by Clyde Key
* * *
Everett Lane was at the White House meeting with the president. So was Arlene Sisk and two of her subordinates. Also the Secretary of the Treasury, Arnold Medgars, and a couple of cabinet members whose names Ed could not remember.
“We have a situation,” began President Litton. “You all know about the unfortunate accident, I’m sure.” Everybody nodded seriously and Litton continued. “Now I’m hearing the Oldest Veezee is accusing us of killing their agents on purpose. That is ridiculous and we told them so but they apparently don’t believe it.”
“Ms. President, does it matter if they believe it? After all, we didn’t invite them to the Earth. It seems to me like they ought to be trying to get along with us, not the other way around,” said Ed.
“Not true! Not true!” said Arlene. “We did in fact invite them here but it was more than fifty years ago.”
“So? We’ve changed administrations a couple of times since then. Besides we couldn’t see what they were really like until they got here.”
“Ed Halloran! That is all quite beside the point! Now I hold that we owe them some special consideration after all that’s happened. And especially after that tragic accident at the Watergate.”
Medgars broke in. “Those are exactly the thoughts of the cabinet. We’re also afraid they’re going to lose patience and come storming out of their lines, and then where will we be?”
Ed was incredulous. “Is that true, Ms. President? Are we just giving up to the aliens?”
“Not aliens! Call them Veezee!” snapped Arlene.
“I’m sad to say it seems we are,” said Litton. “What a way for a president to be remembered! I lost the nation to a bunch of alien monsters!”
Arlene bristled at Litton’s comment but kept silent.
Then spoke one of the cabinet members whose name Ed could not recall. “What I think is we should make a good faith gesture. Let’s allow a larger number of them to travel. Send the army down there to oversee letting about a hundred thousand Veezee off the reservation. That will give them something constructive to do for a change anyway.”
“What!” Ed sputtered. “You cowardly bureaucrats don’t have any sense! That won’t make things better at all! We’ll just lose control of the whole situation because nobody will even know how many aliens are out! Who could tell?”
“I agree with Colonel Halloran,” said Litton. “Let’s keep the lid on it as long as we can.”
“So do I,” said Lane. “I think we should let a few more out under controlled circumstances, mainly just to quell some of the public curiosity. We should insist they leave those rocket globes though, and take the transportation we offer.”
Tempers flared as the meeting went on. Accusations bounced around the room until President Clarice Litton had had enough. She ordered that no more than ten aliens be allowed to visit, or rather set up residence, in every major city in the U.S. Per her order, those few aliens would be allowed to take their rocket globes for transportation after a course on travel safety to be presented by AABC. (After all, you wouldn’t want an alien riding in your floater. Would you?) She ordered army squads stationed near each group of aliens and that AABC offices in each city would coordinate interaction between aliens and local officials and between aliens and citizens.
President Litton also decreed that alien would no longer be considered a dirty word.
33
Aug. 27, 2112
Alien presence in the cities was big news across the nation. The fact that only ten aliens were allowed in each city allayed many fears. Since there was no fear, curiosity swept over the populations, with the arrival of aliens in each city drawing large crowds. It was the same in Albuquerque when Lt. Richie Taylor and a squad of soldiers escorted ten aliens in their rocket globes to their new home.
The alien home in Albuquerque consisted of a circular depression in the ground, about 200 meters across and a meter deep. City officials had suggested erecting a roof shelter on columns, but the aliens rejected this offer. They insisted they preferred to be outside unless it rained, and then they would go into their globes. Another suggestion, to install drains or pumps to remove rainwater, was similarly rejected.
An area had been roped off for spectators so people could watch when The Visitors arrived. Per AABC directive, the spectator area had been located so the prevailing wind would carry odors away from the crowd, to eliminate the possibility that crowd reaction would spark another ugly incident, like what happened at Shreveport. It was agreed that if the wind changed, the arrival time simply would be postponed. As it turned out, the planning hadn’t helped. There were at least a hundred thousand people gathered in Albuquerque to see the aliens and they filled all the open space for several blocks from the compound in every direction.
The crowd was waiting when Taylor’s convoy arrived. Two army floaters led the parade. Ten alien globes followed next. Two more army floaters completed the procession.
Taylor used his sound projector to warn the crowd back. “Your attention please! Move back and allow room for The Visitors to enter the compound. Please stay behind the ropes so The Visitors will have enough room to dismount from their globes.”
The crowd reluctantly gave the floaters barely enough room to pass. It still seemed to Taylor that his vehicle’s side repellers were pushing people back as the convoy passed through the crowd. Then as the first two floaters cleared the crowd, it surged in toward the rocket globes.
Regrettably, two children had been pushed into the path and were burned by the globes’ rocket exhaust. Taylor could see the children in his rear-view screen as they ran screaming so he knew their burns weren’t fatal, but he couldn’t know how seriously they were injured. Nor could he get back to see about them so he ordered the troops in the last floater to tend to the children. In a few minutes, he saw the floater rise above the crowds and speed off to a hospital. He’d check on the children by comphone as soon as the aliens were out of their globes and the crowd was under control.
Although many people caught at least a glimpse of alien rocket globes as they passed, only a few would actually be able to see the aliens dismounting. To Taylor’s thinking, these would be the unlucky ones, since he had already witnessed aliens coming out of their globes. Besides, cameras of local video stations were set up circling the alien compound in small remote floaters. Everybody at home would be able to watch clearly on their wallscreens without having to experience the smell.
Taylor’s floater and the other two remaining floaters were joined at Taylor’s request by Albuquerque police vehicles. These were high-level floaters that came over the crowd to join Taylor’s troops circling the compound to keep the pressing crowd away from the aliens.
The aliens came out as they had the other times, fluid first. Then an excited roar built up as people craned to see the aliens but, on the downwind side especially, the roar turned to sounds of disgust as the odor drifted through the crowd on the light breeze. People began to push to get away as quickly as they could, but it was only a few moments later that the smell drifted all the way to the outer limits of the crowd and people began to leave at the perimeter. Soon there was a headlong rush to get away from the areas that lay to the north of the compound. Taylor believed that some people possibly were injured, and called for some of his troops to follow the crowd. When it was confirmed that five had been trampled, ambulance floaters were called in to assist.
“This is not working out real well, is it?” asked Corporal Frank who drove Taylor’s floater.
“About as well as we could have expected,” said Taylor. “Now I don’t want to but I have to get out and greet and introduce them.”
Taylor took his sound projector with him when he stepped out of the floater. He turned to the crowd and said, “Please join with me in welcoming Veezee to Albuquerque. It is the desire of the United States Government and the Eldest Veezee that your acceptance of these visitors will signal the beginning of a new era of peace, mutual cooperation, and learnin
g about each other.
“Now I must tell you that some rules have been established both for your safety and the safety of The Visitors. First: no humans are allowed in the compound. We hope this may be changed at some time in the near future, but it will be vigorously enforced for the time being.
Secondly, Veezee leaving the compound will always be accompanied either by army or AABC personnel. You are asked to allow Veezee the space they need and not to try to interact personally until we have all learned more about each other. AABC promises to allow Veezee access to news media so that we may all be informed.
“Now I’d suggest that all of you go to your homes immediately after we have welcomed our guests because a news conference is scheduled for two p.m., less than an hour from now. You will all be able to see and listen to the interview while most of you certainly will not be able to if you remain here.”
Taylor turned to the aliens and said, “Welcome to the City of Albuquerque. It is the wish of the citizens of this city to get to know you and the rest of Veezee as soon as possible.”
Only one alien wore a voice translator disk. Taylor held his sound projector so this one could speak. “Thank you and your government for allowing Veezee come to this place. It is desire of all Veezee to be free. Please ask your President to allow Veezee to be free.”
Then Taylor spoke into the sound projector. “There will be nothing more until the interview which is only a few minutes away, so please return to your homes now.”
Much of the crowd started leaving then, particularly those who were farthest from the compound. Also many of those who were nearer, but got an occasional whiff of alien odor, struggled to get away through the crowd.
Then quite unexpectedly, a small dog darted from the crowd into the compound and started yapping at the aliens and a little girl started to chase after her pet until the people at the rope grabbed her. “Bippie! Bippie, come back here! Please!” cried the girl. But the dog ran around and around the aliens, barking shrilly.
Taylor tried to grab the dog but the aliens moved to surround it so that Taylor couldn’t get to it, or even see it. In seconds the barking stopped. In a couple of minutes the aliens moved away. Bippie’s bones were all that remained. “Thank you,” said the alien with the disk. “That was very good gift.”
The crowd murmured and the girl screamed and Taylor could feel the situation getting away. He yelled into the sound projector, “Leave now! Go to your homes immediately! I order all of you to leave!”
Troops and Albuquerque police moved to start forcing the rest of the crowd back, and in a few minutes the crowd was all gone except for a few stragglers. It had not been an auspicious beginning at Albuquerque.