First Contract is a satirical 2000 science fiction novel by Greg Costikyan.
In 20 Minutes into the Future Silicon Valley, life is pretty good for wealthy entrepreneur Johnson Mukerjii. His latest product, a holographic computer display, is about to ship, and his company stands to make millions.
They come in peace, welcoming Earth to the Galactic community. And the advanced technology they bring with them renders Mukerjii's holographic displays instantly obsolete — along with half of Earth's economy. Reduced to poverty, Mukerjii eventually finds time to wonder: Is there any way that Earth could do business with the aliens?
Tropes:
- Aliens Steal Cable: The aliens have been watching Earth's TV broadcasts.
- Bigger on the Inside: At the alien trade show, one vendor is selling luggage that's bigger on the inside (and also bulletproof).
- Conspiracy Theorist: After the collapse of Earth's economy, one shows up in the shantytown where the protagonist is working, trying to blame everything on the Jews.
- Cup Holders: What can Earth manufacture? Cheap little doohickeys (which, due to disparities in interstellar exchange rates, the companies involved are able to charge thousands of dollars for). The one that's made in the story is a cup holder that works in zero gravity. It becomes ridiculously popular.
- "Dear John" Letter: A "Dear John" DVD, from the protagonist's Trophy Wife informing him that since he's lost his money, he's lost her too.
- Diplomatic Impunity: In order to avoid being arrested for fraud, Mukerjii uses bribery to get himself and his colleagues appointed to high offices in Tuvalu, which carry a measure of diplomatic protection.
- Dog Food Diet: After a Time Skip, we find Mukerjii working as a cook in a shanty town, cooking what he describes as "cat food" — canned tuna condemned as not fit for human consumption.
- Failed Future Forecast: Near the beginning, there's a throwaway line about the minimum spec computer to run the holographic display needing a 10GHz processor. In reality, raw processor speeds for consumer PCs topped out at around 3GHz.
- Flying Car: One of the earliest pieces of disruptive technology that the aliens introduce is cheap flying cars, rendering the terrestrial motor industry obsolete.
- Genre Savvy: The first group of aliens to make contact play up to how humanity has portrayed aliens in fiction — for example, making their initial landing on the White House lawn.
- Gold Digger: Mukerjii's wife is only with him for his money; when his firm goes bust, she instantly clears out with all his savings.
- Hope Spot: With Mukerjii's company on the verge of bankruptcy, his chief technology officer is searching the aliens' database of knowledge for something that might help to bring their technology up to alien standards. He calls out that he's discovered an algorithm that could help— but before he can get any further, the bailiffs repossess his computer and the opportunity is lost.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- The ranting conspiracy theorist is wrong about almost anything, but Mukerjii acknowledges that he does ask one important question: Has Earth managed to sell anything to the aliens?
- Leander Huff is a very annoying person to be around, but because he's a science fiction author he spots important points the other characters don't. Such as why it was a terrible idea to sell Jupiter to the aliens.
- The Law Firm of Pun, Pun, and Wordplay: The protagonist's lawyers are the firm of Captious, Invidious, Conniving and Cruik.
- Lucky Charms Title: The chapter headings substitute '$' for 'S' (for example, one is called "Friend$ In High Place$").
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Leander Huff is a right-wing science fiction author with a regular magazine column in which he comments on computer hardware — suggesting that he's inspired by Jerry Pournelle.
- Our Presidents Are Different: The President of the USA is a President Personable, who in private speaks like a surf dude.
- Outside-Context Problem: No-one on Earth was expecting advanced aliens to show up and share their technology.
- Periphery Demographic: In-universe. Jingoistic science fiction author Leander Huff is an unexpected hit with the aliens, who find his Humanity Is Superior novels funny.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: For the zdeg, war is the continuation of business by other means — they react to broken contracts with military force.
- Pun-Based Title: On the notion of First Contact.
- Riches to Rags: When Mukerjii's company goes bankrupt, his wife takes everything else they own, leaving him with only the money he has in his pockets — $17.42.
- Ridiculous Exchange Rates: The alien currency, gozashstandu, exchanges with dollars at a rate of roughly one gozashstandu to $7000.
- Sophisticated as Hell: In the bankruptcy proceedings against Mukerjii's company, the lawyer for the foreclosing bank begins setting out his case formally until the judge tells him to get to the point. He replies "The gist is that they've got about as much chance of pulling their company out of the hole as a hound dog has of screwing a fence post. We say, close 'em down and sell 'em off before more money goes down the tubes."
- Year X: The book is set in the year 20—.
