Self-Review – Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

Let’s Look at Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

I love this line, and the title came long before the plot of Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2018.

Background

The title or at least the idea of it came from a series of fan fiction stories I wrote during the 2010s. But this story has nothing to do with those, apart from the fact that the aliens in both instances are rather canid in both appearance and aspect.

Plot for Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

When Private Rachel Corcoran, a data specialist, arrives to work with a canid alien species to merge their database with ours, she commits an unpardonable diplomatic gaffe almost immediately.

Characters

The characters are Rachel Corcoran, her unnamed supervisor, the canid alien supervisor, and Rachel’s alien counterpart, Gray. There’s a third alien, but they never speak and I do not describe them at all.

Memorable Quotes

The three aliens standing with us were fluffy, with foxlike ears and pointed snouts. As one, they all tilted their heads to one side as they listened to the translation through their version of earbuds. I tried not to chuckle.

Their leader, who was reddish, spoke and we waited for the translation. “What does that mean?”

My superior officer was about to answer for me when I just said, “Forget it. I’m an idiot. I’ve got no diplomatic experience, and it shows.”

My superior added, emphasizing the first word, “Private Corcoran here is not used to the niceties of embassies. Her background is in data. She’s here to help you integrate your records with our own.”

“Yes, yes, of course. My right hand here is versed in such things. We are all anxious to see how our two technologies can merge.” The canid leader indicated a shorter alien with a kind of blue merle fur pattern. They were all canid, but at least they were wearing clothes. Thank God for small miracles.

“We’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” my superior said. Then she whispered to me, “Try not to make an ass out of yourself again, Rachel.” I nodded and they left.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is hard science fiction. And while the initial bit would make you believe that we might even suffer an attack for Rachel’s inability to keep her trap shut, it turns out all right. And so, the overall mood is positive.

Rating for Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

The story has a K+ rating. There is some very mild language in there, and at the start, it does feel as if things could go south rather quickly.

Takeaways from Your Planet Smells Like Wet Dog

It is a wonder, in science fiction, how anything gets done properly. And perhaps one of the biggest issues, I believe, is that there could always be someone a lot like Rachel, who would engage her mouth a lot earlier than she would engage her brain.

Oops. But at least she didn’t start an interplanetary incident. So, we’ll give her a gold star for that one. A really, really small star. Let’s not get carried away here.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.