New Proxima - A Slice of Utopia

The Circuitous Road to Peace (IV)

Both alien governments were able to establish contact with Opaline within the local day. She had hoped they would have talked to each other but this still seemed like a step in the right direction.

Darcy split the screen he had been using for his avatar in two to allow for Opaline to see the two Ssphlebeleboid leaders' faces. Their heads were radially symmetrical and looked like the heads of four anteaters connected at the backs, only they seemed to have multiple tongues in each snout.

Darcy represented himself with a hologram to avoid having to answer a lot of tedious questions about who and what he was.

It all felt very low-tech.

"First of all I want to say that is an affront to our people that you have imposed yourself in this way and we act entirely under duress," said The Grand Ssphegebeb Shoosh. "However my people acknowledge the supremacy of your technology. Therefore we are willing to enter into negotiations in the hopes that we can arrive at some kind of resumefire."

"The Laleth of the People of Lelala reluctantly concurs with the Grand Ssphegebeb," said Thala, the First Lethesseth Among Seethels, on the opposite side of the screen. "We would like to know what your demands are in order for us to see the return of our nuclear arsenals."

"No..." stammered Opaline. "You're supposed to negotiate with each other for peace, not with me for war."

"That is out of the question," said Thala. "We would never agree to peace with those treacherous Thesethesians!"

"We have no common ground! There can be no compromise!" spat Shoosh, the already wet Ssphlebeleboid language growing slimier as he grew more upset. "One of our people must be supreme above the other. That is the sole path to peace."

"That's right. The Lelala must rule all of Ssphlebeleb, that is the only peace."

"If you call subjugation peace! The only real hope for our people is Grandmother Thesethes! The fragrant scentmarker of civilization!"

"I'm sure you have a whole lot of interesting historical feuds, but the thing about atomic weapons is once you have them you have to give up that nonsense or die in nuclear fire."

"To call our grievances nonsense is an insult to my ancestors!" hissed Shoosh.

"And mine!" agreed Thala.

"Well you're going to have to figure it out because you can't have any of your weapons back until you do. Talk among yourselves for a while."

With a mental command she cut out the feed and both aliens disappeared from her screen.

"This isn't going well is it?" Opaline asked.

"It's fine," said Darcy. "You've just started."

<He's wrong,> signaled Cujo. <This is a disaster.>

"Cujo says it's a disaster," said Opaline.

"The dog isn't always right!" insisted Darcy.

<At least I don't eat grass,> signaled Cujo. This time he let Darcy in on the communication.

"That was one time!" snapped Darcy. "I was five-years-old!"

"Yeah but it was in front of everyone," said Opaline.

"Are people still going to bring this up when we're a thousand?"

"I couldn't say," said Opaline. "I mean I know I will."

<It made an impression,> signaled Cujo.

"Yeah," agreed Opaline. "It made an impression."