New Earth (12 page)

“Please,” said Adri, “we have no wish to harm you. And we do know something of your biology. After all, we’ve been watching and listening to your broadcasts for many years. And your Internet is a cornucopia of information on all sorts of subjects.”

Before de Falla or anyone else could respond, Adri added, “But if you wish, you can have your robots carry the food
you brought with you and eat it.”

“We don’t mean to offend you,” Jordan said.

“No offense is taken,” Adri replied. “We understand how strange this must be for you. Strange and perhaps more than a little frightening.”

Glancing at Aditi, Jordan said, “It’s certainly strange. And rather wonderful, actually.”

De Falla asked Jordan, “May I borrow your phone?”

Jordan handed it to the geologist,
wondering how the man was going to eat if he remained sealed inside his protective suit.

De Falla walked off to a corner of the room, speaking in low, urgent tones to Hazzard up in the ship.

“He’s not usually so … tense,” Jordan apologized to Adri.

The alien smiled once more. “It’s understandable. What I find remarkable is how you and your brother have thrown caution to the winds.”

Jordan
glanced at Brandon, who was in earnest conversation with Aditi. He noticed how nicely she filled the clothes she was wearing. “My brother’s the impulsive type.”

“And you?” Adri probed. “You don’t strike me as impulsive.”

Jordan had to think a moment. At last he said, “I suppose I trust you. I’m hoping that we can be completely frank with one another. We both have a lot to learn.”

Adri’s smile
widened. “Yes, that is quite true. A lot to learn.”

HOSPITALITY

Most of the welcoming committee left the dining room, rather reluctantly, Jordan thought. Adri bade the four men from Earth sit at the oblong table, which was set with eight places.

Jordan looked across the room to de Falla, who was still on the phone, deep in intense, serious conversation. Adri, standing beside Jordan, was also gazing toward the geologist. This is getting awkward,
Jordan thought. They’ve prepared a meal for us and Silvio’s holding up the proceedings.

But how could they possibly have produced food that we can eat? Jordan asked himself. Adri says our biochemistries are similar, but how similar can they be? We’re from different stars, different worlds. This planet seems very much like Earth, but it can’t be identical. Even the smallest difference could be
potentially dangerous, fatal.

With those thoughts whirling through his mind, Jordan excused himself to Adri and walked across the room toward de Falla.

“You’re absolutely certain?” the geologist was saying into the phone, in a tense, urgent whisper.

De Falla glanced up at Jordan as he approached, nodded once, and said tightly, “All right. I’ll tell him.”

He clicked the phone shut.

“What did
they have to say?” Jordan asked as he accepted the phone from de Falla.

De Falla’s normally cheerful expression was gone. He looked worried, suspicious.

“They’re all over the place,” he complained. “Longyear says the air’s okay to breathe—he thinks. Thornberry’s sending one of the robots here with food packets from the plane. Hazzard thinks we ought to go back to the plane and stay there overnight.
Or maybe go back to the ship in orbit.”

“Is there any reason why we shouldn’t eat the food that these people have prepared for us?” Jordan asked.

“They’re all agreed on that. No way. It can’t be suitable to our bodies. We shouldn’t touch it.”

Jordan said, “They’re entirely right to be cautious.” He turned back to the table, where Adri and the others were seated and waiting for them. Brandon
had seated himself beside Aditi, Jordan noticed.

“How long will it take the robot to get here with our food?”

“It’s already on its way,” de Falla answered. “Maybe another fifteen, twenty minutes.”

Jordan gripped the geologist’s arm and started toward the table. “Let’s continue the experiment, then. Brandon and I will try the food they’ve prepared. You and Meek can wait until the robot arrives.”

De Falla looked appalled. “You could be killing yourselves!”

“They don’t look like poisoners to me,” Jordan said, gazing toward Aditi, who was chatting amiably with Brandon.

“They might not want to harm us,” said de Falla, “but if their biochemistry is even an eyelash different from ours…”

Trying to appear unconcerned, Jordan said, “We’ll soon find out, one way or the other.”

De Falla shook
his head. “This is crazy.”

“Perhaps,” Jordan admitted. “But no matter what you eat, you’ll have to open your biosuit.”

As the geologist fumbled with his suit seals, Jordan sat down at the empty chair between Adri and one of the other women. At last de Falla took the only other empty chair, down the table across from Meek. A door in the sidewall opened and human servants—at least, they looked
like humans to Jordan—began to bring in trays of food and drink.

“I’m afraid we don’t have any intoxicating refreshments for you,” Adri said as the service began. “Only water … or milk, if you prefer.”

“Water will be fine for me,” Jordan said.

“You don’t produce any wine?” Brandon asked.

With a slight shake of his head, Adri replied, “Oh, yes, we do. But we rarely drink it, especially during
the daytime.”

Brandon looked puzzled by that, but Jordan thought, Different customs. Our biochemistry may be the same, but our social customs aren’t.

Adri cocked his head, as if listening to something that only he could hear. Then, looking down the table at de Falla and Meek, he announced, “Gentlemen, your robot has arrived with food from your supplies.”

At that moment, the chamber’s main door
opened and the humanform robot rolled in, bearing a knapsack slung over one shoulder. It headed directly toward Jordan.

Pointing, Jordan told the robot, “Deliver to Dr. de Falla, please, and Dr. Meek.”

The aliens watched interestedly as the robot brought containers of food and bottles of water out of the knapsack and laid them before Meek and de Falla. Then it rolled back to the door and left
the room.

Rising to his feet at the head of the table, Adri said, “Well, now that we all have been served, I suppose we can begin.” Raising his glass of water, he proclaimed, “Welcome to New Earth, gentlemen. May your stay with us be pleasant and instructive, for both of us.”

“Hear, hear,” said Jordan.

The food was excellent, Jordan thought. A salad of greens, a main course that looked and
tasted like roast beef. Darkish bread, something like rye. Jordan saw that Brandon ate with relish.

Aditi, sitting between Brandon and de Falla, asked the geologist, “May I try a taste of your food?”

De Falla looked surprised. He glanced at Jordan, who nodded an okay, thinking, Our thin sandwiches aren’t as tasty as their beef. Nutritious, yes, but not haute cuisine.

Sure enough, Aditi took
a bite from the half sandwich de Falla had handed her, made a smile for him, and left the remainder on her dish.

As the servants began clearing away the dishes, Meek yelped and jumped out of his chair. “A rat!” he shouted. “Look, it’s a rat! Two of them!”

De Falla hopped up from his chair, too. Brandon half-rose.

Jordan saw a dark furry creature about the size of a rat scurrying along the floor.
It dashed under the table and out the other side. None of the aliens seemed in the least bit perturbed, although Adri rose to his feet.

“I must apologize,” he said. “These creatures have been developed to clean the floor. They are not vermin, they are rather like the machines you use to sweep your floors. Vacuum cleaners, I believe you call them.”

Jordan chuckled. “Bioengineered floor sweepers?”

“Yes,” said Adri. “They are not harmful, I assure you.”

Meek and de Falla sat down, shakily. The astrobiologist looked distinctly leery.

Trying to explain further, Adri said, “You see, where you have invented machines for certain tasks, we have developed biological means.”

Jordan remembered that he hadn’t seen any vehicles of any type on the city’s streets: only those horselike creatures.

After everyone calmed down, Adri said, “We’ve taken the liberty of preparing quarters for you. Assuming you wish to stay, that is.”

From down the table Meek said, “That’s very kind of you, but I think we’d better return to our plane.”

Jordan felt torn. He knew that returning to the ship was the safer thing to do, the more practical course. Yet he felt fascinated by this adventure: Intelligent,
humanlike aliens, with a city that’s obviously the product of a significant technology. There’s so much to learn! So much to discover!

He realized that everyone’s eyes were on him, waiting for his decision.

Why not carry the experiment to the next step? he asked himself.

“My brother and I will be happy to stay here,” he announced, almost surprising himself. “Dr. Meek and Dr. de Falla will want
to return to our plane, I’m sure.”

Meek looked relieved. De Falla looked … angry.

FEARS

Jordan walked down the broad stairs with Brandon, Meek, and de Falla. Their little buggy was sitting exactly where they had left it, with the robot that had brought their food sitting obediently inert in the rear row. Most of the aliens had dispersed after lunch, but Adri and Aditi stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for Jordan and his brother to return.

“You’re crazy!” de Falla
hissed, lowering his head and hunching his shoulders as if trying to prevent anyone from reading his lips.

Jordan replied, “For god’s sake, man, we’ve made physical contact with an intelligent alien race! I, for one, intend to learn as much about them as I can, as quickly as I can.”

“They’re not going to disappear if you come back to the plane with us.”

“And they’re not going to murder us in
our beds if Bran and I stay here overnight.”

De Falla looked as if he wanted to keep on arguing, but instead he pressed his lips into a hard, unhappy line.

As they reached the buggy, Brandon asked Meek, “Harmon, what do you think?”

“Think?” Meek looked alarmed, like a student unexpectedly called on by his professor. “Think about what?”

“About all this,” Brandon said, sweeping his arm in a
wide gesture.

Meek ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “I think Silvio is correct. But he doesn’t go far enough. We should go back to the ship.”

“You mean, in orbit?” Jordan snapped.

With a vigorous nod, Meek said, “Why spend the night here when you could be safe and sound, up in orbit.”

Jordan said, “You may be right, both of you.” Before either man could say anything, he went on, “And yet
I simply can’t turn my back on all this.”

“I think you’re being foolish,” Meek said. “Emotional.”

Jordan glanced up the stairs at Aditi standing there, waiting. “You’re probably right about that,” he muttered.

“Come on,” de Falla said to Meek. “Let’s get going, before they change their minds about letting us leave.”

He climbed into the driver’s seat and Meek got in beside him, the knees of
his long legs poking up awkwardly.

“I’ll give you a call first thing in the morning,” Jordan said.

“If they don’t slit your throats first,” de Falla muttered darkly.

Jordan watched the buggy trundle down the street, then turned and started up the stairs again, Brandon at his side.

“Silvio’s gone off the deep end,” Brandon said. “He used to be a fun guy, but he’s turned hostile.”

“This is
a lot for him to swallow,” said Jordan. “A lot for each of us, actually.”

“But it’s turned him into a paranoid.”

“He’ll adjust.”

Brandon said, “Maybe it’s better that he goes back to the ship. I got the feeling he was pretty close to cracking up.”

So much for all the psych testing before we took off, Jordan thought. But then the psychiatrists never expected us to meet intelligent aliens. None
of us expected that.

As they approached the top of the stairs, Jordan saw that the sky was darkening. Thick clouds were rolling in.

“It looks as if it’s going to rain,” he said as he reached Adri and Aditi.

Squinting up at the sky, Adri said, “Yes. Rain has been predicted.”

“But it won’t bother us,” said Aditi. “We’re protected.”

“By going indoors,” Jordan said.

“No, the entire city is protected,”
she corrected.

“The whole city?” Brandon asked.

Adri replied, “The city lies beneath a protective dome.”

“I didn’t see any dome.”

“It’s not material,” Adri explained. “It’s a dome of energy. That’s why your orbiting sensors didn’t see our city: the dome blocked their view.”

“A dome of energy?” Jordan asked, intrigued.

“Yes,” said Aditi. “We don’t really need these buildings at all. We could
live completely out in the open, if we wished. Protected by energy shields.”

Adri pointed out, “The material buildings are more energy-efficient. And, of course, we learned how to build structures long before we learned how to generate energy shields.”

“Of course,” Brandon said, his voice hollow.

Adri gestured toward the building’s entrance. “Would you like to see the quarters we have prepared
for you?”

“Certainly,” said Jordan. Then he added, “I presume they’re inside a building.”

Adri laughed. “Yes, yes, of course they are.”

“If you’d prefer to stay outside,” Aditi said, “we could provide energy shelters for you.”

Jordan glanced at Brandon, then answered, “No, thank you. We’re accustomed to living inside structures with solid walls and roofs, just as you are.”

Adri led them back
into the building, down its central corridor, out the rear into a long rectangular courtyard bordered with small flowering trees. At the end of the courtyard stood a smaller, two-storied building. Jordan walked between Adri and Aditi; Brandon stayed on Aditi’s other side. The sky above had grown ominously dark, thick clouds scudding past. Lightning suddenly flashed and almost immediately thunder
boomed, jarringly loud. Yet no rain fell on them, although Jordan felt a strong breeze gusting through the courtyard, making the little trees sway.