No matter how long the training, she mused, nothing could prepare you. It was like the very first sensation of leaving earth, to go around its circumference in orbit, and to then mount the steep trajectory to the stars. It was breathless, a sensation like slipping under water for too long. Nothing could have prepared them.
The official was courteous, harmoniously dressed, and speaking a language they could understand. A few words had to be manually translated, but the universal decoding chips worked as designed, and as the crew of four found themselves gathered around a table in the open air, partaking of breakfast with their hosts, nothing could have prepared them. To be looking at humans who weren't from their earth, who had never set foot on the earth they knew, but who belonged to a solar system configured exactly like their own, to sit under a blue sky on an earth identical to their own except for the jigsaw of its continental crust; the sensation to Shams was that of having flown through the keyhole, an experience made even stranger by the sharing of the breakfast offered by their hosts.
"This planet is so beautiful," said Nat. "Ours is more...well, we have more flat surface we use." She trailed off.
Mahvir smiled graciously. He was tall, and slim, with thick black hair and a thick beard, and some white hairs in each. Shams couldn't help but notice his skin. It was thick and glowing, a deep gold, it looked burnished, almost, by the Thetis sun. He had no wrinkles or lines.
Compared to them, the crew looked washed out, pale, wrinkled, their skin papery-thin. Even Shams, whose skin colour was not dissimilar.
"Tell us about the ice on your planet," said Mahvir.
Shams assumed him to be some form of leader, although no one had told them.
Another official brought over a basket of fruit, the shapes and colours of which looked familiar and yet were unnamed on earth. The inhabitants of Thetis conducted themselves with ease, with an informality tempered by gravitas and grace. Shams broke off a crust of bread and wondered how they did it. They barely seemed to interact, let alone react or betray any surprise at meeting other-earth humans; communications had been sparse, conducted remotely and intermittently, but all the same. Shams could tell that Nat was dredging her memory for each module of training just to talk.
"Nearly all gone," said Joe briskly. "Our ship's computer tells us your world population is much smaller than ours. We were surprised to learn that."
Nat's smile plastered into place. She didn't want Joe to ask questions too abruptly, too fast.
"We lost the habit of battling the elements in the plains," said the official who had brought the fruit. Shams could feel Nat's surprise at the informality of a woman putting down a bowl of fruit and joining an official diplomatic discussion between two alien species. The official was around the same age as Mahvir, perhaps younger. Again, that thick, glowing skin, without a line or even a shadow of a crow's foot. And dark, luxuriant hair, streaked with gold.
"So strange how you have the same phrases," commented Shams. "Battling the elements -"
Mahvir nodded amiably, but said nothing.
"Tell us about Elegiac, your computing spaceship," said the woman. Shams realised that unlike Mahvir, she had not even told them her name. Seamlessly, she had delivered fruit and flowed into the conversation.
Nat quickly introduced the crew.
"Welcome to Thetis. My name is Sarah," said the official.
"You seem to have a very advanced civilisation. But I'm a little surprised to find it's so small. Have there been cataclysms in your planet's history? Why have you not explored space?" Joe was not even trying to contain himself. Shams met Eric's eyes. He had barely touched his breakfast.
"No cataclysms that we know of. No disasters. Just vast, flat continental plains that we leave to the great beasts. The winds, tornadoes and hurricanes render the central plains uninhabitable each summer and each winter, both here and in the south. We like your names for our continents, by the way. Although I find Gondwana a little extravagant." Sarah chuckled.
"And space travel we briefly explored. We are curious that you discovered Faster Than Light Travel. Here, we have very much concentrated on improving life on Thetis. Our earth, as you would say."
They were poised under a canopy outdoors, the stone tiles beneath their feet warm, merging into the rock. The mountain view extended before them - small sandy peaks, round dwellings of the same light sand colour, curved golden walls, green treetops, blue sky. It looked like a holiday resort.
"We have information here that tells you all about us. Please take your time to read it, or use the holographic display option, if you prefer. We can then discuss a profitable exchange for both our peoples, but only if you are willing. We have come in the spirit of exploration and open-hearted enquiry. Please believe us, we will not and will never disturb planets that are not our equal for technological advancement. For a long time, we believed that in discovering Faster Than Light Travel we were close, very close, to finding out the secrets of the universe. That was an illusion. In fact, we are no closer than we ever were. We believe we are going to need your help to solve this mystery."
With that, Nat smiled, her white teeth showing. The speech long prepared in training had been delivered flawlessly, sincerely, even. Mahvir and Sarah inclined their heads. They took the tablet with the history of Planet Earth and the crew took their leave.
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