“I was told your race has space flight capability!” the alien exclaimed. “And what is this nonsense about surviving? Your technology should have gone through the transition period to becoming Tec-based. Why would you say such things? Is this some sort of weird, human sense of humor?”

Nori stood up and stared unflinchingly at the riled-up giant. “She is telling the truth. Our race is capable of space flight, yes, but it was pretty much the pinnacle of our technology. This is not something the average person can achieve on his own. We’ve only sent a few manned vessels to the nearby planets.” She paused and eyed their bewildered host as he digested the information. Nori continued. “She was also not lying about our struggle to survive. Whatever happened to us, this infusion thing, it caused a lot of people and animals to mutate into horrible monsters that are called Warped. They kill indiscriminately and until now, we had no way of fighting back. Our civilization as a whole is ruined, our governments crumbled, and those of us who survived managed that by hiding in fortified shelters. It is a hard existence for us down there, so I’m sorry if it’s not the lucrative business opportunity that you had envisioned.”

The tall alien stared back at her for a few moments, then slowly dropped back to a sitting position. “Please forgive my outburst, Miss,” he said in a much more subdued voice. “I have invested every piTec I had saved, collected every favor I was owed, just so I could be the first to reach your planet. But this is no excuse. What you say is most peculiar.” He shook his head and rubbed his boney forehead. “Newly Infused worlds usually go through a natural, gradual transition period. The population is slowly acclimated to Tec and learns how to adjust their technology accordingly. Warped are sadly unavoidable, but the process is slow enough to counter it and in those rare occasions when a Warped is created, the inhabitants’ technology has advanced enough to take them down before they feed and evolve too much. I have heard tales of planets who, like yours, were Infused abruptly, and the horror it caused. But like everyone else, I thought it was just rumors and stories. I am truly sorry. This was probably a most horrifying ordeal. You have my deepest sympathy.”

“It was not some fluke of fortune or some natural occurrence,” Nori said and crossed her arms. “Earth was intentionally Infused. We found a downed freighter and the logs stated as much. Someone sent that ship and several others on purpose. I want to know why.”