The Visitor

by Tony Harmsworth

  'Would you have stayed in Mars orbit forever?'

  'It was the purpose for which I was designed.'

  'But wouldn’t you have wanted to try to interact with other worlds?' asked Reg.

  'Yes, but planetary systems are big places. My fuel would allow me to orbit my chosen planet for billions of years, but it would have been insufficient to move freely between the planets.'

  'Didn’t you mind knowing your life was becoming meaningless?'

  'It only meant this particular copy of me was unfortunate. I hoped others would have been more fortunate. I intend to contact my other selves in your star system at some time in the future. They would have done the same with me if they had found a civilisation. I will think on it.'

  Reg continued, 'Would your other self have done the same? Do you know when he might have been damaged?'

  'Of course, each of them is me. We are not different people. Give me a moment.'

  Nsyncadma stopped talking and we could only guess what was going on. Their golden rods touched, and we assumed he might have been communicating in some way with AD1.

  'That version of me was damaged over one hundred million years ago.'

  'Nsyncadma, we’re still trying to understand you,' I said. 'Can I ask how you know your other unit was destroyed then?'

  'Some of my mind is still in its nose cone. It is functioning at a very low level, but I could ascertain when the accident had transpired.'

  'That's dreadful, Nsyncadma, we’d no idea there was still a consciousness in the damaged craft. What should we do?' I asked.

  'It is of no consequence. I will deal with it before we travel to Earth.'

  Reg said, 'Thank you for those answers. Can I ask about the species which lives on Carpellum? Do you have images of them?'

  'I will find some images for you. Their world has a lot of life of many different types similar to what I have seen in videos of your world played to me during the flight. Two of their species have intelligence…' He was about to continue but Reg asked him to stop.

  'Okay, Nsyncadma, let's leave the Carpellums for now. How many animal species live on your world? Do you know?' Reg asked.

  'Yes, one.'

  'One. You’re the only animal species on your world?'

  'Yes.'

  'Do you all look the same? Do you have sexes?'

  'People who live in warmer areas are lighter and those in colder areas are darker, but it is caused primarily from the effect of the rays of our star. If I moved to a warm area, I would have become lighter to absorb less of the heat from our star. We have no sexes.'

  It was the reverse of Earth, where there was more pigment in the skin of people living in warmer areas. Strange. He went on to provide the same reproduction information he had to me earlier.

  Reg asked, 'Were there ever other species on your world?'

  'We did find fossils of vertebrates, but none survived past prehistory. We have no record of any living things on our world other than plants which provide us with food.'

  Hugh jumped in, 'How do the plants reproduce?'

  'They all divide. When it is ripe, a srtglauer head, the plant in the images in Evelyn's video, produces between eight and sixteen seeds. Normally they would be scattered, but we harvest before they scatter and produce various foods from them.'

  'They don’t need to rub against each other or have insects pollinate them?' asked Petra.

  'No. We have no insects. They are fascinating, and I would like to learn more about them.'

  'Is there no life in the seas either?'

  'No. There are plants in the sea, but we do not eat them.'

  Reg inquired, 'Nsyncadma, do you know how your species evolved?'

  'Yes, we came out of the oceans thirty million of your years before the images you have seen. We have no skeletons and so have left no fossil record, but we believe we grew bigger and bigger over the millennia. We have historical records going back over twenty-two million of your years.'

  'You’ve a very old civilisation,' said Reg.

  'Yes, compared with yours.'

  'Do you understand our concept of religion?'

  'I only know of it, Reg, from the dictionary definitions and by cross-referencing the names of your religions.'

  'How was the universe created in your people's opinion?'

  'Not an opinion, it is fact. The universe was brought into existence during an explosion and has been expanding ever since. The galaxies are not just rushing apart, but space itself is expanding too.'

  'And what caused the explosion?'

  'It might be unknowable. It is difficult to learn about anything which took place prior to the explosion. Our space-time did not exist before the explosion.'

  'Could a being have created the universe?'

  'There is no evidence for it, but it is possible, I suppose. It is not logical, as it brings into question who might have created the creator and the space-time in which it would have to exist. It sounds like a story created by a primitive people to explain their existence. One of the Carpellum species had a similar story a long time ago.'

  'Many Earth people believe a deity created the universe and watches over us, eventually meeting us personally when we die.'

  'My people have seen no evidence for any such deity.'

  'So, you don't believe in such things?' asked Hugh.

  'There is no logical reason to believe in something for which there is no evidence. If you have evidence then I would dearly like to see it, please.'

  'So, when your organic self died, what would’ve happened to its mind and body?' asked Hugh.

  'My original body would have melted down into the soil. We have places for the process to occur when end of life is reached. As for the organic mind in the body, it ceased to exist. As for my mind in this manufactured body, it will exist until the universe dies or some accident befalls it.'

  I decided to stop this line of questioning, 'Nsyncadma, this is obviously of great interest to us, but I don't want to have us get into philosophical discussion at this stage. I would say you’ll need to be careful when expressing views on creation, religion, and afterlife as it can be emotive. The person who killed my partner Mario did so because he believed you were the devil. You understand devil?'

  'Yes, from the dictionary and thesaurus. I shall be careful. Thank you for the advice.'

  'Thank you so much for being so open, Nsyncadma. Petra has more questions for you,' Reg said.

  Petra asked, 'I’m not sure why you’re here. You may never be able to tell your people about us, they may not even exist any longer. You’re not trying to find a new world in which to live and reproduce, in fact you’ve chosen a solitary existence. My question is simply, why?'

  'You are my people now. You have a word, "adoption" and I hope you will adopt me so that I can live among you and try to help you when and where I can. I want to be part of you and your world. You tell me I am welcome, but your question implies I am only a visitor who you expect to leave one day. I cannot leave. I cannot go anywhere. My propulsion system could take me back to Mars, but it would be touch and go whether my fuel would last. Mars is now a dead world. Maybe I could go to one of the moons of Jupiter or Titan, but I would need your help to do so. None of my other selves is orbiting Titan. It did not seem of interest when we arrived. I could perhaps help you build a starship and I could leave your solar system on that, but my hope is to reside with you forever.'

  'Oh dear,' said Petra, 'I’d no intention of hurting your feelings. You’re most welcome. However, if positions were reversed, we’d probably be searching for a new world to inhabit, not somewhere to live in isolation with the existing inhabitants.'

  'Yes, I understand. It is what you did in the American, South American, Indian, African, and Australasian lands. You explored, found new continents, took the land from the indigenous people who lived there and expanded your population to fill it. It is somewhat worrying, but I assume it is connected
to the short period you have been civilised. You will mature eventually.'

  That told us! This might quickly deteriorate. I interrupted, 'Nsyncadma, Petra was not wishing to criticise you or say you’re not welcome. She was trying to understand your motives.'

  'My motive is to learn and enjoy the discovery of a new world. I am fortunate. Most of my units will never have another species with whom to converse – ever.'

  'I'm sorry, Nsyncadma, I meant no harm,' said Petra.

  'I have not been harmed.'

  I wondered if we’d wounded our visitor and he was hiding the hurt.

  The questioning continued, mainly from us to him, but also less frequently, from him to us. After three hours, I decided we should take a break, write up our notes, eat and sleep. I’d then be making a timetable and formulating distinct areas of interest. Today's questioning had been somewhat chaotic.

  'I’m going to call a halt for today. We'll reconvene at ten tomorrow. Is that all right for you, Nsyncadma?'

  'It will be fine.'

  My colleagues thanked Nsyncadma and made their way through the airlock. I remained behind.

  'Nsyncadma, I’m going to get some food and, because of my injuries I need to spend an hour or two exercising. Is there anything you need?'

  'It might be good if I watched some videos of human history.'

  'I'll see what I can organise, but it won't be today.'

  'Thank you, Evelyn. Have a good meal.'

  'No, thank you, Nsyncadma. I'll be back later, and we'll talk about getting you down to Earth.'

  I had an afterthought, 'Nsyncadma, what will you do now we’re leaving you? Do you sleep? Do you switch off?'

  'I think. I consider. When I finish considering I might switch off. You would probably call it sleeping, but I do not get the benefit from sleep which you need when you sleep. For me it is simply inactivity. Hibernation might be a more suitable word than sleeping.'

  'Did you sleep when you were a person on Dregednon?'

  'No. We did not need sleep.'

  'How long is a lifespan for your people?'

  'If no accident transpired, old age would overcome our bodily systems after about two hundred of your years.'

  'Thank you. I'll be back later.'

  'I will look forward to it.'

  I needed to consult about the history videos. Did we want him to know about Hitler, Hiroshima, the Somme, biblical plagues? We needed to know what his take was on religious history before he met church leaders. I visualised many people wishing him harm if he were as honest with them as he’d been with us. We’d need to be careful. Introducing him to the world as a concept was easy, bringing him to the world as a living, thinking person was going to be much more difficult.

  My gut feeling told me we should be open and let him learn our worst. If we were always honest with him, he would not discover our most dreadful actions later and conclude we were still being untrustworthy. I decided my recommendation would be to put the entire space-station's video library at his disposal.

  Firstly, I’d better find out whether he understood the concept of fiction, otherwise the sixteen-film Star Wars franchise might be misinterpreted. Discussing fiction would be my objective when I returned to speak to him later in the evening.

  When I returned to my personal space that night, sleep did not come easily. The momentous day had ended, and humankind had finally had a conversation with an alien being. The importance of the event weighed heavily upon my thoughts. It was almost too fantastic a concept to believe… and I had been integral to it.

  32 Staging the Grand Tour

  Our questioning of the alien continued for three months and involved several other inquisitors. Gradually we built up a comprehensive picture of his world and people. During that time, my rapport with Nsyncadma matured and grew, alongside his dismay at the antics of our governments and military. I liked his philosophy more and more and I came to see how humanity was at a very primitive stage in comparison with both the Carpellums and Dregednons.

  Eventually, the UN and space agencies agreed it was time to take him to Earth to meet world leaders. He'd even been invited to address the US Congress and the UN.

  Reg, Yuri, and I were to take the return ship with Nsyncadma, for a planned landing where the new Moscow spaceport was being constructed just east of the Russian capital.

  Cadma, as he allowed us to call him owing to some people having had difficulty pronouncing his name, was to have us accompany him to meetings with Earth leaders. The first was to be with President Gorelov in the Kremlin. Cadma had been learning Russian to converse with the Russian leader. He’d also learned French for his meeting with the President of France.

  There was, of course, a lot of diplomatic argument over who should first meet our visitor from outer space. The discovery of AD1 was during an ESA/Roscosmos mission and Yuri had joint Russian/Ukrainian citizenship. In addition, a great deal of Russian money and know-how had gone into the construction of Mars One, so it was decided President Gorelov should be the first to receive this diplomat from Dregednon. Following that would be a visit to the President of France; a brief cross-channel trip for a meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England; across the Atlantic to the White House and to address Congress then back to Britain, Ten Downing Street and to Cadma's new home at Goonhilly. A team at the Foreign Office were putting together a worldwide tour for Cadma, to take place a few months later.

  I was confident Cadma wouldn’t have problems with the heads of state, but his dismissal of belief and faith as being primitive, could lead to an interesting meeting with the Archbishop.

  Down on the ground, Rolls Royce had constructed two special vehicles to carry Cadma with space for a few human passengers. His visual sensors were in several locations, meaning he could face forward or stand upright during travel. It was decided facing forward was more dignified and the entire left of each vehicle was for him. During his tour, one vehicle would be present at the destination and the spare vehicle would be moved to the second destination in readiness for his arrival there. The United Kingdom had specially adapted an Airbus passenger jet to allow him to travel from country to country with his entourage.

  An Arabella spaceship had been completely redesigned to permit his almost four metre length (including the rod) to sit with us in the main crew compartment. No expense had been spared to be sure everything we did with our guest was inclusive. He’d never again be asked to ride in a cargo hold.

  The time for us to descend to the surface was fast approaching.

  I joined Cadma one evening in his Cluster area and noticed he was connected to AD1, touching nose cones.

  'What are you doing, Cad?' I asked, pushing myself over to the two devices.

  'The bulk of my consciousness is housed in the gold nose cone and silver blisters, although some analytical functions are also kept in a few of the small cylinders. I have transferred some useful data and am now deactivating the mind. The gold material itself is the most powerful processor and is where most of our thinking takes place.'

  'So, AD1 is dying?'

  'No. To all intents and purposes, this version of me has been in a coma and now will cease to exist as an individual.'

  'You don't want any ceremony?'

  'It would serve no purpose.'

  'Don’t you grieve for your people when they die, when you were organic on Dregednon?'

  'Yes, indeed. We would be upset if a friend or relative died, but once they were gone, we did not mark their passing with graves or monuments.'

  'What about leaders and famous people?'

  'Yes, some might have a commemorative building or park named after them, but not ordinary people. Our philosophy is to enjoy people's company while they are alive. It does them no good to be remembered after their death because they no longer exist.'

  'Do you understand the concepts of love and hate?'

  'I can see that love is important to you,
but I have no wish to comprehend hate. The Carpellums experienced hatred and conflict in the early eons of their civilisations, but we Dregednons seem to have avoided the experience.'

  'How did your conversation with NASA go?' I asked, changing the subject.

  'Fine. They will help me visit my fellow selves orbiting Venus, Ganymede, and Europa eventually. They offered to collect the other devices, but I want them to stay where they are, monitoring those worlds.'

  'I understand.'

  'They promised to return them if they collected them, but I did not want that. If Earth's civilisation unexpectedly ceased to exist, they would be stuck here.'

  'That's not very likely, Cadma.'

  'No. Not on your timescale, but when you consider my timescale and your national disputes and wars, you might understand my concern about your long-term future as a species.'

  'Cad, you don't like us very much, do you?'

  'It is your duplicity, greed, and selfishness which frightens me. Your species' emotional stability has not kept pace with your intelligence, and it could be another thousand years before you could really be called a civilised species. Competition for food, space, and possessions seems to be the cause of your inability to trust each other. I hope it will disappear eventually, perhaps even with my help.'

  'I'm sorry.'

  'Evelyn, it is not your fault. Remember that I'm virtually immortal and it gives me a different perspective on civilisations and timescales.'

  During these weeks in the Cluster, I’d spent long periods alone with him, taking my meals with him and talking on a far more personal level than any of our more organised conferences. We’d built up a special relationship and I had a genuine liking for him on a level far beyond simple friendship. Several times he said he enjoyed our conversations and I must admit that I was worried about his loneliness. Such a caring, thinking individual being so alone for eternity bothered me. I wanted to make at least this period of his existence more fulfilling.

  Of course, there’d be no shortage of people wanting to spend time with him, but would they provide stimulating intercourse for an alien visitor older than mankind itself? He seemed to like being questioned and often turned answer sessions into questioning sessions. The conferences were rarely a one-way street.