So if the aliens learned the location of Earth from O’Brien’s team (of course, there’s no reason to assume that they did), and immediately mounted an expedition to our planet, we would have over a century to prepare for meeting them.
On the other hand, they could have left Achernar over a century ago, and be right on our doorstep at this moment.
From a statistical point of view, this fear might seem irrational: there are some twenty thousand stars within 115 light-years of Achernar, so why should they single us out?
The answer is that they might be able to detect our civilization. A powerful enough radio receiver in the region of Achernar would at this moment be picking up radio broadcasts that originated on Earth in 1938: undeniable proof of a technological civilization. It’s true that the signals would be weak-we have no radio telescopes, in fact, sensitive enough to detect such a signal. But neither have we mile-long spaceships that travel close to the speed of light.
From what little we know about their behavior and capabilities, it’s impossible to say how great a threat the aliens actually present. But certainly the only prudent course of action is for the Agency to invest all available money and manpower in learning as much as we can about them, as fast as we can.
(On Tuesday, 14 Jan, there will be a meeting of the Psych and PR groups, along with Planning and the Industrial Relations Committee, to discuss funding for Project Bogeyman. All interested personnel are urged to attend. Auditorium B, 13:30.)
37 – CHAPTER TEN
Jacque and Carol gave the funding meeting a miss. But the next morning a predawn call summoned them to Auditorium B anyhow: emergency meeting, no details. With minimal ablutions, no breakfast, and hasty dressing, it still took them forty-five minutes to get to the auditorium. It was almost filled; they took seats in the back.
“Oh shit,” Jacque said as they sat down. “That doesn’t look good.”
The only thing on the stage was a goldfish bowl filled with slips of paper. Carol nodded. “It probably isn’t going to be a raffle.”
John Riley got up from the front row and mounted the stage. In an effort to seem casual, he half-sat (stiffly) on the table that held the goldfish bowl.
“Sorry to haul you out of bed like this. It’s important.
“The physics group got in contact with me around midnight. They’ve found out what the aliens’ weapon is, and have a way to neutralize it.
“Quiet, please, quiet. . . It’s not really good news, not in the long run.”
Dead silence. “Those little, uh, microphone-like things are miniature LMT crystals.
“Yes, I know… . Please. . . quiet. . . . Thank you. It seems odd that they would use starships, however fast, knowing about the Levant-Meyer Translation. Makes you wonder.
“Maybe the amount of time a voyage takes doesn’t mean anything to them. Or it might just be possible that they’ve never experimented with large crystals. That they think of it as a. . . sort of a temporary disintegrating ray. Dr. Sweeney’s report notes that they may lack scientific curiosity. This doesn’t have to be inconsistent with a high level of technology; they could be the decadent descendants of a more vigorous culture, using leftover gadgets that they don’t really understand.
“We can hope that it’s something like that. It would be unpleasant to have them cropping up on our planets. On earth.”
With his finger he stirred the slips of paper in the bowl. “As all of you must know, the LMT field can be deflected up to ninety degrees by a sufficiently strong magnetic field. It’s a simple matter to modify a GPEM suit so that it acts as a large magnet. Simple in principle, anyhow. The engineering and bioengineering people will start work on it today.
“We have to get one of those creatures back here for inspection. We have to know what we’re up against. Somebody has to go get us one.”
He got up and paced two steps, then sat down again. “The last time we were in this room together I told you I wouldn’t ask anybody to volunteer for a suicide mission. Well, this isn’t exactly . . . that. Still, it’s the most dangerous mission any Tamer has ever been asked to do, forewarned.