President Carr turned back to Bishop. “Admiral, launch the Tridents. But I want them at a safe distance. As far from the ring was we can be but still able to act quickly if needed.”
Bishop nodded. “Yes sir.”
Carr tapped the table with this finger for emphasis. “And NO action or engagement without my orders! Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
“Alright Mr. Clay,” he said. “Go have another chat with our friend.”
Keister and Clay approached the holding cell underground. With every step, their shoes clicked on the clean floor and echoed down the hallway. As they approached the two armed soldiers outside the room, Clay looked at their M16 assault rifles and noticed their safeties were off. He glanced at the gear they wore, including their armor, boots, and helmet types. It was one of the habits from his time spent in the Navy SEALs.
The first guard looked them over and turned to his left. He withdrew a security card with this left hand and swiped it through a small vertical slot. The light blinked green and the lock on the inside of the door clicked loudly. The guard did not open the door, instead he stepped clear, put his second hand back on the rifle, and watched Keister and Clay carefully.
Keister grabbed the door handle and twisted. The thick metal door swung inward and they both stepped through. Palin was on a small portable cot near the corner. He lay on his side with his back to them, un-cuffed. Clay noted a small food table with a food tray and the remains of his dinner. Interestingly everything looked eaten except the meat and cheese which was moved to the side of the tray.
Palin slowly turned over and looked at them. Upon seeing Clay, he turned and sat up on the bed, then stood and walked to his only chair. He planted himself smoothly, waiting as they both pulled their chairs over to him. He did not look tired to Clay, but he did need a shave.
Clay sat down in front of him and wasted no time. “Where are you from?”
“I have told you-“
“No.” Clay interrupted. “Where are you from?”
Palin nodded. He took a deep breath. “Our sun…is a neighboring star to your own. It is called Lalande. Your planet is the third in your solar system, ours is the second.” He stopped but then added. “You cannot see it yet with your technology.”
Clay leaned forward. “And why are you here?”
Palin did not answer.
“You’re not visiting.” Clay said.
Palin shook his head. “No.”
“So why are you here?”
Palin furrowed his brow. “You wish to know whether we intend to harm you.”
Clay nodded.
Palin sighed. “You are a lucky race. Luckier than you know.” He tilted his head and asked Clay a question. “Do you know how planets are formed?”
Clay shook his head.
“They are formed by the slow accumulation of dust-like matter in a solar system, very large amounts of matter. Some of that matter is ice which then turns to water as the planet forms and begins to warm.”
Clay remained quiet. He wondered where this was going.
“You see, a planet with water is not rare. But a planet almost entirely covered with water like yours, is.”
“Our amount of water is rare?”
“Yes,” Palin said, “very rare.”
Clay gave him a hard look. “Why are you taking our water?”
Palin was taken back. After a long pause, he said, “You have no idea how fortunate you are. So much water provides such incredible resilience for life. And you take it for granted. You have so much that you pollute on an unimaginable scale with barely a second thought.” He shook his head in pity. “Your pollution runs much deeper than you know. Much deeper than you will understand for a long time.” He took another deep breath. “A level of pollution that we could not afford.”
Clay looked at Keister who continued to scribble notes. “What does that mean?”
“Our planet developed with water as well but far less. It is precious, the single most important element for all forms of evolution.”
“And yet you had enough to evolve too.”
Palin shrugged. “Until now.”
“What does that mean?”
Palin looked at Clay. “Our planet is dying. We have suffered a cataclysmic event which has vaporized most of our only two oceans. We have had to turn underground for what little water is left. But our ecosystem is near extinction, as are we. The portal that you have seen may be our last technological achievement. We have exhausted many of our remaining resources to build it, and to come here.”
“Are you telling me that you’re trying to save your planet?” Clay asked.
“We are trying to save our planet and our race.”
Clay leaned back in his chair. Keister told him that one of the first rules was to not to appear surprised at anything. Clay was having a very difficult time appearing calm when almost every time Palin spoke he dropped a bomb. They were not here to destroy us. They were here to save themselves as part of some last ditch effort. Of course, it was possible he was lying, but so far everything seemed to fit. All he could think about was Stevas almost foaming at the mouth to blow them up.
“So,” he said, “you’re just taking our water…and that doesn’t strike you as problematic.”
Palin shook his head. “You have more than you need, more than you will ever need. Besides your polar ice caps are now melting to compensate.”
“Don’t be so sure.” Clay replied. This time Palin looked confused. “You’re taking too much water, too fast. And if you’re relying on the melting of our caps to compensate then we are all in serious trouble.” Not surprisingly, Palin was not following. Clay continued. “We have had several quakes in our south pole which has destabilized giant areas of an ice shelf. The water level has dropped enough to cause a shift in pressure which is about to result in a tsunami that will kill millions of people.”
Palin considered what he said. He thought about it for a long time before answering. “We’re not stealing your water.”
Clay smirked. “Then what do you call it?”
Palin gave him an almost puzzled look. “If you have more than enough, should you not give it?”
Clay opened his eyes wide with disbelief. “Not at the cost of millions of lives.”
“This tsunami will not kill everyone. Most will survive, will they not?”
“Yes but-”
“Is it not better to save both races than let one perish?” Palin asked.
Clay shook his head incredulously. “This is not a business transaction.”
“History, for both of our worlds, is filled with millions and millions of meaningless deaths. Wars over lands or resources that later meant nothing. The worst over religious beliefs which were nothing more than emotional ideas being systematically forced onto others. Humans, both of us, have given much less thought and value to life than my people are doing now.”
Palin’s reference to humans struck Clay oddly. “You said humans as in both of us. I still don’t understand, how can you be human yet from a different planet?”
Palin sighed. “Do you remember when I told you about the cycles within carbon?”
“Yes.”
“The process of evolution is not random. Everything is determined by certain limits or preferences and evolution is no different. Carbon, like all elements, has its own characteristics which means that it will react uniquely to a force placed upon it. When the force is evolution, carbon has tendencies, call them “paths of least resistance”. This means that over time, those tendencies within carbon will lean toward certain types of biological structures and designs which prove practical. Again, things like hands and feet, eyes and ears, brains, muscles, and fingers, are all practical assets to furthering the process. This is one reason we look alike.”