The literary merits of Alien Intelligence

[Reddish Mage]

This actually reflects a synthesis of two different objectives: on the one hand, you have people whom are interested in using fantasy as a stand-in for real life; on the other you have those whom enjoy fantasy for the sake of fantasy. What people in this latter group are after is what Rich collectively labels "Escapism".

And that's where the difference is. Where the more practical-minded see "Escapism" as a pointless distraction, others see it as a goal in and of itself. And that's where having truly (or as close as possible) alien intelligences really helps a lot.

Fantasy by its nature always includes certain elements that are not "real world." One can find real world meaning and relevance to 21st century living in fantasy within the remaining parts of the story. Real world metaphors do not need to be imposed everywhere and certainly not specific metaphors such as "monsters as simply people with a different skin"