Of Men and Spiders

As the She gathered, Dotty considered all that She'd learned and gained from her time with the humans. Not the least of which was her new "Name," a gift the humans had given her that would always stay with her as a part of her She. Names were a funny thing, yet a rather clever way to overcome some of the shortcomings of humanity's vibration-based communication style. Something that humans wouldn't have had any choice of altering during their early evolutionary stages. In many ways, that summed up almost everything She'd learned about humans.

As the gathered She finally settled in, the first She sent a simple yet warm feeling of welcome to her daughters and her daughters' daughters, and thus, the gathering began.

Dotty touched on all the minds present. "Fellow She, we have gathered to share our time with the humans and all that we've learned so that we may decide how to interact with them, both as individuals and as a species going forward."

On the whole, She was met with feelings of curiosity, though there was some boredom and annoyance. A few minds that had attended the first meeting with Charlotte seemed absent. They probably thought the result of the meeting was already a foregone conclusion.

Dotty thought the conclusion was far from foregone, but that was the price of impatience. You couldn't add your mind to the result and would have to abide by the decision of those who remained.

Having spoken the most to the humans, by virtue of her time speaking with Alice and Cleo, Dotty had been chosen as the primary spokesperson. Acknowledging the various thoughts and feelings directed her way, Dotty continued. "The humans are a strange and confusing race, bound by far more limitations than us She. Their lives are limited to a single appendage, finite, and Short. They possess no genetic memory. They are limited by their primary form of communication, which is the vibrating of molecules between one another. Yet despite all this, they have grown to become the second species, after ourselves, to master space travel. Like us, they have spread star to star, planet to planet; however, unlike us, who evolve and develop ourselves to survive on the worlds we find, they look without, as they do with so many things, and adapt the planets to their needs. An immense undertaking which I freely admit I do not have a proper understanding of how they are able to do so."

This sent a series of fluctuations throughout the crowd as snippets of thoughts and questions flooded Dotty. "If they live such short lives, how can they learn anything worth knowing?" "Do they all feel the loss of each human the way we feel at the loss of a She? If so, how can they function with so much death happening all the time?" "How can they progress when every human takes all their knowledge with them upon death, other than that which they can vibrate to the nearest humans? Do they spend all their time vibrating their collective knowledge to each other to sustain their knowledge?"

Dotty sent a calming feeling out, letting the group know she would be explaining many of these things, though many more remain a mystery to her even now.

-

Scott felt nervous. He'd made so many mistakes and let himself be guided off on so many tangents by the ever-curious Aliens. He'd probably been a miserable failure of a representative of humanity. Hell, he'd even let Charlotte kill one of them! Admittedly, she had literally asked for it, and it didn't really kill her any more than pricking a finger would kill him, but he admitted the sight of the corpse had stuck in his mind and was difficult to forget. Not that Scott was particularly superstitious, but a part of him wondered if it foreshadowed future events.

It was also weird to think that Charlotte was in attendance there as well as here beside him. It boggled the mind to realize how many ways she could split her attention, but then again, that was literally a hallmark of her species; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to function with thousands of bodies, all simultaneously performing different tasks. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on as he turned to her. "What are they talking about now?"

Charlotte looked at Scott as if he'd just asked how pleasant the weather was today. "They are discussing how humans cope with death and the nature of human reproduction."

That stumped Scott for a moment. How the hell did those two subjects relate? How'd it come up? Then he realized something else that confused him even more. "Wait, how do they know about human reproduction? We didn't discuss that at all!"

Charlotte tilted her head in acknowledgment of his words as she answered. "I told them all about it."

That didn't clear anything up! "How do you know about it? I've never really spoken to you about it either!"

Although Charlotte's face and tone were as emotionless as ever, Scott could swear he detected a hint of amusement when she spoke. "Your mother explained it all to me while we were traveling together. She is quite informed on the subject."

A part of Scott died inside at those words. "How did that even come up? How did she... No. You know what? I don't want to know. I really don't want to know. This is one of those times where ignorance is probably bliss..."

Charlotte merely nodded. "As you prefer."

-

After explaining the finer details of how humans consume toxins as a pastime, Dotty concluded her lengthy explanation of humanity. "And that concludes the majority of the pertinent information we've gathered in our time with the humans."

There was a murmur of thoughts that went back and forth, an appreciation of her time and efforts, more confusion, a little unsettlement, and some excitement as regardless of how things turned out, this was one of the more noteworthy events in the She's considerable history.

Finally, one of the older She's capable of more complex thoughts addressed the six who had met with the humans. "And what are each of your thoughts regarding how we should proceed with the humans?"

Now, that was a complex question that definitely deserved some consideration. Thankfully, Dotty had considered it since they'd begun speaking with the humans. While the six of them wouldn't necessarily determine what would happen. The She as a whole would all have a voice, but She knew their six minds would hold great sway, so She hoped at least the majority would agree with her assessment.

The six named She silently agreed on the order they would speak, starting with Dotty. "I believe that humans have many more secrets and tricks from which we have much to learn. I propose we establish communications with their species in their entirety and dedicate several She primarily for interactions with their species so they might learn, evolve, and bring the knowledge they gain back to all of us."

Hopper was next. "The humans are quite clever and have countless tricks with which they've overcome difficulties we have no comprehension. I agree with the She Dotty. We should seek to establish ties with the humans."

Then, it was Digger's turn to speak. "Humans are indeed very clever and friendly but also dangerous. They've already expressed an innate primal fear of our appearance and nature, and if humanity as a whole reacted as most animals do when confronted with something they fear, they could pose the kind of danger to us as a whole the likes of which we haven't faced since we escaped the confines of our origin world. We should avoid them for now, going so far as to pull our territory away from theirs until we learn more."

One dissenting mind wasn't bad, but Dotty hoped Goldie would be more amicable. She had seemed to enjoy speaking with Scott after all. As it was the golden-hued She's turn, Dotty wouldn't have to wait long. "The humans are fascinating, and I suspect I would speak with them for an extended time without tiring. However, the She named Digger is correct in that they pose a significant danger to us in our entirety. We should avoid full contact, speaking with only a few humans, such as the ones Charlotte has introduced to us thus far. The humans Scott and Cleo could even form a mating pair, as Dotty described, meaning with a bit of genetic stabilization, we could have humans to speak with and learn from for many of their generations to come."

At this point, it seemed like the best Dotty could hope for was an even split, which made her somewhat sad. However, with the future of their entire species being held in balance, She would abide by the decision of the gathered She.

Dotty knew Charlotte wouldn't be particularly pleased with the idea of her little humans being subjected to the council's whims, but so long as the safety and prosperity of her humans were guaranteed, She probably wouldn't fight them on it either.

Now the She the humans had named Goliath, the second oldest of the six, spoke. "The humans are very small in life and mind but very clever. They are dangerous but hold great potential. Both communication and avoidance are viable strategies for dealing with them. I remain undecided."

That left two for and two against, and the only remaining She was Fizz. Given her continual belligerent and combative approach to Scott, Dotty feared she knew what conclusion the oldest of the six would take.

As usual, Fizz's mind felt slightly sour and pessimistic as she addressed the gathering. "I wish to be clear. Humans are weak, small-minded, short-lived, ununified, belligerent, and dangerous. If we are so foolish as to choose to interact with them, they might very well threaten the very survival of each and every She in the galaxy. However, choosing to ignore them could be equally as dangerous!"

Dotty had no idea where Fizz was going with this. At worst, if she proposed they go to war with the humans, she was unlikely to sway enough minds on her own. Perhaps the She just wanted to be provocative?

Fizz continued, "This gathering may be content to think of ourselves as the supreme power in this galaxy, the lone spark of intelligence in the cold, dark spaces between stars, but the mere presence of humanity proves otherwise. To use the human's words, if it can happen twice, it will happen again. It is now almost certain that more spacefaring species exist in this galaxy. We need to learn more. We need to evolve faster. We need to grow stronger. If humans go to war with us, we will either adapt and become stronger, or we won't be strong enough to survive whatever else is out there and merely end up where we were predestined to a little more quickly. If humans choose to work with us, we can learn from all the ways they overcome their many, many deficiencies, and in learning, we too can grow strong and overcome deficiencies we are not aware of. Either way, the most foolish thing I think we can do is to ignore and avoid this chance we have to learn and grow. Either we will adapt to deal with the humans, one way or another, or we will die. That is the way it has always been and the way it will always be. My mind is in agreement with the She, Dotty."

Dotty was more than a little surprised to not only receive support from Fizz but for it to also be such a strong and impassioned opinion. Even now, She could feel the vast majority of the She was in agreement with herself and Fizz.

Still, Dotty wondered if it was encouraging or foreboding that the last bit Fizz projected so closely mirrored the human Cleo's words. Adapt or die. She supposed only time would reveal the truth.