Xlookup:Oh, hello! You must be the >candidate~ - $PLAYERNAME, yes? My name is Dr. Xlookup, I'll be your contact point during the assignment.
Xlookup:Unfortunately, I don't have the time to brief you at this moment. The council is hearing a >petition~ on my behalf, and I may be called to testify.##Please, go see Vivid Crimson, at the far east end of the hall. She will get you set up.|Ask for details about the petition=3^Goodbye=999
You:Can you tell me more about the petition?
Xlookup:Of course. In my paper in >Xenosociological Proceedings~, I presented a convincing, if disturbing, argument that intelligent alien life may develop without ever discovering     #the hug.
You:The hug?
Xlookup:You are right to be shocked. There may be billions, if not trillions, of intelligent lifeforms, going through life without ever experiencing a hug.##We may be just as deprived. What forms of physical affection do they have that is unknown to us?
Xlookup:This is a core argument put forth in favour of restarting the space program. We must resume our search for intelligent, alien life. We must learn their language, and then   respectfully   offer them a hug. And ask for a pat on the head.
Xlookup:Hence, we have to restart the space program! And for that, we have to retrieve or replicate the basic research that was taken down during the midcentury >privatisation of space travel.~
You:I... I see. Thanks for the primer.|Continue=2
