Contact across the Solar System

After the Return

Arlene and Brad went on a speaking tour, showing off highlights from their trip. It seemed that many inhabitants of the Earth liked them as much as many inhabitants of Venus and Mars did. However, the anti-espionagers followed them wherever they went, trying to get them to explain why they did not confront their hosts about their hosts' espionage and violations of planetary sovereignty. Arlene said about them "The sovvies are just jealous." Something that did not make them very happy.

Their fathers had similar anti-espionager troubles. Senator Mitchell Ferguson of Georgia and some fellow Congresspeople held some hearings on how Representative Pugliese and Senator Goldstein had committed such terrible sins as taking bribes by proxy, junketing by proxy, wanting to be the SSC's quislings in a one-world government that abolishes all national sovereignty, hoping to cash in on the commercialization of SSC technologies, wanting to abolish the free enterprise system, and other such things. Senator Ferguson even claimed that the SSC was trying to meddle in US politics by supporting the Democratic Party over the Republican Party, the party of socialism over the party of Real Americanism.

But the two politicians also had their defenders. They said that the politicians' children's trip was no worse than most politicians' junketing.

"It was much more informative. How many politicians ever get to go to Venus or Mars?"

"After seeing their video, the Solar System Community seems very real."

"I never thought that I'd live to see this. Star Trek in real life!!!"

Back on Venus, Orthon was pleased at how well the trip went. As the Message Committee and the residents reported in on how the two travelers and their video were received, he felt as if as great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. The Earthers got to see some of the SSC by proxy, and many of them liked what they saw. They also got much stronger evidence than they got the first time around, something that they themselves recognized.

Orthon thought to himself about what might have gone wrong with the first contact effort, and his thoughts drifted to a very troubling hypothesis that a few people discussed every now and then, even if they did not do much to follow up on. The hypothesis that some of the contactees' photography had been sabotaged, and that some false notions were deliberately planted in some contactees' minds. This was presumably done for making the contacts more deniable, in case they failed. But whatever happened back then, its legacy was successfully superseded by that recent trip.

Orthon then discussed his feelings of success with his fellow Gang members and various other people, including some politicians. They broadly agreed, though some of them were rather worried about the anti-espionagers. Firkon warned that future guests may not be as likable or as well-behaved as Arlene and Brad had been. They might even split into hostile factions.

"We may actually have lucked out with Arlene and Brad, since the Earthers don't make much effort to exclude psychopaths and sociopaths from leadership positions."

Ramu and Zuhl reported on their contacts with the ruling councils of the outer planets and the outer-belt worlds. Many of their members were pleasantly surprised by how well Arlene and Brad did, and they were willing to host future Earther travelers. Even Eris's council was willing to invite Earthers.

Orthon said about it "So we can give a complete tour of the Solar System."

Ramu responded "Pretty much. They'll have a lot to tell the people back at their homes."

Sheila McKenna continued to head the Message Committee, though by then, it had counterparts run by some national governments. Likewise, the Earth Contact Committee invited some people to be those governments' contacts, while continuing to do coordination and overall management.

She decided to ask the Contact Committee about an issue that had been worrying her for some time.

"We have been trying to avoid issues of religion and politics so as to avoid provoking unneeded controversy. But there is an issue that has been bothering me, an issue that I'd like to resolve before it causes trouble later on."

"I gather that many people of the Solar System Community are very religious or very spiritual or whatever you might like to call it. I am concerned about that because many people on our planet are atheists or agnostics or otherwise nonreligious. I also have a confession to make. I am one of these people, but I'm not a Richard-Dawkins militant atheist. Would that cause any difficulty for any of you?"

Orthon responded "Not at all. No more than many of the beliefs of many of your fellow Earth people. You have done very well as the leader of your contact effort, and we will be happy with your continuing. On your policy of avoiding religion and politics, we think that it's a wise one, because it avoids adding to the controversies that we already have."

As that was going on, other members of the Message Committee were discussing with their SSC counterparts opportunities for scientific collaboration and cultural exchanges. Like exchanges of data -- data like geological surveys and astronomical data. As a foretaste, a SSC astronomer forwarded some accounts of SSC people observing the 1054 supernova and its aftermath, complete with an animation of the expansion of the Crab Nebula.

Then as Sheila was looking at some video of Arlene and Bob meeting the Gang, she started to get a disquieting feeling about Ilmuth. Had she seen Ilmuth before? She decided to ask Ilmuth about that. Ilmuth responded that she recalled meeting someone who looked like Sheila when she once visiting the Earth.

Sheila thought a while and then responded "I now recall it. I was feeling very distraught and depressed and I had a lot of doubts about my abilities and my career. Someone talked to me at a cafe and gave me some very helpful advice, and that someone looked a lot like you."

Ilmuth responded "I remember now. I remember when you told me about your astronomers thinking that pulsars were LGM radio broadcasts. I was on your world then, living in Los Angeles, and you were a graduate student there. It all fits."

Sheila conceded that she was still skeptical, and she recalled that note that she got from that cafe woman long ago. She had scanned it long ago, so she wouldn't lose it, and she stated "I have to say that I'm still rather skeptical. Could you please send me a sample of your handwriting? In English, of course. A paragraph or two should do."

Ilmuth wrote a short note using a stylus on her laptop, and she sent it to Sheila.

Sheila responded "Your handwriting matches the handwriting on the note that you gave me long ago. So it was you. I feel deeply grateful for the kindness and compassion you showed me. Your reassurances to me were most helpful. Your advice to me was also. I forgive you for living incognito on our planet. You did what you had to, I think, and I'm sure that you weren't trying to hurt us. But I am concerned that if I reveal your meeting with me, then some people may draw the wrong conclusions from it. They would talk about how the 'mall rats' recruited me, and what a great conflict of interest it is. They would even hint that I am some sort of quisling. That's someone who works for an occupying enemy army."

Ilmuth responded "I'm very pleased that I've made such a positive difference in someone's life. You have done very well in your career, and you have been successful as a leader of your contact effort. I agree with your concerns about the anti-espionage movement. Their hostility I find baffling."

"We also have no problem with words like 'quisling'. You don't have to keep yourself from using them. We have compiled a lot of word references in your languages, and we can look them up if necessary. As to calling us 'mall rats', I think it's silly. It took us a while to figure it out, but we concluded that that's because our cities seem like shopping malls to some of your people."