Recalibrate your sarcasm detector.
“All right,” said Ama. “Where we’re going has lots of humans. So let’s make sure we’re prepared. Remember, even though they’re Class Four Deathworlders, they don’t mean to harm us. They’re aware of our relative frailties and will act accordingly.”
“Yes’m,” said the entire class. They were halfway into their safety suits.
El struggled with her Permaseal Line, panicking, and desperate to not be left behind. There was something about meeting the most dangerous and insane species in the known Galactic Alliance that was irresistible.
Ama came to help her. “Calm down. It’s all right. There’s plenty of time. Let’s look at the problem.”
And once she did… El could see that she’d flipped the switch to Seal, instead of Loose. An easy fix. She hurried inside her suit anyway. Fast enough to catch up with her classmates, but slow enough to make sure she didn’t get anything wrong.
Her kind were still becoming used to Deathworlders. There were so many things they could casually do that were a hazard to her kind.
Infection Barrier on and sealed, air filters attached and locked, armour… it was Humans who invented the lightweight exoskeletons that could protect El and her class from accidental and deadly blows.
“Teacher Ama?” said El. “How do Deathworlders get to be so tough?”
Which filled in the remaining time until Docking. Deathworlders evolved on planets with hostile conditions, ranging from poisonous plants to venomous life forms to deadly weather and hostile terrain. The planet Terra had all of the above.
Most Deathworlders were hostile against other life forms. Humans were hostile against themselves. They had tactics to trick one group into thinking that another were not human despite their obvious similarities. They could define personhood to include a non-corporeal, non-intelligent co-operation of humans, but could not include the females of their own species under that same umbrella definition.
Humans were insane. It was the only rational explanation.
“Now. Everyone calibrate your sarcasm detectors. They’re prone to overload around some humans, so maximise the tolerances.”
And, when El saw them for the first time… all she could think was, They look so small.
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