“. . . never mind, I’ll just go on in,” the voice boomed, and in he came, tall and bulky, straight up and down as a post, white hair and broad shoulders, a drill-sergeant Santa Claus, seeming to take up all the air in the room just by saying hello. She recognized him at once, both from having heard him speak and from the constant news coverage he received. He crossed to the congressman, who was gaping, one hand holding the cube, the other raised in surprised greeting.
“Good to see you, son, and what the hell’s that?” the general asked, grasping the congressman’s free hand. He gave it one quick pump, then took the cube from the other hand, like a child finding a surprise . . .
And they all went somewhere else.
The three of them seemed to be standing in space, far, far out in space, with galaxies whirling and dust clouds gently surging and a godlike voice speaking from the center of the universe, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen of the human race, may we introduce ourselves. We are of the Pistach people, originally of a double star system toward the center of your galaxy and ours, long-time space farers, who have recently become aware of the interest your race has expressed in the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence.”
The scene changed abruptly to a mountain trail, where the three of them stood on an outcropping of rock watching two uniformed persons who looked only slightly exotic handing the cube to Benita, then bowing and departing. The godlike voice went on: “It is our habit to approach a single member of a new race to receive our initial contact. Despite your recent spate of fables concerning alien abduction, no one from your planet has been abducted. We can find out all we need to know about any creature without kidnapping or vivisecting it. We choose this method of introducing ourselves to limit the risk which always comes with surprise. We are happy that our message has been brought to (. . . click, click, click . . .) General Wallace and (. . . click, click, click . . .) Congressman Alvarez by (click, click) his kinswoman, Benita Alvarez, and we ask that you take this message to the highest authorities of your nation.”
They were abruptly back in the congressman’s office.
“What in the hell,” breathed the general, staring down at the cube in his hands, which hummed softly inside its deep blue self.
“Don’t ask me,” cried the congressman, sinking into his chair. “She brought it!”
“I gathered as much,” snapped the general. “I’m not blind.”
He turned on Benita with his brows drawn together, obviously ready to pounce. “When, madam? And where?”
“Well, actually,” she said weakly, “it was Saturday. Day before yesterday. And I thought of taking it to the governor, but he’s really such a flake. And then I decided the congressman, only evidently he wasn’t authority enough, because it didn’t say a word to him . . .”
“I’d only held it for a moment,” murmured the congressman defensively, flushing angrily.
“. . . and they didn’t look like that, either,” she concluded, rather annoyed at the fact.
“What do you mean?” the general demanded.
“The ones who spoke to me didn’t look like people, and their ship was in the background, and they had a reference machine they used all the time when they talked to me.”
“What do you mean they didn’t look like people,” snarled the general.
Her annoyance grew. “The beings who spoke to me were not humans, sir. I think they must change their appearance to be acceptable to whomever they are addressing.”
“Meaningyou w ould accept non-humans?”
She simmered down, thinking. “Well, I guess that’s true, yes. I would. I watch a lot of crazy things on TV, so I’ve become used to the idea. And I’ve never been afraid of animals or bugs or things.”
“Don’t move,” said the general, crossing to the congressman’s desk, picking up the phone and punching in strings of numbers. He turned his back on them and mumbled into the mouthpiece, covering his mouth with his hand. The cube, left behind on the low table, began to squeal.