I sat and listened as the central member of the court stood motionless while he spoke. The large chaise lounge-type seat I had was extremely comfortable. It was angled similar to a seat on the old Apollo capsule I experienced in a museum as a kid.

“Let us first dispel any misconceptions and stereotypes which your race has placed on ‘aliens’ such as us. This will help you answer The Question to the best of your ability.” At this moment, behind and above the panel two huge screens came to life. Familiar images raced across the screen, quickly hopping from one Sci-Fi film to another. I was momentarily intrigued as to how they captured all our Hollywood history.

“As you can see, we have been monitoring you for some time.” he continued, “We noted how your race depicts aliens as ‘advanced’ or ‘ominously threatening’. This is a strong indicator as to how humans feel about the universe. This is why we have suppressed most of your emotions here in this proceeding. We want your answer to be unburdened.”