Under tightly coordinated action plans, the Cecil Empire-led "Star Sea Plan" proceeded on schedule. New research facilities and technical teams were steadily taking their places, while the existing listening departments and Star Resolvers became the backbone of the new teams. Antavien, far out at sea, sent word that its antenna systems were ready. Linguists, logicians, and negotiation experts from the three great empires of Cecil, Typhon, and Silver spent days and nights in intense discussion, drafting a series of "proposals" for establishing initial contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.
To establish communication with an extraterrestrial civilization whose circumstances were unknown and whose society and culture were highly likely to differ drastically from those of the Loren Continent, and to achieve mutual understanding as quickly as possible in the early stages of contact while reducing the risk of friction caused by misunderstandings, these foremost experts in their respective fields considered every detail they could. Even so, several of the proposals they submitted were rejected at an early stage—
They either revealed too much technological content too eagerly, or were overly cumbersome and exhaustive in presenting culture and values. The initial drafts were sprawling and bloated. The scholars seemed to have taken the wrong approach from the beginning. They had tried to explain everything clearly in the very first communication through sufficiently complete and complex linguistic logic, while also maintaining elegant diplomatic phrasing and displaying all the proper courtesies expected of a "civilized society."
The most problematic draft began like this: To the sender beyond the sea of stars, friendly strangers in the dark starry sky, we are a civilized people living in the world of "Loren." With reason and goodwill, in the glory of all kings, all saints, all spirits, and in the name of our ancestors, we are willing to respond