Contact across the Solar System

To Rome

While some anti-espionagers were tracking down Kalna's and Ilmuth's earlier visits, those two, Orthon, and other Contact Committee members were busily building on their success in Switzerland. Other Europeans seemed interested in visits, so they planned a tour of European cities. Most of the planning was uncontroversial, with Contact Committee members to visit political leaders and other notables, and also to visit such touristy sites as the Parthenon in Athens. The main problem that they faced was security. After Amin Iskandari's attempted terrorism, neither the SSC people nor their hosts did not want to take a lot of chances.

Italy had some additional snags. The Contact Committee was willing to visit the Pope, but there were big problems with clothing. When visiting the Pontiff, women are to wear black dresses and have a veil over their hair. The Contact Committee had mixed opinions on that dress code, with Kalna considering it self-abnegating and like going into mourning, and Ilmuth agreeing but thinking that it's a good idea to go along with such customs.

Then Kalna made a discovery. "Look at this. Certain Catholic royal women may wear white instead of black."

Ilmuth looked and made a double-take. "'Privilege of White'. Heh. We aren't anywhere close to being royal people. We aren't anywhere close to being Catholics either. Maybe the Pope might decide that we are honorary Catholic royal people for the occasion, but I don't know if he's that desperate to please us."

Then someone in the Italian contact team had an idea. "I remember some of you once saying something about Giordano Bruno."

Orthon responded "Did we? I'd have to check. I recall something or other about him, but I'd have to check that also."

Giulio Lombardo, that team member, then did some research, as did Orthon.

Giulio found where Khessini said something about contacting him long ago, and Orthon found the SSC's records of contacting him.

Orthon then responded, "He was one of our contactees," and he described the SSC's history with him, like giving him hints as to what the Universe is really like.

Giulio said "I'm not surprised. He sounded a lot like you SSC people."

Orthon laughed when he got that message.

Giulio then mentioned that Rome has a statue of Giordano Bruno in it, a statue in Campo de' Fiori.

Orthon said "Great. We ought to honor him there. I'll check out visiting there." But after looking at some maps, he had second thoughts. "It'll be hard for our scouts to land there. The square could hold some, but it will be a tight squeeze."

Giulio agreed that it was not a good meeting place.

After some more discussion, they settled on a primary meeting place, the Stadio Olimpico to the north of Rome, with excursions to the Giordano Bruno statue, the Roman Colosseum, the Roman Forum, St. Peter's Square, and other such attractions. The SSC people would travel to those attractions in their scoutcraft, and land at some of them.

Campo de' Fiori had a problem: it was a farmer's market much of the time, so they decided to land there when it was less busy.

Word leaked out that the female members of the SSC's delegation were not very eager to wear black dresses for meeting the Pope, and that they were willing to compromise by meeting just outside St. Peter's Square. Word also leaked out about honoring Giordano Bruno. Though those "leaks" were rather deliberate, to see how the Earthers would react to those plans.

Some conservative Catholics got worked up about how disrespectful it was of the SSC.

"Now we see how 'spiritual' the SSC is. Those SSC women are so carnal and vain and arrogant. They don't have any spirituality other than worship of themselves. Wanting the Pope to come out to visit them. What arrogance. Who do they think they are?"

"Giordano Bruno? He deserved it for his heresies and his thumbing his nose at the Church. Says something about the mall rats that they prefer a degenerate heretic to the Holy Father."

"The mall rats have just insulted a billion Catholics and many people of other faiths. Do they want to make themselves unwelcome?"

Some anti-espionagers seized on this issue and got very worked up about it, while some Watchers praised the SSC for the "courage" to pay respects to someone on the wrong side from the Vatican. They were joined by Giordano Bruno fans and sympathizers in Rome and elsewhere.

To a more neutral observer, it was like the Guelfs and the Ghibellines, those squabbling late-medieval Italian factions.

But eventually all those details were straightened out. In the meantime, the Contact Committee was working on contacts elsewhere.