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Challenge #02038-E214: Any One Help

Your newest story about the human gut wound had me wondering. If aliens cared for their human protectors as much as we cared for them, how would they respond to a significant threat to humanity/earth that even the humans were incapable of dealing with? After all of humanities’ civilian organized humanitarian (this word is hilarious to me here) efforts, how would aliens respond when we are in need of some major help of our own? -- Anon Guest

[AN: Inspired by this but not necessarily directly related.]

Humans are well-known for risking their lives for other's sakes. They are rescuers, disaster recoverers, emergency personnel. Sometimes, without training other than the basic know-how. Often in possession of a completely unrelated job title. And they all say the same thing when they are thanked:

"Anyone would do the same thing."

For a long time, they don't tell the Humans that that statement is false. The Universe is full of the self-serving and uncaring. Those who genuinely believe that people who receive disasters truly deserve them because they were evil somehow. Even Human history is loaded with people like that[1]. But so very rarely to Humans act like that was ever a norm.

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Challenge #02037-E213: Controversial Topic

Please tell us more about the “almost war” of Dog or not dog! -- Anon Guest

[AN: Callback to this post for those who don't want to crawl through my archives]

Very few Deathworlder animals are so useful and varied that they enter the Galactic scene before the cogniscents they share their homeworld with are welcomed. Even fewer are so varied that assorted cogniscent species are still attempting to define the pattern in which they fit.

Only one has a game that

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Challenge #02036-E212: One Question

A new revolution was in motion and it’s progress could not be stopped.

After all, nerds are nothing if not stubborn in their pursuit of knowledge.

They were going to enlighten (pun totally intended) this oppressed world, plant the ideas and curiosity that the new power tried so hard to exterminate. They were going to return to the world the gift Aelria gave to them when she told them “look up”.

After all, nerds never die out. They just go stealth.

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Challenge #02035-E211: The Magic Grandma

[Title: Invisible actors] You never see them normally, they often look drab and ordinary - till they open their vocal cords. (She was a little old lady, well dressed, out of place at a science fiction convention. "Close your eyes!") -- Anon Guest

[AN: Does nobody read the pinned notifications on message boards any more? ::weeps:: ]

"I've been onstage for one minute, and I can already see a host of disappointed kiddies in the groundling zone," said the charming old lady. "You

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Challenge #02034-E210: Incident During the Building of Antagulus IV

[Words you learn to dread hearing. #3.] "It seemed like a good idea at the time." -- Knitnan

Something, somewhere, was on fire. Aarblax could see the smoke curling through the air. This was, thankfully, a facility with a generous amount of atmosphere to share, so it wasn't that worrying. Yet. The Public Address system was making bizarre, intermittent noises. This meant that someone had manually disabled the alerts and the system was attempting connections through the network. Which had also been

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Challenge #02033-E209: So They Noticed

[Title: Words you learn to dread hearing. #2.]"So who's going to notice?" -- Knitnan

The little vessel was lost. Broken. Limping through a Sargasso of wrecked and abandoned vessels in the middle of nowhere. No radio. No comms. No chance of making it to civilisation as the occupants knew it. They were losing air and hope at the same rate.

"I found a vessel with compatible air," said one occupants. "With the 'locks together, we can minimise air loss for evac.

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Challenge #02032-E208: Least Threatening Silhouette

[Title: Words you learn to dread hearing. #1.] "I was only..." -- Knitnan

[AN: Once again I have to remind my dear readers that I don't usually pay attention to the titles of your prompt posts. Doing this sort of thing throws off my rhythm and I've already had a crowded day today]

Humans. They do all kinds of hazardous things without thinking about it. Playing gravity games and forgetting that other beings find these unnerving. Singing songs about death and murder[

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Challenge #02031-E207: Needs of the Many Can Bite Me

“You’re risking the lives of millions - millions of lives! - for the sake of one.”

“Damn right I am! And besides, I promised I’d get you out of this mess alive, didn’t I?” -- Anon Guest

"But... the needs of the many," objected Koraz.

"Flakk the needs of the many, I made a promise." Human Kaf had his head down and his shoulders hunched. "I keep my word. Wanna fight me about that?"

"No," sighed Koraz with a

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Challenge #02030-E206: But Not My Friend

“I refuse to let you die”

-- A surprisingly common (and even more surprisingly functional) human phrase.

More lives than can be counted have been saved due to this statement. -- Anon Guest

Flaax had expected to die. That was what happened when the Vorax attacked. People died. Civilisations ended. If one was lucky, wreckage containing last messages to loved ones could be found after the fact.

And then the Humans became part of the Galactic landscape, so to speak. They hunted

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Challenge #02029-E205: Humans Are Breakable

How do aliens deal with humans on board missions/crews with serious mental illnesses? As even those who have “recovered” can relapse and have issues now and again, especially after certain triggers. I know this isn’t as interesting or fun as some of your other prompts but I’d really like to see what you would come up with. Thanks! -- Anon Guest

Human Polli was a Team Mom type Human and the gentlest soul anyone could care to meet. But

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Challenge #02028-E204: One Contentious Afternoon in a Laboratory in Neverwinter

why is it that in world travel or fantasy stories where a scientific world and a magic world meet that no one ever tries to mix magic with technology? -- Anon Guest

[AN: Usually because the Author has decided to Not Go There or it will end up like the Flintstones]

Someone had thought this through. Enchanting a central spindle with Endless Turning, and making it activated by the use of a button and a dial, and then making attachments to reduce

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Challenge #02027-E203: Waifs and Strays

"We have a problem sir. We found the hostage. She looks safe but.... there is an human with her. He is hurt and his translator is broken, but he seems to have protected the hostage, and continues to do so. The fact is that he doesn't want to leave her alone, and she doesn't want to leave him too. And he kind of scares our man." -- Anon Guest

Humans. Some were aggressive. Enough to make Havenworlders like the Graacil extremely cautious

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Challenge #02026-E202: Common Sense Human Medical Advisor

Under great stress, the human brain will launch the production of combat drugs to better face the situation. It will nearly always allow your fellow human crew member to survive and save you, even if the course of action seems stupid and dangerous. The biggest problem could be when those drugs leave the organism : usually the human will act as normal and go back to his/her normal behaviour. But in some case, the human mental will temporary "crumble to dust" and

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Challenge #02025-E201: One Confounding Encounter on Argus Seventeen

Like all great things in life, you need to poke it to get it to do anything. -- TheDragonsFlame

Draes boggled at the merchant. "That is such a uniquely Human phrase," ze said. "Is it absolutely true? Will patience reward those who wait?"

"Uh. No," said the merchant. "If you wait, it does nothing. You have to interact with it to make it go."

"Hmf," again, almost typically Human. Hir own peoples much preferred a fully automatic system. Humans were compelled to

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Challenge #02024-E200: Remarkably Similar

[ a race of sapient felines encounter Humans and their pets ] -- Anon Guest

Ahnrau hadn't expected a close encounter like this one. She had been hunting valuable asteroids when a shard of a distant impact sent her vessel spiralling out of control. The last thing she remembered before the spin blacked her out was identifying another vessel on a collision path...

She was messed up. She could feel it. But... she was also on the mend. The room she was in was

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