Harry typed, NO.
YOU ARE A MANY ENTITY?
"I see what he's asking. He thinks we may be multiple parts of a single entity."
"Well, straighten him out."
NO. WE ARE MANY SEPARATE ENTITIES.
"You can say that again," Beth said.
I UNDERSTAND. IS THERE ONE CONTROL ENTITY?
Ted started laughing. "Look what he's asking!"
"I don't get it," Barnes said.
Harry said, "He's saying, 'Take me to your leader.' He's asking who's in charge."
"I'm in charge," Barnes said. "You tell him."
Harry typed, YES. THE CONTROL ENTITY IS CAPTAIN HARALD C. BARNES.
I UNDERSTAND.
"With an 'o,' "Barnes said irritably. "Harold with an 'o.' "
"You want me to retype it?"
"Never mind. Just ask him who he is."
WHO ARE YOU?
I AM ONE.
"Good," Barnes said. "So there's only one. Ask him where he's from."
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
I AM FROM A LOCATION.
"Ask him the name," Barnes said. "The name of the location."
"Hal, names are confusing."
"We have to pin this guy down!"
Chapter 13
WHERE IS THE LOCATION YOU ARE FROM?
I AM HERE.
"We know that. Ask again."
WHERE IS THE LOCATION FROM WHERE YOU BEGAN?
Ted said, "That isn't even good English, 'from where you began.' It's going to look foolish when we publish this exchange."
"We'll clean it up for publication," Barnes said.
"But you can't do that," Ted said, horrified. "You can't alter this priceless scientific interaction."
"Happens all the time. What do you guys call it? 'Massaging the data.' "
Harry was typing again.
WHERE IS THE LOCATION FROM WHERE YOU BEGAN?
I BEGAN AT AWARENESS.
"Awareness? Is that a planet or what?"
WHERE IS AWARENESS?
AWARENESS IS.
"He's making us look like fools," Barnes said.
Ted said, "Let me try."
Harry stepped aside, and Ted typed, DID YOU MAKE A JOURNEY?
YES. DID YOU MAKE A JOURNEY?
YES
, Ted typed.
I MAKE A JOURNEY. YOU MAKE A JOURNEY. WE MAKE A JOURNEY TOGETHER. I AM HAPPY.
Norman thought, He said he is happy. Another expression of emotion, and this time it didn't seem to come from a book. The statement appeared direct and genuine. Did that mean that the alien had emotions? Or was he just pretending to have them, to be playful or to make them comfortable?
"Let's cut the crap," Barnes said. "Ask him about his weapons."
"I doubt he'll understand the concept of weapons."
"Everybody understands the concept of weapons," Barnes said. "Defense is a fact of life."
"I must protest that attitude," Ted said. "Military people always assume that everyone else is exactly like them. This alien may not have the least conception of weapons or defense. He may come from a world where defense is wholly irrelevant."
"Since you're not listening," Barnes said, "I'll say it again. Defense is a fact of life. If this Jerry is alive, he'll have a concept of defense."
"My God," Ted said. "Now you're elevating your idea of defense to a universal life principle - defense as an inevitable feature of life."
Barnes said, "You think it isn't? What do you call a cell membrane? What do you call an immune system? What do you call your skin? What do you call wound healing? Every living creature must maintain the integrity of its physical borders. That's defense, and we can't have life without it. We can't imagine a creature without a limit to its body that it defends. Every living creature knows about defense, I promise you. Now ask him."
"I'd say the Captain has a point," Beth said.
"Perhaps," Ted said, "but I'm not sure we should introduce concepts that might induce paranoia - "
" - I'm in charge here," Barnes said.
The screen printed out:
IS YOUR JOURNEY NOW FAR FROM YOUR LOCATION?
"Tell him to wait a minute."
Ted typed, PLEASE WAIT. WE ARE TALKING.
YES I AM ALSO. I AM DELIGHTED TO TALK TO MULTIPLE ENTITIES FROM MADE IN THE U.S.A. I AM ENJOYING THIS MUCH.
THANK YOU
, Ted typed.
I AM PLEASED TO BE IN CONTACT WITH YOUR ENTITIES. I AM HAPPY FOR TALKING WITH YOU. I AM ENJOYING THIS MUCH.
Barnes said, "Let's get off-line."
The screen printed, PLEASE DO NOT STOP. I AM ENJOYING THIS MUCH.
Norman thought, I'll bet he wants to talk to somebody, after three hundred years of isolation. Or had it been even longer than that? Had he been floating in space for thousands of years before he was picked up by the spacecraft?
This raised a whole series of questions for Norman. If the alien entity had emotions - and he certainly appeared to - then there was the possibility of all sorts of aberrant emotional responses, including neuroses, even psychoses. Most human beings when placed in isolation became seriously disturbed rather quickly. This alien intelligence had been isolated for hundreds of years. What had happened to it during that time? Had it become neurotic? Was that why it was childish and demanding now?
DO NOT STOP. I AM ENJOYING THIS MUCH.
"We have to stop, for Christ's sake," Barnes said.
Ted typed, WE STOP NOW TO TALK AMONG OUR ENTITIES.
IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO STOP. I DO NOT CARE TO STOP.
Norman thought he detected a petulant, irritable tone. Perhaps even a little imperious. I do not care to stop - this alien sounded like Louis XIV.
IT IS NECESSARY FOR US
, Ted typed.