Authors: M.D. Hall
Tala had prepared for this moment for a long time, going over it in her mind, time and again, only too aware of how critical it was to keep any hint of hypocrisy from her voice. Her fears proved groundless.
‘Operation of the replicating machines will be monitored, as their use must be restricted. We are conscious of the need to alleviate starvation, but your world mustn't rely upon that technology, it's a short-term measure, nothing more,’ as if sensing he needed reassurance, she said. ‘Don't worry, we wouldn't invest in your race, if we didn't believe you were able to come through this. We believe, in time, you will become emergent, and when that happens, we'll return and invite you to join us.’
‘And when,’ he asked, ‘is that likely to be?’ feeling an increasing sense of excitement.
She paused, as if giving the question careful thought. ‘We anticipate you should reach that stage in about six hundred years.’
Hugo felt like a small child who writes to Santa asking for a puppy and after weeks of anticipation discovers, on Christmas morning, nothing more than a cuddly toy, nice enough in its way, but not a puppy. Like that child, he should still be grateful, but to know this would happen long after he was no longer even a memory, left him feeling empty.
Tala knew how disappointed he was, which was exactly how she wanted him. The same reaction could reasonably be expected from the leaders of this world, which would prepare them perfectly for the third stage of her plan.
‘Now, we need to move on to your role.’
He shook himself out of his state of self-pity,
at last,
he thought. For the first time since this strange meeting had begun, Hugo had the inklings of what this all meant, not a political game, or a negotiation over the niceties of a restraint clause in a contract, it was the future of the entire planet.
‘As I’ve told you, we can't be seen to be part of this, your people would be afraid and suspicious. Their immediate instinct would be to reject our aid. They wouldn’t think it through.’
‘And why should they trust you?’ asked Hugo. ‘After all, they don't know you, and there’s an expression here,
nothing is for nothing.
More than a few might wonder what you get out of this.’
‘Because, Hugo, may I call you that?’
‘Of course.’
‘Because Hugo, if we wanted to take this planet, you wouldn’t be able to stop us,’ her argument was simple, but irrefutable. ‘However, if we get to a point where we have to use that argument, the damage to any future relationship between our peoples, may be irreparable.’
He completed her reasoning. ‘So you figure it would be better to give us what we need without us really knowing where it comes from.’
‘Precisely.’
‘I’m not the only cynic. Our leaders won't believe that everything you’ve told me about, can come from a home-grown enterprise.’
‘Why not?’ she replied, nonplussed. ‘Look at the alternative. Do most people believe in extraterrestrial intelligent life?’
He shook his head.
‘Of course they don’t. They’ll look anywhere other than the stars, to discover the provenance of what we’re giving them. They’ll have some other conspiracy theories, but all will fall wide of the mark.’
Hugo was not persuaded, but had to concede that her reasoning would probably turn out to be right.
This side issue resolved, Tala continued. ‘The corporation I spoke of needs to be wholly owned and controlled by Tellurians.’
‘Tellurians, I meant to ask you earlier, what are Tellurians?’
‘You are Tellurian.’
‘I’m human.’
‘Yes, like us, you’re human, but all you know is this planet and the people on it. You label each other in various ways to preserve your various identities. It’s no different out there,’ her eyes motioned upwards and, absurdly, Hugo followed her line of sight, as though expecting to see something other than the ceiling. ‘Beron and I are humans from Te’ath, making us Te’an. You are a human from Telluria and, therefore, Tellurian,’ she hurriedly added: ‘We didn’t make the name, up it’s one of your words.’
‘I suppose it’s as good a word as any other,’ he replied.
‘We couldn’t think of a better one.’
'What’s our planet called,
out there
?'
'I don't know what anyone else calls it, but we have it designated as
G48/3/9.'
'A number?'
'I'm afraid so. We now refer to it as Telluria, but perhaps we should call it Earth, just like you…’ her face darkened. ‘Something else is troubling you?’
He was impressed at her perception, or
maybe,
he thought,
I don’t have the poker face I thought I had.
‘I find it more than a little odd, we are visited by a race from the stars, that just happens to be human. I can’t get my head around it. I’m no scientist but I’d say the odds against are, if you'll excuse the pun, astronomical?’
Her smile returned. ‘Pun excused, and yes, you’d be right if we were the only two species in this region of space. The truth is, between our two planets, there are over two hundred and seventy sentient races, and only two are human. Many are so unlike us, they couldn’t survive in a human friendly environment, so you see, it’s not such a coincidence after all. Of all the races we’ve helped, yours is the only one that is human. Most of the sentient races keep to themselves, and only a small proportion forms part of our affiliation.’
Hugo returned her smile, indicating he was happy with the answer, but a glance at Beron confirmed the sentiment was not universal. ‘My second question?' he hurriedly added. ‘Everything you've told me so far makes sense, but I still don't see why you want me as your CEO.’
She nodded. ‘The reason we’ve chosen you is that the person we need to head the corporation must not only know his way around the legal landscape, but also be able to negotiate his way through the political jungle, I hope I used the correct idiom?’
‘You did,’ he replied. Now he knew why they wanted him, Hugo’s mind stepped up a couple of gears. ‘I can see a number of practical problems, immediately.’
‘I would like to think we’ve correctly anticipated you, and have the answers you want.’
Inwardly he suspected they were a little naïve when it came to just how things
actually got done. ‘Who’s going to manufacture these wonders?’ he asked.
‘We will. In fact, we’ve already started. To answer your next question, at a secret location not far from here,’ Hugo simply looked at her.
‘You look surprised’
‘I am. You seem to have taken a lot for granted, like assuming I’d say yes,’ he shook his head as realisation dawned, ‘but you already had others lined up to step in, if I said no?’ he left the question hanging, and got the answer he needed from Tala’s eyes. ‘How long have you been working on this?’
‘Long enough. One of our support ships is positioned in orbit behind your moon. It contains all the technicians and logistics teams needed to supervise construction, at all proposed manufacturing sites. Once the corporation is established, we would expect local inhabitants at each of the sites to carry out the day to day tasks.’
‘You understand,’ he responded, ‘that the manufacturing processes will have to be explained to the government, and getting permission to manufacture may take some time,’ another penny dropped. ‘That’s why you chose me!’
‘You will need to call in all the favours owed to you by your political connections, and persuade others that it’s in their interests for matters to proceed with haste, and unobstructed. The consequences of you failing to persuade the authorities to act immediately, will be catastrophic.’
Hugo was struck by the inevitability of that statement.
‘It’s why we’ve been extremely diligent in choosing the right person, in choosing you.’
He had already decided to accept the offer, and when it was clear that Tala had finished, there was a palpable sense of excitement, at least between the two of them. Beron, was no more animated now than at any time during the meeting. If nothing else, his persona would convince Hugo of their alien provenance.
Recalling her earlier statement, he was forced to accept that he would become the most powerful man on Earth and wondered,
am I ready for that?
He was a man who negotiated on behalf of others, and unlike his contemporaries, his successes were not in court, on public display. Preferring to remain in the background, he left his clients to bask in the glow of victory. If he accepted this offer there would be no quiet place to which he could retreat, for all practicable purposes he would be
the corporation, its public face.
He tried to imagine what would happen if he refused, and his
clients
went to someone who actually revelled in the power on offer, but without any knowledge of the other candidates he was forced to speculate. Hugo hated speculation, as it meant assuming the worst: the world at the beck and call of a megalomaniac. Retreating from his imagination, which had already conjured images of what could be, as well as fledgling morality questions, he turned his attention to the present
,
and allowed his pragmatic side to hold sway. ‘I need to be convinced that what you say is true. Naturally, I don't expect you to prove everything you’ve told me, but I imagine my request was anticipated.’
‘It’s no less than I would have expected and yes, we did prepare for this contingency. If we convince you, what then?’
‘Then,’ he replied, ‘I’ll head your corporation, on one condition,’ Tala raised her eyebrows. ‘Liz Corcoran comes with me, and remains my PA.’
For the first time, Hugo saw a look, other than calm, pass across the face of Tala. Beron’s face remained stoic. She was clearly, less than pleased with his condition. ‘We’ve provided for your every need, you’ll be supplied with all the administrative assistance you require.’
‘I’m sorry, it’s non-negotiable.’ The tone of his voice signalled finality, and after a very short pause, Tala’s face regained its veneer of calm. ‘I’m sure your PA can be accommodated,’ she replied, her voice velvety smooth. ‘I only ask that she’s told nothing, until you make your final decision and then, only if you agree to assist us.’
‘Then I'm ready for the demonstration which, I guess, will begin soon.’
‘Oh, very soon,’ said Tala, ‘in fact, immediately, if that’s convenient?’
‘Not here?’
‘No, we’ll take you to our facility, we have transport available.’
‘Are we going to beam there?’
Tala shook her head, indulgently. ‘Contrary to what your televised, and written science fiction would have it, random teleportation is quite uncommon. We’ve never experienced it, ourselves. We can and do, use teleportation within controlled environments, such as our ships and larger buildings. I’m afraid we’ll have to rely upon a less esoteric, more mundane form of transport, at least for the first part of our journey. We’ll be gone for several hours.’
Hugo nodded, but felt uneasy at the thought of holding things back from Liz, he always kept her in the loop, and never dissembled where she was concerned. While tempted to inform her, something, instinct perhaps, warned him it would be unwise. The feeling was one he was unable to understand, let alone explain, but he decided not to ignore it. He pressed a button on his intercom. ‘Liz, I’ll be leaving soon to attend a site visit with my clients,’ he looked at Tala before adding. ‘It won't be necessary for you to come to this one.’
‘Yes, Mr Black.’
He continued. ‘I’ll be back late in the afternoon.’
Usually, Liz accompanied him on initial site visits, her observations were indispensable, but there was no hesitation from the disembodied voice. ‘Of course, Mr Black. How would you like me to deal with the call you are expecting?’
She was referring to a call from Gerry Wye, the President’s chief of staff. It would have been careless of her to refer openly to the identity of the caller, and Liz was never careless.
‘You’ll need to make an excuse. I can't be contacted for any reason, by anyone.’
‘I understand.’
He pressed the disconnect button before turning to his visitors and holding out his hands, palms upturned. ‘I’m all yours...’
A minute later the three of them were leaving his office
.
Hugo separated himself from the Te'ans, as they passed Liz’s desk. On her feet by now, she smiled and told him, in a quiet voice, that she would be there when he returned. That meant,
whenever
he returned. Hugo knew there was no point in trying to dissuade her, so simply nodded, but remained silent.
In another three minutes, he was leaving the building through the public foyer, flanked closely on either side by his clients, as though they were afraid he might make a break for it as soon as he had the chance.
They had refused the offer of his car to travel to their secret destination. Instead, a black limousine swept into the ‘no parking’ zone at the front of the building. The driver, a well muscled, taciturn man who could easily have been Beron’s older, bigger brother stepped out from the driver’s door, and with a swift, fluid movement was at the rear of the car, holding the door open for his passengers.
Tala and Beron both entered the rear of the limousine, leaving Hugo alone on the sidewalk with Beron’s
brother
. He wondered if this was meant to provide him with one last opportunity to pull out. Perhaps he was imagining it, but he felt certain, the moment he entered this car there would be no turning back.