Second Contact, Chapter Four: Judgment, Compassion
Second Contact is now posted.
Chapter Four of Four
Of alien races, the Shfathshfain have formed the closest bond to humanity, despite remarkable differences in intellectual, sexual, and individual neural organization. The emotional compatibility from the first is remarkable, as was reflected by repeated contacts during the war centuries, most notably in the person of sealwife of The Alverin Cumae.
Of course, as one wag observed, it is easier for humans to get along with creatures that look like harp seals, warm and fuzzy with big, soft eyes, than with the silicon-based dendrites, blind flower-creatures, methane-breathing manta-rays, liquid-nitrogen-swimming cephalopods, or titanic, armored monster-worms.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
