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On the Ambassador, the Consultation Room was again packed with everyone and their assistants. Hooker glowered at them. He hated pretending they really had any say in anything in the end. But he had to humor these eggheads sometimes.
And, sometimes, they came up with a good idea.
His wife, Sara, clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. No, he didn’t think of her as an egghead. Not anymore!
“Please, everyone,” she began, waiting another few seconds for their attention. “You all saw the proposal I am presenting for discussion, improvement, approval, with the pros and cons. I know you haven’t had a lot of time to think about it. But, I mean, on the other hand, it’s all you have been supposed to have been thinking about for the months and years you’ve been on board this ship!”
She put her hands up to stop them from all talking at once.
“I am going around the room, not for a vote, but for brief comments. Kulikov, you first.”
The head of the Biological Sciences department stood, bowed to her, and began. She hadn’t asked him to stand, but it was a nice touch.
“My feeling is we know no more about them than we did before we left Restas. Except this: They still live, they have developed space flight, and they know we are coming. And that is a lot! We didn’t start out to meet them out of fear, nor should we act out of fear now. I say send a real-time transmission to them using Pilot’s protocol.”
Two others started talking at once as he sat down, but she again raised her hand and stopped them. “This isn’t a time for general discussion. Johansson, you are next please.”
“Also,” Hooker spoke up before Johansson could stand. “Anyone, feel free to just say ‘ditto’ or offer no opinion, in the unlikely occasion you have none!”
Sara shot him a glare, but he still looked smug, glancing over at Tandew to his left, who just looked at him without even a cat expression.
“Thank you, Sara,” Johansson, head of History and Philosophy began. “I agree with my colleague, Professor Kulikov, we are on this ship, this ship exists, for a reason, and this is it, our current mission.”
She sat down. Out of the corner of her eye, Sara could see Hooker looking even smugger than usual at that response.
“Professor Byrdson?” Sara said, nodding to the head of the Linguistics Department.
As he stood, one of his assistants grabbed his arm and seemed to be whispering something urgent to him. He nodded at her.
“I agree with everything except using Pilot’s protocol. We have our own computer models which should be used. I’m not sure why we are using the Restans’ model.” He didn’t sit, just looked around him for support.
“Pilot is in charge of this project. End of story,” Hooker said. “It has had success with its protocol. Yours has not been successful yet.”
Byrdson’s face was showing a definite red tinge. His eyes narrowed and he started to say something. His own staff was looking just as outraged.
“Please!” Sara said. “We can discuss this after all have spoken their mind!” She didn’t even bother to shoot a glare at Hooker this time. It wouldn’t do any good. Plus, she agreed with him!
“Professor Tainte?”
The head of the department of Mathematics and Physical Sciences stood, nodded politely.
“I have nothing to add to what my colleagues have already said. Thank you.”
Hooker actually smiled at him. It seemed his suggestion to not discuss for discussion’s sake only was actually working.
“Thank you,” Sara said. “Professor Stovky?” She braced herself. Stovky was head of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and she and Hooker often clashed.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hooker leaning forward in his chair already.
“This discussion in and of itself is an interesting exercise,” she began. “Especially Admiral Hooker’s admonition, even threat, to just agree with each other.”
Everyone looked at Hooker for his reaction. To their surprise, he merely nodded at her, as if she’d complimented him.
“We know nothing of these Neanderthals. All we have is speculation. How will they feel to have confirmation of that they probably suspect, that they didn’t originate on their home world? Will it undermine all of their social beliefs and norms? Will it cause a revolution? If there is a general upheaval, what sort of ally can they be, how effective?”
She was taking a deep breath to go on when Sara interrupted her. “These are not the questions at hand for this meeting.”
“Yet they are always at hand, are they not? Also, I’ve heard rumors, rumblings, about the Neanderthals possibly having ESP or some sort of extra mental gifts because of the size of their brains. Not the stuff in the old books, but from right here on this ship. I say unequivocally, it is NOT true!”
“And I say I have felt something,” Sara said, in a calmer voice than she wanted to say it.
“That’s enough,” Hooker said, standing up. “If there are no serious objections, as there seem not to be, the transmission from Pilot will go out immediately. You can discuss it among yourselves all you want afterward.”
He nodded to Tandew, more a question than an order.
“Yes, Hooker,” Tandew said. “Pilot, make it so.”
Now a general hubbub broke out, and Hooker merely gathered up his papers and walked out, with Tandew following.
Taland came over to Sara. “You know, Sara, I learn more about humans watching and listening to these meetings than in any of your old or new books or tapes.”
“I know, Taland. I know.” He didn’t say it out loud, but she knew he was wondering, not for the first time, how humans had ever agreed enough to even make it to space in the first place!
Turning to look at the general melee which had broken out among the civilian staff after Hooker’s pronouncement and abrupt departure, she suddenly felt a little dizzy. Grabbing the back of her chair, she steadied herself.
“Sara?” Taland said, stepping closer in case she needed support to stand.
“Let me sit for a moment, Taland,” she said, spinning the chair around and finding the seat.
He stared at her as she rubbed her forehead, then her eyes.
“Is it them?” he finally asked.
She seemed to snap out of it. Looking at him with now focused eyes, she nodded.
“Not them, Taland. Her.”
“Her? And what did she tell you?”
“It wasn’t words, just an overwhelming feeling of goodwill and warmth.”
Taland didn’t blink. “Better not tell Professor Stovky.”
Sara laughed loudly, so much that the ongoing arguments in the room stopped for a moment and everyone looked at her.
“Taland is a jokester,” she said to them.