Alex Benedict 9 - Village in the Sky, page 6
“Have they made the copies yet? Of the books for the aliens?”
“Don’t know. But I’d be surprised if that’s not all taken care of and the books aren’t already on their way to Skydeck.”
“So all that’s left for you is to get to meet Ollie and Neo. Have you asked Sally about it? She could probably arrange it.”
“Chase, I’d bet everybody she invited to contribute titles is trying to get her to give them a chance to say hello to the aliens. I’d just as soon not do that.”
“It’s not going to happen unless you make a move.”
“Just let it go, Chase, okay?”
“Have we any idea why we haven’t seen any males? They don’t murder their husbands, do they?”
“Oh, come on, Chase. Keep it serious.”
“Sorry. I just couldn’t pass on it. Do you know anything more about them?”
“Not really. Despite their appearance, they seem to be easy to get along with.”
“You haven’t gotten access yet to any of their books, have you?”
“Not yet. Don’t know anything other than what’s been on HV.”
“Sounds like good business ahead for booksellers.”
“I hope so.” He was seated in an armchair, his feet propped on a stool. “They certainly have the language down. At least the AI does. Sally thinks they discovered us years ago, probably another vehicle. Maybe another generation. And they went home and did some extensive prepping.”
“It’s been quite an experience.”
“It has, Chase.”
“I have one more question. You probably can’t help with this one.”
“What is it?”
“I have a list of the titles. Of their books.”
“Yes?”
“What’s a ‘grundi’?”
He had no idea. Eventually I found out that it was a giant predator that had lived on Ulaka for millions of years until it went extinct during an ice age.
* * *
That afternoon we learned that the media had gotten hold of some of the alien books. Several of the shows brought on people who’d had a chance to look through them so they could talk about their contents. Sharik Sunset turned up on The Ellen Klein Show. Ellen explained that Sharik was another world in the same system as Ulaka. It was lifeless. But long before the Ulakans developed the capability to visit Sharik, they had been fascinated by that world. It had terrestrial conditions, oceans, continents, blue skies, and warm weather. They always assumed it was inhabited and they created a number of fictional narratives, usually about invasions. One of the earliest was Sharik Sunset, in which the world’s inhabitants invade Ulaka and are on the verge of killing everyone before being taken out by the difference in gravity, which introduced severe heart problems.
Once More unto the Breach was a strictly military history from ancient times. Ollie and Neo both claimed they knew nothing of Shakespeare.
Today had gotten a copy of Chaela, Where Are You? Chaela had apparently been an actual person, a young female, who’d gone out on a camping trip with several friends, wandered into a forest, and was never seen nor heard from again. She became a classic representative of the dangers presented by the natural world, and why those of early years should not venture away alone.
The third reader showed up on Truthhunt. She’d gotten a copy of Moons over Korkorum. Korkorum, we learned, was an island on which visitors who met inevitably fell in love. The book was a description of the power of romantic activities and environment and how easily they blinded us and led to unfortunate decisions.
* * *
Sally, Polgar, and the Ulakans were on full display on HV, mostly talking about a cooperative future. I had a hard time imagining people vacationing on Ulaka. We also got to see, from a book haven in Andiquar, enthusiastic buyers crowding the aisles to pick up copies of the alien volumes. They only had five titles available at that point, and they obviously weren’t going to last long. One of the Corbin bookstores had a few copies of the books in their original Ulakan format. It didn’t seem likely anybody would ever be able to read them, but it apparently didn’t matter. The media were there when the store opened, and the shelves quickly emptied. The copies on display all had the same binding, dark blue covers with gold lettering.
“Pity,” said Alex.
“What’s the problem?”
“They’d be worth a ton to collectors if the number of copies had been limited.”
“But it’s not about making money.”
“I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about value. I know you’re going to say that’s a fine point, but how would you feel about your books being made available to everybody strictly for the cost of manufacture?”
Three titles not mentioned earlier turned up a day or so later. Apparently the Ulakans had brought some other books with them and either forgot about them or decided to leave them out of the package and then changed their minds. Whatever the case, there were now nineteen volumes in both languages. One was titled The Light’s Not Going Anywhere. Was it a book about astrophysics? Or about theology? It turned out to be astrophysics. There was also Skies on Fire. That one, oddly, was a collection of plays. And Cosmic Content and Other Rides into the Night, an anthology of science fiction stories about time travel, what happens when someone invents a method of extending people’s lives indefinitely, and whether there’s any such thing as being too intelligent.
Ollie and Neo offered no comments about the new books, saying only that readers should enjoy finding out on their own. “And yes,” Neo added, “we were looking though the books we’d brought and just forgot to include them in the packaging.”
* * *
Finally we saw the other Ulakans. They showed up for a tour of Skydeck with Sally, two of the DPSAR officials, and a couple of guards. The networks covered it. Obviously there’d been some planning. The crowds that usually filled the concourse were missing. All the places they visited were empty, except for the people who ran the shops and entertainment locations. The conversation was ongoing, and there was a lot of laughter. Everyone was in a good mood.
We learned during the course of the tour that three of the aliens were males, all smaller than the females. The Ulakans showed considerable interest in souvenirs, several of which the station guys purchased for them. They played games with enthusiasm in the entertainment centers, collected some books and magazines, and even stopped to look at some of the clothing stores, as if they didn’t have enough clothes already. The aspect of it that was most striking was that they bought several jerseys with Skydeck logos. One of the males held a jersey against his chest. Two sleeves, four arms. They all got a good laugh, although it was clear the humans weren’t sure they should join in.
* * *
Chad stopped by the country house a day or so later. He was happy because both his suggestions had been picked up and translated, and were to be passed on to the Ulakans that day. I congratulated him. “Is Sally still on Skydeck?” I asked.
“Yes. They tried doing lunch with Ollie and his friends. Took them to a restaurant that was kept clear for them. They didn’t allow the media in because nobody was sure how it would turn out. They’d talked with Ollie and Neo about food and tried to follow the Ulakans’ suggestions. But I guess the meal didn’t work out, and in the end they went back on board their ship and ate there. But other than that, everything’s gone pretty well. Their books have arrived—the ones they’re getting from us—so I guess they’ll be leaving soon.”
“What do they talk about, Chad? Do you know?”
“In general, how happy both sides are to have found another intelligent species.”
I heard Alex coming down the stairs. Moments later he wandered into the office. “Hello, Chad,” he said. “I hear you’ve become part of the book exchange.”
“Yes, it’s been fun. I’m wondering where I can get some more alien books.”
“It must have felt pretty good to be involved in the process. Chase tells me they picked up both your recommendations.”
“Yes. I was surprised. I didn’t think Sally would go with either of them.”
“Why’s that?”
“The aliens indicated they wanted history and philosophy. In the end she got overwhelmed with suggestions that she thought were a bit heavy.”
“And you gave her Dickens and Greek comedy.”
“Well, yes. Greek theater, really. Though there was some comedy.”
“Well done.”
Chad smiled. “It’s always good to make a contribution to a serious cause.”
“I have to admit,” Alex continued, “I was hoping you’d pick one of Chase’s books.”
His face wrinkled. “They want classics, Alex. Maybe in a hundred years we could try one.”
“I’m kidding. So what’s happening up there? On Skydeck?”
“Not much. Probably getting ready to leave.”
“Do we know yet where they’re from? Where Ulaka is?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know if Ollie and Neo are even able to explain where it is. They’ll probably have to get the AIs talking to one another.”
“Aren’t they going to come down here? The aliens? Spend a couple of days with us?”
“I don’t know, Alex. Probably not. Mostly they’re just hanging around up there talking and listening to music.”
“They like music?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“Sally tells me they love symphonies. Classical stuff.”
“That’s interesting. Do they have music of their own?”
“I don’t know.”
“What else do they do?”
“They went on a tour of Skydeck.”
“I saw that.”
“And they like chess.”
“They know about chess?”
“They do now. Doc taught two of them how to play.” Doc was the Skydeck AI. “They all went into the lobby at the Starlight Hotel. DPSAR provided some chess sets, and a couple of Sally’s people sat down with them to help get them started. Sally tells me they picked up the game pretty quickly. We gave them the sets. A few people came into the hotel and watched from a distance. Eventually they got closer, and in the end it looked as if everyone was having a good time.”
“I guess,” Alex said, “they’re not as scary as the Mutes.”
“They don’t read minds,” I said.
Alex smiled. “As far as we know.”
* * *
The media coverage continued. And it wasn’t all favorable. On Newsdesk, Walton Camry interviewed Senator Ivan Haskin. Haskin wore a thin mustache and had an expression that always reminded me of bad guys in the movies. “How can we be so dumb?” he asked Camry. “They come here with some books and we assume they’re friendly and harmless despite what they look like. I’ll tell you what I think. Could it be a coincidence that right after we find aliens on—what was it?—Korella Six or something, aliens show up here? I’d bet these are the guys who were on Korella. They followed us home. And why are we getting all the crazy talk about books? They’re planning on taking us down. And right now they’re trying to find out whether we can defend ourselves. There’s a famous story out of the early days of the Space Age about aliens who arrive with a menu that includes humans for dinner.”
“You think that’s what’s going on, Senator?”
“It seems more likely than getting a sudden visit from another group of aliens who all seem to be bookstore owners.”
* * *
Blanche McMurtrie, a prize-winning journalist for The Scientific American, got access to the alien vessel and interviewed a couple of the males. Ollie and Neo, they explained, were in charge of the mission. Were the females always in charge? Of course not, they said. The passenger cabin had wide seats to accommodate the extra pairs of arms. Otherwise it didn’t look much different from the cabins we had in our larger vehicles. They surprised her by providing some chocolate chip cookies for her. She tasted one and told her audience they were delicious. The Ulakans confessed they’d gotten them from the hotel.
A psychologist commented afterward that we were learning a good deal about the aliens. About the interests we shared with them. They needed sleep. They had a concern for privacy. They liked games. And of course they read the same kinds of books we did. He stopped to wonder what other kinds of books were possible. There was also the passenger cabin, a place where they could all get together. Mutes normally had only private cabins on their vehicles or in their living quarters. “They don’t look much like us,” he said, “but otherwise we seem to have a great deal in common.”
* * *
We were losing track of the Harbinger mission. The media were concentrating on which books the Ulakans were receiving and what kind of information we were gathering from the books they’d delivered. At first there’d been an assumption that they had come with a list of preferred titles. But they claimed they had no knowledge of what kind of books even existed in our culture. We saw a brief interview with another Ulakan, Krondo Laria, who was identified as the ship’s librarian. They were relatively small, but we never learned whether they were a male. In any case, Krondo said that they had assumed any intelligent civilization would have books concerning what mattered in life, what our existence was really about, where the universe came from, and so on. They assumed that social interaction, e.g., fiction and theater, would also be an essential part of any advanced culture. Afterward, sales of the books we’d given the aliens rose precipitously.
The Ulakans remained at the top of the news. Their books led to endless discussions: they believed in divine purpose, they’d fought wars among themselves, they had democratic systems of government, and they too were appalled at the emptiness of the universe.
And finally it was time for them to go.
Chad joined me at the country house on that final evening. Alex was with us in my office. “Sally tells me,” Chad said, “that they are saying they’ll stay in touch. She says they tried last night to explain where they came from. She thinks they don’t really know themselves. That only the AI actually knows where the home world is. Or maybe they don’t want to reveal the location.”
“So where is it?” I asked Chad. “Did we ever find out?”
“I don’t know. Somewhere over the rainbow.”
* * *
Seven Ulakans said goodbye at a short ceremony in the Starlight lobby. People posed with them for pictures and wished them luck and an enjoyable voyage. They said that if it was okay with us, they would come back. A couple of the spectators told them to go home and stay there. That led to some pushing and shoving. The protesters were escorted outside. A few minutes later the aliens got out of their seats to a round of applause. Then they were gone.
5
Books are vehicles that transport us into worlds far beyond the reach of interstellars.
—Vicki Greene, Wish You Were Here, 1421
Two days later Sally showed up at the country house with three alien books that Alex had asked for. Two of them, Faith: Why Belief Still Matters and Foundations of Civilization, had sold out so quickly he’d been unable to get copies locally. The other one, Cosmic Content and Other Rides into the Night, edited by Los Quendo, had been one of the titles that had shown up belatedly. “Los Quendo is still active,” said Alex. “Or she is. I’m not sure about the gender.”
“She’s a woman,” said Sally, handing him a portfolio. “This is the complete inventory, in case you’d like to pick up any of the others. We’ve tried to get a description of contents for each of them.”
We were in the conference room. “Which have you read?” Alex asked her.
“Parts of several. Only completed one so far. Facing Reality.” She was looking at something far away. “It’s about handling failure and death. They really aren’t much different from us. And I’m pretty sure they don’t kill their males.”
“How long is their life span?” Alex asked.
“We haven’t figured out the numbers yet.”
“You only read one?” I said.
“It’s all I’ve had time for.” She smiled. “I’ve started Foundations of Civilization. I’m only a few pages in, but I’ve already picked up something interesting. They don’t think democratic governments are a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because voters are too easily won over by corrupt politicians. In other words, they’re dumb. The author hasn’t said that straight out, but that’s obviously what she’s thinking.”
“So how do they manage it? Put in a dictator? Somebody told me they have democracies.”
“They do. But they don’t work as well as a philosocracy.”
“A what?”
Sally took a breath. “We don’t have a word that fits the system. They install an AI, one programmed by a team of philosophers and scientists. The AI runs the government. Apparently it’s a pretty good system.” She asked whether either of us had read any of the plays.
I hadn’t.
“One,” said Alex. “Kiyo. A comedy by somebody. I’ve forgotten his name. It was written several thousand years ago.”
“Did you enjoy it?” she asked.
“It was hysterical. I wouldn’t have believed someone could be so funny writing that long ago, let alone a member of an alien race. I’ll be shocked if we aren’t running his plays live before the end of the year.”
“It’s that good?” said Sally.
“Oh, yes.”
She was consulting her notes. “Zon Ockle. He’s a male. He was writing at a time when they didn’t think males could do anything that was seriously creative. Other than sex.”
“Well,” I said, “I guess you expect quality in something you’re handing over to another civilization.”
Alex put the play collection on the table. The title was Skies on Fire. I glanced down at it. “I originally thought it was a physics book.”
