Module 3’s short stories show the importance of communication between species. Mal in “Dolphin’s Way” and Cliff Rodney in “Davy Jones’ Ambassador” are similar in that they are curious and willing to communicate with other species. Instead of rejecting or being overly aggressive towards the ocean creatures (he could very well have attacked The Student at the end of the story), Cliff is willing to communicate and even gets excited during the exchange of information. The Student has gone out of his way to understand our language and ensure that messages can be exchanged across a living platform. Similarly, Mal has been pursuing his research for a long time, hoping to truly communicate with the dolphins in the hopes of reaching an even more advanced civilization. Jane’s alien race also wants to ensure that the superior race of Earth is willing and able to communicate with other species before they make contact. Communication is also important in “Jerry Was A Man”: there are translators for Martian, Napoleon can understand spoken commands, and all anthropoids are taught how to speak human language. In fact, it was singing–another version of human communication–that decides Jerry’s humanity.

So then what happens when humans and aliens aren’t able to understand each other? I was reminded of the recent movie Arrival, in which Amy Adams’ and Jeremy Renner’s characters attempt to figure out this alien races’ language and communicate with them. What would have happened if they had never figured out the language? Why does the human race’s default mode seem to be attacking what we can’t understand, as seen by the rapid militarization around the pods? How would other alien species react to what they can’t understand or communicate with?

I suppose this could also be a reflection from within the divides of the human species as well. History shows us how a lack of understanding and communication between peoples and cultures can lead to prejudice and war. To me, these stories reflect our own world by encouraging communication across all peoples and species, no matter how foreign they may seem.