The Earth Conundrum: Book 1 of the Alliance Conflict Read Online Free PDF Page A

1:47 p.m. it has been confirmed that a Solarian woman, named Crista Cowbleat stabbed another Solarian. She was discussing the price of a blouse with the store clerk; then apparently got angry and stabbed him in the abdomen with a nail file. One eyewitness said he was bleeding profusely – almost three drops every second. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors were able to close the wound. The man is expected to make a full recovery. Researchers say this is the first incident of Solarian violence in 200 years.”
    The broadcast then switched to a psychologist who gave his ‘expert’ opinion on the matter. “It was the humans,” he declared. “Well, not actual humans,” he clarified. “This girl and the other Solarians who watch too much human television shows are in danger of emulating their actions. The humans are violent, aggressive, and un-cultured. They think nothing of harming themselves and each other. Just because they look eerily similar to us doesn’t mean we should be fascinated by them. If people continue to watch these shows, then we will experience more incidents like the one that just happened. We need to ban all human television shows and firmly enforce it.”
    The program went back and forth, with another expert claiming it wasn’t the humans; it was the stress of the conflict with the Hiriculans. Yet another expert was professing that it was none of those, that this particular girl was simply defective in the head. No one could agree what to do with her. Rehabilitate her? Imprison her? Give her a reality TV show?
    Victor mentally replayed the broadcast in his mind. He carefully thought through each point and counter point. The Hiriculans, no – he didn’t think they could ever invade. The humans, no – though he had to admit though that a few aspects of human culture (i.e. wedding rings, mini-skirts, lipstick) had been recently copied by Solarian females. Violence was something entirely different though. He doubted that watching human videos could lead Solarians to violence.
    Finally, he decided which expert he believed. She must be crazy. Suddenly, a human song popped into his head and he slightly adjusted the words to, “You may be right, she may be crazy, oh, but it just may be a lunatic I’m looking for.” (Billy Joel, “You May be Right”, Glass Houses. 1980.)
    Victor smiled at the thought and looked back over his shoulder at his bag. It was a small, black bag, indistinguishable from any other. He briefly wanted to open it and look inside, but he restrained himself. Victor had just returned from Earth and he had 200+ hours of human television shows hidden inside it. The good stuff, he thought to himself.
    It was technically legal to distribute human videos, but the process was highly regulated. All incoming videos had to be checked by a broadcast review board. If the board approved the show, it could then be broadcast. There was a late-night television channel that showed approved videos. Victor’s bag also contained about 300+ hours of videos that he believed should get approved. The mandatory stuff, he thought.
    A significant black market had arisen for non-approved shows. It was legal to sell, own, and watch them, but it was illegal to import and broadcast them. If Victor was caught, the shows would be confiscated and he would be under tremendous scrutiny from then on. In addition to restrictions on the content of shows, there was also a restriction on the amount of hours that could be imported. Victor could easily have collected a 1,000 hours of programming, but only 200 hours or so would be approved.
    Victor was one of the very few beings that regularly visited Earth. He was in charge of monitoring the humans and reporting back to the Alliance Senate on human activities. The job involved long hours of sitting in his ship, monitoring communications, and writing reports. After the ‘incident’ roughly 60 years previously when an Altian craft crashed on the planet, the Alliance