the Reen ships. Although everyone had received text emails, I wanted to talk to them about it face to face. I sent a text email to everyone aboard Exp One.
At the top of a blank receiver screen, empty envelope icons flashed. There weren’t any new messages from E4, the translators or UE.
Just over forty minutes later, UE’s voice came out of my vtp, “Greg, a Reen ship had just landed in shuttle bay two.”
“Thank you.” I headed for that room.
As I entered bay two, I glanced up. At the opposite end of it, there was a one hundred ten foot long, thirty-foot diameter egg-shaped Reen interstellar craft with delta-shaped wings. The ship, which took up most of the bay, was supported by three pole-shaped landing legs, one fore, two aft.
Fore, a blond male humanoid with an orange face emerged from the craft’s port side as if he was rising out of water. Beneath the hull, a ramp hit the deck. He walked down it.
I headed toward him.
Much to my surprise, Irea came out of the hall and paused next to the blond humanoid, facing him. After staring at this man for a moment, she turned toward me. “Greg, this translator’s name is Darwin. While we were on E Four, he showed me some of the Reen ship’s computer network, engine and navigation software.”
Although I was surprised that Irea sounded more human than ever before, with a less obvious accent, I didn’t say anything about it. Then I nodded, acknowledging her comment.
Curious about Darwin, I looked at him. He resembled Irea, but his onyx eyes were larger than hers, his nose much smaller. It was difficult to tell what Darwin was thinking or feeling because he kept still, like a statue, a blank expression on his face.
I paused. “Darwin, do you speak English?”
He didn’t reply.
I said, “Irea, I would like to go inside the vessel.”
“Follow me.” Both of us entered.
On the wall, near the middle of an LED-like display, prime numbers, two, three, and seven, useless information, faded. We headed down a narrow corridor. Moments later, we veered left and went inside a dim room, a small one that was illuminated by a ten-foot high gray screen. Irea sat down, facing the screen.
To my left and right, on many different colored screens, Reen hieroglyphics changed into thousands of different shapes.
“This is the bridge.” Irea leaned forward.
Behind me, the sound of footsteps came closer. I looked over my shoulder.
To my right, Darwin entered the room, peering at the screen.
In front of Irea, near the bottom of a screen, thirty-five rows of Reen hieroglyphics changed faster. She said, “Greg, please bring your laptop inside.”
“I’ll get it.”
After returning from my office, I handed the laptop to her. Beneath the huge screen, near the edge of a countertop, a shallow indentation widened. Irea placed the laptop near the center of the indentation. “Greg, any moment, cables will grow into your laptop’s ports, allowing this ship to adapt to your software.”
“How long will that take?”
She didn’t answer.
The indentation walls moved and stopped, flush with the laptop. Now, there wasn’t a gap or a seam between my computer and the indentation’s walls. Only the front of the laptop was visible.
Irea got up and walked toward Darwin. Both of them stopped, their noses an inch apart.
My guess was that they were talking to each other. I spoke into my vtp, trying to find out if they were having a discussion, “UE, please send me text email regarding Sila and the Reen alphabet. Do the Reen speak in an ultrasonic frequency, use hand gestures or only communicate with their eyes?”
UE didn’t respond.
I listened, waiting for his message. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that something was moving. I looked down, wondering what was it was. On the countertop, several cables emerged, like weeds, and entered the back and sides of the laptop. Perhaps the cables were a combination, one-half silicon, the other part a living organism.
Irea returned
At the top of a blank receiver screen, empty envelope icons flashed. There weren’t any new messages from E4, the translators or UE.
Just over forty minutes later, UE’s voice came out of my vtp, “Greg, a Reen ship had just landed in shuttle bay two.”
“Thank you.” I headed for that room.
As I entered bay two, I glanced up. At the opposite end of it, there was a one hundred ten foot long, thirty-foot diameter egg-shaped Reen interstellar craft with delta-shaped wings. The ship, which took up most of the bay, was supported by three pole-shaped landing legs, one fore, two aft.
Fore, a blond male humanoid with an orange face emerged from the craft’s port side as if he was rising out of water. Beneath the hull, a ramp hit the deck. He walked down it.
I headed toward him.
Much to my surprise, Irea came out of the hall and paused next to the blond humanoid, facing him. After staring at this man for a moment, she turned toward me. “Greg, this translator’s name is Darwin. While we were on E Four, he showed me some of the Reen ship’s computer network, engine and navigation software.”
Although I was surprised that Irea sounded more human than ever before, with a less obvious accent, I didn’t say anything about it. Then I nodded, acknowledging her comment.
Curious about Darwin, I looked at him. He resembled Irea, but his onyx eyes were larger than hers, his nose much smaller. It was difficult to tell what Darwin was thinking or feeling because he kept still, like a statue, a blank expression on his face.
I paused. “Darwin, do you speak English?”
He didn’t reply.
I said, “Irea, I would like to go inside the vessel.”
“Follow me.” Both of us entered.
On the wall, near the middle of an LED-like display, prime numbers, two, three, and seven, useless information, faded. We headed down a narrow corridor. Moments later, we veered left and went inside a dim room, a small one that was illuminated by a ten-foot high gray screen. Irea sat down, facing the screen.
To my left and right, on many different colored screens, Reen hieroglyphics changed into thousands of different shapes.
“This is the bridge.” Irea leaned forward.
Behind me, the sound of footsteps came closer. I looked over my shoulder.
To my right, Darwin entered the room, peering at the screen.
In front of Irea, near the bottom of a screen, thirty-five rows of Reen hieroglyphics changed faster. She said, “Greg, please bring your laptop inside.”
“I’ll get it.”
After returning from my office, I handed the laptop to her. Beneath the huge screen, near the edge of a countertop, a shallow indentation widened. Irea placed the laptop near the center of the indentation. “Greg, any moment, cables will grow into your laptop’s ports, allowing this ship to adapt to your software.”
“How long will that take?”
She didn’t answer.
The indentation walls moved and stopped, flush with the laptop. Now, there wasn’t a gap or a seam between my computer and the indentation’s walls. Only the front of the laptop was visible.
Irea got up and walked toward Darwin. Both of them stopped, their noses an inch apart.
My guess was that they were talking to each other. I spoke into my vtp, trying to find out if they were having a discussion, “UE, please send me text email regarding Sila and the Reen alphabet. Do the Reen speak in an ultrasonic frequency, use hand gestures or only communicate with their eyes?”
UE didn’t respond.
I listened, waiting for his message. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that something was moving. I looked down, wondering what was it was. On the countertop, several cables emerged, like weeds, and entered the back and sides of the laptop. Perhaps the cables were a combination, one-half silicon, the other part a living organism.
Irea returned
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