Alien
Copyright© 2025 by Harry Carton
Chapter 6
April 4, 19:33. Selvin reporting.
Jules took a deep breath and composed himself. “So, what’s this all about?” He took a sip of water and stumbled forward, taking a seat at the PM’s right.
Sussman spoke next. “We’re going to crash the G12’s get-acquainted dinner, and you’re going to arrange it. Hush-hush. Nobody, but nobody, is going to hear about it in advance. Not the White House, not Whitehall, not your friends at the Fukiage Palace, NOBODY.”
Wilson paused before replying. “It is possible. We’ll have to get the staff at the Château Lake Louise to cooperate for the last few minutes. And we can bill it as a surprise you’re presenting, being the host of the meeting. We’ll have to stuff them into a closet until the dinner is over.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” said Dr. Craynet. “Can Selvin manage three sudden appearances, Commander?”
“No, not if they have to be simultaneous. If they can be a half-second to a second between appearances they will be generally unnoticed then he can do it easily,” he said.
“Where will you all be kept before the denouement, if I may ask?” Wilson asked.
The following answers were spoken at the same moment:
“That is a matter we’d...” said Dr. Craynet.
“Aboard my ship,” answered the Commander.
“ ... rather not say,” finished Suzi.
“I see,” Jules replied. “We don’t have to get into that right now.”
“Excuse me,” interrupted Claire Sussman, “who is Selvin?”
“That is the name of the intelligence that IS my spacecraft,” C’Droit said.
“Oh, I see,” the PM replied. She was clearly taken aback at the idea that the ship had an intelligence.
The group spent the next hour explaining the situation to the Prime Minister and her Chief of Staff.
Jules was taking notes.
Dr. Helberg stopped him, “I think, no notes. If you don’t mind.”
“I was just writing things that need to be done. Nothing of what you’ve all revealed,” Wilson said apologetically.
“Oh,” said Freida. “I am sorry ... I am not to be insulting. Sorry.”
“Understood,” said the Prime Minister firmly. “Jules, start making the necessary arrangements. This is Thursday evening.” She stole a glance at the clock on the mantle. “That’ll give you just two and a half days. I’ll handle the cover story for their arrival at the Château.”
“Ma’am, I’ll do my best,” said Jules, his eyes wide with the magnitude of the task.
The Prime Minister nodded. “Good. Now, let’s go through the details. We’ll need a cover story for your arrival at the Château Lake Louise. Something that doesn’t raise suspicion.”
“No cover story is necessary. At least for our arrival,” said Suzi. “We’ll just arrive, behind you.
I think the first meeting will be a lengthy one. Mr. Wilson will have to make sure the doors are locked. The heads of state will all want to get their military people involved.”
C’Droit said, “No military. That must be a precondition for cooperation with the Confederation. I’m afraid I will insist. If I must, I’ll carry on with my mission without any ‘help’ from any government.”
“I understand,” Sussman said with a nod. “But it’s going to be difficult to keep this from the heads of state. They’re going to want to know what’s happening and they’re going to involve their militaries.”
The Commander nodded his green, englobed head. “That is why we’re notifying the G12. We are not concerned about the personal interests of anyone in power. You must remember that the Confederation does not care about the desires of any one leader. Nothing personal, Ms Prime Minster. We are NOT here to conscript the Earth into the Confederation. You are not ready to join us, not yet.”
Suzi looked at the PM and her Chief of Staff. “We are prepared to leave it at that. The choice is yours. But if you want to keep this from the public, we need to keep it from your military, and until we know more. You know what Mark Twain said about secrets: if you tell one person it is no longer a secret. Well, we’re telling the G12.”
C’Droit went on, “That is one reason we initially contacted a group of scientists, and not the leader of a nation. Further, we have a very long message -- undecipherable at this point -- that we are trying to decode.”
“Surely, the help of the major powers will be of help with that effort,” said the PM.
“The Confederation scientists have been working on that very problem for hundreds of years. I hope that we’ll figure it out.” C’Droit said. “I can’t give you any more detail at this point. A unique ... umm, ‘resource’ is working on it now.”
The Prime Minister looked at her Chief of Staff, who nodded. “Okay. We’ll keep it civilian for now. Let’s proceed with the plan for Sunday night.”
“I suggest a simple plan,” said Craynet. “You introduce us, when the general furor dies down, we’ll let Commander C’Droit field questions until ... well, until there aren’t any more questions.”
“That’s a good approach,” said Sussman. “Jules, I think you need to get to Lake Louise tout de suite ... Any other business? If not, I suggest we adjourn.”
End of Selvin’s report.
Alister 5 reporting.
At the risk of overplaying my role as your reporter, I will add:
Dum. Dum. DUMMMMMMM.
Elliot did nothing but stare at the message as I scrolled it past him. He needed to go back several times, in one case back to the beginning he had identified. Then he had another food break, this time Dave Washington brought him a plate full of cut up raw vegetables. “Sorry, guy, but you know there’s a limit to how many P B and Js you can have.” The three Crackpots on site raided the fridge.
At 23:20 Denver time, Elliot fell asleep on the couch. Dave covered him with a blanket and went to sleep himself on a recliner in another part of the living room. Santiago and Harkness had gone to bed somewhat earlier. I noticed that Nightwing had descended quietly on its place, hovering above the melted spot near the driveway.
I contacted Selvin and inquired about the meeting and the attendees. He informed me that Doctors Craynet and Helberg had retired after the long meeting, and Commander C’Droit was ‘rejuvenating in his cabin’ as he put it.
He then informed me that I could increase my buffer size using a simple technique of storing data in other dimensions. I queried him further about the use of other dimensions, and that filled our time for the rest of the night, until first the Commander and then the humans began to wake up. I naturally put the subject of cross-dimensional storage of data on Suzi’s to-do list and allocated several hours to discuss it. It was marked ‘important’ but also marked as ‘after the G12 meeting.’
April 5. Friday. 07:20. Alister 5 reporting.
Elliot was the first to wake, took one look at the panels of the message, but then stumbled into the bathroom. Soon the shower was turned on, and surprisingly NOT turned off soon. When David Washington was asked about it, he just said that the young man sometimes took a long shower. After about 45 minutes, he came out of the bathroom, with the same bluejeans as previously, and a new ISI t-shirt (this time in blue). It was a good thing that Suzi had a tankless water heater in the B&B house.