A Simple Truth (6 page)

He paused.  He had the complete attention of his audience.  This was rather a daunting situation, his opinion would carry much weight with this small but influential group, and the recommendations of the group would strongly influence world reaction.  He knew that this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and hoped desperately that he could find the words to do it justice.  Best to work up from a solid foundation of fact, to show hopefully that he knew what he was talking about, to stay calm and not push too hard.  Clear thinking was not too easy after a journey of almost half a million kilometres and a six-fold increase in gravity, but he would do his best.

"Now we know that the ionosphere reflects all but high frequency radio signals," he continued, "but there are plenty of them and they are the signals that our friends have received.  Also, to receive them at over eleven light years distant, when the transmissions were not specifically beamed at Procyon, and to pick them out from the background noise of the sun signifies a high order of detector sensitivity and resolution.  The more significant feat in my opinion is the decoding of our audio and
probably also
video signals and the understanding of our language.  We cannot understand the languages of our own marine mammals yet we share the same planet and the same evolutionary roots as them.  So how have the aliens understood us?  There are many, myself amongst them, who would have claimed that such a degree of understanding between species of unconnected evolutionary backgrou
nd was impossible with only one-
way communication.
We were wrong."

So far so good; n
o yawning yet, he was still in control.

"There is no doubt in my mind that these beings have shown themselves to be our technological superiors.  They have been monitoring our signals for at least eleven years and probably very much longer so they must know all about us.  They know our ethical standards, our behaviour towards each other and to animals, our aggressions and passions.  And knowing all this they have decided to make themselves known to us.  We must be very careful indeed.  On no account should we show any sign of mistrust, or of hostility towards these people.  We have before us at least two possible futures.  One in which we learn rapidly the secrets of science and technology, in which we
learn to live with each other in harmony, and
find the way to a happier existence beyond our wildest dreams.  Or one in which we show ourselves to be dangerous, an aggressive, insecure, and unpredictable animal who is developing rapidly in technological sophistication, and who might very soon present very real dangers to our stellar neighbours."

He leaned forward and looked earnestly into the faces of his audience.

"And sensible people deal very firmly with dangerous animals."

He had made his point.  He could say more but now was not the time.  He had shown them heaven and hell and they clearly understood the possibilities.  Any further elaboration could be left until later, now it would only reduce the impact of his warning.

"Thank you Doctor Lincoln
,"
said Dent.  Lincoln was pleased that his formal title had been used.  It showed that this was a sober moment.

"Any questions
?"
asked Dent.

"A minor point
,"
put in Heymann, "why do you say they have been monitoring our signals for eleven years?"

Lincoln explained that it took eleven years for light or radio signals to
reach the earth from Procyon, therefore
on the reasonable assumption that they continued to receive and decode our signals after first detection and
response;
at least eleven years' worth of signals had by now been received.  Of course they had probably been receiving for much longer than that because of the time from first detection to their response.  He also explained that correspondingly another eleven years would elapse before they r
eceived any reply from us.  Two-
way communication between stars was a very slow process.

"Why do you consider that there is any danger of our reacting in a hostile way?  I would have thought the obvious re
sponse would be of friendliness,
" suggested Margaret Trip.

"Yes that will be the first reaction almost certainly.  This contact is a novelty, something new to think and speculate about.  But remember that we can never turn the clock back, we shall have to live with the alien presence for ever onwards, and the novelty will wear off in time.  Look also at all similar events in history.  Whenever groups of humans have met for the first time there is usually a period of friendliness and mutual respect.  But
basic
human
nature eventually asserts itself, and
suspicion and mistrust creep in.  The drive to dominate on the one hand and the fear of domination on the other le
a
d to the inevitable confrontation.  The result after bloodshed is the subordination of one group by the other.  The mistrust is greater when the two groups have markedly different lifestyles or cultures, different physical characteristics or when distance separates the main group centres.  This is the instinctive 'us and them' polarisation that we all have deeply ingrained within us, which spurred our early evolutionary success but is now a highly dangerous characteristic.  You will see that in the present case everything is against a sustained friendship.  We must resist the temptation to judge alien behaviour by
human standards.  And I repeat;
we must at all costs avoid showing any sign of aggression towards them.  We can only resort to hostility if we suffer actual harm from them, and only then if we are certain that their action is deliberate.  Humanity will find it difficult to live with inferiority, but our future might well d
epend upon our finding a way."

5
   
A V
isit
to
the
WSA

"Hey Dave, look at this
,"
demanded William.

The visit was proving a huge success.  The boys had never known such wonders and Emma
found it much more interesting than she had feared
.
  Their guide was
Walter Richmond, a stout, round-
faced jovial man with three children of his own and who was still very much a boy at heart himself.  David rushed across to William who was peering down the eyepiece of a powerful microscope.

"Well let me see
,"
he complained impatiently.  William reluctantly stepped back.  "What are they Mr Richmond?"

"These little fellows are helping to improve deep space exploration.  We are synthesising various strains of bacteria that can feed directly on untreated human waste products mixed with other materials and grow rapidly into a raw food source containing practically all the nutrients the body needs."

"Ugh
,"
said William grimacing, "I'm not sure I like that idea."  Richmond laughed.  "You aren't the only one, but in deep space raw material is very valuable.  We have to recycle absolutely everything.  And anyway it's only the same thing that the earth does for us now only speeded up and simplified."

"Mmm
,"
was all William would say in reply, he was still unconvinced.

"Let's move on now to the enzyme chemistry section and maybe then we can have a break for coffee
."

"Oh yes please
,"
agreed Emma who was beginning to show distinct signs of weariness.  "I'm sure you must be ready for a drink Mr Richmond, your throat must be as dry as dust answering all these questions."

Richmond smiled, "I'm thoroughly enjoying myself."  He looked with approval towards the two boys.  "I'll never forget young David's face when he watched the impulse drive demonstration as it vanished before his eyes.
 
'It's magic
,
' he said, and his face showed he believed it too.  I'm sure he still doesn't believe it split into two parts that moved apart faster than his eyes could see."

"
They'll never forget this visit;
you have been very patient and kind." 

"A pleasure Mrs Lincoln
,
a
real pleasure I promise
you
and the best is yet to come.  After coffee we'll go over to the simulator development department, you just won't believe your own senses over there."  Emma felt a little unhappy about that prospect.  "Don't worry," Richmond sensed her uneasiness, "it's all harmless but great fun."

The boys thought a ten-
minute coffee break was very unreasonable and voiced that opinion at least a dozen times in various ways.  Here they were in Wonderland itself and had to waste hours waiting for lazy adults to finish their drinks.

"Now then you two," Richmond pushed back his chair, "how good are you at landing a spacecraft?"

The pair stared at him.  "Come with me and we'll soon find out."

When they regained their voices Walter Richmond was plied with questions and pleas but would not be drawn to say more.  He just winked conspiratorially at their mother who pretended to know nothing.

The little group walked along a sheltered path through trees and shrubs and flanked by well tended flower beds.

"This place is more like a park than a research centre
,"
observed Emma in admiration.

"Yes it is pleasant isn't it
?
  We find that quiet s
urroundings, plenty of greenery
and natural beauty very conducive to a good working atmosphere.  We are all very proud of it."

"Ah, Doctor Henderson, may I introduce Mrs Emma Lincoln and her two fine boys William and David
,"
said Richmond as they met the Head of Simulator Development outside one of the buildings of the Vehicle Support Division.

The doctor was small
,
chubby
, and
slightly balding.  He gave a cheerful smile and greeted the small party with genuine pleasure.

"I am very pleased to meet you
,"
he said shaking hands with each of them.  Then, addressing the boys, "I think we shall find plenty to interest you here
,
" and he walked off in front with one on each side and an arm around each of their shoulders.

Walter Richmond and Emma Lincoln followed behind a little way and smiled at the doctor's behaviour towards the two boys.

"Bill Henderson adores children
,"
explained Richmond softly so as not to be overheard.  "Unfortunately he and his wife never had any of their own so they are uncle and aunt to everyone else's kids."

The group went straight up to the top floor, to the Advanced Systems Laboratory.

"Now who's going to be pilot
?"
asked Henderson.

"Me
,
me
,"
chorused the boys together.

"All right then you'll have to have a craft each."

Henderson explained all the controls, reset the landing program
s
and let them get on with it.  He emerged after a few minutes to join the others who were beginning to feel a little left out of things.

"We are developing these machines to train spacecraft crew in the art of manual vehicle handling
,"
he explained.  "There have been simulators around for a long time but not like these.  The machine is completely static but all the sensations of movement are impressed directly into the brain by sti
mulation of the appropriate sens
e
receptors
, and it's all done by a special headset linked to a computer.  The aural and visual effects are completely accurate and displayed exactly as the pilot would see and hear them in a real flight."

"Will the children be safe
?"
asked Emma, somewhat disturbed.

"Oh don't worry
,"
replied Henderson, "they won't use the headset, they'll just see and hear the external effects but they'll still have some fun."

"Let's see how they're coping
,"
he suggested, taking Emma's arm and leading her in behind William's console.

They immediately entered another world.  The transition was a little too sudden for Emma who involuntarily gripped the doctor's arm to steady herself.  William was sitting inside a hemispherical dome which Emma knew to be a
s
creen but which her senses told her was a window.  Outside was the moon or perhaps one of the planets, and it was approaching rapidly.  William pushed a lever with his right hand and immediately a roaring sound filled the cabin.  An upthrust jet had been applied, a bit too jerkily for Emma's liking, but the vehicle responded, the descent seemed more stable now.  The curvature on the horizon gradually flatten
ed
until the illusion changed from that of a planet approaching the craft to the craft approaching the stationary surface far below.  Looking round the cabin Emma could see all manner of instruments and graphic displays, each changing as the approach continued.  Warning lights were flashing, each trying to tell the pilot something, but being completely ignored by this particular pilot.  In the distance a base became recognisable.