A Simple Truth (30 page)

"No
,
of course not, there is no need to blame yourselves.  It was quite understandable in the circumstances."  'No need to blame ourselves
,
' thought Knight, this was magnanimity in the extreme.

"You said 'we'
,"
continued Sharma, still detached, "yet we have only spoken to yourself.  How d
o
your colleagues know?"

When I say 'we' I refer to the beings who are responsible for this craft and for the development work that represents our purpose.  We are in continuous contact with each other and can also operate through the Scouts, seeing through their eyes and performing tasks through their bodies when necessary.  I am using the Scout that you see before you as an instrument of communication." 

"Do the Scouts not object to being used in that way
?"
asked Knight, feeling foolish even as he asked the question.

"Their genetic structure has been designed specifically to permit remote access, it is quite natural for them and they do not suffer any physical or mental discomfort.

"And
do
you control the Scouts all the time
?"
persisted Knight in fascination.

"No, most of the time they carry out their tasks without our intervention.  In fact in your first contact with the Scouts they were acting without external influence.  The young ones were investigating the skin breach when you were discovered and they summoned the nearest adult who deduced what had happened and took you to where you would find air, food and water.  It was only later when you were detected in one of the transport tubes that we became aware of your presence.  Even then we did not take active control of the situation, we just asked the Scout to bring you here so that we could find out more about you.  Only when you refused to comply with the Scout's wishes was it necessary for him to seek assistance."

"That certainly explains the difference in behaviour
,"
observed Sharma, "but if this Scout is only a machine then where and what are you?"

"You are quite wrong to refer to the Scouts as machines
.  T
hey are alive, conscious and very intelligent.  They have a highly developed sense of community and care for each other and especially their young with great devotion.  They are our friends, we depend on them and they depend on us."

Knight struggled to suppress a smile at his colleague's gentle reprimand.

"With respect to ourselves, you may refer to us as Guardians.  We occupy small areas of some of the more central spheres, we do not require much space as we are not very mobile and there are only a few hundred of us."

"Can you describe your appearance to us
?"
asked Knight, a little apprehensive as to what these real aliens might be like.

"I can do better than that
,"
he replied helpfully, "this equipment will project my image for you."

The Scout stepped aside to allow an uninterrupted view, and b
efore them materialised a three-
dimensional figure
in mid-
air below the inverted dome.  The immediate impression that struck Knight was of a large pale blue sombrero.  It had a flat circular base about a metre in diameter and on it was supported a tall rounded cone perhaps half a metre in diameter at the base tapering to about fifteen centimetres at the top, the whole thing about a metre and a half tall.  As they watched there began a gentle pulsing of the brim,
somewhat similar to
the action of a large jellyfish.  And its slight translucence further encouraged the impression of a jelly-like texture.

As he studied that strange creature Lincoln
was filled with a deep humility
,
h
umility and fear.  That being had power, intelligence and knowledge beyond humanity's wildest imagination.  It would be easy to laugh, to scoff at its appearance, to label it an educated jellyfish.  In fact such were the remarks going round the control room right now.  But to submit to such temptation was to debase the intellect of which even a human was capable.

The evolutionary process that had culminated in the formation of these beings was immensely complex.  The
y
were no jellyfish.  Aeons ago they had manipulative faculties, they had developed skills and abilities to enable them to survive and prosper against whatever adversaries and competition threatened them.  Only after their domination had become total, their position unassailable, could they evolve further.  Only then could they develop to the point where effectively all they had left was a mind and a means of communication.  Perhaps they had even abandoned their physical senses.  Perhaps their power of direct perception was non-existent.

Its appearance was completely unthreatening, and yet Lincoln knew that this very appearance signified a greater threat and an infinitely more dangerous creature than the most formidable and terrifying monster imaginable.  This was an utterly different prospect from the comic scouts.  This creature was physically defenceless, and the only possible reason was that it could command unchallengeable power.

Yet these creatures, these alien beings had played an unknown but critical part in the evolution of humanity.  Somehow they had intervened in the normal evolutionary process to adjust our development.  Something had gone wrong, that was what the
Guardian
had
claimed
;
things were not as they had intended or anticipated.  Lincoln was convinced that they did not yet realise just how wrong things had gone.  Did they know we had a h
istory of bloodshed and cruelty;
that we were slowly but remorselessly crowding out almost every other animal on the planet, including their very own marine mammals?  Lincoln felt sure they did not.  If they knew what we had done, what sort of animal we were,
what the true consequences of their intervention had been,
would they be chatting with us so amicably?  Lincoln doubted it.  But soon they would know all these things, we could wait and let them find out for themselves, or we could take the initiative and make a clean breast of everything.  For although only he seemed to suspect it as yet, Lincoln felt that this might well be the day of judgement, that these beings might well be our gods, and that if so humanity would certainly be found wanting.

The conversation that engrossed everyone else had lost its fascination for Lincoln.  The sooner humanity's sins were confessed and the alien reaction known the happier he would be.  He knew that they would not be capable of anything so base as fury or even anger, but they might well consider that action should be taken that was in the best interests of the planet's life
forms as a whole, and that action would certainly not be in humanity's best interests.

He walked quietly over to Naganda who was as absorbed as all the others in the discourse going on overhead.  He explained briefly his fears and Naganda listened soberly.  Without a word he lightly touched his communication officer on the arm, and indicated for Lincoln to take his place.  This was a task he would rather have had Naganda undertake, but it was he who had first recognised the delicacy of the human position, so he accepted that it should fall to him to explain his fears to the as yet blissfully ignorant ambassadors out there on the front line.  He only hoped that they would quickly grasp the gravity of the situation and plead humanity's case with suitable eloquence.

"I have received a signal from earth
,"
said
Sharma, embarrassed.  His suit was equipped with a coded
communication
receiver.  "Is there somewhere my colleague and I can talk privately?"  Sharma was keenly aware of how rude this request was and felt acutely displeased at Lincoln for putting him in this position. 

Their host seemed surprised but played the perfect diplomat.  "Of course, I shall wait outside for as long as you wish.  Perhaps you will come to the entrance when your business is complete?" 

"Please forgive this discourtesy but it is evidently a matter of some importance
,"
apologised Knight inadequately.  A few seconds later they were alone.

"I fear we may have offended our visitors
,"
began Knight in a tone that indicated contained resentment, but as he listened to what Lincoln had to say his resentment evaporated and was replaced by an overwhelming anxiety.

18
   
C
onfession

"Please forgive our rudeness
,"
said Sharma as the
Scout
re-entered, "but there is something that we must explain, something that is very painful to us and that you should hear from our own lips rather than find out later."

"Oh
,"
responded the
Guardian
, "then please explain by all means."

Knight seated himself once more while Sharma stood uncomfortably before the Scout.

"The human race
,"
he began hesitantly, "has done and is still doing things of which no-one is proud.  Individually
people are general
ly
sensible, logical, reasonable, and act with care and consideration for others.  But the race as a whole
,
and
some
nations
and
groups
under the control of powerful leaders
often behave stupidly, without sense or reason, and sometimes with great cruelty."

Sharma stopped, suddenly overcome by the knowledge that his words and the way he phrased them might well mean the difference between life and death for humanity.

"Please go on
,"
encouraged the
Guardian
, but without further comment.

"As a result
,"
he struggled to continue, "we have fought many wars and treated each other very badly indeed.  Throughout history we have dominated and even exterminated weaker societies, and wherever any animal has competed with us or been useful to us we have destroyed or exploited it.  You have told us that you have assisted in the evolution of the marine mammals.  The whales are one such creature that we have been able to use so we have hunted and killed them until very recently, for the most part beyond the level at which sufficient numbers c
an
survive, so that now
many
species are extinct."

Sharma searched the Scout's eyes for any sign of horror, disgust or bitterness.  There was none.  But then he would probably not recognise the signs anyway.  He dare not assume that there was no reaction simply because there appeared to be none.  He fell silent.  There was no point in saying more at this stage, he had said enough for a reaction to be given.  It only remained to wait and see what that reaction would be.

For about t
en seconds no-one spoke.  It was a long time.  Mankind waited for judgement, for hatred, for indifference, for understanding, or for pity.  Which would it be?  As the seconds ticked by the hope for understanding diminished and the prospect of retribution increased.  Silence signified shock, and a silence as long as this indicated the depth of shock.  Sharma reseated
himself;
it seemed pointless to stand with nothing further to say.  Presently the
Guardian
began to speak.

"We are deeply saddened to hear what you have told us.  We shall of course need to learn much more, but we are at least heartened by the fact that you have seen fit to tell us, by the fact that you yourselves recognise that your nature has a very dark side, a side that is clearly too strong for you to resist."  His voice took
on a softer and sadder tone. 
"
W
e are particularly distressed to hear about the whales."  Then, speaking slowly, as if to himself rather than to Knight and Sharma, added
,
"You
can have no idea
of the damage that you have done."  He stopped at that point, and an icy shiver ran down Lincoln's spine.

After a few seconds more the
Guardian
began again, more cheerfully.  "What you have told us demonstrates clearly the tensions and contradictions that arise when an emotionally immature race develops the capacity to make complex tools and exploit natural forces.  Its power grows and rapidly outstrips the ability to control it.  There is much work to do to try to rebalance your progress, but we are very hopeful
, particularly so because you clearly recognise your own shortcomings
.  We are
also
confident that the fact that we are here and that our purpose is now known to you will help considerably.  We shall need to discover why the divergence occurred in the first place by studying deeply your racial nature, then we must work together to strengthen your weaknesses and to bring your strengths under proper control."

So that was the judgement, we were not a lost
cause;
we were to be assisted to improve our development.  The truth of the
Guardian
's words was inescapable, we were indeed a mass of contradictions and tensions
;
the
Guardian
s' help in bringing our awesome power under control could well represent our salvation.  Lincoln's relief was total.  It was far better than he had dared
to
hope.  At best he thought they m
ight
have been indifferent to humanity's behaviour, but as it was they understood our baser nature and were encouraged by our conscience.