A Sci-fi experiment

The Galactic Council was hosted on an arid planet dominated by an equitaorial desert. Only three cities marred the rolling dunes, and two were built at the border of the tropics and the polar region, the only place on the planet considered habitable for life.

The first of these cities was a small trading post and waystation. Ships needed to refuel, and the delegates needed to eat.

The second of these cities was a garrison of ships, a small private army manned by mercenaries whose sole duty was to protect the Galactic Council from incursion. It was considered an easy job, a quiet station. Who would want to attack the Galactic Council? Who would want to attack a planet like this?

The final city was the Galactic Council itself, a gorgeous metal citadel housed within a biodome at the planet's 0 latitudes and longitude. The city grew around the Council, and it hosted the millions of souls who kept the Galaxy's unified diplomatic body turning, from the janitors that cleaned the streets and halls to the cooks who kept everyone's stomachs filled.

They had chosen a desolate, desert world for a simple reason: nobody wanted it. Aside from the band of oases in the tropics, the desert was too hot and dry, and the polar caps were too cold. There was no risk of planetary invasion because the planet had nothing to offer save the Galactic Council itself, and since the Galactic Council was a diplomatic rather than governing body, capturing it held nothing more than symbolic value. The delegates had little say in how the planets they represented were run. They were no more than amabassadors.

Ori, the Thyrix Ambassador of Thyra, was a four-foot-tall, dark-skinned mammal with no hair. Not that anyone could see much of her skin. She wore a heavy coat, pants, boots, gloves, and a hat that covered all but her eyes, nose, and lips. Nanoscopic wires ran through all her clothes, mainting the constant temperature of roughly 100 degrees.

She found the Galactic Council's homeworld to be a pleasant place. Her own homeworld was similar: deserts, rolling plains, and rocky crags in which the rain water collected to water their farms. This planet, even in its emptiness, was beautiful. Though it was beautiful outside, the biodome was kept at more traditional temperatures and humidity for other residents. She, like so many ambassadors, had to wear BioMods to maintain homeostasis.

A few of the other ambassadors from desert worlds agreed.

She just never expected someone from a non-desert planet.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

She was sharing drinks with a group of ambassadors before their next session. They were to meet to welcome the ambassador of the newest planet to successfully make contact with the Council after developing Faster Than Light travel. She was the sole xerocole among them.

The man was an ambassador she didn't recognize. A mammal very much like herself, but where the Thyrix was short and squat, this mammal was tall with long arms and legs. He had some fur, but it was reserved solely for the top of his head and around his eyes. Eyelashes were an adaptation she herself had: they kept dust out of the eyes, but this one's skin was far, far too pale to be a xerocole, like herself, and he was too thin to be from an arctic planet.

Strangest of all was his attire. He wore a form-fitting suit of sleek blue and green nylon with his home planet's flag emblazoned on the lapel and shoulder. She saw no BioMods in his attire. In fact, she saw no technology at all. Was he just wearing a layer of cloth? Truly, he was blessed if the Council's dome suited his people so perfectly. She envied him.

And yet.

"The desert. It's gorgeous," He said, "I love how the bands in the dunes. So many colors. Do they let you explore the desert out here?"

"Why would you want to?" A reptilian ambassador cried, "You would overheat so swiftly!"

"Well, sure," The new ambassador shrugged, "It would be hot, but it'd be worth it get a closer look at that view."

"You can see it just fine from here," The reptile said, "Why risk your life?"

"Risk my life? It's only a hundred and five out there. A hat and a water bottle, and we'd be good for n hour or two. Come on, doesn't that sound like fun?"

The other ambassadors laughed at him, "You have a death wish. What planet are you from?"

"Ah, sorry. We haven't met yet. I'm the new ambassador they're introducing. Clark Aldrin, Ambassador of Earth."

Everyone fell silent. Ori's mouth dropped open. Earth? He was kidding, right? That wasn't...

The reptile chuffed to clear his throat, "Surely, by Earth, you do not mean Terra-4 of the Sol System, correct?"

He chuckled at that, "I love that name for it. Sol System. Yes, that's me. I am the human ambassador."

The human ambassador's smile fell when he saw the terrified expressions on their faces. Two ambassadors left immediately, their drinks unfinished. Ori alone managed to wiped the dumbstruck expression off her face to maintain some semblance of politeness.

"You do not know, then? It's true? The humans do not know?"

"Should we tell him?"

"What if he...?"

Ori cut in with a firm voice, "Enough, please. This man is a fellow ambassador. Terra-4 has sent him because they desire peaceful relations. All of us come from different biomes and species. You are all better than such barbaric judgement."

Clark politely held up a hand.

"Yes, Ambassador Aldrin?"

"I am afraid I'm missing something here, sirs and madames. Could you enlighten me?"

Even Ori clammed up at this. She glanced at the others uncertain.

"Please. If I'm to serve as the Earth's... as Terra-4's ambassador, I should know what I'm dealing with, right? It's nothing the Council's elders won't tell me after."

Ori sighed, "Terra-4 was not intended for habitation, Ambassdor Clark Aldrin. At least, not intelligent habitation. It was one of many planets utilized by one of the Galaxy's largest entertainment companies to create... er..."

The reptile ambassador, finding his courage, cut in, "Life was seeded by the entertainment company on a world with a series of extreme biomes to promote evolution of dangerous beasts. The possibility of intelligent life not only evolving but surviving long enough to develop into a Tier-1 civilization..."

For all this information, the human ambassador remained remarkably composed. He strokes his chin, "I see... so, where on earth, temperatures fluxuate wildly, for the rest of you."

"My people," The Reptile responded, "Are endothermic reptillians that can only survive in temperatures of 60 to 80 degrees unless submerged in water. If I were to go out into the desert, I would overheat within fifteen minutes and die within twenty. You, though? How long could you last? With supplies?"

"I guess... I'd last until the supplies ran out."

The reptillian nodded, "And thus you understand why a special counsil was called to introduce you and your people, Ambassador Clark."

"I guess I do. Like introducing a tiger to a petting zoo. Er, sorry, I don't know if you—"

"It is fine, Ambassador Clark," The reptile nodded, "Autotranslators are quite adept at idiomatic speech. You are correct. We are cautious, but as Ambassador Ori has declared, we are ambassadors, and we must act with rationality and intelligence. Yes? You and your people will be given the same respect as any other that has offered their hand diplomatically."