The Alien Agenda

Is it a coping strategy for sensitive people to get on in an often harsh reality? Probably it is that for some. Others may actually have some kind of supernatural connection -- who's to say what's possible and what isn't? Whether or not otherkin are what they claim to be is beside the point. Personally, we respect all otherkin as what they say they are. We're not convinced it's just a question of wishful thinking, as some people would like you to believe. What matters to us is how otherkin -- like anyone else -- choose to live their lives here on this earth, knowing what they are.

Astraea are otherkin. We don't usually describe or think of ourselves that way, because we are not supernatural beings and we don't have any unusual traits. But, technically, we are otherkin, because with three exceptions, we are not Earth people, but natives of Laura, an alternative dimensional world, part of a parallel universe that coexists with Earth. At certain times and in certain places, the two worlds intersect. They also intersect in this body we live in; that is, we use an earth body in this world, but we are Laurad, and when asked "where do you go when you're not in the body?" the answer would be "Home, to Laura."

There is nothing overt to distinguish a Laurad from an Earthman -- no tails, pointed ears, etc. Even if you could see the frontrunners as we are, the main difference would be that we're men of various ages, and the body is middle-aged and female. All you would see are some quite ordinary-looking people, looking a bit Mediterranean, or Asian, or Native American. Even the pastel hair and eye coloring usual among northerners in our world is now echoed by young people on Earth. Our difference is in our cultures, in some of our values, in our language.

Why do we even mention it? Mostly we don't. One reason is because it doesn't matter; we're here, aren't we?

To us, the objective is to live responsible lives as earthmen without losing touch with our own truth. We are still what we are, in spite of efforts by parents, the public education system and peer pressure to force us to accept reality as they saw it. We are pretty impressed by our own ability to hold onto as much of our truth as we did, and we thank our creator goddess Amah for giving us the strength to do it. Just as people establish "Chinatowns" or "Little Indias" in some cities, ethnic districts preserving lifeways that are meaningful to them and reminiscent of their home cultures, we create our own such spaces. We have learned that it's wise to be careful who we invite to share these things, but we do wish to share them.

A lot of times, people don't understand why anyone would seek to separate themselves culturally in that manner. "What, you think you're better than we are?" No, we're trying to preserve a sense of identity that is our own and as precious to us as what you are is to you. We don't think of ourselves as superior to human beings: we do know that we are different. Anyway, what is human? The earth is a big place; it is not (yet) all Western civilization. We have found things that seem Laurad, that feel familiar, from many earthly sources. Our way of life is not better: it is better for us. Abandoning it in favor of a reality that doesn't fit would be like wearing the wrong shoes.