#who knows but it's a neat to explore less bombastic aspects

[carionto]

Humans are forged in fired so we always smell like ash to the aliens, and when we don't, its still always something earthy.

[24/09/23] Hmm... born of fire and earth, living with or through ash and dirt, ending in dust. There's something there. All Humanity makes is certainly with fire or force, everything we eat as well. Such... brutality, in a sense, is at the core of our being. A consequence of being from a world where peaceful continuation only happens artificially. Yet many if not most aliens are from far more accommodating planets, thus their natural existence, all the way down to their cellular make-up and baseline instincts, differs from Humans. Even to the point where they, and us as well, can sense that the other is fundamentally different, not just as a species, but something more fundamental that neither can fully convey or properly understand. (now how do I want to present it in the verse...)

[27/09/23] I'm just gonna reread the above once and let my brain run free tomorrow.

_________________________

As the first year since Humanities return to the Galaxy and beginning stages of integration into the Galactic Coalition draws to a close, some unofficial interactions between civilians from both ends are starting to occur. And subsequently - rumors and anecdotes start spreading, certain biases are in their early stages, as well as prejudices reemerging from the first time Humanity had its unsatisfying experience with the... Responsibility Barrier. We have since retired that policy.

One particular anecdote that is being reported by both Humans and other Coalition member species is a strange smell that envelops the other party.

We hear many say that Humans have this strange hint of burning, or fire, or metal, an in rarer cases of soil or dust. Likewise Humans have reported that many among us have a slight essence of a floral scent, a few of salt, and a small number of what Humans call "morning right after rain".

This phenomena persists even when both parties have undergone extra thorough and identical decontamination, save for any respective symbiotic microbial life on their surface. The "scent" seems to correlate somewhat with the origin world of the respective species and deviates according to their individual upbringing, though not always.

What's more is that Coalition species don't sense it from others, only from Humans, and Humans also don't notice anything of the sort from species whose origins are even a little closer to the hostile nature of Earth, though nowhere near such extremes.

The most peculiar aspect is that, while we call it a scent or say we smell it, there does not appear to be any physical connection with how smells work, as species whose olfactory senses are either incredibly dull or non-existent report a similar sensation when interacting with Humans.

When questioned, all diplomats who had dealings with Humans and the Human delegates admit they felt it too, but their training forbade them from speaking up about something as trivial as "how someone of a completely different species smells". Diplomacy 101.

In any case, a curios subject to investigate on ones own terms, but as it stands these "scents" don't particularly impact any interaction and may remain a mystery. Perhaps another entry in the infinite expanse of "Psychology and Brain Chemistry is wack".

#humans are weird #humans are space oddities #aliens are weird #smells #humans have auras #so do aliens #instincts are sharp #but what does it mean #who knows but it's a neat to explore less bombastic aspects #worldbuilding #carionto