There was a moment’s pause while the scientists were contacted. Much of the global population, I understood, must have been awake and following events, and a response came through quickly. It seemed that after the explosion I had fallen within reach of the slider hole, and the quick-thinking scientist had just reached through with his arms – his head had not passed through the hole.
A series of experiments was quickly organised; with both the Assembly and the Council convened, the saurians were anxious not to waste the opportunity. Less than an hour later, everything was ready once more, the saurians on both worlds waiting expectantly. The slider machine was powered up again and the hole flicked into life. On the S1 side, a volunteer came forward and gingerly approached the machine. He reached an arm through the hole. On the viewscreens, it could be clearly seen passing through to S2. He reported no ill effects other than a tingling feeling. He then carefully moved his head towards the hole, while the Assembly held its collective breath. As his skull began to make contact, he reported a sudden dizziness and withdrew.
The next test involved one of the grazing animals which had been lassoed and hauled into the arena. Both worlds watched in fascination as the animal was unceremoniously bundled through the hole. It emerged on the other side, shook its head in irritation, but otherwise seemed normal. It was about to start grazing on the longer and moister grass on S2 when a tug of the rope brought it back again, bleating protest. The disgruntled animal was led out of the arena while the experiment went to the next stage.
This time it was one of the workers from S2 – a group which had no mind-linking ability. The Rulers had evidently not bothered to advise her of the risk, as she hopped readily through to S1 before turning and hopping back again. A brief conversation followed – the strange sound of saurian voices over the audio link never failing to send a shiver down my spine – and a translation was shared immediately; she had felt a slight dizziness, but no other ill effects.
The final stage involved another volunteer from S1. An up-and-down ramp was placed through the hole and a low, four-wheeled trolley pushed close to it. The volunteer sat on the trolley and adopted a crouched-down rest position while another saurian briefly touched his head, rendering him unconscious. The trolley was then pushed up the ramp and through the hole. The S1 Ambassador, who had mostly recovered from his ordeal, was on hand to bring the volunteer back to consciousness again. This time, no ill effects were reported, and there was a collective sigh of relief around the arena.
We were now ready to complete the exchange, but then a problem cropped up. The S2 Representative was most unwilling to let down his mental defences sufficiently to permit anyone to make him unconscious. A hum of debate followed; Primo explained that for an S2 Ruler, letting down his guard was equivalent to a human undressing in public. It took some noisy debate among the Council – who evidently preferred to retain oral communication among themselves – before the reluctant Representative was sufficiently reassured (or bribed with some trade benefits, the translators suggested) and duly wheeled through and revived.
He was greeted with due formality and invited to the Assembly building for refreshments. I tailed along at the back of the throng, observing with interest as those Assembly members who had learned his language engaged him in conversation. His mind was firmly closed, speech only being used, but the meeting appeared to be going quite well (apart from some disappointment on his part at the restricted fare on offer) until random shifts in the movement of the Assembly members left a clear space between us. As luck would have it, he turned and saw me. He stopped speaking and stared in shock, then his mental barriers dropped and I needed no translation of his thought: ‘WHAT IS THAT??!!’
I made myself scarce during the next half-hour’s intensive video briefing on the human worlds in general, and me in particular. Afterwards, I was introduced to the dazed Representative. He was attempting to maintain an iron control of his emotions, but they were so strong that they still leaked through. I had never experienced such intense physical revulsion before, even from the most prejudiced human. He just stared, and said nothing in response to my translated greeting. I bowed slightly and made my exit.
The Convenor did not join us that evening, engaged as she was in trying to mollify the stunned and outraged Representative, but Primo had been staying close to the exchanges and gave us a full report.
‘We didn’t anticipate such a reaction. With the benefit of hindsight, we perhaps should have done. We on S1 had known about the existence of humanity for centuries, and become entirely used not just to the fact of your existence but also to your – forgive me – rather bizarre physical appearance.’ He seemed slightly embarrassed, and rushed on. ‘From our perspective, you actually look a lot better than other humans.’ He paused, his confusion increasing.
I grinned wickedly at him. ‘Keep digging!’
He ruefully recovered his composure and carried on. ‘On S2 they have not had the benefit of such preparation. They were certain that they were the only intelligent life ever to have lived. It was rather a shock to them to discover the parallel saurian worlds, and they were concerned about the evident differences in our philosophy and society, but the revelation about humanity is at least an order of magnitude more disturbing for them. Not the best of starts.’
‘It would have been worse if they had discovered later, as they inevitably would. Then they would have added mistrust of you for concealing our existence to their grievances. So what happens now?’
‘The parallel visits will go on as planned. We will be taking the Representative around our world to show him how we live, and also trying to get him used to the existence of humanity. Our Ambassador has a rather different role, as we already have a broad if superficial knowledge of S2; he will be trying to sound out their attitudes, to determine where they may be flexible and what their sticking points are.’
‘How will the Representative be travelling around?’
‘In one of the big beam-powered airships, like the one we arrived in.’
I felt uneasy. ‘I hope it isn’t the one with the slider machine. I think you should keep those devices under close guard.’
Primo regarded me thoughtfully. ‘You think he would try to gain control?’
‘I think it is entirely possible. All he would have to do is arrange via his headnet for a force of soldiers to be concealed at a particular place, then find an excuse to persuade your people to open a hole there. The troops would rush in and seize the airship.’
The saurians all stared at me, radiating a strange mixture of admiration and distaste. ‘You have a remarkable imagination.’ Tertia remarked. ‘However do you think of such things?’
‘Just part of the rich tapestry of human experience. I’m prepared to bet one thing, though; from what I’ve seen and sensed of the inhabitants of S2, their thought patterns are much closer to mine than yours.’
Primo nodded reluctantly. ‘Very well, we have time to call in one of the other beam ships, I think it is not far away. And we will remove some critical parts of the slider machine here and keep them safe until we need to use it. There is only one other machine in existence, and that is on another continent, with the scientists who developed it.’ He thought for a moment. ‘In any case, on the airship we could just shut off the power beam. He would only be able to use it until the on-board power ran out, which wouldn’t be long.’