Banks has already split up with her daughter's father, and she is headed out on a date. Banks remembers a day in the future when her daughter is sixteen years old. Banks's request for a digital camera and big video screen in order to begin recording heptapod writing. Banks assumes that if the heptapods have a writing system, it is bound to be consistent, which means it will be easier for her to recognize repeating graphemes. She hopes being able to see the words written out will help her make progress in recognizing spoken sounds. Banks tells Colonel Weber that she has an idea for how they can make faster progress: she wants to switch to studying their writing as well as speech. Donnelly go to speak with Colonel Weber about their first day progress. Banks tries to pronounce the word for "heptapod" herself, but, as expected (since humans and heptapods do not have the same vocal tracts) her words sound little like the heptapods' words, and the heptapods do not understand her.ĭr. She labels the words that she finds "Heptapod A," in the chance that the heptapods speak different languages. She also learns the word for "chair" and begins to understand what their word for "yes" might be.
She tries to begin learning their language but makes little headway beyond learning the word heptapods use to refer to themselves. As she does so, two of the heptapods enter. Banks sets up her equipment for her linguistic fieldwork: "microphone, sound spectrograph, portable computer, and speaker" (97). Donnelly is assigned to learning about their physics and mathematics. She is assigned the task of learning about their language while Dr. Banks's request to talk to a native speaker is approved, and she is taken out to one of the "looking-glasses"-communication devices that the heptapods have placed at 112 different locations on Earth. Banks informs him that an audio recording is not enough-she needs to converse to a native speaker.ĭr. Colonel Weber wants her to provide insight into the heptapods' language from a sound recording. At the beginning of the story, she is approached by a government official, Colonel Weber, and a physicist, Dr. Throughout the story, she narrates the events of her daughter's future life and recounts the arrival of a breed of aliens, referred to as "heptapods," on Earth. Louise Banks on the night her daughter is conceived.
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