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Description
To Sir Gregory, of the office of interplanetal affairs,

I have spent little over a month now, visiting with the Helstteans, and have learnt much of their ways and customs. You will no doubt be pleased to know I have been able to conclude with quite some certainty the nature of their society; it is that of a business.

Their planet and the asteroid ring that circles it are rich in mineral resources, argon silicon, iron and a lot more besides are dragged from the bowls of the planet in astonishing amounts. The leader of the city I find myself housed within offered to take me on a tour to see some of the mining process itself. Alas, they could not find a heat-suit that would fit my 'alien' build. Literally, I did not have the 'branches' needed to hold it on.

Almost every city across the planet, Helsttea, is now looped around and supporting a mine dedicated to unearthing these previously untapped resources and almost eight three percent of the population can proudly claim to work with the mining industry in some way. The other seventeen percent are maintaining the city itself; everything from maintenance and cleaning to banking and shops. The leaders themselves only lead because as young 'seedlings' they were deemed to have the proper attributes. Namely, they are the salesmen of the planet's goods and decide in an assembly who to sell to, where and at what price.

But these leaders are not the only Helstteans who are given roles at a young age. Most are divided and limited to certain jobs that ensure maximum productivity. There can be no prejudice in this selection because Helstteans neither know the offspring their scattered seeds produce, nor do they care. Naturally, not all blindly accept this predetermination and quite an impressive underworld has sprung up supplying the fake documents required for a working (and living) position in a field of the Helsttean's choice. Not one Helsttean would ever admit to ever have taken advantage of this service and so that statistics are unclear.

Walking the streets I notice another odd detail; the rich seem to prefer living just shy of the ground and the poor are pushed to the very top of their impressive skyscrapers. Upon visiting the higher levels I find why: the wind is too strong for an easy flight down, or up, and the pollution from the mines is ghastly to say the least.

But journeying to these high rise slums was not a waste of time; I managed to talk with some of the less wealthy of the Helstteans and heard for the first time some of the less perfect things they call us. 'Fleshie' caught my attention, as did 'gooey mammal' and 'disgusting animal'. (Much is lost in the translation of course). Such prejudice I did not expect, especially when we think of the benevolent trees and other plants from our own world.

I'm afraid I must conclude as I am running short on time. I have been invited to another discussion about the high quality of Helsttean silver. I am beginning to suspect they may be trying to sell me some!

From, your humble employee from diplomatic affairs, ID 55329

P.S. Could please arrange for more food to be sent?

Description
To Sir Gregory, of the office of interplanetal affairs,

I have spent little over a month now, visiting with the Helstteans, and have learnt much of their ways and customs. You will no doubt be pleased to know I have been able to conclude with quite some certainty the nature of their society; it is that of a business.

Their planet and the asteroid ring that circles it are rich in mineral resources, argon silicon, iron and a lot more besides are dragged from the bowls of the planet in astonishing amounts. The leader of the city I find myself housed within offered to take me on a tour to see some of the mining process itself. Alas, they could not find a heat-suit that would fit my 'alien' build. Literally, I did not have the 'branches' needed to hold it on.

Almost every city across the planet, Helsttea, is now looped around and supporting a mine dedicated to unearthing these previously untapped resources and almost eight three percent of the population can proudly claim to work with the mining industry in some way. The other seventeen percent are maintaining the city itself; everything from maintenance and cleaning to banking and shops. The leaders themselves only lead because as young 'seedlings' they were deemed to have the proper attributes. Namely, they are the salesmen of the planet's goods and decide in an assembly who to sell to, where and at what price.

But these leaders are not the only Helstteans who are given roles at a young age. Most are divided and limited to certain jobs that ensure maximum productivity. There can be no prejudice in this selection because Helstteans neither know the offspring their scattered seeds produce, nor do they care. Naturally, not all blindly accept this predetermination and quite an impressive underworld has sprung up supplying the fake documents required for a working (and living) position in a field of the Helsttean's choice. Not one Helsttean would ever admit to ever have taken advantage of this service and so that statistics are unclear.

Walking the streets I notice another odd detail; the rich seem to prefer living just shy of the ground and the poor are pushed to the very top of their impressive skyscrapers. Upon visiting the higher levels I find why: the wind is too strong for an easy flight down, or up, and the pollution from the mines is ghastly to say the least.

But journeying to these high rise slums was not a waste of time; I managed to talk with some of the less wealthy of the Helstteans and heard for the first time some of the less perfect things they call us. 'Fleshie' caught my attention, as did 'gooey mammal' and 'disgusting animal'. (Much is lost in the translation of course). Such prejudice I did not expect, especially when we think of the benevolent trees and other plants from our own world.

I'm afraid I must conclude as I am running short on time. I have been invited to another discussion about the high quality of Helsttean silver. I am beginning to suspect they may be trying to sell me some!

From, your humble employee from diplomatic affairs, ID 55329

P.S. Could please arrange for more food to be sent?