Xenognomic response

The response of a species to xenognosis.

There is no way to predict a species' response with any certainty. Some species of high intellectual prowess and advanced technology are, for reasons of local religion or morality, unable to cope with the concept that they are not alone in the Universe. Others, less technologically advanced, may prove far more flexible. The problem from the wizardly point of view is that there is frequently no way to find out what the response will be except to allow species to come into contact and then stand back.

In cases where the reaction has been extremely severe, extensive timeslides have occasionally been implemented to patch a given timeline so that memory of the events crucial to the xenognosis are excised or (at least) severely limited. This kind of intervention is always held to be undesirable because of the negative ethical implications of interfering in the perceptions and personal histories of many intelligent minds. However, sometimes it has to be done. The power outlays for such wizardries, as for all interventions of the psychotropic type, are tremendous, and it is unfortunately commonplace to lose a significant percentage of the wizards involved in such group work. (AWOM)