Mankind was poised to join the Galactic Federation!
Our trade negotiations with the recently arrived aliens had been proceeding well although, not without a few moments of confusion. Nevertheless, we strove to present ourselves in the best possible light. When we broke for lunch, a white-gloved waiter entered the room and took orders from around the table.
“And what will you be having to eat, sir?” the man asked the head of the alien delegation.
Long after the aliens’ abrupt departure, we discovered the glitch: our translating system had been reformulating the English word “what” into the alien concept “who.”
Author’s note: I’ve always been intrigued by the concept of “First Contact,” and how fraught with difficulty it will be. Seemingly miniscule but very potent mistakes will likely prevail.
Haha, nicely done.