“This is Ukatonen, an enkar of the Three Rivers Council of the Tendu, here on behalf of his people, and this is my adopted son, Moki,” Juna told them.
The white suits nodded at the Tendu, and the Tendu nodded back.
“Dr. Saari, could you please enlighten us as to the nature of the Tendu’s illness?” one of them asked.
“I am suffering from a malady that we refer to as greensickness,” Ukatonen said.
“I see, and is it contagious?”
“It is what you call psychosomatic. I am out of harmony with the world. I’ve spent too long on this ship, out of touch with the natural world. It has made me sick. Releasing us from quarantine will help us recover,” Ukatonen explained.
Exhausted by the effort of making this speech, the enkar slumped back in his chair. Moki touched his arm, ears spread wide, ochre with concern.
“What has Dr. Caisson found?” Dr. Nyere asked Commander Sussman.
“Louise?” the Commander prompted.
Dr. Caisson rose to speak. “I’ve found nothing. No detectable viruses, no antibodies, and their intestinal flora have not infected any of our test animals. Commander Sussman has included a copy of my report in your briefing folder. I believe you’ll find I’ve been quite thorough.”
“We’ll want to check her results and run some tests of our own,” Nyere told Sussman.
“Of course, Dr. Nyere,” Commander Sussman agreed. “How soon do you think you can finish your tests?”
“We should have some preliminary results in about four days, and our final results in a week.”
“And the quarantine? I have a ship full of people who all want to get home as soon as possible. And there’s the health of the Tendu to be considered as well.”
“We’re not sure when the quarantine will be lifted,” Ambassador Joven told the commander. “I’m afraid that it’s out of our hands.”
“Then whose hands is it in?” Juna inquired. “There’s absolutely no evidence that the Tendu are contagious. No human on board this ship has died or gotten sick. Meanwhile, the first representatives of an alien race ever to visit Earth are growing weaker and more depressed with each passing day. If you keep them cooped up in this ship much longer, Ukatonen may die. What are you proposing to do about this?”
“We’ll do what we can,” Ambassador Joven assured her. “I understand your concerns, Dr. Saari, but we have to take into account the safety of the entire human race.”
“But— ” Juna began. Ukatonen laid a hand on her wrist.
“Ambassador Joven, before coming here, Moki and I agreed to abide by your Alien Contact Protocols. Neither of us would injure a human. We bring nothing but goodwill and a desire for harmony between our two people. How can I convince you that we mean no harm?”
“I appreciate your position, Mr. Ukatonen,” Ambassador Joven said. “I will pass along what you have said to my superiors. I’m sure they will take your expression of friendship and goodwill into consideration.”
That, Juna thought, was one of the most hollow reassurances she’d ever heard.
“Ambassador Joven,” she asked, “who is in charge of lifting the quarantine?”
“That will be a joint decision between the Center for Contagious Diseases and the Interstellar Survey Department, with input from the Department of Defense.”
“I see. Thank you, Ambassador Joven,” Juna said. These officials had no real authority to free them. She looked down at the bland grey plasteel table, fighting back her anger and frustration.
When the meeting let out, Juna and the others accompanied the e-suited officials to the airlock.
’Thank you for coming,” Commander Sussman said as she shook hands. “On behalf of the entire crew, I urge you to lift this quarantine as soon as possible. Not only do we all want to go home, but we’re also concerned about the Tendu.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, Commander,” Ambassador Joven said. “Dr. Saari, Mr. Ukatonen, Moki, Dr. Caisson, it’s been very nice meeting you. We’ll be publicly announcing your arrival in a few more hours. After that, you will be able to contact your families.”
“Thank you, Ambassador,” Juna said, her eyes stinging with tears of longing.
The airlock opened, and Juna found herself peering into it, straining for a glimpse of the outside, though she knew that all there was to see was the closed and locked door to the outside. She looked around and saw that the others were doing the same. Then the inner door swung closed. Juna heard a heavy clunk as the locks were dogged home, the hiss of evacuating air, and the rush of water, as the decontamination cycle started on the other side of the airlock.
“Well,” she said, feeling the sound of the closing door settle like a weight on her soul. “Let’s go sit in the garden until I can call my family.”
Ukatonen, Eerin, and Moki settled themselves in the midst of the circle of sunflowers and bean vines that the gardeners had planted especially for the Tendu. The sunflowers were more than two meters high, with huge, platelike leaves. The bean vines, growing up the sun-flowers’ sturdy stems surrounded them with a curtain of living foliage.
Ukatonen lay flat on his stomach, barely aware of the others. His eyes were closed and his nose brushed the lower leaves of a bean vine, inhaling the scents of earth and growing plants in an attempt to feed the starving place inside. He longed for the wet warmth of the jungles of Tiangi, for the rich, familiar smells of thousands of different plants, animals, and insects growing, breeding, and being eaten by each other. The smell of the rain forest was rich with the smell of life. The smell of this tame garden was as thin and empty as the humans’ clear cold tap water.
The emptiness inside Ukatonen had grown until there was no room for food or pleasure, and barely room for allu-a. He felt like a seed rattling around inside a sun-bleached gourd. In a strong wind he would crumple up and blow away, but there weren’t even any breezes here, only an endless sameness surrounded by a universe full of nothing at all. Even this tiny scrap of a garden couldn’t rescue him from the sterile monotony that had overtaken his spirit. He felt as though he was about to fade away entirely. His eyes slid shut, and he slipped back into the welcome oblivion of sleep.
Juna sat down at her comm unit, her mouth dry with fear. She glanced down at Moki. What if her family didn’t like him? She had left Ukatonen sleeping in the garden. This introduction would be complicated enough. They could meet Ukatonen later. She smoothed her hands against her pant legs, took a sip of water, and punched in the comm address for her father’s house.
The round, pleasant face of her aunt Anetta appeared on the screen, “Hello, Ad Astra Vin— Oh!” Anetta’s blue eyes widened in amazement as she recognized Juna.
“Hei, Netta-Tati, olen palatal”
“Oh, my god! Oh, my god! It’s Juna!” Anetta exclaimed. She started to run away, then stopped and turned back to the comm screen. “I’ll go let everyone know you’re here!”
Juna felt giddy with joy at seeing Aunt Netta again. She squeezed Moki’s shoulder, wishing she could link with him, and share the full intensity of her joy.
Then her nephew, Danan, was there. “Juna-Tdti\ Juna-Tdtil You’re back!”
“//ei, Danan,” she began, then saw her father striding into the comm’s viewfield. “Isi!”
He looked older, his face more creased, his hair whiter than she remembered, but healthy and happy. “Hei, tytar” he said, throwing an arm around Danan’s shoulders, drawing him closer as he sat down to speak with her. “You look almost like a teenager again,” her father teased. “I expected you to look like— ” He broke off awkwardly, not wanting to bring up her transformation.