Alien Caller (73 page)

“They will also
grant us the knowledge of the history of the space faring races in
this sector, and the creation of the Interstellar Community Council
which I pray our grandchildren will one day be able to become
members of, as something our people can study. For it is through
that history that we can see why they have set these conditions
upon us. They do so for our own protection as well as theirs.”

“Also tell your
people this. As a world unready to enter the Interstellar Community
but within its boundaries, we are protected. We always were. No
hostile aliens can attack us, even if there were any nearby, and no
invasion would ever have been allowed. Also, I’m pleased to be able
to report with absolute knowledge, that all the so called alien
abductions in the press over the last decades have nothing to do
with any aliens from this sector of the galaxy. Such a thing would
be completely illegal. And there are no aliens who look anything
like the little grey men drawn by UFO people. Other than the
Leinians, they’re all far stranger.”

“These things
they have given their word to me on and I am well satisfied that
they will keep their word.”

“So tell your
people this. Today, tomorrow and all the days that may follow, our
world, our very universe has changed, and we are no longer alone.
This is a great day, and one we should celebrate. But for us it is
also business as usual. Everything has changed, and nothing. We are
not alone, but those who have arrived are only friends we have yet
to meet. There are no enemies waiting for us out in space. Neither
has our world changed. What a house was worth yesterday it will be
worth tomorrow. The people’s stocks and shares haven’t changed in
value either. There is no need for panic as the mad man is dead and
we are safe.”

“This is a
great day.”

Speech given he
stood there for a while, wondering what else he could say.
Wondering if there would be questions. Wondering if he knew how to
answer them. But instead they surprised him. They clapped.

At first it was
just a few, most of them probably as unsure of what came next as he
was. But they were joined, and soon the entire screen was full of
people standing and clapping, shouting applause and looking as
though they'd just been to a rock concert. There were even tears in
some of their eyes. Tears of relief. And tears that he could feel
welling up in his own eyes. The sense of relief, the feeling of
justice having been done and guilt having finally been lifted from
him, it was simply too much.

It was lucky
then that the transmission was cut before he began blubbering like
a baby. Instead he did his best to keep his emotions under control
and started dressing in a jump suit someone had thoughtfully
brought for him, all while hoping that no one noticed his lapse.
And wishing that someone had brought him the jumpsuit earlier.

“There’s
another call for you.” He was interrupted in his efforts by another
one of the officers calling out to him, and he turned to face the
wall again and Cyrea’s relieved face. At least she didn’t look
angry, but he was sure that would come. She could never allow him
to risk his life. Not even when it was to save the world. He loved
her for that.

“It's over.” He
couldn’t help but smile at her like a child with a new toy. It
wasn’t just the relief. It was the remembrance that he had a wife,
and soon a family. For the first time in longer than he could
remember he had a life.

“It's finally
over, Love. I promise you that. I’m free, and so are you. That
bastard is never going to harm another soul. Least of all you.”

“I heard. But
it's not quite over yet.” Suddenly he noticed the sweat starting to
soak her brow, and the look of pain and concentration on her face,
and he realized there was still one thing more to be done. Cyrea
was in labour. No wonder she wasn’t angry or upset with him.

“I’m coming
Love. Fifteen minutes at the most.”

Chapter
Thirty Six

“You know Love,
I don’t need to go back.”

“Mmm?” Cyrea
was still wrapped up in their daughter, holding her, playing with
her, and his words didn’t register for a little while. David didn’t
exactly mind either. He was just as involved holding Cyrea’s
sandwich and watching the two of them playing on the balcony floor.
Besides, the decision for him had actually become quite easy. He’d
made it weeks or months ago, maybe even before Hope had been born.
He’d just never put it into words.

“To Earth. I
don’t need to return on the transport.” Finally he caught her
attention, and she stared at him, suddenly unsure of what he meant.
She shouldn’t have been. He’d told her many times about his past.
About being an orphan, a military man and then an agent. He had
almost no real connection with anybody on Earth other than Cyrea,
and she wasn’t a local. Nor did he have any duty to return. The
Leinians were now known to his people, so there was no great onus
upon him to reveal them. Nor were they a threat to anyone. If
anything they were the ones threatened by the association with
humans. Besides, in dealing with both the Mentan and Dimock and
then arranging the first formal meetings between the Leinians and
the United Nations he figured he’d done his duty to both Leinia and
Earth.

Besides in the
two full weeks they'd spent back on Earth, his life had been one of
sheer drudgery. Every day he would dress, get whisked away to
wherever the next meeting was, do the introductions, usually to the
embarrassing sound of applause, and then sit down and shut up for
however many hours the meeting lasted. It wasn't easy being a hero,
but considering that no one had even suggesting arresting him for
treason or the countless other laws he'd broken, it had its
advantages.

Of course he
wasn't actually supposed to be a part of any negotiations or talks,
just the introductory speaker. The Leinians could handle their end,
and the UN didn't want anything to do with him. He was a hero,
saviour of the world as the media kept claiming. But as far as
anyone in authority was concerned, he was also a renegade agent who
had betrayed his own country. Some in America would even have liked
to have charged him. But it was difficult to do that when across
the world they were renaming schools and parks in his honour.

As for the
Leinians, they too were heroes. Flavour of the month. But that
would change. Sooner or later, perhaps in a few years, the
adulation would wear off, especially when people realised all that
they could do for them but refused to.

That was their
problem though. His was his family. And he hadn't been able to
spend any time with his family during all that time. After two
weeks of that he'd been desperate to flee for Leinia. And no one
could really say he owed them anything more. He hoped.

Living on
another world might be challenging. It already was after only a
month and a bit. But at least it was safe, and Cyrea would have her
family nearby. On Earth, neither would be true. The various ultra
secret groups would always have been nosing around, spying, looking
for any hint of new technology or a way to advance their political
agenda. It went with the job. And as a spy, make that a former spy,
he had a fair idea of the terrible lengths they’d go to get that
information.

It was because
of that, that he’d insisted every Leinian, and every human closely
associated with them, needed a marker. A way of being located
anywhere in the world if they were abducted. A way of knowing if
they were in trouble. A way that was unable to be detected or
blocked by his people. The Leinians hadn’t liked the idea and nor
had their human charges, but they had reluctantly agreed, accepting
his superior knowledge of the way his people operated, and within a
day the best part of four thousand people had been operated on.
They had even done it before he and the others had landed with the
base ship near his home. The Leinians had taken his advice one step
further and marked not just themselves and their contacts, but also
everyone that an outsider might conceivably think was a contact. It
was good, sound paranoid thinking at its best and he was pleased by
it.

“That would be
nice. I’d like to stay a little longer. Maybe another month or two.
And my parent’s would love to see Hope for a while longer.” Which
was an understatement. They craved seeing the little one, even to
the point of driving the two of them away so they could baby sit.
They weren’t even subtle about it. And Cyrea’s grandparents were
worse, but then he liked that in them. He smiled to himself. Cyrea
still wasn’t getting it.

“We can stay as
long as you want, - a month, a year, ten. It doesn’t matter. I
don’t need to return at all.”

“But it's your
home.” Finally she understood, and she was shocked. She shouldn’t
have been. He smiled at her, and kissed their daughter.

“You are my
home. You and Hope. Wherever you want to be is where I want to be,
always. Despite your best attempts, the Earth is not and never will
be your home.” She tried to protest and he stopped her.

“Back there,
you would be an outsider, and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t
guarantee your safety. I have too many enemies, and my world has
too many problems. Grief, even my old employers will be wanting to
kill me to keep me from talking. But here you are safe, you are
welcome, and I’m happy just to be with you. On Earth I can provide
you with enough money to be comfortable. But all the money in the
world couldn’t compete with what your people can offer, and not
just for us, but for Hope.” Which was only the truth. He was a
husband and father against all odds, and he had to act like one.
Which meant first and above all else, he had to protect them. Here
they were safe. Nowhere else could he guarantee that. Not even in
the mission, as the Leinians called their ship.

Again, on his
advice, they’d set up their embassy in their spaceship in the Wrath
Valley. It had a number of advantages, not least of which was that
if they had to flee, they had a ship ready to leave at a moment’s
notice, while the entire area was ringed with the Lienian’s nearly
invisible cameras. It also put the various intelligence agencies on
the back foot as they discovered they had no local operatives and
little chance of placing any who wouldn’t be spotted instantly.
Meanwhile, since there were no roads, access to and from the ship
was purely by flitter or on foot, another security precaution. And
by making the diplomats come to them, it also sent a message to the
world and especially its leaders, that the Leinians were not
interested in political games, and not amenable to any of the usual
diplomatic finesses. They had set out their agenda on the first
day, and it was pretty much the same one he had stated from space.
They would not be budged. It was a take it or leave it situation,
and that was all there was.

The President
and his people were somewhat upset about having an alien embassy on
their own land, camped in the middle of a national park of all
things, and especially when that embassy wouldn’t deal with them
directly but only through the United Nations, but they had little
choice. To reject the Leinian Embassy would have been political
suicide for any government since the people loved them. Besides,
the thought of them setting up camp in any other country would have
sent them climbing the walls. And to sweeten the deal, the Leinians
had agreed to perform some of their medical miracles, a thousand
operations per year, on U.S. citizens at their discretion. They
didn’t get the technology they wanted, but it was something for the
President to take back to his people. Something more than the rest
of the world had. It was actually quite a sweet rental deal.

“I’m a father
now, against all odds. And we have a daughter. We - I have to do
the absolute best that we can for our daughter. And the best I can
do is to raise her as a Leinian. A place where she can grow up
happier and healthier, live a more fulfilled life, never worry
about health problems, gain the best education possible and a
career to be proud of. I can’t give her that on Earth.”

“But it’s a
huge change. I mean, won’t you miss it? Your home?”

“Some. But not
as much as you might think. I have no family there, only here. No
real friends either, only acquaintances and other agents. And on
Earth, regardless of how the public might see me, I’m a renegade
agent. If the government wanted they could charge me with some
rather serious crimes. And the other agencies, while they might be
wary of tangling with your people, wouldn’t lend me the same
courtesy. Here I’m just another member of the public. An average
citizen.” Which wasn’t totally true. He felt out of place,
especially being so much taller than everyone else, and he
sometimes had the horrible feeling when he looked in someone’s eyes
that they were remembering his berserk rage or worse still, his
killing of Dimock. There was just a trace of fear lurking in the
corners of their eyes. But those he spoke to soon warmed up and
none seemed to want to distance themselves from him. In fact they
were all remarkably friendly and helpful. To the point where he
sometimes wondered whether he was in a TV show and they were all
actors. Surely real people couldn’t always be that nice?

He’d quickly
grown used to the people’s appearance. So much so that he
occasionally startled himself when he walked in front of a mirror
and saw a human being staring back. That had made him feel
self-conscious, and for a while he’d tried dressing in the local
garb, hoping to blend a little better, only to discover that there
was no true local dress. The Leinians seemed to dress however they
wanted, and jeans were just as acceptable to them as any of the
hundreds of different styles of clothes they wore.