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I am trying to open this story that deals with an alien race as well as humans of our common variety sort. I have been unable to figure out a way to describe the typical lysiscan in even the first page. It seems to me the most elegant (as opposed to "ham-handed) way to accomplish this is to 1) skip ahead to a scene that is currently in the opening of chapter 5 or to 2) start off with a kind of Encyclopedia Galactica (italicized) quote describing the lysiscan race.
What are your opinions/comments on this problem?
1)
Catherine had her husband, John, home and to herself. Just the two of them. They were sitting side by side at the kitchen table talking in low voices when footsteps crossed the porch. The front door opened, letting in a blast of cold air.
John’s hand tightened around Catherine’s arm. A neighbor would have knocked first. “I’ll see what’s wanted.”
“I’m coming with you,” she told him.
In the living room the fireplace embers glowed, leaving dark shadows beyond the sofa and the three overstuffed chairs. Catherine saw the two Guardians near the door. Their dead white skin showed up eerily. The one on the left raised his head. His eyes caught the faint firelight and reflected it all silver-like. Catherine recognized him by the blue-grey line on his throat: Scar.
the other possibility is 2) (all in italics and standing before the opening of chapter one with Thwelin and the supervisor)
lysiscan: a humanoid race standing between seven feet to seven and a half feet tall. All lysiscans have white skin that greys slightly under exposure to the light of certain suns. Hair is confined to the top of the head and is black except when living in cold climates such as Mars or the more extreme northern regions of Earth. There it turns white. The two hands and two feet sport retractable claws which can range in color from black or yellowish to clear. Both eyes appear slightly tilted toward the bridge of the nose which is narrow. The eyes have expandable irises which can change color from black through shades of grey all the way to pure white depending on the mood of the individual.
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