WRITING OBSTACLE
Submitted by Robin Marlowe
Write a sci-fi scene about encountering an alien species that is not initially obviously intelligent.
What types of intelligence might not be recognisable to humans? How might we begin to recognise it?
Explosives
When the humans first stumbled across the aliens… well… they were purely disgusted. After all their work, sending out complex codes into the void of space… this was what responded?
There wasn’t really a way to describe them, dog-like perhaps. Their eyes were deep, as if you were looking into a galaxy of their own. They had fur in various tans and browns, and their minds, well, they were similar to a chicken.
Which is about as smart as a toddler.
Most militaries wanted to wipe them out the moment they saw them step out of that ratty ship, but world leaders agreed to study in a secret location far from human life.
And the results weren’t too flattering, that’s for sure.
The creatures, on the other-hand were marveled at humans, just not for their intelligence. Humans were just so utterly stupid and small minded. They send messages of friendship and love, then immediately locked them up and pricked them with needles.
Their technology was terrifying, and the aliens had a feeling it wasn’t a scare tactic, they really were just that far behind.
Well, the humans and aliens saw each others flaws. They might just be the very thing that tore them apart.
They knew exactly how to take each other down, it was just a race on who could do it first. Who could outsmart the other. Like a math quiz that involves explosives and such.
Even both aliens and humans love explosives.