#Agent Thoth's #Personal Log: Day 693

Hey Everyone! :-)

Agent Thoth discusses more of the trials and tribulations associated with living with hominids. Incidentally, if you've missed Agent Thoth's earlier entries, you can find them here: Thoth's Journal

Department for the Preservation and Confirmation of Intelligent Life (DPCIL)

Agent Thoth's Personal Log

Day Six-Hundred-Ninety-Three:

I have been the victim of a hominid invasion! After my previous report, my hominid-servant spent an extended amount of time going through one of her cleaning rituals. She then initiated a grooming ritual, in the later part of the day, which is atypical timing for such behavior. She also spent an inordinate amount of time and care in selecting the textile coverings she uses for her body in lieu of the fur that we more civilized species prefer. All of which left my domicile reeking of a strange combination of the artificially scented wax cylinders, the cleaning chemicals my hominid-servant favors, and a chemically enhanced personal scent that she donned at the end of her grooming ritual.

If that wasn't bad enough, not long after the completion of her grooming ritual, my hominid-servant allowed entrance to my domicile by several other hominids! One of her first acts upon their arrival was to offer the other hominids some of the edibles that she told me were poisonous, which indicates a level of duplicity I had not previously thought her capable of. Then, to add insult to injury, she plucked my person from the floor of my domicile and restrained me while the other hominids handled me!

I must admit that none of the hominids harmed me, nor did their intentions seem aggressive. And the attention and compliments my hominid-servant's actions resulted in were flattering, but the presumption is still galling. Once I escaped my hominid-servant's grasp, I withdrew to a position under one of the pieces of furniture in my domicile, which afforded me an excellent vantage point from which to observe the behavior of the hominids while remaining outside their reach. Hominid social interactions are bizarre almost beyond description, but I will do my best.

The first thing one must note about socializing hominids is the extreme amount of noise they generate, not all of which is direct communication. They often make loud honking/barking exclamations or soft humming sounds that do not resemble any of the hominid words I have recorded. What's more, these noises tend to be repetitive. Add to this the exaggerated gesticulation of their upper limbs, and I begin to wonder if there is a secondary hominid language that has heretofore gone unnoticed and undocumented.

It is also worth noting that all hominid social activities seem to center around food. Nourishment of various descriptions was freely consumed throughout the event and when the assembled hominids seemed to grow bored with one kind of edibles, my hominid-servant never failed to produce a new type of fare to tempt them with. Considering how stingy she is when it comes to sharing her food with myself, the juvenile felid, and the canid, I can't help but wonder why she was so generous with the strange hominids. Perhaps she intends to later slaughter and consume them and this was her way of maximizing the resulting meat? If so, it would be completely out of character for her, as I have observed no sign of such cannibalistic behavior in the past.

Aside from the noise and food rituals, I noticed that the hominids liked to move about quite a bit, but only within a limited range. They circled endlessly through the living and food preparation spaces in my domicile, but they avoided my hominid-servant's sleeping room assiduously. Several of them did visit the washing room, but only briefly and only ever in singles, never in multiples. I'm not certain if this seemingly compulsive movement is some form of mating ritual or if it has some other significance. Normally, I would seek additional samples in order to form a more complete impression, but I fervently hope there will not be a repeat of this invasion in the foreseeable future. Having so many hominids in such close quarters is quite unnerving.

Hominids can be so sneaky! ;-) You may have noticed that Agent Thoth has a new look. I hope you like his new picture as much as I do, but I'd love to hear your thoughts, either way. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. ;-) Happy reading, everyone!