It has been 50 years since the Kanamits landed and fifty years since their book was discovered to be a cook book. In the decades that have past, Earthlings have not broken relations with the Kanamits or their planet. On the contrary, there is valuable ore in the Kanamit soil that is vital to our economy. In mutual cooperation and a spirit that admittedly was fueled more by corporate interest than genuine brotherhood, we have learned to get along. Many Kanamits live here on Earth and would never dream of eating a human. They still honor their Kanamit traditions but cooking people is an activity they strongly reject. Kanamits are a part of Earthling society and have come a long way. One Kanamit was even sworn into congress using the cook book to take his oath!
Kanamits and Earthlings have come a long way and both have benefited from each other’s knowledge. Sure there were Earthlings who teased young Kanamit children for past indiscretions of their forefather’s culinary habits. There are still many bigoted types who stubbornly refuse to trust them but those closed minded individuals are largely scorned for their ignorance and intolerance. The majority of Kanamit children were born and raised on Earth and have never even been to the Kanamit planet. Most do not even speak the Kanamit language. For them the cook book is seen as an example of historical literature and while some of the recipes might be read aloud in the native tongue, it is viewed as a cultural tradition and the children do not even know what these passages are saying. They are told that they are poems and the beauty of their recitation is undeniable - even to Earthlings (as long as they are not able to understand that these are recipes for cooking them!)
However, on the Kanamit planet, an Earthling is still in grave danger of being killed for food. They are allowed to live as long as they agree to live as a second class citizen. They are not allowed to build any of their own restaurants on Kanamit soils yet some older ones that were built long ago still exist but they can not make repairs to them. In spite of this allowance, their restaurants are often attacked by “Fundamentalist or radicalized” Kanamits. These are the Kanamits that wish to live according to the old ways and as such have benefited little from the cultural and technological exchanges between these two worlds. There are Earthlings who visit the Kanamit planet to try to help these Kanamits understand the benefits of a modern society. For some Republics in the Kanamit world, this has been a welcome exchange but in other regions, these Earthlings are viewed as intrusive and downright evil. When trying to introduce a vegetarian diet to these Kanamits, they are seen as promoting an evil agenda which goes against the very core of the Kanamit culture. Kanamit Clerics may brutally punish any Kanamit found with Earthling cooking utensils or food stuffs.
Another curious thing that was learned is that the Kanamits eat each other. Rivaling sects amongst the Kanamits will practice cannibalism against their enemies and oddly enough it is the one vegetarian sect of the Kanamits that is the most persecuted. The more fundamentalist Kanamits have even been known to eat their children. This practice was not considered a crime in ancient times but is now seen by Earth bound Kanamits as an unsavory practice. Still several incidences of this behavior have taken place on Earth but when discovered, it is dismissed in the news media as domestic violence so as to not raise old suspicions against the Kanamit culture.
Now and then news of a slaughter of humans will reach the media but it is soon obfuscated for fear of dredging up past grievances and old feelings of hate and fear between the Kanamits and the residents of Earth. These incidences are viewed as happening only in the remote and uncivilized regions of the Kanamit planet and when they do happen on Earth, we are assured that this is only a tiny minority and that they are twisting the Kanamit culture into something that it does not truly represent.
And that is the puzzling part of this; there is an inconsistency that is disturbing to some. It is not just the idea that Kanamits no longer do these things but a denial when it is found thatsome still are doing these things. This denial is not just within Kanamit society but among humans who put a great deal of effort into covering up any evidence that such behavior still goes on. Effort is also placed in denying the history of these acts. Text books have been rewritten to eliminate any discussion of the days when Kanamits openly ate humans. While historians bristle at this lack of integrity, progressives feel it is necessary to engage in revisionist history for the sake of cohabitation and peace among Earthlings and Kanamits. Many think this has gone too far but it is difficult to control since the Ore industry has made many Kanamits extremely wealthy and their money funds the major Universities of Earth.
What is one to make of those who insist so strongly their cook book is a book of poetry when it is obviously not? And what of the Kanamits who still broil bake or fry humans? When asked, they say quite frankly, “We are Kanamits. This is what we do. This is what our cook book tells us to do.” But the Earthlings rush to explain that they are just a small number of Kanamits that are going against their culture. How is that going against their culture when the recipe used is right there in the book? We are told that they have misinterpreted it. There is little room for misinterpretation. While some translations call for different spices, the main ingredient of human flesh is inarguable. There are Kanamit organizations set up to address any instances of cooking humans and to dismiss speaking of these events because they perpetrate “Kanamiphobia”. We still see this happening although the news often does not report these events. One Kanamit cooked several of his co-workers but the word “cooking” was omitted from the report and the whole ordeal dismissed as “work place stress”. In cases where Kanamits have eaten their own children it is labeled “domestic violence”. While these things are not blatantly threatening, and those who call attention to them are seen as alarmists, one has to wonder why there is such collusion between Earth Leaders and the Kanamit culture to silence honest dialogue. Even those who believe strongly in freedom of speech have little to say when this very freedom is silenced on the topic of the Kanamits. It is a gnawing concern to many Earthlings who dare question what is going on.
