“They’re a danger to me. To me!”
“I don’t understand.”
Pulling up his long legs and dropping his head to his knees, Meek burst out, “Don’t you see? Don’t you understand?” He broke into racking sobs.
“Harmon, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“I’m an astrobiologist,” Meek choked out. “I’ve traveled eight light-years to be the first astrobiologist to study an exoplanet’s biosphere.”
“Yes?”
“And what do we find? Human beings! A completely Earthlike biosphere. There’s nothing for me to do here! Longyear’s doing all the biology work. De Falla’s mapping the planet. And what do I have? Nothing! I’ve come all this way for nothing! When we get back to Earth I’ll be laughed at! Forgotten! It’s all been for nothing.”
Great god in heaven, Jordan thought. So it comes down to this. His ego. His prissy monumental ego. But as he looked at the sobbing astrobiologist, Jordan thought, He’s disappointed. Crushed. To come all this way and find that your journey has been in vain. To sacrifice nearly two centuries over nothing. Who wouldn’t be crushed? Who wouldn’t be hurt and angered and furious at the aliens who’ve made a mockery of your hopes?
As gently as he could, Jordan said, “Perhaps it hasn’t been for nothing, Harmon. Perhaps—”
Meek’s head snapped up. “Don’t patronize me, diplomat!”
Jordan smiled at him. “Why, yes, I’m a diplomat by training and experience. And perhaps I can see a way out of your dilemma. A way to make this mission worthwhile for you.”
Aliens
“What do you mean?” asked Meek, his long bony face streaked with tears.
“Come to the city with me,” Jordan said.
“No.”
“Yes. Come to the city. Just as the aliens took care of my virus, I think they can take care of your problem.”
“If you think I’m going to let them manipulate my mind, use their so-called education machine to turn me into a happy zombie, think again.”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Jordan coaxed. “Just come with me. Come and talk with Adri.”
“I don’t see what good it would do.”
“It won’t do any harm. You’ll be no worse off than you are now if you simply talk with Adri a bit.”
Clearly suspicious, but also wondering what Jordan was up to, Meek got shakily to his feet. Jordan stood up too and, grasping Meek’s arm by the elbow, they started walking back into the camp.
“I ought to get cleaned up first,” Meek muttered.
“Certainly,” said Jordan. “Me too. That was quite a run you led me on.”
They returned to the barracks tent, washed up, and changed into clean clothes. Jordan never let Meek far out of his sight. Together they went to Brandon, who was in the geology lab with de Falla, and told him they were going to the city.
“Really?” Brandon looked surprised. “May I ask why?”
“An astrobiology conference,” Jordan replied. “With Adri.”
They took one of the buggies, Jordan driving with Meek sitting beside him, long legs poking up uncomfortably.
Just as Jordan expected, Adri was waiting at the city’s perimeter walkway, in his usual blue-gray robe. No sign of his little pet. Aditi hurried up and stood beside him.
“Welcome, friends,” said Adri.
Jordan murmured a hello, his attention on Aditi. She was wearing a ruby red blouse, tan shorts, and a happy smile. He clasped both her hands; they felt warm as she gripped his hands tightly.
Jordan helped Aditi into the second row of the buggy, as Adri went around the other side and climbed in unassisted. Jordan started the vehicle’s quiet electrical motor, and they drove up the city’s main thoroughfare.
Adri asked, “To what do we owe this visit, Dr. Meek?”
Almost testily, Meek replied, “Ask Mr. Kell, here. This is his idea, not mine.”
Over his shoulder, Jordan said to Adri, “I thought that you and Dr. Meek might have a useful discussion of alien biospheres.”
Adri asked, “You mean the alien societies that our Predecessors have encountered?”
Jordon nodded.
“Alien societies?” Meek blurted. “You mean you’ve encountered other aliens?”
“Not we,” said Adri. “We have never been off this planet. But our Predecessors have found many intelligent civilizations scattered among the stars. And many more planets that bear life, but not intelligence.”
Meek swallowed hard before asking, “And you have records of these encounters?”
“Of course. All sorts of data: biological, geological, social … complete and detailed files.”
“Can I … may I see them? Inspect them?”
“To your heart’s content, sir.”
Meek broke into an ear-to-ear grin. Jordan had never seen him look so happy.
Once they parked in the heart of the city, Meek went off with Adri, leaving Jordan alone with Aditi.
“You’ll stay here tonight?” she asked, as they climbed the stairs of the administrative building.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away—not even Meek could.” And he pulled her to him and kissed her. A pair of young men coming down the steps grinned at them, but Jordan paid them scant attention.
Once they resumed climbing the stairs, Aditi asked, “Didn’t Dr. Meek know that our Predecessors have found many life-bearing planets?”
“He heard it, I’m sure, but it never really registered in his mind. His attention was focused on … personal problems,” Jordan explained.
“Strange,” Aditi murmured.
“The strange thing is that I didn’t realize what was making Harmon so bitter. I should have tumbled to his problem much earlier.”
She smiled at him. “You tend to take responsibility for other people’s problems, you know.”
“That’s my job,” he answered.
They walked through the administration building and out to the tree-lined courtyard behind it, heading for the dormitory.
“I presume the suite I’ve used before is still there for me,” Jordan said.
“For us,” Aditi corrected.
“For us, of course. Yes, certainly, for us.”
She smiled naughtily. “You’ve never seen my room, Jordan. Suppose we go there, instead.”
“Now?”
With an elfin shrug, Aditi said, “We have plenty of time before dinner.”
As he lay in Aditi’s bed, with her warm and lovely body curled next to his, Jordan watched a tiny green lizard hanging upside down from the ceiling. It seemed asleep. Good idea, he said to himself, yawning. A nap would be—
His phone chirped. Frowning, Jordan disengaged from Aditi and slipped out of the bed. She stirred and murmured something drowsily.
He reached his shirt, slung over the back of an elaborately carved chair, and yanked out the damned phone.
Meek’s scowling face filled the tiny screen. “Jordan, where on earth are you? I’ve been pounding on your door for at least ten minutes.”
“I’ve been busy,” Jordan replied in a hushed voice. “What do you want?”
“Want? Why, it’s nearly dinner time and Adri and I thought you’d like to see some of his files about exoplanet biospheres before we went to the dining hall.”
Jordan glanced at Aditi. She was half sitting up in bed, nodding at him.
To Meek, he said, “Give me fifteen minutes or so. Where are you?”
“Where am I?” Meek looked surprised at the question, almost insulted. “Why, I’m in Adri’s office, up on the top floor of the administration building. Jordan, you simply have to see what they’ve got here! Dozens of exoplanets. A handful of intelligent civilizations! None of them have reached a stage of high technology, of course, but they’re intelligent, with languages and writing and even the beginnings of cities! I tell you, it’s a treasure trove, an absolute treasure trove. Why, I could—”