Saturday Night

As the Asteric moon slumped toward the horizon, the iron bench across the street from the Talon's bar ground at Josh's leg bones. He tolerated it for the sake of the fleeting comfort of contact with other living beings. The patrons wandering in and out of Talon's—the Humans, the Selk, the Kelig, the species Josh didn't know—ignored the Human crouched in the dark grasping at overheard pieces of others' lives.

At a quarter past 27, a gold skinned Beseri entered the nearby crosswalk just as two drunk Paggons (as Humans from the suburbs were called) entered from the opposite side. As they passed each other one of the Paggons lurched into the Beseri, nearly knocking him over. They blamed the Beseri, letting loose a litany of expletives before moving on.

Down the block a Selk was yelling crude remarks at a reptilian. “Hey babe, how ‘bout some lizard lovin?” The Selk erupted with laughter. When the reptilian ignored the taunt, the Selk turned to insults. Whether the Beseri understood the Selk, or even his tone, Josh could not tell.

A woman approached from down the sidewalk. The closer she came the more of her altered form revealed itself. Bits of protruding hardware whose purpose Josh could only guess mixed with tattoos and made the woman’s appearance seem not the least immodest, though she wore little fabric. Parts of her skull were replaced by bits of transparent bioplast and a black ponytail snaked from her last piece of real skull to her waist.

When the woman entered the intersection, the tattoo on the back of her neck entered a cone of street light: "Humanity Reigns". Josh chuckled, making the woman turn and notice Josh's distorted face.

“What the hell are you?” Even her facial appliances looked like iron age machinery.

“I’m a Josh.” It was the easiest answer, the only answer that didn’t invite questions he didn’t want to answer.

"Well, Josh, you might consider going back to Josh planet or wherever your species comes from."

I’d love to go home, Josh thought. But I’m treated worse when it’s just other Humans.

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