Джек Макдевитт - A Voice in the Night

The visitors replied: “We understand.”

When Trelawney asked where they were from, they also showed reluctance, and would say only that they’d crossed the galaxy. “We have come a great distance.”

And the biologist gave the same response. “We understand.”

They talked for several days. Simmons and Trelawney both visited the alien vehicle. Apparently, Kobayashi passed on the opportunity. Several of the aliens came aboard the Forscher , after the pilot had arranged a trigger that would overload and blow the drive unit if a problem developed.

“He doesn’t say what they looked like,” said Hutch.

Jake shrugged. “The AI probably has all kinds of pictures. I wonder,” he continued, “if that’s what created the problem going home? Rigging the ship to explode, just in case? When he disconnected, Kobayashi may have overlooked something.”

“Could you do that to us?” asked Hutch. “Rig us to explode?”

“It wouldn’t be that hard.”

After a week of exchanges, it ended. The aliens were moving on. “But,” Trelawney told the aliens, “we should arrange to meet again. Maybe, given some time, we can get permission to invite you to come to the home system. Though, to be honest, I think that may be unlikely. I suspect there would be political issues. But we have people who would very much like to meet you.”

Simmons quoted one of the aliens: “We would like that.”

But how to do it?

Kobayashi pointed out that two of the planets in the Talios system, the fifth and sixth, would line up in the ‘near future.’ “When they do,” he suggested, “perhaps we could arrange to be here with those who would like to take this a step farther.”

Jake was getting frustrated. “Damn it,” he said. “Are they talking about a few weeks or what?”

“Talios is pretty far out,” said Hutch. “Apparently the Forscher never reported the incident. Or if they did, it was kept quiet.”

Benny broke in: “Simmons says that they decided to say nothing until they got home. They had time to do that and come back, though he does not say how much time. But he and Trelawney agreed that a hypercomm report would only generate a rejection. That the politicians would want to keep clear of a meeting. Trelawney wanted to be there to provide support for the idea.”

“Well,” said Hutch, “it doesn’t matter now. It’s nine years ago. The aliens are long gone. And everybody’s dead on this side.”

Jake looked up from the screen. “So what do we do, Captain Hutchins?”

“File a report, hope they can find the Forscher, and get on with our own mission.”

“You’re not interested in going the rest of the way out to Talios?”

“You said we should stay here until the Patrol shows up.”

“We will. But they’ll be here in a couple of days.”

We didn’t have much information on Talios. There’d only been one research mission. It was a class G dwarf, about the same size as Sol, but younger by two billion years. There were eleven planets in the system. Talios III had life forms. And that was pretty much the extent of the available information.

Talios V and VI were where?

After they arrived in system, they needed several days to track them down. Talios V was small with no atmosphere, half a billion miles from the sun, completing an orbit every twelve years. VI was a gas giant with an entourage of forty-some moons and a set of rings. “Orbital period thirty-one years,” said Benny. “They were lined up three and a half years ago.”

“So we’re a little late for the wedding,” said Hutch.

Jake’s eyes closed. “Unfortunately, the groom never showed up at all.”

“Benny, when will V and VI line up again?” asked Hutch. “Not that it matters.”

They waited while he examined the data and did the calculations. “Thirteen years and a couple of months.”

“It’s a pity,” said Jake.

“You didn’t expect them to wait around, did you?”

“I’m not sure what I want.” It was the first time she’d seen him look uncertain. “Still— Well, let’s go take a look at Talios III.”

The planet floated serenely on the navigation display, but it was hard to believe it harbored life. It did have large blue oceans. White clouds drifted through the skies, and there was snow at the poles. But the continents, the land masses, looked utterly desolate. No fleck of green appeared anywhere. Nothing moved across its bleak flat plains.

“According to the data base,” said Benny, “life got started here less than 500 million years ago.”

“So it’s still in the oceans,” said Jake.

“That may be correct, Captain. In any case, you would not be able to detect its presence.”

“Too small?”

“Unicellular. It will be a long time before there’s anything down there that would be visible to the naked eye.”

Jake magnified the images. Large brown patches of land. River valleys. Mountain chains cutting across continents. All empty. “Hard to believe. What’ve we looked at now, hundreds of worlds with liquid water and stable suns? And just a handful have life.”

“A century ago,” said Hutch, “they thought that almost any biozone world was likely to produce living things.” She was thinking that this was why the meeting at this world had been so important. With life so rare, and advanced civilizations virtually nonexistent—

So close.

There was nothing more to look at. From Hutch’s perspective, they’d wasted time coming here. But she wasn’t going to argue the point with the guy who held her license in his hand. “Jake,” she said, “do you want to enter orbit?”

“Yes,” he said.

“How long do we plan to stay?”

“Not long.”

“Okay. What’s next?”

“Use your imagination, Hutch.”

She laughed and raised her hands in confusion. “I’m not sure what you’re saying, Jake.”

“Think about the situation. Look at it from the perspective of the aliens.”

She wanted to point out that aliens would probably not think like people. But she let it go. “How do you mean?”

“If you were in their place, and you’d come back here for a rendezvous with representatives from another technological species, something everybody knows is rare, you’d expect them to show up, right?”

“Yes. I would.”

“What would you do if they didn’t?”

She was thinking of the jilted bride. “They’d never see me again.”

He laughed. “Assume for a minute you’re rational.”

“I’m fairly rational.”

“All right then. Let’s say unemotional. The failure to show up could not have been personal. Maybe the other side is afraid. Or maybe something happened to delay them. What do you do?”

She exhaled. “I’d leave a note.”

“Now answer your own question: What next?”

“Benny,” she said. “Commence search for artificial satellite.”

“Excellent.” Jake looked pleased. “You’re going to be good at this yet, Hutch.”

The satellite found them. “Greetings,” it said. “We are sorry we missed you.”