If You Was a Moklin

Human pioneers have spent decades carving a foothold on the distant world of Moklin, where the native inhabitants—tiny, whiskered beings that look almost like human children—have learned to speak English and run bustling trading posts. The narrator, a Company employee named Joe Brinkley, watches a mud‑splattered child play while merchants haggle over prices, and the scene feels almost idyllic, with Moklins admiring the memory of Old Man Bland, the first human settler, and even building him a tomb in their own style.

But beneath the calm, odd signs begin to emerge. Trees around the post uproot themselves and march away, clearing a landing pad long before any ship is scheduled to arrive. When the old freighter Palmyra drops in a month early, the Moklins swarm out in eager celebration, and the colonists sense that something about the planet is not what it seemed. As reports pile up, a subtle tension rises, promising a deeper mystery about life on Moklin.