Our people have believed in the Mating of the Sun and the Moon for as long as anyone person remembers. It is the basis for all our rituals, festivals, and gatherings. Was it not righteous to celebrate these things as in the ways of our ancestors? Was it not righteous to expect the fury of both the gods and the people if others tried to deny these truths?

But that is exactly what these strange new beings did. They challenged these truths that were always known.  They descended out of the sky one day, claiming to come from the unholy stars themselves. They made a number of false claims, speaking with strange yet easily understood sounds. They claimed that the earth was larger than the moon! They said that the earth rotated around the sun!

This was the highest order of blasphemy and they should be sent away. They should be punished, lest the fury of the gods descend upon us all. Was that not the way of our people?

Aiesha rocked back on her heels as she continued to stare out into the desert area where she knew the alien beings had set up camp. She glanced back quickly to where her tribesmen continued their meeting and wondered how the adults of her clan would handle this intrusion.

Who was she to question the wisdom of ages? She was just a child of a common household. She was neither god-touched nor remarkable in anyway. Yet still, the aliens intrigued her.

She felt compelled to sit upon the great hill overlooking the desert to watch them. She listened attentively to whispers and conversations common people made about the aliens. She volunteered to serve the elders as often as she could to learn of any progress in their decisions regarding the aliens and her efforts were rewarded. The elders spoke freely in front of her. After all, she was merely a child and children did not understand adult conversation.

Aiesha, however, understood much more then they could have ever imagined. She understood that there was great dissension among the elders and that this exact situation had occurred before in the past. The elders had gone through a great deal of trouble to hide this from the commons. Still, the truth had somehow leaked out. Many of the elders were still cautious when speaking of the past experience, using code words like “our ungracious friends” whenever Aiesha came close. Still, their discussions were fairly simple to follow. The question was simply should they drive the intruders off or befriend them?

Aiesha understood a lot about the aliens as well. They appeared to be explorers. Much like the scouts her clan sent out every spring to see how the game survived the freeze. They took samples and they counted things. They had instruments that measured and weighed items. Their expressions were gentle and sometimes excited. Overall, they seemed pleasant and Aiesha secretly longed to meet them.