—I wish I could believe that.
—Well, that’s your choice, now, isn’t it? But stop asking the question if you don’t care about the answer.
—It’s just hard to believe, Vincent. You said they came here to find a few people. They left when we all started dying, but they still haven’t found those people. They’re still here. Won’t they want to come back and finish the job?
—I’m telling you, they don’t want a war with us. They told us in so many words. They were Ekt words, so there might have been fewer.
—They did?
—Tell us? Yes! General Govender was there. He made peace with their government.
—Officially?
—What does that even mean? Yes. Officially. He met with them, in an official manner. It was all … very official.
FILE NO. EE028—PERSONAL FILE FROM ESAT EKT
Interview between Eugene Govender and Opt Enatast
Location: Assigned residence, Etyakt region
Translated by Vincent Couture
—Sit down, Couture. You’re making me nervous. What does he want with me?
[He said: “Take me to your leader.” I’m only half kidding, that’s sort of what he said. He wants to talk to the boss. I explained to him what a general was, and he said he wanted to meet you.]
What’s his name again?
[Opt Enatast.]
Do I call him Opt? Mister Opt?
[No. Either the whole thing or just Enatast. Or you don’t call him anything.]
I have to call him something.
[How often do you use someone’s name when you talk to them? But whatever, call him Enatast. That’s what I do. I don’t think it’s rude, but even if it were, he had to teach me how to use the toilet, I’m sure he’ll cut us some slack on etiquette.]
And you’ll translate everything back and forth.
[He might understand you if you keep it simple. If not, I’ll do my best, but you still need to keep it simple.]
Goddammit!
[Here he is. Eyyetist, Enatast. Eyet General Eugene Govender.]
—Eyyetist, Vincent. Eyipot otot eps, Yeneyay.
—What’d he say?
[I don’t know. Something polite.]
Did he call me Yeneyay?
[Yes. He called you general. Just shake his hand, will you? I showed him how that works.]
It’s an honor to meet you, Opt Enatast.
—Eyitokt aktept otok apats Akitast—
[Whoa. Stop! Slowly. Ansyets. Ansyets.]
Eyitokt … aktept … otok apats Akitast.
[Speak like Great Council of Akitast. I speak for the Council, on behalf of, something like that.]
Ast eyapetent ekukt eteyans.
[I apologize, or I’m sorry for the death of the Terrans, humans.]
…
[You have to say something now, General.]
—Ask him why they attacked us.
[How about you apologize for their four pilots first?]
A hundred million to four. We’re not exactly even. Ask him.
[Ekt eyepsats iset akt.]
—Eyekant ops. Aks eyepsats apepoks Ekt. Ast eyapetent.
[We didn’t. We attacked Ekt criminals. I’m sorry.]
—That’s it? A hundred million dead, and he’s sorry?
[Look, General, he’s not the one who sent those robots. I’m sure he’d have a lot more to say if his interpreter didn’t have the vocabulary of a three-year-old. Just take the man at his word, will you?]
Ask him if he knows how many of us they killed.
[No, I won’t. Even if I could, I’m not asking him that.]
Fine. Tell him … Tell him we don’t want a war.
[Aks eyapat ops …]
Vincent?
[EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. BOOM! TATATATATA! AAARGH!]
What the hell are you doing?
[I’m miming a war. I told you to keep it simple.]
—Oyokyets!
[Maybe?]
Aks anyoks eyapat ops oyokyets.
[We don’t want a war either. There!]
—Tell him I don’t speak for our entire planet. Tell him no one does. Tell him it won’t be easy to convince the people on Earth that they don’t mean us any harm, not after what they’ve done. It might take a few generations before we’re able to start a relationship with a clean slate. Tell him I’ll do my best to explain to our leaders that this was … Goddammit, how do you tell someone one hundred million dead was an accident? It wouldn’t hurt if they took some responsibility. This five-year-old thing: It was an accident. I don’t think it’s gonna sit too well with anyone who’s had their biggest city turned into a mass grave. Are you sure he can’t understand me? YOU! I’M TALKING TO YOU! Did you hear what I just said?
[Aks eyyots Eteyat anesk akt.]
What did you tell him?
—Eyakosk. Eyapetent Yincent.
[Eyesunt.]
—Why is he leaving? Dammit, Couture! What did you tell him?
[It’s OK, sir.]
Whatever you said, it was suspiciously shorter than what I told you to tell him.
[There was no point, sir. Like you said, you can’t speak for everyone on Earth. He knows that. He can’t speak for his people either. This was just for show.]
Why?
[If I had to guess, I’d say he wanted to make us feel better about staying here.]
What the hell are you talking about?
[You wanna know what I told him? I asked when we were leaving.]
That’s it?
[Well, yeah. What else matters at this point?]
And?
[He said it’s complicated.]
What the hell does that mean?
[I think it means we’re gonna be here awhile.]
Are you OK with that?
[Like I told Rose, I don’t really care what happens to me, but I don’t want my daughter to grow up here. We need to get her home.]
Then I suggest you start making friends.
[Was any part of “We need to get her home” unclear? I don’t want to make friends. I don’t want to be here long enough to make friends. What we need is a plan.]
No. What we need now are friends. I wanted a plan, but Rose shut me down faster than a rocketful of monkeys.
[Don’t pay attention to her. She likes it here. She’s—]
She’s right! Trying to come up with a plan is just stupid. We don’t know anything. We don’t know how we got here. We don’t know how to get back. What are we gonna plan for? What we need is someone who knows how to get us off this goddamn rock, so I suggest you get out there and start making friends. Lots of them. We need friends in the government, friends that hate the government. We need friends, Couture.
FILE NO. EE031—PERSONAL FILE FROM ESAT EKT
Interview between Vincent Couture and Esok
Location: Aptakt Market, Etyakt region
Translated by Vincent Couture
—What is your name?
—You forgot already? You asked a minute ago (at a time four moments in the past).
—I know I did. It’s for a … I don’t know how to say “recording.”
—I’m Esok.
—Just Esok?
—Do you see anyone else?
—No. Thank you, Esok. Can you tell me what this place is?
—Here? This is the Aptakt Market. It’s the largest one in the Etyakt region. People come here to buy food and things.
—We get our food on that street in another market.
—Yes. Yes. Etyakt dispensary. Government.
—The food over there is a lot better. There’s more too.
—Much better.
—OK, so what’s the difference?
—There the food is free. Here you have to pay.
—Then why do people come here?
—Here is where the market is.
—I … I don’t understand.
—Yes. Yes.
—No, I meant—
—What is your world like?
—My world? It’s … Parts of it are like here. We have trees, like here. Other parts are much colder … We have—I don’t know how to say ocean—lots of water, large things of water.
—Yes. Yes. Here too. Is everyone like you?
—Like me? What does that mean?
—You have hair on your face, and on your arms.
—A little bit of hair on our arms, yes.
—Lots of hair. Does everyone have arms?
—Yes, we have arms … and legs.
—No one lives in water?
—Yes. Animals do.
—What is an-im-al?
—Hmmm … A living thing? Something that eats, and sees, and moves.
—Like you.
—Yes, but different … less intelligent.
—Some people are less intelligent.
—How do you say self-aware? (I said me conscious of me. Blank stare …) Humans—I’m a human—are conscious of their own feelings, of what they think, what they do.
—You believe that thinking about you makes you better?
—No, I … Actually, yes. Humans think that.
—Interesting.