nightmares?"
36
The Bio Officer's green eyes shifted for a second. "No, nothing of the kind."
"Uh huh. Well, it wouldn't surprise me if you did. The possibility of a First Contact is pretty stressful, don't you think? Meeting people completely different from ourselves."
"You mean aliens, not people,'" Viorst said. "Whatever they are, they won't look like people."
Rob shrugged. "You're almost certainly right that they won't physically resemble us. But they may well be 'people' mentally and emotionally."
Viorst's well-cut features tightened. "Maybe, maybe not."
"What's the worst thing you can imagine an alien looking like?"
The Bio Officer considered for a moment. "Invisible, I guess. They could sneak up on you and you'd never know."
Rob blinked. "But it's possible that even invisible beings might not be antagonistic, isn't it?"
"I suppose so," Simon said, reluctantly. He hesitated for a moment, then burst out, "That's what you think, isn't it, Doc? That they'll be glad to see us, that everything will be peachy, right? Well, suppose it's not?"
"I don't know," Rob admitted. "But we'll never know unless we introduce ourselves, will we? And if they are people we'd rather not encounter again, we'll be able to warn Earth and the colonies to steer clear."
"If we live to tell them."
"It might be a good idea to jettison an E-beacon with a copy of the ship's log, before we enter their system," Rob said thoughtfully. "That would serve as a warning to any other Terran ships, if we're never heard from again."
"I think our best course would be to head for Earth and send back a trained expeditionary force--and a squadron of troops to back it up." The Bio Officer's eyes were flat and hard. "We're asking for trouble, barging in this way."
"I admit you have a lot of good arguments," Rob acknowledged. "But instead of concentrating on everything going wrong, why not spend half your time thinking about the possibility that this may be a positive experience? That we may meet creatures who have a lot to share, that we can learn from?"
"I'd like to think that," the Bio Officer sounded almost 37
wistful. "But if their outsides are different, it makes sense to me that their insides will be, too."
"Makes sense to me, too," Rob said, studying Viorst's eyes, his face and hands, but careful to keep his glance casual. "But different doesn't invariably mean different in a negative sense. Who knows? They might be nicer than we are."
Viorst considered the idea. "I suppose it's possible," he admitted reluctantly.
Rob smiled reassuringly. "I think perhaps you're getting a little anxious over all this, Simon, which isn't surprising . . . but worrying about something that hasn't happened--and may never happen--isn't very productive."
Viorst glared. "Don't patronize me, Doc. It's hard enough having to report to someone who looks as though he isn't even shaving, yet."
Rob took a slow, deep breath, reminding himself not to let Viorst get to him.
The man was frightened, and that was making him antagonistic. I ought to be used to cracks like that by now, he thought, with a trace of bitterness. "I'm sorry if it sounded like I was talking down to you," he said evenly. "I didn't intend that. Will you just promise me one thing?"
"What?"
"Think over what I said, okay? We'll talk again, soon. And, Simon, I want you to come to me if you don't get a good night's sleep tonight, and I'll give you a mild sedative to take tomorrow night. All right?"
"Okay, Doc."
Rob slid off the stool. "Thanks for talking."
Mahree groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I can't look at another orange squiggle without going blind. We've been at this for hours, and we're no closer to any answers than when we started!"
"She's right." Yoki stretched, her backbone creaking audibly. "Shit, maybe Joan's right, too. Maybe we've been getting signals from intelligent black holes."
"We haven't wasted our time. Some of the programming we've adapted will prove useful later, after we get
36
The Bio Officer's green eyes shifted for a second. "No, nothing of the kind."
"Uh huh. Well, it wouldn't surprise me if you did. The possibility of a First Contact is pretty stressful, don't you think? Meeting people completely different from ourselves."
"You mean aliens, not people,'" Viorst said. "Whatever they are, they won't look like people."
Rob shrugged. "You're almost certainly right that they won't physically resemble us. But they may well be 'people' mentally and emotionally."
Viorst's well-cut features tightened. "Maybe, maybe not."
"What's the worst thing you can imagine an alien looking like?"
The Bio Officer considered for a moment. "Invisible, I guess. They could sneak up on you and you'd never know."
Rob blinked. "But it's possible that even invisible beings might not be antagonistic, isn't it?"
"I suppose so," Simon said, reluctantly. He hesitated for a moment, then burst out, "That's what you think, isn't it, Doc? That they'll be glad to see us, that everything will be peachy, right? Well, suppose it's not?"
"I don't know," Rob admitted. "But we'll never know unless we introduce ourselves, will we? And if they are people we'd rather not encounter again, we'll be able to warn Earth and the colonies to steer clear."
"If we live to tell them."
"It might be a good idea to jettison an E-beacon with a copy of the ship's log, before we enter their system," Rob said thoughtfully. "That would serve as a warning to any other Terran ships, if we're never heard from again."
"I think our best course would be to head for Earth and send back a trained expeditionary force--and a squadron of troops to back it up." The Bio Officer's eyes were flat and hard. "We're asking for trouble, barging in this way."
"I admit you have a lot of good arguments," Rob acknowledged. "But instead of concentrating on everything going wrong, why not spend half your time thinking about the possibility that this may be a positive experience? That we may meet creatures who have a lot to share, that we can learn from?"
"I'd like to think that," the Bio Officer sounded almost 37
wistful. "But if their outsides are different, it makes sense to me that their insides will be, too."
"Makes sense to me, too," Rob said, studying Viorst's eyes, his face and hands, but careful to keep his glance casual. "But different doesn't invariably mean different in a negative sense. Who knows? They might be nicer than we are."
Viorst considered the idea. "I suppose it's possible," he admitted reluctantly.
Rob smiled reassuringly. "I think perhaps you're getting a little anxious over all this, Simon, which isn't surprising . . . but worrying about something that hasn't happened--and may never happen--isn't very productive."
Viorst glared. "Don't patronize me, Doc. It's hard enough having to report to someone who looks as though he isn't even shaving, yet."
Rob took a slow, deep breath, reminding himself not to let Viorst get to him.
The man was frightened, and that was making him antagonistic. I ought to be used to cracks like that by now, he thought, with a trace of bitterness. "I'm sorry if it sounded like I was talking down to you," he said evenly. "I didn't intend that. Will you just promise me one thing?"
"What?"
"Think over what I said, okay? We'll talk again, soon. And, Simon, I want you to come to me if you don't get a good night's sleep tonight, and I'll give you a mild sedative to take tomorrow night. All right?"
"Okay, Doc."
Rob slid off the stool. "Thanks for talking."
Mahree groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I can't look at another orange squiggle without going blind. We've been at this for hours, and we're no closer to any answers than when we started!"
"She's right." Yoki stretched, her backbone creaking audibly. "Shit, maybe Joan's right, too. Maybe we've been getting signals from intelligent black holes."
"We haven't wasted our time. Some of the programming we've adapted will prove useful later, after we get
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