"BREAKING NEWS," Skye's laptop screen displayed. A friendly blue robot appeared on screen as the news anchor. "Toymakers around the globe are in shock as marble sales increase by over 6,000% in the last three months alone."

Skye smiled. Oh, this is cute.

"Recent market analysis has shown that the influx of genofexian citizens has resulted in an enormous spike in purchases of not only marbles, but marble tracks and even spherical gemstones. With Christmas around the corner, eager shoppers everywhere are disappointed by the lack of stock available for last minute gifts."

The screen cut to a trendy looking human male with short blonde hair and a fair skin complexion, standing just outside a storefront. The subtitle listed his name as Martin Brown.

"I came to the store to get some marbles for my kids' stockings, but they were fresh out here. I even tried a couple other stores down the street but nobody had any packs of marbles to sell."

Skye chuckled.

"The store clerks were just as surprised as me," Martin continued. "I mean, it's not a huge deal, just kinda funny I guess."

The scene cut to a pale human lady interviewing a dark-skinned (or, carapaced) genofex that towered hilariously high over her, both of whom were standing on the sidewalk of a street lit brightly by nearby lamps. Both of them were wearing winter clothes, as snow was falling in that area.

"Now, I'm here with Vastist Zedirasi, a genofex who's been lucky enough to purchase some marbles before the stores ran out of stock. What do you think about the marble craze sweeping through Karma's Gateway?"

"A lot of us love marbles," Vastist began speaking through her Ruxvy, a device that allows genofexians to voice their thoughts. "Where Grand Devotion landed, a lot of genofexians play with marbles for leisure. There are a lot of marble races too. We get very excited over it. It makes me wonder why we never thought of something so simple but fun."

"And do you think this is just a phase that will eventually calm down, or are genofexian marble races here to stay?"

Vastist shrugged. "I don't know. I just like watching them roll. It's calming."

"All right, thanks for joining us Vastist, and enjoy your marbles," the interviewer enthusiastically ended the segment.

The blue news robot returned to the screen. "With such unified buying power, some analysts are concerned that genofexian 'fads' might have a considerable effect on human economy on Hallow. One of our correspondents discussed this matter with Tai Donovan, an economist who's taken a keen interest in genofexian integration into human society."

Once again, the scene cut to a comfy living room lined with bookshelves, antiques, and a lit fireplace. On screen was an older, somewhat portly man with fair skin and a severely receding hairline.

"Well, genofexians are fascinating for many reasons, of course, meeting aliens is something our species could have only dreamed of until just a year ago. So it's quite intriguing to watch how a group of about 60 million immigrants can affect our local markets on Hallow. Of course, not all of them are spending money all at once, but everyone seems to agree that genofexians are very unified in many aspects, including participation and interest in social trends." The man smiled. "And right now, it seems that playing with marbles is the new 'in' thing.

"Ultimately, what that means for our economy is uncertain. Along with marbles, we have seen a sizable increase in local sales of tea leaves, flowers, body lotion, and candles, so while I can only assume these are things they already enjoy in their culture, we would probably have to ask them directly to get more insight on the matter."

Again, blue anchor bot returned. "Following up on these comments from Mr. Donovan, we requested to hear from the genofexian royal council regarding this matter, hoping to glean some information on how social trends may affect the spending habits of the genofex populace. We received written correspondence from Queen Vraxi herself, translated to English."

The text appeared on screen as the anchor read it aloud. "Our kind prides itself in its unity. However, I realize this may have undesired effects on human civilization, such as these sudden economic fluctuations. My council is devoted to working closely with human authorities to give advance warning of shifts in cultural trends to prevent this type of market shortage in the future. I want nothing more than peaceful coexistence between our two species, and we are committed to doing what it takes to ensure that happens."

Skye laughed some more. We went from genofexians buying marbles for Christmas to the queen assuring everybody that they're not trying to usurp us. I am living in the best timeline.

The news report switched to an intermission as the anchor reminded viewers to join them for more at 11am before showing a seven day weather forecast for the city of Era.

I should go meet a genofex and play marbles together. That sounds like so much fun.