by Russell Fine
“I think they may be the best thing I have ever tasted!”
There were at least a dozen rolls in the basket. Jeffery and Debbie each ate one and the rest were consumed by Garlut and Brealak.
“What are these things made with?” Garlut asked.
“The primary flavor is called cinnamon. I would guess the other ingredients are wheat flour, sugar, eggs, and butter,” Debbie replied.
“Where does cinnamon come from?”
“It comes from the inner bark of some types of what we call evergreen trees.”
“The taste is definitely unique. It is a product Earth should consider exporting.”
A few minutes later, the waiter brought the bowls of lobster bisque, and when he noticed that the basket of cinnamon rolls was empty he asked if they wanted more. Brealak said, “Yes, they are wonderful.”
Garlut and Brealak also liked the lobster bisque and the salad, but not as much as the cinnamon rolls. When the waiter brought the main course, the two aliens appeared to eat as if they had never eaten before. They both ate every morsel of food on their plates. Then Garlut asked, “Is all the food on Earth this good?”
Jeffery smiled and said, “The economy on Earth improved substantially after the invention of the power module. As a result, this kind of food is available almost everywhere. However, the food at this restaurant is better than most. Why do you ask?”
“Because this food is not typical of what is available on other planets. I believe Earth could create a very profitable tourist area offering food this good.”
“You should mention that to the World Council when you speak to them.”
“I will certainly do that.”
Then Jeffery asked, “Do you know what chocolate is?”
“No, not really. I have seen it mentioned in videos, but we have never tasted it. Is it as good as the cinnamon?”
“It has a completely different taste and texture, but I think it’s better. This restaurant offers a dessert called a chocolate fondue. It includes various types of foods you dip into liquid chocolate. I think we should order that.”
When the waiter came over to pick the dishes up, Jeffery ordered chocolate fondue for dessert. He nodded in agreement and said that was an excellent choice.
When the waiter brought the fondue, Jeffery could tell his guests were anxious to try it. There was a large pot filled with the liquid chocolate and surrounding it were sliced apples, sliced bananas, small thin crispy crepes, and marshmallows. Jeffery picked up one of the crepes, dipped it into the chocolate, and ate it. Then Garlut and Brealak did the same thing. Once again, they appeared to be very happy with this new experience.
After tasting the crepe, Garlut said, “I may spend the rest of my life here. This is wonderful.”
Jeffery showed them how to use the small forks to pick up the other items on the tray. In less than ten minutes everything was gone.
Brealak said, “This was, by far, the best meal I have ever eaten. But I do not think I could eat anything else, no matter how good it is.”
“I think we’re all quite full. Would you like us to show you around the station?” Debbie asked.
“That would be perfect,” Garlut responded.
They walked around the station for forty-five minutes. Garlut and Brealak seemed to like what they saw. They asked a few questions which were quickly answered and then walked back to their rooms. Garlut thanked them for a wonderful evening and Garlut and Brealak went inside their room.
The next morning, Jeffery received a call from Garlut asking him and Debbie to come to his room. Jeffery told him they would be there in ten minutes. Jeffery and Debbie had been having coffee in their room when the call came. They had already showered but were not dressed yet. They both dressed quickly and went to Garlut’s room.
They knocked on the door and Brealak opened the door immediately.
“We came over as quickly as we could. Is there a problem?” Jeffery asked.
“Not at all. We would like your help in preparing our presentation to your World Council. Do you know any of the members of the council?”
“No, I’ve never met any of them, but Debbie and I will be happy to assist you in any way we can.”
“I think Garlut and I learned a lot last night about Earth culture. We have been studying Earth for a long time, but we were not looking at how individual people behaved. Earth seems to be somewhat unique in that everybody is different. You all have different desires. You want to achieve different things during your life. We have watched some of your video programs and we thought they were pure fiction, but many of them now seemed to be based on real human emotions.
“Most of the cultures we deal with are not like that. On most planets, one’s future is determined at the time one is born. Education is designed to provide the knowledge needed to perform the job that will be assigned. Our social life is more open. We are free to choose a partner, but male and female partners are always from the same social class. It obviously is not that way on Earth.”
At that moment, Garlut walked into the living room and said, “Good morning. I am glad you are here. I think we really need your help.”
“Brealak was just explaining that last evening you discovered you had some misconceptions regarding Earth’s culture. But I don’t understand how having dinner with us and our tour of the station could have created that feeling.”
“Jeffery, it was more than our dinner and tour. Brealak and I watched news videos for several hours last night and that was when we realized we do not know as much about Earth as we would like. You must understand, this meeting with your World Council is very important to us. As you know, we do not make any attempt to contact a planet until its people achieve interstellar travel. Earth is the first planet in the group I am responsible for that has reached this goal in more than five hundred years. I will only have this opportunity once and I want to make sure we do our presentation correctly. As I have often heard watching Earth videos, ‘You only get one chance to make a good first impression.’ ”
“Now I understand your concern. As I said before, Debbie and I’ll do anything we can to help.”
“What do you know about the members of the World Council?”
Jeffery realized that he knew almost nothing about current Earth politics. After a few seconds, he replied, “I don’t know anything specific about them. However, my feeling is that the members of the council are motivated by a desire to help the people whom they represent first and all the people of Earth second. Being a member of the council is a lot of responsibility and the job does not pay very much. Politics on Earth has changed a lot in the last hundred years. A hundred years ago, politics was all about money. If you had enough you could give it to a person in power to convince them to do something you wanted to be done. It would be impossible to do that now without being caught, so that doesn’t happen anymore. If you can make them believe the trade agreement will be good for Earth, I’m sure they’ll agree to join your trading association.”
“I hope you are right. What do you think they would find enticing?”
“I think the offer of advanced technology would be important. I also think they’ll like the idea of having interactions with people of alien races. Again, you know our history. We fought wars over religion and skin color for more than five thousand years. It was only in the last century that world peace was finally achieved. The acceptance of other people isn’t based on how they look, but how they act is important to them. I’m sure they’d like to have an opportunity to test that with aliens.”
“I believe Earth has at least three unique things that would be in large demand by our trading group: the power units, cinnamon, and chocolate. I am certain there are more items that I am unaware of, but as we spend more time here those things will become obvious.”
“I think if you tell the World Council what you just said, there won’t be any problems. Advanced technology in exchange for the power module design, cinnamon, and chocolate is an excellen
t trade. I’m certain they’ll agree.”
Garlut looked at Brealak and they both appeared to accept what Jeffery had told them. Then Garlut said, “It will definitely be different dealing with people who are not motivated by greed. I think that was what we were worried about. We had no idea how we were going to allow them to benefit personally from the trade agreement. I would still like you two to help me write my speech.”
“As I said before, Debbie and I will do anything we can to help make your mission here a success. However, I’m expecting to get something I really want out of this agreement. I want to know how to create artificial gravity for the Star Rover before our next mission.”
“I can promise you that will happen. It is not as difficult as one might think.”
The four of them spent the rest of the day working on Garlut’s presentation. Then they went out for another excellent dinner at the hotel restaurant. Once again, Garlut and Brealak were very impressed with the food. After dinner, Garlut asked if it would be possible for him and Brealak to return to their ship for the night. They also wanted to make arrangements for groups of their crew to come over to the station. Jeffery called Mike and asked him to bring the shuttle over to the station. When Mike got there, the four of them went into the shuttle for the short trip to Garlut’s ship.
Once they were inside, they all went to a small conference room and set up a schedule for the crew members to go over to the station in groups of ten. Each group would have three hours on the station. Jeffery called Bruce to make him aware of the schedule and it was decided that someone from Bruce’s staff would give each group a tour of the station and then take them to the hotel restaurant for a meal.
As they were leaving, Garlut told Jeffery that he and Brealak would return to the station with the first tour group. Mike took Jeffery and Debbie back to the station and he went to the Star Rover.
When Jeffery and Debbie got back to their room, Jeffery called Max to tell him how the
day went. Once again, Max was pleased with his report. He asked Jeffery if he thought it would be okay to give the World Council the information they just discussed. Jeffery thought about it for a few moments, then he told Max that although Garlut had not asked him to keep it secret, he didn’t want Garlut to think anything said to him would be immediately reported. Max agreed he wouldn’t speak to President Winters about it.
The first group of crew members was scheduled to arrive at 10:00 AM, and at 10:10 Jeffery received a call from Garlut. He asked if it would be okay if he and Brealak relaxed in the room for the day. Jeffery said that was okay and he asked him if they wanted to have dinner together. Garlut quickly agreed. It was decided that they would meet at the hotel’s restaurant at 6:00 PM.
In the early afternoon, Jeffery received a call from Max, who told him a chartered shuttle would pick up the four of them at 9:30 on Thursday morning. The shuttle would take them to the New York City Shuttle Port and would arrive there at 11:00. Then a car would be waiting to take them on the five-minute trip to the World Council Headquarters building. The meeting was scheduled for 11:30 and would be followed by a formal lunch. Jeffery said he would let Garlut know the schedule and if there was a problem he would inform Max immediately.
The dinner went well that evening. The restaurant was offering Italian food so they ordered a small pepperoni pizza as an appetizer. That was followed by a bowl of Italian chicken soup, and for the entrée they ordered lasagna. For dessert this time, they ordered crème brûlée. Once again, the meal was an enormous hit.
On the way back to their rooms, Jeffery said, “I should have mentioned this to you earlier. The shuttle will pick us up at 9:30 tomorrow morning for the trip to New York. The trip will take ninety minutes.”
“Understood. Will you and Debbie be there too?” Garlut asked.
“Yes, we’ll be there. Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be okay. Did your crew like the space station?”
“Yes, they took a vote and decided Earth was going to be their favorite port of call. A few of them asked if they could be assigned here.”
“I’m glad they had a good time. We’ll knock on your door at 9:15. Have a good evening.”
Garlut said, “Goodnight,” as he and Brealak went into their room.
Jeffery and Debbie talked a while about what was going to happen tomorrow. Jeffery was glad they were going to be in a secured official car, so no reporters would bother them or their alien friends. Debbie said she was nervous about meeting the members of the World Council, and Jeffery was a little nervous about it too. They talked until midnight when they finally decided to go to sleep.
THE WORLD COUNCIL MEETING
May 2120
Jeffery and Debbie woke up early, showered, and dressed in their NASA uniforms. Then they went to the restaurant for breakfast, but neither of them were hungry and all they had was coffee. They knocked on Garlut’s door exactly at 9:15. Garlut opened the door immediately and said, “Good morning; we are ready to go.”
The four of them walked in silence to the shuttle bay. When they arrived, they discovered the shuttle had been waiting for them for almost an hour. They boarded the shuttle, which had a capacity of thirty, but they were the only passengers onboard. After the shuttle departed the station, Garlut asked, “Are these flights usually this empty?”
“No, this shuttle was chartered just for us. Normally there are about twenty people onboard. I’m sure they chartered the shuttle for security reasons,” Jeffery replied.
The flight to New York was perfect. When they arrived at the terminal, there were ten armed security guards waiting for them. There was also a woman from the World Council with the guards. She was gazing intently at Garlut and haltingly said, “Good morning. Please . . . forgive me for staring, but I’ve never seen an alien before. My name’s Heather Swift and I’m an assistant to President Winters. I’m here with a security team to escort you to the meeting.”
“Good morning, Heather. I’m Captain Jeffery Whitestone. I’d like to introduce our guests.” He pointed to Garlut and said, “This is Garlut from the planet Coplent, and next to him is his daughter, Brealak.” Turning toward Debbie, he said, “This is my executive officer, Commander Debbie Murphy.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. Please follow me.”
Five guards led the procession. They were followed by Heather, the aliens, Jeffery, and Debbie. Behind Debbie were the remaining guards. They proceeded out of the terminal into the parking lot, where there were three vehicles with tinted windows waiting for them. Three guards got into the first vehicle. Two guards, Heather, and the rest of the group went into the second vehicle, and the remaining guards got into the last vehicle. The drive over to the World Council building only took a few minutes. In the courtyard in front of the building, more than a thousand people awaited them. Heather said, “They’re here hoping to see an alien for the first time, but we’ll go into the underground parking area.”
They drove around the side of the building, where another contingent of guards was blocking the entrance to the parking area. The guards separated to allow the vehicles to drive in and then they immediately closed ranks again. Once inside the building, the vehicle containing Heather and her group stopped next to an elevator. The five of them plus the two security guards rode the elevator up to the sixtieth floor, where the conference room was located.
As the elevator door opened, a large crowd of people began to applaud. There were also ten videographers and a few more security guards. Heather, Garlut, Brealak, Jeffery, and Debbie were moved through the crowd into the conference room. Seated at a large table were the members of the World Council. There was a smaller table directly in front of the table where the council members sat and Heather indicated they should sit there. When the group was seated, each of the council members introduced themselves. When they were finished, Heather told Garlut it was his turn to speak.
Garlut stood up and said, “Good morning. My name is Garlut. I am here with my daughter, Brealak
, and two new friends, Captain Jeffery Whitestone and Commander Debbie Murphy. I am sure you have all read the reports, so you know we have been studying Earth for a long time. I will not go into much detail here, but part of my mission is to make contact with planets when they develop interstellar travel. You should be very proud of the fact that your scientists and engineers developed interstellar travel only twenty years after you perfected travel within your solar system. That often takes hundreds of years.
“We began to keep a closer watch on Earth after you landed a probe on Ganymede. What really caught our interest was the power source for the probe. We were monitoring your video and radio transmissions so we were aware of the power source, but we had never seen one. That was why we took your probe. We wanted to study the power source to determine if we could duplicate it. We thought we could get it back to Ganymede before you noticed it was missing. I must apologize for taking it. But by our laws, we could not legally contact you until you had achieved interstellar travel. We were unable to duplicate it. We also took a power unit from the storage area on the Star Rover. It is not our way to steal things and we intend to make it up to you. Even though our science is hundreds of years more advanced than yours, we still could not figure out how to make them.
“When the Star Rover made its first interstellar trip, we decided it was time for us to finally meet. That is why I am here today. I represent a trading group made up of four hundred seven planets. My goal today is to make Earth the newest member. Every planet has unique resources or products that are wanted by the population on other planets. During the brief time I spent on your space station, I found two items I can guarantee will be in high demand. They are cinnamon and chocolate. There will also be substantial demand for the power units you manufacture. These three items alone could create a substantial benefit for the people of Earth. I am certain as I spend more time here I will be able to identify many more items that can be sold through the trading association.