by S A Pavli
At the end, Manera and I were asked to leave the room while the big shots came to a conclusion. We sat in the reception area and were brought coffee by a white coated waiter.
“Well, what do you think?” I asked Manera.
“If they are not persuaded by that then nothing will persuade them.” she said.
“I think it’s a push over,” I said. “I saw some of the military types giving you the once over.”
“As usual, you get to the heart of things,” she said. I tapped my nose and chuckled knowingly.
After ten minutes or so we were called back in. The Secretary General of the UN took the stand. He was a lean white haired Asian gentleman with a gentle smile.
“Friends, this has been an historic day. I would like to personally welcome Manera and reassure her that she is our honoured guest. Let me also, on behalf of everyone here, thank both her and Captain Constantine for their determination and heroism. I am happy to tell you that the risks you have taken will not be in vain. We will release this momentous information to the public, and proceed with contact between our species.” He gave us a fatherly smile, and I felt like cheering. Instead I gave Manera a big hug.
The President came over and thanked us personally, as did the Secretary General, and we all shook hands all around. The President was going home on Air Force One with his entourage and giving a lift to the Secretary General.
“I will make the announcement tomorrow at the United Nations,” said the Secretary General. “Be sure to watch,” he said with a broad smile, shaking a finger at us. We all laughed, far more than the joke deserved, but there was a feeling of excitement and euphoria. A couple of the Generals made a point of warmly shaking my hand, bashing me on the back or punching me on the shoulder in a show of comradely support. I confess that I appreciated it.
Afterwards, when they had all gone, the Admiral escorted us to our apartment, this time without a military escort, and said he would come and collect us later for dinner. We freshened up in the apartment and waited for the Admiral to collect us. We were sitting on the old leather armchair in front of the 3D.
“I still can’t believe it,” I said to Manera as we waited for the Admiral. “I keep thinking I’m going to wake up in prison.”
“It’s an unexpected turn of events for sure,” said Manera.
“Christ, there is going to be one devil of a furore when this comes out. We are going to be the most famous couple in history.”
“I’m not sure I want that,” she said.
“I’m sure I don’t,” I said. She gave me a sympathetic look. “But we don’t have to pander to the public. We will do our bit and then head off for a while. I’d like to visit some other Hianja planets. And settlements. Some of your moon settlements and artificial orbitals sound interesting.”
“That will be exciting,” she agreed.
“Let’s just release some kind of recorded announcement. You and I, perhaps being interviewed by one of the top reporters, and then head out.”
“I would like to see more of Earth,” she said wistfully. “And being made a fuss of may not be too bad.” I could not help smiling. Of course she wants to be feted and made a fuss of, I thought. I can’t deprive her of that.
“Of course you do darling. You deserve it and it will be amazing.” I gave her a hug and kiss and we made a fuss of each other for a bit until the Admiral came.
He had a huge limousine driven by a chauffer with a couple of tough looking marines in attendance.
“I thought I would take you out,” he said. “The military canteen here is not up to much. Oh, and there is someone who wants to meet you.” He did not explain and we were intrigued. The limousine stopped outside a handsome house with a huge front driveway and a figure came out. It was an attractive dark haired lady.
“My wife Jennifer,” said the Admiral. “She insisted on meeting you both.” We exchanged greetings and handshakes. The limo had four seats facing each other and she sat opposite us and examined us curiously.
“Alexander told me about you,” she said to Manera. “But I did not believe him.” Alexander? I don’t think anyone knew the Admirals first name I thought. Appropriate! “How can you be so beautiful?” she asked. It was an odd and very direct question and Manera laughed. I guessed this was going to be everyone’s reaction to meeting her.
The limo took us to Miami, gave us a tour of the town which Manera loved, and then to a beach side restaurant with live music.
“It’s our favourite restaurant,” said Jennifer. “Alexander brought me here on our first date in order to impress me.”
“It certainly is impressive,” agreed Manera.
The evening passed very pleasantly. Jennifer was a great conversationalist, which made up a little for the Admirals natural reticence. She questioned Manera insatiably about all things Hianja. The Admiral listened carefully, adding his own question or comment occasionally. I felt a little like the bridesmaid at a wedding, but I guessed that I had better get used to it. A hero I may be, but Manera was the beautiful alien, and that had to be tops in anybody’s book!
By the time we were delivered back to our modest apartment I was feeling quite exhausted. Probably the stress more than anything I told myself.
“Tomorrow we will move you two out of here into somewhere a bit more salubrious,” said the Admiral. “I was thinking the penthouse suite at the Miami Sheraton. It is used by visiting dignitaries and is secure, but we will put a few marines on duty there to keep the reporters out. Once the Secretary General makes the announcement we will arrange a press conference at the Octagon. It’s the biggest theatre in Miami, normally used for music concerts.”
“Great,” I said. “Looking forward to it.” the Admiral pretended not to notice my sarcasm.
“Get a good nights sleep. You are going to need it.” We bid the Admiral good night and collapsed on our lumpy old sofa.
“That was an exhausting day,” I said.
“You were wonderful darling,” she said, cuddling up.
“I think you are going to be the star of the show,” I said. I was feeling just a little bit jealous I realised, because Manera was no longer going to be all mine. She was going to belong to the world, and everyone will want a metaphorical piece of her.
“You will always be the star of my show,” she said. I banished my petty jealousy and kissed her tenderly.
“And you in mine. But I think we had better wrap up both shows for now. My eyelids have turned into lead. And tomorrow will be another busy day.”
Chapter 34
We did sleep well, and the next day dawned bright and warm. Another large and varied breakfast arrived but after the late and expensive meal from the previous evening we ate lightly. I had a problem with clothes, not having come prepared with a wardrobe, or even enough underwear. Manera was better equipped, having packed a decent suitcase. But the base apparently had a full stock of clothing supplies and after asking the boys at the end of the intercom they delivered me underwear, shirts and full SES uniforms in my size. Manera dressed in a beautiful full length outfit in regal blue and gold, her hair done up in the same way as the previous day. She looked every inch the Hianja Princess!
The Admiral’s limousine arrived and whisked us off to the promised penthouse suite in the Sheraton. It was a level of luxury that I definitely could get used to! The veranda had a superb view of the city, with the curve of the coastline and the blue of the sea in the distance. The Secretary general’s announcement was due at twelve noon so we sat ourselves on our new very comfortable sofa in front of the 3D, with a jug of coffee ordered from the hotel restaurant.
All the main channels were showing the announcement, and there was fevered speculation on what it was about. One commentator summarised things.
“We have had everything from alien landings to declarations of independence from the new planets of the Federation. War has been declared between China and Japan, there is an outbreak of a deadly disease that will wipe out the human species,
an asteroid is about to collide with Earth, or someone has invented an immortality drug.”
“You got it right the first time matey!” I grinned.
At the designated time we were taken to the UN headquarters in New York. The camera lingered over the handsome two hundred year old building. It had been built after the old rather staid building had been declared unsafe and was a vast improvement aesthetically over the old one.
The camera faded to show the Secretary General sitting in a handsome chair in front of a large leather covered desk and gradually zoomed into his face.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and citizens from all over this world and the colonies. Thank you all for tuning in to listen to this announcement. A momentous and singular event has occurred. A few days ago, one of our exploration ships returned from a trip to an uninhabited planet. Although that particular planet was uninhabited, the ship and its one man crew, Captain Paul Constantine, found themselves being contacted by another starship. It was not one of ours.” The Secretary General paused for good effect. “Yes,” he continued. “Alien first contact had at last occurred. The aliens are an advanced civilisation that has travelled Space for ten thousand years. They are ahead of us in some technologies, but we are ahead of them in others. We are assured that they are a peaceful species. I am here today to tell you that one of their number has journeyed to Earth with Captain Constantine. She is here as an ambassador and in due course, more of her species will arrive to make official contact. Her name is Manera Ka-Hatekan and this is what she looks like.” The Secretary General’s face faded to be replaced by Manera standing and talking at our meeting the previous evening. The Secretary General’s voice continued over the video.
“As you see, she is very human in appearance, which is a mystery for scientists to solve. Yesterday, she and Captain Constantine met myself, the President of the USA and American and foreign officials and senior commanders from the United Earth forces. We are anticipating the arrival of a number of alien starships in the next few days.” The picture faded and went back to the Secretary General.
“In the meantime, Miss Hatekan and Captain Constantine will be at a media announcement this evening at eight pm at the Octagon Centre in central Miami to answer your questions. A package of information has been circulated to all media outlets and can now be opened. Thank you.” The picture faded again and was replaced by the original presenter. He looked bug eyed out of the screen, unable to speak. He was clearly listening to someone speaking on his earplug because he was nodding energetically. Eventually he straightened up and faced the camera.
“We have been given an information package about this evenings media announcement,” he said. “And further video of the aliens. Please don’t go away until we are able to put it online.” As if anyone would go away I thought.
The ‘information package’ when it was finally shown, was a ten minute summary of the Hianja Federation, its size, population and technological achievements. There was a little about their biology and the mystery of our common heritage. I guessed it had been put together from library information provided by Alfred. There was some video of their starships and the AG technology but nothing about the Peacekeepers.
The announcement dominated all the channels all day with discussions and many learned scientists pontificating on the various aspects of Hianja civilisation. We spent a relaxing day in the apartment. Lunch was brought up to us and then later in the afternoon we prepared ourselves for our evening ordeal. Manera dressed very carefully and seemed to be trying to look as alien as possibly with her hair and dress. She did look exotic and different, but not very alien.
A limousine came to collect us from the rear of the hotel. The apartment had its own lift to the ground floor and we exited the lift straight into the limo. I felt like a latter day rock star, but without the hordes of screaming fans!
We were delivered to the Octagon basement car park and into a waiting lift. The whole of the car park was cordoned off by police, the road empty of traffic and the crowds held back by hundreds of police and military. There must have been hundreds of thousands of people in the surrounding area, cafes and bars full and overflowing, huge 3D set up everywhere.
“I think you will be the most famous person in history,” I told Manera. “You will not be able to go anywhere without being recognised.”
“I will have to disguise myself,” she said. “What is the Earth equivalent to an asteroid miner?” I laughed at the idea.
“Just don’t look like a Hianja Princess?” I suggested.
“This is my normal everyday dress,” she said with an innocent expression.
We were bustled out of the car and into the lift and then out into a corridor at the end of which there was a large room. I could see the paraphernalia of a theatre stage and hear the hum of the audience behind the high partitions. My boss Juan Cortez came over to us, and I could also see Major General James Cameron and Admiral Crozier as well as a number of familiar media figures. Cortez came over to us and we shook hands..
“Welcome, welcome,” he said effusively. “Don’t be nervous youngsters. We have instructed the media to behave and be polite. They have an hour and we have selected thirty question so short answers and no dialogues. I will control the meeting and be assured that I will be firm with them.”
“Thank you sir. That’s kind of you,” said Manera favouring him with a warm smile. The Admiral and James Cameron also came over and we shook hands.
“How are you both?” asked the Admiral solicitously.
“Very well thank you sir,” I replied. “A bit nervous.”
“You’ll be fine. They are going to love you,” said Cortez.
And so it transpired. Manera was magnificent, as I knew she would be. I was the cool restrained hero, but they were only superficially interested in me. After an hour Cortez called a halt and promised that more information would be released to the media. But the big event that everyone was looking forward to was the arrival of the Hianja starships.
Chapter 35
Over the next few days we were overwhelmed with requests to visit from countries all over the world. It was politically expedient to visit the worlds major power blocks, Europe and Russia, China and Africa, India and Indonesia and of course Brazil. I hated every minute of it and resented sharing Manera with the rest of the world. Pathetic I know, but at least I understood how pathetic I was and managed to keep my prejudices under control. Manera refused to go anywhere without me. We made sure that our relationship in public was friendly rather than intimate.
Unfortunately we forgot how curious and sneaky the media are. Everywhere that we went we shared an apartment, but it did not take the media long to dig this out, probably by bribing hotel staff! It was during our stay in London, and the next day The Mirror news website had the headline “Paul and Manera: A Couple?” All things considered the article was relatively reserved, asking the question whether it was just friendship or was there more to it? Since Hianja were very human, they asked, was there any reason why there could not be more intimate relations between the two races.
This raised the whole debate to a new and more prurient level, but our minders fortunately did not allow such personal questions to be posed. But I could not have been more relieved when the whole media circus thing was over.
We returned to Cape Canaveral readying ourselves for the arrival of the Hianja starship delegation which was expected within the next two days. Unfortunately, our notoriety meant we could not stay in the sumptuous apartment at the Sheraton but instead stayed at the modest apartment on the military base, saying hello to our lumpy bed and sofa.
A shuttle was being readied for take off the next day to ferry us and a few SES officials like the Admiral and Juan Cortez into orbit to await the Hianja starships. We had our usual meal delivered and were happy to relax and get an early night.
We awoke the next morning and were casually going about our morning preparations when the comm unit buzzed and the Admiral’s face app
eared on the screen.
“Paul and Manera, good news. The ships have arrived,” he declared. “They exited Hyperspace a couple of hours ago.”
“They didn’t hang about,” I observed.
“Only one worrying thing,” he added. I frowned at the screen. “We have received no response to our greetings yet.” I thought about that for a few seconds. It did not seem like them not to respond immediately.
“What microwave frequencies are we using?” I asked.
“Alfred had given us the standard frequencies used by the Hianja. We have tried them all.”
“Odd.” I shook my head and looked enquiringly at Manera who gave a Hianja shrug to show her lack of ideas.
“Well, I’ll see you in an hour. The limo will pick us up for the Cape.”
“Thank you sir. We’ll see you then.”
The trip up to orbit proceeded without incident and we docked and proceeded to the SES project room where I met my old friends George Albert and Bob Jacobs who were waiting to greet me.
“Paul man, what a media circus. I don’t envy you,” said Bob.
“Yes, like movie stars,” agreed George. “Unbelievable.”
“Manera is the movie star,” I said. “I’m just supporting actor. Glad to be up here where I belong though.”
“Yes the empty beauty of Space,” said George. “Apart from the radiation, disgusting food, cranky hardware, minus two hundred and seventy three degrees cold, can’t enjoy a good coffee because of the weightlessness and not being able to have a proper shower. Apart from all that, it’s great!” We all chuckled at George’s humour.
“By the way Paul.” He gave a conspiratorial glance around him. “I gave Manera’s hair to the lab for analysis. Guess what. She’s not human!” He said it with an expression of comical amazement which caused even more laughter.