Sh-San: I am not sure if you understand... I will not do the fire-breath, then. I am not looking to win respect.
I am the one who is honored to meet you. Interworld diplomat? That's... What you're saying is... I have no words.
It is not that I have no familiarity with contacting alien life. I am unfamiliar and all too familiar. My life's work has centered around contact with Earth. It is the only other sentient life we have found. As I said, I was mission control. The mission failed, and in failing it succeeded, and in succeeding it failed again. I have spent the last ten years sitting on my ass while politicians from our two planets talk. It wasn't supposed to be this way.
And now you are saying you have found other worlds and met others. Actually met others. Not just politics from afar.
Margaret was right to leave. I no longer think there is any hope in our universe of achieving what we wanted to achieve. Not for many, many years. But you two... you have found it.
When I say I am not used to this way of thinking... Here, an example. You say you have met other sentient life. And I marvel that I have been contacted by a race so further advanced than my own, wonder about the scope of the technology you must have... Then I remind myself that things work differently here. On some level, I understand, and I have always understood. But I am used to only dealing with technology. I am far out of my league.
Me: It's weird hearing you talk like this. You were always the one far ahead of me.
no subject
I am the one who is honored to meet you. Interworld diplomat? That's... What you're saying is... I have no words.
It is not that I have no familiarity with contacting alien life. I am unfamiliar and all too familiar. My life's work has centered around contact with Earth. It is the only other sentient life we have found. As I said, I was mission control. The mission failed, and in failing it succeeded, and in succeeding it failed again. I have spent the last ten years sitting on my ass while politicians from our two planets talk. It wasn't supposed to be this way.
And now you are saying you have found other worlds and met others. Actually met others. Not just politics from afar.
Margaret was right to leave. I no longer think there is any hope in our universe of achieving what we wanted to achieve. Not for many, many years. But you two... you have found it.
When I say I am not used to this way of thinking... Here, an example. You say you have met other sentient life. And I marvel that I have been contacted by a race so further advanced than my own, wonder about the scope of the technology you must have... Then I remind myself that things work differently here. On some level, I understand, and I have always understood. But I am used to only dealing with technology. I am far out of my league.
Me: It's weird hearing you talk like this. You were always the one far ahead of me.
Sh-San: You grew up.