Appearing in Life on Earth[]
Characters[]
- Random humans
- Tentacle alien
- Utrom flight crew
Species[]
Locations[]
Objects and vehicles[]
- Guitar
- Moon-Island transport
- Taxicab
Summary[]
A pair of Utroms bring their Moon-Island transport in for a landing in Manhattan. One of the Utroms issues a last-minute warning to a small, tentacled alien, telling him to constantly be aware of the instructions he received when he signed up for this day trip. He warns the alien that many humans still possess a deep fear of them and must avoid any conflict.
As the alien leaves the transport, he is met by a group of protestors who yell at him to “go home” while others yell for him to “die”. The transport takes off and the alien continues into the city. He is almost run over by a taxi, and the driver shouts at him. On the sidewalk, he encounters a man talking on his cell phone. The man doesn’t even look at the alien as he puts his cigarette out on the little guy’s head.
The alien watches the man walk away and then a dog comes up to sniff at him. The dog’s owner just stands there as the dog takes a leak on the alien. When they leave, two women walk up to the alien and one of them opens her shirt to flash him. Both women walk away laughing and then a couple spots the alien. The man asks the woman to take their picture. He poses with the alien while she does so, and the interaction is being watched by a street musician in a cowboy hat who is carrying a guitar.
The musician quickly chases the alien away, telling him that it’s his corner and the alien needs to move along. Continuing to walk along, the alien spots a homeless man sitting against a wall. The alien walks up to him and the homeless man looks directly at him, eyes flashing with understanding.
See also[]
Trivia[]
- The street musician in this story is a parody of the Naked Cowboy, aka Robert John Burck, a real-life NYC street performer.