Free Web NovelChapter 257: Communication
"Hey buddy, it’s me!"
Sergeant Will called out softly as he crouched down, attempting to communicate with the group of short lizardmen.
But these reptilian natives seemed to be from an entirely different hunting party, and they clearly weren’t buying his friendly act. They watched Will with intense caution.
The moment they saw him crouch, they were completely terrified!
When wild predators prepare to strike, they usually bend their legs to gather power. To the natives, this towering metal giant... was winding up for a lethal pounce!
In the blink of an eye, a volley of wooden spears came flying toward him!
At the same time, the lizardmen scrambled backward, adopting hyper-defensive postures and shrieking incoherently.
Before Will could even react, the wooden spears struck his powered armor, producing a series of harmless clangs without leaving a single scratch.
The pack took a few more steps back, emitting sharp, warning hisses.
The lead native looked incredibly anxious. These bizarre metal giants seemed even more terrifying than the giant subterranean sandworms, and given the sheer numerical disadvantage, the pack was completely outmatched.
But they didn’t run away; their village was right behind them. They had their backs against the wall!
After a tense standoff lasting a minute or two, another pack of lizardmen arrived, looking ready for a fight. But the moment they saw Sergeant Will and his squad, they stopped dead in their tracks, then began jumping up and down in pure joy.
The chieftain of this new group glanced at the scattered wooden spears on the ground and immediately grasped what had happened. He began to haughtily berate the first group, his clicks and hisses sharp and commanding.
The first pack seemed to understand. Absolute panic washed over their reptilian faces, their eyes bulging like startled toads. They immediately dropped to the dirt, rolling onto their backs and exposing their bellies. They covered their heads with their claws while letting out terrified whimpers of submission.
"What’s going on? Can you make out what they’re saying?" Captain Jason watched the display with deep interest, turning to the xeno-linguists for a translation.
"It seems to be something along the lines of... offending the Messengers of the Gods, a crime punishable by death... Their vocalizations are incredibly fast, mixed with a lot of undocumented dialect, making it hard to translate perfectly," one of the Senior Scientists said hesitantly.
These experts had spent the past month analyzing the native language, but their baseline matrix was built entirely on limited video footage. There were too many gaps in the data for them to be completely fluent.
A sharp-eyed Marine suddenly spotted the chieftain standing behind the pack and whispered urgently, "It’s him! It’s the chieftain we met last time!"
Jason’s eyes lit up. Now he could see it clearly: resting against the chieftain’s chest were the three rusted metal nuts!
The native was still clutching the smartphone the Marines had given him, though after a month of heavy use, the battery was likely completely dead.
Several team members pointed excitedly at the chieftain the moment they spotted the hardware.
Jason forcibly suppressed his surging adrenaline and turned to the lead linguist. "Alright, open negotiations... Uh, just tell them the Gods have brought them gifts, and we don’t want anyone to die! Also, make absolutely sure to find out exactly where they scavenged those three nuts!"
He wasn’t playing the "god" card out of arrogance, but out of pure tactical efficiency.
For a civilization still stuck in the Stone Age, trying to conduct formal, modern diplomacy was impossible. Posing as divine entities was infinitely simpler and far more effective!
These lizardmen could never comprehend Federation science, logic, or the concept of "extraterrestrial visitors." Therefore, it was far easier to just attribute everything to divine will.
In short, they would take the path of least resistance; this psychological angle had been pre-approved by the council before the expedition even launched.
A massive disparity in technological power naturally created an unequal dynamic between the two species. For humanity, acting in its own best strategic interest was simply the most logical move.
Several software technicians and linguists nodded eagerly and stepped forward to initiate contact...
The past few days had been the busiest week in The Ark’s entire history! Even the initial planetary landfall hadn’t generated this much public frenzy.
Humanity had encountered a genuine indigenous civilization, and their leader, Captain Jason, was personally spearheading the first-contact mission.
Whether they were scientists, engineers, or civilian staff, everyone was obsessively discussing the discovery...
What benefits could an indigenous civilization offer humanity?
Since the general consensus was that these natives were vastly technologically inferior, the public’s initial fears had rapidly evaporated, replaced by burning curiosity and excitement...
The citizens’ reactions mirrored Jason’s exact thought process!
"Should we conquer and enslave them? No way, that’s too barbaric. Besides, they wouldn’t even be as efficient as automated mining drones..."
"We could use them for biological trials! Maybe we’ll unlock a deeper understanding of neural development and cognitive evolution..." one enthusiastic biologist suggested on a public forum.
"Absolutely not! That is a gross violation of ethics! These lizardmen are sentient beings; you can’t treat them like lab rats!" an animal rights activist immediately fired back.
Debates about the "reptilian natives" dominated every corner of the colony, from the mess halls to the engineering bays.
The Federation’s Department of Public Relations even published a special digital broadcast detailing the newly discovered species.
In an era where entertainment was scarce, this news was the ultimate spectacle. Even Calvin, the notorious hacker currently serving time in the detention block, had his inmates working overtime coding predictive models on the lizardmen’s social structure...
Of course, the classified details regarding the "three metal nuts" had not been leaked to the public. High Command kept uncertain variables strictly under wraps.
"Peter, I really want a lizardman as a pet! Look at their big eyes, they’re so clever. And look at their little claws, they’re adorable..."
Psychiatrist Chloe leaned affectionately against Peter’s shoulder like a small bird while watching the news broadcast in their quarters. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Hearing this, Peter—the current host of the alien memory parasite known as "Black"—felt a cold shiver run down his spine, goosebumps erupting across his skin.
The creature looked like a bipedal crocodile. It had elongated limbs, walked completely upright, and was covered in thick, hardened scales. It looked like a practical-effects monster from a vintage horror movie!
How on earth was that cute?
It had absolutely zero connection to the concept of cuteness!
He seriously suspected his girlfriend had a warped aesthetic sense, but he knew better than to say that out loud. Forcing a smile, he replied, "Chloe, they’re a sentient species, we definitely can’t keep them as pets. Besides, their immune systems probably aren’t compatible with our microbial environment..."
"Oh... I guess you’re right."
After finally managing to coax Chloe away from the idea, Peter fell into deep thought. The past three years had truly been transformative...
Not just for the Federation, but for Peter personally. He had achieved several major life milestones!
First and foremost, he had successfully won the heart of Chloe, the beautiful psychologist he had been pining over.
However, reality wasn’t quite the fairy tale he had envisioned. Chloe wasn’t like other women; she had zero interest in fluffy, cute things like kittens or rabbits. Instead, she had a bizarre fascination with strange, cold-blooded creatures like snakes, spiders, and now, reptilian lizardmen...
Well, that bizarre quirk was probably the only reason a gorgeous, highly educated woman like her had remained single long enough for an average guy like Peter to sweep in!
As long as he could tolerate her weird hobbies, Chloe was actually an incredible partner...
They were already discussing marriage. Peter was ready to start a family and finally say goodbye to the bachelor life.
Secondly, perhaps as a side effect of the alien memory parasite "Black," Peter felt his cognitive abilities had genuinely improved.
Over the past three years, he had ground out his studies, dragging his three down-on-their-luck buddies along with him. He had absorbed a massive amount of knowledge, finally elevating his intellect to the "average baseline" of a Federation citizen.
It hadn’t been easy. For an ordinary guy with average aptitude, it was a monumental achievement. He didn’t want to expose his previous lack of education, especially in front of his brilliant girlfriend.
He was genuinely moved by his own hard work...
Thirdly, his internal relationship with the "darkness" residing in his mind had significantly thawed. It was nowhere near as tense and hostile as it used to be.
It was as if the two consciousnesses had grown accustomed to sharing the same biological vessel, gradually forming an unspoken truce.
Thinking of this, Peter suddenly called out in his mind: Black! Hey, Black, wake up! Come look at these newly discovered lizardmen! We found intelligent life!
