This article is classified "Real"
"Don't talk to strangers!"
- moms and dads around the galaxy
"A stranger is just a friend that you haven't met yet."
- anonymous (to me at least, since I don't know who said it)
To the lone hitchhiker making their way across the galaxy, the above two
lines typify the extremes of attitude that are likely to be encountered
upon entering a new environment. The first makes it bloody difficult to
get a ride, since it's a bit hard to get someone to stop and talk to you,
much less pick you up, if they subscribe to this maxim. On the other hand,
those who like to apply the second will tend to slow you down on your mad
dash across space, stopping *you* and chatting about things that interest
*them* (read: mostly boring.) Ah the values of moderation! To find beings
who will respond when queried politely, or who, when in possession of
information that will be useful to you, will volunteer those facts -- that
is the treasure of times when you needs must interact briefly with people.
The hitchhiker must always bear in mind that they are the strangers to
everyone else, just as everyone else is still a stranger to you. Don't
ridicule customs (especially since customs tend to have large groups of
beings willing to defend their right to those customs...) that you
encounter. Who knows, hopping around on your fifth foot on the second
Wednesday of every year may keep certain planets well balanced (and think
what would happen on the second (or third, depending on the year) Thursday,
if you happen to have not gotten a ride by then, when all those other feet
are available to run you down to, er, explain the reasons why you shouldn't
have laughed yesterday.) Hopefully any forbearance that you show to others
will result in more sympathetic attitudes towards you when you declare that
you must do something that they consider silly, such as wearing a breathing
mask or some such frippery.
To keep your travels carefree and harmonious, talk to some strangers
(especially the really strange ones, as they tend to be most interesting),
leave some alone, and make lots of friends so you can get rides wherever
you wish to go... then again, friends tend to expect to be paid back for
transportation expenses, so maybe sticking with strangers is a better
idea...