Cottonwood

They never meant to come to Earth. They were never allowed to leave... Welcome to Cottonwood. Excerpt: You should have heard it, Kate. It was subtle, but it wasnt my imagination. The guy spent five hours essentially telling us that the aliens are retarded. Oh come on. Not in so many words, buthang on. Sarah moved the paz to her other hand so that she could lay her right arm over Fagins back, since he was being insistent about it. But he just really drilled it in, she continued, resigned. Over and over, really soft and gentle. Theyre not smart, they dont take care of themselves, they need to be controlled. Kates tiny image on the screen flickered as she shifted her own paz and had trouble restabilizing. The two werent exactly compatible anymore. She really needed to get a new one. So? Maybe they do. And maybe they dont. Kate! she said, trying to laugh through her frustration. These people came to us in a spaceship! A planet full of stupid layabouts does not master intergalactic space travel! Kates image flickered again and snapped to black. She didnt need it. She could hear the distraction in Kates voice, and the tight Im-pretending-Im-not-angry tone that had been her default setting pretty much since Sarah told her she was really moving to Cottonwood. Okay, so the guy whos been studying them for twenty years is wrong and Sarah Fowler, who hasnt even met one yet, is right. Congratulations. Youre that good. Sarah felt herself blush. It didnt sound right, thats all Im saying. Some of the little things he said just...just really got to me. Like what? Kate asked, sounding concerned now and not big-sister patronizing. LikeLike he said that if their claspers came off, theyd die. A short pause. What are claspers? Oh, thats not the point, theyre like tiny little extra arms that smell things. The point is, how many aliens had to lose their claspers and die without having any otherWhats the word I want? Variables? Kate was quiet for a while. The picture tried to come back a few times, showing Sarah glimpses of her sister through a haze of multi-colored distortion. These guys are professionals, Sarah. Its their job to make connections that people like us miss. Yeah, but how did so many aliens lose their claspers in the first place, thats what I really want to Did your house come with a phone? Huh? Um, yeah. She twisted to look up at it, clinging to the wall like a shiny, black beetle. But its patched into the IBI switchboard. I cant figure out how to get a line outside the village. I could look it up in the manual, but She laughed. Im kind of manualed-out. I had to set everything, you have no idea. All the faucets are TruTouch. Who the heck even knows off-hand how many degrees they like their shower? Or their drinking water? Plus, I got my Fahrenheit and my Celsius screwed up and practically steamed-cooked my face off the first time IWhy? She checked the pazs signal, but it looked good. Cant you hear me okay? I hear you. I was just curious. So this is your own paz? Yeah, said Sarah, still trying to see where this was going. But they scanned it in through the company server when I got here. You know. So I cant take pictures or blog about company policy or stuff. They said it wouldnt affect my performance. I mean, I can barely see you, but Thats normal for the fossil youre using, Kate agreed. In a new, hearty voice, she added, TruTouch faucets, those are awesome! They gave me all sorts of things, its hilarious. Theres a plasmapanel TV in the living room, and all the appliances, even a coffee machine. Another TruTouch? No, its one of the Konaluv models and its crazy, I dont know what half of those settings even mean. I tried to make a simple cup of coffee when I got home. I think I programmed it to spit out sixteen double-caff cappuccinos at midnight on the first day of 2045. Happy New Year. Kate laughed...