Brief Update: Hello all, it’s been a long time. I wanted to assure you that I do still exist and I am still writing and working on Notes from the Deathworld Earth and other projects. In fact, I’m almost done with draft two of Deathworld (a new job slowed me down a lot), and I am working on another sci-fi project I will let you know about before long. I just wanted to say thank you for sticking with me, and I appreciate all of you. This is a very very brief short fiction piece of me just exploring deathworlds as a concept more. I hope you enjoy.
“Professor Dro’shl Acharya, you are the one who went to the Earth and learned that the humans that live there are Deathworlders. What makes a deathworld species different from other sapient species?”
“That is an interesting question. What is your name?”
“Tions, Professor.”
“And you, Tions, are a member of the self-named species inques, which evolved on a cataloged planet, is that right?”
“Would you say your homeworld is a safe place to live, Tions?”
“No, Professor. It’s a dangerous place. There are storms and tidal floods and rapid temperature changes.”
“Yes, and what else?”
“Well… it’s not safe for species who can’t regulate their temperature. Or who aren’t insulated from the cold.”
“Can you eat the plants and animals raw?”
“Yes, but it tastes better to cook them.”
“Do the bugs bite or inject venom?”
“No. They aren’t dangerous.”
“Do you live in cities there?”
“No. We live in small settlements except around factories and manufacturing plants.”
“When you build your houses, how do you lay the foundation?”
“We use stones and dirt, Professor. What does this have to do with Deathworlders?”
“A modern human home is built on an artificial slab of stone several inches thick, reinforced with metal and wood to keep their dwellings separate from the ground.”
“Why do they do that?”
“Because on the human homeworld, they worry about more than decomposition: they worry about the earth poisoning them. That is what makes a Deathworlder different.”
“The ground will poison you on Earth?”
“No, but The plants and fungi that grow from it will chew through stone and wood, and they will make humans and other animals very sick. That is what makes a Deathworlder different.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Then let me put it plainly. There is a tendency to mythologize other species, especially the Deathworlders among us. We like to pretend that they are all combatants, that they could rip people from gentler worlds limb from limb, yes? They are not. Most humans, if you meet them, are scared or shy. They are not combatants, and they could not kill you, nor would they want to. But when you ask, ‘What makes a Deathworlder different from me?’ you are asking, ‘What makes a Deathworlder stronger than me?’ or, ‘better than me?’ or, ‘worse than me?’ You are asking for me to give you permission to make the Deathworlder into a monster or a god, not another person. Not a thinking being.”
“I—”
“I will not give you that permission. And you should feel ashamed of asking for it. But since you did ask, I will tell you. The thing that makes a Deathworlder different from other species is that they survive. Survivorship is built into their very beings. They evolved surrounded by so many dangers that it was impossible to account for all of them, so they simply survive in spite of them. a human with the right know-how can weather freezing temperatures, heat waves, and storms. They can suffer through venom and poison. They can lose limbs to injury or disease but go on. They can even survive without some of their internal organs. They will even maintain their hearts and spirits through these hardships. They will live after any other species would have died. That is why we call them Deathworlders.”
