EmissaryFangs
Justasthedebateoverthecrystal’scredibilitybeganteihefirstsmallDevourershipehesolarsystem。Itwasheadingstraightto>
&tactwasagaihespacepatrolledbythe。Themoodofthistaothavebeenmoredifferenttha,andthemoodwas,byfar,nottheonlytrast。TheexquisitelywroughtstructureoftheEridanusCrystalboreallthehallmarksoftheetherealteologyofarefinedcivilization。TheDevourer’sshiprepresehepolaropposite。Itsexteriorappearedexglydungailikeafryingpanthathadspeofaturyfotteninthewilderimmediatelyremindediantsteampunkmae。
&heDevourerEmpirematchedhisvehiappearance:amassive,awkwardlizardhugeslabsofscales。Erect,hestoodhirtyfeettall。Heintroducedhimselfas‘Faingsh’,buthisappearaerbehaviourquicklyledtohimbeinggs’instead。
WhenFahefeetoftheUionsBuilding,hisgiedalargecrater,thesplatterieleavingthesurroundingbuilditered。Sihealienemissary’smassivesizepreventedhimfrtheAssemblyHall,theworld’sheadsofstategatheredoedNationsPlazainfrontoftheUNBuildihim。Someamongthemheirfaceswithbloodyhaaungfashedopenbyflyingglassae。
ThegroundshookwitheverystepFangstooktowardthem,ahealienspoke,heroared。Itwasasouhesghornsofadimadethehairstandonendofallwhoheardit。AlthoughhehadlearnedEnglishintransit,Fahrougharanslatarouhedevicerepeatinghiswordsbaglish。Theroughmalevoicehistranslatorproduced,despitebeingmuchquieterthanFangs’realvoiethelessmadehislisteners’fleshcrawl。
‘Ha!Ha!Youwhiteandtenderworms,youfasglittlewsjoviallybegan。
Allaround,peoplecoveredtheirearsuhunderousroarhadended,theirhandsslightlytohearthetranslation。
‘YouandIwilllivetogetherforatury,andIbelieveweshalletolikeeachsued。
‘Yourhonour,youmustknowthatweareveryedastothepurposereatmothership’sarrivalinoursolarsystem!’theSecretaryGeed,raisis。Eventhoughhewasshoutiopofhisluillmaosoundhanamosquito’sbuzz。
Fangsadoptedahumaure,raisinghimselfonhishindlegs。Asheshiftedhisweight,thegrouhegreatDevourerEmpirewilletheEarthsothatitmayueitsepiey!’heproclaimed。‘Thisisiable!’
‘What,then,ofhumaaryGeneralasked,hisvoicequiveringeversoslightly。
‘ThatissomethingIwilldetermioday。’Fangsreplied。
Ihatfollowed,theheadsofstateexgedmeaningfulglaaryGeneralfinallynoddedandsaid,‘Itishatwediscussthisfullybetweenourselves。’
Fangsshookhismassivehead,iiheycouldspeakfurther。‘Itisaverysimplematter:Imustmerelyhaveataste…’
Andwiththat,hisgiaothegathereddsnatchedupaEuropeaate。Hegracefullytossedtheman,athrowoftweraightintohismouth。Thenhecarefullybegahefirstchtothelast,hisvictimremaie;itossibletotellwhetheritwasdigstayedhisscreams。
Ierriblemomentsthatfollowed,theonlysoundwasthatofthemaonsnappingandgbetweenFangs’giaeeth。Afterabouthalfaminute,Fangsspatouttheman’ssuitandshoes,muchasahumanmightspitoutwatermelohoughtheclotheswereoozingblood,theyremainedhlyintact。
Alltheworldseemedtohavefalle,adeathlyquietseemibegihoutend,thatis,untilahuma。
‘How,sir,couldyoujustpickhimupahim?’theaskedashestoodamongstthecrowd。
Faowardhimwithcolossal,thueps。Thecrowdscatteredioodbeforethedlazeofpitchblack,basketball-sizedeyesuaringrightathim。Heasked,‘Ishouldn’thave?’
‘Sir,howcouldyouhaveknownthatyoueathim?’theaskedflatly。‘Fromabiochemicalperspective,itisalmostimpossiblethatabeingfromsuchadistantworldshouldbeedible。’
Fangsnodded,hislargemawalmostseemingtogrin。‘Ihavehadmyeyeonyou。Youwatchedmewithent,lostinthought。Whatisitthatyouwereplating?’
&aiurnedhissmileandreplied,‘Sir,youbreatheourairandspeakusingsoundwaves。Youhavetwoeyes,anose,andamouth。Youhavefourlimbsarrangedalongabilateralsymmetry…’Helethisthoughtdriftoffintosilence。
‘Andyoudo?’Fangsasked,snakinghisgiainfroaihahiss,heexhaledaih,reekingofbloodandgore。
‘Thatiscorrect。Idouheprihematterwellenoughtofinditihatweshouldbesosimilar,’theswered,showingnosignsofrevulsionorfear。
‘ThereissomethingIdoand。Whyareyousocalm?Areyouassaskedinresponse。
‘Iamwarriorih,’theswered。
‘Hm,butdoespushingaroundsmallstonesreallymakeyouawarristeredwithmorethanahintofmockery。
‘Iamreadyfreatertests,’theinghis。
‘Youfasglittlewslaughed,nhisbodytoitsfullheight,heturotheheadsofstate。‘Butletusreturopid:humanity’sfate。Youaretasty。ThereisasmoothandmildqualityaboutyouthatremiainblueberrieswefoundoinEridanus。Itherefratulateyou。Yourspecieswillue。WewillraiseyouaslivestotheDevourerEmpire。youtoliveagoodsixtyyearsbefyoutomarket。’
‘Sir,doyounotthinkthatourmeatwillbetoogameyatthatage?’theaskedwithacoldchuckle。
Fahlaughter,hisvoieruptingvolo。‘Ha,ha,ha,ha!TheDevourerslikeacks!’