Contact across the Solar System

Boston

In early 1969, Kalna and Ilmuth left Los Angeles and moved to the San Francisco Bay for a few weeks. They went by intercity bus, because it let them see the countryside, and because they wouldn't be stuck in it for too long. The Bay had another big branch of the University of California, in Berkeley, and a separate big university, in Stanford. More places for doing research and more residents to meet. They planned their next stop, Boston, with its great universities Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Going to Boston by Earther transport was more difficult. Either about three days in a bus or getting a reservation well in advance for an airplane. So the two arranged for a pickup and dropoff. The ship stayed near the Bay Area for a few days because some Bay Area residents wanted some ship time. Then after dropping off those residents, the ship went to Maine. It detoured northward around the more populated areas of North America, going over northern Canada, turning south at Greenland, and arriving off of Maine's coast.

The two got into a scout with their luggage, and the scout traveled along the shoreline to the place where some residents would pick them up. Along the way, they saw a light flash in the distance. "That's a lighthouse", the pilot said. "Great for navigation. Each one has its own pattern of flashes. The Earthers build them to warn sea-ship pilots of nearby land."

"Awwwwww", said Kalna, thinking about how commendably public-spirited that was.

As the scout passed by some distant city lights, the pilot said "That's Portsmouth in New Hampshire. Did you know that that's where Betty and Barney Hill live?"

Ilmuth responded "I remember reading about their case. Not a very friendly sort of contact."

"Yeah. They were taken aboard against their will and then experimented on. Or so they say."

"I've never heard of any of our observers doing anything like that."

"We have no idea what that might be. Some other visitors? Did they have nightmares?"

The scout dropped Kalna and Ilmuth off with their luggage at a shoreline, and before long, a car showed up. It was the residents who had come to pick them up. They got the luggage into the car and the two got into it. One of the residents had known the two from previous years, and he commented "It's my turn to do the driving."

Laughs from all.

They drove to their home in a Boston suburb, and Kalna and Ilmuth stayed there for a few days before getting a small apartment near Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The two then did a lot of research at those great universities, and they also sat in on several professors' talks there, as they had done back in LA.

Spring turned into summer, and with it came thunderstorms. On an afternoon when they were both home, there was a big one. Kalna was rather scared of its lightning and thunder but Ilmuth was curious enough to watch it. Kalna noticed Ilmuth's seeming fearlessness and Kalna cautiously stepped forward to join Ilmuth. Ilmuth telepathically sensed Kalna's fearfulness and put out a hand. Kalna grasped it and went to Ilmuth's side. Ilmuth put an arm around Kalna and Kalna did likewise with Ilmuth. The two watched the storm together, sitting on a porch, wearing thrift-shop summer dresses and sandals.