Year 3185 of the Federal Firiyaze calendar.
Report from the federal inter-species relations study bureau.
Case of world 1066, Code name: Amadori
1st class Agent: Censored Name
Code name: .....
The first thing that struck me when I arrived here was the air quality. The air on this planet is highly toxic, at least compared to where I come from. Everything is relative, and my job is precisely to collect data and not rely on the pre-established standards of my world. That said, it already smelled bad, but hey, I managed to land in one piece, and the Stinger is intact, so that's a victory in itself. As for the rest, I'll have to improvise.
-Here, Herstal V-93, I confirm your landing on world 1066, Amadori, sir. As of today, the 3rd month of the Federal calendar at 00:37, your study mission begins.
Herstal is the name of the AI on my Stinger. It's an autonomous AI designed precisely for this kind of mission. With it, I won't feel as alone, and some tasks will be accomplished much faster.
-Correction, from now on we will use the dates, names, and days of this world. It will provide more detailed and precise data.
-That's professional coming from you. Copy that sir, but I'll need more data to start entering it into my database.
-I understand, for now, switch to stealth mode and stay put until I give you the order to move.
-At your command.
Pov Chanel
When we first met, I was drunk, but I had apparently encountered someone even drunker than me. I was driving through the fields of my small village in my pick-up truck, the radio was blasting, and I wasn't really focused on the road ahead.
-Where did you say you met him? Asked the doctor.
-He was right in the middle of the road. He was naked, and I took him for a lunatic, but the car skidded, and I ran him over.
At first, I wanted to continue on my way, but knowing myself, I wouldn't have slept that night if i abandon him like that. In the end, I took him to the doc's clinic.
-For someone you ran over, he seems pretty good. *Said the examining doctor*. He doesn't even have any physical aftermath; it's surprising. You're lucky, young man.
-Well, actually... *She said, embarrassed*.
*While we were on the way, he suddenly woke up in the back of the vehicle. Panicking, I braked and came over to see. I pointed my nephew's toy gun at him, but he had no reaction. He just looked at me, surprised. I felt ridiculous, so I put the toy away. Besides, seeing such a well-built man naked made me uncomfortable. He had a completely shaved head and a slight beard*.
-A black man, about 1.85m tall, with perfect teeth. He doesn't speak, but he definitely has a tongue. His eyes..... What is that...
*The doc seemed to have noticed something in his eyes, but the man covered his face, and the doctor decided to leave him be*.
-I think your friend suffers from a rare case of amnesia. And when I say rare, I think he's even forgotten how to speak. *The doc explained*. If you leave him with me, I think I can help. Otherwise, take him to the police station; they will eventually identify him.
*I looked at his arm; he had a tattoo I had never seen before*.
-Do you think he's a mob?
-Oh, I've seen plenty of thug come and go here, and he's not one of them. He might be military, but I doubt it since he doesn't have a tag around his neck. Unless he lost them, who knows.
*After our meeting with the doctor, I decided to keep him. I borrowed clothes from my brother since they had roughly the same build. He put on the lumberjack plaid shirt, jeans, and dino boots*.
-What's your name?
*He looked at me again, surprised as if I had offended him, but I insisted*.
-Your name, I said. Do you know your name... Your designation?
*He looked around himself, then stared at the buildings nearby, as if trying to recognize the place. He then looked straight into my eyes and stuttered*...
-Francis... Damon. Francis Damon.
*Hearing his name relieved a weight off my shoulders as if I had waited all day for him to tell me*.
-Nice to meet you, Francis. I'm Channie.
*Pov Francis*.
*I landed with a relatively human person named Channel Wittman. A beautiful brunette lady, she lives in the countryside alone in a big house without anyone's help. She's 23, but already mature for her age. She singlehandedly runs her parents' farm where I sometimes lend a hand. Pretending to have amnesia wasn't easy, but my plan worked. The idea of getting naked revolted me initially, but for the mission's sake, I agreed. The slightest mistake would've given me away. It's been two months since I've been living with her, and I still don't understand a word she says. For two months, Herstal has been alone in the middle of a field, continuing to record voices, people's mimics, and behaviors to help me integrate into their society. I asked him to position himself 4km away from the house to avoid attracting attention. Meanwhile, even if I don't speak their language, I understand some things like when she asks me to help with household chores or other things. Also, my hair has grown back, and I don't have a laser at hand to cut if off. Everything here is so rudimentary but mostly powered by electricity. The only source of information is this small format TV that only broadcasts on two channels. She never turns it on, and anyway, that thing is useless. The fridge is rudimentary; I see no drones in this house, and I'm still not used to the air quality. Compared to my apartment on Myrrion, this house is a joke*.
-Francis, can you give me the ketchup, please?
*At least one good point about this planet: the food is super delicious. It feels like I've been eating crap all my life, and I'm finally discovering good food*.
-COMING!
*I heard the sound of a car engine. It was probably her brother Jacob, but everyone calls him Jay*.
-Hi Jay.
-Hi Channie. Is he here?
-Yep. Francis, Jay's here.
-Damon, get your ass over here quickly. *He shouted*.
*Jacob Wittman, also called Jay, is what I would describe as a good guy. He was very protective of his sister when he first saw me, I mean, who would want a stranger at their sister's place? But after she explained my situation, he backed down and even tried to help. We truly became friends after a bar fight when a customer tried to assault one of his friends. Physically, he's like me, but he has brown hair like his sister, a square cut. He's a former soldier, so I hoped to learn more about their military through him, but I can barely string two words together, so I just stay quiet. He's athletic and takes good care of his health, whereas I eat everything and follow a blood purification therapy afterward. Once a week, he picks me up, and we go hiking in the mountains with his friends. There we camp, hunt, and fish, which is relaxing and change from the farm and their animals. But it's time for Herstal to finish his job so I can finally have a broader field of action for the mission*.
-Damn machine.
-Huh, did you say something? Jay asked me.
Crap, I had spoken in my language, and the dialect probably sounded strange to him. I just nodded stupidly.
-Well, don't force yourself; I don't know what you're going through since I've never had amnesia.
After six months here, Herstal finally called me. He had finished concocting the serum.
-Why did it take you so long? I thought you were a sophisticated machine.
-I connected to the liberal network of the planet, which they call the internet. I learned that there are over 5000 dialects spoken on this planet. So I chose the six most important languages and started sequencing in all forms.
The Stinger handed me a capsule filled with a greenish liquid which I injected into my neck. Thanks to this liquid, I would be able to speak all the major languages of this planet. Our diplomats often use it when they change star systems*.
-Wait, you said 5000 dialects? What kind of planet is this?
*1st year. Successful insertion*.
*After my injection, I was finally able to express myself freely and build a fictional identity. Here I am called Francis Damon. I am a sociologist and history teacher. I resigned due to burnout. As for how I ended up in a field in Australia, God only knows. We are in 2019 according to their calendar, and I have integrated quite well into their society. I have a teaching job in the city. I wanted to get an apartment, but Chanel insisted that I stay in the farm. With my salary, I ended up making changes to the house. Firstly, I realized this farmhouse was too rustic even by this world standard; there was no internet connection, no WiFi, no decent tv screen, a nightmare. I had everything redone; this lack of contact with basic technology would drive me nuts. Ironically, me, an outsider, taught her how to use their free connection network, the internet*.
-And there, with this, you'll... Hey, are you listening?
-Yes, yes. *She said while browsing her smartphone*.
*Smartphones. This thing makes most teens on the planet addicted. As far as I know, they use barely 20% of this tool's capabilities. I use it as a link with Herstal, and I get information from various databases with it*.
-That's enough, Channie. *I said, taking it away from her*. I thought you wanted to go back to school. I'm trying to help you out here.
-I was pretending. Party pooper.
-I'm trying to help you, stop acting like a kid.
-I just have a hard time with technology, it's your fault.
-If you saw Herstal, ha.
-Saw who?
-Nobody. I was talking to myself.
*Here's what I've learned about this world as long as I've been on it: 194 countries, 5000 dialects. It's too much, even by our standards. It's one planet and a maximum of 3 dialects. It's still too early to evaluate their armed forces, but we clearly have technological ascendancy. Their land vehicles are similar to ours but operate on this polluting energy called oil. Their aerial vehicles are genuine carts compared to ours. Their space project is stalled, the farthest they've gone is their moon. I feel like I've gone back 500 years with all of this*.
-There's a lot of information about almost everything on the internet, *Herstal explained*, including armed forces. In one click, you know the number of jets and armored vehicles a nation has. A recipe is easily accessible, as are people's personal information through social networks.
*Goddamn I've entered a world of unconsciousness; it's impossible*.
-So why send me to investigate this planet when its inhabitants practically share everything on the net? But the worst part is that these people only use it for entertainment, which is really... Who invented the internet again?
*Ultimately, despite all my remarks, this planet has a serious demographic problem. 7 billion inhabitants. This number made me dizzy. It's almost 2/5 of our population. I think if they were as modern as us, the Earthlings, I mean the Amadorians, would be as big a threat as the Deicyte bloc. If the federation bigwigs learned this, they'd freak out and probably want to colonize this world right away. So I decided to delay my study as long as possible, after all, I still have a lot to learn about this world*.
Year 3192 of the Federal Firiyaze calendar, year 2025 of the Gregorian calendar.
Report from the federal inter-species relations study bureau.
Case of world 1066, Code name: Amadori
1st class Agent: Arctog
Code name: Francis Damon
Verdict: World 1066 represents no strategic interest. Requires no armed intervention. However, a request to extend observation is sought, as well as a point on the hidden potential of this world.
After that, I turned off my computer when Channie gave me a kiss on the cheek.
-You worked late today. Are you coming to bed, dear?
-Yes, I'm coming. I just hope my boss approves my request.
End of chapter