“Well, I warned you,” he said. “It’s gone off perfectly so far.”
“What’s this about?” demanded Falconetta, and Wu wryly repeated the warning he had earlier given to Anty.
“I don’t think Saïd finds his work unpleasant,” Falconetta commented. “But I’ll ask him sometime. Anty, is there any way of getting up to the north now the transfax is out there?”
“I’ll check,” said Anty obligingly, automatically dropping back into his accustomed role of newest recruit and errand boy. When he had hurried off, Ram Singh raised one fine white eyebrow at his companion.
“You had a reason for that,” he said. “You know perfectly well that whether or not the transfax is functioning at the polar base we can still be sent there with a little extra power. If Anty had thought for a moment or two, he would have seen that fact himself.”
Falconetta did not reply directly; instead, she looked at Wu. “That’s a nice boy you have there, Wu,” she said. “Why are you being unkind to him? Is it because you’re jealous?”
“Jealous? I suppose I am. I haven’t tried to do more than give him a fair appraisal of the problems facing him, though.”
“If he’s as capable as he seems, he’ll figure them out for himself.” Falconetta turned her smoky-yellow eyes speculatively after Anty. “He reminds me more than a little of myself, when I was new. He is an original, isn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s his born self.”
Anty was returning, and called out when he was still a dozen paces distant. “They’re warming up the transfax now for us to get to the northern base. They’re passing out protective clothing at the stores hut; I think we’d better get some and go right away.”
A few minutes later they walked through onto the bare, frosty ground, and saw the alien ship lying like a stranded whale under the harsh floodlights. They were only a short distance from the site of the excavation that had revealed the traces of the Others’ first visit to Regis, and Anty found himself contrasting the circumstances of the two ships’ arrivals. What would the reaction be of the inhuman minds in that enigmatic, almost featureless hull? What were they thinking? Had they any idea where they were? Perhaps they could tell from the star patterns, if the first ship that called here had made a record of them and passed it on.
They waited while Wu made a circuit of the perimeter. A battery of floodlights illumined each side of the ship, concentrating on the barely visible outline of the air-locks. The vessel itself was not unlike a human ship; after all, it was built to the same physical laws, driven by similar methods–there had to be some identity. Yet there was a difference, and Anty found his pulse quickening as it had done when he dug up the alien-made cathode-ray tube from the permafrozen ground.
Now, at last, the long-awaited moment of contact between the races was at hand. And thanks to his own idea, it was man who would dictate the circumstances. Ironical, that when they had devoted so much work to the cause they believed in–that man and alien should live in peace–when it came to this point they did not dare trust the aliens to act of their own accord.
Ram and Falconetta were discussing in low tones their project for making their peaceful intentions known to the Others. Anty wanted desperately to eavesdrop, but respected their obviously deliberate whispering.
Satisfied, Wu returned from his tour. “Well?” he said, addressing Ram. “Made your mind up?”
The old man inclined his white head. “I think so,” he answered. “We are agreed that it will be best to wait for some action by the aliens before we ourselves make any move. They will require some time to adjust to what has happened.”
“As you will,” conceded Wu. “In that case, I’ll reduce the watch to a rota, and give people a chance to go back to Main Base and rest and relax.”
He glanced at Anty. “How about you? You must be
“What’s this about?” demanded Falconetta, and Wu wryly repeated the warning he had earlier given to Anty.
“I don’t think Saïd finds his work unpleasant,” Falconetta commented. “But I’ll ask him sometime. Anty, is there any way of getting up to the north now the transfax is out there?”
“I’ll check,” said Anty obligingly, automatically dropping back into his accustomed role of newest recruit and errand boy. When he had hurried off, Ram Singh raised one fine white eyebrow at his companion.
“You had a reason for that,” he said. “You know perfectly well that whether or not the transfax is functioning at the polar base we can still be sent there with a little extra power. If Anty had thought for a moment or two, he would have seen that fact himself.”
Falconetta did not reply directly; instead, she looked at Wu. “That’s a nice boy you have there, Wu,” she said. “Why are you being unkind to him? Is it because you’re jealous?”
“Jealous? I suppose I am. I haven’t tried to do more than give him a fair appraisal of the problems facing him, though.”
“If he’s as capable as he seems, he’ll figure them out for himself.” Falconetta turned her smoky-yellow eyes speculatively after Anty. “He reminds me more than a little of myself, when I was new. He is an original, isn’t he?”
“Yes, that’s his born self.”
Anty was returning, and called out when he was still a dozen paces distant. “They’re warming up the transfax now for us to get to the northern base. They’re passing out protective clothing at the stores hut; I think we’d better get some and go right away.”
A few minutes later they walked through onto the bare, frosty ground, and saw the alien ship lying like a stranded whale under the harsh floodlights. They were only a short distance from the site of the excavation that had revealed the traces of the Others’ first visit to Regis, and Anty found himself contrasting the circumstances of the two ships’ arrivals. What would the reaction be of the inhuman minds in that enigmatic, almost featureless hull? What were they thinking? Had they any idea where they were? Perhaps they could tell from the star patterns, if the first ship that called here had made a record of them and passed it on.
They waited while Wu made a circuit of the perimeter. A battery of floodlights illumined each side of the ship, concentrating on the barely visible outline of the air-locks. The vessel itself was not unlike a human ship; after all, it was built to the same physical laws, driven by similar methods–there had to be some identity. Yet there was a difference, and Anty found his pulse quickening as it had done when he dug up the alien-made cathode-ray tube from the permafrozen ground.
Now, at last, the long-awaited moment of contact between the races was at hand. And thanks to his own idea, it was man who would dictate the circumstances. Ironical, that when they had devoted so much work to the cause they believed in–that man and alien should live in peace–when it came to this point they did not dare trust the aliens to act of their own accord.
Ram and Falconetta were discussing in low tones their project for making their peaceful intentions known to the Others. Anty wanted desperately to eavesdrop, but respected their obviously deliberate whispering.
Satisfied, Wu returned from his tour. “Well?” he said, addressing Ram. “Made your mind up?”
The old man inclined his white head. “I think so,” he answered. “We are agreed that it will be best to wait for some action by the aliens before we ourselves make any move. They will require some time to adjust to what has happened.”
“As you will,” conceded Wu. “In that case, I’ll reduce the watch to a rota, and give people a chance to go back to Main Base and rest and relax.”
He glanced at Anty. “How about you? You must be
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