Artifact from Budgeon by Howze: Baseball Battle for Earth

Bludegeon by Thaddeus Howze is a fascinating short that describes a world in which Hurumharumps (pronounce this with as much phelgm as possible to impress them), aliens from another planet, have come to take over Planet Earth with the plan of taking humans as their servants.

Our narrator negotiates with them and proposes baseball as form of “battle.” Whoever wins, gets to control Earth. The best human baseball players in the world form a team, and the Hurumharumps form their own with the plan to play the game in one month’s time.

The Hurumharumps have their own form of servant who help clean them and prepare them for the games. They are described as “insectovoids.” Without giving too much away (no spoilers), these insectovoids turn out to play a significant role in the Hurumharump universe. I loved this story but there were no new baseball artifacts because they used the traditional baseball gear. I instead imagined an insectovoid and what the uniforms could look like for them.