| Letters When seeking to learn about others, we often find we learn at least as much about ourselves as we learn about the other. This was very true for human beings as they sought to find alien races. Not long after Banksmann and Marshall�s discovery, it was decided that humanity should, albeit politely, end all contact with their newfound neighbors. The discovery itself had aggravated a number of latent social tensions, and the decision to cease transmission sparked several other disagreements. The move to stop communicating was supported by most major religious groups and other conservative factions. There were other groups that favored continuing contact and who felt that the conservative reaction to the Banksmann-Marshall discovery was dangerous. Interestingly, this large rift in opinion helped the idea of interplanetary colonization gain strength. If the two sides split, each could do as they felt right without being hindered by or hindering the other side in their endeavors. Thus, the moment a suitable planet was found located a comfortable distance form Earth, steps were made to prepare for colonization. Those who favored continuing contact with the Found Race (the name is a rough translation from the original language) opted to relocate to the new planet. Generations later, after a long silence of their own, the Found Race began to broadcast again. Those on Eden (a wishful name for the new colony) responded, reopening the gateway between our two peoples. The first letter below was carried with the original transmission from the Found Race. These letters are merely small bits taken out of an almost constant stream of correspondence, and they come from different times in the lives of writers. It�s amazing my friend kept these so long. Letter received on October 2nd, 154 PD in the original transmission. Translated. Hello? I hope there is someone who wants to read this. My teacher (rough translation) says that the human-earth people don�t want to talk to us anymore. My teacher also said we had to wait for a while so we could think some about you guys. Now they say we can both talk again, so I made this letter. How far away are you? I guess it�s pretty far because we never got to see each other. It would be fun if there were big space-ships and they could fly really fast so everybody could go anywhere they wanted. I�m three years old, but that�s in years here. Years are different there, so I don�t know how old I could be there. Why do you get older or younger if you go to a different planet? I hope if anybody reads this you can write back. Dezabri Letter sent from Eden on October 8th, 154 PD I read your letter. My mom says that she�s really happy that everybody�s talking to each other again. She says I can write to you if I want. I think big space-ships would be neat, too. At least they have something that can send our letters fast. I have a teacher, too. He didn�t tell me too much when I asked him about where you guys lived. Do you have schools, too? School is where you learn about stuff. We have to go to school every day. There must be lots of stuff to learn. I�m six. That�s in years on Earth. On Eden I�m four. I don�t know how old you would be if you came here. I wonder about how you�re a different age on another planet, too. Why are the years different? Maybe the teacher will tell me sometime, and I can tell you. Grownups have the funniest ideas sometimes. Leigh Letter (Translated) received June 15th, 168 PD (calculated in Combined Years, which are shorter.) This is 161 PD if calculated by the system used in the above letters. By this time many other letters have passed between Dezabri and Leigh. The idiomatic expressions in the letter were left as literal translations. Fresh welcome, Leigh. How stands your house? There isn�t too much happening here. The teacher has finally begun to tell us more about your people. All we heard before was little bits and pieces. I know I�ve learned a lot writing to you, but it�s good to be learning about this kind of stuff from the teacher, too. I never heard about people who were raised by their birth-parents before you told me what �mom� was. Our teacher raised me and my group. Wherefrom the bread comes, there shall they [children] also seek knowledge." That�s what the grownups say, anyway. In only a few more years (for here, of course) I�ll be able to start learning about a job. It ought to be something that�s needed, naturally, but we�re almost always able to learn about the job we want the most. What do you do when you go from being in school to being in a grownup job? Dezabri Letter sent from Eden June !9th, 168 PD. Hi, Dezrabi, I�m doing fine. You would say �my house stands firm,� right? It�s going to be a while for me, too before I get to learn about jobs n� stuff. I don�t think grownups ever tell us what we�re supposed to be here. That sometimes makes it hard because sometimes we kids don�t know what job to pick. There are lots of kinds of jobs. What kinds of jobs do you have there? Having my teacher be my mom, too, sounds funny. Is being a teacher a job like it is here, or is it something different? Is�s neat how different things are on our worlds. Leigh Letter (translated) received April 12th, !77 PD Fresh welcome Leigh, Today I took a walk through the woods. It�s wonderful during the warm third of the year. The smaller plants have begun to sprout, coming in clustered around the trees. [These are rough biological equivalents.] Some of the faster-growing plants are almost ready to bloom. Lately, I�ve been wondering about religions. We had a discussion of humanity and religions during our social studies time. Since that concept is new to us in the Found Race, I�m not really sure about the way it works. The closest we seem to come is our memorials for the dead, but that is still far different from what I understand about theology. It sounds so beautiful. Dezrabi Letter sent from Eden April 14th, 177 PD Religion can take on a life of its own. Somehow, human beings need to feel as though they have someone stronger than themselves watching over their lives. Having religions fills this need and helps us to try and grasp that which is greater than ourselves. It seems, though, that every time one question about religious issues is thought to be answered, a thousand more questions are raised. The trouble is that we have a tendency to warp what we have. Terrible things have been done in the name of religion or justified using religion. There were wars fought over religious beliefs, and some religions insist on views that attempt to exclude other ways of thinking. The lot of humanity seems to be to learn everything the hard way, by making mistakes and cleaning up after them. Right now on Eden it is winter, so all of the trees and plants are dormant. It�s still fun to take a walk sometimes, but it�s rather cold. During this season, there are very few clouds, and in the night one can see the stars very clearly. I think I�ve seen the one that you call home. Leigh |
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