Palin turned to the medic who looked back and nodded. “It seems your gorilla will live.”
DeeAnn inhaled, placing her hands over her open mouth. “Oh, thank God. Will she… remember?”
“Her cells will remember.” Palin nodded. “Perhaps you would like to stay here while we check on Mr. Caesare.”
“Yes, I would.”
Moments later, Palin led the other three to another nearby room where they found Caesare reclining on a similar table. His shirt was off with each of his wounds covered in clean patches. A different, smallish device was pulled in close to his abdomen, shining a bright light on one of the patches.
He smiled with only a trace of pain when they entered. “What took you so long?”
“We were filling out medical forms.”
Caesare grimaced. “How’s Dulce?”
“Palin says she’s going to make it.”
“Good.” He grinned at Clay. “I guess you figured out that silver block after all.”
“Actually, you did.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were right, Steve. I wasn’t supposed to figure it out. I realized it might simply be a life saving device. Which means it’s not supposed to be activated manually. After all, once paired with a person, that person probably wouldn’t be conscious when it was really needed.”
“So, it would know what to do. All by itself.”
Palin looked at them curiously. “So tell me, Mr. Clay, what were you doing in a burning jungle?”
Clay explained the story, describing the remarkable biological discovery in Guyana and the Chinese warship that absconded with it. He also explained the attack on the Bowditch that allowed the warship to flee, even at the risk of creating a major geopolitical event. If Palin was surprised at Clay’s story, he didn’t show it. Instead, he listened thoughtfully as Clay spoke. When he was finished, Palin shook his head.
“There is great danger in your discovery.”
There was a brief silence as Clay and Caesare looked at each other. An anxious Borger interrupted by extending his hand. “Mr. Palin, my name is Will Borger.”
Palin smiled and took his hand. “We know who you are, Mr. Borger. We are grateful for the help you provided to Mr. Clay and Mr. Caesare. The pleasure is mine.”
Caught a little off guard, Borger took a deep breath. “I… uh, have a lot of questions. Like how your portal works? What’s the unknown element inside the silver cubes? And what are these cellular frequencies that you’re using for healing? There’s just so much-”
Palin raised his hand and stopped Borger. “Mr. Borger, we come from the same carbon based origins. Given the common patterns of carbon evolution, we are more similar than you know. We both have humanoid brains, and we both are creatures of tools and knowledge. And our thirst for knowledge is constant.” He nodded to Clay. “Mr. Clay also had many questions the last time we spoke.”
Clay frowned at Borger. “You’re not going to like his answer, Will.”
“And what was my answer, John Clay?”
“You said it was unwise for a race to gain knowledge too quickly.”
“You remember well,” Palin replied. “But do you understand?”
“I understand. But I’m not sure I agree.”
Palin sighed. “My answer was not an attempt to be evasive or trite. It was not to keep you from achievement. It’s a truth of being human. We long to know answers, even when we lack the capability to bear those answers. Knowledge is only as safe as our wisdom. My people are no different. Further along, perhaps, but not so different fundamentally. Consider advancements in your own history and within your own skills of ingenuity. Things like gunpowder, or fission, or chemical weapons. These discoveries were borne from advancement, yet they radically changed the course of your planet’s history. They eventually became tools of unimaginable power.”
“But they also brought about good things.”
“That is true,” Palin wore a knowing frown. “But which outweighs the other, the good or the bad? Our histories have many similarities. The circumstances are different, but the lessons are the same. It took a cataclysmic event and the near extinction of our people to finally rise above our differences. To understand that true wisdom is not about being right, it’s about the unintended consequences of our decisions.” He paused, watching Borger. “You know that portals are possible now, even practical. And you will one day discover the element we use to create them. But with them comes the ability to harness unimaginable levels of energy. How well do you believe your people would handle a true leap in knowledge, given their current use of fission and fusion devices? How well would they manage frequencies that can harm as well as heal? Mr. Borger, ingenuity is the ultimate gift of humankind. And conquest is the ultimate curse. They cannot be separated. Not yet. Not until you face the gravest threat to your planet’s existence. Until you face mortality as a species, not as individual groups. Only then can you glimpse true wisdom.”
The room fell silent, and Palin watched Will Borger lower his gaze to the floor before he continued. “We came to your planet to save ourselves. It was a journey fraught with problems and danger. We came for the only resource that could save us: water, a resource that you have in abundance beyond your own comprehension. Water is not rare in the universe, but a planet covered in so much water is exceptionally rare. And you don’t have the wisdom yet to even appreciate what you have. But it will come. It will come because your water is highly visible. If we can see it, so can others. Your water makes your planet Earth a beacon to all who can see you.”
Clay’s eyes narrowed. “How many others?”
“More than you have dreamed. I pray that your race matures faster than ours did.”
“Wait,” Alison spoke up. “Isn’t that even more reason to share your knowledge with us?”
“You are wiser than most, Alison Shaw. But wisdom on a global level takes a very long time. You and your team have achieved a giant step forward for your people. You have broken the barrier of communication that has kept you isolated for so very long. You have regained an ability you once had natively, but have since lost. Your breakthrough may prove to be the most important turning point for your race in understanding the world around you. An understanding that will reveal your world as more than just a planet of resources. Life is not simply a matter of breathing or thinking. Life is connectedness on a planetary scale.”
Alison stared at Palin, shocked and suddenly dumbfounded. “Oh my gosh!”
Clay and the others turned to her. “What?”
“That’s what it is,” she murmured, almost to herself. “That’s what it is! It was staring me right in the face this whole time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you see?” She looked back and forth at them, excitedly. “That’s what Sally was telling me! She said they were ‘happy to talk’ again! I never understood what she meant. I thought it was just a translation issue, but it wasn’t. She knew! Sally and Dirk knew that we used to be able to communicate before! And now, with the IMIS system, we aren’t communicating with dolphins for the first time, we’re communicating with them AGAIN!”
From the table, Caesare’s eyes opened wide. “Whoa!”
“It’s true!” Alison cried. “And Dulce proved it.” She grabbed Clay’s arm. “I haven’t told you about what we discovered about the errors in IMIS! Lee found out that they weren’t errors at all. They were real translations happening beyond human speech. On a level that we don’t understand, but Dulce does! And IMIS has picked up on it!” Alison whipped back to Palin. “That’s what you’re talking about!”