We're Not from Here

“Even more shocking were the almost nine hundred people who voted to go back to Earth. All the scientists agreed it wouldn’t be livable again for hundreds of years, but the Earthers refused to believe them.

Jens and his dad were Earthers. ‘You’ll see,’ Jens told Naya and me. ‘It’s going to be fine. Once you’re off living with those alien freaks, you’re going to wish you were back on Earth with us.’”

Shortly after most humans decide to journey to Choom, two smaller groups choose to try their luck elsewhere. One group returns to Earth against the advice of scientific experts on Earth’s damage. Jens and his dad represent the danger of holding on to the past. Though Earth is not livable, neither Jens nor his dad wants to believe it because they want things to go back to the way they were. Their fear of an uncertain future ultimately leads to their deaths, whereas Being Truthful With Ourselves Lets Us Grow.

“‘This is nonsense!’ bellowed a tall, red-faced man named Gunderson. He’d been a football coach back on Earth, and he still seemed to get a kick out of yelling like one. ‘Are you telling me we spent twenty years burning fuel, crossing half a galaxy, just to turn around again ’cause these folks got cold feet? I say we call their bluff! Put ourselves down on that planet and tell them we ain’t taking no for an answer!’”

This speech comes after the humans have woken from suspension and learned the Zhuri rescinded the invitation for the humans to live on Choom. Later in the novel, the Ororo tell Lan’s family that humans are a fundamentally violent species, and Mr. Gunderson’s outburst here, coupled with the support it receives, foreshadows that moment. Mr. Gunderson represents the people who used violence to get what they wanted, destroying Earth in the process, and highlights how short human memory is. Even though this group has spent a year and a half suffering on Mars, followed by another 20 years in suspension, they are ready to shove their way onto Choom with no regard for the consequences. The general’s speech that follows shows the opposite side of the argument—that violence may gain short-term rewards but will ultimately cause more suffering.

“‘We just have to smile a lot,’ he told me. ‘Our jobs are to be the happiest, friendliest, most fun-to-be-around species of all time.’

‘So, basically, we should act like human golden retrievers?’

Dad grinned. ‘Exactly like that.’” 

This conversation between Lan and their dad comes after Lan’s family is chosen as the test group to live on Choom. Lan’s mom is the group’s diplomat, and Ila will sing to show the Zhuri what humans can offer Choom’s people culturally. Lan and their dad don’t have set jobs, but Lan’s dad emphasizes the importance of being friendly and nonviolent—even this small role is crucial to success. Lan’s association of this behavior with a golden retriever provides a frame of reference for how to. It is also the inspiration for Lan and Naya’s jokes about Lan being a “good doggy” for the aliens.

“‘Our children are terrified, and so are we,’ Dad said.

The Zhuri looked at each other again.

‘But you make no smell,’ Leeni pointed out.

‘Humans do not show emotion through smell,’ Dad explained.

‘Then how do you communicate your emotions to other humans?’

‘It shows on our faces, and in our voices.’”

Lan’s family converses with Leeni following the Zhuri attack on the shuttlecraft that brought the humans to Choom. Despite sharing a planet with two other species that don’t show emotions through smell, the Zhuri don’t understand why the humans don’t (to their mind) appear afraid. This shows that the Zhuri can be just as closed-minded as humans; it does not occur to them that humans might express themselves in their own unique way.

“‘I’m sorry! I was trying to make a joke.’

‘People should not make jokes,’ said Hooree. ‘Everyone agrees jokes are not polite. They cause emotion.’

‘I’m so sorry!’ I repeated as my stomach did a flip-flop. ‘I didn’t know that.’

‘It is true jokes are not polite,’ said Iruu. ‘But some people think it is all right to make them sometimes.’

Hooree’s head swiveled to stare at the older Zhuri. ‘Who thinks this?’

‘I do not know any of them personally,’ said Iruu. ‘But I have heard that some people think this.’

‘Those people are not correct,’ Hooree insisted. ‘Making jokes is never all right. Everyone agrees this is true.’”

This conversation takes place before the dinner party at Lan’s house and represents the two factions of the Zhuri. Hooree speaks for the group that believes the government is absolutely correct in banning anything that causes emotion because emotions are bad. Iruu represents the more open-minded group that knows the government is wrong but is too afraid to speak up. He expresses his beliefs in a noncommittal way that makes it clear such beliefs exist among the Zhuri without implicating himself. Iruu’s perspective will later cause Lan to realize that the Zhuri are open to jokes, even if the government tells them they should not be.

“‘When you lived on Earth, how many humans did you kill?’

I started to cry. I really, really didn’t want to. I couldn’t help it.

‘I’ve never killed anyone!’ I used the back of my hand to wipe the tears off my cheeks. ‘I’ve never hurt anyone. I’m peaceful! Humans are peaceful.’

‘Children! Clear the air! Please!’ Yurinuri scolded them. I looked over at him, my eyes begging for help.

‘You seem to be a peaceful human,’ he said. ‘When the other humans tried to kill you, how did you defend yourself?’

‘No one—they didn’t—everyone who’s left is—’ My mind suddenly flashed back to the food riot on Mars, when the angry mob showed up outside our living compartment and tried to bust down our door.

That opened the floodgates. I started to sob.”

On Lan’s first day of school on Choom, the teacher asks Lan to tell the class about humans and then solicits student questions. The experience retraumatizes Lan, underscoring both the loss of Earth and the violent tendencies that persist in the survivors; Lan isn’t ready to face the truth of humanity’s violence. The teacher’s question about how Lan escaped shows how the Zhuri cannot comprehend only a subsection of a population being violent. After the swarm, where the majority of the Zhuri population became violent, the Zhuri think of violence as something everyone participates in. Although the teacher is willing to accept that Lan might not have been violent, he still sees peacefulness as an exception to the norm.

“‘It’s because that Hooree person told you I’m a criminal, isn’t it?’

‘No!’ I yelped. ‘I mean…he did say that. But I didn’t believe it.’

‘Good. Because it is not true at all.’

‘Yes, it is!’ barked Ezger. ‘You are definitely a criminal! You break laws all the time!’

‘I only break silly laws,’ said Marf. ‘Not important ones.’”

Marf has asked to borrow Ila’s translator screen, but Lan says no, denying it’s because Hooree said Marf is a criminal when that really is part of the reason. Lan’s reaction shows The Dangers of Misinformation. Lan believed Hooree’s claim that Marf and Ezger are criminals because Lan wants to be seen as trustworthy and agreeable by the Zhuri. When Marf says she isn’t a criminal, Lan doesn’t believe her because Lan wants to believe the Zhuri wouldn’t lie. Marf’s answer to Ezger’s observation that Marf is a criminal introduces the idea of civil disobedience. Marf believes the Zhuri laws about emotions and emotional content are silly, so she breaks them.

“‘It’s entertainment. A made-up story. For fun. That clip of the woman getting killed was totally fake! She was an actor—she didn’t even get hurt in real life!’

Leeni fixed his big compound eyes on me. ‘Humans find it entertaining to watch each other die in horrible ways? That is fun for you?’

When he put it that way, I did have to admit it sounded a little questionable.”

Leeni and Lan’s family are discussing a news broadcast about humanity’s violence. The broadcast combined clips from real wars with a scene from a movie where a woman is murdered. Lan’s objection shows how people can make a case for anything, even when evidence points the other way. Though most of the clips were images of real human violence, Lan focuses on the one fictional clip to convince Leeni that humans aren’t as violent as the news makes them look. Leeni draws parallels between human history and entertainment, showing how both are violent. The comparison forces Lan to look at human culture and see how, to an outside perspective, much of human society appears violent.

“‘Where is the other human?’

‘She’s not coming to school today.’

After they found out only one human needed guarding, they spent the rest of the pod trip arguing about which one of them should get the rest of the day off. It was pretty amusing to listen to—since there were only two of them, nobody could play the ‘everyone agrees’ card, so the argument went on forever.”

The day following the attack on Lan’s dad, Ila stays home from school, so Lan informs their Zhuri guards that there will only be one human to protect. The ensuing argument implies that certain experiences are universal. Like many people, the Zhuri guards don’t want to work and look for any opportunity to get out of it. Lan’s observation about the “everyone agrees card” shows how Zhuri logic doesn’t always work. The Zhuri use “everyone agrees” to mean that something is a widely accepted fact. Without this standard of agreement, the guards don’t know how to win an argument.

“After a while, Yurinuri started writing what must’ve been equations on the wall screen, then asking kids to come up and solve them using a laser marker. It was entertaining to watch, because all the Zhuri kids acted the same way. They’d lope up to the front of the class with their bendy-legged, absurd-looking walk, then shake their heads in a little wriggle before they started to scratch out an answer.

If they got the answer right, Yurinuri congratulated them. As they bounced back to their stools, their wings would twitch, and they’d flit up a few inches off the floor in what I guessed was either pride or happiness. But when they got the answer wrong, Yurinuri would thank them for trying, and they’d hang their heads as they silly-walked back to their seats.”

The similarities to human students solving math problems on the board shows that some teaching methods are universal. The Zhuri students’ reactions are likewise similar to how Earth students react; correct answers result in excitement while incorrect answers embarrass students. Lan doesn’t note any smell from the Zhuri students after they correctly or incorrectly solve a math problem, which suggests either that the students are successfully suppressing their emotions or that Zhuri subconsciously show some emotions through body language.

“‘Speaking of jokes—when the Zhuri think something’s funny, do they make a kind of…doughnut smell?’

‘I do not know what a doughnut is,’ said Marf. ‘But if it is sweet, then probably yes. I find the Zhuri laughter smell quite pleasant. It’s a shame they are discouraged from making it.’”

This scene in the school cafeteria comes after Lan unintentionally caused the laughter smell in class. Lan asks Marf about the smell using Earth terms, showing how people use specific cultural references to express themselves even when their audience may not understand those references. Marf’s response implies that the only people who have a problem with Zhuri emotion are the Zhuri. Marf and Lan both like the doughnut smell, much like humans enjoy the sound of other humans laughing. Positive emotions beget more positive emotions.

“‘As I said before…’ His voice was almost a whisper. ‘Some people think the human has positive things to offer our society.’

‘Okay! Any things in particular, sir? I was just talking to a Krik and an Ororo about comedy and music—’

He interrupted me with a loud whine as he looked over my shoulder. ‘It should be educational, Lan human.’

I turned back to see where he was looking. My guard was halfway across the room, flitting toward us.”

This conversation is the second mention of Lan’s presentation about humans. Lan’s previous conversation about comedy and music left Lan excited to show the Zhuri human culture. The teacher’s hushed tone in the first line of this exchange, coupled with his sudden change to discussing educational purpose when the guard approaches, hints that the teacher does not agree with the government’s stance on emotions. This conversation is the catalyst for Lan finding the loophole in showing content that triggers emotions, and it demonstrates how We Can Be Both Brave and Scared.

“‘You really understand all of these jokes?’ I asked.

‘Not all the words. But the movements, of course. It is just physics. He wants to go over the wall. But he goes through it instead. And intention—he wants it to be quiet. But his mate has invited her loud friend to their home.’

‘This is my favorite show. Like, ever.’

‘The birds remind me of Zhuri. Both in the way they move and in their thinking. They are very proud, but their actions are often foolish.’”

Lan and Marf watch an episode of a human television show where animated birds act like people. Marf finds the show very amusing, which speaks to the universality of much humor. Marf doesn’t need to be from Earth to understand what’s going on or why it’s funny. The parallel Marf draws between the bird characters and the Zhuri also implies a similarity between humans and Zhuri since the birds satirize human behavior. Like the Zhuri, humans have a history of making destructive decisions and justifying them with fear-based logic. Also like the Zhuri, many humans are too proud to admit when they’ve made a mistake, so the unhealthy policies stay in place to spare a few humans public embarrassment.

“‘Planet Choom is democratic. Roughly speaking, each person has an equal voice.’

‘So that’s good. Right?’

‘It depends on which species you are. There are six billion Zhuri, ten million Krik, and just two thousand Ororo. Mathematically speaking, the Ororo and Krik’s opinions do not matter at all.’”

Lan has just detailed a plan to secure the humans a place on Choom by winning the support of the Krik and Ororo. While the plan has merit, Marf’s explanation shows it will not actually have any sway and also exposes a problem with democracy. Each person on Choom has a say, but that say only matters if most other people have the same opinion. Even if all the Krik and Ororo banded together, they wouldn’t have enough voices to outvote the Zhuri. It only takes a few opposing votes to uphold something a large section of the population doesn’t agree with.

“‘But you are not peaceful,’ Ulf said.

Mom didn’t expect to hear that. None of us did.

‘We are peaceful,’ she insisted.

‘As individuals, perhaps,’ said Hunf. ‘Not as a species. You destroyed your home planet. What could be more violent than that?’”

Marf’s parents are the first to inform Lan’s family that they, as a species, are not the peaceful group they’d like to believe they are. Marf’s parents also highlight the difference between groups and individuals. Lan’s family is peaceful, both as a unit and as individuals. They might represent the roughly 1,000 people who are waiting on the ship orbiting Choom, but as was seen earlier when Mr. Gunderson got upset, those people could also be swayed to violence.

“‘In most societies,’ he explained, ‘there are two basic forces in conflict: progress and tradition. They battle for political control. When progress has the upper hand, there is growth and change. But when that change comes too quickly or causes problems, tradition takes over to act as a stabilizing force.’”

Here, Marf’s father explains the Zhuri government and its two factions—progressives and traditionalists. This government resembles politics on Earth, where parties and movements tend to lean either progressive or conservative/traditionalist. Progressives stand for change and can accomplish much in terms of moving society forward. However, change can be stressful, so progressive change is most successful when it is gradual. Quick change frightens people, which causes a shift toward a more traditional approach, slowing progress.

“‘Marf’s usually sad?’

‘She is almost always sad. She is the saddest person I know.’

‘Why is that?’

‘She will tell you it is because all Ororo are sad. But I think it’s because she is lonely. Marf is the only Ororo in this whole school. And she is thousands of times smarter than everyone in it. If you ask me, that is a very lonely thing.’”

This conversation between Lan and Ezger offers insight into Marf’s character. The Ororo are highly intelligent, and extremely high intelligence can result in isolation, as others may struggle to keep up. Marf represents anyone who ever felt different or constantly misunderstood, as well as the sorrow such loneliness can cause.

“‘What if my presentation had some clips in it from videos that are entertaining to humans? Like, for example, television programs that cause laughter in humans?’

‘What would be your purpose in showing these clips? Would it be to entertain? Or to educate?’

‘To educate, sir!’ I said, nodding my head for emphasis. ‘To show the Zhuri what kinds of things humans like to do.’

‘As long as your purpose is educational,’ he said, ‘I would support this. And I am sure your learning specialist would too.’”

Lan exploits a loophole to show entertaining content, arguing that it will illustrate what humans are like and therefore be educational. Aside from providing more hints that not all Zhuri agree with the government’s policy on emotions, this conversation shows that it isn’t possible to separate emotions from life. Even if Lan made a strictly educational presentation, it would likely evoke some emotion—possibly fear (if the Zhuri’s ideas of human violence were confirmed) or laughter (if the Zhuri found humanity ridiculous). By including content meant to evoke amusement, Lan controls the emotional reaction so it’s the positive one that’s needed.

“There must have been a drone camera somewhere in the lunchroom, because the image switched to a grainy, slow-motion replay of my leap onto the empty stool. The lower legs of one of the Zhuri kids in the cluster above me were just visible, and in slow motion, the way I flapped my free hand in the air made it look like I was reaching up to grab at the kid’s leg.

Even worse, with the sound stretched out, the delighted shrieks of all the kids in the lunchroom sounded more like cries of agony.

‘Without warning, the violent and primitive animal lunged at a defenseless Zhuri child, attempting to drag it to the floor.’

‘THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENED!’ I yelled at the screen. My dread was curdling into panic.”

The news segment Lan watches here is the first time the news has shown humans (allegedly) being violent on Choom. The news has previously focused on images of past human violence, priming Choom’s citizens to expect violence in the future. Now the news manipulates the video of Lan to suit its purposes, making something harmless and funny appear threatening and dangerous. The passage represents how those in power can manipulate media to make their desired point.

“‘Human Lan Mifune. Listen closely. What do you hear?’

‘Protestors?’ The chanting had been going on ever since I woke up, but after so many days of hearing them in the distance, I’d mostly stopped noticing.

‘Those are Zhuri citizens, poisoned with the sickness of emotion,’ he said. ‘They have great anger, and you are the cause of it. If you continue to tell me lies, I will send you out among the swarm—and they will destroy you.’”

During Lan and Ila’s detention, the Zhuri interrogate Lan to find out which people the humans conspired with to cause emotion among the Zhuri. While the humans conspired with no one, the government doesn’t believe this, which suggests the government isn’t as stable as it wants the citizenry to believe. The guard’s threats show how desperate the government is to blame someone else for the populace’s emotions in order to maintain its own control.

“‘…dozens of citizens injured in their escape. The human animals and their accomplices, pictured here—’

The image switched to a screen split four ways. On the top were grainy still photos of Ila and me, taken from drone cameras when we were entering school. On the bottom were what looked like mug shots of Marf and Ezger.

‘—are violent and dangerous…’

‘I do wish they wouldn’t use our school photos,’ Marf rumbled.

‘I don’t mind,’ said Ezger. ‘I look very handsome in mine.’”

When Marf and Ezger rescue Ila and Lan from imprisonment, the news depicts the four as violent criminals, despite the fact that the Zhuri are the only ones acting violently. This is more Zhuri government propaganda trying to place blame for the unrest on someone else. The latter half of this passage highlights another universal experience: Marf is disgruntled by the use of a picture she doesn’t like, which is a feeling many humans can sympathize with. The conversation also shows Marf and Ezger focusing on something less frightening than the Zhuri swarm and the group’s new criminal status to keep those things from overwhelming them.

“‘So the government’s abandoned the one job they were put in power to do. The whole reason the traditionalists took over from the progressives was to prevent swarms from ever forming. That’s why they tried to eliminate emotions in the first place. And on the rare occasions in the past twenty years when a swarm’s started to form, they’ve always sent soldiers to zap everyone back into line.

‘But they’re not even trying to stop these swarms. The government’s encouraging them! They’re so scared of the emotions you humans might stir up, and so desperate to get rid of you, that they’re practically begging the swarms to destroy you! It’s the exact opposite of what people expect from their leadership. And once everyone’s calmed down in a day or two, the whole planet will be so ashamed of itself for what the government’s allowing to happen that they’ll replace it with new leaders from the other faction. Just like they did after the Nug massacre.’”

During this discussion, Lan and the others watch a news broadcast of the Zhuri swarm that’s attacking the spaceport where Lan’s parents are. The swarm visually embodies the government’s anguish and alarm. Rather than try to calm the swarm with the truth, they blame the swarm on the humans, essentially allowing the swarm to continue its destruction. Marf suggests that the swarm’s destruction will throw the traditionalists from power in favor of the progressives, but first something terrible will have to happen—in this case, the deaths of Lan’s parents. This situation symbolizes how needed change is not easy or even always peaceful; change itself is a disruptive force.

“Then the image disappeared, replaced by a Zhuri newscaster in some kind of TV studio. Whoever was in charge of the broadcast had stopped showing the swarm live.

They’d been trying to prove to the whole planet just how violent and terrible emotions were. But what was happening now wasn’t terrible at all.

It was beautiful.

So they’d shut off the cameras.”

Instead of volatile anger, Ila’s singing causes peace and tranquility among the Zhuri, which contradicts the traditionalists’ claims about emotions. Without an angry swarm to point to so it can condemn emotions, the government stops showing the swarm—its last attempt at conserving its power. As the book’s final chapters show, this attempt fails, and progress wins out over tradition.