Comment by evincarofautumn

Perhaps stating the obvious here, but this is one of my favourite stories, so forgive me for feeling sharey. The best part of this is the utter simplicity—the defining quality, I believe, of good writing and good code alike. It turns the point of view around and slaps the unsuspecting reader with the understanding of just how little we can suppose of what life is like capital-E Elsewhere. If and when at last we get the chance to make contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species—assuming of course that we make it that far—the political and linguistic challenges will be fascinatingly unprecedented, and I can only hope I’m alive for it all.

As a side note, if anyone is hiring for a First Contact Emergency Linguistics Squad, I am permanently available for such a position. ;)