diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c6d102e..fa4ae01 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # glyph
 
-The dictionary and toolkit for the **grid script**: how humans write down what Ross 128 b sends, in InterImm's *The Contact Era*.
+The dictionary and toolkit for the **grid script**: how humans write down what Ross 128 b sends, in InterImm's *The Contact Era*. It is our way of representing their language, not their own writing.
 
 [![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/glyph-cli)](https://pypi.org/project/glyph-cli/)
 [![Python](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/glyph-cli)](https://pypi.org/project/glyph-cli/)
diff --git a/docs/cli.md b/docs/cli.md
index 00f603a..b48602d 100644
--- a/docs/cli.md
+++ b/docs/cli.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 $ glyph --help
 usage: glyph [-h] [--version] [--vocab PATH] COMMAND ...
 
-glyph: the dictionary and toolkit for the grid script of Ross 128 b.
+glyph: the dictionary and toolkit for the grid script, our transcription of what Ross 128 b sends.
 
 Words are written KIND.WHICH (BODY.OTHER = "your world"), or KIND alone.
 A number is COUNT and base-512 digits: COUNT.137, COUNT.4.171 = 2219 (COUNT.2219 also works);
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index c92257e..782b00c 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -45,4 +45,4 @@ Every command is in the [command reference](cli.md). The rules it follows are in
 
 ## In the story
 
-The grid script is a human transcription, run by the translating machine. It is not a script anyone has seen them use, and nobody knows what they look like. `glyph` is that machine's lexicon, made real: a growing list of signs, each with a meaning, that every new transmission is read against.
+The grid script is our way of representing their language, not their language itself. As far as anyone can tell, they speak by resonance, in air: one voice alone makes only a few tones, and voices together make richer ones. The grid is how the translating machine writes that speech down, one band per voice. Nobody has seen them use any script, and nobody knows what they look like. `glyph` is that machine's lexicon, made real: a growing list of signs, each with a meaning, that every new transmission is read against.
diff --git a/docs/script.md b/docs/script.md
index 637b10c..68e03cf 100644
--- a/docs/script.md
+++ b/docs/script.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # The script
 
-This is the grammar `glyph` implements: version 8 of the grid script, where **a text is a knowledge graph** and **spacing is structure**. In the story it is our transcription of their data, not a script anyone has seen them use.
+This is the grammar `glyph` implements: version 8 of the grid script, where **a text is a knowledge graph** and **spacing is structure**. In the story it is our way of representing their language, not their language itself: they speak by resonance, in air, and the grid is how the translating machine writes that speech down. Nobody has seen them use any script.
 
 ## The five rules
 
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e4ac9f9..ea8009b 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 [project]
 name = "glyph-cli"
 dynamic = ["version"]
-description = "The dictionary and toolkit for the grid script of Ross 128 b (InterImm, The Contact Era)."
+description = "The dictionary and toolkit for the grid script, our transcription of what Ross 128 b sends (InterImm, The Contact Era)."
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT"
 license-files = ["LICENSE"]
diff --git a/src/glyph_cli/__init__.py b/src/glyph_cli/__init__.py
index 58364b2..8b441dd 100644
--- a/src/glyph_cli/__init__.py
+++ b/src/glyph_cli/__init__.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""glyph: the dictionary and toolkit for the grid script of Ross 128 b."""
+"""glyph: the dictionary and toolkit for the grid script, our transcription of what Ross 128 b sends."""
 
 from .script import Entry, GlyphError, Part, Vocabulary, Word
 
diff --git a/src/glyph_cli/cli.py b/src/glyph_cli/cli.py
index 69101c2..7871eeb 100644
--- a/src/glyph_cli/cli.py
+++ b/src/glyph_cli/cli.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 ENV_VOCAB = "GLYPH_VOCAB"
 
 DESCRIPTION = """\
-glyph: the dictionary and toolkit for the grid script of Ross 128 b.
+glyph: the dictionary and toolkit for the grid script, our transcription of what Ross 128 b sends.
 
 Words are written KIND.WHICH (BODY.OTHER = "your world"), or KIND alone.
 A number is COUNT and base-512 digits: COUNT.137, COUNT.4.171 = 2219 (COUNT.2219 also works);
diff --git a/zensical.toml b/zensical.toml
index cd2a0e3..43f3214 100644
--- a/zensical.toml
+++ b/zensical.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 site_name = "glyph"
-site_description = "The dictionary and toolkit for the grid script of Ross 128 b."
+site_description = "The dictionary and toolkit for the grid script, our transcription of what Ross 128 b sends."
 site_url = "https://interimm.github.io/glyph-cli/"
 site_author = "InterImm"
 copyright = "Copyright © 2026 InterImm · MIT License"