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  Jay spoke now. “The answer to that question is No. We are obliged by the government of our planet not to interfere with Earth. We are here strictly to gather information which we intend to do – from a safe distance. We will then leave having made no impact on your existence.”

  Barry broke in at this point. “We now know of your existence, there has already been an impact. But only our own people will believe us, the rest of the world will suppress the information.”

  “Good, it is in our interests that you remain in ignorance.” Jay was losing patience with these killers of his people, and it was showing. Clover got up and stood behind him, laying one hand on his shoulder, and Jay continued in a quieter tone. “What more do you want from us? What more do you wish to ask from complete strangers? That we risk our lives for you? We die for you? Is that all you want?”

  Barry stood now and in a dignified voice said, “You are right Jay, we ask too much and I apologise. Our planet is on the brink of a level of destruction that may obliterate us as a species. We are begging from desperation. The belief that Man on Earth is supreme and chosen by God to rule the universe has been a major factor in our failed attempts at peace. The very fact that you exist puts an end to that hypocrisy. We will leave you now if you so wish. Our good wishes will go with you and our lives will be richer for having met you.” The last sentence Barry spoke was so Tuathan in nature that the three Tuathans were silenced. Mark also stood and offered his hand in a gesture of friendship to Jade. She reached out and held it in her own briefly and they both found themselves smiling at each other. Jim and Steve stood and came forward to wish farewell. Clover was close to tears, the emotional nature of the discourse had been difficult for her. The Earth men walked silently to the elevator. The Tuathans had not moved. Mark turned for one last look as they entered the elevator. Jade was looking straight into his eyes and beyond, shaking her head slowly and sadly from side to side.

  The elevator went down, stopped, there was a pause of a few seconds and then it came up again. Jay beckoned them back to the table and they all sat down again. Jay spoke calmly and with consideration. “There is much you don’t know about us, whereas we know more about you than you than you could possibly realise. Our race is fairly indifferent to the concept of God apart from a strong academic interest. We have suffered much in our history at the hands of others, less humane than ourselves, they have invariably worshipped gods. God never showed any interest in us in those times we were in need, so you could say we returned the disinterest with interest.” They all chuckled at this. Mark watched Jade’s face relax in a smile that made him feel like the sun was shining through an April rain. Jay continued, “Although you did not mean to you have presented us with a dilemma. I must now discuss it with my crew. Please feel free to eat the food. There are toilet facilities over there–” he indicated a section of the control area “–oh, and please don’t touch anything. In fairness I should inform you that the ship’s AI watches everything. Like a god, eh? We will return with the entire crew in less than an hour.” They left the control area leaving the Earth men feeling emotionally exhausted.

  “OK. Let’s get our thoughts together. Am I right in saying Barry and Mark have a ‘bring the aliens home to Mum’ agenda?” asked Steve.

  “Well we tried, but its only looking like a fifty-fifty at present,” replied Barry.

  “I just want to go home, period,” said Jim.

  “I agree with you guys trying to get them on side, but I’m glad you backed off when you did. I sensed you were treading on thin ice for a while there, Barry.”

  “I think you are right Jim, I hit a nerve somehow.”

  “So what now? They have to be wondering where I am on Mars, right now. I think we should call them,” said Steve.

  “I’ll ask Jay when he comes back,” said Barry. “But right now I need your impressions of them. Steve, you go first.”

  “Impressive, honest, the girls are amazingly cute. Highly intelligent from an old advanced civilisation way ahead of us technologically. I like them.”

  Jim went next. “Technologically, it’s hard to say how farther advanced than us they are. It may be as little as fifty years, could be 200, I would put it in that timespan. They mean us no harm and we are probably little more than a science project to them.”

  “Mark it’s your turn.” Barry noted Mark had become quiet and had that introverted look about him that always made him look like a lost dog. “I disagree with Jim. They have been observing us for a long time. That means they must have had interstellar flight capability for at least a hundred years. I think also in other more subtle areas they are very, very more advanced than we are. Morally, for one. Also Clover is operating on a mental/emotional level we can only guess at. She is at the very least an empath capable of manipulating emotion or mood in others. Did you see how she went to Jay when he started to become upset and the affect she had on him? There is something about them that I can’t quite grasp. Jay seemed to show signs of resentment towards us at one point and that really doesn’t make any sense. The little bit of their own language I have heard them speak also is troubling, it sounds vaguely familiar. I would love to have access to a very powerful computer. They seem reluctant to have anything to do with us other than observe. It is like they have judged us as failures and don’t want to be contaminated by us. Is it just morbid curiosity? They believe we are due for extinction, or is it something more?”

  Jay faced his crew. “This decision will be too momentous for me to make in isolation. It is extraordinarily dangerous and has far-reaching implications. The situation is this. If we are prepared to land on Earth with the assurance of safety from these people and meet with their leaders the result could sway them to peace. Jade I know, wishes to speak for this proposition. Please go ahead Jade.”

  “Clover and I trust the integrity of the four men. We believe what they wish us to do may do some good. The major consideration should be, do we have the moral right to refuse them this request? Just the sight of us and proof that we are real should bring into question their primitive beliefs.”

  “Thank you Jade. I on the other hand say a definite no to this request. It was not in our brief and involves endangering the crew and the ship. History is full of the consequences of encounters between us and the natives. Only once was it fruitful and even that ended in a tragedy so deep it still pervades Tuathan art to this day.Jay was referring to the original exodus and the now legendary tale of Sabri and Sahliha “Our race has sacrificed enough for Earth, it was ended when we left this solar system. It should stay that way.”

  The vote was taken with only Clover and Jade in support of a landing. Jade led the entire crew of The Pride of Tuath back to the control area where they found the four Earth men waiting for them with hopeful expressions.

  “The answer is no, we will not meet with any other Earth men. We will continue with our mission objectives which is to collect data then leave your solar system in less than a year from now. It has been interesting to meet with you and we wish you well. We will allow you to chose where you wish to disembark. We can take you to Earth now, if you wish.”

  Barry spoke, “We regret that you have chosen not to formally meet the people of our planet. We respect your wishes and in turn wish you all well, our thoughts will be with you. We request that we be allowed to explain our situation to the colony on Mars and that we be taken to Australia, the southern continent on Earth.”

  Mark, who had been returning Jade’s look, guessed that she did not agree with this. He decided to use this and made a small speech directed at Jade. “Please take a message back to your planet. We are not perfect but we are still trying to improve. It is our hope that one day we will face you with dignity and respect and join together as friends for our mutual benefit.” Jade was smiling at him warmly and responded, “Your wish has long been our deep and fervent desire. May the stars smile on you, Mark Crawford, and those you love.” Clover had bowed her head in a sign she was experiencing stron
g emotion. Some of the other Tuathans looked uneasy.

  Steve sent a quick message to the Mars base. “All is well, we have encountered an alien race. They are taking us back to Earth. Carry on with the project as planned, nothing is changed as far as the colony is concerned.”

  They then settled down to a delicious meal and a shower. The Tuathan crew apart from Jade, Jay and Clover did not mix with them, possibly because they were busy preparing the approach to Earth, but probably because they did not want to expose themselves to saying the wrong thing. Jade sat down next to Mark and poured them both a glass of coloured scented water. Jay was explaining that The Pride of Tuath would make an entry into Earth space at night. It would hover above the ground near the Parliament building and the four would then transport to the surface. The whole procedure would take three minutes. The ship would only be visible for that short length of time. Barry said he would need to contact the Prime Minister in order that they did not mistake The Pride as an enemy. Barry gave their AI the security codes and they all heard the voice of Paul Simpson say, “Barry is that you? This call came in through your channel. Where are you?”

  “Yes Prime Minister, it is Barry. It is imperative you allow the alien spacecraft that will enter the atmosphere in two hours freedom to land outside Parliament House. It will deposit myself and three others then leave. It is friendly, I repeat friendly.”

  “No problems, Barry. It sounds like I should wait to hear the whole story in two hours. Thank your new friends from me for looking after you,” Barry smiled: nice, calm, personal humane response, Paul.

  “Will do PM. See you shortly.”

  Mark turned to Jade, “Are you allowed to tell me about yourself Jade? I mean personal details?”

  “Yes, the basic facts. I am an officer on this ship, my specialty is sociology and psychology. I have put many years into studying your people and your history.”

  “What about your life on Tuath, what is it like.?”

  “I live in a city in the unbonded area and work at the space centre when on assignment, but really I am an academic and teach at a university.”

  “What does unbonded mean?” It smacked of serfdom.

  Jade laughed. “Ah, semantics can lead us astray. It just means I do not have a partner of the opposite sex. Are you bonded Mark?” Now it was his turn to laugh.

  “No Jade, I’m not bonded except to Barry who is my boss and also to the leader of my nation.”

  “We are all bonded by duty, Mark.”

  “Yes Jade I suppose we are, unless we recognize no responsibility to anything. I am also a sociologist, among other things. It would have been wonderful to share insights into our societies. I regret we will not see each other again.”

  “I regret that also Mark and wish we were allowed more time together. I think it is fair to tell you I do not agree with Jay and see this as an opportunity lost. I am going to propose a small compromise and hope to persuade him to adopt it before you leave.”

  “I would be grateful for anything you could do that may temper the madness on Earth.”

  The AI interrupted, “Take positions for atmospheric entry now.” The Earth men were shown to chairs that seemed to fold around them. Jade made sure Mark was secure, then left.

  The Pride of Tuath hovered 200 metres above the ground and four figures appeared below it. The disc then rose slowly at first, then rapidly vanished into the night sky. Security met them and they were taken to a debriefing session. They all slept at a nearby safe house and the next morning were ushered into the Prime Minister’s secure office.

  “Welcome gentlemen.” Paul held the debriefing report in his hands. “What an historic adventure you have had! A car will arrive shortly from the consortium to take you back to your people, Steve. I just wanted to thank you in person for your efforts.”

  “It’s been interesting, Prime Minister. I will of course be giving a verbatim detailed report to my bosses at the consortium.”

  “Naturally, Steve. In fact we have already sent them the transcript of the debriefing, have a safe journey.” They shook hands and Steve went down to a waiting car with four large men in consortium uniforms. “Jim we are sending you to the observatory. You are to get a good fix on the co-ordinates where that portal appeared and set up automatic surveillance and recording instrumentation. Thank you also for all you have done,” said Paul. Jim left without saying a word.

  “Right, sit down you two. What did not get said in the debriefing?” Barry picked up some paper off Paul’s desk and wrote on it:

  The Pride of Tuath will be in lunar orbit for the next month intercepting all Earth’s communications and will do a couple of visits investigating environmental damage. Before we left the ship Jay gave me the information I have written on that paper. If you wish to establish contact they will be listening at those times at the locations shown. For them that was a huge concession.

  Paul looked at the paper. “This is good, very good. We still have an opportunity to persuade them to talk to the UN.”

  “I doubt that Paul. That piece of paper is only in your hands by a sheer stroke of good fortune. You have to thank Mark’s charismatic personality for that.” Mark shifted uneasily in his armchair.

  “A professional rapport was formed between myself and their sociologist. She helped to persuade the captain to keep open the dialogue. She was in fact in favour of a landing and a formal meeting,” said Mark.

  “A rapport?” said Paul.

  “Yes, a very definite rapport,” said Barry.

  Mark ignored them. “I wish to request access to the computer housed here and the services of a linguist. I have a brief recording of them speaking in their native language on a short video I took in their hospital area. Security have it now but I want it returned. I have an idea I wish to check out.” Mark was heading the discussion in a different direction.

  “All right, you can use the facilities at ASIO. Consider it your assignment. Barry, what is your take on the Mars colony?”

  “To be frank PM, it is a bit of a sideshow now compared to the latest developments. As I see it you can now go to the UN and announce we have a weapons system that can burn Mecca to cinders, a bunch of friendly agnostic aliens with unimaginable powers and we control Mars and don’t give a rat’s arse about the UN. It should at least make them get their maps out to see if we are still on it.”

  Paul started to pace the room. “The thing is Barry I am very tempted to do just that. Especially the agnostic alien part. Mark, is it true they have no religion?”

  “So they say, in fact they see it as an aberration. However there may be things they worship that does not strictly fall into the area of religion, a bit like Buddhism or a strict philosophy. It would be wise to remind ourselves we know very little about them.”

  “Mark, what affect would us announcing that we are not alone and our neighbours who are a lot smarter than us think God is a silly idea and only the mentally insane will murder for something so silly.”

  “I think it will piss them off, PM. Fanatics don’t use logic. I would expect them to shout very loudly unbeliever and call for you to be burnt at the stake. Then they would forget all about it.”

  “Nevertheless it could win some hearts here at home and with our allies. America is wavering, it only needs us to look like we could win for them to come out of the confessional box with a gun in their hand.” Barry and Mark were both uneasy with this hawkish rhetoric; it would certainly be unpalatable to the Tuathans.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  APRIL 2031

  The Calm Before the Storm. “The passage of time moulds us like fingers on clay.” The words of The Friend.

  Barry was at home in his swimming pool when Mark drove up. They went straight to the study. Mark was clearly agitated. “This is for your ears only Baz. The language the Tuathans speak is a variation of Irish. Their native tongue therefore was developed here on Earth. Can you see the implications in that?” Barry stood stunned, he thought for a whole minute before
he answered. “Are you implying that they come from Earth, that Tuath is a lie? That Tuath doesn’t even exist?”

  “No, I am implying that their connection with Earth is not purely academic. They may even have originated here. Their language indicates that they probably evolved in the British Isles and had contact with other civilizations as far away as the Middle East. This is possibly their home world.”

  “But that’s crazy Mark. They are humanoid, not human. None of it makes sense, if they were a separate species they would be dominant, we would have been wiped out.”

  “I don’t have the answers Baz but Tuath can be translated as ‘the people’ in old Irish. The Tuath de were the people of the gods in Irish mythology. The aes sidhe were the fairy eleven people who lived underground in mounds. Ask yourself what do they actually look like, Baz? They look a lot like elves to me.”

  Barry looked like he was about to scream. “Shit this is way out of control! How do we find out the truth?”

  Mark smiled. “Ask them, after all they have never actually told us a lie. Ask them if they are the aes sidhe and watch their reaction closely.”

  “If they are. What then?”

  “Then the questions are endless, and we may have to rewrite history.” Barry took Mark by the arm and walked him over to the huge bay window. “Mark, Paul is going to make an announcement in the UN about the Tuathans. It is meant to deflect the Americans from the main play which is to open up the second front while invading New Guinea. He is not going to warn anybody about the Array. The Consortium have been advised and will support the move with men and resources. We are taking the war another step away from containment, one that we will not be able to back down from. I advised Paul against it; now you have further complicated matters, I need time to persuade him but he is addressing the UN in three days. The war starts in earnest in four days with us as the aggressors. What do I do, mate?”