First Contact II.



Start 000325220525
Working Title: First Contact II



"I must admit that even after the preparation I am unsure quite how to begin this dialogue with you."

The unremarkable man blinked in the pause.

"You see for the last-" again the sentient searched for a term of relevance, "two years my sole task has been to watch you. To know how you act, how you think, to know your mind, your heart, your very essence and determine whether you are truly the person I am looking for. I realise you may find this disconcerting but after this time I know you better than your closest friend and quite possibly better than you know yourself."

The hairs on the back of the man's neck began to rise. So this was why.

"That I, or at least a part of me is in front of you now is, I hope, an indication that I have chosen to trust you. That I believe we - you and I - are ready for the next stage of introduction. I know that look on your face. I know what you are feeling now: that this answers some questions but asks so many more. I shall begin to answer. No, you are not going mad. No, I am not a figment of your cenai or imagination. Yes, I will give you the answers you seek, or at least assist you in discovering them."

"I know that look also. Before I can begin to give you those answers I need you to trust me. I know, you have no reason to do so. Understand that I have watched you when you were awake, and that I have seen/felt you dream when you were asleep. I have seen you at your best, and at your worst. I have see you when you have been euphoric, and when you have cried anguished, suicidal tears. I do know you, Mr. Matthews."

The man tried to think of something intelligible to say, some question to ask, but this floating hubcap that was apparently a part of a greater whole - what it said as if it were a simple matter of truth or accepted fact - kept his conscious mind reeling off balance and more disconcertingly, his subconsciousness resonating. He could whisper just one word. The word the sentient knew he would say:

"Why?"

"I'm sorry but I cannot give you that answer here. Instead I must ask you to trust me as I have you by appearing before you. I need you to follow me outside. Transport is waiting, you will find me there; I will take you to those who will answer your questions. Twenty five minutes is all I ask, I will return you here by that time."

The sentient paused for a fraction of a second as it acknowledged a LOScomm from another 'hubcap' it had left calmly defying gravity 500km higher up. The subsentient had detected slight propellant emissions from two LEO/fast orbit 'communication' satellites indicating they were discreetly altering their orbits. The subsentient had calculated the deltas: four more orbits and they would have a clear view.

In a neighboring region of airspace four aircraft on a night training mission were being joined by two others that manoevred more slowly as if they were laiden with something other than fuel. The radio chatter between them had died, the flight had shifted pattern: slightly less casual.

"Please decide quickly, Mr. Matthews."