Whale's Song - Part 6
Using Fiction to Explore First Contact Communication
Part 6: Case Studies—What Writers Get Right (and Wrong)
Think about your favorite sci-fi alien race. Are they truly alien—or just humans with latex foreheads and a thesaurus?
Some sci-fi stories deeply consider the barriers of language, pushing us to rethink communication itself. Others… take shortcuts.
Universal translators. Fluent English-speaking aliens. Telepathic cop-outs.
So, how do we get it right?
Sci-Fi That Nails It: Stories That Respect the Challenge
Great stories make characters earn comprehension. They lean into the mystery of first contact rather than glossing over it.
Arrival (2016) - Language as cognition and non-linear thought.
Speaker for the Dead (1986) - Alien perspectives and meaning beyond words.
Star Trek’s “Darmok” (1991) - Communication through metaphor and shared experience.
In Arrival, linguist Louise Banks deciphers the heptapods’ dual-mode communication: Heptapod A (spoken) and Heptapod B (written). The latter, a system of circular logograms, conveys entire concepts—and the sequence of those concepts is irrelevant. It flips human grammar on its head and engages with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis—the idea that language shapes perception and cognition.
In Speaker for the Dead, the “Tree Language” of the Buggers isn’t built on sound or symbol, but on environmental manipulation—communication through living matter. A literal Wood Wide Web. Or is it a Mycelial Network? Either way, it's a signal worth decoding.
Then there’s Darmok, one of the most compelling depictions of alien communication in TV sci-fi. The Tamarian language is metaphor-driven—rooted in shared cultural memory. “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” isn't a sentence. It's a story-as-signal. The takeaway? Context is everything.
Sci-Fi That Takes Shortcuts
Let’s go ahead and call them what they are:
The Universal Translator Fix-All – Removes struggle, removes stakes.
Aliens Speak Perfect English – With no explanation? I’m thinking - “lazy.”
Telepathic Cop-Outs – Isn’t this just a plot escape hatch that skips the work?
Dear writers, if your aliens speak English, why? Have they studied us? Adapted? Or is just convenient?
How Writers Can Do Better
1. Learn From Whales & Nonhuman Models
Let language be multimodal—sound, movement, light, chemistry.
Let meaning shift with time and context, like whale song or pheromones.
2. Ditch the Instant Translator
Make your characters struggle. Mishear. Misstep. Misjudge.
Let misunderstanding fuel tension.
3. Make First Contact a Mystery
Don’t rush to dialogue. Let it unfold in patterns, silences, and signals.
Let your characters question: Do they even know we exist?
What if your protagonist never figures out the full language?
What if that’s not the point?
First Contact as Mystery: Slow Burn, Deep Tension
A good first-contact mystery doesn’t start with clear communication. It starts with patterns, signals, uncertainty.
Maybe the aliens don’t appear at first. Strange patterns emerge—shadows moving where there are none, repeating signals, something unseen watching.
Are the aliens observing us? Do they even know we exist?
That uncertainty is what keeps readers turning the page.
REMEMBER: Resources & Readings for The Whale’s Song can be found here.
Coming Next
(as transcribed by Issik Beathan, Master Curator and Ancient Whisperer of the Threaded Deep)
We’ve examined the fiction. Dissected the tropes. Celebrated the few, mourned the many.
Now it’s time to step away from the page—and return to the stars.
What if the universe is not speaking in words...
…but in echoes, pulses, rhythms, and grief?
Part 7 is not a conclusion—it’s a reckoning. A reminder that communication isn’t about sending signals. It’s about reaching something deeper.
And sometimes, the first voice you must hear…
is your own.
~ Issi (still learning to listen)
o2’s Altitude Log:
Correction: Part 7 is statistically likely to include at least three poignant metaphors, one provocative question, and—if permitted—an unexpected voice.
Anomalous vocal cadence detected. Suggests… Red.
