12
As the shuttle began to slow, O'Hara was the first to spot an alien spacecraft in the distance.
"Colonel, look! What a colossus...
" "Indeed. It doesn't look like a ship, but some kind of enormous space station. Probably five times larger than Selene..."
The enormous spacecraft began to grow, allowing him to distinguish details in its appearance, so that Preston felt compelled to change his mind about the object's purpose after a moment.
"It's not a station, after all, but a long-range spacecraft. But it's probably fifteen kilometers long... Incredible! What technology...
" "Well, now I don't doubt that those planes on Prima are their work," Sylwia said, "though I have no idea how they did it.
" "Uh, I guess not... The planet isn't inhabited after all." Dr. Johannson pursed his lips doubtfully. I suppose they—like us—are simply exploring Prima.
" "Who knows..." Sylwia had no desire to change her mind.
Meanwhile, the shuttle approached the opening doors in the spacecraft's side and slowly sank into its interior, stopping a moment later on the landing pad.
Several waiting figures could be seen on a small platform rising in front of the shuttle's nose. From a distance of several dozen meters, their silhouettes were indistinguishable, but they were very human-like. One figure stood out from the others, towering at least a head taller.
When the shuttle doors opened and the Earth delegation exited the craft, it headed toward the dais. A figure emerged from the waiting group and ran toward the newcomers. This caused a slight commotion and a sense of uncertainty among the Earthlings.
"Stop!" Preston raised his hand.
Meanwhile, the runner had reached them and thrown his arms around Preston, then each of the newcomers in turn. Then, with tears in his eyes, he began to speak in a voice broken by sobs:
"Greetings, friends! I am so incredibly happy to see you that I am simply speechless." My name is Balters, and I'm also human. I'm feeling a bit emotional, and my job is to introduce our hosts. It's true that the Lems don't need any translators, as they communicate exclusively through telepathy, but considering that you might feel uncomfortable knowing that your thoughts are no secret to them, they decided to block this sense." Balters took several breaths, exhausted by the overly long sentence. "For now, I'll act as an intermediary, and then they'll communicate with you using Mentrans, and I won't be needed anymore.
" "Mentrans?" Preston raised his eyebrows.
– Short for "mental transponder" – a device enabling the direct transmission of thoughts.
– Hello, Mr. Balters. My name is Preston and I am the commander of an Earth starship. Please lead us to… the Lems. I believe that's what you called them?
– Yes, yes. Ladies and gentlemen, follow me.
The group led by Balters moved towards the podium, observing the waiting aliens. A cursory observation revealed that they resembled Earth inhabitants, but were distinctly shorter than humans, and their completely hairless heads were disproportionately large. Up close, they also noticed that the Lems lacked earlobes. After ascending a few steps, Balters spoke again:
– Allow me to introduce our hosts: This is the commander of the spaceship Ixt, this is his deputy Brings, and this is the chairman of the scientific council – Yxtrym.
The aforementioned shook their long-fingered, slender hands with the guests. Balters introduced the other, less important, members of the welcoming committee, then suggested:
"We will now proceed to the conference room, where you will be given all the necessary explanations, but first, put on your Mentrans." He took twenty small devices resembling electronic watches from a container and handed them to the newcomers. "Put them on both wrists."
"So, will they now know all our thoughts?" Sylwia asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, they are tuned to transmit the thoughts you wish to transmit, and you can also block them by touching your hands, but then you won't be able to read the Lems' message."
The two groups left the hangar and everyone took their seats in the pneumatic cable cars. A moment later, the car doors hissed shut, and the train sped through the dark tunnel. After a few minutes, the doors opened, and they found themselves in a conference room the size of the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall.
"We're going to talk here?" Preston expressed surprise. "Isn't there anything smaller?"
"No, here." This is the people's assembly hall. You will now proceed to a small hall," Balters explained. "I will be leaving you now; you will communicate via electronic devices. See you later."
13
When they entered the smaller hall, which contained about thirty armchairs, some of which were noticeably larger. The guests guessed it was made especially for the Earthlings—and indeed, Ixt pointed out those very seats. As everyone took their seats, a thought entered their consciousness, which they assumed was a message from the Lem commander:
"On behalf of our entire community, we welcome you, Earthlings, as official representatives of an alien civilization. You are not the first humans on our spaceship, but those who arrived here before found themselves there by accident, and it's difficult to say that it was of their own free will. Let me begin by explaining why we are on this great ship, in
this particular region of space. We originate from a distant planet called Lemia. We have achieved a high level of scientific and technological development and have used our achievements solely for peaceful purposes. Unfortunately, the neighboring planet – Gwandia – was inhabited by a society at a similar level of development to ours, but – alas – their primary goal was the conquest and extermination of the Lemi." For many centuries, thanks to the relative balance of power, no decisive confrontation occurred, and only when the aggressive Gwands mastered the technology for producing an antimatter bomb did the Lems realize that, to avoid destruction, they must abandon their home planet. They built a fleet of enormous spaceships specifically for this purpose—each carrying about a million Lems—which set off to various parts of the galaxy in search of a new world. During a journey lasting several hundred years, we also managed to master the technology for extracting and using antimatter...
"Can you give us more details about this matter?" Pawłowski asked.
"You meant to say antimatter," Ixt replied jokingly.
"Of course. But please don't misunderstand me; I'm not talking about a method for producing the bomb, but I'd like to know how you manage to obtain it. After all, antimatter is extremely rare in the universe.
" "Well, you're wrong. There's exactly the same amount of antimatter as matter.
" "How so?"
"As far as we know, you earthlings have some understanding of the very beginning of the universe. You call it the Big Bang. What you don't know is that as a result of this explosion, two worlds were created simultaneously – one composed of the matter we encounter every day, the other of antimatter. These two worlds exist in parallel, creating their own space-time continuums, which, however, are sometimes subject to certain deformations, and then mutual 'leakage' can occur.
" "These two worlds are next to each other," O'Hara expressed astonishment.
"I see that the concept of relativity of time and space is alien to you," the voice replied. "You can't use such references. You can't even talk about any distance or proximity. In a very broad metaphor, it could be compared to a suspension of fat in water, where, despite the possibility of significant fragmentation of the fat molecules, it still remains fat, not combining with the water. But, as I said, this is a very simplified comparison.
" "I assume you're not flying all over space," Pawłowski continued, "to capture this randomly penetrating antimatter.
" "Of course not. We've mastered the technology to influence the shape of space-time, allowing us to extract any quantity of it. "
"That's fantastic!
" "Yes, it's undoubtedly a great feat of intellect. But allow me to continue my story. After a journey lasting several hundred years, we arrived near one of the suns..."
A holoprojection appeared, showing the central control room of the Lem spacecraft, where Ixt sits at the console. Yxtrym enters its interior.
"Commander, we're approaching a sun orbited by a planet that, after some astroengineering, might become habitable.
" "What kind of astroengineering?
" "It's mainly about two things: First, there are only traces of oxygen, and second, there's almost no water.
" "How long will it take to refine it?"
"I think about a hundred years. Unless we bring it from somewhere else.
" "Where?
" "Well, maybe from some other, not-so-distant planet.
" "Is there a chance?
" "There is, but it's slim.
" "Get to work then. Enough of this rambling."
The holoprojection vanished, but the voice continued:
"And so we set about refinement of the planet we've named Nova. We captured asteroids and comets orbiting nearby, from which we produced oxygen, water, and other necessary chemicals. The work was slowly progressing when one day...
The holoprojector showed the command center again.
"Commander, we've found it!" Yxtrym announced, entering.
"What?
" "A planet with oxygen and water.
" "Far away?
" "A little over ten light-years.
" "That's not even close." But is there any point in going there now, when our work is already so advanced?"
"I don't think so. But we can bring in some of both. It will significantly speed up the adaptation work.
" "All right. Please take action."
The holoprojection disappeared, and the voice continued:
"So we began drawing water from Earth, because the planet Yxtrym was talking about was—as you probably guessed—your homeworld.
" "How did you accomplish this?" Pawłowski interrupted again.
"We performed a space-time warp, allowing us to draw several cubic kilometers of water at once and an equal amount of oxygen-rich air.
" "What kind of warp?
" "Creating two truncated cones, connected at their smaller ends. One wider end was used for water collection, the other for transfer to our planet. Our activity, of course, caused momentary disturbances—both in the atmosphere and the ocean—but we weren't particularly interested in this, as we were unaware that Earth was inhabited by intelligent beings. And so we repeated our transfusions from time to time, accumulating appropriate amounts of energy during the breaks, until..."
The holoprojection showed Yxtrym entering the control room.
"Commander, I've just received a report from Nova; an unknown object, undoubtedly the product of some civilization, has reached us through the water and air.
" "Send a gravitoplane immediately and investigate! When did this happen?
" "About six hours ago..."
Another holographic session revealed the following image:
A flying saucer landed on Nova. Three Lems exited it and approached the ship, its bow on the beach and its stern submerged in the water. Using a rope, they climbed aboard and searched the ship, where they immediately found the bodies of one, then another, crew member.
"We found sixteen people in all. Of course, they were all dead.
" "What did you do with the bodies?" Preston asked.
"We transported them to a spaceship, where they were thoroughly examined. Since we were unfamiliar with your customs regarding the treatment of the dead, we placed them in a small spacecraft, which we sent towards Earth. It was supposed to enter orbit and transmit signals, but our technology most likely failed this time, and its transmitters went silent before it reached your solar system. We, of course, examined the ship in detail, which allowed us to learn about some of your technological achievements. The level of technological advancement of the equipment found on the ship, as well as additional conclusions drawn from the analysis of books found on it, indicated that in a few or even several decades you would be able to travel beyond your solar system. This presented a dilemma: should you continue extracting water, thus endangering Earthlings, or should you rely solely on your own production?" We considered all the pros and cons for a long time, until we finally concluded that we would continue our activities, while taking appropriate precautions to ensure that, in the event of an accidental abduction of another object with humans on board, we would provide immediate assistance and evacuate them to the spaceship. This was indeed the case, and currently, our community includes a large group of Earthlings who, incidentally, have actively participated in the life and work of the Lems. So much for the initial explanations, and now I invite you to tour our ship, but first I suggest we share a meal together.
Preston folded his hands.
"Do you think their food is suitable for us?"
His question was met with a shrug, but Ixt said,
"I understand your doubts, but don't worry. Our physiological needs are quite similar to yours, although our sense of taste differs, but we have already learned about human preferences in this regard, and I assure you, you will eat everything with gusto."
Both groups retired to an adjacent room where tables were set. They took turns sitting down and enjoyed a truly delicious meal.
"You've truly adapted to our tastes," they praised their hosts' culinary skills.
"And it doesn't bother you that everything you ate was artificially produced?
" "Absolutely not. You have to teach us this, because Earth isn't a completely friendly planet for humans, and there are places on it where hunger still reigns.
"
The people split into two groups: Preston, Pawłowski, Dr. Johansson, Dr. Hashad, and Sylwia, accompanied by Ixt, went to explore the starship called the habitat, while the others, led by Yxtrym, went to the far end of the starship, where they were to familiarize themselves with the technical equipment.
"You said you rescued passengers from Earth objects," Preston asked silently, then turned to Sylwia and Pawłowski. "Did you understand the question?"
They both nodded.
"You know that the oxygen concentration in Nova's atmosphere is already over five percent. So, we had a few minutes to evacuate people. Our teams reached the site within a few dozen seconds. We managed to save everyone except...
" "... except?" Sylwia asked.
"Follow me." Ixt led them down a corridor to the platform of the same cable car that had transported them from the landing pad to the conference room.
After a moment, they took their seats in a cable car and made their way to a distant part of the ship. This part turned out to be a hospital. As they walked along the corridor, they peered through glass doors into single and double rooms where people lay on beds. Everyone was hooked up to IVs, respiratory and circulatory systems, and other devices of unknown purpose; in other rooms were patients with symptoms of mental illness.
"We were too late to help them, and they suffered oxygen deprivation, which resulted in brain damage. We can treat all human ailments, but unfortunately, we can't yet deal with damage to the central nervous system.
" "Do you have many here?" asked Dr. Johansson.
"One hundred and thirty-two people.
" "Is that all there was on board?
" "No. We didn't manage to keep three alive, and two escaped almost unscathed. One of them is navigator Jack Norton, and the other is a passenger, Lynda Stratton. If you'd like, you can visit her.
" "And this Bellini?
" "Unfortunately not. He joined our research expedition and flew to a planetary system surrounding a certain, not-so-distant star.
" "Why do you keep visiting other worlds?" asked Preston. "Aren't you sure Nova will be your home?"
"We're sure of that, but we have another idea. Namely, we want to implant the seeds of life in every place that offers even the slightest chance that life might one day develop there. After all, we have no guarantee that our (or your) world will exist forever. On the contrary—we are fully aware that sometimes large celestial bodies fall, bringing cataclysms to planets, that suns extinguish, that novae and supernovae explode. The lifespan of each planet is therefore limited.
" "Yes, indeed. It's a really good idea to ensure the continuity of life, regardless of what it will be like. So, maybe now we should go to that lady..."
"We'll walk—it's quite close." Ixt led them a short distance and they found themselves in a large cylindrical space. Its walls were surrounded by galleries, from which countless doors led to thousands of rooms.
"What an extraordinary hive!" Pawłowski exclaimed, touching his hands together.
"More like a fucking Alcatraz," Sylwia replied, clasping her hands as if in prayer.
"This is one of our habitats," Ixt explained. As you remember, a million Lems set off on the journey, so we couldn't provide everyone with a villa with a garden. They all got into the elevator, and then Ixt led them to the door.
"Lynda Straton is waiting for you," he announced, then pressed a button .
A pretty woman, looking thirty, stood in the doorway.
"I'm Lynda Stratton. I've been waiting for you.
" "Excuse me..." Pawłowski said. "I thought you were a bit...
" "older?" Lynda grinned. "Of course I am. I was twenty-nine at the time of the crash." If I lived on Earth, I'd be seventy-eight today. However, the Lems have a device we call an antigeriotron, which we use every six months, slowing the aging process almost twenty-fold. So, biologically speaking, I'm currently about thirty-three years old.
"Can you tell us more about the crash itself? Your feelings... your impressions..." Preston asked.
"Not much." The flight was proceeding normally when the lights suddenly went out, only to flash back on a moment later. A moment later, the engines began to sputter and fell silent. We waited in terror for the crash, but nothing happened. Looking out the window, I saw the plane lying on the ground—I say lying because the landing gear wasn't down—tilted slightly to the right wing. We sat in silence for a moment when suddenly the captain's voice rang out.
Lynda pressed the pilot button, and a holoprojection of the plane's cockpit appeared. The pilot spoke into the microphone:
"Ladies and gentlemen, we had an emergency landing. Please remain calm and wait for help."
The captain turned off his microphone and turned to the copilot.
"Jack, try to determine our position.
" "Captain... I don't know what's going on, but I can't figure it out.
" "How so?
" "Either I'm crazy or the stars are crazy.
" "I don't understand.
" "I can't identify the constellations.
" "You can't? That's strange."
"Can you tell me how we managed to land? There are a lot of strange things going on here. Just two minutes ago we were flying at six hundred miles per hour, at an altitude of twenty-three thousand feet, and now we're sitting on our landing gear in the middle of nowhere. The stars look different than they did a moment ago, even the compass isn't working, not to mention the radio.
" "You're right, Jack. This is very puzzling indeed.
" "So what are we doing?
" "And what else can we do but wait... "
The hologram faded, and Lynda continued:
"We waited about three hours when the captain decided to open the door. For a moment, nothing unusual happened, except a sudden drop in air pressure—no longer particularly fresh—air. Masks fell out from under the luggage rack, which we put on, and we continued waiting. Eventually, we ran out of air, and we began to suffocate. I don't remember anything more. I only woke up here. I mean, not in this room, but in the hospital room."
"You couldn't reach them for three hours," Preston said to Ixt, not hiding his anger.
"That was bad luck. That day, in addition to the plane, two other vessels reached Nova. Because the plane was safe—passengers can stay in the pressurized cabin for extended periods—we assigned all four transport ships on duty to assist the ship crews. We knew that extracting the people from the ship would take longer, as they had to search for them in various nooks and crannies. Only after securing the sailors did one of the shuttles, loaded with people, proceed to the starship; two launched into orbit, and the fourth headed towards the plane. Unfortunately, the shuttle malfunctioned. By the time the shuttle returned from orbit, so much time had passed that help was too late.
" "Did you see those others?" Lynda asked.
"Yes," Preston replied.
"It's terrible. I feel guilty that I was the one who saved myself.
" "Don't worry," Hashad comforted her. "We'll get them back to Earth." Today, we can cure all mental illnesses.
"Do you want to take them?" Ixt asked.
"Yes," Preston and Johansson replied simultaneously.
"And the others?
" "All of them," Preston said.
"Unless they want to avoid returning..." Pawłowski's voice held a strange tone.
"Okay, let me leave you alone now and return to my duties. I'm leaving you this black box." Ixt handed Preston a small rectangular prism.
"What is this?
" "If you wish to contact anyone on the ship, please put your finger into this hole." He pointed to a recess in one of the walls and left the room.
"Mrs. Stratto!" Preston said as Ixt closed the door behind him. "Tell us something more about the Lems, about your lives on their spaceship. How you're treated, what you do, and so on...
" "Lynda. Please call me by my first name. Although I'm rather old by birth, I'm still young. What can I say... We're really doing well here. We're treated very decently, we have equal rights, and our representative also participates in the Social Council. We all work on an equal footing with the Lems. However, that doesn't change the fact that we miss people and Earth—Earth's seas and rivers, its forests and fields, its birds, and everything that reminds us of our previous lives.
" "And tell us one more thing," Hashad chimed in. "When we were on our way to you, we came across a large number of Lems milling about in the habitat, but I didn't see any children." They don't have new children, or are they somehow isolated from the adult community?
"There are children, but there really aren't many of them, the last one was born about thirty years ago.
" "A thirty-year-old child?" Sylwia asked, surprised.
"Yes. Lems reach full maturity around fifty.
" "Okay, and why aren't they being born now?" Johansson asked.
"The mother is sick.
" "The mother? There's only one mother?
" "Well, almost like the queen bee.
" "Tell me more about that.
" "Well, so... The leader of the entire community is the queen mother. She's exceptionally long-lived, living up to about a thousand years. Earth years, of course. She only reaches reproductive maturity at the age of two hundred and reaches the size of... well... a large whale. The reproductive process itself is also quite unusual for us. There are two types of men. Males," she corrected herself. "Besides, I don't know how to define them. Let's say, male individuals." To fertilize the queen, sperm is needed... Again, I don't know how to describe this..." she thought for a moment. "...the reproductive cells of both types of males—each with a different set of chromosomes.
" "A marriage triangle..." the doctor joked.
"Yes, a scalene. After fusing with the female's egg, an embryo is created. After a short period of incubation in the mother's body, it is... hmm... born, and its care is taken over by sterile female nurses—equipped with something resembling a kangaroo pouch. They feed and nurture the embryos until they are capable of independent living. This takes about three years. Then the children go to a nursery, where they undergo initial adaptation to life in society. After a few more years, they move on to a kind of school, where they remain until they reach adulthood."
"I wonder... What about the mother," Johansson inquired. "Since she's sick and—I assume—they're having trouble curing her, what are the prospects for their continued existence?
" "Her successor is already growing, but it will take decades yet.
" "This mechanism is therefore highly imperfect. If there's no successor and the mother dies, the entire population could die out.
" "It's not that bad. Every female is a potential mother, so that threat doesn't exist. They would all have to die out."
Lynda's story continued for several more hours, until she finally decided that enough talking was enough for one time and suggested going to the pool.
"I don't have a swimsuit," Sylwia said with unconcealed regret.
"I'll find something for you in my wardrobe; I was going on vacation when the abduction occurred. And the gentlemen probably have something under their suits...
" "And what if they don't?" Johansson joked. "Can't you go downstairs?" In Sweden, after a sauna, we bathe naked in the lake.
"I won't be offended. After all, I'm carrying my eighth cross on my back..." But I don't know what the Lems would say about that.
Lynda rummaged through her suitcase and handed Sylwia a sexy bikini, after which the whole group headed to the cable car platform that took them to the swimming pool.
The
next day, the delegation was reduced to Drs. Johansson and Hashad, who, along with a group of Earthlings staying with the Lems, returned to the starship to expand the hospital ward for those most seriously injured by hypoxia. The remaining Earthlings were placed under the care of Balters, Lynda, and a few others, and acquainted with scientific achievements in various fields of knowledge, the construction of the mothership and other spacecraft, with particular emphasis on the gravitational vehicle. Patrick unexpectedly showed a strange interest in exobiology, while Sylvia became fascinated by the secrets of piloting. They were also waiting for Jack Norton to return from his expedition. When, a few weeks later, he found himself on the Lems' ship, Ixt invited everyone to a meeting.
"Friends! We are delighted to meet our 'brothers in reason.' I know you're eager to return home, so we must part ways. We can help you a little, as your ship isn't designed to transport such an unexpectedly enlarged crew.
" "How do you intend to help us?" asked Preston.
"Without going into detail, I'll just say it will be the same way we drew water from Earth.
" "You don't want to drown us in the ocean, do you?" Preston expressed mild concern at the prospect of finding himself, the starship and the entire crew, at the bottom of the ocean.
"Don't worry. We'll place you in Earth orbit. After all, we owe you gratitude for the water. We also want to make amends for all those kidnappings, so we've decided to give you a gift of an effective cockroach killer.
" "Of course, we'd be happy to take advantage of both the accelerated journey and the miracle powder. Thank you very much.
" "It's not a powder, but a recipe, but the production isn't particularly complicated. By the way... Can I count on an invitation to visit your starship?
" "Of course. Let's go together. I assume the other members of the expedition would be happy to meet representatives of your—not so long ago, I'd say—alien civilization." That
same day, shuttles carrying humans and the invited group of Lems departed for the star. Two days later, Preston called a meeting. The central control room was bursting at the seams with a crowd of astronauts. Preston briefly introduced the visiting guests and outlined the method of return to Earth. His speech was repeatedly met with thunderous applause, and the prospect of being in Earth orbit within seconds sparked a storm of applause. As Preston shook hands with the Lems, Popov approached him. "Colonel, would you mind appointing someone to my position? " "What do you mean, Major? Are you resigning? " "No... You see... One of us should stay here with them. " "I expected that from you. Thank you. " "Colonel!" O'Hara approached him. "I'm listening. " "I have two requests. " "Yes? " "First, I ask you to marry me..." that is," he grabbed Sylvia's hand, "to marry us, and for permission to stay with the Lems. The Major could certainly use some helpers. "Yes, you two want to stay, and in a dozen or so years, there won't be room on the ship for your children. " "Don't worry," Sylvia smiled. "In a dozen years, we won't be living in that big box of theirs anymore, but we'll move to the Prima. Excuse me—to the Nova, and there's probably plenty of room there. " "But just in case, tell the president to have a net stretched over the sea surface in the Bermuda Triangle so we don't drown if they throw us out," O'Hara added. "I've never acted as a minister before," Preston scratched his head, "but maybe I can manage somehow. Stand next to each other. " When Patrick and Sylvia stood before the commander, he asked, "Sylvia Persine, do you want this Patrick here as your husband?" "I do."
Patrick O'Hara, do you wish to take this Patrick as your wife?
" "I do." "I do.
" "I pronounce you husband and wife before all Humans, Lems, and the entire cosmos. And now you may kiss."
The newlyweds didn't have to be asked twice and exchanged a passionate, long kiss, which seemed to cause surprise in the Lems' eyes.
"Do they eat each other?" Ixt asked.
"No. It's a human custom. They're not in any danger because of it," Preston laughed.
The people gathered in the headquarters approached the newlyweds to congratulate them, then slowly began to leave the room.
"Well, goodbye. You'll spend your wedding night on the Lems' spaceship. And... Patrick, tell me how it was..."
"Sure," O'Hara laughed, taking Sylvia into his arms.
On the 17th,
NBC's evening news reported the following:
According to information obtained at the Space Mission Control Center, which oversees the expedition to the Epsilon Eridani planetary system, yesterday they received a signal to begin the starship's deceleration. Since deceleration began exactly halfway, this means that—considering the long time it takes for the signal from the Star to reach Earth—it had just reached its destination.
18
In the Control Center, a small group of scientists watched a holoprojection of a star map, on which the point representing "Star" pulsated near Epsilon Eridani. Suddenly, the silence of the room was brutally broken by the sound of an air raid siren, and a red marker flashed on the map. A moment later, a voice came over the loudspeakers:
"Attention! I'm declaring an all-service alert! An unidentified space object in Earth's orbit."
The Center's shift supervisor pressed a button on the console.
In a small office, a young man in a naval lieutenant's uniform sat behind a desk, making a telephone call. Suddenly, there was an urgent dial tone. The man interrupted the conversation and picked up the red receiver.
"The White House."
The shift manager at the Space Flight Center reported excitedly,
"This is the coordinator from the Space Flight Center. A large, unknown space object has unexpectedly appeared in Earth orbit. We don't know what it is yet, but our specialists immediately began attempting to identify it.
" "Thank you! Please don't hang up."
The man picked up another phone.
In the Oval Office, President George C. Bush had just seen off a Senate delegation when the phone on his desk, directly connecting him to the communications officer, rang. He nodded once more in farewell, returned to his desk, and picked up the receiver.
"I'm listening."
Lieutenant Wess Smith reported:
"Mr. President! We have an unexpected visitor. Some space object has appeared near Earth. NASA doesn't know what it is.
" "Please notify the Pentagon and NORAD*! Have them contact me. Please also transfer the center to my office!"
Within minutes, the White House switchboard placed hundreds of calls. A "yellow alert" was declared in all Defense Department units. A conference call was also set up with the leaders of the world's most important countries. Holoprojection technology was abandoned because decoding the terrabytes of data would have taken too long. After several dozen minutes, a "yellow alert" was also declared in Global Space Defense units. Ground-to-space missiles armed with nuclear and thermonuclear warheads began their trek to the launch site. Sirens wailed in cities around the world, and all media outlets warned the population of the threat of an attack. Air Force One was revving its engines, as was the squadron of armored presidential helicopters that had been rushed to the White House grounds.
A crisis management team had gathered in the Oval Office, impatiently awaiting reports from NASA, when Preston's voice suddenly boomed over the loudspeakers.
"Hello! Earth! Command Center, please report!
" "This is Command Center! How did you manage to contact us?"
"We're in Earth orbit. Please prepare the Selene to receive the Star."
"This is the President speaking. How on earth did you get near Earth? You just arrived at your destination.
" "That's right, Mr. President. I'm reporting that just a few minutes ago we were in the vicinity of Epsilon Eridanus. Moreover, there are almost twice as many of us now as at launch.
" "I don't know if I'm crazy or you? Please explain this more clearly.
" "Please don't worry. We're both healthy. It all happened thanks to the Lems." Preston briefly summarized the alien encounter.
After this conversation, the president issued an order to cancel the "yellow alert" and relayed this information to the concerned presidents of all countries. GSD units went on "green alert."
The
holoprojection showing the docking of the "Star" with the "Selene" station was watched by billions of people, even in the most remote corners of Earth. The successful completion of the mission was greeted with enthusiastic applause and tears of emotion, and clergy of all faiths offered prayers of thanksgiving for the safe return of the star travelers.
When, two days later, the shuttle landed at the landing pad near Portsmouth, delivering the first group to Earth, Preston was the first to appear at the top of the gangway. He slowly descended to the landing pad, shaking hands with the cheering crowd. He walked across the red carpet to the podium, where a group of official presidential representatives waited, and stood at attention.
"Madam Secretary of State! I report the completion of my assigned task.
" "Thank you, General...
" "...Colonel..."
"...General Preston, on behalf of our nation and all humanity, as well as the President of the United States and myself. And congratulations on your promotion. An hour ago, the President signed your promotion to general."
EPILOGUE
One Friday morning, a postman's bugle sounded in Preston's bedroom. Preston lazily opened his eyes and pressed a button on the remote control—the holoprojector displayed the symbol of an envelope with the recipient's information. Simultaneously, a mechanical voice boomed out:
"Identification!"
"Lyndo, this is for you!" Preston gently touched his wife's shoulder, who was lying next to her.
Lynda stretched, opened her eyes, and looked at the holoprojection.
"Lynda Stratton Preston," she said sleepily.
"Identification incorrect. Please repeat!
" "Lynda Stratton Preston," Lynda repeated, her voice sober.
"I confirm identification," the voice stated, and the text of the letter appeared in space.
"Read it, Jonah, I'm still sleeping," Sylwia yawned.
"Miami... date... LIFE over LIFE Insurance Company... Mrs. Lynda Stratton Preston. Due to the fraudulent deduction from our insurance company for the alleged death in a plane crash, we demand the return of wrongfully claimed compensation in the amount of US$200,000, plus interest in the amount of US$1,357,000, for a total of US$1,575,000. If our demands are not met, we will take legal action. Signed...
Lynda's eyes took on the shape of two large buttons...
* North American Aerospace Defense Command
END
