Broken World: Liars

Broken World: Liars (Chapter 3)

Historical Account of Ilfeq, Crewman of the Xlnfrag

Grenouille had invited me to his cabin so that we could eat together. A ritual amongst the humans that has existed so long, it is older than their very civilization. It is supposed to strengthen friendly bonds between individuals. He promised to prepare food that I would find to my liking, which was very considerate: As I was well aware, the humans find most of the things we consume repulsive. They insist on meals that consist at least partly of natural components (ideally, of course, they would like a meal to be completely natural, no synthetic components at all), and they eat it either raw or disinfected in one of several ways: Dumping the food in boiling water, for example, or preparing it directly above a fire. They seem to like it, and I suppose that's all that really matters since they get their nutrients just fine.

Grenouille had told me that there would be two or three other humans present to whom he would like to introduce me. He said he was sure I would like them, and I was inclined to believe him. I enjoyed the company of the human with the dark flesh. Given that the similarity between our colours can only go so far as a bonding mechanism, I knew that I also liked him as a person. Thus, it would be logical to conclude that I would also like the people he liked.

As I walked through the human area, I was met with quite a few stares by the Germans, bared teeth by the Americans and, eventually, disregard by the French. Grenouille had assured me that these gestures and attitudes had no meaning, that they were simply how these people acted around other people, even their own. No one means any harm, and no one means any good, he had told me. It's just what they do, but really, no one cares about anyone either way if they aren't personally affiliated with them. I didn't understand why these three nations had developed such vastly different behaviours, nor what the point of any of them was, but since no one attacked me, and no one talked to me, I figured it wasn't all that important.

The humans had, almost all of them, used some method or another to obstruct vision into their cabins. We had not known that this was a necessity for them, or else we would have taken care of it, but they seemed to get along quite well even if they had to rely on sheets and towels. I saw one that had taken the legs off of a table and used the plate as an obstacle. Since the human need for privacy was not only of an optical nature but also required seclusion form sounds, that was probably more efficient than the others. I think I wondered whether it had been the human's own table, or if they had stolen it from another Terran. Even if I didn't ask myself this back then, I certainly have been doing so since. You must know, the Terrans took their own personal property very serious, but often had little to no regard for that of others.

I arrived at Grenouille's cabin punctually. He had used flags to close the entrance: I didn't know what countries they represented, but there were about sixty of them (I counted them later on), each too thin to be of any use for the obstruction of sound, but together they functioned just fine.

I entered, and was met with the stares of three humans: The one at the right side of the table was unknown to me. He was a young man, with white hair, longer than the human warriors usually had.. On the left, there was Grenouille, who immediately bared his teeth at me in their ritual of kindness. Now that I knew what it meant, and had spent enough time with him and other humans to get used to it, it had the intended effect of calming me down. That was good, because in the middle, sitting so he directly faced the entrance, was the human that had spoken Qar on the first day. He stared at me without any emotions. No anger, no happiness, nothing. Just... a stare. It was very unsettling, as if he acknowledged my presence, but not my status as a life form. Then he, too, bared his teeth.

"You must be Ilfeq", he said in Qar. "The prophets in the sky have seen this day, and they have blessed it."

I had expected something along these lines as soon as I had recognized him. I still had no idea how he learned our language, but I honestly couldn't, and still can not, imagine how someone would go about learning a language without picking up a few things about the culture as well. "It must have been what made them smile, to see us meet as friends", I finished the ritual. It was old, obviously outdated – a civilization that has proceeded far enough has no need for rituals – but I appreciated the thought he had put into it. Of course, my words were translated into English by the device hanging around my neck, so Grenouille and the young male had at least a little bit of insight into our short conversation. "You are Daniel Sylber", I said. "I have heard about you. Grenouille has spoken of your deeds in the British War. It is an honour to stand with a Warrior of your reputation."