Good for Turner. He had actually read some of the books I’d lent him.
“But father, there’s still time. There must be another way.”
Turner was quiet at this. His face told me he was as baffled as I.
Stella must have sensed that we were standing there. She gestured with a hand behind her back for us to go away. Daddyo didn’t miss much, though. “Stella? Is Dr. Turner with you?”
“Yes, Father.”
“And someone else?”
“Yes.”
“You were not to reveal yourself to others. You were not to become involved with the natives. You know how important that is, don’t you?”
“Yes, Father. I—”
“It’s OK, Stella,” I called out. “We’re gonna grab a bite to eat so you two can have some privacy.” I waved at the old coot. “Hi, Mr. McFarland.”
The old guy did a damned human double take. I dragged Turner out of there, hoping Stella would smooth things over with “Dad.”
Doc and I went to the kitchen. We found some food and I found an appetite I didn’t expect to have. Surprise, surprise.
Turner ate without any interest, looking at me like he expected something.
“Well? What do you make of that, Mr. Security?”
“It’s a real estate deal, Doc.”
“No, no. That’s just her cover.” Then he added, real condescending, “I’m afraid there’s more going on here than the sale of some acres of desert and sagebrush.”
“That’s right. A lot more.”
He stopped in mid-bite.
“See, Doc? Maybe they have got a couple thousand years before they get slammed by the cloud from the supernova—though with the matter/anti… eh… mirror matter fireworks I suspect they have less time than that—but that’s not what’s important here. What’s important is their window of opportunity to make their getaway. I think Stella is house hunting.
“That’s it! To them this is just a little real estate transaction. But Stella committed the biggest no-no in the real estate game. Realtors, like her old man, would rather the buyer and the seller never get together. But now she knows us, and might sympathize with us. We should work that to our advantage.”
“Earth?” Duh! Now he was a step behind me. I liked that for a change.
“Of course, Earth. Figure it. They’re losing their lease on the old antihomestead. And now their feet are being put to the fire. They have the ability to beam their whole population here, like they did Stella. But first they’ve got to relocate the current tenants (us), although, considering how advanced they are, it’ll be more like fumigation. Maybe Stella’s just doing a termite report.”
“No, I can’t believe they’d—”
“Oh, of course they’d—say, what exactly have you learned so far from Stella? No, wait. Let me guess. Planet size, orbital and rotational data, composition of the atmosphere, and some geography and geopolitical tidbits. Wake up and smell the coffee, Doc! Big picture time. They’re kicking us out!”
“No—”
“Yes! Stella probably knows it’s our death sentence, no matter how her people might candy-coat it. Look at our own history. Any clash between the more and the less advanced has always been murder for the primitives. No exceptions. It’s not going to be a real estate deal actually—more like the ultimate land grab. I can just hear them justify it to themselves; ‘manifest destiny,’ or ‘the natives are not making good use of the property.’ It’s just a lousy land ripoff.”
“How… ?”
“How’s easy. They can do it. You should know that better than me. It won’t be pretty, but it will be efficient.”
Turner looked worried, then dubious, then he smiled. “Really, Kirk. This time your imagination has definitely run away with you.”
“Oh yeah?” I was fed up with this. “Sometimes what’s real is so bizarre that only imagination will let you see what’s going on. You’d better get with Ibis program now, Doc. I’ll need your help, if we’re going to nip this in the bud. They’re vulnerable now, but won’t be for long.”
“How so?” Humoring me, I could hear it.
“Listen, Mr. Know-It-All. This is the ultimate security problem, and remember, I am security. Now, chances are this place is just one undefended receiver at the moment. We might be able to knock it out. After all, we don’t design security systems to guard against ants. So maybe they aren’t too worried about us at the moment. If we can disable this place, they’ll have to send another probe, and it’ll get here thousands of years too late.”
“Condemning a billion of my people to a slow, horrible death.” I never would have believed that her golden honey voice could carry so much misery.
Stella was standing in the entrance. I don’t know how much she had overheard. For a second I felt as if I’d been caught red-handed by a prison guard, planning sabotage and escape. But we’re such slaves to our eyes, aren’t we? Her beauty was all I could see, all talk of aliens forgotten. All I saw was her red eyes and sad face, and all that pulchritude and innocence. And so that’s what she was in my mind. She had been mine, and all the facts in the world (in two worlds) wouldn’t erase what I felt for her.
She came over and collapsed into a chair, looking haunted again. “Father talked about resettlement camps and sharing resources, but I think you’re right, Kirk. No matter what I do, billions of people will die.”
I went around behind her chair and started to massage her neck. “Then don’t do anything yet.” Tight muscles straining to relax under my fingers. Her silky hair caressing the backs of my hands. I closed my eyes and saw a comet racing back to the Oort cloud. I felt a chill and opened my eyes. I was losing her, I thought. She’d never really been mine. I couldn’t ignore that anymore. I’d have to do something soon to prove I was in her league. Time for a home run, or get sent back to the minors. “There’s got to be another option, Stella. Doc’s a smart guy. He’ll think of something.”
She shook her head, her hair driving the skin on my hands crazy. “They want me to initiate auto-intelligence. That’s an active security system here. Once I do that everything will be out of my hands.”
“Then stall them.”
“Kirk, I can’t let you destroy this place. It’s the only hope my people have.”
“If we promise not to do anything, will you hold off turning your security system on?”
This was it. Either she’d go with the muscle-bound bullies back home, or she d throw her lot in with two human geeks. I hoped that her human DNA, along with some recent memories, would save us. And the rest of humanity too, of course.
I stopped massaging, let my hands rest on her shoulders, and held my breath. The unreality of it all hit me. I could feel her crying. Her sobs became the only truth for me, the only thing that kept me in the game. The rest of it was still true, I guess, but seemed as unreal as a R K. Dick novel. For me, the threat to Earth was only a thought experiment—a detective mystery to be solved. Nothing rode on the outcome… except Stella’s happiness.
She got up and came into my arms for what felt like the last hug you give someone in an airport. “They made me too human. I’m not strong enough. Hold me. Please just hold me.” Which I did, for a long, long time, our bodies saying goodbye.
But I didn’t want it to be goodbye. I didn’t. She was a human. She would never have any kind of life with her own people. The only life she could hope for would be the life she could make here. Why shouldn’t that life be with me?