“You mean,” she responded, “that government has forced someone’s idea of fairness on everyone. Understand this Mark, respect cannot be forced, stolen or forged. In a society where resources are abundant you typically do not find such silly cultural disparities. To use your example, if a restaurateur would not serve a respected person because of the color of their skin they would lose a lot of respect and ultimately it is they who would suffer the most.
“In our experience when societies try to force groups to respect each other it simply breeds long-term resentment and delays true cultural maturity.
“The point you may be missing, however, is that your current global culture could not possibly operate on an equal level as ours because you simply do not have the technology to make it work or the maturity to go along with it.
“And that is what we must decide, Mark. Should Noridia embrace earth? We can help you with advanced technology but who is going to protect you from yourselves? The Coridians might be the least dangerous of your concerns.”
After a few moments I said, “You know, you never really told me if you’re in charge of this mission or how that works.”
“It is pretty simple, really. When a number of us starting feeling that we should contact you a consensus developed around who should lead various aspects of the mission. I am respected enough in these areas that most thought it wise to follow my lead. I am not however what you would call Captain of the ship. Jebul is most respected in navigation and others are respected for their expertise in ship maintenance, etc. We are not a hierarchical society.”
What followed was a comfortable silence while she let me gather my thoughts. It sounded like the perfect opportunity for Earth to be gently guided to the next level. I didn’t really want to admit it but she was right about our culture being immature compared to theirs. Could we make a transition? Would the introduction of advanced technology free us or destroy us? Would they be morally right to refuse us that technology and aid? There’s no way our leaders wouldn’t accept their technology gifts if they were offered, but would that really be wise? The only thing I knew for sure was that these questions were bigger than just me.
Jaki interrupted my thoughts, “So what do you think Mark? Should Noridia embrace earth?”
“Right now, I think the important thing is to get some other people involved with this conversation. We have Ambassador Rutledge and his people that are trained in these issues... well, maybe not exactly these issues but still they should be consulted.”
I was suddenly feeling very exposed here. Surely my lone opinion wasn’t going to change the future of our entire planet, was it?
I forged ahead. “I’m going to inform them that you’re willing to meet with them and discuss this further.”
Jaki laughed. She LAUGHED. She said, “Mark, of course I will talk to others in your group, but remember I am not used to hierarchical structures. I still value what you think and want to know what that is.”
She actually ended the sentence with a raised eyebrow – I’d never seen her do that before.
“I’m going to need some time to think that through. Right now I’m just not sure,” I responded as I stood up. I was really ready for the meeting to be over.
“Hmm, I think perhaps you just do not trust us yet,” she said as she stood herself.
From way too close a distance she stared deeply into my eyes as she smilingly said, “Or is it just me you do not trust?”
∆∆∆
Our ‘Gang of Three’ was back in my quarters trying to sort out what I’d learned in my interview with Jaki. The view screen in the sunken living area was incredible. Via verbal command we could scroll through portions of the interview or just tell it to go to a certain point in the conversation.
We had just finished putting our dinner trays into the recycle, dishwasher, disappearing trash thingy and Anzio and Julie were at opposite ends of the couch whereas I had plopped down in a sofa chair. Julie was in her usual cross-legged, lotus style, Zen something sitting posture, slightly leaning forward and focusing on the screen. When she did that, her long straight hair fell forward and she looked like the prettiest 22 year old college girl you could ever dream up. As a matter of fact if she were barefoot and wearing threadbare jeans she would…
Just then my reminiscing was distracted by a subtle chime and Anzio said, “Toni is at the door.”
I looked over my shoulder and sure enough my door had gone transparent (at least from our side) and Dr. Toni Andretti was waiting patiently.
“Come in,” Anzio shouted.
“Anzio, you don’t have to yell,” Julie chided. “The apartment can hear you just fine.”
Toni walked in to a chorus of ‘hellos’ and ‘take a chair Dr. Mom.’
We explained what we were doing and she confirmed that just about everybody on the team was doing the same thing right now.
“You’re a star, Mark,” she told me with a smile.
Julie mumbled something I didn’t quite catch - why did she always give me a hard time? Toni went on to explain that regular interviews with a number of Noridians would start-up again tomorrow.
While we had been more focused on the implications of Jaki’s revelations, Toni seemed more immediately interested in the reaction of the rest of the Diplomatic Group and our Team HQ. So I described for everyone the debriefing I’d had almost immediately after my session.
“I was debriefed by Helmer and Ambassador Rutledge with several of the dips mixed into the fray.”
“What part of the interview were they most concerned with?” Toni wanted to know.
“Well, I’m not really sure. Except for the Ambassador telling me I’d done a good job they didn’t really say or ask me anything.”
“Mark,” Julie said a little incredulously. “Are you telling us that they didn’t care at all about your impressions or any insights you might have?”
“In fairness one of the dips did ask me if I thought Jaki was being sincere.” What I didn’t mention was that this same dip had really wanted to know if Jaki was as hot in person as she looked on the screen.
“They have the video record,” I continued. “And I think they feel that gives them all the info they really need. I listened to them rehash everything for about an hour and eventually asked if I could leave. They waived me out without missing a beat.”
“Ah Mark,” Anzio contributed. “This doesn’t sound like you. Do you really expecting us to believe that you sat quietly by while Helmer acted like big shot and ignored you – especially with the history you two have?”
“Expect us to believe,” corrected Julie.
“What history?” asked Toni.
“I’ll fill you in later,” said Julie.
“Hey, I was on my best behavior,” I said at the same time I was wondering how Julie knew about my past with Helmer. “I’m not some undisciplined firebrand that can’t control my emotions. I don’t want to be excluded from the interviews so I’m playing nice; regardless of how inept some of our so called leaders can be.”
“Mark,” Toni asked. “Did you get the impression that they were excited to get Noridian technology or were they cautious?”
“I never even once heard them consider not getting it,” I answered truthfully.
I was trying to let my friends know that I was in control of the situation and that any pettiness on Helmer’s part wasn’t going to distract me. I still thought there was a whole lot more that we needed to know before dickheads like him sold-off our future, so I was formulating a plan. And it would be a great plan. Like all great plans, of course, figuring out the first step was the hardest part, but I was confident that things were moving in the right direction.
“I’m meeting tomorrow morning with Dr. Bell and the other Historians and Sociologists on the team and we’ll pool our thoughts,” I informed the group.
“Anzio you’re snoring,” Julie said gently.
As my guests left my mind returned to what Jaki had asked me; did we reall
y want the Noridian’s help? Maybe a better question was, would we have any choice? With so much going on I knew the best way for me to process it all was to get a good night’s sleep and let my subconscious work on it.
∆∆∆
Hiromi slipped into my bed sometime after midnight. At least I think it was Hiromi; years ago I’d learned not to question the ethereal machinations of the female species.
“Mmm… Hey, how did you get in the door?” I sleepily asked
“Ninja stuff,” she replied dismissively.
“I thought you were Samurai!” I distractedly said.
“General Nesbit is going to be ok,” she said.
“What was wrong with him?” My mind was suddenly alert and I turned over to face her.
“Didn’t you hear? The Noridians are claiming to have saved his life. Some sort of stroke that they detected and prevented. Dr. Sullivan was with him when it happened and he said it was incredible.”
“When did this happen?”
“Last night,” she responded. “That’s why Memphis was in charge when everyone was so panicked. You remember; that’s when you made your girlfriend a hero by shouting down Helmer and letting her speak.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” I said. “And besides, she doesn’t even really like me.”
“Be quiet.” Hiromi put her fingers over my lips and coyly said, “I’m going to show you a Shinto move that will take your mind off of her.”
“I’m not thinking about her,” I whispered the lie.
Chapter 19
Major Mathew Reagan, US Army
It wasn’t until our first morning on the Noridian ship that I learned about General Nesbit’s medical episode from the night before. I can understand the military desire to keep information like that compartmentalized but for Memphis to keep it from his Platoon Leaders was inexcusable.
Captain Silva tipped me off that I would want to talk with Dr. Sullivan immediately. Apparently the Noridians had been giving General Nesbit and Dr. Sullivan a tour of the ship which included the belowdecks areas that the rest of us had no access to. When they walked into the room that served as a medical bay lights started flashing and several other Noridian’s appeared and asked the general to lie down. On a view screen they showed Dr. Sullivan, in high detail, an artery in the general’s brain that was swollen-up like a small pea-sized balloon. After asking and receiving the general’s permission they somehow sedated him and then non-invasively proceeded to treat the potential hemorrhage.
The treatment itself had Dr. Sullivan, a normally dignified and reserved man, exuberant. The Noridian’s had used micro force fields to strengthen the weakened artery and then used a negative polarity to attract certain electrolytes into forming a sheath around the weakened area; a treatment which would take several days to complete. Dr. Sullivan had been assured that the general was no longer in danger but until the force fields were no longer needed it was necessary for him to remain sedated to guarantee perfect immobility.
I had mixed feelings about a number of things. I was certainly glad the general was safe and I’m glad they caught the problem but the timing was incredibly convenient or inconvenient depending on your point of view. We were deprived of quality leadership at the exact moment in time that our team had so far needed it the most. In addition to that there was something about the whole episode that was raising red flags in my subconscious that I couldn’t seem to put a finger on. Colonel Memphis had been no help and while some of the team, especially a few of the scientists, were actually buoyed by the idea of chasing of into the depths of a technological space-time abyss, most people had realized that they were rather horrified by the idea.
Just bringing everyone together like Julie had, let alone her comforting words, had gone a long way towards reminding everyone that we were in it together and that we had a purpose.
Mark’s interview with Jaki the next day had also helped. To the chagrin of Dr. Derrick Helmer, Dr. Spencer was quickly becoming a folk hero to many on the team. It was obvious from the interviews that Jaki was attracted to him and, logical or not, people felt that aided our cause.
And that was another thing I had mixed feelings about; just exactly what was our cause? Most people including Colonel Memphis and Ambassador Rutledge seemed to think that attaining Noridian technology should be our prime focus regardless of cost. Our mission, however, was to discover the extent of that technology, determine if we had anything they valued or wanted, and learn everything we could about the Noridian and galactic cultures so that earth could formulate a strategy. Without General Nesbit around to remind everyone the group was quickly losing sight of this.
I wasn’t anti-technology but there were a lot of questions to be answered before we dove head-first into this. I knew that with a direct technology transfer from the Noridians there was zero possibility we could be an equal partner with them. Getting the technology was one thing; maintaining it was something different. Did we want to be trained monkeys using tools we didn’t understand or was there a way we could develop our knowledge and understanding at the same time? If not they would gain a tremendous amount of control over us and I’m not sure we knew what their true agenda was.
The other side of that same equation, which could give the devil chills, is who was going to get that high-tech equipment first? Would it be individuals, corporations, or countries? Surely you couldn’t just give that stuff to anyone that asked for it? It would be one thing for people to know how to create clean water in the desert, it was quite another for every terrorist on the planet to suddenly be able to create plutonium 239.
Whoever first controlled such technologies would effectively control the world. As a military man I couldn’t imagine wars not being fought over the issue. I also couldn’t imagine any circumstance where scientists and politicians wouldn’t say, ‘give us more’ when it came to acquiring it. If the Noridians wanted to destroy us it wouldn’t be very difficult; just give us what we wanted.
∆∆∆
I touched a spot just below my right earlobe and said, “Captain Kamiko, could you join us in the 3rd Platoon Conference Room please.”
Our communication earpieces had appeared in each of our rooms one morning. There was a very small piece that wrapped around the back of the ear and a small section that fitted inside the ear canal. I could’ve sworn when I first put mine on it molded itself to me. At any rate it was extremely comfortable and easy to forget you were wearing it.
I was conferencing with my squad leaders and my second in command, Captain Antonio Silva. I had also asked Dr. Spencer, Dr. Schein and Major Mike Reynolds to sit in.
In the few days since we’d boarded the ship interviews had resumed and it seemed like there was a new technological revelation every day. One of the interviews this morning had confirmed the already suspected ability of the Noridian’s to communicate over distances at faster-than-the-speed-of-light. It had something to do with quantum entanglement and I got the impression that it was a pretty advanced science even for them.
When everyone was present I opened the meeting, “General Nesbit should be back with us tomorrow and I thought it might be a good idea for us to take stock of our situation so we can give him an accurate summary.”
Major Reynolds snorted and Kamiko asked, “Will it be possible for us to give a different report than what Dr. Helmer and Colonel Memphis will offer?”
“This is an unofficial get together,” I said. “So it’s not like we’re generating a separate report. On the other hand when I speak to the general I want to make sure that I’m giving him the truth as I see it – or maybe I should say as ‘we’ see it. That’s why I’ve asked you here; to see if we have any kind of consensus.”
Captain Kamiko was from a different military organization and I suspect she really didn’t know if I’d be able to offer a differing opinion from my direct superior, and I understood why she was asking the question. Over the last couple of days it had become clear that Helmer and Nesbit were totally sol
d out to ‘The Noridian’s are our friends’ line of thought along with most of the Dips and an unknown number of scientists scattered here or there.
Most of the military personnel however were a little more skeptical. Dr. Spencer had been very reserved in his public opinions on the subject and, I suspected, once he came to a conclusion he would probably sway a lot of people in his direction. Dr. Schein to a somewhat lesser extent also carried influence but most people were aware of her intense dislike for Jaki and assumed they already knew her opinions on the issue.
“Well, I don’t like it,” said ‘Iron Jaw.’ “Most of the diplomats are running around acting like they’re negotiating the Treaty of Versailles but it just reminds me of a bunch of politicians maneuvering for credit. I haven’t heard any of them addressing the really hard questions; they’re too busy divvying up the power that’s going to come from the influx of new wealth.”
Here Comes Earth: Emergence Page 11