A question from a fan on Daring.

A fan, John, sent me an e-mail asking me about a problem he had with Daring. Why would the Bug Eyed Monsters rob a planet of its water and other resources when they have access to the resources already in orbit, e.g. mineral in asteroid belts and water in in rings like Saturn?

That's a good question, and I should have done a better job of addressing it in the book, but didn't.

First off, it's a good question. Many years ago while reading Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven, Footfall, I had the same reaction. Why attack Earth when you have all the resources of the solar system at your finger tips. Well, part of the answer is obvious. If the aliens got smart, there'd be no story. I'd like to think my aliens are a bit less plot driven.

First off, as I've said before, all actions by us and I suspect all alien intelligence is not necessarily rational. The reaction that Kris faces at the end of the book meets my definition of that.

Thus, the action of the aliens may not meet our definition of rational.

There's a second source for what may appear to be irrational action. Ritual or tradition may dictate people do something that we find down right weird.

A case in point. I've heard a story of the disappearance of the Anasazi Indians from the four corner pueblo area. It's generally agreed that they had suffered from repeated droughts but the question remains why they suddenly got up and left. The report I read said that further studies found that many of the homes had human droppings in the hearth … and when those droppings were tested by modern means they showed evidence that someone had eaten manflesh for their last meal. My suspicion is that a war band of Aztecs from much further south had hit the Anasazi when they were down, and those that survived the attack fled. The Aztecs, to show their disdain for such a non-war driven group, not only ate the dead but desecrated the homes and hearths.

There's no rational reason for that action, but the evidence is there and the action was taken.

Kris doesn't know a lot about these aliens she's stumbled onto. What she has is data points that she's trying to connect. From where I'm sitting, Kris is likely to need the next three books to fit all the pieces together and get a working theory on these monsters. Sorry if you find that a bit long, but we don't do weird overnight.

If John had been one of my first readers, however, I would have had Kris and Penny at least talk about the strange behavior of the aliens on this point. Yep, it's not logical, though it did make sure no life regrew on this planet. Hmm, is that a data point as much as them taking the resources for themselves?

And, yes, John, I did have your question in the back of my mind as I was writing that scene. I should have added the Kris and Penny scene but I didn't.  Maybe that was an …  Oops.