Erickson, TX

Erickson is a small town in central Texas and the site of humanity's first contact with the yinrih. The town was historically an enclave for Lebanese immigrants arriving in the US via Galveston in the late 1800s. There was an influx of ethnically european Yankies after the proliferation of air conditioning in the mid 20th century, and the town is demographically mixed by the time of First Contact.

The town is large enough to justify the presence of a small institution of higher education, Erickson College, which is most known for its veterinary school. It also hosts a small linguistics program as well as various STEM subjects. The town is served by two churches, Our Lady of the Cedars and Calvary Bible Church.

The town's citizens welcome the newcomers with open arms, and it's largely thanks to them and their many, many, many guns, that these alien visitors remain unmolested by state actors.

The six Claravian missionaries aboard the Dewfall elect to remain in Erickson, integrating into the community and preparing them (and by extension humanity) for a more formal delegation from Focus that, as far as they know[^1], will arrive in 250 Earth years. The missionaries are fairly young by yinrih standards (about 150 Earth years), and the average yinrih lifespan is a bit over 7 centuries, they expect to be alive for the arrival of their fellow yinrih. It comes as a sad surprise when they learn their new human friends will be dead and forgotten long before that day comes.

[^1]: FTL travel in the form of the mass router is perfected a year after First Contact, and the missionaries are able to build one using the Dewfall's fabricator and raw materials purchased with briefly priceless pocket change.