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Early Developments in AI: The idea of creating intelligent machines dates back to ancient times, but the concept of AI as we know it today first emerged in the 1950s. In 1956, computer scientists John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon organized the Dartmouth Conference, which is widely considered to be the birthplace of AI. At the conference, the researchers laid out the groundwork for the field of AI and established its key goals, including developing reasoning, problem-solving, and learning capabilities in computers.
During the 1950s and 1960s, researchers worked on developing early AI programs, including the Logic Theorist and General Problem Solver. These programs were designed to solve mathematical problems and puzzles, proving that machines could carry out tasks that were previously thought to be exclusive to human intelligence. However, progress in AI was slow, and it wasn't until the 1970s that the field began to advance significantly.

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I found this at the Alternate History Forum website.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/general-jean-de-lattre-de-tassigny-vs-general-westmoreland.182885/
I'mt not as into Vietnam as other wars but after stumbling into that article in link above I am now inquisitive.
People far more familiar with Vietnamese history than I am especially those who read on the French Indochina War and later the American Vietnam War, whats your take? Is General De Lattre a much better general than Westmoreland was like OP claims in the link with his gigantic paragraph of details? I'm seeking a balanced view since the poster at Alternate History Forum is obviously super biased.
I have heard of De Lattre prior to reading the article as one of the most famous French generals of the Second World. I also have seen documentaries that stated Westmoreland was an artillery officer during the War too. So they were obviously both contemporaries. But I didn't know much more than that prior to reading the article.

I found this at the Alternate History Forum website.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/general-jean-de-lattre-de-tassigny-vs-general-westmoreland.182885/
I'mt not as into Vietnam as other wars but after stumbling into that article in link above I am now inquisitive.
People far more familiar with Vietnamese history than I am especially those who read on the French Indochina War and later the American Vietnam War, whats your take? Is General De Lattre a much better general than Westmoreland was like OP claims in the link with his gigantic paragraph of details? I'm seeking a balanced view since the poster at Alternate History Forum is obviously super biased.
I have heard of De Lattre prior to reading the article as one of the most famous French generals of the Second World. I also have seen documentaries that stated Westmoreland was an artillery officer during the War too. So they were obviously both contemporaries. But I didn't know much more than that prior to reading the article.

If you are a coffee geek, you know a well-made cup of coffee starts with the right proportion of coffee to water. Generally, a ratio of 7 to 14 grams of coffee is good for 180 mL. The number of coffee beans per cup depends upon your preference. Coffee beans per cup vary depending on the desired strength of the coffee and the method of brewing.
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Me and a mate split about 10g of shrooms, slowly consuming between 10-12am. We started off with a lemon tek around 10 and ate most of the shrooms after 12. Something to note is, the person who we got the shrooms from didn't have a working scale and so we had to trust we were getting 10g. With this, i feel theres a possibility we might've had too much if thats even possible and thinking back, this was a very dumb idea.
This is our second time trying shrooms, with our first time being around 4-5 days ago. Unsure if the tolerance would affect the trip, we still tried and it went as follows.
We had no visuals the entire time and felt extremely 'drunk' with most motor skills being gone. Around 12 i began to feel paranoid and had a panic attack due to my eyes being worryingly diluted, causing me to be short sighted(hopefully temporarily). I think 5 hours have past and my eyes have no improvement and im scared for my health.
Is this normal? I understand that shrooms causes diluted eyes which basically has the same effect as a camera lens being stuck on focusing on short range, but I've become overly worried about whether or not something bad might've happened or if the shrooms triggered something mentally which i should get checked.
I think I'm mostly looking for some reassurance that ill be fine, or some sort of explanation for what im feeling. I came into this trip expecting shroom effects but got something completely different and honestly felt like the possibility of death wasn't out of the picture, mostly due to panicing.
My main questions are- 1) Is my blurry vision normal? Will it return and should i do a anything to prevent damaging my eyes. 2) Is drunk effects with little to no visuals a common occurance when you have a tolerance for shrooms? 3) What is the general amount of days recommended for a tolerance break?
Any advice is appreciated and sorry about any spelling or grammar mistakes, i woke up not long ago and am still having slight trouble functioning. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Hi, First of all I have no experience when it comes to Google Workspace or emails in general,lately my business email is not sending or receiving emails I looked up the possibilities, checking the domain payment, the business plan, making sure that’s I have my gmail turned on, and even did my MX records ( I looked up how to add them and I did them according to the YouTube video I watched) and still did not work so please can someone help me with it🙏🏼✨.

Hello! I am looking for 3-6 dedicated Minecraft(fabric) players interested in a small SMP.
About the server: the server will be modded, with the only two mods I require being Origins and Botania. all other fabric mods we may add will be added on a general consensus; everyone can suggest and vote on mods, and mods that have above a certain rating number will be included in the server. I have done other small SMPs before, and am looking for players who can get on relatively often for at least some time. the server itself will be a friendly SMP; I won't tolerate pranks without consent.
the server is planned to be relatively "family friendly", and content will be suitable for people 15 years old and older. There will inevitably be some vulgarity and mature references.
If you are interested, please contact me via Reddit chat.

I (34F) met my boyfriend (35M) when he was pretending to work a creative, low-paying job for a living. Over the months, I learned that he’s actually independently wealthy, and that he and his family, and the generations that come after them, won’t need to work to live very comfortable (some might say lavish) lifestyles. Since the start of our relationship, we’ve been splitting our dinners and anything else we do 50/50. Eventually, this made me uncomfortable, and I suggested we alternate paying to make it feel more like we’re taking care of one another. He agreed, but generally I’ve been the more generous one in the relationship, making many dinners at home, reaching for the bill first, etc., all while have significantly less money than him.
Ultimately, the splitting and alternating is what I would expect of partners who earn nearly equal salaries, and it’s what I’ve happily done with past partners. In this situation though, it feels very unfair and like he’s lacking in generosity, almost to a point that feels deal-breaking. I’d guess that he has about 20x my net worth, and maybe 3-4x my annual net income just from interest on savings.
To top it off, he’ll sometimes pay to take his oldest friends on vacations, including spending $30k on a ski house for the weekend, occasionally covering their dinners, etc. I think he feels less comfortable doing this with me because he hasn’t known me for as long, and he sees that I can afford much of what we do together. (To be clear, if I were to go skiing for a weekend, the Airbnb I’d pick might cost $300 per night).
TLDR: My (34F) rich boyfriend (35M) is less generous than I am, relatively speaking. Am I wrong for thinking he should spend more on us, and that a significant other should rank above friends in terms of receiving his generosity? I’m worried he’s always going to withhold from me, and that I’ll have to watch him galavanting off with his friends while I’m left behind.

I found this at the Alternate History Forum website.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/general-jean-de-lattre-de-tassigny-vs-general-westmoreland.182885/
I'mt not as into Vietnam as other wars but after stumbling into that article in link above I am now inquisitive.
People far more familiar with Vietnamese history than I am especially those who read on the French Indochina War and later the American Vietnam War, whats your take? Is General De Lattre a much better general than Westmoreland was like OP claims in the link with his gigantic paragraph of details? I'm seeking a balanced view since the poster at Alternate History Forum is obviously super biased.
I have heard of De Lattre prior to reading the article as one of the most famous French generals of the Second World. I also have seen documentaries that stated Westmoreland was an artillery officer during the War too. So they were obviously both contemporaries. But I didn't know much more than that prior to reading the article.

I found this at the Alternate History Forum website.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/general-jean-de-lattre-de-tassigny-vs-general-westmoreland.182885/
I'mt not as into Vietnam as other wars but after stumbling into that article in link above I am now inquisitive.
People far more familiar with Vietnamese history than I am especially those who read on the French Indochina War and later the American Vietnam War, whats your take? Is General De Lattre a much better general than Westmoreland was like OP claims in the link with his gigantic paragraph of details? I'm seeking a balanced view since the poster at Alternate History Forum is obviously super biased.
I have heard of De Lattre prior to reading the article as one of the most famous French generals of the Second World. I also have seen documentaries that stated Westmoreland was an artillery officer during the War too. So they were obviously both contemporaries. But I didn't know much more than that prior to reading the article.

Hello I was wondering if someone could help me. I finally got an ebt card for food. I’m trying to order groceries through instacart, but for my order there would be a $15 hold on my card. I’m only asking for help getting this delivered because I recently had a suicide attempt. I was able to avoid getting forcibly hospitalized this time, but my body and mind are not in good condition.
I have to take a few days off of work and figure out what to do with myself. I’ve already had to take time off from college because of my mental state. I feel very lost and I could use some help. I’m hoping this is coherent enough because I feel like I’m in a brain fog right now.
My cashapp is $Mullereli Thank you so much.

• One of the sources know about 12 to 15 retrieved spacecrafts.
• Another source > “There were at least four morphologies, different structures. Six were in good shape; six were not in good shape. There were cases where the craft landed, and the occupants left the craft unoccupied. There have been high-level people, including generals, who have placed their hand on the craft, and I would have no reason to disbelieve them.”
• A third source > three kinds of craft, including one shaped like a triangle and another that “looked like a chopped up helicopter, with the front bubble of a Huey helicopter, with the plastic windows, or more like a deep sea submarine, with a thick piece of glass bubble shaped, and where the tail rudder should have been, it was a black, egg-shaped pancake, and instead of landing gear it had upside-down rams horns that went from the top to the bottom and rested on the ends of the horns.”
• one source mentioned non-human pilot (not mentioned in the article, mentioned in The Hill interview at 5:00 mark)
• There are others, like Christopher Mellon, who have interviewed some of the sources, but they (probably?) haven't gone into details like Shellenberger in telling the public about the nature of the spacecrafs. At least I couldn't find anything.

Link to the Shellenberger article:
https://public.substack.com/p/us-has-12-or-more-alien-space-craft
Link to The Hill interviewing Shellenberger: 12 ALIEN CRAFT In US Custody, Intel Confirms; One Source Claims PILOT Found: Michael Shellenberger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJKwglRgwDM
Discussion:
Do these spacecraft descriptions remind you of anything? Do we know if Christopher Mellon or someone else who has interviewed these sources in question have descriptions of the spacecrafts?

Long story short there’s a girl I like she broke things off with me but then kept talking to me and inviting me out and generally confusing me.
For about 3 weeks now we’ve officially been like “not a thing” but she talks to me everyday, she’s a bit flirty, she’ll send fit checks and stuff, invited me out to dinner. Like generally confusing as she said she didn’t want anything but she’s acting like she does. I’ve just kinda been going with the flow and treating her more as a friend even though it’s fucking killing me.
I really like this girl like more than I probably should. I had an issue with her behavior last night though. She invited me out and said she was going to this thing with a friend and I should go to and bring a friend. To me that sounds like “hey come to this meet up with me and bring a friend for my friend” it turns out that was completely false. I get there with my friend. I tell her where I’m at. I’m like hey let’s meet up now or like right after. She sent messages back that sounded like she was into meeting up but also sounded like she wasn’t. So night goes on I decide to cut my losses and just leave. My friend met up with some of his other friends so I just left by myself.
I texted her and said “Hey not sure what kind of friend you’re with but I didn’t mean to cross an boundaries tonight”
She replies back “a guy friend”
So like yeah she tells me she’s not in a space to date and like strings me along but like definitely was on a date tonight. So I pretty much just ignore her for the rest of the night.
This morning she texts me we talk for a little. Then she asks if she can call and tell me about her night. I said sure why not.
So she explains who she was with. It was a guy that she’s been seeing and they started seeing each other around the same time we started seeing each other. And she said she felt a better match with him so she chose him over me. That hurt a bit. She now tells me though that she thinks he’s gay and kinda wants to break things off with him. So now I’m stuck here wanting to rush in and be all “yes do that forget about him and just let me back in.” But at the same time also being like “Give the guy a break. If you really like him talk to him and work things out”
It just generally sucks because like head over heels for the girl and she’s honestly been playing with my heart. And I know just saying that everyone will tell me to just lose her and forget about her. But I have this connection on my end that just has so much feeling behind it that I can’t just ignore it. Obviously she still likes me a bit but I also need to kinda slap myself and wake up to the realization that I’m #2. I’m not the first choice. So what happens when she stops talking to guy #1 and just finds a new guy #1 and I’m still #2.
Makes me want to scream because I know what I should do but I really really don’t want to do that. I just want to be with her :(

My life was pretty amazing, I was a 26y old student, life in check all was good i was aiming to become a Ceo & help the world with good ideas, i had beautiful friends & i was in peace with myself, eating healthy and working out, sleeping well etc, was never mentally struggling, healthy in general I started to talk online with people & fell in love on the side with a person in public Of course i knew from the beginning that the chances are low but if i had a chance to meet that person i wouldve totally tried and see if theres something So anyways i fell in love with that person deeply Because reasons (in my eyes the most beautiful human on earth, really someone i wish i could grow old with kind of love) I started to write that person and talk to people about my job, my plans, my world view, Wrote poems and poetry i was feeling so good Until i thought i got hacked & there i totally mentally declined, I was not sure anyways i completly went on twitter to tell my story in case someone really hacked me, i felt so amazing My brain was just flowing and so good. Finally i could let my passion out Until it escelated, i didnt sleep my brain didnt stop Until i flipped storys in my head and got so delusional it was crazy i heard and saw signs my brain totally declined i thought i bring world peace i thought my family the person i truly fell in love with and my friends all died in their sleep to go to another earth i can send messages to people im some kind of deity. I totally lost it until i heard voices Baby its okey sleep, just fall asleep until i was full blown psychotic, I stopped eating and drinking too because i thought im like jesus Until 6 of the worst days of my life, I thought i died get haunted by a cult that want to rape and torture me & worse shit i totally lost my mind So more than one year later, my life crumbled my brain is broken & idk why i should live I totally fuxked up I send that person i love one billion messages and videos daily because after that i still was manic my brain didnt stop & Shir i had intrusiv over intrusiv thought after that horrible days, I feel discomfort in my own body I dislike myself and feel grossed out in some sense I really cant chill anymore my head is always with my trauma i got thru this & that person Still after this shit im still in love & its hurting me That all of this happend to me, It completly changed my mind & im so insecure and broken, extremly vulnrable & i cry real quick and in seconds its gone & i forgot what i was thinking The fuck happend to my brain Its so scary & now the possibility is i could be bipolar I hate it no offense i am not strong enough to live with this & the fear If you only knew thru what pain i went thru last year & the fact something like this can happen out of the blue Deeply traumatizing & if someone read this far Why should i continue with life? When you found the love of your life & you are not heard When you had inner peace now youre mentally suffering When you ended up a toxic human negativ and heartless? Insecure and feeling unwell in your own shell I cant stop thinking about all Everyday i cant distract & much things terrify me since psychosis. How can you appreciate life when you have to live like this & with this mind? A beautiful soul i once was just rotten in the dirty ground

This has probably been posted about before but I’ve been searching the internet all day. Everything I’ve found online says that fever is not related to teething. My daughter is 15 months and has 100% got a tooth coming through. My concern is that she feels really hot to the touch. Thermometer is reading between 37-38. In your experience could these be linked? There are no signs of any other illness, just the chewing and dribbling that come with teeth. She still breastfeeds and has been asking to nurse a lot more than usual and has been sleeping more but not crazy amounts. She’s never had a fever before, not even when she’s been really poorly with ear infections/ general bugs.
I’m just hoping for someone’s experience, should I be more concerned? Obviously I’ll call 111 if I think necessary but I was just planning on calling the gp on Monday if there’s no improvement.
Thanks in advance

I'm the main moderator of this subreddit and although it may seem dead I will see whatever you decide to post in here, this place is for the discussion of the bible and things related to it, if you got any questions or want to say anything in specific feel free to share a piece of your mind on here. I'm against censorship and believe in freedom of speech, or freedom in general rather. Even though your views may not align with my own I won't remove your post unless it breaks one of the following rules;

1. No use of obscene or vulgar language.
2. No promotion of false preachers.
3. No off topic posts/posts that lack context (Image or video without text)
4. No promotion of other subreddits.

If after being rebuked about a certain unbiblical doctrine you keep on trying to promote it here in this subreddit that will result in you being permanently banned.
The posts that are market as nsfw contain doctrine that's not in line with the teachings of the Bible.

Hi everyone.
To Kill a Predator is a work of fan fiction set in the Nature of Predators universe originally created by SpacePaladin15 whose Patreon you should subscribe to.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Depiction does not equal endorsement.
Hope you enjoy it!
[First] [Previous]
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Memory transcription subject: Martin Russo, Human Refugee
Date [standardized human time]: January 10th, 2137
​
Without the girls, life settles into a boring rut. I talk to them as much as I can on the pad, but they’re busy on Earth, hitting the ground running.
There’s been a lot of ground to cover before they’re caught up to where everyone else will be, particularly for Vilek. She’s often had to pull double-claws of studying, working her fluffy ass off to gain a baseline understanding of psychology in record time. Thiva’s classes on VP by contrast have prepared her well for humanity’s relatively simple technology.
That, and they’ve had to get used to Earth. Earth food, Earth culture, and a planet full of omnivores with forward-facing eyes. I’ve been doing what little I can to help coach and encourage them.
For my own part I’ve been restless. Given that I’m not able to look for a job yet, that physical therapy kicks my ass every other paw, and that I’ve got nothing to do other than look forward to a half-hour of chatting with my friends… I’ve started up on software again. It’s something I can do even while laying prone. Particularly since I have a way to write without using my hands.
What do I do with that, anyway? I can read minds. I can even use the raw data from a full brain scan to extract memories. There’s got to be something useful to do with this. It’s practically the only part of this entire debacle I haven’t bothered telling the UN about.
Honestly after what I’ve been through, I can’t imagine trusting them, or the Venlil government, with this. Bastards would be prosecuting thought-crime by the end of the week.
​
Jarkim’s opened his business a couple of weeks back. Without an actual office, since he plans to simply operate out of Slavik’s farm. As I understand they tolerate it as long as he also helps out in return for food and board. I hope the arrangement works out for the both of them.
I gave Jarkim some help with his online presence. He wasn’t initially sure about the black and white picture of him in a fedora and a tie, or about the business name “Jarkim Krakotl, Private Eye”. But as soon as humans heard about Venlil Prime’s only Krakotl detective they’ve ended up coming to him with their problems.
He sent me a picture of his first solved case, some runaway kid who got lost and reunited with her mother. He was still wearing the hat. No tie, though.
​
Today is my paw off from Chasa’s torments, and it coincides with the launch of another exciting new business venture. So I take the time to visit Mosun.
“Hey Martin! Hold on a minute!” I see the Yotul wrangling a bunch of foam mats around the large, empty room. And its wall-length mirror. Fittingly the place look like the midway point between a dance studio and a martial arts dojo, except for the soft and spongy floor. It’s meant to safeguard against falls.
I glance around the room while he huffs and plops the last few ones down. There’s perhaps thirty-five or forty foam mats scattered on the floor. “So are you being optimistic, or did you get a good reception?”
He looks at me, bouncing with excitement. Though his ears signal a bit of nervousness. “Five Yotul have signed up so far! That’s almost half the Yotul in the entire town! And almost twenty humans! Hanya’s bringing a couple of Gojid friends too, and we’ve got a few Venlil coming along with their humans… Oh, and an Iftali, that was a surprise. Honestly I may be a little in over my head here; I’ve never taught crowds before! I’m not even sure how much will translate across species!”
“So you’ll be learning on the job. I have complete faith in you. Are the Exterminators going to give you any trouble?”
He barks a laugh. “Hah! No, Jarkim had a talk with the magister. I got permission from Vaska’s office to teach the classes in the name of cultural preservation, so those motherfuckers can’t touch me!”
I laugh as well. “You might need to censor your language a bit as a teacher.”
“Combat Dancing is about honesty and expression, Martin. If I can’t live it, how am I supposed to teach it?”
Well, he got me there. “Anything I can do to help?”
He glances at me, his voice gets a little uncomfortable. “Um, I don’t know. Can you carry heavy stuff right now?”
I shrug. “Probably not, no.”
“Then I’ll be fine. You’re not interested in taking the class?”
​
“I think my dancing days are over, for the foreseeable future.” I wryly lift my cane and wave it as a small reminder. It’s wood, and I’m quite fond of it. Chasa found a Venlil craftsman who wanted to be the first to make one for a human, and he made it out of the wood of some kind of tree called Lampan. The color reminds me of mahogany.
His ears droop a bit. “Ah yeah. How permanent is that looking?”
I shrug. “Finger dexterity on the right hand’s likely never going to be the same, but I’ll be able to play video games. Left arm should recover enough for daily use. Leg should get a full range of motion, but I won’t be going jogging. Thankfully I look dignified with a cane.”
He wags his tail teasingly and cocks his head as he regards me. “Do you? …Must be a human thing.”
“Piss off. Mind if I sit in on the class?”
“Of course not!”
Turns out first class of Yotul Combat Dancing is a quick demonstration, and then Mosun talking to the quite large and varied crowd. He talks about the history and cultural significance of Combat Dances to the Yotul, the philosophical underpinnings of the artform, and the mentality to be cultivated in practitioners.
Everyone is listening with rapt attention, and a few of the humans are even taking notes. When he opens the floor for questions, a Venlil asks “Isn’t this an expression of Predator Disease?”
To which Mosun answers “No. Next question?”
Which is honestly as much of a response as that warrants.
I talk with Hanya briefly after the class. She says that she’s been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and that human therapy is helping her out. She even talks excitedly about piloting shuttles again, someday soon. I’m glad for her.
​
Once I get back to the house, there’s a man in a suit waiting for me. He’s tall, bald, and has very dark skin. I don’t recognize him. He extends his hand toward me, and I shake it. He speaks English with an African accent, instead of letting the translator handle it. I’d guess western Africa, but I’m hardly an expert. “Bamidele Adeyemi.”
“Martin Russo. Can I help you?”
He indicates the door. “May I come in?”
“Sure. My Venlil hosts aren’t home right now.”
“Of course.”
Once he’s been let in, and I’ve given him something to drink, I wait patiently for him to explain his presence.
“I am the UN liason to the district magister’s office.”
I keep my tone neutral and politely curious. “What happened to Robert McGinley?”
He keeps his tone neutral too, but friendly. He smiles at me. “It was decided that he should be replaced.”
Oh no. Anyway. “Alright. But… No offense mister Adeyemi, but why are you here?”
​
He takes out a pad. “I have some documents that the UN and the District Magister would like you to sign.”
I sigh inwardly and make a quite heroic effort to not sigh outwardly. I look at the pad briefly anyway. As I expected, it’s about making myself legally liable should I speak up about what I’ve gone through. “I’m afraid you are wasting your time. McGinley told me to sign papers like this too, and I told him ‘no’.”
He nods, entirely unsurprised. “I understand you signed similar documents over a smaller… altercation with the Exterminators. Why the difference of response, if I may ask?”
“Because the first time he threatened to have me thrown out of the refugee center if I didn’t.”
Bamidele’s eyes widen briefly. “I see. That does explain why you told him to ‘fuck off’.”
“Yes.” I pause briefly. “…You’ve been polite enough that I don’t want to use the same language. But.”
He laughs briefly. “Haha, yes, I understand. Different circumstances, yes? My predecessor tried the stick. I am here to try the carrot. So tell me, mister Russo, what will it take for you to sign?”
“There’s nothing that…” I pause.
I sit down. I’m briefly quiet. I miss my friends so goddamn much. I swallow, mouth feeling dry as I tentatively reach for the proffered lifeline. “I… hear Sweden’s lovely this time of year.”
He flashes his teeth at me in a broad smile and chuckles pleasantly. “Hehe, I thought you might say that. But… You do realize it is January?”
​
​
Date [standardized human time]: January 12th, 2137
​
The thought of leaving this wretched planet and its wretched food and its wretched government and its wretched ever-present sun makes me feel like I’m already back in Earth’s lighter gravity.
I ended up paying Chasa back for all the pain and suffering she inflicted on me: The largest gift basket I could find online, filled with fruits, candies, and preserves of both Zurulian and human origin.
When I wake up at the start of the paw, my arch-nemesis has sent me two pictures. The first one is a schedule to keep for the next couple of months. In the second picture she’s put pillows and blankets in the basket and is using it as a bed, a paw raised in goodbye.
If the medi-teddies ever learn to weaponize their cuteness, humanity is in real trouble.
Packing is easy. I don’t have a lot. A band shirt from when I went to see ‘Where Angels Fear’, a few bad sketches of fruit, my dad's chess set, my pad, and a neural scanner.
​
Date [standardized human time]: January 13th, 2137
​
The space flight actually lands directly in Sweden, somewhere north of the polar circle at a place called Esrange. I immediately realize that winter’s back on the menu, as the cold makes my left leg and arm ache like hell. It’s the dead of night, too… But I’ve missed night. So has everyone else, as despite the cold people are walking straight out into the snow to just stare up into the starry sky and stare in open awe at the sky, where the stars form a backdrop for the northern lights. I join them.
A poetic whimsy falls over me, making me grin at the cheesiness. It’s like the sky itself is welcoming us back home.
From Esrange we take cars to Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost city. From there it’s a long train ride south. I’ve gotten a sleeper cabin. With the generous stipend from the UN, I have no need to scrimp.
Even so, it takes significantly longer to travel 1400 kilometers across Sweden than it did to travel 16 light-years from Gliese 832. I’ve got almost twenty hours to appreciate the irony.
​
Date [standardized human time]: January 14th, 2137
​
I’m met at the train station in Lund by a man holding a sign with my name on it. His car takes me directly to the university. Everything feels very… ordinary, except I’m a bit dazed at having so many humans around me again.
We arrive a little before 8 in the morning. Excited students scurry to and fro, eager and hopeful for the first day of spring term. The driver is named Markus, and very kindly helps me find my way to my meeting. I’m left outside a door, standing around awkwardly.
The man I’m meeting with is Jonas Falck, and he’s the head of the department of computer science. While the UN has ‘encouraged’ the university to take me in despite it being so close to the term start, the decision remains with him.
I really wanted to see the girls first, but the meeting time was set for me. I desperately wish I had thought to shave beforehand. I’ve been using my beard to hide my weak chin, but it probably looks more unprofessional than-
“Hey, are you Martin Russo?”
Ah, I see.
Mister Falck is holding two cups of coffee and offers one of them to me with a smile. He’s got a full beard, a full belly, hair past his shoulders, and a pink hawaiian shirt to go with his khaki shorts and flip-flops. This man is clearly one of the most talented professionals working in the field today.
​
“So, do you mind if I ask…” He motions to my cane while I take a seat.
“How that happened?”
“Yes.”
“That’s classified. I’m not even joking.”
He nods once, like that was more or less what he expected to hear. He leans back in his chair, which creaks a bit, and takes a slow drink from his coffee while reading on his computer. “So you studied at Columbia University before the Bombing?”
“Yes.”
“And your family lived in New York?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He doesn’t say it unkindly, but he does say it as rote. ‘Oh you’re from one of the places that doesn’t exist anymore? Sorry to hear that.’
I nod awkwardly. “Yes.”
“And you were focusing on studying brain-computer interfacing?”
I feel like a recording. “Yes.”
“It’s very uncommon to add a student this late. The term begins today.”
“Yes.”
“We can’t provide housing for you on such a short notice, for one.”
“I have that handled, sir.”
He scrunches his face up. “Jonas, please. Americans are so formal.”
“Alright, er, Jonas.”
“So, Martin, what I’m asking for is a reason. To take you in right now, I mean, instead of next year.”
I nod. This is thankfully something I had planned for. My hand slips into my pocket, fingering the box holding the scanner electrodes. “Well, Jonas… I think there’s something you should take a look at.”
​
Handling paperwork and basic orientation takes most of the morning. I manage to get morning-and-evening classes to share my time off with the lambchops. That only works because most people don’t want evening classes. Evenings are for partying if you’re a student, so late classes are mostly for adults with jobs.
I end up standing around nervously by the entrance to the university building, counting down the time. I watch people passing by as calmly as I can, still checking my pad every minute or so for any messages and jerking my head around like a bird at anything that’s even a bit of a shade of gray.
I can tell the alien girls are coming even before I see them, since everyone is glancing curiously their way. I straighten my back and shift my weight from foot to foot. I feel like a dog at an airport, waiting for the return of its owner.
They’re looking around as I see them, and Thiva’s the first to spot me. Her ears perk up and Vilek immediately looks to me as well. As they speed up into a sprint, I’m a bit surprised to see them both wearing clothes. Both girls are wearing custom boots made to fit their digitigrade legs.
They’re both wearing coveralls, Vilek’s in a hospital teal and Thiva’s in a bright red. It’s been explained to me that many at the university have a student culture of wearing colorful coveralls that they decorate with patches, called ‘Ovve’, and that Thiva’s red marks her as a mechanical engineering student. Vileks’s teal, presumably, mark her as studying healthcare. Or specifically therapy, perhaps. I need to look it up.
Seeing as computer science students are apparently expected to wear pink ones, I’m thinking I might sit out this grand and colorful tradition. On the other hand according to the Internet it’s an informal rule to cut a bit from the ‘Ovve’ of anyone you’ve exchanged body fluids with and patch it onto your own. So I suppose I could be convinced.
The girls collide with me, thankfully gently. Their tails are wagging like crazy out of the back of their outfits, and they’re clinging to me. I inhale deeply, take in the distinct and pleasant scent of my cute Venlil friends, and cling to them as well. My fingers stroke through their thick fur, and I hear their happy wordless bleating and whistling.
I close my eyes and enjoy the moment, not giving one whit for the passersby watching the scene.
“Oh, girls, I-” Vilek punches me in the arm unexpectedly. The right one, thankfully.
“Ow!”
Even though her ears signal joy and her tail is wagging, her voice is still stern. “We learned what ‘lambchops’ means!”
Ah.
​
The student flat isn’t very expansive, but it’s larger than the one we shared on Venlil Prime. Probably because humans are just plain larger.
It’s currently sparsely furnished. There’s a couple of desks, a couch, a table, a beanbag chair, and a bunk bed. I take my shoes off in the hallway, as the girls do. When in Lund.
They help me unpack. There’s not a lot, but they had already set aside a little corner for me. I’ve got the beanbag chair instead of a desk, which I’m perfectly fine with.
I sigh and lean against a wall briefly. “I’m… so glad to be home.”
Thiva turns her head a little, flicking an ear in question. “You missed being on Earth?”
I chuckle, and pinch her ear-tip lightly. I lean over to give Vilek one too, for fairness. It earns me a pair of bleeps from them, and I go on the offensive to rub their heads and scratch their ears and do everything I can to make the lambchops squeal happily. They thankfully oblige. “I missed being with my herd.”
My friends are safe, they’re here with me, and we all have paths forward. I’ve fought and bled for this opportunity. I’m allowed to enjoy it.
I sit down on the couch with a quiet groan of satisfaction, finally getting to put my cane aside. “So, girls… how are you feeling about Earth so far?”
They grumble immediately. “It is so freaking cold!” “Snow! We do not like the snow!”
“It’s only for another couple of… Months.” They’re undressing right in front of me. I am left briefly stunned.
Oh right they don’t normally wear clothes.
Reminding myself of that doesn’t help. The context is what it is. They’re my best friends and my two favorite girls and they’re stripping naked before me.
My brain fails me. “…Okay, so, uhh. Um. Hmmh. Huh.”
Mother of God there’s nothing different! They’re naked. They’re always naked! It hasn’t been a problem on VP, it won’t be a problem here! Man up!
I take a deep and steadying breath and resolutely refuse to think of patches of white and red on a set of pink coveralls, with pink patches on their matching ones.
“I guess we should… buy some food? And some clothes for me to use? And…”
And they turn their heads toward me, staring at me with one eye each. Side by side. Making me feel like I'm being stared down by a single creature. One with forward-facing eyes. And an orange blush.
They take slow steps closer. Thiva speaks first with an amused lilt to her voice. “Or maybe this is a good time to talk. You know, about the house rules.”
Vilek speaks as well, moving her tail sinuously in a teasing motion. “Relationship statuses.”
Thiva comes in with the finisher, practically purring. “Sleeping arrangements.”
Ah.
​
---
And that's the end! Thank you all so much for reading, and check the comments for a small request from yours truly!
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Everyone, thank you for your time. I have been very passionate about the accordion for years, now, and I am finally in a place where I am financially secure enough to begin. My only issue is, I am not sure where to begin!
I have read many posts online on how difficult the accordion is, with many recommending another instrument instead. But there is no instrument I love more.
I would love advice on what general direction I should head in with this! Thank you very much for your time