Monday, 4 November 2024

Interacting With Aliens

"The Green Thumb."

According to the Chronology, a hundred years have elapsed between the founding of the Stellar Union and the two Wilson Pete stories so maybe there has been more time for exploration and colonization than I had been allowing for.

When the new alien farmhand, Joe, approaches Gunnar's farm animals:

"The cows stamped their eyes in the gloom of the stable; Joe made them a little nervous. But the native animals stood quietly. Some tiny difference in smell, no doubt." (p. 25)

With the benefit of hindsight, we realize that this is an early clue to Joe's true origin. (He has claimed to be from a planet that the widely travelled Gunnar has never heard of.)

Gunnar says:

"'In the early days, men did settle on planets with primitive native races. It only led to conflict..." (p. 26)

Those early days were some time between "Gypsy" in 2815 and the Wilson Pete stories in 3000. But "Star Ship" still needs to be moved to some time much later than 2875.

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