by Vincent Pet
***
It felt good to be back on the modern facilities of a star ship, even if Uric felt irritated that the council had decided to send one of their ships to the planet to assess the situation. He knew things were not proceeding according to protocol, but protocol did simply not apply to this species. They were extremely unpredictable – the first intelligent species he had encountered whose animal instincts were just as strong, if not stronger, than their intellect. This species had a tendency to cloud their rational thoughts with their emotions and were not very adept at separating the two when a pure logical decision was required. This the council knew, since Uric had been sending detailed reports every five thousand times the planet revolved around the sun.
“So,” began the member of the council who had journeyed hundreds of thousands of light years for the meeting. “We have attentively read your reports. This species kills and deceives, is jealous and greedy, not to mention such cruelties as slavery and torture. These are concepts that are foreign to many species. Are we sure it is intelligent? Are you sure that we have the right species? How about those whales… or bees? Don’t they show more promise? Is it possible that you erred when assessing the situation, Uric? I know it’s most unlikely, but it could happen to the very best.”
The council member was directly linked to Uric’s mind, scanning Uric’s images of his stay on Earth as he talked. There was a third being in the room that was the gateway, linking their minds with other beings listening in to the exchange throughout the ship.
Uric didn’t budge a muscle.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the species is intelligent. They meet every criteria of article eight on defining intellect.”
Uric didn’t want to hear that he had wasted over a hundred thousand years of his time on an error in judgment. It wouldn’t look good on his curriculum and would relegate him to a simple organizer.
The council member extended his wings in a sign of deep reflection.
“There are always exceptions. Remember the Cgons and how long it took us to become aware of them? We thought they were mere asteroids, but they turned out to have a highly sophisticated and unique intelligence.”
Uric remembered that very unusual case. The organic portion of that species was in another dimension while the mineral rock in this dimension was a form of appendix they anchored on to provide them nourishment. They had unknowingly killed many while mining the precious minerals before realizing that these were an integral part of sentient beings living in the other dimension.
The council member continued his thoughts.
“The Cgons did not encounter one criteria of article eight, yet they were intelligent. Maybe this species encounters every criteria of article eight but are not intelligent. Is it possible?”
Uric chose his words carefully. He had every intention of returning back to the planet and completing his work.
“I think that a conventional model is not the best way to proceed with this species. You have to admit that in their own way they are as unique as the Cgons. I propose a specific approach that is based not on our collective wisdom, but on the specific parameters of this species.”
The council member’s bulging eyes turned a slight shade of pink, denoting confusion. Uric had assumed the same shape as that of the council member. It made communication among them much easier.
“Explain. I didn’t understand much of what you just said.”
If Uric felt irritated, he made certain not to show it.
“Perhaps, instead of stimulating every single culture that shows a promise of blooming, we should concentrate and target the most prominent one. We will leave it to that culture to unite the world and create one common society. You see, due to their overly aggressive nature, these different cultures will never unite peacefully. We saw that with the Tower of Babel project. Unite them and they will eventually destroy themselves internally and split off into different groups.”
The council member thought hard.
“So you propose to make one group stronger so that it can kill the others and grow? That’s preposterous!”
“Unfortunately, it is a strategy to consider under these circumstances. Let us use their own traits to further their progress. Once united, we will introduce our concepts and prepare them to join our galactic society. By that time, we’ll have recuperated a species and I’m sure that they’ll later eventually be appreciative and concur with our approach.”
The two received a message through the gateway from the head geneticist on the ship.
“I have a major concern with this proposal. Giving one group great power to kill would mean narrowing the genetic pool of the species. Whole traits might disappear and this might be harmful and affect not only the intelligence of the race, but also its psychological constitution. In theory, we will be promoting these aggressive traits in future generations.”
“The probability has been calculated and corresponds with your assessment,” replied Uric with a determined voice. “It is a risk that we must take. The alternative can be frightening. If we leave them to themselves, they will evolve as is and not necessarily for the best. The planet’s genome is highly unstable as the varying climatic conditions favor mutations by producing a vast range of environments. If somehow they reach the stars with these aggressive traits uncontrolled and unmonitored, they might just turn this innate violence against us.”
Uric was a very patient individual. In his line of work, he had to be. Usually the results of his labor were not seen until hundreds of thousands of years later. Yet, the time it took the council member to decide seemed indeterminately long even to Uric. Finally, the glands over his lungs turned a deep orange, indicating that he had finally reached a decision.
“If I understand correctly, you are asking for complete freedom on this assignment?”
“Yes.”
“After all, you have the title of Great Organizer.”
“I do.”
“May I ask you how you wish to proceed?”
Uric nodded. He had been planning and was anxious to implement his ideas. Maybe one day they would make his theories into standard operating procedures. That would be the greatest honor any organizer could ever aspire to.
“There is a culture, well situated geographically between the others, who call themselves the Egyptians. They seem to possess a high degree of order and are mathematically inclined. I think they are rising to become a dominant force.”
The council member seemed satisfied.
“Mathematically inclined? Hmm, promising indeed!”
The council member lifted himself from the floor and hovered to the ceiling. He tucked his six legs under his body and placed them in his pockets.
“Proceed, but I want to be informed much more often.”