“We request that you do not use our intermediary’s personal name when speaking of her to your media. Speak only ofthe intermediary. We ask this because we are athyci and the first rule of an athyco is to harm the least possible. Change always involves some trauma and displacement, but it should always be the least possible. It is not ethical to cause or allow destruction of the tranquil life of an innocent person, this is part of Tassifoduma. Currently there are many such small matters that need adjustment.
“Do you have any questions?”
No one said anything until General McVane blurted in a choked voice, “What gives you the right to come here and tell us what to do?”
The two Indian woman swiveled toward him, fixing him with four eyes that, it seemed to Benita, were actually far more numerous than that. “We have the ethical duty, imposed upon us by our ancestors, to help other peoples achieve Neighborliness. Only if that proves impossible or unwelcome will we go away, though by that time, of course, other Confederation races may have learned you are here. We cannot go away, however, until we have made the attempt. Also, we must work not merely with leaders but also with the people, for we came from a whole people, our people, to the whole people of this world.”
“How do we know you can do what you say you can?” McVane demanded, half shouting.
“General McVane!” said the SOS, warningly.
“He may ask the question,” said Lara in a strange, humming tone. “It is always permitted to ask questions, even so rudely as he has done. Since you have been so discourteous as to doubt our word, you will have your answer by tomorrow, General McVane. We will leave you now. We are aware this meeting is being recorded by various devices, and it is our will that these devices shall on this one occasion be allowed to function, though in future we will prevent any such invasion of our privacy.”
Indira bowed to the table, Lara rose and joined her at the head of the table where they bade farewell to the First Lady and the SOS and then, just as General Wallace was getting to his feet, they disappeared.
A recording made of the entire evening caught much of the conversation and the disappearance of the aliens, at which point the tape showed the other diners sitting stunned, most of them with their mouths open. General McVane ran for the door and began shouting at someone. Mr. Riley spoke to the FL. Men from outside came in. Men from inside went out. When Benita pulled herself together, she saw that the SOS had moved into Indira’s chair and was leaning across the table toward her.
“Were you expecting that de facto appointment as ambassador-in-chief?” she asked in a slightly irritated voice.
Benita shook her head, no, muttering, “I didn’t even know they expected me to continue doing anything!”
The First Lady spoke to the SOS. “I was watching her face and the announcement took her by surprise as much as it did us.” She took a deep breath and patted Benita’s arm, whispering, “You were also surprised when they disappeared?”
Benita gulped. “They didn’t disappear when I saw them before. They got in their ship and flew away.”
“They disappeared when they met with the president,” said the SOS, in a less abrasive tone. She and the FL nodded sympathetically. “Why did they choose you?”
Benita was surprised to find the question made her angry. Why shouldn’t they have chosen her! “Everyone has asked that. Congressman Alvarez. The general. Even the president asked me that. I suppose they wanted an ordinary person, with ordinary concerns and ordinary problems. I’m a thus-far underpaid minority working mother with an alcoholic husband. They couldn’t have picked anyone much more ordinary than that.”
“And two children in college as the result of your hard work,” sniffed the SOS, giving her an admonitory look.
“There is that,” she said, suddenly amused. “You’ve been checking up on me?”
“Of course the FBI has been investigating you. They even got some hair from your hairbrush back in Albuquerque so they could match it to your blood, just to be sure you’re the real you.”