How would we react?

[RHJunior]

After the initial ambassadorial contact.... well, from that point things sprawl out into countless threads.

The racconans would be initially delighted to learn that the surrounding "kingdom" was actually a constitutional republic, much like their own.
They might not be quite as pleased once they start getting access to human mass media.... and start getting a picture of our current state of sociopolitical affairs. There would also be some serious "rough spots" where America's culture and their own would clash.

Keep in mind, Racconan society is much more libertarian than our own on some points--- much more conservative or traditional on others. They would be bewildered by our political correctness codes, for instance. They would be horrified by our abortion industry.... and their politicians would start to have serious problems with our increasingly hypocritical society--- one that gives rights with the constitution, and violates them with the courts (free speech on one hand, yet PC codes, FCC regulations, and campus speech codes on the other; Private property yet unrestricted asset forfeiture and eminent domain; abortion and euthanasia for the innocent yet anti-death-penalty activists for murderers; We Support the Troops but we'll sabotage their mission...)

Meanwhile various segments of our own culture and government would be having conniption fits over their current bumper crop of hemp, their universal right to bear arms, their lack of a "proper" public school system, and their (from a politician's perspective) woefully under-regulated medical, agricultural, and pharmaceutical industries....

Imagine how spazzed they'll get when they find out about the Biomancers.

To say nothing of the hierarchial complexity of dealing with not one, not two, not three,not four, but at least FIVE different sapient races already known to live in the Seven Villages.... The Racconan, the Gragum, the Dryads, the Gnomes, and the Bogies. The rather intricate synergy between the races would be a bemusing phenomenon for the human ambassadors to try to grasp.

The open religious influence on their society would have certain people chasing their own tails ("how can we insult their 'jesus freaks' without being ethnically insensitive, Buffy??")

The theological response would range-- well, about like always-- from denunciation to shoulder-shrugging acceptance to attempts at comparitive theology. The similarities between Sojournerism and evangelical christianity would delight some, while others would repudiate it as wishful thinking....

And the environmentalists will be absolutely, utterly FREAKING.

[Tom Mazanec]

I just hope my Church would be on the side of Good. Speaking as a Catholic, I know my Church has a tendency to wait till the 59th minute of the 11th hour to do the right thing, after it has exhausted the wrong thing. We have seen this in the Geocentric/Heliocentric controversy (and there are still Catholic Geocentrists I read on Wikipedia) all the way up to the Pedophilia Scandal of today. If Pope Benedict has indigestion that day, we could be seeing Pope Pius XXX in 2843 sermonizing that the Church has always taught that Racconnans had souls.

[DracoDei]

Hmmm...
Side-note: Could the 'clinging mist-bubble' effect of the mist-wall maintain itself against the suction of a turbine? What about a helicopter's prop-wash? Is there a speed limit beyond which a plane could outrun the bubble?

Important question: Did the same 'dimensional burp' that re-located the Seven Villages bring Lux to Earth for the first time, or are Earth humans just even worse with it that Aerith Humans?
Because if the Rac Conan Diamh have something approaching a long term (say a 100 year time scale) total monopoly on Lux then that would make them VERY VERY dangerous/valuible...


My major thought:
Short version: Large 'exchange of personel' to de-centralize against a first strike designed to wipe out the Rac Conan Daimh.

Detailed:
The initial theory is going to be that the Rac Conan Diamh caused the dimensional shift intentionally. As soon as communications advance to the point where this is questioned, a large policy change would probably be in the works but FAST...

See, we have a tightly geographically concentrated source of some extremely unusual resources (lux use) whether or not this can now be taught would initially be irrelevant... It looks like a tempting target for a nuclear weapon or two from a panicky nation that doesn't much like America. ICBM from anywhere, or cruise missile from Cuba or maybe Mexico. The solution to this might be (at least in part) to have a large 'exchange of representitives'. Quarentine proceedures might or might not be followed to any given extent, but the government might want to spread out the more valuible Rac Conan Diamh to other places. Since this would feel very much like wishing to take hostages (because they WOULD be watched carefully), then the number of scientists etc passing into the mistwall would be offered to be increased, while their security might be migrated over to the Rac Conan Diamh. Anyway some examples:
-A large number of biomancers would be sent to make contact with the biochemists of the American research/university system (language barrier not as much of a problem when you have ball-and-stick models of proteins on a computer screen on one side, and hovering in mid-air on the other side).

-Weather Lux-master's work with NOAA to try and determine how much the arrival of the Seven Villages, especially the defensive weather-manipulations, mucked up the weather systems (if at all), especially in the short term. Remedy if possible?

-Artificers get to study human locking/security mechanisms, in exchange for their efforts to teach CIA, and Special Forces types how to pick a lock with their hands behind their back. And perhaps more importantly, how to ward a device against that sort of thing.

-Perfumers tested for ability to learn the smells of explosives and illegal drugs (BONUS! They can already be considered trained on one of these since it is common in there society).

-Speaking of Hemp - Pharmacologists map out the differences in the effects of THC on Rac Conan as compared to humans (to provide scientific evidence for eventual debate on weither the Seven Villages should consider changing their policies).

-Elders go to Washington, DC or maybe Camp David...


I hope I expressed this reasonably clearly...

On a somewhat related issues:
Nessie = hands you a map of the bunker complex before you send the troops
Squidge = Physical infiltration ablities that would make Tom Cruise's IMF team green with envy...


Just a funny scene:
Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter) wrestles a Gragum with the gate receipts , PPV, merchandising etc going to fund wild-life conservation. Steve loses badly 4 rounds to 1 (best 4 out of 7 pins), but smiles throughout the entirety of his recovery from COMPARITIVELY minor injuries.

[DracoDei]

Err... better make the wrestling match at least two on one to keep it interesting, right?

[Tom Mazanec]

DracoDei:
By our present models of weather, the Mistwall would much things up big time. A 300 mile supercloud is going to make the Butterfly Effect look like a gnat hitting an airplane. And if they have to maintain at least the Mistwall (if they pop out as an island off the Northeast Coast or in the Gulf of Alaska, for example...Ralph pointed out they can control the weather anywhere) even the climate is going to be altered unpredictably.

[Rokas]

I think you place too much fragility upon the atmosphere. There would be changes, but mainly, these would be local or regional in nature. As Ralph noted, the main thing would be the piling up of moisture on one side as the previaling winds come along and are forced up and over the wall/dome. This is the same effect mountain ranges have, and this it is not entirely unpredictable nor essentially destructive.

As for the size? Hurricanes frequently grow to the size of Texas, or even larger, depending on the conditions. But hurricanes don't affect climate, climate affects hurricanes. They are not the giant, random monsters that the media loves to portray, but are merely simple low-pressure systems that are maneuvered around like a pawn... Or rather, like a hockey puck between goalies.

Big muck up? Locally, yes, but overall, weather patterns wouldn't be too badly affected 'less the Rac Cona do something intentional.

[Tom Mazanec]

One interesting effect might be if the air pressure is different on Airith (it is a different world, after all). There may be a high or low pressure storm for awhile. But Ralph did not mention this. Too bad, it would permanently change barometer readings.

[Rokas]

By a slight margin, yes. But not so much that we'd notice it. The total effect would probably be less than what's encountered in a thunderstorm downdraft.

[Labrusca]

To say nothing of the hierarchial complexity of dealing with not one, not two, not three,not four, but at least FIVE different sapient races already known to live in the Seven Villages.... The Racconan, the Gragum, the Dryads, the Gnomes, and the Bogies. The rather intricate synergy between the races would be a bemusing phenomenon for the human ambassadors to try to grasp.

Are the Brownies considered part of the Gnomes?

[RHJunior]

Brownies ARE gnomes. different terms for same species.

[Tom Mazanec]

What about the elves?

[StrangeWulf13]

Not native to the area. They roam about the countryside and forests among the humans, living in near-feral bands. This is because there are no adults among them.

As to why there are no adults, you'll have to delve deep into history and ask about their ancestor who made the mistake of making a request of a senile old lizard with near-cosmic powers...

Yeah. Ralph has made interesting twists on some of the old myths and fairy tales.

[Kerry Skydancer]

Lizard???

[StrangeWulf13]

Well, technically, it was a salamander. Which you'd know if you hadn't rolled a one on your Knowledge (history) Check!

Sheesh... amateurs...

[Earl McClaw]

As to why there are no adults, you'll have to delve deep into history and ask about their ancestor who made the mistake of making a request of a senile old lizard with near-cosmic powers...

The Winslow?

[Tom Mazanec]

The salamanders sound almost like the Jinn of folklore. They may even be associated with fire (I do not recall). But there is a tradition that Jinn tend to grant wishes literally, with unpleasant consequences...

[Kerry Skydancer]

Heh. I thought you'd managed to misspell wizard. So a literal wish-grant, eh? Dangerous stuff. Someone wanted his race to have eternal youth, or something like that?

[Tom Mazanec]

Basically yes. Elves lived at least as long as any "normal" race, but aged and died. So an elf king asked a great salamander that his race not age. So they don't. They just reach maturity and when they are about to begin aging, they just...plop. There is more to the story, please buy the CDs.

[SMITTY_THE_SMITH]

Worst case scenario: Media paints them as enlightened aliens, and new religious cults spring up to worship the new-found godlings. Rac'Conans freak and upgrade their Mistwall.

Worst case scenario? One word, Napalm. If Bush discovered a race of non-humans in Florida. I'm pretty sure the war would start immediately.

[JakeWasHere]

That was unnecessary.