Arrivals From the Dark: Difference between revisions

* [[First Contact]] - the official first contact with the Faata happens when they choose to reveal themselves to humans before attacking. Prior to that, they destroy an Earth ship and abduct three officers. A more proper version happens when the Servs land on Pluto and greet humans on behalf of their Lo'ona Aeo masters.

* [[Gunboat Diplomacy]] - the [[The Federation|Earth Federation]]'s standard policy is to ferry diplomats in warships as a reminder of humanity's strength. The only time this was broken was during the first official contact with the [[Technical Pacifist|Paraprims]], who insisted on an unarmed ship.

** The novel ''The Missing Link'' reveals that {{spoiler|Ivar Trevelian is also a distant descendant (nearly a 1000 years removed) of that line, although he doesn't exhibit any of the abilities until the end of the novel}}.

* [[Hive Mind]] - Partly true with the Faata, with the higher caste using [[Psychic Powers|telepathy]] to control the lower castes.

** By the time of the ''Trevelian's Mission'' series, the humans also tend to name any populated world they discover, even if the natives already have a name for their planet. Examples include [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravana Ravana] (AKA Inferno), Bitter Berry (after a disastrous attempt at influencing the locals), Osier, and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chthon Chthon].

* [[No Endor Holocaust]] - partially averted in ''Invasion'', after the destruction of the Faata [[The Mothership|mothership]], where the out-of-control battle modules filled with [[Antimatter]] crash in most major cities. The resulting matter/anti-matter explosions kill over 40,000,000 people and destroy countless landmarks and historical artifacts. Really, though, the number of casualties should have been much higher, given the amount of anti-matter in the modules and the fact that later novels mention that Earth is getting overpopulated (i.e. higher population density in cities). In fact, cities should have erased from the face of the Earth.

** The Servs are an artificial [[Servant Race]] created by the Lo'ona Aeo without gender. For ease of communication, they are also referred to as male. Those made in human likeness for diplomatic purposes are all male and wear appropriate clothing.

* [[Our Elves Are Better]] - the Lo'ona Aeo not only fit the profile, this was [[Lampshading|referenced]] in the novels. They are frail humanoid-like creatures with four-fingered hands used to living in low-gravity environments of their space habitats. They are ancient with only the [[Precursors|Daskins]] being older and have extremely long lives by human standards. They are highly advanced and refuse to share weapons with the less advanced races (which is everyone else), although they do trade for certain technology that is specifically designed to be impossible to weaponize. They never meet outsiders (due to extreme xenophobia) but use their [[Servant Race]] to actively trade and maintain diplomatic relations with others. They also possess [[Psychic Powers]].

** The Paraprims are also able to communicate with each other telepathically. Additionally, they are able to see through the eyes of related species, which is why they often spread primates from their homeworld in the worlds they are studying. They also appear to have highly developed intuitive abilities, which allow them to predict future events with surprising detail, much better than the most advanced mathematical and statistical models (which they also use). They also may be able to teleport small objects, although this may be based in technology.

* [[Reinforce Field]] - large starships must use these in order not to rip themselves apart during maneuvers or by their sheer mass. The massive Faata starship is crushed like a tin can by Earth's gravity in the first novel when its computer is destroyed by nanites, resulting in the structural integrity field shutting off. Probably should have invested in backup systems. The field is not explicitly mentioned in the following novels.

** In the first novel, the Faata ship apparently doesn't have one, forcing the Exile to improvise. He programs waste-disposal [[Grey Goo|nanobots]] to eat the ship's organic computer, which controls gravity, structural integrity, and life support. Without it, the crew dies, and the massive ship collapses on itself. However, the whole point to keep the ship salvageable for humans, who needed to catch up to the aliens in terms of technology.

* [[Sex Is Evil]] - completely averted with the cultures described. Most humanoids have [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions|outgrown silly taboos against sex]]. While sexuality is not flaunted, sexual relations between consenting adults are shown as perfectly natural and healthy. On Osier, for example, in the local [[Medieval Stasis]] culture with strong religious belief, sex is also viewed in this manner. In fact, female virginity doesn't hold nearly as much weight as it did during our Middle Ages. Experience counts for much more, and is shown where an heir to the imperial throne wishes Ivar Trevelian to "school" his bratty niece in the pleasure arts, so her future husband will be satisfied.

* [[Space Elves]] - subverted. While the Lo'ona Aeo are specifically described as elf-like in their physical stature (minus the pointy ears), they are far from being smug to the others. Part of it has to do with the fact that they are complete xenophobes, psychologically incapable of being near a member of another sentient species. However, they are by no means isolationists in terms of policy. They actively trade with other races via their biomechanical [[Servant Race]] and hire mercenaries to defend their borders (Servs, being sentient machines, are incapable of violence).