Yes, it’s a silly hypothetical with optional poll (optional in the sense that I won’t decide until the very last second whether to include a poll but nevertheless won’t be changing this paragraph either way). Here’s the sitch:
A generation ago, the extraterrestrials from this thread established their spaceport on Earth. Everything went swmmingly. Thus, in the last quarter century or so, humanity has made the acquaintance of a dozen or more alien species. For purposes of this discussion we are interested in only one: the people whose name transliterates as Meiflai.
Externally, the Meiflei are almost identical to human, though they’re still easy to distinguish given that their skin tones range from azure to indigo. Behaviorally they are also quite similar to us. They fall in love, they marry, they divorce; they feel bliss, rage, and grief. They’re straight, bi, and gay in the same proportion as we are; likewise there are prudent sages, average schmucks, and utter fuckups in similar numbers as human.
But the most important thing about the Meiflai is the brevity of their lives. A Meiflai woman’s pregnancy lasts about 60 Earth days; a child reaches puberty in 3 of our years, and full adulthood in another 3. A 15-year-old Meiflai is equivalent to a human in the mid-seventies, and the longest lifespan on record in 24. In their eyes this is no sort of handicap–just natural.
The Meiflai learn even more quickly than they mature. A Meiflai baby is walking inside of a week, potty-trained in a month, and talking in complete sentences in a year. Eidetic memory is the norm. The average adult, if motivated, can master a completely unfamiliar language in six weeks; they’re similarly gifted in other fields. One thing they lack is artistry. Before meeting offworlders, no Meiflai had the concept of music, literature, or drama; and while they enjoy the arts of other species (they’re the galaxies’ biggest fanboys), no full-blooded Meiflai has ever shown any ability in that area.
Meiflai-Terran sex is not unheard of. Under normal circumstances it leads only to smiles and cigarettes, but cross-breeding is possible with a little chromosonal tinkering, a feat easily within their technical skill. Meiflai-Terran hybrids typically live 10 to 20 percent longer than their blue parent while retaining the intellectual gifts. Most are themselves infertile without technological intervention (again, no great feat for the Meiflai).
Assume that you’re single and meet a hot Meiflai of the correct sex, orientation, and physiological age for you, would you be willing to date? Fuck? Marry? Have kids? What makes you choose one way or the other?
