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Chapter 7

There's Someone I Want you to Meet...

Felix

Shortly before we began our final approach to Earth, I changed to Peter and called my parents. My father answered.

"Hi, Dad, how's it going?"

"Just fine. Did you have a good trip?"

"We certainly did. I'll be there in a couple hours. Oh--and I'm bringing a surprise. Be sure and tell Mom, will you?"

"All right. We'll see you later. Love you."

"Love you too. 'Bye."

I broke the connection, changed to Felix, and looked over at Kisara, standing out of range of the video pickup.

"'A surprise'?" she asked as she came back over to stand beside me.

"Well, they will be surprised, won't they?" I said as I slipped an arm around her waist.

"Without question. But how else will they respond?"

"I don't know. I've never brought home an alien before." I winked and kissed Kisara on the cheek. She snorted and shoved me away.

"Will they like me?" she asked with not-quite concern.

"I'm sure they will, once they get over the shock of seeing a real, live extraterrestrial. And before you ask, I'm sure they'll like Us, especially since I'm a master and not limited to the appearance of any one species in the physical world. They'd probably have reservations if that were the case."

Kisara pulled me close. "I've captained starships through all sorts of missions and even the occasional space battle and I'm nervous about meeting your parents. I mean Peter's parents."

"Felix's parents died before I could introduce you, but now I have a second chance at it." I hugged her. "Everything will be fine. Come on, I want to show you the approach and landing procedures."

* * *

As we spiraled toward the bottom of Earth's gravity well, the five scientists who had embarked on the mission to Polaris beamed down to their homes as we passed over them. On short final approach to Alliance Castle's hangar, Kisara took a good look at the castle itself.

"Is that where you live?" she asked as she zoomed in with one of the ship's telescopes. "It's really nice. And it looks a little like my parents' home, too. Why is it so big, do you have a lot of family living here?" Kataran home sizes usually reflect the size of the pack, or extended family, living in them.

I chuckled. "No, Kisara, I made it that big so it would go aesthetically with the double row of trees on the hill; it's about two-thirds as long as the trees are. I did, however, also want it to hold a large number of people if the need arose."

"And has it?"

"Not yet, but I like to be prepared."

I brought the Lindbergh into line above her berth, about half a mile away from the castle, engaged the phasing cloak, and lowered us gently but swiftly below the surface of the Earth. Kisara looked apprehensive for a moment, but soon regained her composure. A briefing on the phasing cloak was one thing; seeing it in action was quite another.

We settled through soil and stone, finally passing into the vast open space of the hangar and coming to rest on the stone supports that I had carved from living rock to cradle the Lindbergh while she was docked. Once the ship was on external power, Kisara and I retrieved our luggage and took a turbolift to the hangar floor, exiting at the base of one of the stone supports. There is a turbolift connection that will go directly from the ship to the castle, but today I had a different idea.

"Race you!" I called as I set down my luggage and dropped to all fours. I gave Kisara time to realize what I had said and done, set down her luggage, and gain a slight head start. Then I was off, half a length behind at forty kilometers an hour. Kisara gave me the lead until she figured out we were heading for the bank of turbolifts across the way, then we were neck and neck, concentrating so hard on the race that we nearly crashed into one's door.

We sat against the massive stone wall beside the turbolift, panting moderately from our race. After we had mostly regained our breath, Kisara turned to me and smiled. "That was fun, Felix, I haven't done anything like that in a long time."

"Glad you liked it. You ready?" I jumped to my paws and helped Kisara up.

"Yes, but what about--"

"Already on it. Petra, bring our luggage along, please."

"Yes, sir," came the disembodied voice from the com unit by the turbolift.

"And now, Kisara, shall we meet the parents?"

She put her arm around me and we strode into the turbolift. As it rose toward the castle, I continued her education about the facility. On a display in the 'lift, the sections of the structure through which we were ascending scrolled by. Alliance Castle appears to sit on a hill near the southwest corner of one of our fields. But the castle itself is merely the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps stoneberg in this case. It sits not on several sublevels, as would be normal, but on hundreds, going down all the way to the bottom of the hangar, which itself was carved from solid stone. During my excavations, I built a granite complex near the southwest corner. It supports the castle, but that's just one of its functions. I call it the Vault, and it contains a work-in-progress genetic and cultural library of every species on the Earth, several million board-feet of reclaimed lumber, and strategic water storage, to name just a few things.

Through this massive stone complex we rose, eventually stopping just a few levels below ground.

An ACW greeted us as we stepped out of the lift. "Hello, Alpha," I said to the big white female bipedal wolf. "I didn't know you were back."

"Where else would I be for such a great moment in this planet's history?" she asked.

"Wait a minute!" Kisara exclaimed. "You said we would have to introduce Earth to sapient non-humans. Why is that necessary if you already have them?"

"Kisara, may I introduce ACW Alpha. Alpha, my mate, Kisara."

Kisara overcame her confusion long enough to observe her social role. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Alpha replied. To me she said, "I suppose you want to introduce Kisara to your parents."

"That's right. Lead the way, please."

As we followed Alpha, I explained. "ACW stands for Alliance Castle Wolf. I developed them to be guards and staff here at Alliance Castle. They are androids built on a quantum substrate. I gave them a huge range of abilities and powers, and they're morality interlocked. That all means they cannot be bribed or coerced into harassing other people."

"I see," Kisara replied. "But how did she know who we are and that we wanted to meet your parents?"

"They have a link to the Akashic Record. That's a complete history of the universe, written on the fabric of spacetime. They know what's going on."

"Understatement of the century. How many are there?"

"About a billion right now. I deployed some to study natural wolf populations and help them live in harmony with humans and other species. That worked so well that I deployed a billion to study, protect, and even in some cases rebuild animal populations all over the world."

"Shapeshifting is one of our abilities," Alpha said over her shoulder. "We can actually become any animal. We can reproduce with each other, or with them. Ask Felix about the passenger pigeon sometime."

"Perhaps introducing ourselves to this planet will not be as difficult as I thought," Kisara mused.

"Here you go, library is just ahead," Alpha said, and vanished.

We entered my massive shrine to literature, designed as an enormous room biased to books and allowing areas used for other purposes to exist within it. When we reached the map section, I motioned Kisara to stay just on one side of a large bookcase, became Peter, and strode around it. My parents were poring over an atlas of Nunavut, Canada's newest territory, to which we had been planning a trip next summer. I cleared my throat and announced, "I'm back."

They looked up, then got to their feet and we exchanged greetings and hugs.

After we had separated, I said, "Now, my surprise. I want you to meet someone. Kisara, come on over here, please."

She stepped around the bookcase, strode over to where we were standing, and stopped within handshake distance of my parents. For their part, they were speechless with amazement--or possibly shock. "This is Kisara Steiger. She is a member of a race called Katarans, and their planet is about 3000 light-years closer to the galactic core than this one."

Kisara held out her paw.

My mother recovered first. She shook Kisara's paw, introducing herself, "Karen," and Kisara bent forward slightly to take in her scent. My mother returned a greeting bow, similar to that of the Japanese. My father, John, introduced himself next and he and Kisara shook hands and did a similar bow.

"Mr and Mrs Icefield, so nice to meet you both."

When my father and Kisara had straightened up and dropped their hands, I cleared my throat again. "You're probably wondering why an alien has come with me to Earth. You might as well know now." I was sure they did know, or have a strong suspicion, but I continued for all our benefit. "Surely you remember when we talked about relationships and I said I thought my mate lived on another planet?" They nodded, real understanding dawning on their faces. "Well..." Why was I embarrassed? I was an adult, and a master. "Well, I was right! Kisara and I met at Polaris and became friends in a very short time. There were some things about me that led her to ask the right questions, I looked for the answers and bingo! We found out that I was her mate in my last lifetime--she's still on the same lifetime, her species lives 300 years and we were separated a century ago--and we talked about what to do and decided to come here."

Again, my mother recovered first, though it took longer this time. "You mean..." she began.

"That's right," I said, slipping an arm around Kisara's waist, "we're mates. We were mates in my last lifetime and we were, I guess a mortal would say, separated against our will. We met again a week ago, found out about our past, and got re-mated."

My father recovered his voice at last. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

"But she's a...and you're a..."

"An alien? And I'm a human? Yes, but in case you've forgotten, I'm also a master. And I know the genetic code of my past incarnation." I became Felix, and Kisara and I took each other in our arms and kissed tenderly. When we drew apart, my mother came forward with a smile on her face and hugged us, saying, "I'm so happy for you, Peter. For both of you."

"Thanks. And I go by 'Felix' in this form."

My father came forward and shook my hand and then Kisara's, saying, "Congratulations," to us both.

* * *

"So what do--what did you do, Kisara?" my mother asked my mate. We were having dinner that evening, sitting at one end of the table in the family dining room.

"What did I do with what?" she asked, a bit confused, then flicked a look at me. "Or whom?"

"I mean what was your job, your occupation? What did you do for a career?"

"Ah. Until two days ago, I was a starship captain. I commanded the ship that met Felix at the star you call Polaris. We were on a survey mission. I had been captain of the Ceokera for sixty years."

"Were you always in Starfleet?" my father asked.

"We call it the Navy. And, yes, actually, that was most of my--Felix's and my--life after University. I was the First Officer on the Ceokera before I was captain, then science officer, then chief engineer, and then a geophysicist in the science department. I also served on a couple of science vessels, one with Felix before the accident and one after."

"'The accident'?" my mother inquired.

"Yes, that was where Felix died, or I guess I should say, where Felix and I were separated, because he certainly isn't dead now!" She put her arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. "Transwarp core implosion. There were phenomena at the speeds we were testing that we didn't know about and so didn't think compensate for. That's what overloaded the intermix injector at 10,000_c_."

"I thought it might be that. Something similar happened with my first Alliance tests. Nothing imploded, but I had a few problems." I looked at her and smiled. "I thought it seemed familiar when I was building my first transwarp drive. Now I know why; I'd done it all before, with you. Now, before I forget," I said, turning to my parents, "I'm curious, when did you realize the truth about Kisara and me? I'm sure you knew before I told you."

"Well," my father began, "if someone had asked me just after you called on your way back, I couldn't have told them for sure, but I suspected something then."

"And I had a strong suspicion," my mother continued, "when you walked into the library with that big smile on your face! Then, when Kisara walked over and introduced herself, well, I knew something was up."

Dad added, "The way you said, 'there's someone I want you to meet,' that's what did it for me. That's when I knew."

We talked with my parents for quite a while after supper, and finally excused ourselves. Kisara looked over the rooms and suites I showed her, but did not settle in any of them, even a multi-chambered, large-scale master suite.

"You have your own place in this castle, don't you?" she asked me.

"Yes, but it's just a bedroom and a small lounge. I showed you the larger places because in your pack you had--"

"It wasn't that big. And maybe I've changed a little. I don't want a big place, I just want you."

* * *

As on that first night together on the Lindbergh, my dreams were full of Kisara and when we woke at intervals, as Katarans normally do, we invariably found ourselves curled tightly around each other. It seemed our bodies did not want to be apart any more than our souls did. Sometimes, we had woken up together; other times, it had been separately. Just before daylight, however, we woke up together and I invited Kisara to come with me to the top of the East Tower. We did not have long to wait before the sky began to lighten, the pink dawn spread across the horizon, and then, finally, the sun made its way above the fields, bringing us a brand new day.

"That's the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen," I whispered to Kisara.

She kissed me and whispered back, "Every sunrise I see with you is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. Welcome to the first day of the rest of our lives."

Kisara and I held each other, enjoying the sunrise and feeling love that was, if anything, stronger than it had been before we were separated a century ago. We sat on the ramparts of the castle, each of us simply enjoying the fact that the other existed.

"What would you like to do today, Kisara?" I finally asked. The sun had come up enough that we could see the nearest town, eight miles away, just above the horizon.

She stood up and walked around the perimeter of the tower, jumping up on top of the battlements occasionally to get a better look at something. When she returned to where I was she said, "Well, first of all, I'd like to see your territory. Then I'd like a proper overview of the Alliance facilities and missions, please."

"Certainly," I replied. "Breakfast first, though?"

"Absolutely."

After breakfast, we got on with the tour, starting not at the castle, but at the farmyard where my family and I had originally lived before I became a master. It was about a mile away, so we decided to go on paws. Katarans resemble canines not only in general appearance, but in endurance as well, and we covered the distance fast.

It was a beautiful Saskatchewan fall day, cool with a light breeze that brought the crisp scent of senescent cottonwood leaves to our noses.

We made our way through the shelterbelt, Kisara pausing to examine the alien trees and grass, then continued on to a large shed near the middle of the yard. I opened one of the sliding doors and led Kisara over to what I wanted to show her.

"You like classic cars, right?" She nodded, confused. Of course she liked classic cars. We had admired the vintage vehicles in her family's collection many times. I had even driven some of them, though I couldn't have known at the time that most of those antiques were on par with or superior to the technology of the planet we were on now.

"This one looks more like a small truck." She looked at the 1948 Ford one-ton that I had led her to. I opened the hood and Kisara looked under it.

She examined the engine compartment with her nose as well as her eyes and paws. "A chemically powered mechanical engine...output shaft longitudinal...that means it would have...a multi-speed transmission and right-angle differential?"

"That's right. Take a look inside." I opened the door and she peered into the cab.

"Left-paw drive?" she inquired, noting the position of the steering wheel. "Is that normal for here?"

"It's normal for most of the world. There are a few countries that use right-paw drive, like we do."

Kisara looked at me as though I was out of my mind. "Unbelievable," she muttered.

"You figured out that it had a multi-speed transmission," I reminded her. "What else can you tell me about it?"

She examined the rest of the cab. "Gear selector in the middle, with no markings, accelerator, brake, and...I don't believe this--a clutch? This has a paw-shift transmission?! How old is this thing?"

"About sixty years," I informed Kisara. And I couldn't resist adding, "It was built about the time you became captain of the Ceokera."

My mate looked slightly wilted. "I'm starting to get a feel for the technology level of this world."

"It's not quite like you think," I reassured her while I closed the hood. As we got into the truck, I explained, "Human technology improved incredibly fast between then and now; I don't know if ours has ever advanced at that rate." I started the '48 Ford--a procedure requiring turning the key on and then pushing a separate button...while managing a choke control at the same time--and drove it out of the shed. We cruised down the driveway and turned onto the main road with a slight grinding as I shifted the unsynchronized transmission--which had noisy straight-cut gears in three of its four speeds.

We drove around the edges of our three sections in that area, then drove ten miles west to the section we had there. Kisara had learned enough of the theory of driving the '48 Ford by this time that I let her drive back. By the time we returned from the west farm, deciding to go to Alliance Castle, Kisara was driving the old Ford like she'd had it for years.

We pulled the '48 Ford up to the castle and got out.

"Remember to put it in gear, Kisara. Now let's get upstairs and put some clothes on before my parents wake up!"

We climbed the textured granite steps to our third-floor bedroom and I opened the wardrobe.

"Most of my clothes are in the replicator, but here's what I kept for quick access. One set of good clothes and two sets for work."

I pulled out socks, underwear, a T-shirt and pants and laid them on the bed.

"Most North Americans wear all of this, though they often wear shorter pants in warm weather. In cold weather, I wore these, too." I added a turtleneck, a wool sweater and a hoodie. I changed to human and showed her how it all went on, then stripped and shifted back to Kataran.

"It takes a long time to put all that on," Kisara said, "but humans might actually have an advantage since they only have to brush their heads."

"Yeah, there's more grooming time involved for us," I said. "Now, let's get you fitted for an Alliance uniform. "Petra, report to my position."

* * *

"How did you come up with the Alliance and its mission?" Kisara asked me at breakfast with my parents. (Second breakfast for us.)

"Well," I replied, "I wanted to help as many people as I could. I decided that this would include not only giving things to people, but also employing people to create and distribute them. This meant I would need money, and lots of it. I built replicators and started buying trash and selling raw materials, and building factories and selling quality merchandise at affordable prices. I've been doing this in many countries, tailoring exactly what I do to the needs of the country. In the United States of America, a powerful country to the south of us, I persuaded the government to pay me to neutralize terrorist threats. I gave the money back to the people of that country, and let them put the interest on it. I gave the Americans financial gifts in various ways I hoped would benefit them--education being one."

"That's great, Felix. Oh, and Karen, these eggs and bacon are delicious. We had some before we left this morning, but they really are different this way."

"Do you mean fried?" my mother asked her.

"Ah, no. Cooked."

Kisara** **

After breakfast I asked Felix what was next.

"It should be dry enough to finish harvesting today," he said, and led me towards a field across the road from Alliance Castle. "Let me show you one way that harvest works here."

The field had had some kind of plants standing in it, and they had been cut down and arranged in rows. Some of the rows remained towards the middle of the field. When we reached them, Felix said this crop was called "spring wheat."

"I used a machine that cuts the crop a few inches above the ground and has two conveyor belts that deposit it through an opening near the middle. That's what makes the rows you see here. I had picked up about half these windrows before the rain stopped me," he said.

[change the following to damp straw, and have them come back in the afternoon]

He picked up a pawful of the straw and twisted it. I copied his actions and felt the straw crack. "This is one way to test the moisture."

Next, he crushed some of the heads into his palm. When he had several kernels he blew the chaff away and popped them in his mouth. After taking a few moments to figure out which teeth in his muzzle were good for chewing wheat, he said to me, "If they break your teeth they're dry," and winked.

With a grin, I popped some kernels in my mouth and chewed them. They were hard, but certainly no worse than animal bones.

When I was done, Felix said, "Now, we'll harvest a sample and--wait a minute."

He dropped his mutilated pawful of straw and suck his nose in the "windrow." After some sniffing, he said, "What do you think?"

I copied him and said, "Smells dry to me, but you're the farmer."

We walked back to a shed near Alliance Castle. I helped Felix open it and then we looked at what was inside.

"This is called a Combine Harvester. It's a machine that can harvest grain and separate it from straw in a single continuous operation. We won't be doing that today because the grain has already been cut." He indicated a mechanism attached to the end closest to us. "This combine has an attachment that picks up windrows like we just saw. There is another kind of attachment that will cut standing grain and feed it in."

He led me around the machine, showing me what needed to be checked each day and how certain things worked. "This started out as a John Deere 105. I've made several improvements to it." We climbed up a ladder and entered an enclosed control area. "I put a newer cab on it," Felix said. "This one is climate controlled, virtually dustproof, and it has a second seat."

He started the machine, noting that its engine burned a heavier grade of liquid fuel than did the '48 Ford's. When we got to the part of the field where the wheat was, he engaged the separation machinery and lowered the attachment on the front so it could get under the windrow and bring the material in to be processed.

"See right behind the cab?" Felix said, after we had been harvesting for a few minutes. "There are several hoppers where the seeds are going. This year the crop is of two different grades because of weather conditions, so the system is putting them in different hoppers so I can get an optimal price for each one when I sell them. There are also some weed seeds coming in; they're going in a third hopper so I can grind them and put them in livestock feed."

I looked over my shoulder and saw several open-topped chambers, and piles of seeds were accumulating in three of them. I estimated the sizes of the chambers, and the rates at which they were filling, and looked back around the field. "Will we have to stop and unload often?"

"Actually, no. I have an onboard transporter linked to the granaries in the yard where we were this morning." He touched some controls on a holographic display, and when I looked back, the seeds in the chambers behind us had disappeared.

Felix drew my attention to a display in the upper right corner of the cab. "This shows several kinds of data about the crop, but what's most important to us now is the moisture content. It's 16 percent, which is a little high for wheat, so we'll go once around the field and stop. It should be dry enough to continue in a few hours, and the little tough wheat we put in the bin won't spoil the rest."

When we got all the way around the field, Felix shut down the harvester and we walked back to the castle. At his prompting, I delivered the condition report to John.

"It's 16 percent moisture, and Felix thinks we should be able to harvest it this afternoon. Do you concur?"

"Yes," John said. "The sun and wind will dry it down fast today. Do you have a farm background?"

"No, well, not beyond the standard ecological things we all learn. But I do know that our food is produced much differently than Felix has shown me so far."

"I had a feeling that I should go in to the dealership in Black Soil this morning," Felix said, "and I'm going to show it to Kisara. We should be back in a few hours."

Felix let me drive the '48 Ford to Black Soil, about eight kilometers away. On the way, he taught me how to double clutch. I had seen this town when we drove back from the west farm, but had not realized that it was parallel to a highway that cut on an angle through the area. He showed me where to park, and I remembered to put the truck in gear this time.

"I told you a bit about my businesses," Felix began as we walked toward a glass building with cars inside it. "My big one is Alliance Manufacturing Company. Not 'Corporation'--that's important. This is its automotive division, AMC Motors. I'll explain in more detail later, but if anyone asks if the quality is better than that 'other' AMC, say 'yes!'"

We walked into the building and Felix introduced us to the sales associate and sales manager, then led me through a door to the back. "This is the garage," he said. It was also all glass and had four bays in a row, each with its own door to the back lot. "Our workshop is replicator based. That means we can do any kind of repair right here. We usually build a complete car for a client and keep demonstration models up front." He led me around the shop, explaining the power supply and raw material storage, and then we went back to the showroom. Just after we had walked past a model he called a "Kioti," I noticed a large brown car pull up. I wasn't sure of its age but I was certain most of its useful life was behind it.

[WIP]

* * *

"So, what's next?"

"Well, before much else happens, we have to introduce ourselves to this planet. That means we will have to get ourselves on one of the global media feeds."

"Okay. On the Ceokera, you told me about humans' attempts to find life on other planets, you said it's called SETI."

"Yes."

"I have an idea."

On Halloween morning, we teleported to a closet inside one of the main broadcast rooms of SETI headquarters. I pulled out a handheld radio and tuned it. It came on in the middle of the operator's message. After a few moments, the message repeated.

"Greetings. We call our planet Earth. We have recently begun to develop an understanding of nuclear physics and space travel. We are sending this message in the hope of encountering other intelligent life in the universe. Even though we have many challenges of all types to overcome, we have faith in ourselves and the future. If there's anyone out there, we hope you would be willing to give us a chance."

I keyed the mic and said, "Hello."

There was dead silence from the other end. We could hear the operators in the room outside wondering what to do.

"What the--"

"Answer it!"

"Are you nuts?"

"Let Jane decide! She's the boss."

"This has to be a prank!"

"Someone record this!"

We heard several operators crowd over to the radio console as they abandoned their sets to check out this new development. They all seemed indecisive so I called again.

"Hello. Is anybody out there?"

After a couple of seconds Jane picked up her mic.

"Hello. You've, ah, reached the planet Earth. How...how do you do?"

"We do very well, thank you. It's nice to find evidence of intelligent life in the universe."

"Uhm, likewise. Where are you, ah, transmitting from?"

"We live on a planet about three thousand light-years closer to the galactic core."

"Three thousand light-years."

"That's right."

"Then...how can we be speaking in real time?"

"We have a technology you might refer to as subspace radio. We can warp the signal through deep layers of spacetime so that we can communicate over great distances almost instantaneously."

"So you're somehow picking up our signal and warping it 3000 light-years?"

"Yes."

"Do you also have faster-than-light travel capability?"

"Yes, we do. Our fastest ships can go about fifty thousand times faster than light."

"So you could cover the distance in...let's see...about a month? But, wait, you don't know what I'm talking about. We may not have the same points of reference."

"Actually, our translation equipment converts not only languages but scientific and cultural references. I know exactly what you mean."

"Wow! That's almost like telepathy! It isn't, is it? I'm not sure I'm comfortable with someone else in my brain--no offense."

"No worries. Your thoughts are safe."

"Okay. Um, how advanced is your tech, anyway?"

"Well, our rate of advance has not paralleled yours, but we developed the metric system about 15 thousand years ago."

"Bull!"

"I realize you may not believe what I am saying, or even that I am who I say I am, but I assure you it is true."

"You haven't told me who you are, but I recognize you."

I raised my eyebrows at Felix, then turned back to the radio.

"And who, pray tell, do you think I am?"

"Don't get smart with me, Wayne, this is just the sort of thing you would do! It's been fun, really, but I'm calling you on it now."

I looked at Felix again. He nodded.

"All right," I said. "You caught me. This is a prank. It was fun, though."

"You bet. I'm going back to work now. I can't imagine where you're transmitting from, but I'd love to get the story later."

"That sounds good to me."

"Bye."

Felix motioned for me to stand up and we moved to the closet door. I knocked. There was brief dead silence, then the operator exploded.

"Wayne! You sneaky son of a--!"

She raced to the closet door and yanked it open. The look of fake anger on her face instantly changed to surprise/fear.

"OH MY GAWWWWDD!!!!!"

The other four operators had gone back to their stations when their boss went to maul "Wayne" but they returned their attention to her when she screamed. They came over at various speeds and their expressions all turned to shock when they saw us.

Into the stunned silence, I said, "I believe this is the part where we introduce ourselves and shake hands."

I held out my paw toward Jane. After a second, she reached out her hand and grasped it.

"My name is Jane and I guess I owe you an apology," she said. "Until I touched you I thought you were a hologram of some kind. When Wayne pulls a prank, he doesn't go halfway. Last time he projected a flying saucer in the lobby."

"I'm Kisara, and this is Felix. We're pleased to make your acquaintance."

"So, what you said was true?" Jane asked. "About the distance to your planet and when you invented the metric system?"

"It certainly is," Felix told her.

"Jane, I want to ask you something," I said. "This Wayne, whom you thought I was, is male, correct?"

"Yes," Jane said, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm actually female. Male and female Kataran voices sound similar. Felix is male," I concluded.

"What ideas do you have for the full First Contact scenario?" Jane asked. "I presume you plan to tell the planet about yourselves."

"We will address the United Nations," Felix stated.

"Just like that?"

"Do you know who Peter Icefield was?"

"Of course. The president of SETI said if there's life out there he'll find it--wait, what do you mean, was?"

"Well, he was me."

"That makes no sense. Unless you ate him and stole his uniform or something. Please say you didn't."

Felix yawned, showing Jane his fangs, and said, "I didn't. But seriously, this will take a while to explain. Would you like to help introduce us to the UN Press Secretary? I have a SkyTrain standing by to take us there."

* * *

On the SkyTrain to the UN, I said to Felix, "You told me some of Peter Icefield's history before becoming a master, but I want to know how you got involved with this 'UN'."

"Well, there's a history lesson in there," he began.

"For a huge amount of time, this planet has been managed by a secret society called the Illuminaughty. Though there was usually a significant number of good people among their membership, the great majority wished to set themselves above the general population and there was little the minority of ethical members could do about it, save uplifting the members of the general population to whom they had direct access.

"This continued for millennia, and only began to really change after the Second World War, about half a century ago.

"At that time, the Illuminaughty set up the UN as a way to synchronize the various nations of this planet, bringing them more directly under their control.

"Three decades ago, Peter Icefield was born. He was not a member of a secret society, but learned the secrets of life through the universe itself. His parents and friends encouraged him to grow as a being, and he eventually created the Delta Alliance as it is today.

"In his ongoing quest for knowledge, he found out that the UN was on the verge of becoming the de-facto world government, not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but its intent was not particularly beneficial. By that time, he and the Alliance had sufficient power, so he just...fixed that."

I sat for a while, considering how this planet's history was so different from my own. We'd had disagreements, but they were usually solved fast and good will was preserved. Our last "World War" had occurred over a thousand years ago and only about 50 people died. I wondered how the Alliance had "fixed" the problem of the UN's being the de-facto world government. What methods would it have used to change the power dynamic of a planetary ruling body?

But mostly, I thought about how Peter had learned to be a master. He had guidance from the universe, and his family and others helped. If they had metaphysical knowledge and passed it on, but were not part of an organized group...

"You said you weren't in a secret society, and had assistance from people with great knowledge." I smirked and put a twinkle in my eye. "Would that make you a member of the Unsecret Society?"

Felix's muzzle dropped open for a moment, then he closed it and thought for a little while. "The Unsecret Society. That actually sounds pretty good! I'd never thought about it that way before, but you might be on to something. Great changes are taking place on this planet, both obvious and subtle. Why wouldn't there be something like an Unsecret Society that helps people learn about universal principles when they're ready?"

* * *

We arrived at the UN Press Secretary's office just as he was telling his assistant, "...and I don't care what they say about that country, get me accurate reports!"

"Yes, sir," she said, and returned to the outer office. She saw us standing with Jane, did a double-take, sighed, and turned around and opened the Secretary's door again.

"What now?" he asked, "little green men?"

"Um, no, sir. None of them is green and at least one is female."

"Mr Press Secretary," Felix called, striding toward his office, "It's the captain of the Delta Alliance."

Felix met him at the door. "Here are my Alliance credentials, sir," he said, handing them over. "You will also see that I'm wearing an Alliance uniform. If you need further proof, call Petra; she will vouch for me."

He stood there for a few moments, taking us in, then looked at Jane. "You I know," he said. To Felix he said, "I'll accept your credentials, though I'll want an explanation. You know what made me believe you?"

"No one can fool Petra?" Felix asked.

"Yep."

"Any free slots on the timetable?" Felix inquired.

"Press conference on conservation should take another hour, then it's open."

"Perfect."

* * *

When the introduction was over, we stepped up to the podium. We took a breath and recited a short greeting in Kataran. There was dead silence from the Assembly. Felix tapped his mic and said, "Is this thing on?"

A little nervous laughter greeted his question. He said, "Translators, you can start breathing again. We realize that you don't speak our language. We just said a traditional Kataran greeting. It means, 'Greetings, friends. We hope you have the most positive day possible.'

"People of this fine planet, Good Morning. Or, depending on what time zone you're in, Good Afternoon or Good Evening. In a moment, Kisara will speak, but first I have just a few more things to say. Translators, by now you may have realized that no matter what languages you work with, you can understand me perfectly. And, everyone, you may realize that we are wearing Alliance uniforms, similar to the one you may have seen on Peter Icefield. It is true that we are Alliance officers, specifically Captain and First Officer. Until recently I was indeed known as Peter Icefield. My name is now Felix Steiger and Kisara is my mate."

The silence was deafening. The Assembly looked confused. I wondered how many of them were trying to make sense of what Felix had said and how many thought they were dreaming.

"You're doing great so far. And now, I have the honor of introducing the Kataran Ambassador to Earth. She's my first officer, chief engineer, and my better half, Kisara Tarkee Sooreela!"

I stepped away from the podium, out onto the open stage, while Felix faded back.

"Greetings, people of this fine planet. I have heard so many wonderful things about you and I'm glad to finally meet you at last!

"By now you have probably heard of how we first contacted the general population, but if you haven't, here's the brief version: We hid in a closet and played a practical joke on an unsuspecting SETI radio operator. Fortunately she has a sense of humor and a strong character!

"That is what I want to talk to you about today: character. I know that Felix's AQuA's have helped prepare you all for our arrival--both by exposing you to animal people and by helping to break down the barriers that have existed between various groups. This work will continue and Felix and I will be out there working beside all of you who are interested in positive change.

"Now, for those of you who are opposed to our presence here, those of you who believe you could make the world a better place on your own, those of you who believe you do not need us, let me tell you a secret: you are right! You don't need US to help YOU make the world a better place! If anything, WE need YOU to teach us about your planet and your cultures. We would never expect you to feel privileged to have us "helping" you--we are the ones who should feel privileged to meet YOU. And let me make one thing absolutely crystal clear--I am speaking not only to those in this room, not only to those who are watching from your lavish homes and offices! Though I do speak to you, I most definitely also speak to those of you for whom this may be the first media broadcast you have EVER seen or heard. I speak to everyone from the most comfortable homes here in New York City to those who live as far from so-called 'civilization' as it is possible to get. Hear me now.

"YOU are capable of doing critical thinking! YOU have the character to make your community what it should be! YOU have the courage to be the changes you wish to see in society!

"You do not need us. You never did! I know it may seem strange for an ambassador to tell people they do not need her. But the truth is that you can get all the guidance you need to make the world better by consulting with each other, by putting aside what small differences you have in the common goal of improving your lives.

"Felix and I stand before you as living proof that not only is the sky not the limit, but that it's more like the first step on the trail.

"Therefore, I would like to say, in return for the warm welcome that we have already received from the few of you we have met so far, 'Thank You.' And for the opportunities that we have and expect to have to meet and learn about the rest of you--and from the rest of you--'Thank You.' It is truly an honor."

I fell silent and thunderous applause replaced my voice in the Assembly chamber.