Page 14 of Whoops-A-Mate From Outer Space
“No. I merely completed my work on Lyll ahead of schedule.”
“Any good news?”
“It is too soon to be certain. However, early indications are that there are no environmental factors that affect human female tissue.”
“Wasn’t it a virus, though?”
Eashai nodded. “Correct. But we determined that the best course of action was to exclude environmental causes prior to additional testing.”
“I see. Does this mean you’ll need additional samples?”
Eashai shook his head. “Not at this time.”
“Let me or the Colonel know if you need anything.”
Eashai laughed. “You are not the only ones offering samples.”
Floyd visibly bristled. “Yes, well…”
“I will inform you once we have additional needs.”
Floyd sighed, then nodded. “Please do.” He looked between us, then faced me. “Doctor, do you wish to continue touring the facility, or would you like to continue your conversation?”
I glanced between him and Eashai, who smiled at me. “I think I’d like to stay and meet everybody.”
Floyd turned to Eashai. “Are you comfortable showing the Doctor around?”
He laughed. “I am well acquainted with where we are allowed to go.”
Floyd shrugged. “Good enough.” He turned to me. “Doctor, I’ll leave you in the hands of Major Klein, Eashai, and your team.Let me know if you need anything. My office is in the admin building.”
“Got it.”
He nodded, then turned and strode out.
“What was that about?” I asked.
Eashai chuckled. “It is a problem with every country. Each wants to set themselves out as the most useful.”
“Huh? Each country?”
He studied me for a moment, then shook his head. “You should have been better informed. I will need to address this with the General. We are working with almost all countries on Earth simultaneously.”
“You didn’t pick one or two?”
“No. We had hoped that we would be able to give humanity the time to evolve beyond territorial and ideological squabbles. Unfortunately, our situation necessitated that we initiate contact now. Given the history of advancements being used to oppress countries without access to technology, it was determined that the best course of action was to contact every government and offer the same incentives for working with us.”
“And everybody gets the same thing, regardless of level of participation?”
He nodded. “Inequity still plagues this planet. We instead consider the relative contribution. We wish to neither burden a struggling population nor give a government with additional resources an advantage.”
“I think I get it,” I replied. “You don’t want to make things worse.”
“Yes. We understand that our presence will change things, but humans are our best option. So we are working to minimize the impact of our disruption.”
I swallowed. “You’ve… mentioned a situation, and now humans being your best option… What do you mean?”
He frowned, then turned slightly. “Do any of you need to speak with me?”
