THE KOSTROMA SAGA by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

CHAPTER 36 – A NEW ERA FOR HUMANITY

 

09:52 (Universal Time)

Monday, May 31, 2320

Corporate headquarters of the Vesta Consortium City of Kirkland, Vesta asteroid, Main Asteroid Belt Solar System

Karl Langemann, the powerful CEO of the Vesta Consortium, was reviewing production and costs numbers on his personal computer when his personal aide and confidante, the beautiful Agneta Braun, entered his office, a printed message in her hand and confusion on her face. That last point immediately put Langemann on alert: his personal aide and secret lover was a highly intelligent woman with a strong character. For Agneta to be confused took quite a lot.

‘’What do you have, Agneta?’’

‘’A message that doesn’t make sense, Mister Langemann.’’ replied the aide, who called him by his first name only when in private. ‘’We just received a message from Callisto Prime, inviting you to an urgent meeting of the Spacers League Council.’’

‘’So?’’

‘’So, that meeting is to be held on Callisto Prime tomorrow morning, sir.’’

‘’What? There must be a mistake about the date of that meeting: it takes a fast ship a minimum of six days to go from here to the Jupiter System.’’

‘’That’s what I thought as well, so I sent back a confirmation request. The problem is that the offices of Governor Robeson just sent back a response, confirming the time of the meeting for tomorrow morning at nine. It also said that a shuttle will arrive shortly here on Vesta to pick you up and requested that you bring with you one prefabricated structures senior engineer and a production manager.’’ Langemann sat back in his captain’s chair, truly intrigued.

‘’What the hell kind of game is Janet Robeson playing?’’

‘’A highly sensitive and urgent one, if I can judge from her message. Here it is.’’

‘’Thank you!’’

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Reading quickly the short message, Langemann then raised his nose to look at Agneta, some misgivings on his face.

‘’This message still doesn’t make sense. However, if Robeson has sent us a shuttle that is about to arrive here, then any lateness to this meeting on my part will be on her. Have my suitcases made for two weeks of travel and tell George Melville and Tran Li to pack their suitcases and work laptops as well…quickly.’’

‘’Right away, sir.’’

The 42-year-old blonde then walked out at a hurried pace, leaving the 61-year-old industrialist and geologist to wonder what this all meant.

Some seventy minutes later, Karl Langemann was arriving at the underground hangar of the Kirkland Astroport reserved for the use of Vesta Consortium executives, accompanied by Agneta Braun and two senior experts. They found one medium passenger shuttle waiting for them there, with a number of people standing outside the craft in order to move a bit around before departure. Three of those persons were evidently crewmembers of the shuttle, including a ravishing young Asian woman who got a warm smile from Karl. The others were however a real surprise for Langemann: they included President Claudia d’Arcy of the Earth’s Northern Alliance, Governor Charles Watts of Mars, Toru Tomonaga, the CEO of the Ceres Consortium, Gregory Mishkin, the CEO of the Sverdlovsk Group, based on Hygiea, and Jacobus Stein, the CEO of the Pallas Mining Industries, plus a good dozen aides. In addition, there was a large group of 25 Koorivars, led by their political leader on Earth, Sheraz. Taking the time to shake hands in succession with everybody around while presenting his aides, Langemann then asked a question in a low voice to Sheraz.

‘’I knew that the Koorivar community established on Vancouver Island is now an official member of the Spacers League, but why such a large delegation, Administrator Sheraz?’’

The Koorivar political leader, who was much shorter than Langemann, like all Koorivars, smiled in response.

‘’Oh, I only brought two aides with me for the meeting. My other people are here because they are going to embark on the KOSTROMA later on.’’

‘’Aah, the KOSTROMA. So, that is how you all could be here so fast.’’

‘’Uh, not exactly, Mister Langemann. This shuttle does belong to the

KOSTROMA but the KOSTROMA is still 22 light years away, in the Gliese 581 system.’’

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‘’But, how…’’ could only say Langemann, stunned by that declaration. In response, Sheraz gently led him by one arm to the front of the landed shuttle, where he showed him a sort of small dome at the front that could split open in two.

‘’This is a Koomak Interstellar Drive device, Mister Langemann, a Koorivar invention. This shuttle actually travelled by itself between the Gliese 581 system and our Solar System.’’

Langemann was left speechless for a moment before he could regain his wits.

‘’That’s it? The famous Koomak Drive can be this compact?’’

‘’Yes, it can! In fact, the new capabilities that it is bringing to your Humanity and to the Koorivars will be one of the main subjects of discussion at tomorrow’s meeting.’’

‘’Well, I’ll be!’’ said Langemann, whose mind was already filling with dreams of producing dozens of starships and new space installations for burgeoning Human and Koorivar colonies around the stars. He then excused himself with Sheraz and nearly ran to Agneta Braun and his two experts, to tell them about the Koomak Drive mounted on the shuttle. That is when the pilot asked his passengers to board his shuttle for the trip to the Jupiter System. Fourteen minutes later, the shuttle was emerging at the surface of Vesta, on top of a giant elevator linking the surface landing pads of the large asteroid to the underground installations of the Kirkland Astroport and of the city it served. The craft then took off directly from the elevator pad, using its gravity sail propulsion system. Langemann, with Agneta Braun sitting beside him, was settling into his seat for a trip of still unknown duration when a short orange flash filled the cabin for a fraction of a second. Before he could ask what had happened, the voice of the pilot came out of an overhead speaker.

‘’Ladies and gentlemen, we are now inside the Jovian System and in sight of Callisto. The orbital approach procedures and our landing on Callisto should take approximately forty minutes. Government limousines sent by Governor Robeson will be waiting for you at the Callisto Prime Astroport and will then drive you to your quarters at the guest house of the Government Convention Center.’’

Governor Charles Watts, of Mars, who was sitting across the aisle from Langemann’s seat, then extended out one arm to gently pat the shoulder of the stunned executive.

‘’Welcome to our new future, Karl.’’

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17:04 (Universal Time)

Suite 304, Guest House Annex

Callisto Prime Government Convention Center

Callisto Prime, Callisto moon

Jovian System

Agneta Braun was the one who answered the light knock on the door of the suite given to the Vesta delegation. She then found herself facing a young female

government page who smiled to her and presented her an envelope lying on a silver tray.

‘’Good afternoon, miss. Governor Robeson is inviting the members of the various Spacers Leagues delegations to an informal group supper tonight at six thirty, in the banquet hall of the convention center. The dress is to be relaxed.’’ Taking the envelope from the tray, Agneta then bowed her head to the page.

‘’We will be glad to attend. Thank you very much!’’

Closing and locking the door, Agneta returned to the main lounge of the suite, where Karl Langemann was reviewing with George Melville and Tran Li production statistics for the Vesta Consortium, in advance of tomorrow’s meeting.

‘’Mister Langemann, we have an invitation to attend an informal group supper at six thirty. It will be relaxed dress.’’

Her last words made Karl smile in amusement as he took the envelope offered by his aide.

‘’Janet Robeson always hated strict protocol procedures. I must say that it suits me just fine. I can bet that the menu will be a help-yourself buffet, rather than a sitting service.’’

‘’A help-yourself buffet for the heads of the Spacers League?’’ said George Melville, Karl’s top design engineer. ‘’Wouldn’t that be a bit too, uh, informal for such a high-powered supper, sir?’’

Karl grinned widely in response.

‘’If we were not so many, Janet could even have invited us to a home-cooked supper at her residence. Her husband Gerald is said to be a very good cook and the Governor’s apple pie is supposed to be sublime.’’

‘’Aaah, apple pie!’’ sighed Agneta. ‘’I haven’t eaten that in a long time.’’

‘’And what’s stopping you, my dear Agneta? We do produce apples in the hydroponic gardens of Vesta.’’

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‘’It’s a self-inflicted wound: I am trying to prevent gaining weight, so I have been avoiding pastries for the last few months.’’

‘’I see nothing wrong with your waistline, Agneta. Indulge yourself tonight: it would make me happy.’’

‘’Thank you, Mister Langemann. About the invitation, it says ‘relaxed dress’. What should I prepare for you to wear for this supper?’’

‘’Make it an informal suit with no tie. As for you, how about something light and sexy, instead of those formal gowns used for government ceremonies?’’

‘’I will think about it, Mister Langemann.’’ replied Agneta, a slight smile on her lips.

When the time came to go to the banquet room of the convention center, Agneta appeared in an outfit that made Karl Langemann smile, while George Melville and Tran Li sucked air in. The tall blonde wore a short, pleated skirt made of purple silk, knee-high black shiny boots and a silk golden blouse that left her shoulders and much of her back bare. A set of discrete but fine jewels, light makeup and a few drops of perfume completed her outfit.

‘’My dear Agneta, you are just perfect!’’ said Langemann. ‘’I am sure that Governor Watts’ eyeballs will fall out of their sockets when he will see you. Well, since we are all ready, let’s go!’’

Going out in the main hallway of their floor, the three men and one woman walked towards the lobby connecting the guest house and the convention center, in which the banquet hall was situated. Having attended a number of political meetings of the Spacers League in the past, Karl Langemann knew where to go, soon arriving at the entrance of the banquet hall with his group. On the way, they met a number of people from the other delegations and exchanged pleasantries with them as they approached the hall. Agneta Braun suddenly came to a dead stop as they were about to enter the large room, while fixing something to her right. Looking in that direction, Karl himself stopped abruptly, while his heart accelerated: three alien creatures were approaching, escorted by Gerald Holmes and by a Koorivar. The aliens were best described as being like mythical centaurs, but of the size of ponies. Their nearly human-like heads had soft, delicate features, a flat nose, yellow or green eyes, long pointy ears and a blond mane that ran from the top of their heads to their back, ending in a thick tail. The aliens wore what resembled skirts running around the whole length of their lower bodies, with one of

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them also wearing a blouse covering what had to be a pair of breasts. Gerald Holmes smiled to Agneta and Karl, trying to reassure them and the other guests present.

‘’Don’t be afraid of my friends, people: they are Hoshis, the indigenous race living on Hyanesu, the moon of Gliese 581c. They came as representatives of their race for tomorrow’s meeting and were chosen for that role by their elders because they can speak Koorivarese. They were given Koorivar translation units, so they will be able to converse with us tonight.’’

Agneta couldn’t help stare at the three Hoshis, captivated by them.

‘’They are actually a beautiful race, I must say. Are they herbivorous, like our horses?’’

One of the Hoshis took on him to answer her, with his translation unit repeating in English what he said in Koorivarese.

‘’Our race was strictly herbivorous at first, long ago, but we evolved and are now omnivorous. We however still prefer what you would call a vegetarian diet but eat fish and meat from time to time. Since all the compatibility tests have not been completed yet, we will restrict ourselves here to your cereals, fruits and vegetables. By the way, my name is Ibi.’’

‘’And my name is Agneta, Agneta Braun.’’ said Agneta, stepping forward to shake hands with the aliens. Ibi bowed his head in salute, then pointed his two comrades.

‘’Pleased to meet you, Agneta. These are my friends Noshia and Hotona. We grew together in the village which sheltered the four Koorivar survivors of the destroyed shuttle from the SHUNDAR.’’

Those last words made Karl Langemann, who had also stepped forward, look sharply at Gerald Holmes.

‘’The KOSTROMA found the SHUNDAR?’’

‘’Unfortunately, no, but it found traces of its passage on Hyanesu. My wife intends to show to everybody after supper a video prepared by Captain Forster, which will resume what the KOSTROMA has found to date during its interstellar trip. That way, everybody will be level with recent events before starting tomorrow morning’s meeting.’’

‘’A fine idea. I can’t wait to see it. Well, let’s enter the banquet hall: I am starting to get really hungry.’’

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Entering the large hall, they saw that a relatively small table sufficient for forty persons had been set up near one extremity of the room, which could normally accommodate over 200 persons. Lined up along the three walls surrounding the table were a series of tables supporting a multitude of covered service pots, trays and steam tables. That sight made Karl Langemann grin.

‘’I told you that she would go for a self-serve buffet. Let’s find our seats first, though.’’

A majordomo and valets helped them do that, telling them also to be seated for a welcoming speech by Governor Robeson. Janet Robeson, already in the banquet hall, looked at her guests around the table before starting to speak.

‘’Welcome to you all to this supper prior to tomorrow’s meeting. For your info, breakfast will also be served here tomorrow morning before we move to the conference room next door. I would like first to present to you the three representatives from the Hoshis, the native race of Hyanesu, the moon of Gliese 581c. They will attend the meeting tomorrow and will speak for their race. I thus present to you Noshia, Ibi and Hotona.’’

Polite clapping greeted the three Hoshis as they bowed their heads in turn. Janet Robeson then continued on.

‘’After this supper, which is meant to be most informal, we will view together a video report prepared by Fleet Captain Tina Forster, of the KOSTROMA. You will then see that a number of grave events have happened to date during her mission, through no fault of her own. I will however leave it at that for the moment. Now is the time to eat. Many of you will be pleased to learn that me and my husband Gerald have personally contributed to the menu which will be served tonight. With this said, you may now take the buffet tables by assault.’’

Karl Langemann was among the firsts to get up, but then gallantly helped Agneta by pulling back her chair and accompanied her to the start of the buffet tables. Like many of the other guests, they first walked down the line of tables to see what was on the menu, prior to start serving themselves. Karl’s eyes opened wide on seeing and smelling the content of a particular steam table tray.

‘’Beef Bourguignon! I’m going to stuff myself with it.’’

‘’I prepared it myself, Karl.’’ said proudly Gerald Holmes, who was nearby. ‘’Knowing your love for Beef Bourguignon, I made an extra-large batch.’’

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‘’An excellent idea, my friend.’’ replied Karl, most pleased. On her part, Agneta swooned over the collection of freshly baked pies laid on the desserts table at the end, eyeing in particular six apple pies sitting next to a few cherry pies, pecan pies, cherry cheesecakes and other various cakes, all truly appetizing-looking.

‘’Oooh, screw the diet for tonight! Those are MINE!’’

They then returned to the first buffet tables to start serving themselves, beginning with the soups on display in steaming pots. At that point, Karl noticed that the Hoshis and Koorivars present understandably raided in priority the well-stocked salad bar. However, he also saw that the Hoshis were not shy about grabbing a few vegetarian pieces from the sushi bar. He then returned to his seat with his first serving, a bowl of steaming lobster bisque soup which soon proved to be exquisite. Overall, the dress for the occasion may have been most informal, but the menu was proving to be truly royal.

The meal part of the event turned out to be longer than Karl expected, for the simple reason that nearly all the guests kept returning to the buffet tables to try more of the dishes. He himself finally had to sit back and push himself away from the table, being close to bursting but also being quite happy about his meal.

‘’God, I’m stuffed! This must have been one of my best meals in a long time. Gerald, your Beef Bourguignon was sublime.’’

‘’Why, thank you, Karl!’’ replied Gerald Holmes, pleased with himself, who then looked at the three Hoshis sitting facing him, who were all devouring pieces of pies overlaid with ice cream.

‘’You do seem to agree with my wife’s pies, Noshia.’’

The Hoshi had to swallow first before he could answer Gerald.

‘’I must say that what you call pastries are absolutely delicious, especially those that ally fruits and a flour crust. Your available choice of vegetables, roots and fruits is also surprising to us for its size, variety and taste. If some of your people would open vegetarian restaurants on Hyanesu, I am sure that they would prove popular with my people.’’

‘’Talking about exchanges between our two people, may I ask what kind of currency you use between yourselves?’’ asked Karl Langemann, who was sitting next to Gerald Holmes. Noshia put down his fork and thought carefully before answering.

‘’I must be honest here and say that our society is quite primitive in many ways compared to yours. We do not have any so-called heavy industries and have no artificial

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sources of energy except fire. All that we use and consume is produced locally in our villages and hamlets and we have nothing that could be called true cities. What we can’t produce or find locally is brought by traveling merchants pulling small chariots along the trails linking the various settlements of our people. The quantities they can carry are however quite limited, especially when compared to your own transportation vehicles. As for the currencies we use, barter is still a popular way to exchange goods and services among my people. We also use rare or attractive objects like pearls, stones and small metal pearls or coins made of silver, gold or copper.’’

‘’So, this would place you at about the level of our own past Early Antiquity or Early Middle Ages. On this subject of currency, I must be frank with you: our history from a few centuries ago concerning trade between the more advanced countries on Earth and the less developed ones is not a very nice one. The so-called ‘civilized’ Europeans often cheated the indigenous people by trading nearly-worthless junk, while taking valuable metals from the locals. Thankfully, trade is a lot more regulated these days, but you still can find a few swindlers from time to time. However, if your people ever end up trading with the Spacers League, be assured that we have very severe laws against fraud and commercial abuse.’’

Noshia made a slight smile before replying to him.

‘’Thank you for your frankness, mister: it is already one good point in your favor. I must say that the incredibly vast range of products that you could offer us, including all sorts of metal products and tools, would probably overwhelm the average Hoshi if he doesn’t show restraint. In return, I must say that there is little of real value to you that we could offer in exchange. Even the silver and gold we have is produced in only small quantities.’’

‘’Well, any future colonists on Hyanesu could always pay a rent to the local elders in exchange for the land or seafront used by the colony. Since the rent would probably be paid in silver or gold, that would create the base for an exchange currency.’’ Noshia caressed his chin with one hand in a very human-like gesture.

‘’Hum, a very interesting and practical concept. I will certainly present it to our elders on our return to our village. And your name is, sir?’’

‘’Langemann! Karl Langemann, CEO of the Vesta Consortium, situated in the Main Asteroid Belt of this solar system. As our specialty, we produce all kinds of metal products and structures, but we also produce our own food locally.’’

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‘’Decidedly, the way your race has adapted to life off your home planet is simply astounding. To see for example the kind of city you built here, on an airless moon, makes us Hoshis truly wonder. When we saw for the first time your giant ship, the KOSTROMA, we could not believe at first that you could produce so much metal. That the captain of your ship treated us as if we were equals came as a huge but also very pleasant surprise to us.’’

‘’Aah, but you were lucky, in that you dealt with one of the most decent, respectful and honest person I ever met, Noshia. She also happens to be a great friend of the Koorivars.’’

That was when Janet Robeson rose from her chair to address the dinners.

‘’Ladies and gentlemen, coffee, tea and digestives will now be served, following which we will view together the recorded video report made by Fleet Captain Forster, of the KOSTROMA. I hope that you enjoyed your meal.’’

A concert of satisfied remarks answered that last sentence, making Janet grin.

‘’Excellent! Majordomo, have the beverages served!’’

Some seven minutes later, with everybody having been served drinks, Janet started playing Tina Forster’s video report of her mission to date on a large holographic screen hooked to a wall of the hall. That viewing brought many surprises to the attendees, along with anger and indignation when Vorlak depredations were shown. When the video file ended, Janet Robeson had the lights of the hall returned to normal intensity and looked around the table with a somber expression.

‘’Ladies and gentlemen, I already had time to view in advance and analyze this video report by Fleet Captain Forster, and I judged her conduct to date during this mission to be most appropriate, measured and responsible. Do any of you here have any objections or critiques to present about her actions?’’ Toru Tomonaga, the CEO of the Ceres Consortium, spoke up after a couple seconds of silence.

‘’My predecessor at the head of the Ceres Consortium would probably have found something to criticize, out of his pacifism at all cost attitude, but it would take a highly hypocritical person in my opinion to find any fault with Captain Forster in the manner she handled her mission. Those Vorlaks got what they deserved and can count themselves lucky to have paid such a limited price for their genocidal actions. I fully

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support a permanent Space ban against them, to be enforce by the Spacers League Navy in order to safeguard Hyanesu and Oceana from future Vorlak depredations.’’

‘’I also support Captain Forster’s action and her request to restrict the Vorlaks to the surface of their planet.’’ said out loud Langemann, quickly imitated by the other leaders present. Sheraz, the political leader of the Koorivar settlement located on Earth, was the last to express his approval of Tina Forster’s actions. Most satisfied by this, Janet then declared the supper and presentation over and invited her guests to come back the next morning for breakfast, to be followed by a policy making meeting. Agneta Braun sighed while getting up from her chair, patting her full stomach.

‘’My God, what a meal that was! It will take me weeks to spend all those extra calories.’’

‘’I could help you spend some of those extra calories tonight, my dear Agneta.’’ replied in a low voice Karl Langemann, a sneaky smile on his lips.

09:00 (Universal Time)

Tuesday, June 01, 2320

Conference room, Government Convention Center Callisto Prime

‘’Welcome again, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday evening, you all got a copy of a short list of subjects to be discussed this morning, so that you could discuss in advance its points between yourselves. Now that we have had a chance to sleep on them, we will start discussing them together, starting with the one point with the most implications for Humanity as a whole: how do we manage our entry into interstellar travel or, as my dear husband said, how do we prevent that from becoming a chaos that would make the Klondike Gold Rush appear like a well-organized venture?’’ There were quite a few short laughs and giggles around the table at that question from Janet Robeson, who paused for a second before continuing.

‘’Jokes apart, that question is a primordial one and has the potential to fuel endless future headaches for us if mishandled. For one thing, we certainly want to prevent unscrupulous commercial conglomerates or groups from raiding the resources and real estate where alien races and species already live. The last thing I want to see is for us to act around the stars like a bunch of murdering, thieving conquistadores. However, I know you all well enough to be reassured about the future conduct of your

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various states and consortiums. What I am worried about mostly are Earth’s states and entities which are not members of the Spacers League and which have a questionable track record concerning respect of individual and collective rights and about the way they treat foreigners and aliens. Prime among these states is the Southern Federation, which is still in effect in a state of latent hostility towards us and the Northern Alliance of President d’Arcy. What complicates this question is how compact and easy to produce and install the Koomak Interstellar Drive is. Restricting access to it to only vetted entities and ships will be difficult indeed and may call for some exceptionally tight security measures to protect the secrets of that drive. The second point to be discussed, in order of importance, is how we will manage the relations between us and the various races and species we will discover. Already, the KOSTROMA has either encountered or found traces of four intelligent life forms during its mission: the Gordos, the sea turtles of Oceana, the Hoshis and the Vorlaks. And this doesn’t even take into account all the non-intelligent forms of life it encountered, with all but one of the planets visited by the KOSTROMA proving to harbor life. If this is a reliable indicator of what to expect in the future, then I would say that we will probably find the star systems around us to be full of life. Apart from being cautious about not involuntarily cause epidemics by carelessly spreading our germs around or by exposing ourselves to alien germs, we will need to be firmly conscious that all those alien worlds don’t belong to us and to be respectful of the alien life forms we will encounter. I certainly don’t want to see Human ships go around and act like thieves and occupiers on the planets and moons they will land on. We will thus need to discuss and establish firm, clear measures to prevent any abuse in this new era of interstellar travel. Thirdly, we will need to decide how best to contain the threat to other races represented by the Vorlaks. I believe that we will have our plates full today and we may have to extend this conference by a day or two if needed to do our job here. The floor is now open to proposals and ideas about our first point, ladies and gentlemen.’’

Janet Robeson then sat down as her position’s built-in computer’s screen started filling with written suggestions typed by attendees.

The morning and afternoon went by quickly, so involved the discussions were. By the end of the afternoon, the leaders were starting to discuss the third point: how to contain the Vorlak threat on a long-term basis. That was when Karl Langemann jumped in with an idea he had been turning inside his head for a few hours already.

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‘’Governor Robeson, the only reason the KOSTROMA is still inside the Gliese 581 system instead of searching for the SHUNDAR and the SHANIZAR is because it is needed to keep the Vorlaks at bay. However, it will have soon to come back to the Solar System in order to bring the damaged CENTURION to a Space yard for repairs and to pick up some needed materiel and supplies to help build an initial Koorivar settlement on Hyanesu, as agreed with Hoshi elders. Captain Forster’s suggestion to place robotic armed surveillance satellites around the Vorlak planet is a good one and I support it, but I would also like to propose a way to quickly reinforce those satellites.’’

‘’And what do you have in mind, Karl?’’ asked Janet Robeson, curious.

‘’To move MJOLNIR to the Gliese 581 system and park it in orbit around the third planet. With such a powerful deterrence overhead, I doubt very much that the Vorlaks will even dare think about attacking the Hoshis again.’’

‘’The MJOLNIR?’’ exclaimed Juan Perez, the governor of the Saturn System. ‘’It would certainly scare the Vorlaks shitless, if you will excuse my language. But can we even move it to Gliese 581? It is way too massive to be towed there.’’

‘’No need to tow it, Juan: let’s simply adapt a Koomak Drive unit to it.’’

‘’Uh, I didn’t think of that. If it can really be done, then I am ready to support your proposal.’’

As more questions and remarks flew around the table about Langemann’s proposition, Noshia bent sideways to speak in a near whisper to Governor Charles Watts, seated next to the Hoshi.

‘’What is this MJOLNIR they are now talking about, Governor?’’

‘’MJOLNIR is what could properly be called a ‘doomsday weapon’. It was built during the 2315 War against the then Terran Federation, in order to destroy the Terran orbital fortresses blocking access to Earth’s orbit. It is basically a three-kilometer-wide, irregularly-shaped iron-nickel asteroid that had been part of the Main Asteroid Belt. Having been extensively dug into to extract the metal ore in it, it was at the time reduced to a huge, nearly empty shell with a crust still some 200 to 400 meters thick. Langemann’s consortium then added a propulsion system to that shell, plus weapons systems, sensors and living facilities inside. Its main weapons are dozens of huge chunks of iron-nickel rocks to which rocket engines and guidance systems were added. When launched, those rocks then act like kinetic energy missiles, liberating on impact the energy equivalent to a large thermonuclear warhead. I am sorry if I use such terms

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that are unfamiliar to you but suffice to say that a single rock strike from the MJOLNIR is enough to create a crater the size of a large city.’’

Noshia couldn’t help recoil in horror at that description.

‘’And…you used that weapon during that war?’’

‘’Yes, we did, Noshia. MJOLNIR destroyed in succession all the Terran orbital fortresses with rock strikes, opening Earth’s orbits to our fleet and allowing it to defeat the forces of the Zembelo Regime and to liberate the territories occupied until then by Zembelo’s thugs. It had to fire another rock missile near the end of the war, in order to destroy a facility where a deadly chemical weapon was being developed. Unfortunately, that also meant the destruction of the nearby city of Lagos, but we had no other choice then in order to protect the lives of over 200 million Spacers threatened by that chemical weapon.’’

‘’By the spirits, the technological power of your race tends to scare me, Governor Watts.’’

‘’Your reaction is perfectly understandable, Noshia, but we Humans have evolved quite a lot during the past few centuries. More importantly, the rights of individuals, promoting justice and helping others in need are key credos of our Spacers League. If you ever face some danger or abuse in the future, it won’t come from us, my friend.’’

03:16 (Universal Time)

Tuesday, June 22, 2320

Biology research team camp

Beach of volcanic island on Oceana (Gliese 581d) Gliese 581 system

Bip-bip, bip-bip, bip-bip, bip-bip…

Jennifer Scott, having been deeply asleep, took a few seconds to react to the insistent beeping from the small device resting next to her pillow. Opening her still heavy eyelids, she nearly jumped off her camp cot when she realized what the noise was about.

‘’OH MY GOD! IT’S THE TURTLE NEST MOVEMENT DETECTOR!’’ she shouted loud enough to wake up Shinta Betang and Natalia Vishenkova, who occupied with her one of the five modular field shelters which had been assembled a month ago on the beach, next to their landed, jump-capable shuttle. Forgetting that she had been sleeping in the nude and frankly not caring much about that detail, Jennifer got up

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quickly from her cot and grabbed in passing her compressed air pellet revolver before running out of the shelter and onto the black sand of the beach. With the planet being tidally-locked to its sun and always presenting the same side to the red dwarf star, their beach was always illuminated, although the level of lighting was quite low compared to a typical day on Earth, on top of being of a pinkish-red tint. There was however more than enough light for Jennifer to easily orient herself and run towards the spot where Tumon the sea turtle had laid her eggs. That spot on the sandy beach had been covered by a large, protective steel mesh dome of a diameter of three meters and a height of one meter, with small openings at intervals around its weighed down base, so that the baby turtles could crawl out from under the dome when they would emerge from their eggs. Those openings were however also too small to allow birds or other predators to pass through to go eat the eggs. A movement sensor fixed to the inside of the mesh dome had been placed to warn the biological research team of the moment the baby turtles would emerge from under the sand. It had just functioned as planned: now it was time for Jennifer and her comrades to do their job and fulfill their promise to Tumon to protect her babies. Since less than one percent of the newly born baby turtles on Earth made it alive during their initial rush to the water’s edge, thanks to multiple predators picking on them, such protection was very pertinent, especially if you considered that those baby turtles were part of a sentient race.

As she ran towards the dome marking the location of the nest, her revolver in one hand, Jennifer saw the first baby turtles, tiny things only a few centimeters across in size, crawl out through the holes at the base of the dome. Her joy at seeing them was then cooled down by the sight of nearly a dozen sea birds in the process of diving on the dome, intent on having a good meal. She thus accelerated her run and started shouting out loud while wildly waving her arms.

‘’GO AWAY, YOU VULTURES, OR YOU’LL TASTE MY LEAD PELLETS! GO AWAY, I SAY! SHOOO!’’

Stopping near the dome, between it and the sea, she planted both of her feet in the sand and, raising and pointing her pellet handgun, shot at the nearest bird. Stung by the impact of the pellet against its belly, the large bird screamed in pain and veered away from Jennifer and the dome. That however left many more birds still diving down on the baby turtles now crawling past on both sides of Jennifer.

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‘’COME ON GUYS! I NEED HELP HERE TO PROTECT THE BABY TURTLES. WAKE THE FUCK UP!’’

She had time to shoot two more times before the first of her comrades emerged from the shelters: it was Robert Lefranc, the pilot of their shuttle, who ran out wearing only his underwear. Thankfully, he also had his pellet rifle with him as he started running towards Jennifer and the nest. By that time, the birds had grown more audacious and, conscious of their numbers, started ignoring Jennifer, diving on the baby turtles farthest from her. Seeing with horror a baby turtle being grabbed in the claws of a bird, the young Canadian biologist pushed a scream of rage and, pointing quickly her revolver, shot that bird in one eye, making it release its prey. Thankfully, Robert Lefranc arrived on the scene at that moment, shooting bird after bird while shouting wildly to scare away the flying predators. When her revolver became empty, Jennifer grabbed it by its long barrel and started swinging it like a hammer while running around on the sand. She however had to be careful not to step onto one of the small baby turtles and squash it. With all of her companions eventually joining her and Lefranc on the beach after a few more seconds, the sea birds finally gave up, with more than a few of them flapping away with difficulty, having been painfully pinched by the pellets. All this was however far from finished yet. Jennifer knew that the birds would next try to grab the baby turtles from the surface of the sea before they could dive deep enough to be safe. She thus ran into the water, ahead of the first baby turtles, and stood her ground menacingly some ten paces from the water’s edge. She was joined there by Natalia Vishenkova, the copilot of their shuttle, and by Zev Bloomberg, the maintenance technician assigned to their team. Seeing that, the sea birds finally understood that this was hopeless and flew away, to Jennifer’s relief. Looking at the sand of the beach and at the waves, she was elated to see dozens of baby turtles entering the water one after the other, to soon disappear towards the bottom. She however waited where she was for a few more minutes, to make sure that the sea birds would not come back.

When she did come out of the water dead last, with the last few baby turtles now out of sight, she saw that Robert Lefranc was starting a camp stove in order to boil water and make coffee. When she approached him, the shuttle pilot, a handsome man in his early thirties, looked up at her while grinning.

‘’You will want a cup of coffee as well I suppose, Jennifer?’’

‘’I sure do! And don’t be afraid to make it strong.’’

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‘’Of course! It will be about ready by the time that you will have put something decent on…not that what you are wearing now is not delightful.’’ Looking down at herself, Jennifer belatedly realized that she had been exposing herself for many minutes now. Being in a very good mood right now, she slowly approached Lefranc, stopping no more than one pace directly in front of him.

‘’Is that better, Robert?’’

The male pilot eyed her shaved groin, then looked up at her face, framed by the underside of her breasts.

‘’The best outfit I could think of, Jennifer. Maybe we could discuss our fashion tastes together…later on?’’

‘’I would be happy to, Robert.’’ replied Jennifer, a malicious smile on her face, before walking to her shelter and entering it. Robert had a last look at her firm, well-rounded buttocks before sighing to himself.

‘’Damn, what a girl!’’

10:03 (Universal Time)

Friday, July 02, 2320

The waters off the beach occupied by the biology team

Jennifer was making an exploratory shallow dive with Shinta Betang, swimming near the bottom at a depth of twelve meters, taking pictures and collecting samples, when she saw three large dark masses approaching from the high seas. At first, they were barely visible due to the distance and lack of water clarity, but Jennifer recognized the shapes at once and spoke in her throat microphone to alert her colleague biologist.

‘’Shinta, three whales are approaching from our nine o’clock.’’ The Indonesian-born biologist stopped in mid-water and faced that direction at once, imitated by Jennifer.

‘’I see them! I think that I also see a few smaller shapes.’’

‘’You are right: I can see those now. I count three whales and five other shapes, possibly local dolphins. They seem to be coming towards us and the island. Let’s stay mostly immobile now, in order not to scare them away.’’

‘’Scare them away? We still don’t know what those whales and dolphins eat on top of fish.’’

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A mental message then resonated inside the brains of the two women, taking them by surprise.

‘’Do not be afraid, little land creatures: we the Whiss only eat fish and plankton.’’ Jennifer, having already conversed mentally in the past with Tumon the sea turtle, was the first to recover from her surprise and reply to the mental message, speaking it as well as thinking it so that Shinta could follow the conversation.

‘’The Whiss?’’

‘’Yes! It is the collective name we use for us, the ones you would call ‘whales’. Three of us came with five Roos, which you call ‘dolphins’, along with three Tarkons, who traveled on our backs for speed convenience. You spoke some cycles ago with a Tarkon called Tumon.’’

Joy and hope filled Jennifer at the mention of Tumon.

‘’Is Tumon with you?’’

‘’Yes! She is in fact traveling on my back. I can sense your joy at the mention of Tumon. Your friendship with her is indeed a good portent of your intentions towards us.’’

‘’And I can affirm to you that our intentions are friendly. Tumon, can you hear me?’’

‘’Yes, I can, Jennifer.’’ replied a second, different mental voice. ‘’Know that my race, the Tarkons, is not the only one on this planet to be able to communicate mentally. The Whiss, or whales as you called them, have even higher mental capacities than the Tarkons, while the Roos, or dolphins, are roughly comparable to us Tarkons in telepathic abilities. There is yet another intelligent specie living in the depths of our ocean world, called the ‘Motas’. You would describe them as being giant squids, but they mostly stay in the deepest parts of our ocean world.’’

‘’Four intelligent, sentient species able to communicate via telepathy, on a single world? That is incredible!’’ said Shinta Betang, utterly fascinated by this mental conversation and by the marine beings now surrounding her and Jennifer.

‘’Well, since we can hardly build metal tools and light fire like you Humans and Koorivars do, we developed and used our intelligence to create a way to speak between all of us and to pass pieces of knowledge, wisdoms and also entertaining stories. By the way, what is your name, little one?’’

‘’Shinta, Shinta Betang. I consecrate my life in studying other forms of life, be it marine, animal or vegetal. We call my specialty ‘biology’ and we call ourselves ‘biologists’. Our exploration team on the island where our shuttle is counts a total of four

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biologists, including me and Jennifer, plus two shuttle pilots and one technician who maintains and repairs our machines and tools.’’

‘’Well, Shinta, I believe that we will have many stories to share from now on and in the future. How have my babies managed on the island?’’

‘’They emerged from their nest some twenty cycles ago.’’ answered Jennifer, cutting in. ‘’Nearly all of them made it safely to the open water despite the attempts by the birds to catch and eat them.’’

‘’That is excellent news! I can’t thank you and your comrades enough for protecting my babies. Know that, despite our intelligence, the continued survival of the Tarkons is a problematic one: so many predators, and not only birds, keep attacking our nests and eating our eggs.’’

‘’Tumon, I myself won’t be able to stay forever on this planet, although I wish I could, but maybe us Humans and Koorivars could establish turtle nest sanctuaries on the island where my shuttle is landed and on other islands of your ocean world. If the Tarkons, the Whiss and the Roos agree to let some of my people and of the Koorivars establish floating cities on your ocean world, then we could create and maintain such turtle sanctuaries, thus helping your race to multiply and prosper.’’

‘’That would be a great thing indeed.’’ said the mental voice of the whale which had addressed Jennifer first. ‘’The Whiss and the Roos are good friends of the Tarkons but, due to the fact that we can’t leave the ocean and go on dry land, we couldn’t do anything to protect the Tarkons’ eggs…but you can. We could thus form a mutually profitable association, as long as Humans and Koorivars would agree to respect our ocean, avoid polluting it and, especially, avoid fishing in it.’’

‘’If this could reassure you, I as a biologist has already established the fact that the local marine life is not truly edible by us Humans and by the Koorivars: we found a type of secretion in the local shellfish and in the few small fish we studied that renders their digestion in our stomachs very difficult. Basically, attempts at eating the local fish and sea shells would cause us a severe colic and diarrhea.’’ Both Jennifer and Shinta then mentally felt a strong wave of amusement pass over them as one of the five Roos present spoke telepathically.

‘’Well, we should normally feel offended by being told that we taste bad but, in this case, it is definitely a positive trait for us. So, if you can’t eat the local fish, what would your people eat to survive on this world?’’

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‘’For the Koorivars, it is easy enough to answer: they are strictly vegetarian and eat only vegetal products, like herbs, cereals, fruits and roots, so they will have absolutely no interest in fishing your ocean and eating fish or shells. For my race, the Humans, things are more complicated, as we are omnivorous and are accustomed to eat a lot of fish and meat. However, since starting to travel around space a long time ago, we have developed ways to grow our own food within enclosed spaces, aboard our spaceships and space installations. We raise the fish we eat inside big water reservoirs; via a process we call fish farming. We similarly raise animals which provide us with meat. If you will accept to let us establish floating cities here, then those cities will have their own hydroponic gardens, fish farms and animal farms, which will not infringe on the open waters of your ocean world. As for the danger of pollution, I must say in all frankness that my specie was guilty of negligence and abuse in the past and polluted our original home planet to a nearly irreversible point. However, the portion of our citizens living in Space has learned how to avoid creating such pollution, out of sheer necessity. Basically, a polluted Space habitat would quickly become unlivable, as the available living volume and resources are strictly limited in Space. Besides, since there are very few dry lands on your planet, all of the mining, heavy industrial production and transformation industries will have to be established off planet, most probably on one or more of the four moons turning around your planet, which by the way we call ‘Oceana’.’’

‘’Your frankness is to be commended, Jennifer Scott. If what you said is true and if Humans and Koorivars are truly ready to treat us and our oceans with respect and care, then we Roos see no objections about seeing your people establish the kind of floating cities you described to us.’’

The mental voice of the lead whale then spoke in turn.

‘’The Whiss would also have no objections to your floating cities, if you respect your promises and act the way you just described, little one.’’

‘’And we Tarkons would be happy to make an associative deal with you about establishing nest sanctuaries on a few islands, Jennifer.’’ said Tumon last. The joy Jennifer felt then was however tempered by the thought that she, as a simple biologist, didn’t have the kind of political authority or power to make sure that her promises would be kept.

‘’Your acceptance of us warms my heart but I must warn you that I personally don’t have the kind of authority needed to turn our mutual understanding into force of law. I will however go send a message to my home star system after this conversation,

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asking for one of our political leaders to endorse formally an official deal. Do you think that you could stay around this island for a few cycles, time for me to get an official answer that I would then pass on to you?’’

‘’Staying around is no problem for us, Jennifer: there is plenty of fish and plankton around. Once you will have an official answer, just swim back to this spot and call for us mentally.’’

‘’I will, and I promise you to make it as quickly as possible. See you soon, my friends.’’

Jennifer then swam back towards the nearby beach, accompanied by Shinta Betang. The Whiss elder waited for the two women to be out of the water, then eyed Tumon.

‘’Those are interesting creatures indeed that you met, Tumon. That they can travel between the stars is still a concept I have difficulty forming in my mind, as we Whiss hardly ever see the stars in the sky of our world. What they can do with their tools and machines is a bit scary, considering their own confession about poisoning their own world in the past. Hopefully, your friends will prove to be the norm rather than the exception for those ‘Humans’.’’

15:18 (Universal Time)

Monday, July 05, 2320

Open waters off the beach occupied by the biology team

The first one to approach Jennifer, who was waiting on the sandy bottom at a depth of fifteen meters, was a Roos, the local dolphin lookalike specie. He was followed closely by two more Roos, who started turning lazily around Jennifer while communicating telepathically.

‘’Did you get a response from your leaders, Jennifer?’’

‘’Yes, but I want that response to be given at the same time to you, the Whiss and the Tarkons. How long would it take for them to join you here?’’

‘’Oh, it won’t be long: they were staying close to here and are already on their way. They should be here in less than one twentieth of a cycle.’’

‘’Excellent! Then I will wait here, in the water. In the meantime, we could spend the time by talking together, if you wish. For one thing, I am curious to know if there are marine predators in this ocean which could be dangerous to me or you?’’

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‘’Oh, there certainly are, Jennifer! First, you have the Grax, which are the more dangerous of the lot. The Grax are a bit bigger than us Roos and generally have the same body shape but have enormous teeth which are very sharp. The Grax are very aggressive and very voracious and eat about any marine species they encounter, except for plankton, which is too small for their taste. They however rarely dare to attack the Whiss, who can defend themselves quite well with their front-pointing horn and who also have a very hard skin that the Grax have problems piercing through. Another type of predator you will find in our ocean world is the Rishk. The Rishk have a long, thin body and a huge mouth full of teeth. Once a Rishk is able to bite something, it is then very difficult to make it release their grip while they basically suck your body tissues into its long stomach.’’

Jennifer couldn’t help shiver as she imagined such a scene.

‘’My God! That sounds positively horrific! By the way, what is your name, friend?’’

‘’I am Soorak, the leader of the Roos in this part of our world.’’

‘’Well, Soorak, I brought with me a machine that can show pictures and moving images on a flat surface. I could show you the Earth equivalent of your Grax and Rishk, plus the ones nearest to the Roos, Whiss and Tarkons.’’

‘’Oooh, that sounds very interesting. Show me, please!’’

‘’With pleasure, Soorak.’’ thought Jennifer before powering up her waterproof viewing pad and then punching a few requests in it, using an electronic pen for better touch accuracy. Next, she distributed a series of thumb-sized video links around the periphery of the screen, opening one video and turning the pad’s screen towards Soorak.

‘’What you are now watching is a group of Earth dolphins, the nearest type of marine mammal compared to your specie.’’

Soorak and his two companions approached at once their heads as close to the viewing pad as they could and watched the video shown on it, positively fascinated. After nearly a minute of watching, Soorak looked directly at Jennifer’s face, half hidden by her breathing mask.

‘’The resemblance of your dolphins to us is striking, Jennifer. How about your models of the Whiss and of the Tarkons?’’

‘’Coming up!’’ replied Jennifer before shrinking back the dolphin video and then enlarging and starting a video showing a humpback whale. The Roos watched with great interest that video, then the video showing a leatherback sea turtle. The three

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Roos however nearly swam back on seeing a video of a group of tiger sharks devouring a poor baby whale.

‘’By the seas! Your sharks indeed look like our Grax. However, the Grax are generally bigger than those sharks that you just showed us.’’

‘’Bigger, you said? Yikes! I sure wouldn’t want to meet one of your Grax.’’

‘’But he sure would love to meet you, little juicy Jennifer.’’ joked one of Soorak’s companions, making Jennifer smirk.

‘’Yeah, sure! Excuse me if I pass on that invitation. Oh, I think that the Whiss are now arriving.’’

Two giant Whiss effectively approached to within a few meters of Jennifer, who then could see that a giant sea turtle was traveling on the back of one of them.

‘’Tumon, is that you?’’

‘’It is me, Jennifer. You got an answer from your leaders in your home system?’’

‘’I got even better than that. But before we start on serious things, let me show you and Tumon what I just showed to Soorak and his friends. What you are going to see are images of the marine life forms on Earth that I believe to be the closest to the life forms here on Oceana. I will start with whales.’’

Jennifer spent three minutes showing her videos to her captivated audience, then powered off her pad.

‘’We will now get to serious business, if you don’t mind. I promised you that I would get an answer from the leaders of my race about your conditions for us and the Koorivar to be permitted to establish floating cities on your ocean. Well, the response I got was even better than I expected, as my leaders decided to answer your request in person. They will now come down to the bottom to join me and you for a face-to-face discussion.’’

The surprised Whiss, Tarkon and Roos then saw her pull three times on a rope linking a bottom lead weight to a floating balloon. Three shapes soon splashed in the water, dropping from a waiting rubber boat, and swam down to flank Jennifer on both sides. As the Oceana beings looked at the two Human women and one Koorivar in diving suits now beside Jennifer, the latter both spoke and thought at the same time.

‘’My friends, I would like to present to you three prominent leaders from my Solar System. First, this is Governor Janet Robeson, chief administrator of the Jovian System and chairman of the Spacers League Council, which govern all of the Humans living off

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Earth and traveling through Space. Governor Robeson governs over 330 million Humans. To my left is President Claudia d’Arcy, leader of the Northern Alliance, constituted of the various states on Earth which are allied to the Spacers League and which have a combined population of approximately 1.3 billion Humans. Finally, furthest to my right, is Administrator Sheraz, the political leader of the Koorivar refugees whom we rescued on an icy moon of our Solar System, and this after their ship crashed on that moon after a very long trip through Space. They had to evacuate their home planet just before a wandering brown dwarf crashed into it, destroying their home world. Most of the floating cities which we are going to build here, if of course you give your collective permission, will be meant to settle Koorivar refugees. Again, the Koorivar are

vegetarians and don’t eat fish or meat, thus will have no interest in fishing.’’

‘’My friends, I as Chairman of the Spacers League, am now solemnly promising you that your ocean world and your species will be treated by my people with the utmost respect and that we will refrain from both polluting your world and fishing in your ocean. The only thing we will insist on is our right to self-defense. We heard what you said about your local predatory species. Also, we will be interested in studying your world and your ocean, and this strictly for scientific curiosity. In return, we will be ready to establish a number of protected nest sanctuaries for the Tarkons, on the islands of their choice.’’

‘’And I, Sheraz, as Administrator of the Vancouver Island Koorivar Settlement, promise to you that the Koorivars who will settle on your world will do so in peace and respect.’’

‘’I, President Claudia d’Arcy, leader of the Northern Alliance on Earth, promise to support both the Spacers League and the Koorivars in keeping this world a peaceful and pristine one. We will also do our utmost to stop any other state or organization on Earth who would not be ready to respect the integrity of your world from gaining access to your planet.’’

The leading Whiss turned his head towards d’Arcy at those words.

‘’Should we conclude by your words that some of the Humans on Earth would not be ready to obey our conditions about how to conduct themselves on our planet, President d’Arcy?’’

‘’Unfortunately, yes! However, those states and organizations lost a recent war against the Spacers League and my Northern Alliance, a war caused by their desire to dominate and plunder the rest of the planet. As a result of that war, those hostile states

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have been cut off from traveling through Space and all their spaceships have been either destroyed or confiscated, thus they cannot threaten you or your planet now. We intend to enforce that status and will not allow them access to your planet. Know as well that another sentient race living in your solar system, but on another planet, has just been quarantined to the surface of their planet by us, after that race, the Vorlaks, attacked without provocation another race living on a moon, the Hoshis. The Hoshis, whose degree of technological advancement is much less than that of the Vorlaks, is also a pacifist race. They also happened to have rescued and sheltered crewmembers from a visiting Koorivar ship, which we are presently searching for among the stars. Those Vorlaks committed many atrocities against the Hoshis, who were basically helpless to resist them, and even tried to exterminate all life on their moon when they lost control of it after one of our ships intervened. Unfortunately, as you can see, goodwill is not universal in this universe.’’

‘’Indeed! However, what is important to us is that you appear to have such goodwill in your heart. Me and my friends thus welcome you on this world. May our association prove both peaceful and productive.’’

‘’Well,’’ thought Janet Robeson, ‘’we would have liked to seal this understanding with a traditional handshake, but since you have no hands…’’

‘’A hug will do, Governor Robeson.’’

After a moment of hesitation deciding how to do that, Janet Robeson, Claudia d’Arcy and Sheraz swam to the lead Whiss and took turns hugging its head, near its eyes and frontal horn, then did the same with Tumon and Soorak. At the end of it, Janet Robeson spoke/thought while still touching Soorak.

‘’You very soon will see a giant spaceship temporarily land on your ocean in order to launch an oceanic research ship which will then start exploring and mapping your world. Our team presently occupying the nearby beach will then relocate aboard that scientific ship, but will leave behind a small team of three persons who will take care of maintaining and protecting a nest sanctuary for Tarkons, at the same spot that Tumon laid her eggs. As it will travel on your ocean, that ship will establish more nest sanctuaries on islands chosen by local Tarkons.’’

‘’That will be a great thing indeed, Governor Robeson. When could we expect your people to start building those floating cities we were told about?’’

‘’In about twenty of your cycles, time for us to load their prefabricated structures on spaceships and bring them here. Those floating cities will have portions lying under

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the surface of the sea, with transparent windows. Both of our people will thus be able to easily communicate with each other whenever we wish.’’

‘’A very important point, certainly. Thank you for honoring us with your visit, Governor Robeson, President d’Arcy and Administrator Sheraz. Thank you as well to you, little Jennifer: you are a very likeable person.’’

‘’And you will all be my friends, forever.’’ replied Jennifer, meaning it.