Hippie Visitors from Outer Space

There’s a few things you should know about life in two thousand and fifty.

Renewable energy, solar, wind and hydro power, have become the dominant energy source, leading to a cleaner and more sustainable planet.

The rise of conscious AI that works hand-in-hand with humans to solve global problems has happened. It made everyday tasks very convenient, too!

Universal basic income has been implemented globally, eliminating poverty and ensuring a high standard of living for everyone.

There is a thriving space tourism industry, making it possible for regular people to experience the wonders of space travel.

Advances in biotechnology and gene editing have made previously incurable diseases a thing of the past.

The widespread adoption of vertical farming has eliminated world hunger and reduced the environmental impact of agriculture.

And finally, all of this has brought a hippie peace loving race of space people to Earth who told us this was the moment they’ve been waiting for to visit humanity.

My job as the space ambassador was to make Gorps feel welcome. I painted myself in green (something they’d insisted on, as green is the only color that doesn’t hurt their eyes) gave them tours, and helped the ones that wanted to stay set up businesses or get jobs.

Despite the many advances that had transformed life on Earth, the arrival of the space people, or "Gorps," as they called themselves, was still a significant shock to many. As the Space Ambassador, it fell to me to smooth the way for our new extraterrestrial visitors, and help them integrate into our society.

One particular Gorp named Xyrgax was particularly eager to make a life on Earth. Xyrgax was fascinated by human culture, and wanted to open a restaurant that served both Earth cuisine and traditional Gorp dishes.

Before he opened his restaurant, he wanted to make sure he knew all he could about the denizens of earth. I taught him to read and write in English, taught him math and science and most of human history.

“This is all fascinating,” he told me.

“Thank you. Maybe you could teach me of your culture and history next?” I asked.

“That sounds like a plan,” Xyrgax said. I nodded.

“What about the other earth cultures? Can you teach me about them?” Xyrgax asked.

“I don’t know a lot about them, but I’m sure I could find someone who does know to teach you,” I said.

“That would be great,” Xyrgax said.

I hired a chef to teach Xyrgax how to cook human food. This made Xyrgax very happy.

A couple months had past and we finally finished setting up the restaurant and perfected our menu. We also became close friends.

"I think this could be a great way to bring humans and Gorps together," Xyrgax told me, as we toured potential locations for the restaurant. "Food has a way of bridging cultural divides."

I couldn't help but agree. "I think that's a wonderful idea," I said. "Let's make it happen!”

Xyrgax named the restaurant after himself, naturally.

The official name was “Xyrgax’s Universal Fusion Cuisine.”

At first he served mostly food from his own planet mixed with a little lettuce for that ‘earth touch,’ which made everyone sickly. A couple people even threw up.

“Well, John, I’m off to a horrible start,” Xyrgax said and cried bright blue tears that sparkled.

“Well, lettuce isn’t exactly a favorite food on this planet, so mixing it with something new probably wasn’t the best idea. What about mixing your food into other Earth foods that people enjoy more, like macaroni and cheese, burgers or pizza?” I asked.

“Thats a wonderful idea,” Xyrgax said.

Xyrgax did just that. He mixed Sgullgax, an alien sea creature, with actual salad, not just pieces of lettuce. He made Tormax, an alien like cheese, into sandwiches using sourdough, one of Earths favorite breads. He put Gpupopopolis spices in minestrone soup and Glarmorgop sauce on linguini.

Xyrgax even put Zumpanogy’s on burgers instead of lettuce and onions, and everybody loved it.

But his broth of boiled Zgorpadex, or Gorp scorpions, with a side of Jasmine rice was my personal favorite.

All this still wasn’t enough to stop a few rowdy protestors from making a ruckus outside of the restaurant. One of them even threw a rock and shattered a window.

I walked outside.

“Who threw that rock? That’s not ok,” I shouted.

“Aliens go home,” one of them shouted back.

“They’re taking our jobs,” another shouted.

“They’re all abductors and probers,” a third person yelled.

“That’s absurd,” I said.

Xyrgax walked outside.

“You might want to wait inside. It might not be safe for you out here,” I said.

“No, John. I should explain myself to the humans. I would like to keep the peace,” Xyrgax said and made a strange face I’d never seen him make before. It almost seemed like he was smiling and frowning at the same time.

I nodded.

“Attention, humans. I should inform you that I love humanity, and all of my employees are humans. It never was or will be my intent to take any of your jobs away. I am a human job creator. While I have no plans to go home, I will do all I can to remedy your discomfort with my presence here,” Xyrgax said.

“Not if we can help it,” One of the protestors said and picked up a rock to throw at Xyrgax. I stepped in front of him and blocked the rock with my head.

I fell to the ground with blood dripping down my face.

“Is this what you do to your fellow humans? We thought humanity was beyond this. It’s why we came here,” Xyrgax said.

Xyrgax leaned over me and put his hand on my head, healing it with his alien energy.

I was then able to get up.

“If you guys don’t leave, I’m calling the police. You’ll all be arrested for trespassing,” I shouted.

“Sorry for protesting,” one of the crowd said.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I asked.

“Yah, we’re sorry. Clearly the Gorps care about humanity. The alien just healed you,” another said.

“Thats better,” I said.

One by one, the crowd apologized and slowly dispersed, realizing the Gorps came in peace.

There were still small fringe groups of anti-alien protestors and rioters out there, but the ones who couldn’t change were all sent to go live on the moon to insure an everlasting and loving peace with the Gorps, our new alien friends, because all aliens should be welcome everywhere they go in an educated and peace loving society, regardless of where the aliens are from. Now all the remaining humans and aliens loved each other.

Because there’s no air on the moon.