Contact across the Solar System

At Emmen

"Solar System Community spaceship Aurora calling air traffic control. SSC Aurora calling air traffic control. This is Solar System Community spaceship Aurora, SSC Aurora." said Kalna, from the ship's controls.

"This is Algiers ground control. We copy, SSC Aurora. Is this ... really a SSC spaceship?"

"You ask: is this really a SSC spaceship? Yes indeed."

"Hard to believe. Someone might be pulling a prank on us."

"It's no prank. Will give our location and speed."

"Aren't your ships ... very big?"

"Yes indeed. You should be seeing us as we pass overhead. Our current position is about 260 kilometers due south of Algiers and our current speed is 2200 kilometers per hour, heading almost due north. Our altitude is 132,000 feet or 40 kilometers."

"Copy."

"We should be over Algiers in about 7 minutes."

"Copy. Will look for you."

Sure enough, the Aurora was over Algiers 7 minutes later, and the air traffic controllers there excitedly relayed the news. It was daybreak there, and with its active camouflage off, the Aurora was well-illuminated by the Sun. Half an hour later, after crossing the Mediterranean Sea, the Aurora was over the French Alps, and it soon slowed down and circled the Matterhorn before continuing northward. But people there got the news, and they reported lots of Aurora sightings. Including pictures of the Aurora circling that four-sided pyramidal mountain.

While the Aurora was on its way, those dignitaries were on their way, heading south from Zurich in buses. In a little less than an hour, the buses arrived at Emmen Air Force Base a little northeast of Emmen. As they neared the airbase, the buses passed through some military checkpoints. The Swiss authorities were taking no chances on security.

This provoked a lot of discussion among anti-espionagers and others. What was going on that was so secretive? Another visit by the SSC? The Aurora had been sighted on its way to this location. Was it the SSC ship that would be visiting?

Not long after the dignitaries arrived at Emmen AFB, the Aurora arrived, traveling over Emmen itself. The huge spaceship slowed down and hovered over the airbase's runway, and then turned to be along the runway's direction. "It'll be a tight fit", said Kalna to the air traffic controllers.

She slowly lowered the Aurora onto the runway and put out the landing-gear pads as it got close. She gave a running update as she went. "This is the first time I've tried to land a ship on your planet," she said. After about a minute on the ground, she announced "The gravity drive is now off. You can come out now."

It was an impressive sight, this huge silvery-gray tapered-cylinder interplanetary spaceship that seemed almost too big for the runway that it was resting on. Or at least too wide for it, since the runway was longer than it. Journalists and curious people took lots of pictures of it, though often with telephoto cameras at the distances that they were being kept.

Some airbase personnel then brought out seats and a podium and put up tents, and the dignitaries and reporters followed, with soldiers all around. From the Aurora a ramp was lowered, and some people came out of there also, and they also sat in some of the seats. The SSC people sat in seats facing the Earth people's seats, with their huge tapered cylindrical spaceship behind them with its main axis horizontal.

Then Swiss President Annelise Winkler got up and she described what a great day it was for her, for Switzerland, and for the world. She invited Orthon to speak, and he got up and did so. He was wearing some of his fancier clothes rather than a jumpsuit, clothes that made him look something like an eighteenth-century gentleman. They both shook hands and also did a palm-to-palm greeting. He thanked her for being a great host, and he then introduced some fellow Earth contacters. Kalna, Ilmuth, Firkon, Ramu, Zuhl, Khessini, Solgonda, and some former residents of Switzerland. They then described their history of contacting the people of the Earth, first revealing themselves to only a few people, and now revealing themselves to everybody. Some of the former residents showed off pictures of their Earthly adventures, like Kalna and Ilmuth at the Arizona impact crater and Firkon at Percival Lowell's observatory, also in Arizona.