Mr. Cornhut walked close to an animal, or whatever it was, and poked it. The thing didn't respond. Yet it moved periodically, rocking from side to side. "These food sources," that probably didn't translate well, "do not have brains, and only a limited nervous system. Their bodies are almost all meat, genetically designed that way. A central computer," he pointed to the silver cap and the wires, "acts as their nervous system, that is why they move in a programmed pattern, to stimulate muscle growth."

"Huh, damn, that's cool." Sanchez was impressed. "They grow only the meat, not the whole animal."

I didn't know whether to be impressed or creeped out. These things were mindless, it was like raising a steak rather than the cow. It was eerie. It made perfect sense, it was efficient, and still it bothered me. Maybe I just wasn't ready for the future, this future.

After we got back to base, I asked Baker to dig through our supplies and see if we had a soccer ball, I thought I’d seen one in the ‘recreational package’ the platoon gave us before they sent us off to live in Bum Fuck Neptune.

During the next morning patrol, I tucked the soccer ball under my arm, and as we walked past the school again, I tossed the ball underhand to the hamster kids. At first, they were startled and backed away from it, but on our way back, I saw kids kicking it around, and they waved to us.

That evening, Lester Cornhut came to visit and asked for me. "Show Bishahp" is how he pronounced my name, which was probably closer to my real name than 'Lester Cornhut' was to his real name. I mean, what are the odds, right? Through the translator, he asked whether I am the Show Bishahp who captured a Ruhar soldier during the 'military action' on Earth, which he pronounced as 'Urt'.

"Yes." I nodded.

He smiled, and paused his translator. “Ta.” He nodded his head up and down. “Neh.” His shook his head side to side.

“Yes.” I nodded. “No.” I shook my head. Then I said “Ta,” and nodded, and “Neh,” and shook. He did the same gestures for ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

That was our first true interspecies communication. If we weren’t on Paradise only because the hamsters had attacked Earth, I would have been thrilled.