And then the war had gone badly and some of the aliens had started having second thoughts.
Jill frowned. “How was the decision made?” She asked. “Who voted?”
Henry looked at the alien, interested.
“All voted,” the alien said. “But voting blocs split.”
Henry puzzled over the statement, then pushed it to one side until he had more data. The alien clearly thought he understood the underlying assumptions, that he possessed knowledge of a culture he lacked. Perhaps he, too, would have the same problems explaining human culture and society to the aliens. They’d put a naked man in the same cell as a naked woman without ever understanding why that might be a problem.
We need more data, he thought, recalling all the briefings they’d been given. The researchers had come up with hundreds of theories, but none of them had actually been proven. He was looking right at a source of data and he couldn’t even think what to ask. How do these bastards think?
“My people want peace,” he said. The human race had nothing to gain from a war with an alien race, particularly if they could agree on a border instead. Hell, they could share the border worlds without bumping into one another. “You need to talk to us.”
“We have tried,” the alien stated. “It failed.”
“It failed because your War Faction stopped it,” Henry said. “You could try again.”
The alien eyed him unblinkingly. “And your people would listen to us?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “They will listen.”
“Take us with you,” Jill said. “We can tell them you want peace.”
“The War Faction does not want peace,” the alien said. “That is why it is called the War Faction.”
Henry blinked. Had that been a joke? Or was the alien making a simple statement of fact? It might mean something more to the aliens, to their way of thinking, than it did to the humans listening to it.
He took a breath. “Space is immense,” he said. “There is room for both of our races to grow and thrive. You would gain more by working with us and trading with us than you would gain from fighting with us. Take us with you, let us talk to our people, and we can convince them to talk properly.”
The alien shivered, very slightly. “It will be considered,” it said. “They will debate it.”
Jill smiled. “How does your government work?”
“All talk,” the alien said. “All decide.”
“You said that before,” Henry said. He rose to his feet and started to pace the cell. “But how does it work?”
“All talk,” the alien repeated. “All decide.”
Henry scowled, then peered into the murky water, catching sight of a handful of strange-looking fish as they swam past. The sight reminded him of fishing in the Scottish Highlands, one of the few memories he had that weren’t tainted by the media or gold-diggers. Fish had swum in schools, if he recalled correctly, making their way through the water until they were caught by humans…
He stopped dead. Did the aliens swim in schools?
Communism had never worked — for humans. There was plenty of evidence that proved communism was nothing more than a repulsive historical nightmare — for humans. The communists eventually needed to create tools of coercion to make people behave, which in turn eventually created a dictator or a dictatorship of the party, of those judged ideologically sound enough to hold power. Or it simply fell apart, if done on anything above a very small scale. There had been a handful of asteroids ruled by communist regimes. None of them had lasted very long.
But would it work for the aliens?
The briefings had speculated on just how living under the water might have shaped the alien character. They’d have access to an infinite supply of food, ensuring there was no need for distribution networks or mediums of exchange like money, and they could simply swim off and find another school if they found the current one distasteful. Could they actually make a government for the people, of the people, work? Humans had real problems with unfettered democracy. The aliens might have managed to make it work.
And then…
Ethnic streaming, he thought. After Terra Nova, the human race had quietly resolved to separate planets by ethnic and national groups. Too many ethnic groups in close proximity led to war, ethnic cleansing and eventually genocide, particularly if they were historical enemies and had leaders keeping the old hatreds alive. What would that do to the aliens?
“The War Faction,” he said, slowly. “It controls entire planets, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” the alien said.
Henry swallowed as everything fell into place. The aliens had social groups, but they were united by shared politics and ambitions, not survival. Minor disputes could be tolerated, he suspected, but larger disputes would end with the disgruntled minorities heading off to join other schools of thought. Given enough time, the schools would become echo chambers, with members repeating the same beliefs and perceptions over and over again. The War Faction presumably believed that humans were a colossal threat. They weren’t paying any attention to any evidence that might suggest otherwise…
Because it would be forbidden, he thought.
The aliens had spread out through the tramlines, just like humanity. They’d used their own form of ethnic streaming to settle other worlds, just like humanity. And, in doing so, they’d made it harder for the schools of thought to even hear about other ideas, let alone adapt and adjust their own in light of new evidence. The War Faction had presumably been warlike long before they’d discovered the human race, just like the humans who had believed in building up the various interstellar navies. And then they’d stumbled across proof they were right all along.
“We have to talk to our people,” he said. “Can you arrange a meeting?”
“We would have to pass through space controlled by the War Faction,” the alien said. It had clearly been in silent contact with its supervisors. “It will not be safe.”
Henry smiled. “We don’t mind danger…”
“Speak for yourself,” Jill muttered.
“…And we will take the risk, in hopes of forging a peace,” Henry said. “But can you convince the War Faction to see reason?”
“They will talk,” the alien stated. “Other factions will also talk. A decision will be reached.”
Henry glanced at Jill and winced. If he was right, the War Faction would be reluctant to listen to reason. They’d think they had good reason to continue the war.
“We will depart soon,” the alien said. “You will be transferred to a ship.”
“Thank you,” Henry said. “Can we discuss other matters too?”
The alien looked at him. “We can,” it said, finally. “But we will have to leave soon.”
Henry nodded, then sat down facing the alien. If he was right… he thought he knew what questions to ask now. And if he was wrong…
He shook his head. At least the aliens were mounting a peace mission now. And maybe the other factions could convince the War Faction to stop the war.
Sure, he thought. And maybe pigs will fly.
Chapter Nine
“Admiral on Deck!”