Manners
| 31 March 2010
"Open the door, Charlie, open the door, you think they'll wait forever?"
From the airlock peephole they could see one large eye peeking out, solemnly taking in the scene outside the door. Charlie would have liked to jostle his friend, but keeping the impulse down he opened the door. Stepping back, making a sweeping gesture, he greeted the aliens.
"Welcome to Earth" the operator spoke slowly and clearly.From the interior of the airlock, three particularly ugly creatures waddled out.
Slowly, they made it into the reception area and many reporters greeted them. The aliens looked out on the group, blinking their one huge green eyes.
"We are glad of being. We come to see." This was the first attempt at speaking without a translator for the creatures.
In spite of everyone having been briefed on the decorum required by the aliens, some reporters decided to start asking questions. Before they could start a young girl approached the group and spoke in a loud, confident voice.
"Pardon me, only I am to speak." Turning to the green blobs, she said "We are so glad you have come to visit us, let me show you our world." With that statement, which she repeated in the alien's language, she lowered her head completely down and bounced on one foot three times. The aliens nodded approval in the human manner and followed the young girl outside. Many people had applied, but few qualified. It seemed that the skill of manners appeared to be important despite the fact that they those skills were so old and rarely practiced today. As bizarre as the alien rules were, they were simple to follow, and as simple to interpret as ours. It was fortunate the skills had not died out.
