Humans are Weird – Eyes
Pokesinholes pointedly ignored the vibrations of the pacing human and gave one final luxurious stretch of every single appendage in the flowing water. The taste was of course alien, on could hardly expect stream water on an alien world to taste entirely pleasant the first time one experienced it. Some of the flavors of local wildlife were simply too extreme. Then there was the odd oxidized flavor that the upstream force field and physical grating created. However after months of only tasting stale, deionized water any naturally flowing stream was a luxury of stimulation.
His delicious bath was cut short however as the water sloshed with the entrance of the human and two jointed appendages reaching down and grappling with him. Pokesinholes made a wordless sound of protest and smoothed out his upper side in an attempt to deny the short fingers of the interfering human a grip. However the human had already gotten ahold of him. Pokesinholes grabbed at the bed of the stream, and was still clutching the rock he had gripped when the human hauled him out of the water.
The human was of course talking, filling the thin atmosphere with waves of meaning, and Pokesinholes did of course understand the sound language. However his comprehension was just weak enough to allow for plausible deniability, especially under stressful circumstances, and there was no doubt this human was stressed. That was the confusing part.
Of course new worlds were dangerous. The raw ignorance every Ranger Survey team brought to each mission was not rarely fatal, even when the teams consisted of the sturdiest of the sapient species. With an Undulates resistance to microfauna and humans resistance to megafauna there were few biotic factors that could incapacitate their team. That of course left all the abotic factors that could kill them, but this landing site was comfortably warm, free from volcanic activity, far from dangerously deep water, and ironically stable. There was no reason to rush back to the safety of the ground structures as soon as the local star dipped low enough to limit mammalian vision.
They passed through the airlock into the main living area and the human dropped Pokesinholes unceremoniously on a raised work surface before lumbering over to a corner, presumably to exchange layers of outerwear.
“May I request what that was around?” Pokesinholes demanded when the human’s searching had turned from the clothing storage area to the food storage area.
Pokesinholes was certain there were errors in the question but the human seemed to understand.
“Sundown’s half an hour ago,” the human said as he mixed various fluids together. “It’s time to be inside.”
“We agreed that safety was within the exterior barrier,” Pokesinholes argued. “I wish to be submerged on fresh atmosphere.”
“That was before I saw what I saw outside the perimeter,” the human stated.
He took a drink of the liquid mix he had made and then pulled his projectile weapon off of its wall mount and began taking it apart. Pokesinholes waited for the human to continue his explanation but none came.
“What see did you...no...what did see you outside the perimeter?” Pokesinholes asked.
“The proximity alarms were humming earlier,” the human said without looking up from his work. “It was out where the spotlights don’t work so I took out the good handlight-”
“The light that is – that has many dangerous warnings for humans?” Pokesinholes asked.
“Yup,” the human agreed with a satisfied grunt, “sear your retinas off if you aren’t mindful. Anyway, I saw two points of light reflecting back at me, then they weren’t there.”
The human fell silent again as he checked over his weapon. Pokesinholes shuffled in annoyance and made a resolution to practice their shared language more as he struggled to formulate his question in sounds.
“What link reflecting light and bringing me inside?”
The human lifted his head and scowled at him.
“Eyes! Pokey! Those were eyes I saw!”
Pokesinholes gave up on words and simply set his appendages wide in a very obvious question stance. Fortunately the human understood enough Undulate to grasp his meaning.
“Predator eyes!” the human expanded, “only predator eyes reflect like that! And they were big ones.”
“Planet scans saw no large predators,” Pokesinholes replied.
“Well my scans showed me something with eye big enough to eat me,” the human said, “so we’re both staying inside until there’s enough light for my eyes to work.”
Pokesinholes slumped down and shuffled towards his room with its sterile water. He wasn’t really convinced of the human’s logic, but it was hard to find good counter pressure when your fellow Ranger centered an argument around organs you didn’t have.
His delicious bath was cut short however as the water sloshed with the entrance of the human and two jointed appendages reaching down and grappling with him. Pokesinholes made a wordless sound of protest and smoothed out his upper side in an attempt to deny the short fingers of the interfering human a grip. However the human had already gotten ahold of him. Pokesinholes grabbed at the bed of the stream, and was still clutching the rock he had gripped when the human hauled him out of the water.
The human was of course talking, filling the thin atmosphere with waves of meaning, and Pokesinholes did of course understand the sound language. However his comprehension was just weak enough to allow for plausible deniability, especially under stressful circumstances, and there was no doubt this human was stressed. That was the confusing part.
Of course new worlds were dangerous. The raw ignorance every Ranger Survey team brought to each mission was not rarely fatal, even when the teams consisted of the sturdiest of the sapient species. With an Undulates resistance to microfauna and humans resistance to megafauna there were few biotic factors that could incapacitate their team. That of course left all the abotic factors that could kill them, but this landing site was comfortably warm, free from volcanic activity, far from dangerously deep water, and ironically stable. There was no reason to rush back to the safety of the ground structures as soon as the local star dipped low enough to limit mammalian vision.
They passed through the airlock into the main living area and the human dropped Pokesinholes unceremoniously on a raised work surface before lumbering over to a corner, presumably to exchange layers of outerwear.
“May I request what that was around?” Pokesinholes demanded when the human’s searching had turned from the clothing storage area to the food storage area.
Pokesinholes was certain there were errors in the question but the human seemed to understand.
“Sundown’s half an hour ago,” the human said as he mixed various fluids together. “It’s time to be inside.”
“We agreed that safety was within the exterior barrier,” Pokesinholes argued. “I wish to be submerged on fresh atmosphere.”
“That was before I saw what I saw outside the perimeter,” the human stated.
He took a drink of the liquid mix he had made and then pulled his projectile weapon off of its wall mount and began taking it apart. Pokesinholes waited for the human to continue his explanation but none came.
“What see did you...no...what did see you outside the perimeter?” Pokesinholes asked.
“The proximity alarms were humming earlier,” the human said without looking up from his work. “It was out where the spotlights don’t work so I took out the good handlight-”
“The light that is – that has many dangerous warnings for humans?” Pokesinholes asked.
“Yup,” the human agreed with a satisfied grunt, “sear your retinas off if you aren’t mindful. Anyway, I saw two points of light reflecting back at me, then they weren’t there.”
The human fell silent again as he checked over his weapon. Pokesinholes shuffled in annoyance and made a resolution to practice their shared language more as he struggled to formulate his question in sounds.
“What link reflecting light and bringing me inside?”
The human lifted his head and scowled at him.
“Eyes! Pokey! Those were eyes I saw!”
Pokesinholes gave up on words and simply set his appendages wide in a very obvious question stance. Fortunately the human understood enough Undulate to grasp his meaning.
“Predator eyes!” the human expanded, “only predator eyes reflect like that! And they were big ones.”
“Planet scans saw no large predators,” Pokesinholes replied.
“Well my scans showed me something with eye big enough to eat me,” the human said, “so we’re both staying inside until there’s enough light for my eyes to work.”
Pokesinholes slumped down and shuffled towards his room with its sterile water. He wasn’t really convinced of the human’s logic, but it was hard to find good counter pressure when your fellow Ranger centered an argument around organs you didn’t have.
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