Silla worked out of two offices, including one at the White House. It was the same room, in fact, that Kilmer had been assigned ten months earlier. Despite their busy work and travel schedules, they managed to see each other often, although not nearly as often as they would have liked. As a member of Silla’s task force, and as a senior adviser to the president, Kilmer visited DC at least once a week.
When they entered the Oval Office, Whitman, Nielsen, Allen, and Art were already in the room. Druckman had retired two months earlier, and Art had replaced him as CIA director.
Whitman kicked things off. “As you all know, we’ve been in constant communication with Citadel since last summer, with a few messages exchanged every week. Seven weeks ago, we noticed a change. Shorter messages. More reticence. Long delays before they replied. And then, two weeks ago, we stopped hearing from them altogether. ET-2 was still parked at Station Zero, but they had stopped communicating. That is, until the message we received last night. You can all read it for yourselves.”
Art handed each person a copy of the message.
President Whitman,
We acknowledge our lack of communication in recent weeks. Citadel has been dealing with matters of grave importance, and our attention will be diverted for a while longer.
However, there are some things we need from you. We hope you recognize this for what it is: an opportunity for humans to earn goodwill with Citadel. For now, only one demand requires your immediate attention.
Specifically, we call for the assistance of one of your citizens: Ambassador and Historian D. Kilmer. We hope and expect that Ambassador Kilmer will be eager to help. It would send a terrible signal if he were to refuse. We ask you to confirm that the ambassador will be made available, for however long he is needed, in the weeks ahead. You may convey to him our appreciation and explain to him that he will not be in any danger. We expect that he will be able to fulfill his responsibilities from Earth itself.
We thank you for your immediate and affirmative reply. Your positive contributions will be noted.
—On behalf of the chief representative of the leadership of Citadel
Kilmer read the message twice before putting it down. He glanced over at Silla and could see the look of concern. Everyone else appeared to be waiting for him to provide the initial reaction. Whitman nudged him to do so.
“What do you think, Professor? If it can be done safely, will you agree to help them? Or should we ask for more information?”
Kilmer felt oddly ambivalent. He knew, on some level, that this was a serious matter, but he couldn’t get himself to appreciate its importance—as though a more pressing question for the group to consider would be why no coffee had been served this morning. Had the pros and cons of helping Citadel somehow netted to precisely zero in his mind. Am I truly indifferent? Doesn’t seem likely.
He asked Whitman for a moment to think about it, and then closed his eyes.
That Earth-side needed Kilmer to play nice with the aliens was obvious. Then why am I even hesitating?
Am I afraid? Not really.
Am I still angry about what they did to Archidamus? Yes… but that’s not it either.
It’s the message itself.
Not the things the message said—but what it was trying not to say.
Kilmer smiled. He could hardly blame Citadel for not broadcasting the fact that there might be a third way for humanity to boost its hopes of survival.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Madam President, but I wanted to think this through. I’m afraid my answer is no. Please inform Citadel that I’m not interested in assisting them—at least, not until they understand the proper way to ask someone for help.”
Whitman raised an eyebrow, capturing the prevailing sentiment in the room. “Why do I suspect there’s more to your refusal than their discourteous tone?”
“You’re right, Madam President. It’s not the tone itself—but I do care about its discordance with the substance of their message. I find it odd that this ancient civilization suddenly needs the help of a single human being—especially on a matter of ‘grave importance.’ The way I see it, there are two possibilities. More likely than not, they don’t really need us that badly, in which case my refusal won’t matter much. Alternatively, they really are desperate for our help, in which case I would like them to acknowledge it—and to not take our assistance for granted. If we’re that important to them, I don’t want them pretending otherwise.”
Kilmer turned to the rest of the group. “All along we’ve assumed there are only two ways to survive their final verdict: prove that we are not a threat or strengthen our defenses. But maybe there is still a third way. If they need us, we have leverage. If we are of value to them, it could help us survive. I want to explore that possibility. I want to see what happens when D. Kilmer—not Earth-side or President Whitman—says no to helping them.”
The group helped draft Kilmer’s response—ensuring the message was assertive, but not hostile—and signed off on it. Whitman asked Kilmer to stay nearby for the rest of the day. “We’ll text you as soon as they answer.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Two hours later, Silla was at her desk. Kilmer was working just a few feet away, on the sofa, when his phone buzzed. Silla looked up and saw him retrieve the message. Before she could even ask him what it said, she could see the tears starting to form in his eyes. She rushed to his side, and he turned the screen toward her. Then he leaned his head on her shoulder as she read the message for herself.
Kilmer,
You have not lost your knack for doing the impossible. I should have guessed that if anyone could bring someone back from the dead, it would be you. I was told they would throw away the key after locking me up, but you seem to have given them reason to find a spare.
It appears that there are some on this planet who have changed their minds about you—and now they need your help. They have asked me to convince you to assist them, but I have no intention of doing so. I told them that their only hope is to persuade you that theirs is a worthy cause. They will try to make the case, and then you can decide for yourself. I’ve also advised them not to play games with you. You are too good a player.
Whatever you decide, do not worry about me. My resurrection is now secure, regardless of your choice.
Finally, my warmest regards to Silla. I expect that you have found her by now. But if you have not, I hope that you will put all this aside and go looking for her instead.
With love, loyalty, and friendship,
Archidamus
Acknowledgments
I am deeply indebted to the many early readers of this book, whose ideas and advice helped immeasurably. Thank you (in alphabetical order) to Aakash Shah, Aashish Dalal, Byrd Leavell, Chander Malhotra, Daryl Morey, Devesh Gandhi, Eddy Arriola, Eric Dubovik, Hugh Howey, Jessica Walker, Jonathan Powell, Kathleen McGinn, Kevin Mohan, Manu Malhotra, Mark Kennedy, Mark Weber, Max Bazerman, Maya Farah, Michael Jensen, Parag Patel, Rajesh Attal, Rinaa Punglia, Samir Maru, Shikha Malhotra, Stuart McClure, Sudesh Malhotra, Varun Mangalick, Vas Prasad, and Zack Perkins.
An additional thanks to Hugh Howey, who guided me throughout the publishing process, and was beyond generous with his time. A second thanks also to Zack Perkins, for planting the seed in my mind that would grow into the idea for this book.
My thanks to Adam Hall for designing an amazing book cover, to David Gatewood for taking a final look at my manuscript and providing editorial comments, and to Brick Shop Audio for producing the audiobook. Chris Hurt is the best narrator I have ever heard in 25 years of listening to audio books, and I could not be more delighted that I was able to track him down, and that he agreed to narrate my book.
Thank you to the thousands of students I’ve taught at Harvard. I am grateful for the enthusiasm you’ve already shown for this book and for your eagerness to share it with others. Thank you, also, for being the reason I’ve spent 20 years developing many of the ideas and insights—on negotiation, strateg
y, history, diplomacy, and leadership—that are woven into the fabric of this novel.
A special thanks to my children—Jai, Aria, and Aisha—who prepared me for this journey by always asking me to make up long and intricate stories to tell them on the drive to school. I can’t wait for you to read this book. Trust me, it’s the best one yet.
Finally, my deepest gratitude to my wife, Shikha, for her love and support… and for putting up with me as I stayed up past 3am, writing, for almost three months straight.
Message from the author
Dear reader,
Writing is a big part of my life, and I love it. But never, in over twenty years of writing articles, books, op-eds, and essays, have I enjoyed writing as much as I did while crafting this novel. It was a fascinating, exhilarating, and rewarding journey, and I am delighted that you chose to experience a part of it with me. If you want to share your reactions to the book, or if you want to reach out to me for any other reason, please send me an email at [email protected]. I would be happy to hear from you, and I will try to respond to every email. Finally, if you enjoyed the book, I hope you will consider sharing it with others. If so, here are some ideas:
Amazon reviews are one of the best ways to help spread the word. I would appreciate you taking a few minutes to rate and review the book online. Thank you, in advance.
Tell your friends or post about the book on social media. If you tweet about it, feel free to include me in your post (@Prof_Malhotra).
Gift the book to someone who you think would enjoy it. Or suggest it to your book club if you happen to be in one.
If you are interested in my other work, here are a few books and some free resources that you might enjoy.
My books:
Negotiation Genius (non-fiction)
Negotiating the Impossible (non-fiction)
I Moved Your Cheese (fiction)
My free videos on negotiation:
How to negotiate your job offer: www.NegotiateYourOffer.com
Negotiation Insight Series – 40 short, free videos on topics related to negotiation, deal-making, diplomacy, conflict resolution and sales: www.NegotiatingTheImpossible.com
You can also find other videos / speeches of mine on YouTube. All are free to watch.
Best wishes to you on the path(s) ahead. And remember… every problem wants to be solved.
With appreciation,
Deepak Malhotra
The Peacemaker's Code Page 46
