Class Project

Aliens were no longer unusual. They visited Earth’s touristy spots as much as anyone. If aliens visited Earth previously, then traveled elsewhere faster/at/near the speed of light, they experienced far less time passing than Earthers. This Time Dilation effect produced some curious conversations.

Dawud saw the two aliens at the Nabatean Theatre in Petra, Jordan. He recognized the rabbit-like faces and moth antennae of Arbuti.

“Friends!” called Dawud. “Tell me of your travels!”

“Hello!” said Anchunikala. “It’s good to be back.”

“You were here?” said Dawud.

“Yes!” said Allubintaloo. “This was our class project in Xeno-Education.” He gestured to the carved stone dwellings characteristic of Petra.

“Interesting!” grinned Dawud. “What were you teaching?”

“We taught Earth locals how to carve stone with only Earth tools available,” explained Anchunikala. “We got an ‘A’ on the project!”

“You helped make ancient Petra?”

“Yes! I remember it like it was yesterday,” sighed Anchunikala.

“Actually,” corrected Allubintaloo. “It was last week.”
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Written for What Pegman Saw: https://whatpegmansaw.com/2017/08/05/petra-jordan/

Author’s Notes:

Xeno: definition is: “other; different in origin.” Thus, anyone specializing in teaching people alien to them would be a specialist in Xeno-Education.

Time Dilation: “Special relativity indicates that, for an observer in an inertial frame of reference, a clock that is moving relative to him will be measured to tick slower than a clock that is at rest in his frame of reference. This case is sometimes called special relativistic time dilation. The faster the relative velocity, the greater the time dilation between one [person and] another, with the rate of time reaching zero as one approaches the speed of light (299,792,458 m/s).”

Petra, Jordan: “…originally known to the Nabataeans as Raqmu, is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved. Petra is one of the New7Wonders of the World.”