The Human Cover Story

The People Upstairs

This flow traces the evolution of the Greenes' public explanation from foreignness to medical abnormality.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Foreign Origins Foreign Origins from "The People Upstairs". Foreign Origins Accent and Reserve The Greenes' speech and manner suggest an origin outside the neighborhood.

Foreign Origins from "The People Upstairs". Foreign Origins Accent and Reserve The Greenes' speech and manner suggest an origin outside the neighborhood.

Foreign Origins Accent and Reserve The Greenes' speech and manner suggest an origin outside the neighborhood. Their inability to provide a clear homeland makes them objects of speculation. Plausible Distance A foreign background explains enough to satisfy casual observers without requiring evidence. The family gains protection from being categorized as merely unfamiliar. The first cover story depends on human habits of national labeling. It works because uncertainty is less troubling when assigned a country.

Political Refugees Political Refugees from "The People Upstairs". Political Refugees Balkan Suggestion Dan proposes implying that the family comes from a Balkan state absorbed by larger powers.

Political Refugees from "The People Upstairs". Political Refugees Balkan Suggestion Dan proposes implying that the family comes from a Balkan state absorbed by larger powers.

Political Refugees Balkan Suggestion Dan proposes implying that the family comes from a Balkan state absorbed by larger powers. Threatened relatives can explain their silence and caution. Child's Adoption Terence quickly accepts Russia as the answer, showing how readily a child uses the social explanation available around him. The cover begins to shape his self-image. A fabricated political past becomes more persuasive because it resembles real histories. Its danger is that Terence may inherit the lie as identity.

Radiation Victim Radiation Victim from "The People Upstairs". Radiation Victim Medical Narrative May claims that Terence was once mistaken for a tumor and altered by X-rays.

Radiation Victim from "The People Upstairs". Radiation Victim Medical Narrative May claims that Terence was once mistaken for a tumor and altered by X-rays.

Radiation Victim Medical Narrative May claims that Terence was once mistaken for a tumor and altered by X-rays. The story converts alien anatomy into a tragic human diagnosis. Social Sympathy The principal's anger changes into sympathy, and she urges May to disclose the condition to future schools. The family is excluded but no longer suspected of espionage. The cover story succeeds by giving the observers a moral role. They can pity Terence without questioning the world that produced him.

during the neighbors' early speculation

after Terence's first day of school

during the principal's explanation of Terence's body