Aliens land on a medieval planet. They’re figuring their tech advantage makes them immune to these primitives. They are mistaken. By hook or crook, the group of warriors who take them down are victorious without losing any of their own number. Of the aliens, four remain, the only civilians in the landing party. Captured because they would not fight. It so happens that these alien civilians are quad-linked. Technobabble to taste. Basically when one of them dies, their essence (whatever that means) will be transferred equally to the remaining members of the quad-link, increasing their knowledge and wisdom, a process which makes some kind of humming noise and vibrating, and glowing of the persons receiving the essences. It doesn’t matter exactly how it manifests. For the story to work, it has to be noticeable to the casual observer, and ambiguously threatening.
So the warriors and the aliens can communicate, because of some tech the aliens have got, but it’s not perfect communication. In other words, talking isn’t going to be easy. You see where this is going. No, but so the warriors are “interrogating” the aliens, and one of the aliens dies. The quad-link transfer begins, and the remaining aliens all glow green or whatever it is you’ve decided to happen. This freaks the fuck out of the warriors, who hack the aliens to pieces immediately. So now there’s all this quad-link energy floating around looking for hosts, and of course it settles on the warriors. Who all become super wise and smart and ethical. Realizing what they’ve done, they suffer a great anguish of remorse for killing the landing party of the aliens. And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there are more of these aliens somewhere, and it seems likely that sooner or later, some of them will come looking for the ones who are dead, and then what? The warriors only won by a fluke; the aliens were absurdly careless and overconfident.
With the essences of the quad in their minds, the warriors realize the kinds of capabilities these aliens are going to have. So the warriors make a pact: that they will use their gifts to intercept these aliens and shield the rest of humanity from their influence while they work out a peaceful agreement concerning the aliens the warriors killed and the people living on planet. Basically, they’ll act as emissaries when and if the time comes that these aliens return. In the meantime, they will lead the people and prepare them for what may be coming.
The answer to my next question will tell you something about the person answering. I’m not sure what exactly, or the significance, but it’s definitely something. Anyway, the question: Does the plan of the enlightened warriors go well? Does it go hilariously awry? Or does it go really, really badly?
Ethan Abides 