A look into the Paz Species:

The inhabitants of the planet Paz are known simply as the paz species. They are humanoid beings with an intellect that soars above the level of the average human. They are inherently peaceful, a state of being many humans seem to find difficult. However, paz are less vivacious and emotional than humans, and some would say they have lost the tenacity needed for survival.

There are pros and cons to each of these traits, of course, and Curio Citizen explores those differences so the reader can form their own opinion of which species is preferable. Should humans become more like paz? Or should paz learn from humans? Are there lessons we can learn from each? 

Though there are surface-level differences, physically, paz and humans are very alike. They are genetic kindred, despite the light-years between their planets. How that came to be is one of the countless mysteries the universe holds. Why the paz cannot see the similarities is a mystery Carmen needs to uncover before she can gain acceptance on Paz.

             "Their skin was pale slate, a smooth gray with a subtle tint of blue. None had hair whatsoever, not even eyebrows that I could see. Two of the five had arcing, bony ridges along their shoulders, partially visible before the outer edges were covered by the coarse fabric of varying, worn hues they all wore. Otherwise, their features appeared human, but it was difficult for me to see the similarities past one other striking difference.
             Their eyes were haunting, the same shape and size as any person’s, but completely black, with no whites or distinguishable pupils or irises at all. I could only tell they were appraising my features by the glitter of the light that caught their dark orbs with each of their stares’ subtle shifts. They were all roving my hair, my face, my torso, my limbs.One spoke, a smooth, low voice in a foreign tongue. A couple of murmurs swept in from others. One of the two with shoulder ridges responded to his words and stepped forward. This individual’s voice was lighter, and as I listened to the other one with similar ridges, I decided both must be female..."

           

             "...A short one, small in frame, pointed a little blue finger right at me and shouted a high-pitched word. Taller, grayer beings, like all I had seen so far, spoke in a hubbub of interest as they followed the little one’s scamper towards my invisible wall. A gaggle of more little ones, all dull blue with pale gray spots, pressed their palms against the barrier, skin smushed flat, spreading their fingerprints wide.
            I needed no interpretation to guess the meaning of their thrilled words.
            Look!
            The tiniest ones, clearly infants, stayed in the background, clinging to their mother’s backs by clasping the shoulder ridges, revealing the boney projections’ use. They were almost entirely a dull shade of blue, with big black eyes that stared at everything around them with an infant’s wonder. Their heads were smaller in proportion to their bodies than any infant’s I had ever seen, and they had no trouble swiveling their necks as they stayed upright with ease.
           Their pubescent siblings resembled a bad case of acne, the large, round spots of childhood fading to leave the opposite coloring of tiny specks of blue as the slate gray pallor of adulthood took over. The wonder faded as well. The youths looked bored, lurking behind their parents in protest.

            Seeing the unexpected children made me consider that these beings, whether human or not—a distinction I still had yet to decide—were not so very different than those I knew as family, as friends, as any people I had seen on my numerous travels. And yet they clearly saw me as something other, something lesser."