“Huh?”
“They live underground, deep underground.”
“I thought you said they were watching?”
“They are, but not with their eyes. At the moment, they’re panicking, because they’ve never come across humans they can’t manipulate. Our minds are closed, so there’s much consternation.”
“How many are there?”
“Three, maybe four thousand.”
“No shit?”
“No shit. And this is only one of at least fifty colonies.
“Fifty? Each with a few thousand?”
“Some are well established, and have upwards of fifty thousand.”
Red was silent.
“I thought I knew the desert.”
“Yeah, well ain’t that a thing?” she said, and he grinned at her.
“How come I’m not scared?” he asked, frowning.
“I’m suppressing that for you.”
“Is that good?”
“Do you want to be scared?”
“I don’t know; I reckon it keeps me on my toes, maybe a little.”
Suddenly he felt terror, so he looked at her, appealing to her better nature, so then the terror was gone, just as quick.
“Okay, no fear is fine,” he said, and she smiled at him.
“Don’t you feel fear?” he asked.
She tilted her head slightly to one side, frowning slightly.
“I used to, but then I realised what I was capable of. Believe me, you do not want to piss me off,” she said. She had deliberately been vague about her Russian episode.
Red believed her, content to leave her in control.
Deep below them, the leader of the colony was in conference with his subordinates.
The colony was a new one, so the excavations had only just been completed. They had only received their full compliment of colonists a couple of weeks before, so everything was in relative chaos as they struggle to get settled. For a surface dweller, their conditions would appear confined and very restricted. However, these beings had never been outside a space ship for three or four generations.
The space allotted to each individual was luxurious by their standards. Earth was considered a challenge and a blessing.
The gravity, atmosphere and general conditions were within acceptable parameters. However, the indigenous superior life form, humans, had been a thorn in their side ever since the planet was first discovered all those years ago. Initially thought to be too primitive to be of any real threat, humans soon proved themselves to be excessively rapid developers. Considering the very short space of time since their emergence from the trees, this curious and aggressive biped showed remarkable promise for one so young.
Early attempts to nurture specially selected individuals resulted in mass hysteria, and many were put to death by their own kind for simply being different. Even those who had never been in contact with the ‘newcomers’ were destroyed on mere suspicion of being involved in what they called ‘witchery’.
Rules were set in place to keep the humans as ignorant as possible, but this status quo was threatened by three factors.
The first was the rapid population growth, leaving scant room for the colonies. Colonies were being discovered every week, and enormous efforts had to be made to restrict the spread of knowledge, and to contain the problems. The second was the amazing advances in technological and scientific fields. It would not be long before the humans had the ability to locate and eradicate the colonies, as if they were termite nests.
The last was their incredible aggressive and warlike nature. Their initial reaction to any problem was to attempt to destroy it first, and then solve it, if there was any problem left.
Those few occasions when the weapons were brought to bear on the colonists, proved that mental power was fine, but once a trigger is pulled, a hole is a hole, and death is final.
Every member of the Earth colonies was aware of the story of the supposed emissary. They’d been told that a human sacrificed itself for the life of a young alien, and suffered some form of seizure just after bringing the youngster to safety.
In an unprecedented act, the Captain of the survey scout ship had authorised his medical technicians to try to save the life of this human, and when they failed, they created a clone.
In order to somehow manipulate events for the bringing together of the two races in peace, this clone was allowed to develop mental powers greater than its fellow humans. However, it was also told that this human developed such powers to be stronger even than those who had created it.
Some believed this to be a story told to juveniles at sleep time, but many refused to believe it was true.
The elders of the colony discovered that truth has a way of smacking one in the face when one least expects it.
<<We must communicate with it,>> one said.
<<No, we must hide. It is not aware we are here,>> said another.
<<We should concentrate our combined power and destroy it,>> suggested a third.
The leader, an old being called Phollz, heard the discussion, and finally ended it.
<<It knows we are here. We plotted its course, and it did not deviate at all. It is showing no aggression or fear. I will attempt to communicate.>>
There was silence.
Phollz sent a message to the strange human, whom none of them could read.
<<Why do you come?>>
11.
“Red. Contact!” Michelle said, closing her eyes.
It was strange hearing them again. To start with, they had been all she had known, but then she had returned home, and become used to human minds.
<<I come in peace. I was chosen to be the one,>> she thought, slowly and in a mental whisper.
A mixture of horror, disbelief and relief met her mind like a tidal wave, so she realised that she had broadcast to the whole colony. She concentrated and directed her mental beam only to the one who had initiated the exchange.
<<I am a friend. I once saved one of your kind, and in turn the Captain of the vessel saved me. We have made a bond of life, so my task now is to see if I can help you all.>>
<<How?>>
<<If I knew that, I wouldn’t be standing here,>> she said.
<<Your people will never accept us, there is no hope for co-existence.>>
<<That is because my people fear the unknown. Fear breeds ignorance, and vice versa. We are ignorant of you, and therefore we fear you. If your presence were to become known, then the fear would be overwhelming. And fear breeds violence. My people believe that attack is the most effective form of defence. This would be destructive to both our peoples.>>
<<Then what is the answer?>>
<<First, an openness. You should plan a strategy to approach the world leaders. To approach just one nation would breed jealousy, and that would spark violence.
<<Then, you lay yourselves open to examination. You must share your tragic history, your culture and your requirements for continued existence, even survival. Nothing should be hidden, even your powers. Unknown powers are feared much more than known ones. But, you perhaps needn’t expose absolutely everything.
<<You must appeal to the positive elements of human nature. Compassion, tolerance, kindness, understanding and love. Be honest, and show that humans have nothing to fear. Hide and they will hunt you down and destroy you. Provide them with evidence that you can bring some good to the partnership, and they will accept you.
<<Humans cannot resist a sob story. They also will always repay kindnesses. Find some elements of human suffering to which you can bring real relief, and they will repay you generously. But it must be universal. My government wants you and your technology for themselves. This would be very dangerous, and so whatever you do, it must be to the benefit of everyone, and not to one nation, or one small area of the globe.