InterstellarNet: Origins by Edward M. Lerner Page A

reply. What’s the rush?
Suspect_Everyone: The rush, my naive friend, is to stampede us. Remember that the UN already pushed through a treaty allowing only *them* to answer ET. The vote to reply will be one more pretense why we “need” world government.
Remember_Seattle: They’ve made a losing gamble. Once we delay them past the deadline, the whole pretense lapses. Join Earth First at the barricades in NYC.
    10
    The limo was twenty minutes late. Traffic crawled, snarled by picketing Earth Firsters. Despite the unruly crowds, Dean guessed he could make it to the UN Building faster on foot.
    He had not expected to find Alex Klein in the limo. An open briefcase brimming with papers and manila folders sat on the seat beside the diplomat.
    Klein said, “Thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I appreciate your flexibility, since my calendar doesn’t offer much.”
    “You’re welcome, Mr. Ambassador. What can I do for you?”
    “Please, we’re alone. It’s just Alex. I wanted to advise you of an issue in regard to your recent inquiry.”
    Dean didn’t speak diplomatese, but in his experience an issue was never a good thing.
    ET’s shopping list and catalogue, when decoded, had been much alike. All sixteen entries on the shopping list were related to chemical reactions and materials science. The catalogue hinted at fifteen catalysts and materials; the sixteenth entry promised a superior optical telescope design.
    It was commonly interpreted that ET would swap, one for one, any item from his catalogue for any item on the shopping list. Alas, ET’s wares and the new solutions he sought were equally unfamiliar to the task force’s engineers. Lots to ask for; nothing to offer in trade.
    ET’s shopping list included catalysts for fuel cells. There had been a long-shot chance that the federal labs had related unpublished work. Alex’s office had agreed to pull strings for Dean to find out.
    “Any luck?” Dean asked.
    “Not at the national labs. I’m told, in fact, that the example ET used to define ‘fuel cell’ is potentially better than anything we have.
    “On the other hand…my good friend, the Secretary of Commerce, was contacted discreetly by two key constituents, if you know what I mean. The corporations they represent may each have one of the catalysts sought by ET. The research is not yet ready for patent application.”
    Key constituents, presumably, were big fund raisers for the president’s party. “Will these constituents share information with ET? Do they understand the impracticality of obtaining monetary payment from him? That it would take years to—”
    The limo stopped suddenly, its brakes squealing, and Dean grabbed an armrest. Three protesters had darted in front of the car. They wore bug-eyed-monster masks with Devil’s horns, and their waving placards asked, Do I look trustworthy?
    “Ah, street theater.” Alex did not look like a fan. “Barter is awkward, as is the delay. Sixteen years round trip? That’s not the real issue, however.
    “Sending technology to ET means turning it over to the task force for encoding and transmission. Neither company trusts the UN to keep secrets here on Earth.
    “Federal purchase of this proprietary technology has been mentioned, but we’re talking billions and getting an appropriation bill through Congress. A purchase probably can’t happen in time, even if it were the right thing to do.”
    If? Dean peered glumly through blackened, one-way limo glass. More and more demonstrators streamed past the trapped limo toward the United Nations Building. “Look at this crowd. Can they spell Luddite?”
    “Let’s be realistic.” Alex sighed. “The major economic powers want ET technologies. We’ve all been working hard to declare COPUOS membership frozen until after the natural milestone of an authorization to reply—and I expect we’ll lose today’s procedural vote on that freeze. Our prickly friend Charise Ganes is leading the opposition.