When he was once more in orbit around TMV-I, he connected to Sopha’s base controller and uploaded its entire database. He set up the parameters for a search-and-compare analysis. The computer gave a runtime estimate of twenty hours. He started it and sat back with an angry sigh.
***
“James Able?”
“This is he.”
“Greetings, James Able. This is Margrev Aplar. The message system is restored. You will find a message for you.”
“Okay, what does it say?”
“It was not I who sent it.”
“I’ll check it.”
“We will meet again soon.”
#
g101VnectVlatsinVux
Greetings, James Able of Earth.
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I greet you in the name of our people.
I look forward to meeting with you in person.
I have decided, in the light of recent events, that our people should unite to show one face to our neighbors from other worlds.
I request that you join us for an introductory meeting at the Great Hall of the Government tomorrow morning.
You will find this in the city of Arnarchara.
I will arrange for City Lawn to the west of the Great Hall to be cleared for your landing.
Two cultural ambassadors will be assigned to you upon your arrival to guide you and answer any questions you may have before the meeting.
jisporaVflacVmeblishVnrc
#
jisporaVflacVmeblishVnrc
Greetings, Jispora Flac.
It is with great pleasure that I accept your most gracious invitation.
I, too, look forward to our first meeting.
James Able
g101VnectVlatsinVux
#
madharVnectVlatsinVux
Greetings, Madhar Nect.
I am relieved to see order has returned.
Are you okay?
I have received my summons to the Great Hall of Government. Will you be there?
g101VnectVlatsinVux
#
margrevVaplarVregde2Vopp
Greetings, Margrev Aplar.
I am glad to see your efforts have been successful.
What can you tell me about the meeting to which I have been invited?
g101VnectVlatsinVux
#
g101VnectVlatsinVux
Greetings, James Able.
Yes, our efforts have been rewarded with success.
I will be answering your questions when you land in Arnarchara tomorrow.
margrevVaplarVregde2Vopp
#
“Okay, cultural ambassador,” Jim said to the screen. “So, the Regdenir are taking a high profile, are they?”
#
g101VnectVlatsinVux
Greetings, Jim Able.
Perhaps I should be grateful that I am alive, and even grateful to the tree-climbers that they still hold some influence.
But then, I just lost out on a huge TV deal to my rivals in the news organization. It is they who will cover the first official visit of an alien to our people, not Science World.
Life is cruel sometimes, Jim Able.
How is your partner? Are its injuries severe? Will it be with us tomorrow?
madharVnectVlatsinVux
#
madharVnectVlatsinVux
Greetings, Madhar Nect.
Tella was badly injured and transferred to another craft with better facilities than this one. I have hopes that Tella will survive.
How are relations with the Regdenir? I hear they will have a role in tomorrow’s meeting.
g101VnectVlatsinVux
#
g101VnectVlatsinVux
Greetings, Jim Able.
I would rather talk to you in person about the Regdenir.
Their role in all this is still not entirely clear. I, too, hear they will be represented, but news is hard to come by. They seemed to have backed the Meblish party. I doubt this will be sustainable. But “politics is the art of uncertainty,” as one of our former chairs used to say.
We will meet again tomorrow, spaceman.
madharVnectVlatsinVux
#
Jim felt uncomfortable about being the center of an official, televised, worldwide event. That wasn’t his job. He had only come to see about a minor trade matter.
I should be asking Liz to send a full diplomatic first contact mission.
“It’s too late to back out now,” he muttered under his breath. He went to shave and dress in something like a uniform.
Around midmorning, he landed on City Lawn. The crowd was enormous. The TV crews were covering every angle. As he walked down the ramp, he could hear the buzzing of the crowd mixing with occasional cheering. He felt to check that the remote unit for the flier was still tied to his belt.
Madhar Nect and Margrev Aplar were waiting for him. The Regdenir was dressed, as always, in his hooded blue cloak. The scientist was in an odd, hooded cloak of her own. It was a rust-brown color with a red diagonal stripe. She looked uncomfortable in it.
“Greetings, James Able of Earth,” began Margrev Aplar. “I believe you already know the Nooc of Gullara, Madhar Nect?”
“Indeed, yes,” Jim said with a small bow. He added quietly to Madhar, “The what?”
Madhar shifted her feet and looked down. “It’s an honorary title. It means I once advised an alliance chair about science. Don’t let it worry you.” She waved her hand to dismiss the matter.
Margrev continued, “Please come with us, and we will take you into the Great Hall.”
Madhar added under her breath, “Wave to the cameras, Jim. Your public is watching you.”
“Don’t make it worse than it already is!”
Jim waved to the crowd and then to the nearest camera.
The Great Hall of the Government seemed out of place in what Jim knew of Turcanian society. It was ornate, old, and slightly musty-smelling. Madhar told him it was the crowning achievement of the unification movement, which had brought an end to the local wars that scarred most of their history.
The Regdenir only made one comment. “‘Unification’ was, and is, an exaggeration.”
Madhar responded, “At least now, most of the time, we only fight with votes.”
“And in doing so, you let the corporations become independent tribes. In replacing the old political entities, they begin again to make endless war.”
The three stopped along a long wood-paneled corridor.
“Look,” replied Madhar testily. “I’m not a politician, nor I hear, are you.”
“Nor am I,” said Jim.
Margrev Aplar looked as though he might punch the scientist in the face.
“Your point?”
“It’s not our place to sort out this kind of mess. But you know very well there’s a lot of history here that can’t be just swept away.”
“That is correct,” he replied, “if you refer to Regdenir history!”
“Cool it, you two,” interrupted Jim. “You’ve got the rest of your lives to make peace. I just want to say ‘Hello’ and be on my way.”
The thought of Jim’s leaving affected them both. Aplar closed his eyes
