G3.01: Repair Protocol
James slept uneasily, feeling as though she was constantly being watched. Occasionally she would wake, catching a brief glimpse of cloudy white rooms and hearing muttering voices. Everything hurt—one of her back legs so badly that she was certain it was broken. It was so much easier just to sleep.
You have a mission, she could almost hear her old self saying, in that mature, deep voice. The voice of an astronaut who had trained his entire life to be an explorer, who had mastered the principles of linguistics in the distant hope that they might one day help humanity contact a species similar enough that they could have a meaningful relationship. You can’t hide forever.
I’m not hiding, James told herself. I’m just resting. Give me a few more hours.
No more, her old self argued. Someone just came in. You’re going to get up right now. You’re going to be a linguist. You’re going to learn their language.
Who was she to argue? James sat up. Her neck and back ached terribly as she did so, and the bleariness of sleep vanished from her perception only with the force of all her will.
The first thing she noticed was that the bed, the room, and many of the objects within it seemed reluctant to solidify. At first she thought she might’ve damaged her eyes, but then she saw the alien across the room, and realized her vision was fine. It was as though the walls, the floor, the bed, had all been made from something gassy and indistinct. Like clouds.
The alien across the room advanced a few nervous steps, giving James her first clear look. She was nearly a head taller than James, without clothing except for a sash over her shoulder. Her coat was the light teal of watered-down antifreeze, her mane like streaks of lightning in different shades of yellow. Her voice was harsh, worried, nervous.
I recognize her emotions. I can tell what she’s feeling! Well, she thought she did. James had to remind herself to be objective. For all she knew, this might be a show of anger at territorial encroachment.
“I can’t…” she responded, knowing the alien wouldn’t be able to understand. “I can’t understand you.”
"Kiu lingvo estas tio, ĉevalidino? Ĉu vi ne parolas la ĉevalan?"
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. Then she realized she was naked.
James rolled backward off the bed, blushing fiercely and jamming her back legs closed as firmly as she could. She cowered behind the bed, searching the room for her XE-201 or any of the gear it had contained. She had a few bandages on her body, some of which clung to her with a wet, slightly gooey feeling. Other than that, there was nothing. Her tiny body smelled faintly of soap and her hair and tail had been brushed, but that was it. “Do you know what happened to my stuff?”
Every time she spoke, the alien only seemed to grow more confused. No more comprehending than James herself. Her sudden state of fear dismissed any of the mental notes she had been taking about the alien language.
“Trankviliĝu, ĉevalidino. Vi estas en neniu stato por esti tiel aganta. Tie… simple malstreĉiĝu. Ĉu vi fartas bone?” The adult walked over to her with no regard for how fearful and embarrassed James felt. Yet there was nowhere else to back away.
She felt one of the alien’s soft wings wrap around her, pulling her close. She felt warmth enveloping her, and the heartbeat through the alien’s chest. More rapid than any human heartbeat, but also regular and calm. The gesture did not last very long, and the adult seemed to stiffen as she did it, as though afraid James might attack.
James took several deep breaths, and found she started to relax. Her back arched, instinct sending shivers down her spine. Her chest stopped pounding.
Again the alien spoke, this time her words coming slow and deliberate. "Bonvolu paroli tiel. Mi ne komprenas vin." Speaking more slowly did not make her words easier to understand.
“I… I don’t…”
The alien let go, retreating again and staring at her.
James wanted to do more. Her visitor tried talking to her several more times, growing more frustrated each time she opened her mouth.
James found her ability to concentrate on her task decreasing. Whenever she opened her mouth to talk, her tongue felt dry and her wings covered up most of her face. I lied to the computer when I said I could do my job. I don’t stand a fucking chance.
After a few more tries the alien eventually left, practically gliding over to the door and snapping it closed with a flurry of feathers.
James did not follow. In part because of how awestruck she was—the first human to ever attempt communication with an alien race, the first to discover any species that seemed similar enough that communication might even be possible. But she didn’t have her computer to make recordings, didn’t even have a few sheets of paper to keep notes. Not that it would matter. I don’t have the dexterity to write much anyway.
Dr. Irwin slumped onto the ground, splayed her wings out around her, and started to cry.
She wasn’t sure how long she lay there, helpless and unmoving, but eventually she’d had her fill of tears. Getting the pain out did make her feel a little better about her situation. Half a century of training came back to her, as ground into her memory as the patterns of her mind had been into the probe’s holographic neuroimprint medium.
Step one, assess your situation. James sat up, wiping away tears with the edge of one feathery wing, and looked around the room.
It didn’t look much like a prison. Though small, the quarters seemed quite comfortable. The ground—whatever it was—felt far nicer on her body than any shag carpet. She was standing on damp pillows. A faint light came through the floor below her, providing the room’s only illumination. It was bright enough to easily see without hurting her eyes.
The room was about ten meters long and half that distance across. It had her bed in one corner along with a nightstand, then a table and a single chair on the other side. The walls were bright and friendly, and it was at that moment she noticed the pattern on them.
Some words ran around the top of the room, she could recognize that even at a glance. Were they an alphabet? The symbols were quite large and seemed to repeat more often than a language like Chinese would’ve done, suggesting it might be an alphabet. It might also just be for decoration.
Someone had painted what looked like a fanciful city in the clouds, with dozens of smiling aliens with wings all frolicking around. Near her bed the colors gradually bled into darker blues and grays, and a massive alien spread her dark blue wings right above where she would be resting her head to sleep.
The room contained no loose objects of any kind. No phone by the bedside, no lamp, no glass of water. No medical equipment, not even a pad of paper and a pen.
The only other feature of the room was a single pane of glass located directly away from her, just beside the door. It was mirrored so intensely she couldn’t see through it. One way window. She was impressed with the ingenuity. Far more than painting a piece of childish art, understanding the principles of chemistry and optics enough to create an observational window spoke volumes to this society’s level of sophistication.
2. Corroborate Observations
James began to pace about the hospital room, her face scrunched in concentration. So what did she know?
She knew these aliens were intelligent and possessed a language. Any personal doubt she might’ve held from just satellite pictures and shapes that looked like buildings was now dismissed.
They appeared to have a mastery of some technologies. Advanced construction, glass-making, optics. Glass meant the ability to make accurate observations of the universe. It meant telescopes, microscopes, beakers. It meant being able to study the natural world and draw conclusions.
Lastly, they appeared to have a familiar emotional range. The pony who had rescued James had stayed to make sure she was okay. She had expressed compassion when James was unable to cope with her situation. She had also later expressed frustration when communication failed.
3. Draw Conclusions
James could feel comfortable using some human behaviors as a projection of the actions of these aliens. They had somehow managed to find and rescue her even when she’d been lost in a flood many kilometers from what she thought was their nearest city. They had taken care of her, administered competent medical help.
They would be coming back. James was not in prison but in a hospital. What would I do if I found a kid lost in the wilderness who didn’t speak any language I knew?
I’d look for their parents and call the police.
She relaxed then, sitting down on her haunches and resting her back on the cot behind her. The aliens may very well have done exactly what she needed from them. The authorities would be the people she wanted anyway.
4. Determine Action
James had been well cared-for during her time while helpless. She was locked into close proximity with the aliens, and she could use the time to start on a translation of their language. Of course, that might take years. Her mission’s failure conditions included a two-year limit, after which some number of less-skilled linguists would be instanced to attempt her job. Unless I die first.
Would it take that long? She didn’t know. It would take far less if she could get the computation surface back. Having accurate recordings of everything the aliens said would go a long way towards understanding it. She would find a way to ask for her computer when next the orderlies returned. For the moment she would relax, try to puzzle out the writing on the mural, and hope whatever amounted to alien authorities would be cooperative.
* * *
“Well? How was she?” The question came from one of the nurses, dressed in white and red and loitering near the observation window.
Lightning Dust resisted lashing out at the nurse, though not easily. Stormshire General had only one floor, and half the ponies on it would likely hear her if she did. She stopped, took a deep breath, and shook her head. “You saw,” Lightning Dust answered, shrugging one wing. Then she hesitated, glancing back through the glass. She couldn’t see the pony anymore—she must be on the ground near the window. “She… Didn’t she have a broken leg when I brought her in? She hopped right out of bed like it was nothing.”
She smiled a little as she thought about it. Even if she hadn’t been able to understand a word the filly had said, Lightning Dust could at least appreciate her spirit.
“Yes, she did. Miss Mystery has had quite the miraculous healing since she got here. I suppose that makes everything else we’ve learned about her that much more surprising.” The nurse turned away from her room. “Did we show you the X-rays?”
“No,” Lightning Dust admitted. “I won’t know what I was looking at anyway, Healing Touch. Might as well just explain it.”
“Well, by the time we’d made the arrangements for a unicorn doctor to make it all the way out here, we knew the healing would have already begun. Apparently the bone wasn’t even broken anymore.”
“Tough kid.” Dust glanced away, back through the window. She still couldn’t see the filly, though she thought she could hear something through the wall. Was that crying?
“Yes, yes. Though… that wasn’t all we found. I’m frankly a little disturbed, Miss Dust. Something awful happened to that little pony.” The nurse seemed to be watching her expression because she raised a wing soothingly. “Nothing you did, Dust! Not even her leg. It’s just…”Sshe lowered her voice. “Well, I shouldn’t be saying this to you, anyway. Only the pony’s parents, except given the information…”
“Say it,” Dust said, matching the nurse’s volume. “You know how much I care about the ponies I bring in here.”
“Well, there are ways to tell from a pony’s X-ray if they’ve been hurt before. This little filly’s been hurt an awful lot. You should’ve heard Dr. Penumbra talking about her… apparently, she’s as much scar tissue as muscle. If it weren’t for as fast as she heals, she might not even be on her hooves. If we had the resources of the big Canterlot hospitals, we’d probably have her on immobility, maybe work her through traction therapy. But we just don’t have the budget for any of that. Or… any unicorns on staff.” She sighed. “I’m sorry to make you worry about this, Dust. You’ve already done your part just by getting the little pony here. Anyway… Did she tell you her parents’ names? Given what we’ve learned about, plenty of ponies here are very eager to find them.”
“No,” Lightning Dust responded. “She doesn’t… I don’t think she can speak Eoch.”
“What?” Nurse Healing Touch looked away from the window, eyes widening a little. “Are you sure? We deal with scared little fillies and colts all the time, Lightning Dust. Given the situation you described, it’s entirely reasonable for her to be suffering from significant psychological strain. If she was babbling, or you couldn’t make sense of what she said—”
“She wasn’t babbling,” Lightning Dust said, turning back to look into the window herself. “It’s another language, Healing Touch. It sounded… and this is just a guess… but I met a dragon once, and it sounded a little like that. I think she’s speaking Draconian.”
Healing Touch shook her head. “Baffling. I’m glad I’m not her doctor. We’ll have to bring in a psychologist for sure.” She straightened, then lifted a clipboard from where it hung on the door, proffering it to Lightning Dust.
Lightning Dust took it with one of her wings. “What’s this?”
“Release. Just jot down everything you remember about what just happened so I can pass it along to Dr. Penumbra.”
“Alright,” Lightning Dust said, walking over to the nearest chair to sit down and write. “You’ll contact me as soon as we learn anything? I’d like to help find her parents.” And see they get a little payback for abandoning a child alone in the wilderness.
“Sure,” Healing Touch promised. “Just sign at the bottom of your statement and check the box saying we can contact you. We’ll be in touch as soon as we find anything.”
“Good,” Lightning Dust scribbled quickly with the pencil tied to the board. She wasn’t very detailed—the nurse had been watching the whole time from just through the glass, after all. She made sure to print clearly, even though she knew Healing Touch would remember her.
Healing Touch took the clipboard, then waved with her other wing. “Good luck with your rescuing! We’ll take good care of the mysterious little filly in the meantime.”
Lighting Dust nodded absently, walking away down the hall. She passed many friendly faces—ponies who greeted her with a cheerful wave or at least a polite nod. Stormshire was too far away for gossip about her discharge from the Wonderbolts to make it—too far away for the distrust and stares that would follow.
She could only hope her history would remain secret long enough to discover what had happened to this mysterious pony. It would be a shame to move on and join another weather team in another city and never learn what the pony had been doing dressed in magical armor getting swept away in a flood.
I’ll write to Charcoal. Maybe he could fly out here to help with translation. Lightning Dust no longer trusted Equestria to get things done the way she once had. I’ll stop by after work every few days, just in case.
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Like it!
Starscribe, you are one of the best HiE / PoE authors on this site. This new story just helps solidify that.
Oh, Esperanto. I was getting concerned about why I could read Ponese with decades-old high school Spanish.
Well, at least this time we don't have to wait half of a novel to find out what the character's gender is! XD
Missing one n there
Starscribe... you are awesome
wow this is going to be a vary fun story to follow.
now we have a time frame to compare to also.
Stormshire was too far away for gossip about her discharge from the Wonderbolts to make it.
I am so happy to have found this story.
Most have ponies speaking ancient Greek.
8082015 Agreed. So many debates over Alex's gender.
Esperanto. Interesting choice. According to Google Translate (which could be way, WAY off, for all i know), all of that means "What language is this filly? Do not you know a horse?" may i suggest "Kiu lingvo estas tiu, ĉevalidinon? Ĉu vi ne scias rajda?"
Aaaaand that one means "Calm, filly. You are in no state to be so doing. There ... just relax, okay?" better phrasing might be "Ne maltrankviliĝu, ĉevalidino. Vi estas en neniu stato por esti faranta ion ajn. Tie ... nur malstreĉiĝi, ĉu bone?"
Irish for horse. Very clever.
orig05.deviantart.net/9488/f/2012/141/b/4/octavia_slow_clap_by_eniacc-d50n5a5.gif
A novel take on a first contact story. I'll be looking for more with great interest.
Can't say i am very good at other languages, outside of google translate, so it'll be a fun ride to see another perspective.
I was wondering about that! When she jumped out of bed I was expecting her to suddenly find what a terrible idea that was.
And... Draconian? If Lightning is actually correct, does that mean the ponies are going to be able to bring in a translator of their own, and James' years of studying aren't going to get used at all?
It occurs to me that the "G3.01" in the chapter titles probably refers to James. I wonder if "G3.02" is already in production now that the computer has lost contact?
Oh! These short chapters are such a tease. And unlike most other stories with short chapters, the pacing works quite well, so I can't even really complain.
I have high hopes for this. Especially sense the main character is it professional and should have no problem convincing Equestria that she's an actual alien. Which is a breath of fresh air after so many 'human in a foal's body' stories where the human is an idiot who can't convince anyone that they are actually not equine. I won't point any fingers, but those kind of fics get old.
Also, nice touch on the scar tissue aspect. I assume the body was constructed as is using 3D printing instead of growth from fetus to child, explaining the 'unatural' tissue growth the doctors noted. I only hope that the "abuse" assumption is cleared up quickly.
8081914
Thanks for this reply. It settles my red flag waving considerably. I was going to keep reading it for probably another chapter or two, but now I won't be doing so in an apprehensive manner. Which should make for considerably better mental atmosphere.
Carry on~!
Yeah, I saw it in the feature box without a notification of a new chapter and thought FimFiction had its notifications screwed up again. Then I saw I was up to date...
Ha, not only did the computer turn her into the wrong sex but a child too?
James, has got some crazy luck. Still alive though, so I'd put it in a win.
When you write something interesting and put in the effort to make it good? Expect nothing less.
Never heard of Esperanto though.
FUS RO DAH
8082102 I knew some words are familiar
I made a pony language once. It had a different alphabet, though, so it wouldn't really fit here on Fimfiction. Unless there is an "embed font" option.
And I didn't get super far with the vocabulary, either. Only about fifty word/concepts. I got a full set of rules for grammar, though.
Now I pretty much just use a modified version of the alphabet and English words as my "language."
Oh, this is already shaping up to be an absolutely wonderful story. I can't wait for the next update!
8082202 Yep, I had those red flags, too, but I have read stuff from Starscribe before, and I trust them to have good reasons.
In fact, the fact that those cliches are there makes me more interested to find out why.
8082015 What story are you referring to?
8082339 That would be Dovahzul. Totally different.
8082370 Last Pony on Earth
8082370 The Last Pony on Earth also by Starscribe. Link
I like how LD can be nice.
Dust's best bet would be to bring in other races and see if their languages would be a better starting point
8082371
Ik but both are dragon language anyways
who knows, we haven't heard James talked in Lightning's perspective before so
*clicks tongue*
Star, you're evil making us wait a whole week for another chapter. An evil, evil writer!
So, draconian huh? I wonder if hers is not the first probe to reach this world. Maybe, just maybe, another did some thousands of years ago, just printing dragons instead. Stone age dragons, and brought civilization to them. That trickled down to ponies.
It would explain doorknobs and winged teacups, at least
Just want to see how will she react to the things that exist here that did on earth. Like apples
You know you have me hooked on a story when the first thing I do on Saturday after waking up is to check for and read the update.
I'm hopeless.
8082368
First by Star for me to read, so I didn't know.
Don't you mean... ESPERANTO!!!
Is this angst? Ugh. I thought we were n for an adventure! I'll give it a few chapters to redeem it. I mena, i will read future updates on this story.
8082470
Different franchises, different dragons
true, i suppose.
8082481
It WAS going to update once a month, but I think the threat of hundreds of pies in the face made him change his mind. That or the several days its spent in the featured section... but Im going with the threat of pies.
Awwww, I was hoping for a custom constructed language! I actually had a similar idea where I went through and tried to construct an alien language for the ponies and would then have a linguist try to decipher it, but this is better executed than what I had anyway. Oh well, Esperanto it is, then.
I've read all Starscribes Stories, and they are all very good, if you like this I'd recommend the others while you wait for this to update
8082481
In the previous Trilogy the dragons abducted and mutated an ancient group of human visitors, creating the goblin race to serve them.
I wonder if there is a conexion.
This had better not turn out like James Cameron's Avatar; where the human forgets his mission and sides with the ponies. Please keep him/her human in mind, damn it...
8082805 Uh, you do realize the entire point of James' existance is to pave the way for diplimatic relations with the ponies, right? She was born for this. Literally. This isn't an invasion.
"more more more!" He chants to the tune of "Cider cider cider"
8082844 Well, yes. Which is still a far step from "kicking humanity off-planet and shutting down all communications or relations with them", which was kinda the ending of Avatar.
Remember, in Avatar, the humans didn't invade them either and tried diplomacy (hence the "Avatar", which is what the movie is called), and we all saw how that went for humanity.
Im wondering, if james is a linguist, wouldn't she know much more than English, and be trying to match up the words she knew even though it had no chance? It's the natural thing to do when faced with a language you dont recognise. Almost impossible not to. To reflect this, you may be able to use Esperanto as a base, but then mix in nonsensical words from other languages she 'recognises' (or more accurately, misrecognises).
Eventually, I suspect math may be the way to start communication. Dots in boxes, physical gestures, giving meaning to each species symbols is fairly universal no matter the culture, and could be used as a base to establish yes and no. 1 and 0, somthing and nothing.
Yes and no can then be used to gather feedback on language, with the absense of any other confirmed jestures.
At the same time, math can be used to gauge the ponies tech advancement, and tell them about you. Si units are based off universal constants for a reason.
8081998
I don't know about the best, but I do work very hard!
8082015
Yeah, I didn't want a repeat of that story. As much as I enjoy mysteries... It's never fun to tell the same story twice.
8082059
Fixed, thanks for pointing that out!
8082077
That would work, but my Greek is much worse than my Esperanto.
8082102
So are your suggestions made with google translate, or do you actually speak Esperanto? Because a machine translation is never going to sound as well as an (admittedly poor) manual one.
8082173
Yeah, I know exactly what frustration you're talking about. Which isn't to say things will be easy for James, but...
8082234
Yeah, it was pretty crazy. I've never seen anything like that before. It's been pretty awesome.
8082362
I considered making a new langauge for the story, but I realized if I did I'd spent an awful long time making a language and not that much time writing the story.
8082609
I promise it won't stay this way!
8082798
I can confirm no connection to any of my previous stories
8082805
I don't intend to retell a story that's already been told, I can say that. This isn't space pocahontas.
I saw someone's comment mention a kind of 3D printing could have been used to construct the bones in her body which would explain the scar tissue, though it could have just as easily been another method which the computer finished in a messed up manner? Excited to find out.
This is good. Very well written, as always.
I will remain anticipatory for the rest of my days!
8082983 Google Translate detected the language used as esperanto and translated it back into English. That's all. Same for the Irish word.
Hmm... That's a long time to wait...
Later...
Starscribe, you bucking legend!
Woohoo!
AWESOME chapter!!!
Very interested to know how this will turn out. Lol