Herreraincapable of understanding the multiple signs exchanged before reaching
that level of communication, what he did was study the language of the
person in question, learn its rudiments, and prepare a phrase that, in his
judgment, would suffice for the purposes of proceeding to copulation.
The phrase, in its most pragmatic translation, was something like:
“Me too please.”
The precise meaning, however, is not at all important. It may be, in-
deed, that the person in question did not even pay attention to what Probii
said. The most likely scenario, as per our subsequent reconstructions via
prudent investigations with a minimum of interference, is that the very
act of suddenly turning up and attempting to usurp the most intimate
of possessions—this person’s own, unique and inimitable tongue—was
interpreted as heinous. Whether this fingered Probii as spy or devil is
unknowable; the result was the same: no sooner had he demonstrated
his linguistic prowess than the agent’s throat was summarily slit.
It seems likely that, in the relatively near future, the inhabitants will
be the ones to establish contact with us. If we’ve correctly interpreted
the massive orgy taking place at the planet’s equator for some two years
now, they’re in the process of imagining a space ship.