A Simple Truth (7 page)

"There's the landing point William
,"
indicated Henderson, "try to work towards it but you'll need to cut your speed a lot."

William operated the controls in a seemingly expert manner, though the craft began to spin horizontally as it hurtled towards the surface.

"Whoops wrong jet
,"
laughed the doctor.  Emma tightened her grip on the rail that she found behind her.  This was altogether too real.  She felt a pang of nausea.  Her feet told her she was standing on firm ground but her eyes and ears told her a different story.

"Upthrust William
,"
the doctor suggested, "right hand".  But William pressed with his left and the little craft started to spin forwards slowly.  Individual features could now be made out quite clearly when the spin brought the surface into view.  They were descending towards the inner edge of a crater.  Scale was difficult to judge but the speed was enormous.  Poor William, he applied the upthrust jet while upside down and the speed increased further.  Emma shielded her eyes and waited for the inevitable impact.  Suddenly the roaring of the jet stopped, the interior lights came on and the computer's calm mechanical voice announced
,
"Crash landed;  s
peed
:
six
t
housand four hundred and ninety-
eigh
t point six kilometres per hour; o
vershot target by three hundred and fifteen point three kilometres.  Better luck next time."

Emma reopened her eyes to see the doctor chuckling to himself, William looking eager for another try
,
and
she
her
self
still holding the rail for all she was worth.

"Well done William
,"
encouraged the doctor.  "That wasn't as bad as you might think for a first attempt.  Some people panic right away and fly off into space without hope of recovery!"

"That was absolutely transfantastic
,"
exclaimed William breathlessly, "can I have another go?"  His mother looked at him aghast.  She would have thought that one experience like that would put him off for life.

"Of course
,"
replied the doctor and began to reset the controls.  "You can have a performance printout to take home with you afterwards to show your friends."

Emma left them to it.  Her thoughts turned to Dav
id, how had he taken the ordeal?
  She stepped into the other machine to find him chattering away excitedly to Walter Richmond.  "Well I see you're still alive then
,"
she said.

"Mum, you must have a try, it's really great
,
" pleaded David.

"Not likely!
" she replied
,
"you can if you like but I'll just wait outside."

***************

Dent turned to Elango.  "What are your feelings General Elango as a military expert?  How do you react to the contact?"

Elango
's appearance and bearing were perfectly in character with his status as a
retired general.  A tall
,
thickset man
,
he presented an impressive figure.  He commanded respect and invariably got it.  For some seconds he studied the backs of his hands resting on the table.  Dent cast a glance at Lincoln who raised an eyebrow in response.  Slowly he looked up and then straight at Dent.  When he spoke it was with a deep powerful voice, rich and resonant.

"Mr Dent, I am flattered that you should invite me to your distinguished gathering.  I was interested in Doctor Lincoln's summary of the sit
uation and appreciate his views; h
owever as he has fully explained, since Procyon is eleven light years away the only possible interaction between ourselves and them is in the form of radio signals.  I agree that we should not be
aggressive;
I cannot believe that anyone would ever think of aggression.  Our response will depend entirely on the contents of thei
r further communications if any, s
o why all the fuss now?  There can't possibly be any hurry.  I fail to see the purpose of this meeting or of my presence here."  At which point he waited coldly for Dent to reply.

'
Has Dent miscalculated?  Have I failed to
make any impression at all?
'
thought Lincoln uneasily,
'
or has George predicted this very reaction?
'
He waited to find out.

Dent was calm and agreeable in his reply.  Lincoln had expected a less tolerant attitude, but this was George Dent the diplomat and he could play the part well.

"I must apologise General.  I have allowed myself to become totally preoccupied with this event and have assumed that everyone can read my mind.  Of course I should have explained right at the outset just what the purpose of the meeting
was
and why each of you has been invited.  It seems to me that this development will have taken the world completely by surprise.  Very few people even stop to consider the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, let alone a direct contact.  Now, like it or not we have such an event forced upon us.  The world will not know how to react.  There will be advocates for every conceivable kind of response, and as usual the loudest voices will prevail.  In my experience people with loud voices are not the most sensible, they are usually the ones who can only see one side of an argument."

When Dent spoke he did so with his whole person.  His movements amplified his words and his facial expressions showed a total commitment to his message.  It was impossible to hear this man and not be drawn along with his clear logic on the one hand and his compelling sincerity on the other.  Lincoln watched Elango's face
soften;
he was being forced to respond in spite of his earlier hostility.

"The world will want to hear from the experts."  He looked around and smiled.  "There are no real experts in this situation of course, but nevertheless people will look to some form of authority for guidance."  His face became grave once more.  "I wish us to fulfil that role.  Between us we have established reputations in the fields of xenothology, communications,
diplomacy
, military science, information dissemination and psychology.  Furthermore we are all well respected and known to hold reasonable and moderate views, and have come from
d
ifferent
cultures and countries
.  I feel therefore that if we set ourselves up as a knowledgeable authority on how to deal with this contact then we shall probably have the greatest say in the world's response.  We shall be backed by all the 'not sures' and 'don't knows' who will undoubtedly comprise the majority.  We are also as a group independent of any political, financial or religious prejudice and so should not be viewed unfavourably by most of the world powers.

"So far everything is going for us but we need something more.  We need to speak with a common voice, we must all be convinced of the rightness of our cause and be able to defend it against all criticism.  Further, we need to make our voice heard first.  This I feel sure will consolidate our position.  Any other proposals will be weighed against ours, and we shall automatically have the right of reply.  You suggest General that only radio communication is possible, but who knows what these people can do
?
  Perhaps physical con
tact
is much closer than we think."

Lincoln could see that Elango was convinced.  His admiration for Dent grew with every passing minute.  His apparently open and completely frank manner coupled with his deep understanding of human nature made him a man without equal.  As a scientist he was exceptional but as a manipulator of people he was a genius.  Lincoln had watched Elango's reaction
while Dent was speaking
.  He had been won over by what Dent didn't say, by what was clearly visible between the lines of his argument.  Whoever was a member of
this group was guaranteed world
wide respect, recognition and renown.  Who could resist that?  The guarantee came from the drive and determination of the group leader, together with the eloquence and conviction with which he could express himself.  When Elango spoke again his words indicated a measure of reserved judgement but his voice revealed acquiescence.

"I will consider what you have said Mr Dent, but for the time being will go along with the purpose of the meeting.  You asked my reaction.  Well my personal feelings in the matter are of humility.  I have been forced to abandon many beliefs in the light of this contact.  Humanity is not the highest form of life any more.  I agree with Doctor Lincoln, these people might well be of superior intelligence, they have certainly demonstrated a superior technological status."

Further discussion was interrupted by a call for Dent.  He excused himself and spoke softly to someone for a few moments while the others waited with interest.

"Well
,"
he said at length, "the awaited communication on one
gigahertz
has been received.  Apparently it is some kind of music.  It will be relayed to us over the speakers from Headquarters as soon as we like.  Do yo
u wish to say more now General?
  O
r would you prefer to listen first?"

"You hardly need ask, let's hear it
,"
responded Elango impatiently.

The group listened in silence.  At the end there was not one member who was not profoundly moved by what he or she had heard.  Khan was the first to speak.

"I think we can forget threats;
that was a message of pure peace."

The whole tone of the meeting had changed.  There was no further talk of aggression, but of how the group could best further the aims of constructive communication.  The proposals came down to Dent's original plan of course.  A statement was prepared for transmission to the governments of the major nations and to the press explaining the group's existence, its function and qualification, together with a proposed response as an official direct reply to Procyon.  Although it would take eleven years to arrive it was this initial response that would matter most to the Procyon people.  Its form was very simple, a recital of Grieg's 'Morning Mood' from Peer Gynt to signify peace
and hope
in the same vein as their music, followed by a message of greeting expressing joy at the contact, appreciation of their music, and confidence in the mutual benefit of the communication.  The message was to be transmitted on one
giga
hertz.

As Dent explained, "The aliens will know exactly when to expect the reply so there is no need to attract their attention before proceeding.  No matter that they must already know all about us, our openness and willingness to communicate will form a good first impression of our reaction."

***************

That afternoon
Lincoln
and his family enjoyed a proper reunion.  First a shower and change of clothes over at the hotel suite that had been
specially
reserved for them, then a leisurely boat trip
a
round the beautiful coral reefs where his wife and he relaxed thoroughly and the boys chattered ceaselessly about their exciting day.  The feeling was good.  Lincoln bathed in the long missed company of his family.  Everything felt right just now, his wife by his side, the warm afternoon sunshine, the smell of the sea
, and the enthusiasm of his young
sons enjoying the best and most unexpected vacation of their lives.

Not surprisingly the boys did
n
o
t want to go to bed that evening.  But when they were eventually persuaded, or perhaps overpowered would be more apt, they were asleep in minutes.

"There won't be another peep out of them until morning
,"
whispered Emma affectionately as she crept out of their bedroom.  Earlier she had felt uneasy about leaving the children
in the care of the hotel child
minding service.  She had been afraid that David might wake up and be upset when he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings.  But now she felt sure he wou
ld stay asleep.  When the child
minder arrived she felt even better.  She was a kindly woman who clearly loved children.

"Leave everything to me
,"
she reassured confidently.  "I've looked after more children than you could imagine and they all take to me right away.  Your two don't look as though they'll wake up but if they do I'll have them back to sleep in no time with a story or a lullaby."

Lincoln smiled to himself as he imagined the boys' reaction to being sung a
lullaby;
they would go to sleep in disgust.

He and Emma left
the hotel just before twenty-
two
hundred.  A table had been reserved at one of Cairns' more exclusive and expensive restaurants and the two of them walked the short distance arm in arm, recapturing the romance of their early life together.  They lingered over the meal, the food and beautiful surroundings made haste positively indecent.  The tables were arranged in secluded alcoves where customers could eat in an atmosphere of intimacy.