Marissa Lingen's "The Radioactive Etiquette Book" (novelette, diplomacy, humor)

A human diplomat posted at some alien site has to deal with incomprehensible motives of different species of aliens. Specific situations in the story include kidnap of some human kids & stealing of the diplomatic rule book ("The Radioactive Etiquette Book"), neither of which the aliens consider bad.

The story makes a lot of effort to be funny, but it just didn't work for me.

Fact sheet.

First published: Analog, March 2013.
Rating: B.