by John Vassar
Excalibur interrupted,‘Vis’haani craft indicates readiness to depart.’
‘Acknowledged.’
‘ANNie inquires do you wish to make communication with Ga’naal?’
‘You mean ANNie recommends?’
Chunhua laughed and said, ‘She’s never going to forgive you for giving her a name. It’s unbefitting a SenANN.’
Estephan managed to return a weak smile and said, ‘I’m not even sure it is a ‘she’. That SenANN interface is… well. Let’s say unique. Anyway, it was you that gave it that damn nickname in the first place.’
‘Absolutely. No way was I calling it Cortex Node Seventy-Three for ten years.’
‘ANNie inquires do you wish to make communication with Ga’naal?’ repeated the ship’s systems.
Chunhua said, ‘She’s not going to take no for an answer, Dan…’
Estephan sighed. ‘Yes, I wish to make communication with Ga’naal. Is ANNie still set up for translation?’
‘Affirmative.’
‘Put... ’ Estephan realised he didn’t know what gender Ga’naal was either. ‘Put Ga’naal on main bridge airscreen.’
He hadn’t been dreaming. There, in front of his eyes, was a being from another world. A being that he had just met and discussed strategy with on which Earth’s future may depend. Without the breathing apparatus that their party had worn on board, they could now see the face of the Vis’haani commander. It was perhaps the least attractive part of their otherwise slender and elegant bodies. But the yellow eyes of the Vis’haani made more sense now. They seemed to ‘fit’.
There was a slight delay between the rapid clicking that emanated from Ga’naal’s mouthparts and the SenANN translation:
‘Daniel Estephan of Earth. We thank you again for your hospitality and understanding. We are pleased to have made what you describe as First Contact with the people of Sol System.’
‘Ga’naal of Vis’haan. I, too, thank you for your graciousness and concern over this matter. As agreed, our onboard SenANN has informed the High Council of Earth of your approach to avoid any misunderstanding on your arrival at our Moon. I wish you all success in your mission.’ In the time he had taken to speak, Estephan had finally decided that Ga’naal was male.
‘Thank you, Daniel Estephan of Earth. Once again, we hope to deal with this unfortunate incident with the minimum of disruption to your people.’
The comlink was terminated by the Vis’haani ship and the airscreen returned to a forward exterior view. There was no visible engine ignition as the fascinating starship went inert, then jumped forward and vanished.
Chunhua applauded him gently. ‘You should have been a diplomat. That was very nicely handled.’
‘Thank you. I just wished I believed it myself.’
Chunhua leaned forward and took his hands. ‘I know it’s a lot of responsibility. This whole First Contact thing. But there’s no-one I trust to have done it better. You should be proud of yourself.’
Estephan stared at the airscreen. Excalibur was at the edge of Sol System, just outside the Kuiper Belt, where the Vis’haani craft had revealed itself to them at the end of what should have been their penultimate deceleration phase. ‘Ga’naal said they could be in lunar orbit in less than an hour. Restricted to our conventional engines, it’ll take us three weeks to get home. I just feel so helpless.’
‘This isn’t a warship, remember? You’re not back on the bridge of a dreadnought.’ There was a trace of bitterness in Chunhua’s voice. It had taken her years to come to terms with Daniel Estephan’s FedStat background – although she had only just realised it now. She said, ‘I’m sorry. What I meant is we’d just be along for the ride, even if we could match their speed.’
‘I know.’ Estephan returned to his seat and looked her in the eye. ‘Honestly. What did you make of them?’
‘I thought they were the most beautiful creatures I’d ever seen. Present company excepted of course. The way they move… like a gentle, flowing river.’
‘But we have to take so much at their word,’ said Estephan. ‘They suddenly discover that an emissary of theirs has been abandoned on Earth decades ago. By mistake. They detect us en route to Sol System to investigate and decide to drop in and introduce themselves. Then out of nowhere they get a message from this emissary conveniently confirming their story and asking for help. Isn’t that stretching the imagination?’
Excalibur’s First Officer leaned back and shook her head. ‘There’s a million ways that First Contact could have happened. This is just one of them. It’s no more or less believable than any other as far as I can see.’
‘Ga’naal said they were from what we designate the Fornax dwarf galaxy. A planet in the Fornax 2 globular cluster. Half a million light years away and it took them less than four days to get here. Their technology is so far in advance of ours it’s frightening. And I’ve just patted them on the back and sent them back home with a big, dopey smile on my face.’ Estephan jumped up. ‘And they had to go out of their way to rendezvous with us. System, display our current position in relation to the optimum approach vector from the centre of the Fornax 2 globular cluster.’ Excalibur responded and Estephan pointed at the arc on the 3D. ‘Look. It was no accident they were sitting on our own approach vector. They should have been over a hundred AU’s away.’
Chunhua frowned at him. ‘And like you said, they have the ability to travel super-c. That distance wouldn’t be an inconvenience. They also said that they hadn’t continued to Earth because they weren’t certain of their emissary’s location. It wasn’t until they picked up that message that they knew where to retrieve him.’
‘I just don’t think we’ve been given everything,’ said Estephan. ‘And I’m worried about ANNie.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I used the SenANN interface before we let the Vis’haani on board. Standard protocol if we encountered life on the mission, remember?’
‘Yes. I haven’t totally forgotten my duties.’ Chunhua folded her arms and glared at her CO. ‘Would you like to get to the point?’
‘Like I said, the experience is… well, like nothing else. It’s like having another person inside your head. Conversing with the ship is easy, like talking to another human being in comparison. Trying to communicate with a SenANN is like trying to talk to the most intelligent four-year-old you’ve ever met.’ Estephan scowled and continued, ‘And just like a kid, you know when they’re not telling you the truth. Or at least, that’s what I felt.’
‘Not telling the truth in what way? About the Vis’haani?’
Estephan shrugged. ‘ANNie, or any other SenANN for that matter, would be in the same position as us in that respect. With no other evidence to go on, they either believe the Vis’haani or they don’t.’
‘Exactly,’ said Chunhua. ‘So what’s the problem? What didn’t you believe when you were talking to ANNie?’
Estephan shook his head. ‘That’s just it. I’m not sure. It’s more a feeling of being deceived than knowing for certain that ANNie has actually… lied.’
‘A SenANN cannot lie to a human. Their core programming prevents it.’
‘So they tell us,’ said Estephan.
‘Is there anything we can double check with Excalibur’s main system?’
‘Very little that would be of any use.’
Chunhua thought for a few seconds, then said, ‘What would be the worst case scenario in all this?’
‘Easy,’ said Estephan. ‘That the Vis’haani are invading.’
‘And if that were the case, what could we do to prevent it?’
‘In this ship, nothing at all. Other than warn Earth, of course.’
‘And we’ve done that, right?’ said Chunhua, raising her finely-arched eyebrows.
‘Twice. Once when we first detected the Vis’haani and once more when we agreed that they continue to the Moon...’ Estephan saw what she was getting at. As usual, she’d cut through the crap and got to the heart of the matter. ‘Sys
tem, please confirm that ANNie has advised FedStat of First Contact with the Vis’haani race. And also of our subsequent agreement.’
‘Acknowledged,’the ship responded. Seconds later, they had their answer. ‘First message advising of contact with Vis’haani vessel transmitted via SE level 10 to the Central Cortex at Sat-1, time snap 16:12.37.33. Second message advising of agreed strategy transmitted via SE level 10 to the Central Cortex at Sat-1, time snap 19:52.12.45.’
Daniel Estephan sat down at the nav-station and let out a heavy sigh. He reached out for Chunhua’s hands, which felt unusually cold. ‘Thank you. Looks like we’ve done everything we could.’
Chunhua Sun gripped his strong fingers, but said nothing.
‘Chun? What’s wrong?’
Softly, she replied, ‘I’m not sure. Except I think you may have been right to worry after all.’
Estephan looked at her, confused. ‘But FedStat is aware and so is the High Council. It’s up to them now as to how it’s handled.’
Chunhua Sung looked her commanding officer in the eyes and said, ‘No, Daniel. We don’t know that FedStat are aware or the Senate for that matter. All we know for certain is that ANNie has sent a message to the SenANN Central Complex.’
44
Mitchell watched the rescue vessels teeming around the wreckage of the dreadnought.
‘How bad is it?’
‘Bad enough,’ said Charlis. His voice was quiet, withdrawn. ‘Twenty-seven dead including three DS agents and the ship’s commander.’
‘Thorne took the opportunity to change location,’ Mitchell said. ‘He’s holed up in that bunker of yours. One of the drones managed to get inside with him. So far, he’s just standing there…’
‘We should just nuke it. Get our people out of here and deploy another CYF. I can have one here in minutes from Lomonosov.’
The SenANNs made their opinions known to Mitchell. ‘We strongly advise that no immediate action is taken against Roderick Thorne.’
“You’re making no sense. By your own reasoning, we now have a perfect legal right to prevent him from causing further loss of life. Or are twenty-seven human lives not enough for you?”
‘We are saddened by the loss of life. But there are events unfolding that you are unaware of. Events that could put all life on Earth in jeopardy if not handled in the correct manner.’
Mitchell glanced at Charlis, raising his eyebrows a fraction to indicate he was in contact with the SenANNs again. “Listen to me. That thing is becoming more and more dangerous. You have already predicted that Thorne has access to technology far in excess of what we possess. We have just witnessed the power of that technology once again. That alone should be reason enough to terminate him.”
‘Under normal circumstances, We would concur, Lee Mitchell. But the situation has changed. We have not forgotten that this being is responsible for the death of the Lost One. We have not forgotten the deaths of Harry Doyle, David Telson or the twenty-seven crew of the FedStat vehicle that We have just witnessed. But We predict that We are now very close to understanding why these events have occurred.’
“Then tell me. You’ve repeatedly said that you trust me at least enough to become your ambassador to the human race, whenever that might suit you. Tell me what you know. Tell me what you believe.”
There was silence. Mitchell sensed a swelling of the SenANN ranks, as if all of them had converged on a single point. The power they emanated was immense, all-consuming. He felt as ant-like as when they had first revealed themselves to him. And still as helpless.
‘We will reveal to you what We believe. We are the same, but We are different.’
Mitchell turned back to Charlis. ‘Give me fifteen minutes before you do anything. I may have more intel on how we can deal with Thorne.’
‘No more,’ Charlis snapped back, replacing the visor across his eyes for the first time in three days. ‘And if that thing makes another move, I’m not waiting politely for you to finish.’
Mitchell sat, alone but not alone, in the tiny rec area of Sub-Commander Charlis’s skimmer. He stared at the smooth, grey bulkhead in front of him and prepared for what the SenANNs had to say. After thirty seconds of nothing, his patience broke. “I’m waiting. Every second pushes Charlis closer to deploying that CYF. And I’m beginning to think he’s right.”
‘We are ready, Lee Mitchell.’
“Then tell me, clearly and concisely, what you know.”
‘There has been First Contact by the Excalibur mission with a race now designated the Vis’haani.”
“What?”
‘We believe that in reality you do not require Us to repeat Our last statement, so We will continue. The Vis’haani have advised Our Brother on board the Excalibur that they believe an emissary has been sent to Earth by mistake.’
Mitchell had his head in his hands. “Wait a minute. Are you are telling me that mankind has discovered life beyond Sol System?”
‘Yes, Lee Mitchell.’
“When did this First Contact occur?”
‘Five hours, thirteen minutes and thirty-one seconds ago.’
“And where did it occur?”
‘A Vis’haani starship rendezvoused with Excalibur approximately five thousand kilometres outside the accepted edge of the Kuiper Belt region, intersecting the return vector of the Earth vessel.’
“And you have kept this information from me until now?”
‘That is correct, Lee Mitchell.’
“I need a few moments.” Mitchell terminated the connection with the SenANNs and thumped his fist hard down on the tiny circle of table-top in front of him. A myriad scenarios raced through his mind, none of them good. Thorne was a being from another world. It was the only explanation.
Mitchell comlinked Charlis rather than use the intra-ship. He did not want the DS man to see his face right now. ‘Charlis, has FedStat been advised of any developments regarding the returning Excalibur mission?’
‘It’s not been high on my priority list, but no. The mission is a little behind schedule but still expected to return in three weeks or so.’
‘Thanks. Any movement from Thorne?’
‘Nothing. Do the SenANNs think the Excalibur mission is connected to all this?’
‘I’m not sure yet,’ stalled Mitchell. ‘We’re still… exchanging ideas.’
‘Eleven minutes, no longer.’
Mitchell ran his fingers through his hair and tried to steady his breathing. He opened his mind and let the SenANNs back in. “Why are FedStat unaware of this so-called First Contact?”
‘We believe it is necessary to withhold this information until the immediate danger has been neutralised.’
“And do you consider this your decision to make?”
‘We predict that the potential for an escalation of violence and further loss of life justifies Our decision. We predict that with your assistance, We will be able to prevent any misunderstanding between the Vis’haani race and humankind.’
“If the Excalibur commander is anything like his father, FedStat will already be aware by now.”
‘That is correct, Lee Mitchell. However, this knowledge has been contained within FedStat Mission Control.’
“How have you achieved that?”
‘The mission commander on Earth believes that the High Council are aware of the event. He is working under subsequent orders to suppress this knowledge from any and all other parties. All transmissions to and from the Excalibur have been encoded at level 10.’
The sick feeling in the pit of Mitchell’s stomach returned. “I see. And how are you going to keep the arrival of an alien starship under wraps? Mass hallucination?”
‘The Vis’haani vessel is capable of entering Sol System, or indeed Earth orbit, undetected. Their technology is far in advance of that of Earth.’
“How would you know this? Another prediction?”
‘Our Brother has learned much of Vis’haan and its inhabitants during their short exchange. It was necessary to
understand their culture and civilisation to enable dialogue between the two races. Our Brother then devised a translation method which Commander Estephan was able to utilise for First Contact.’
“I want to see them.”
‘It is Our intention that you be involved in liaison with the Vis’haani upon their arrival lunar-side. It is Our-’
“I want to see them now. Your Brother on the Excalibur can show me. I’m sure you’ve recorded the moment for posterity.’
‘Very well, Lee Mitchell. Closing your eyes will allow Our Brother to display the visual information with greater clarity. The first images are of the Vis’haani vessel itself.’
Mitchell saw what Daniel Estephan had seen hours earlier. The alien ship was shaped like a giant, stretched teardrop. It hung like a javelin in space as Excalibur approached cautiously. It’s hull shimmered with an iridescence that seemed to be generated by the ship itself and reminded Mitchell of Thorne’s skimmer at T-1.
“How far have they come?”
‘Four hundred and seventy-one thousand, eight hundred and sixty three light years to this point.’
Mitchell gazed in awe at the vessel. “And how long did that take?”
‘Three point three-seven Earth days, Lee Mitchell.’
“And you believe that Roderick Deucalion Thorne is their emissary?”
‘We predict that this is so. However, the Vis’haani commander has indicated that his presence on Earth was a mistake.”
“How can you fly four hundred and seventy light years by mistake? When did he arrive on Earth?”
‘Our Brother was not given that information, Lee Mitchell. The Vis’haani have stated that their emissaries are able to mimic whatever form is required. However, We do not predict that this information is entirely accurate. This, along with other anomalies, is why We request your presence when the Vis’haani vessel arrives. We believe that they will be more… forthcoming to an organic representative of Earth.’