Even with their assistance, however, it will be fifty or sixty of our solar cycles before we make much progress.

S: I’m sorry it will take so long, but glad your people recognize the problem and are working on it. I am hoping the political leaders and corporations of Earth are able to make more substantial progress in the near future than they have in the past.

N: For your peoples’ sakes, I hope they do not wait until it is too late, as we did.

S: Oba doesn’t seem to talk much.

N: She is still very shy. On Ka’Ran, she had to be registered as Aberrant and was required to wear identification. Aberrants were not allowed to speak with each other. They had to wear identification badges so that they could recognize and avoid each other. Dudra does not have such policies, and our planet would not extradite her, but she is cautious out of habit.

S: I understand. She is aware I am planning to publish our interview in a blog, correct?

N: Yes. She is in agreement with that.

S: On Earth, same-sex marriage is only now becoming more common, and is still not widely accepted. Decades ago, many gay couples just had to hide their true relationship.

N: How can people be dishonest and get away with it? Lying will get you exiled from Dudra. A person might get away with a small lie once, but no more than that. In ancient times people were put to death for lying.

O: It is considered a Magna Sin on Ka’Ran as well. You could be imprisoned and tortured or worked to death even now. That’s why it was safer to register than to try to hide my true nature.

S: Oh, my. That’s quite severe. I’m afraid few Earthers would survive there for long. Though we prize honesty, not many of us maintain absolute honesty all the time. In fact, in some cases, it isn’t even considered polite.

N: How very strange. How could it be polite to lie?

S: If someone is wearing an outfit that looks terrible on them, and they ask how they look, or has cooked a dinner that failed, and asks how it tastes, most Earthers would say it was fine. Telling the truth in that type of situation would be considered rude in most cases.

N: That’s ridiculous. If my clothing didn’t look right, or the meal tasted bad, I would want to know so I could avoid going out looking like a fool, and could avoid the problem the next time. Only a very untrustworthy friend would behave in such a way, and I wouldn’t want that person for a friend.

S: Though I’m inclined to agree with you, if I was brutally honest on Earth, I might not have many friends. It’s clear our cultures view that issue quite differently.

N: It’s clear Earth is looking less attractive as a place to live.

S: That’s possible, at least for the time being. However, contact with other sentient races may bring about significant change here. I’d like to know a little more about what your planets are like. You mentioned Ka’Ran is a water world. What percentage is solid land?

O: Only about ten percent of the surface is land, but we have entire cities built underwater. I used to live in one of the ocean cities. I loved it. I miss it terribly. I had hoped since Earth was largely ocean, you might have underwater cities.

S: Not yet. Though I’ll admit, I’d certainly love to live in one if we did.

Readers, join me again next week for the second half of my interview with Nipi and Oba, where we’ll learn a little more about their lives.

Welcome to Part 2 of my interview with Azha Chben from the planet Orozh. Last week we talked about the tectonic upheaval his planet is currently experiencing. This week I’ll explore more about the culture of Orozh,

S: You had told me you have seven children. Tell me more about them. Are some adults already?

C: Yes. four are adults from my first wife. Three are still living with me and my current spouse.

S: What kinds of jobs do your adult offspring do?

C: Two are physicians. One is an adjudicator—similar to a judge, although our legal system is much different than yours. The adjudicator determines the status of property, whether or not it is abandoned, etc., sets up legal contracts, etc. My son specializes in interstellar trade contracts. The fourth is a government administrator. The oldest of my second rack of children is taking advanced schooling in the sciences. I believe he will end up becoming what you would identify as a geologist.

S: They all sound quite successful.

C: Everyone is capable of doing some type of job, and all adults are required to work at something. It is the responsibility of instructors to determine the best placement for each of their students. That is one major way our system differs from yours.

S: Do they have any choice in what they do.

C: Yes, but depending on the openings available, they may be required to work in some other field until a job they want opens up, and they might have to relocate far from their family to take it. Most of our young tend to stay close to other extended family members. But some are more adventurous.

S: So you don’t have overpopulation issues, where there are more people than available jobs?

C: No. Because of our geologic issues, we maintain strict population control. Women outnumber men about five to one, and they have a shorter lifespan, as I mentioned. Most women choose not to work because they are quite busy managing a home and several children, though they are allowed to work if they choose, and an older child can manage the home. But deaths due to accidents are common, as well. I cannot say that Orozh is a particularly safe planet. It is beautiful in its own way, but sometimes deadly.

S: I see. You mentioned that your legal system is quite different from ours. Could you explain that a bit more.

C: Of course. As I mentioned, crime is not common on our planet. When it occurs, it is normally the result of a misunderstanding, or in rare cases an individual who suffers a mental disability that impairs their ability to reason. Therefore, our adjudicators are solely responsible for determining what needs to be done legally in a particular situation and then handle the necessary procedures. They specializes in certain areas of practice. As I mentioned, one of my sons specializes in interstellar contracts. Others deal with property issues or planetary business contracts. I work the most with property adjudicators. Due to death or relocation, homes are sometimes left vacant due to unplanned circumstances. We do not buy our homes—they are provided as needed by the government. But if it is not clear what happened to its occupants, the adjudicator will investigate and determine whether it is truly abandoned, or the occupants intend to return at some time. If abandoned, it can be made available to new occupants. There are also cases where a fire or storm destroys a building, and it must be declared a loss and replaced.

S: I see. I take it, in addition to volcanoes, you have some violent weather.

C: Oh, yes. In fact, largely because of the volcanoes, we have frequent storms similar to your magnitude five hurricanes, and often ones that exceed that magnitude. As I mentioned before, we sometimes have to relocate entire populations to a new area. We’ve developed a building material that is lightweight but exceptionally strong. This is a picture of one such complex. The components are manufactured in advance and then assembled on site. We can have one of these ready to move into in a matter of days. They are quite beautiful, but also earthquake, fire, and storm resistant.

S: Definitely impressive, especially that you can get them up that quickly. It does sound like your living conditions are rather crowded, compared to ours.

C: Compared to what appears to be the norm in the United States, from what I have seen in image transmissions. It is hard for me to imagine a large house with a lot of ground around it, and only one small family unit living in it. It seems quite wasteful. Our living arrangements are much more like what I have seen in large Asian cities—large communities of smaller apartments. This is a picture of a complex in the capital city where I live when I am not traveling.

S: Do Orozhans keep any kind of animal as pets?

C: There is an animal called a tripkin. It is more of a companion than a pet. They can’t speak our language, but they understand us readily, and they are very friendly. They are a very large bird, but they have fingers at the shoulder joint of their wings, so they can grasp things.

S: Doesn’t sound very cuddly, like a cat.

C: No. Like I said, more of a companion. Young adults who have moved out on their own often keep one. As I mentioned, we’re accustomed to having a lot of family around us.

S: Do you have problems with major differences in income or economic levels? Do any of your people live in what we identify as poverty?

C: In the distant past, when battles over territory were more common, that developed into an issue. However, two epochs ago, our planet went through a particularly violent period of tectonic upheaval, and nearly sixty percent of our race died out. The survivors were forced to band together planet wide and establish laws to protect what life and usable property remained. By then, we had learned that our planet would continue to experience such problems. It became a matter of survival for the entire species. Transition was difficult, of course, and it was a couples of our centuries before the system was perfected. But it seems to work well for us now.

S: Good. There are many of us on Earth who hope that at some point in the future, we will be able to work together planet wide for the welfare of all humankind.

C: Accepting the need for the betterment of all humankind is the first step. Perhaps you are in the early stages of that transition.

S: I can only hope so. Azha Ikben, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. I hope things settle down on your planet soon.

C: It will be along time yet, but we are prepared. Treasure the beauty of you planet, and do not squander it.

S: Sound advice. Thank you again.

C: Life and security to all your people.

Readers, join me next week when I interview Nipi and Oba from Dudra. Until then, fly high and free.

Credit: image of Anurognathus by Masato Hattori

Today I am interviewing Mizak Ckben (official Earth Department of Interstellar Affairs alliteration) from the planet Orozh. His form of address is Azha, similar to Minister in our language. He has communicated with me via interstellar ibeam technology that one of the other alien races has provided to us.

S: Azha Ckben, welcome.

C: Thank you.

S: Have any of your people traveled to Earth?

C: No, not yet. At present our planet is undergoing significant volcanic and tectonic upheaval, and we are occupied with efforts to protect our own people.

S: Is that a new development?

C: It is significantly worse than normal for the last few centuries. Our planet goes through epoch cycles, and we are approximately twenty sun-orbits into the current epoch. Our volcanoes are normally active, but once each five thousand orbits, another planet in our system, Kitrong, reaches apogee in relation to Orozh, and it triggers an extreme level of activity. It is something we knew of well ahead of time and have prepared to deal with. We have relocated people and animals from the volatile areas to safer zones. We had built new towns and facilities in advance of the onset of increased problems. But there is still much work to do because of the greater concentration of population in certain areas.

S: Is your work directly related to that?

C: Yes. I am Azha of Relocation, responsible for housing, food and medical services. Even with our best efforts, there are injuries and illnesses related to the planet’s eruptions and tectonic shifts. New weakness develop in the planet’s crust with little warning sometimes, requiring quick action to move people out of the path of danger.

S: How do you identify areas that are about to erupt? Earth is still in the early stages of learning to identify when volcanoes will erupt. If your technology is more accurate, it would be very helpful.

C: Unfortunately, that knowledge is unique to each planet’s geography. Because our volcanoes rarely go dormant, as I understand yours often do, it has been easier for us to study them over a long period. We use a combination of infrared, what you call X-ray imaging, and dark-matter imaging to monitor the planet from orbiting satellites. However, there are some similarities between our planet and yours that will allow us to assist your scientists as we learn more about your planet.

S: Wonderful. So, in the areas where it is safe to live, what is your planet like? Is it hotter than Earth?

C: Yes, of course, it is hotter than Earth in most areas. At the same time, in areas where there has been limited volcanic activity for the past one hundred sunors or so, lush vegetation has developed, much like the volcanic islands in your Pacific Ocean. However, like your Pacific islands, the land mass of each one is relatively small, so the populations are limited there. We have four main continents, one about the size of Asia, two about the size of South America, and one a little smaller than Antartica. Most of the rest of our landmass is scattered across the planet in smaller sub-continents and connected island chains. Orozh is smaller than Earth, but a total of seventy percent of our surface is land rather than water, so we have little open water in the form of oceans, but a number of smaller seas. During low tide on one side of the planet, you can walk between many of the islands that are separated during high tide.

S: That’s very interesting. I can imagine it would be fun to take a long hike during low tide.

C: (He laughs, a nasal sound). It would be a very long hike. The tide would be likely to catch you before you made it across.

S: Ah. Consider me warned. Guess I won’t try that after all. Since you have interstellar travel capability, have your people considered relocating to another, more hospitable planet?

C: We only developed interstellar travel technology within the last Orozh century. Finding a planet suitable for mass migration would be a long-term project, and the tectonic upheavals will subside long before we could complete a survey of nearby star systems. However, perhaps by the next time Kitrong reaches apogee, that will be an option.

S: Tell me about your family.

C: We have larger families than many Earthlings, and we have a relatively short lifespan compared to humans. I have seven children. Males live an average of fifty of your years, but our years are shorter. The mathematical formula used to compare our years to yours indicates our year is about two hundred twelve of your days. Our females live only about half as long as males, so the average male has two or three wives during his lifetime. My children are the offspring of two different wives.

S: It’s very emotionally stressful when humans lose a spouse, even when it’s by choice in a divorce. It must be very difficult to lose two or more during a lifetime.

C: We are not a very emotional species as you define it. We feel fear and some of the emotions related to survival, but not your softer ones like love and jealousy. We are attracted to our mates, and we remain monogamous while our spouse is alive. There is a sense of loss when a spouse dies, but we recover far more easily than humans.

And of course, we feel a strong protective instinct toward our children. Much of the rest of what humans do based on emotion—crimes based on jealousy or anger, are not a problem in our culture. We are more intellectually advanced than humans, and our drive to protect our people and provide for their needs is based more on the intellectual understanding of the importance of those services for the good of the society. From what I have seen, our way is more effective and… reliable.

S: So you don’t have much crime on your planet?

C: The most common problem involves fights over property. Since our safe land mass is limited, disagreements arise over living space. In addition, our species has a strong territorial defense instinct—something we have learned to control over many eons of development, but it still affects males when they perceive their home is threatened and when their mating drive peaks. Usually a situation can be resolved before it becomes serious, but there are cases where a fight to the death develops.

S: How is the perpetrator punished in those instances.

C: If it is determined that he was in the right, and he was defending his home against a violent interloper, he is fined and warned to contact the authorities the next time a dispute arises. If the perpetrator was in the wrong and caused the death of the defender, he is stripped of all property rights and exiled to a tectonically active region, along with his family. So such an act has a detrimental impact on the family as well as the perpetrator.

S: Do individuals survive in those areas? Can they ever come back to the more settled regions?

C: The unstable regions are survivable, but far less comfortable. Those living there have to move often to find safe homes. They normally work at jobs assisting scientists who study planetary geology, or in positions providing services to others living there. The offending male may never return. His children may seek housing and jobs in the secure areas once they reach adulthood. The spouse of an offender may also seek separation from her mate, and may elect to take minor children with her. If it is granted, she would have to seek a job and housing to support the family. In some cases, if the male is honorable, he will grant the separation and still agree to provide support for the family.

S: How often does it work out that way?

C: Probably about half the time. Unfortunately, in many cases, if a male is inclined to behave in such a primitive way, he’s less likely to be honorable toward his spouse. But she has the option of seeking separation without his consent.

S: I see. That sounds similar to our divorce procedures as well.

Readers, join me again next week when I talk more with Azha Chkben about his children and the culture of his planet. Until next time, fly high and free.

Welcome to my series “Interview With an Alien,”  part 2 of my conversation with Ambassador Phlip from the planet of Agzagi.

S: What is your family life like? Do you marry for life, or only for reproduction?

P: We mate for reproduction once every six cycles around our star. It is difficult to compare to your time frame, but I estimate it would be a little over three of your years. Different males mate each cycle.

S: Do you have a courting ritual?

P: Ritual? No. We have a procedure. The male puts on a mating necklace, goes to the female’s abode, and pounds on his chest and shrills at her. If she admits him, they go to the sleep pallet, and he walks around her several times, continuing to pound his chest and shrill, creating a track within which an egg nest will be built. If she touches noses with him, she has accepted him. Then he goes out and collects reeds and moss for the nest and brings it back. Then they mate. The eggs hatch half a cycle later.

S: Do you stay with that mate for life, or does you change each cycle?

P: Usually, the males will seek a new mate each cycle, but sometimes one of us finds a mate we choose to stay with for several cycles, though not a lifetime.

S: Forgive me if it seems I’m prying into personal things, but we are eager to learn about each new sentient species we encounter. Would you say that love, as an emotion, is important to your mating?

P: It is difficult for me to understand love as humans seem to define it. As a male, I look at the physical aspects of a female, her profession, and the likely qualifications of our offspring. Most of us use genetic testing prior to mating to determine the best pairing. Of course, we feel… a desire to protect our offspring, though that is more a community effort than individual.

S: Do the females ever choose their mate?

P: They do not actively pursue a mate, as they do in your culture, but they are free to reject any approach. If the genetic testing shows one male to be more of interest than another, she may indicate her interest to the preferred male. And they can reject a male in one cycle and still accept him in another. When they have accepted one, they put a mark on the door so others will know.

S: What does the courting necklace look like? Does every male wear the same type?

P: Each male has a unique design made by his mother for his first courting. The one on the left is mine. Black represents male in our culture, and red the female. White stands for fertility.  The design on the right was created by one of my mates for one of our sons.

S: These are beautiful! How are they made?

P: Some are polished from stones. At one time, our planet had seas, but those dried up ages ago. Some of the beads are fossils from ancient sea life.

S: Your mating procedure sounds much simpler than our way of doing things.

P: I don’t believe even humans understand how to mate properly. Some mate for life, some don’t. Some court for years, others for short periods. It is utter chaos. You breed too well in spite of that. You need to breed less often.

S: You’re referring to our overpopulation problems.

P: Yes. It is very impractical to populate beyond your resources. In the rare instance that our resources are lean for some reason, we refrain from mating.

S: Do the females on your planet raise the children, or do the males participate?

P: Our young are self-sufficient from hatching. They remain in the nest for a few days eating food provided by their mother. Then they move out to find empty homes or dig new ones. They are educated by the community, both males and females. I have heard some here claim there is discrimination against females, particularly in employment. We do not discriminate.

S: Do you have more than one baby at a time?

P: Normally there are two or three eggs to a clutch.

S: Do you ever have trouble getting your young to behave, or to do what they are supposed to?

P: Behavior is a learning experience for all young, even those that are not sentient. For those that are sentient and intelligent, misbehavior is inevitably a part of their mental growth. Those who learn quickly inevitably rise to advanced positions.

S: How do you discipline your young?

P: The teacher will isolate them for a time, or require them to do strenuous physical tasks. When possible, the discipline is related to the behavior. For instance, if a young one steals, he might be required to return what he stole, plus give something he values to the one he stole from.

S: What about adult offenders? Do you have prisons?

P: No. In rare cases, if an individual behaves in a manner counter-productive to the community, they are exiled to a less populated area and left to fend for themselves. Often, after a few cycles, they will apply for re-admittance. Some prefer a solitary life.

S: What about you, personally? Do you enjoy your role as an ambassador to other planets?

P: We do not choose professions based on what we might enjoy. That would be impractical. There might be some professions no one would choose. As I went through schooling, my teachers determined I would be suited to working with alien species. However, I find what I do to be fulfilling, in that it serves my people.

S: What surprised you most about Earth?

P: Chaos. Your people are disorganized and poorly disciplined. Streets have dead ends. Cars, on which you heavily depend, do not always function as they should. Perhaps such chaos is part of your youth as a technological species. I can see some similarities between how your people behave now, and how our species did two or three thousand generations ago.

S: I don’t know. We’re obviously very different from you. What have you enjoyed most about Earth?

P: The one thing I have enjoyed are your mountain ranges. Our people love to climb, but our mountains are significantly lower than yours. I have climbed in Colorado and Utah, and I am looking forward to a chance to go to Asia to climb there, though I might have to wear some protective gear against the cold for the highest mountains.

S: I hope you do get the opportunity to do that. What type of climbing gear do you use? Something high tech? (I think he’s laughing, a gutteral hissing sound, and he’s waving his long fingers and sharp claws in my face.)

P: My race does not need assistance in climbing.

S: Yes, I can see that. Well, it has certainly been interesting talking with you, but I have to draw things to a close. Thank you so much for talking with me today.

P: You are welcome. It is part of my role to educate your people about my people.

Readers, join me next week, when I interview Chkben from Orozh (official Earth Department of Interstellar Affairs alliteration). Until then, fly high and free.