âWe wonât eat you,â I shrugged. âMost of us would find the idea of eating a sapient being repulsive - it would be like eating another human.â
The gathering murmured. The herbivores were big, to be honest. A lot of them were easily elephant-sized, with a few even bigger. It had been jarring, at first, being one of the smallest known species. I guess weâd always expected âlittle green menâ, small aliens with big eyes, looking a lot like us.
But no, they were big. Intimidatingly so. And weâd just told them not to be afraid of us. I looked over to some of my team, a few of whom wore expressions like theyâd just realised it. Some of the aliens, too, were giving us a fresh appraisal. Instead of wide and fearful eyes, they were now narrowed in thought.
One of them leant against the wall, arms crossed. There was something buffalo-like about him, with a set of horns curving out of his head, and a rather bovine nose. A little like a minotaur, really. The Tellors had a problem with water shortages, weâd heard. Another, someone reptilian with nictating membranes and a nervous, flicking tongue whispered to her cohorts, her eyes darting between us all. The Fiarans were apparently running out of arable land.
I let my mouth pull up at the corners.
Now, thereâs a funny thing about most beings, sapient or otherwise. Showing off your teeth is a general sign for âlook what I have and might very well useâ. Humans have always been weird about that, so itâs been normally something all of us in the diplomatic sector have to worry about when smiling.
I cleared my throat, and the Council turned back to me.
âWe want to be friends, really,â and the tone of my voice caused my team to spin around and stare at me. âAnd we have high hopes for what we could achieve together in an alliance.â
I paused, making eye contact with the Tellor and Fiaran especially.
âWe wonât eat you,â I said. âBut we didnât eat our predators, either.â
The crowd began to mutter again. The Tellor snorted, making his way to the front.
âI have studied humans - you are the apex predators of your planet. Please explain.â
I looked up at him. âOh yes, we are now.â
He tilted his head, and then took a step back as the meaning hit him. Or at least the meaning I meant to give - I wasnât exactly about to spew lion attack statistics or explain the concept of zoos to him.
âWe do want to be friends.â I said.