CHAPTER 46

MOTIVE: CULTURAL VALUE

Here’s another fellow who made his fortune off the Earth. Not only did he not invade the place, he’d have a major issue with anyone who did.

I’m referring to Popis Feclius, Saurian impresario.

Pop does… I’m not really sure. He talks to people. They talk to him. Entertainment shows get made. He collects a large sum of money. He tried to explain it to me once, but it made no sense. So what is his interest in this planet?

The humans themselves.

How can they have value? Let’s back up a little bit.

Our cultures have all developed in our own little corners of the universe, each with our own little quirks. Some people find those differences entertaining. Pop discovered that the cultural differences on Earth are very entertaining.

Earthlings offer a fresh perspective to the galaxy. They haven’t been swamped by the mass market interstellar civilization. They aren’t bombarded daily by the giant media providers we have to put up with. When you look at a terrans’ home you see, big surprise, Earth products and brands. There are none of the big brands from the mega corporations with their chirpy sales mascots and their brain deadening jingles that make you want to run through the streets with a chain gun and -

Sorry. Sorry. Got a little off track. There is a reason why I kill people for a living.

Getting back to my point, Earth is spared all that. You go into a terran restaurant, and it’s not a Galaxo Shack. It’s something different from the monotonous galactic norm. And people would actually pay money to see something like that. And right now they are paying money to experience it. Paying it to Popis Feclius.

He has aliens disguised as humans moving around with recording devices, doing all the things that humans do. He’s even set up tour groups for disguised clients. It’s a super exotic excursion that fetches top credit. Yes, the Earth is a dangerous place for aliens, but that’s part of the attraction.

So another Earth success story. Again, this didn’t involve an invasion. And Pop is understandably going to be upset if you ruin his operations. He’s no warrior, but he is rich. He’d probably just hire Drac and have him kill your ass.