Tarizon: Desert Swarm

by William Manchee

Chapter 43

  Negotiations

  Later that afternoon Mo, Joe and Agent Sanders pulled up next to the construction trailer at the Independence site. George and Cindy drove up five minutes later. None of them had ever seen an alien, not even Mo since he’d just taken the new assignment, so they spent several minutes just staring at Linkh and sizing him up. Since there were too many of them to fit in the trailer, they all pulled up chairs around a campfire that Jack had built overlooking the new Nanomite cathedral.

  Mo shook his head in awe. “I can’t believe how quickly they’ve built this new cathedral. They do such beautiful work, it’s hard to believe they are as ruthless as they’ve turned out to be.”

  “They learned that from the humans they encountered back on Tarizon,” Linkh noted. “They lived for thousands of years in peace until the humans made contact, convinced them to help rebuild the planet’s infrastructure, and then tried to enslave them.”

  “So, is this a hopeless cause or do you think we can reason with them?” Mo asked.

  “They are a rational life-form. If you can show them a course of conduct that would be best for them, they will listen. The problem will be getting them to trust you.”

  “Why didn’t they listen to you the last time you tried to negotiate?”

  “They were all young and inexperienced swarms separated from the collective and from the older and wiser swarmmasters. None of them knew me and their primary instinct was survival. They feared if they surrendered they would be vulnerable to annihilation.”

  “So, maybe we need to go back to the Bat Mountain site and negotiate with the swarmmasters there,” Jack suggested. “If we can convince them that all this has been a big misunderstanding, perhaps we can persuade them to send a delegation to the other sites to convince them to return to Bat Mountain.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Mo replied. “But that could take time. Right now we need to be sure this site is secure. We can’t allow any more cathedrals to spring up.”

  “We were talking about that earlier,” Jack said. “I think we have decided the best way to keep the Nanomites from moving is to build a mote around the cathedral. They won’t try to travel through saturated ground.”

  “You sure that will work?” Mo questioned.

  Linkh nodded. “It is a way to keep them in one location without hurting them. If you kill them then you’ll have a war on your hands.”

  “Okay, I’ll get the Army Corps of Engineers up here immediately to start working on it.”

  “How are you going to explain to the Corps what they are doing?” Joe asked.

  “We’ll have to come up with something—it’s for a fancy country club and golf course or something.”

  “That sounds good, but keep the crew as small as possible and make sure they don’t discuss what they are doing with anyone, particularly the press.”

  They continued to talk and decided Agent Sanders, Jack, Dolly and Linkh would go to Bat Mountain to try to establish contact with the Nanomites there. While they were doing that, Mo would supervise the work on the containment motes at the Independence site and Joe, George and Cindy would go back to Death Valley Junction to evaluate the situation there.

  “I hope the Army wasn’t successful at killing the Nanomites with insecticide. If they were, then you’ll never get them to trust you again. It will be all out war until every last one of them is dead,” Linkh warned.

  “I don’t know,” Mo replied. “I left right after the attack on the headquarters. We’ll just have to go back there and find out.”

  As the meeting broke up a feeling of hopeless and despair came over Jack. The task before them seemed impossible, particularly since only one of them could communicate with the Nanomites. As he thought about their desperate situation, he wondered if Linkh was right and that he could learn to read people’s minds and communicate telepathically. The idea seemed ridiculous, but the fact that Linkh believed it was possible gave Jack hope. He had no choice but to work diligently to acquire the skill.

  That night they spent the night at Dolly’s which wasn’t too far from the Bat Mountain site. Jack decided to take advantage of having Linkh for the evening to work on his telepathic skills, if indeed he had any. Linkh suggested he try to reach into Dolly’s mind as she loved him and would not put up any resistance. Dolly thought the exercise was futile but agreed to let Jack try. She sat across from him at the kitchen table, barely able to keep a straight face.

  “Okay, what do I need to do?” Dolly asked.

  “Just relax and let Jack into your mind,” Linkh advised.

  Jack took a deep breath and peered into Dolly’s eyes. She had a quirky smile on her face that made it hard for him to concentrate. He frowned. “Okay, laugh at me. Get it over with so I can do this.”

  Dolly chuckled. “I’m sorry. I’m going to be serious now,” she said putting on a stern face.

  Jack concentrated again trying to look through her eyes into Dolly’s mind but nothing happened. “This isn’t working,” he complained.

  “It takes time,” Linkh replied. “If it were easy, everyone would be able to do it. You can do it, but only if you believe you can. When I was young I had to do the same thing. My father told me I had the gift but needed to learn how to use it. I practiced on my older sister who was kind and loving like Dolly, but even working several hours a day it took me several weeks to finally break through.”

  “I’m not sure we have weeks. I need to learn how to do this in a few days. It’s dangerous to have only one person who can communicate with the Nanomites. What if something happens to you? Without a backup negotiator we may end up having to go to war just because we couldn’t communicate.”

  “I agree,” Agent Sanders said. “We have to consider all contingencies.”

  “It will impress the Nanomites if an Earth human takes the time to learn how to communicate with them,” Linkh advised. “It could make a big difference in gaining their trust.”

  They continued to work with no success until it was nearly midnight. Frustrated, Jack gave up and they all went to bed. The next morning they got up early, had breakfast at Mona’s Café, and then drove to the Bat Mountain site. It had been some time since they had seen the Living Desert Cathedral and they were astonished at how it had changed. The walls were complete now and the roof was beginning to fill-in. Jack marveled at how a rock roof could be constructed without wood or steel supports.

  “Holy mother of God,” Dolly said doing the sign of the cross. “It really is a cathedral.”

  “It looks a lot like one,” Linkh said, “but they will fill in the interior after the roof is complete. A Nanomite cathedral is solid rock. They do the walls and the roof first to keep out the wind and the rain. They like a stable environment in which to live.”

  “Really?” Dolly replied.

  “Yes. In their contract with Central Authority they agreed to leave the interiors empty so humans could occupy them, however, they had the right to live in the foundation, walls, and roof area not occupied by the humans. It was a good arrangement because the Nanomites would maintain the building at no cost to owners. But some humans were uncomfortable knowing Nanomites were in the walls. I guess they thought they would be listening to conversations and watching them, but the fact was the Nanomites couldn’t listen to them or see them. Neither occupant would interfere with the other, yet the humans insisted the Nanomites leave once a building had been constructed.”

  “That’s terrible,” Dolly complained. “What’s wrong with your Central Authority?”

  “It was the Purists in Central Authority who pushed the issue. They believe only pure, un-mutated humans, should have civil rights.”

  “But they don’t control the government do they?”

  “Not now. The Loyalist have a majority in the World Assembly, but that could change at any moment.”

  As they approached the headquarters tent two MP’s stopped them. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, were here to see Col
onel Talmadge,” Agent Sanders replied. “I believe he is expecting us.”

  One of the MPs nodded. “Yes, right this way.”

  The MP’s escorted them to the largest of a half dozen tents set up behind the cathedral. A short, balding man stood up when he saw them enter.

  “Colonel Talmadge?” Agent Sanders asked.

  “Yes... Hi... Mo told me you were coming by today.”

  “Right. Did he tell you why?”

  “No. He just told me to give you full access to the cathedral.”

  Mo had told Agent Sanders not to let anyone know the purpose of their visit, so she had come up with a cover story for their visit.

  “Linkh is a geology student from Waco working on his doctorate. This is such a unique uplift, he wants to make it the subject of his doctoral thesis. Jack agreed to show him around since he discovered the site and is familiar with it.”

  “That’s fine. There’s not much going on here since the pilgrims left. If you don’t mind I’ll just leave you all to do your work. Just don’t touch anything. I have some reports I need to work on.”

  “No. That’s fine. We’ll let you get back to what you are doing.”

  They all got up and agreed to meet again before they left.

  Jack looked at Linkh expectantly. “Now what?”

  “Let’s go inside the cathedral where we are out of everyone’s view. Agent Sanders and Dolly can keep watch to make sure nobody disturbs us.”

  They all agreed, so Jack and Linkh went inside while Dolly and Agent Sanders took positions at the two entrances to the cathedral. The interior temperature was a bit cooler than outside as the partial roof blocked the sun and provided considerable shade. Linkh went to the center of the large center room and sat down.

  “Okay. Although we can’t look a Nanomite in the eye, we can imagine one in our mind and accomplish the same focus to our concentration,” Linkh advised.

  “So, you have an image of a Nanomite in your head?”

  “Yes. It’s probably not accurate but it doesn’t matter. Telepathy is all about concentration.”

  “So, what should I do?” Jack asked.

  “Try what you did last night, but think of a Nanomite instead of Dolly. If you’re lucky maybe you’ll tap into our conversation.”

  Jack laughed. “Ah. Don’t hold your breath.”

  Linkh sat Indian style and closed his eyes. Jack watched him a minute and then took the same pose.

  The Speaker felt Link’s mind nudge his. It was a familiar feeling. He’d linked with this mind before so he opened up his mind without hesitation.

  “Linkh Leode?” the Speaker thought.

  “Yes, Speaker. It is I.”

  “It’s good to make contact with you again. We have been quite distressed with what’s been happening here on Earth and concerned about being attacked again.”

  “Yes. That is why I am here to lay your fears to rest.”

  “I hope so. Who have you brought with you? I feel a weak presence of a human.”

  “Yes, that is Jack Carpenter. He is trying to learn how to communicate with you. Humans on Earth have not developed their telepathic abilities at all, so this is something very new to him.”

  “It would be useful to be able to contact the humans. I hope he is successful in developing his gift.”

  “Thank you. I feel confident in time he will be successful. In the meantime I am here to tell you that the humans mean you no harm. They do not understand the Nanomites and did not realize they were killing your brothers and sisters when they took samples of your rock.”

  “How could that be? Didn’t Central Authority inform them about our ways?”

  “Yes, but the government here on Earth withheld this information from the public and other nations. They do not want to share the technology we are giving them with the other governments on the planet, so they are keeping your presence a secret.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me. Humans are so selfish and short sighted,” the Speaker thought.

  “So, the crowds that have been here are not hostile. They are awed by the beauty of your cathedral. They think their God sent you here to build it.”

  “They do?”

  “Yes, they mean you no harm. It is the government’s fear that their deception will be discovered that is the problem.”

  “So, what can we do to be left alone as the treaty provides?”

  “You don’t know this, but two other cathedrals have been started by swarms of Nanomites that were accidentally taken away by a sheriff’s deputy to a nearby city. One colony of swarms has caused much damage to a city called Death Valley Junction and have killed many humans.”

  “Nanomites always do whatever they have to do to survive.”

  “I know, but we need to bring them back here where they can live in peace. The other colony has caused no harm and have a cathedral nearly built but if they are discovered people will flock to see them and there will no doubt be more trouble.”

  “Will the Earth government keep their citizens away and let us live in peace if they all return here?”

  “Yes. The United States President has assured me that they will.”

  “Can I trust this man who has deceived his own citizens?”

  “Yes, because it is in his best interest for you to be left alone. He can’t afford for his deceit to be exposed.”

  “Then I will confer with the other swarmmasters and give you a decision at sunrise.”

  “Thank you, Speaker. It was good connecting with you again.”

  Linkh opened his eyes and looked at Jack. “Did you get in on the connection?”

  Jack opened his eyes and frowned. “No. For a few moments I felt something but I couldn’t grab onto it.”

  “Yes. The swarmmaster said he could feel you trying. It will come in time. Be patient.”

  Jack sighed. “I guess I don’t have much choice. . . . So, what did they say?”

  “They must confer but, like I said, they are a rational life-form. It is in their best interest to avoid conflict, particularly in a strange land where they would be at a disadvantage if general war broke out.”

  “General war? We can’t let that happen. Can you imagine how that would impact the country?”

  “Yes. It would likely be the end of our treaty too and that would be disastrous for both our governments. So, be thinking about other alternatives if our mission here fails.”

  Jack shook his head. “No. It can’t fail. That’s not an option.”