“Have you perhaps forgotten the story of Troy?” Shatner asked, glaring at the audience, as soon as the applause died down.
The defiant gesture got him a few whistles, but he continued, oblivious: “Who among you can insure us that their gifts aren't being given with some ulterior motive? Perhaps you, Ms. Andersen?”
“He's calling us all fools, like the people of Troy? And what part would you play, the priest who warned them, Laocoon?”
“They razed dozens of our cities to the ground and killed billions of people! What more do they need to do?”
“I think you're a bit confused. That was the Taahrians, not the Ikalians,” interjected Mario Chandler, making Shatner the object of derision.
“Exactly! Wasn't once more than enough? Do we want to ask them for seconds? Let's go! That's fine! Welcome!” he yelled.
“You're getting more heated than usual,” Ms. Andersen taunted him.
“It's just that you all seem to be blind! What guarantee do we have that the Ikalians won't react like the Taahrians, the first time that the humans don't do as they wish? In any case, I'm not here to promote my reasoning or to put on a show for you. After all the suffering and devastation that overwhelmed everyone's lives, I just wish that people would pay attention and not get taken in by facile promises. I lost one of my two sons in the Taahrian attack…” Shatner became overcome by emotion and had to stop for a moment. “I just don't want it to happen again,” he then concluded.
No one felt the need to reply. In fact, they had all been stricken by the same tragedy. After the silence, he received a sincere and solid applause.
“Okay.” The host had the situation in hand once again. “Before the commercial break, I would like to give our other guests a chance to respond.”
What followed was a squabble between concrete arguments and purely speculative ideas.
The noted exobiologist Kate Monroe pointed out that since they had accepted the Taahrians' presence, they would be foolish to deny the same to those who were offering better conditions and sincere promises for all of humanity. The question of the aliens' presumptive sincerity raised such a fuss that it threatened to postpone the long-awaited advertising spot.
Then the guests agreed that in a universe full of intelligent civilizations, humanity was obliged to assume an important, specific role.
“Yes, but not that of slaves!” Shatner snapped furiously.
“Are you proposing that we attack them with an atomic bomb?” Ms. Andersen immediately asked.
“You're offending my intelligence and that of all those who are watching. And the irony of using nuclear weapons isn't lost on me. Billions of people felt the consequences of the Korean madness. You should be ashamed of yourself!”
“As should you! I...”
“The only reason that you're all over me is to further your career. You care absolutely nothing about what happens to the rest of us!”
At that point, the young blond woman's irritation was obvious. Everyone watched as she got up from her armchair and headed towards her rival, muttering a series of inappropriate insults.
“You're quite a hot-head!” Shatner admonished after Chandler managed to get Andersen back into her chair again. “You should learn some manners first, and only then, if you're capable, journalism.”
The next commercial break kept the at-home viewers from the subsequent animated discussion. It was an evening in which Mr. Shatner and Ms. Andersen violated all boundaries, completely losing any sense of fair play.
The last segment of the SuperShow focused on the Rev. Lawrence Smith, who directed the conversation towards the concept of a world view introduced by the Catholic Church in the last three years, to justify the role of the newcomers vis-à-vis God.
“The Ikalians offer a perfect example of this doctrine, in which life is an expression of divine will which extends throughout the universe,” the priest asserted with obvious satisfaction.
“Excuse me, Reverend,” Mario Chandler interrupted. “Doesn't the flight of the Taahrians risk putting your New Biocosmic Theology in jeopardy, as it's based on mutual cooperation and scientific-cultural exchange between us and them?”
“The events of the past few weeks don't undermine premises of the New Theology in the least.
No one in the ecclesiastical world has ever claimed that biocosmic views were the prerogative of an exclusive relationship between humans and Taahrians. The word cosmos is inherent to the concept of universality. The New Theology deals with the rapport between us and any other intelligent civilization, and God.”
“And what would you like to say to those who insist on believing that the Taahrians were sent by the devil?”
“That they are merely divine creatures, like us, who over the course of millennia, have caused terrible tragedies; but contrary to mankind, their redemption was much quicker.”
The priest's show of support towards the fugitives was met with some booing.
“Please!” the host said, admonishing the audience. “We must be respectful above all. We won't tolerate any more of this uncivilized behavior!”
After order had been reestablished, Rev. Lawrence Smith opened the New Testament, positioned right next to him, in full view.
“Listen to me,” he said. “In the Gospel of John 10:16, there are explicit references to the existence of intelligent beings beyond the Earth.” The reverend cleared his throat and began to read: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead these too; they will hear my voice and become one flock with one shepherd...”
“That's really interesting,” Chandler commented. “But doesn't your interpretation seem a bit far-fetched? I mean just a little?”
“Explain to me what you see as far-fetched. In my opinion, it's very clear. If we have always been part of our Lord's flock, the expression different folds can only mean creatures from another world.”
“That's fine, Reverend. I'm sure the audience at home understands your thinking. You only have two minutes left. Did you want to add something more, before we sign off?”
“I would just like to clarify the role of the Church, which all too often in recent times, has been misrepresented. Her mission is to create a universal community which demonstrates and disseminates the redemption of Christ, who was made man here on Earth. It is the duty of the Church to now spread his word throughout the cosmos.”
“Well, excuse me for interrupting, but do you envision missionaries in space who will proclaim the earthly incarnation of the divine word and the consequent possibility of redemption and conversion of all intelligent beings in the universe?”
“Exactly! Fortunately, I can count on the fact that there are still those who will accept the words without misinterpreting them.”
“I take that as a compliment and I thank you, Rev. Smith.”
The audience's reaction was one of general hilarity.
“Unfortunately, it's now time to say good night. I want to thank this evening's guests, the studio audience, and of course all of you at home who are the heart and soul of The Night SuperShow.
Theme song and applause. Good night.”
16
After Eldgh had finished telling her what had happened, from the glitch in his chip to the fatal confrontation, Namiko's head began to throb. The sum total of his dramatic news was too much to take in all at once.
“But did it really have to end like this?” Namiko asked, referring to Yijesh's death.
“There was no alternative. My intention was to stun him and put him in his cell, but you already know how that went...”
“If it wasn't for that protective suit...” Namiko mused aloud. “Ironically, he would still be alive.”
“Yeah, my plan was almost successful. In any case, I'll have to be content with the fact that it wasn't me who ended up that way. I can't imagine what bizarre, anomalous reactions our companions might've had if he had won.”
“What if the anomaly is you?”
“I've actually thought o
f that. But I don't know how to explain who or what could've programmed the minds of a million Taahrians.”
“I could help you find out...”
“You?”
“Don't see me short. I'm an excellent IT engineer.”
“Of a technology that's alien and antiquated.”
“I learn fast. If you and the droid were to teach me some of the fundamentals of alien computation and automation...”
The Taahrian's slanted eyes were somewhat expressionless, compared to those of a human, but Namiko sensed perplexity on Eldgh's face.
“If you don't want my help, that's fine; I understand. I mean, who am I anyway? A poor little human, a hopeless primitive being, a...”
“As you wish, Namiko, you can help me. With my companions in hibernation, we have all the time in the world.”
“Okay,” she answered anxiously.
All the time in the world, you and I, alone, on an alien spaceship, going who knows where, in the depths of space, condemned to never see my loved ones again...
“I must confess that I'm amazed by the manner in which you've accepted this situation so easily,” said Eldgh, interrupting the Japanese woman's thoughts.
“Mine is, more than anything else, a forced acceptance. Why wouldn't I believe you? I will soon be leaving this room and it'll only take a moment to ascertain whether the ship is deserted. Furthermore, any human who finds herself here is at the mercy of the Taahrians. You're right when you say that any adverse action would be useless.”
“And I thought that you trusted me.”
“It's not about you, Eldgh. I don't trust life anymore, or at least the events in this universe. I can believe everything that you're telling me, but to use the word trust, after all that's happened, is just about impossible.”
“You think that everything I've told you might be a ruse, some elaborate simulation created by our computer?”
“No, Eldgh. You've always been helpful, cooperative and supportive. Even if this was the most elaborate deception ever, what could ever be worse than seeing the Earth reduced to rubble and having to accept a life far away from it? Nothing, dear Eldgh. So yes, I've decided to believe you. But tell me something. I'm curious: why weren't you wearing a protective suit like the Commander's?”
“I didn't realize they existed. Unfortunately, due to the chip's failure, I've become a free man; but the flip side is that I've lost my memories and many functions connected to memory.”
The First Officer looked at his sole traveling companion uncertainly.
“If you have doubts, I'm ready to answer any of your questions.”
“I'm not just dubious; I think I'm in shock. I don't know how much longer it will take for the realization of what happened to hit me. But, actually, I was wondering why Yijesh didn't just get some android to help him or why he didn't awaken one of his companions.”
“All of the automatons on this ship are programmed so that they cannot do us any harm. It would be inconceivable for there to be disorder like this among my people. If you think about it, it's quite disturbing. Only now that I am free from the influences of my neural processor do I even realize that. A Taahrian cannot ever hurt another of his own kind, the same way that one C6 unit cannot act against another.”
“So you're saying that you and the others like you are controlled, like a bunch of intelligent machines.”
“Maybe,” he answered briefly, thinking about it. “Reprogramming an artificial being would require too much time. Awakening a Taahrian in the first phases of reanimation would be like killing him.”
“So it was fate.”
“We don't believe in fate... and yet you're right. Now what's left to believe in?”
“We're in the same boat,” said the young woman.
“On the same spaceship.”
“Yeah.” A bitter smile crossed Namiko's face.
The two were silent for a few moments.
Then the First Officer broke the ice: “Let's get Yijesh's body now!” he proposed. “We'll put him in that medicine refrigerator. No one will go looking in there.”
“Excuse me, but who's going to go looking anywhere if we're the only ones here?”
“There are always the artificially intelligent beings.”
“Didn't you just tell me that they can't hurt us?”
“You're a human; not a Taahrian. And there's another possibility that we haven't considered.”
“Which is?”
“If a C6 unit, or someone on its behalf, were to record this event, the Commander's demise, imagine the data that could be transmitted to those who are controlling the Taaharians' minds.”
“You're right. But this story seems too incredible to be believed.”
“Perhaps it is, but logic suggests that we be extremely prudent, to the point of paranoia.”
“You're right. Let's put him in the unit and get out of this damned infirmary.”
17
The Super States3, or rather the embodiment of the six international, supranational and intergovernmental organizations, deliberated over a common and unambiguous resolution for allowing the Ikalians to remain on terrestrial soil. Put together in the year following the Taahrian attack, the six Super States, at least pursuant the founding fathers ideas, consisted of free market areas, each characterized by a single currency and regulated by central banks, to which institutions the member states would delegate part of their national sovereignty. Such a solution, except in old Europe where a similar model had long been in place, was seen as necessary for mutual cooperation between Member States with common macro-areas of devastation. This idea was supposed to be the precondition for a future global union, essential in the light of galactic structure as mapped out by the Ikalians. Without a central world government, it would be impossible for the Earth to play a consistent and continuous role with its interstellar neighbors.
On the outskirts of Canberra, the cold season had now set in. Tylor, Betty and their Italian friend were back together again under the same roof.
“In just three months,” Tylor said to Sirio, in his typically enthusiastic way, “with their help, we completed a huge solar power plant, and yet you still don't like them.”
“The origins of the Taahrians, as they explained them to us, have always been somewhat bizarre and suspicious; that's undisputed. Despite this, I'm certain of their good faith, or at least of their heart, which is bigger than that of many men.”
“They have two hearts,” Tylor observed with a smirk.
“You just can't stop the wisecracks, even when it's a dramatic moment,” Sirio commented, devoid of rancor.
“It's a defect of the most brilliant minds, so it's out of my hands.”
His friend looked at him as though watching an idiot.
“All right! I get it. Sorry. I will try to refrain from that behavior.”
“Really, Tylor, all joking aside, if Eldgh was some wicked and unscrupulous individual, why would he have been interested in saving Namiko?”
“We have no way of knowing what's really going through their heads. They might have dual purposes that we don't know about... Or perhaps the Taahrians' First Officer is simply nobler and more philanthropic than his cohorts. The attitude of an entire people isn't reflected in each individual component.”
“Why can't you ever just reassure me, like you're supposed to?”
“What do you want me to tell you? I'd be saying it just for the sake of saying it. We're discussing something about which we know nothing. However, to be charitable, it may well be that Eldgh and the Taahrians have one of the best civilizations in the galaxy; and that their attack, like that of the Koreans, it was a terrible accident.”
“An awful misunderstanding that killed billions of people.”
“But they did everything they could to remediate the situation, so maybe you're right.”
“Being right matters little to me. I just want Namiko to be okay.”
“Then I should tell you that, apart from her pare
nts and the two of us, no one knows where she really is now.”
“I agree that it's best not to make that public knowledge. The world press would go to town with it.”
“As well as the institutions and governing bodies of the so-called Super States.”
“Are you opposed to their existence?”
“No, it's a good idea, but the current organization leaves much to be desired. After all, it hasn’t been very long... I think it was inevitable.”
“Returning to our prior discussion, it could be that the Ikalians have done a real snow job on us. Let's remember that the Taahrians were never able to reply to their allegations.”
“But it's undeniable that they fled.”
“And what if they had to flee because of an Ikalian threat?”
“That's what our new Ikalian friends maintain.”
“No, Tylor, let me explain. What I mean is: what if we have it all backwards? What if the apparent good guys are actually the bad guys?”
“Well, then they'd be cowards.”
“But what if it was part of a more complex strategy?”
“Listen, Sirio, that's something we'll never know, at least not now. I understand how you're feeling; it's what we all feel, in a sense, but there's nothing we can do.”
“So we should just sit on our hands?”
“Of course not! But what can we do? We're not even sure who's who! Given that they're composed of crooks and incompetents, do you really think the terrestrial institutions are drinking the Ikalians' Kool-Aid? They're just making the best of a bad situation. We're not able to fight them or reject in them in any way, at present.”
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