All Seated on the Ground

Connie Willis

Our popular movie and literature culture has taught us that aliens from other worlds come to attack us or save us or study us or take over our planet or... Well, they're here to do something.

But Connie Willis, with her ever busy mind, wonders what would happen if aliens land on Earth and do nothing. Well, they stand there at glare at everybody. At the end of each day they leave their post at the Denver University and return to their spaceship. In the morning they go back and stand and glare. They don't react when the mayor, the governor, federal officials (the president refuses to be snubbed by them), foreign officials, religious leaders, scientists, or anyone else tries to welcome them to Earth. They stand and glare.

Meg Yates is a newspaper humorist. Somehow she gets invited to the most recent team to approach the Altari. They've been on Earth for months and Christmas is approaching. The Altari continue to glare at everyone but now they follow people around to other locations.

Meg's team takes them to the local shopping mall in the height of shopping season. As they approach Victoria's Secret and the fundamental preacher is talking about the scandalous models, the Altari sit down. Everyone with them stops, shocked. That is the first time the Altari have done anything but stand. What made them sit down?

Meg and choir director Calvin Ledbetter think they may know the reason. That's if anyone will listen to them. But then again, maybe they're wrong. The Altari seem to be ready to leave Earth as mysteriously as they came. Maybe we'll never know why they came here.

Willis has donned her whimsical hat for All Seated on the Ground. It is a Christmas novella about First Contact. Willis has pegged the characteristics of self-important people who know what is happening and can slant the facts to fit their own agendas. This theme often shows up in her work (right now The Bellweather comes to mind) and is pronounced in this cute story. I found myself grinning constantly. All Seated on the Ground is also a romance. Meg and Calvin suit each other so well.

Communication between humans is never easy. Now try communicating with strange looking aliens who only glare. Yep, that's a recipe for a bit of fun.

All Seated on the Ground is one more proof of Connie Willis' genius. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2008. How many does this make for her now?

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis