The Alpha Choice

by M. D. Hall

  Tala had clearly read the conflict in his face, answering him with the merest hint of a smile.

  But that would mean, he thought, if ‘human’ diseases aren't their diseases and if ‘our’ ozone layer isn't their ozone layer…’ the train of thought hung suspended, only half completed, it was even more ridiculous than Tala’s wish list. His reasoning tumbled forward. If his thoughts were ridiculous, why was there a prickling sensation at the back of his neck? A feeling usually reserved for those infrequent occasions, immediately following the breakup of his marriage, when he was about to be discovered in some amorous indiscretion, and which presaged both fear and, perversely, excited anticipation.

  Then there was the matter of their names, they were single names as though they were a pair of rock stars. Were they first names, or surnames? His visitors were either being particularly informal, or the exact opposite. They spoke flawless English, but their accents were not American. Their speech had a certain artificial, even synthetic ring. They’re not Slavic, of that much he was certain. That leaves Western Europe, but there’s no accent at all, so it still doesn’t fit, he thought.

  For the first time, Tala looked at Beron, not out of deference or respect, Hugo conjectured. It was as if she was passing an instruction that she would brook no interruption. He also thought he noted a slight change in the eyes of the man, a lowering of his gaze, almost imperceptible, but definitely there. Hugo felt relieved that his senses were as alert as ever.

  Returning her attention to Hugo, Tala smiled, that same soft smile, and then began. ‘What I’m about to tell you will strain your credulity, but only if you choose to believe me. If you conclude that what you hear is too incredulous, we’ll leave and nothing we’ve said need ever trouble you again,’ there was a momentary pause, before she added. ‘We will of course reimburse you for your time, after all, you’re a professional.’

  Hugo’s only response was to take another sip of his tea.

  Her eyes followed the cup as he placed it back on the table, then rose slowly to meet his own. ‘Would you like me to continue?’

  Looking into the bright green eyes of the woman who had merely whetted his appetite, he replied. ‘Until I hear more from you, I won't know if I can help.’

  She nodded. ‘That sounds very fair, although I would have expected you to add a caveat.’

  Hugo regarded her, silently, which prompted her to say. ‘Let me offer it to you. Should you want to stop the audience at any time, I’ll comply immediately.’

  ‘I make it a habit to always hear a client out, otherwise I could miss the vital detail that persuades me to take the case, and so thank you, but the caveat is unnecessary.’ Then, seemingly as an afterthought, he added. ‘However, I would normally ask questions as they occur to me.’

  Her response was immediate. ‘Agreed. I can sense that certain thoughts are coursing through your mind as to our provenance, probably something to do with our names and,’ she paused briefly, ‘our speech patterns?’

  His look must have given something away, as she said, with a look of self satisfaction. ‘I thought so. There’s no easy way to say this. Despite looking like you, and sharing the same genetic code, we aren’t from this planet.’

  The earlier, suspended thought tore free from its restraints, filling his mind. He had no idea what they were up to, but one thing was as clear as day: his original assessment of their mental condition was so far out in left field, as to be in another state.

  ‘Perhaps,’ he said, placing his hands on the desk as though about to lever himself out of his chair, ‘now would be a good time for you to leave, I don't think I’ll be able to help you. Your problem is beyond my particular area of expertise, and you did say I could stop this interview at any time. I choose to stop it now.’

  He stood up, but his visitors remained as they were. Fifteen-seconds passed, during which time neither Tala nor Beron, moved. Then, as if in answer to a prearranged prompt, Beron produced from his inside jacket pocket a silvery, oval pebble, no larger or thicker than a spectacle lens. He leaned over and placed it on the desk between them, and did this without saying anything.

  Hugo looked down at the tiny object, and slowly lowered himself back into his chair.

  Tala spoke again, her voice tinged with empathy. ‘Your reaction is understandable. We can’t expect you to take us seriously, without some proof that what we say is true. With your permission, we’ll provide you with a demonstration which, hopefully, assures you as to our credentials. Of course, if you remain sceptical we’ll definitely leave, and trouble you no further.’

  He thought through what he had heard, and the possible implications. There was nothing to be risked by allowing their demonstration, and he had to admit, despite his initial reaction, his interest was piqued. They, obviously thought the demonstration would elevate their fantasy into reality, and he would like to see what was capable of doing that. He nodded.

  Tala looked at her companion, who closed his eyes for little more than a couple of seconds. As he opened them, there appeared above the desk, a group of three-dimensional images. They appeared solid and showed a blue green planet not dissimilar to photographs he had seen of Earth taken from space. Orbiting the planet were two moons. The motion of these bodies was speeded up, and he could see in the distance, as the planet turned on its axis, its star, yellow like the Sun. Approaching the planet was a matt-silver, ellipsoid object, which he guessed was some kind of spaceship. It had no visible means of propulsion, and no protrusions. If he was right, and it was a spaceship, he would expect it to have windows, but what do I know about spaceships? he asked himself.

  It was impossible to tell its size, but one thing was certain, it was heading towards the planet and, as it descended, his viewpoint altered. It was as if he was descending with the ship.

  The approach to the surface was very rapid, and as they broke through the clouds he saw, laid out below him, a green brown continent edged by a blue sea, just as he imagined it would be on Earth.

  He/the ship’s decent noticeably slowed, as they traversed a vast mountain range. Looking down he could see the shadow cast by the ship on the rock formation below. The ship had to be the size of at least six football fields, if not bigger. As the worn crags fell away behind him, a coastline filled the horizon and, nestled on the edge of a huge bay, lay a city the like of which he had never seen, or imagined.

  The first thing that struck him, was how elegant it appeared from a distance, with buildings and spires, sweeping upwards towards high pinnacles at its centre, and that was where he/the ship was heading, at an incredible speed. Despite not being on the ship, he still felt nervous, even more so when they passed the outer boundary of the city, and there was nowhere to land. He/it began to slow, dramatically, while at the same time, one of the central buildings, in one fluid movement, swiftly sank into the ground. Once out of sight, a large landing stage slid, seamlessly, into place from below ground.

  They descended and hovered, as far as he could tell from his vantage point, almost touching the landing stage. As if in answer to his supposition, the image rapidly expanded, bringing him ever closer to the ground, until he was to one side of the ship, looking at the space below it. He was right, the bottom of the ellipsoid hull was suspended just above the landing stage.

  He rose to a point where he could, comfortably, see the ship as well as the central part of the landing stage, and watched as they both descended below ground. Moments later, the image was filled by the re-emergent spire. Everything was back the way it had been, with nothing to suggest the ship had ever been there.

  The images disappeared. He was back in the familiar surroundings of his office, and while he was fully aware that he had never left his chair, the impact of what he saw had been intense. He continued looking at the space, which, until moments ago, had been occupied by the images. What he had experienced was so real, he felt confused. When the images first appeared, he had anticipated something resembling a well produced science fiction movie u
tilising the latest CGI, but there was nothing make believe in what had just unfolded before him.

  Despite his bemusement, it was imperative he did not appear awed by his experience. Trying to sound calm, but aware that the slightly strained sound emanating from his throat gave the game away, he said. ‘That was very impressive, but it might be nothing more than a very elaborate hologram, although I have to admit, I didn't think they were so advanced.’

  Tala smiled, pleasantly. ‘You’re correct, the images are artificially generated, and the process is an advanced form of hologram. However, what you saw is based upon true images of our home planet. Aren't you curious as to where the power, to generate that demonstration, originated?’ She gestured to the pebble. ‘Please, pick up the device, examine it.’

  He did as he was asked, and could hardly believe how light it was. Yes, it was small and thin, but this thing was almost weightless, and cool to the touch. He refused to be distracted. ‘A new type of battery?’ he ventured.

  She knew he was hooked, and leaned back in her chair. ‘Throw it to me,’ she commanded.

  He felt his eyebrows rise involuntarily, before he lobbed the tiny object towards her, and that was the precise moment when his scepticism dissolved. It travelled through the air, stopping about half the distance between them and did, absolutely nothing, remaining perfectly motionless. After waiting a short while to see if anything else was going to happen, nothing did, he stretched out his hand and took hold of it. He felt nothing unusual, no vibrations, no heat, and most definitely, no strings. Turning his hand, so it was facing palm upwards, he opened his fingers, releasing his hold on the pebble. Withdrawing his hand, he stared at the little object, which stayed exactly where it was.

  ‘How did you do that?’

  ‘We programmed the device to activate the same field you witnessed in the simulation, the field that powered the ship.’

  He looked at the pebble, and then at the woman. While this might not strictly amount to hard evidence in support of their claims, it was still pretty impressive. If they aren’t telling the truth, then they’re going to a lot of trouble by creating such an elaborate subterfuge? He decided he had seen enough to let events play out a bit further and, having regained control of himself, if not the situation, asked. ‘What do you want from me? Why on Earth…’ he realised the pun, too late, and from the look on Tala’s face, the unintended humour had hit its mark, ‘are you showing me all this, surely, you should be talking to the government?’

  ‘In time, we will involve them, but which government would you suggest? They each have territorial agendas, but what we offer will benefit the whole planet. We think the most appropriate way to distribute our knowledge is through what you call a multinational corporation. We’ll then arrive at a point at which your various governments will decide if they are prepared to become involved…’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Hugo interrupted, ‘if they are prepared, what do you mean by that?’

  ‘When they decide to act in concert, and move on to the next stage, as one people.’

  He looked down at his desk, and at the cup with its now, cold contents. He had no idea how long he stared, but was not interrupted before asking the question which had been waiting, impatiently, since the first demonstration. ‘Where are you from?’

  Tala was pleased she had read him correctly, this was a man she would be able to deal with. ‘Our home world is almost seven thousand, five hundred light years from here. We are Te’ans, and our home planet is called Te’ath.’

  ‘This is a lot to take in, never mind believe. For the sake of argument, let’s say you’ve convinced me, what’s your ultimate intention, and why involve me?’

  ‘Ultimately,’ she repeated his word, ‘the Earth would become enrolled in an interplanetary affiliation, one that stretches over a full third of this limb of our galaxy.’ She sat, totally relaxed, completely in control of the situation, and he was reminded of the cats owned by various friends who demonstrated that same air of total mastery.

  ‘Why do we deserve this, largesse?’

  ‘Four and a half thousand years ago we escaped the confines of our own planetary system, when we developed a capability for interstellar travel. Try to imagine the excitement we felt, as we began to explore the vastness of what lay before us, seeking out other sentient beings. Now, picture our disappointment when one planetary system after another revealed nothing more than rudimentary life, at best. As our technology advanced we ventured further out, until we found what we’d been searching for, another advanced life form. In all, throughout those long years, forty-eight advanced, empathic civilisations have joined with us, to mutually nurture and protect each other.’

  Hugo felt alarm welling up inside him at her reference to the need for protection. It showed in his face.

  ‘Yes, there is a need for protection, for we’ve also discovered, during our many years of searching, violent societies of immense destructive force, who appear to thrive on conflict and pillage. The affiliation of worlds affords mutual protection against these destructive forces, and we can say that not one has fallen prey to non-affiliated powers. We’ve realised a dream in which a few worlds have enriched each other with their culture and technology, achieving far more than they could, alone.’

  Despite his natural cynicism, Hugo could feel himself being drawn into a conjured image of Elysium.

  Tala continued. ‘Fifteen hundred years ago it was decided that we would reach out to civilisations, such as yours, who had yet to attain the stars. We would help them, particularly if, despite great potential, they stood at a crossroad that threatened their very survival. Three of these infant races have joined the affiliation enriching us, in turn. You may be the next to take that step, but we have to proceed with caution. We can’t simply announce our presence to the inhabitants of your planet. Our research tells us such a bare declaration would create chaos, and so we decided to introduce ourselves and our technology gradually, through an intermediary, the corporation. But we need a central figure through whom we can liaise. Someone, who will be the CEO of the corporation, a person who’ll be remembered, for all time as the person without whom none of this would happen, you.’

  She continued, evidently thinking it unnecessary to elicit a response from him, just yet.

  ‘Sometimes we come across a world where the potential is unlikely to be realised, without intervention. A team has been tasked to help your race achieve its true potential, and in order to do that, we need to save you from yourselves.’

  This was not what Hugo had been expecting. Tala had been right about his reaction, but not in the way she meant, rather, it was his own response to what she had said: the tiny residue of his natural cynicism had evaporated.

  A critical man by nature, at least professionally, he would automatically look for weaknesses in what he was being told. Why am I not doing that now? He certainly had unasked questions about these two strange people, but the questions were not deal breakers. Maybe they don’t fit into my preconceived patterns of behaviour simply because, they aren’t from around here. ‘Your motives sound very noble,’ his cynicism was trying to reassert itself, ‘but why here, and why us?’

  ‘Without wishing to sound trite, we rarely encounter races so like our own, and finding you has been bittersweet. You’re so much like us, as we once were. Just as you are now approaching your critical point, we once came face to face with our own. Long ago, our entire survival depended upon a few pivotal choices. We were lucky. In you, we see what could have happened had we chosen, unwisely. You’re on the brink of total destruction and, without our aid, will certainly not survive another hundred and fifty years, but that decline can be halted and eventually reversed.’

  ‘You can look into the future?’ he was looking into a deep, dark hole, unable to escape the dreadful feeling that these people were what they claimed to be, and the inevitability of Tala’s pronouncement was most likely correct. Most people knew mankind had squandered, and abused the resources of t
he planet. All the time there were experts ‘slugging’ it out, each contradicting the other, there was hope that everything was going to be all right, but they were kidding themselves.

  ‘No,’ she replied, ‘we can’t see into the future, but we have seen this scenario, many times before. When we originally encountered such situations, we held fast to a non-interference policy, with the consequence that every race, faced with your predicament, perished. After long debate, we reached the conclusion that sentient life is such a rare and precious commodity, to allow it to fail and die could no longer be acceptable. Fifteen hundred years ago we decided that interference, limited interference, is not always such a bad thing.’

  She looked at him. ‘I can sense your disbelief. ’

  ‘It wasn’t disbelief,’ he replied, ‘although I’ll reserve judgement on whether an entire race can be so universally benign,’ no hint of annoyance registered on Tala’s face, in response that last comment. ‘I was actually wondering why you need a lawyer. I’m flattered by your offer to make me CEO of your corporation, but if you had done your homework, you’d know that I’m not likely to be swayed by any grandiose epithet.’

  ‘I apologise if I offended you. Our homework, as you put it, was extensive and we certainly didn’t think, for one moment, that you were a man who would seek kudos. My enthusiasm got the better of me,’ the earlier, guileless smile reappeared.

  Hugo nodded, but was unconvinced anything said by this woman was by accident, and that gave him pause for thought. If, as was likely, they were what they claimed to be, it was a dead certainty there would be lot of people who would find the name Hugo Black synonymous with the person responsible for saving the world, and that made him feel very uncomfortable.

  Tala added. ‘I’ll get around to answering your question, I promise,’ and Hugo resigned himself to being patient. ‘It isn’t our intention to impose anything upon your people. You have free will, and if you choose not to avail yourselves of our assistance, we’ll move on, and leave you alone.’