The Contact Episode Two

by Albert Sartison

  “The answer about biological passengers seemed very strange to me. The object cannot fail to know if there are living representatives of its civilisation on board or not. It can be guaranteed that it does have this information. Why did it decline to answer?”

  Steve noticed that Shelby glanced briefly at MacQueen, who was making some sort of gesture. Shelby gave a barely perceptible nod in reply.

  “Yes indeed, that seemed strange to me too. Like you, I am inclined to interpret this as an attempt to avoid an answer. If someone in the hall has any thoughts on this point, we would be very glad to listen to them. Ladies and gentlemen, please express your opinion, however strange or insignificant it may seem.”

  “Remind us, please, of the size of the object, to give us a better idea of it.” This question came from the hall.

  “What are the dimensions of our object?” asked Shelby, looking at Steve and Clive in turn.

  “The object has an elongated aerodynamic shape, like a stretched droplet of water. The head part of the droplet is about forty metres long and twenty metres in diameter,” Clive replied, from memory.

  “In other words, six storeys high and twice that in length. Spacious enough to accommodate the Vienna Boys’ Choir quite comfortably.”

  Laughter in the hall.

  The biologists’ group asked for the floor.

  “As for the question of the presence on board of living representatives of their civilisation, I should like to offer the following suggestion.

  “The incomer’s civilisation is about a million years old. What if, over that time, their level of development reached such heights that the distinction between biology and technology was eliminated?

  “Imagine the human body. It is an organism optimised for the problems of survival in conditions which prevailed half a million years ago. Currently, the human body passes the peak of its physical activity and fertility at approaching thirty. Half a million years ago, such a state of affairs was completely acceptable, because about 15-17 years had elapsed since the onset of puberty. This is sufficient time to bear several descendants.

  “But today, such an early onset of the ageing process is clearly less than ideal. Present-day man is only just completing a process of intensive education and entering adult life at approaching thirty.

  “Habitation conditions have changed many times in the course of our civilised development, and today have little in common with the environment we lived in earlier, as savages. Our body has not had time to adapt at such a fast rate. Natural evolution is too long-drawn-out a process. This is going to become a problem for us at some time. And in principle, the problem has existed for many years.

  “Take our interplanetary flights, which often take place in conditions of weightlessness. On large spacecraft we create artificial gravity, but it is difficult to do this on smaller ones. The prolonged absence of gravity has a pernicious effect on our muscles and skeleton. The muscles quickly begin to atrophy. So do the bones, which lose their strength in the absence of a gravitational load. Our body does not feel comfortable in weightlessness, it begins to hurt.

  “Developed civilisations, such as the one to which our guests undoubtedly belong, sooner or later rise to such a degree of development that it becomes necessary artificially to accelerate the process of evolution, to change the body. This can be done by directed genetic mutations or by artificial units being added to, or replacing, the biological systems.

  “When someone has, for example, a limb replaced by an artificial one, he is still undoubtedly a man. But can a creature be called a man if almost all his organs have been replaced by artificial ones? This is no longer a man. Personally, I would describe such a being as a cybernetic organism, or cyborg.

  “What if there are cyborgs of this kind on board the object, who were initially of purely biological origin, but over time have become biomechanical organisms? Let us go further. What if the object itself is such an organism? What if it is of double origin, biological and mechanical? What if the boundaries between living and non-living organisms have been eliminated in the incomer’s civilisation? In that case it really would be impossible to answer the question of whether there were living representatives of the civilisation on board the object.

  “It also seems necessary to me to try to discover what the object means by saying that it is not possible to answer the question. Is it because it does not have sufficient knowledge, or because it is forbidden to answer, or because it does not understand the nature of the question? This seems important to me. We shall probably have to come up against such questions in the future.”

  “But would it be rude or tactless on our part to persist with such interrogations?” asked someone from the hall.

  “I don’t think so. If we were in the object’s position, we would not consider such questions tactless. After all, we are using a synthetic language. We would ascribe any impoliteness to difficulties in translation.”

  Steve again noticed Shelby exchanging a significant look with MacQueen. What was that about? Officially, MacQueen was subordinate to Shelby as long as the contact with the object was proceeding peacefully. But Shelby had not told them everything. Somehow their status and behaviour were not really compatible. It would be interesting to know if anyone else had noticed this apart from Steve. Not Clive, he never noticed those sorts of things anyway. He would have to discuss it with Maggie.

  “I believe we are all interested in the question of what the object’s intentions are,” said Shelby, changing the theme. “Are the incomers hostile, and should we be afraid of them? Who would like to express their thoughts?”

  The historians’ group took the floor.

  “As a historian, I very much doubt that the incomer’s interest in our civilisation is limited to pure curiosity or cultural exchange. Firstly, as already discussed, we believe we should look on them as ourselves, but future selves. It follows from this that they have at least an economic interest in our Solar System.

  “The object itself said that its civilisation has settled in many star systems. It would be most logical to assume that it has come to us to stay. They are not simply guests.” The historian unexpectedly stopped, lowered his eyes, and, after a pause, continued, lowering his voice. “I am most reluctant to say this, but...”

  It was obvious that he was having a problem in finding the right words. He nervously fiddled with the end of his tie with one hand. “But... put us in its place. How would such a meeting of civilisations end?”

  Steve felt the air in the hall become heavy, as if filled with lead. The exalted mood, the enthusiasm and scientific interest evaporated, and their place was taken by alarm. For those present, the historian’s words were not a revelation, but until now these alarming thoughts had been kept back in the subconscious by optimism.

  The situation was saved by Sullivan.

  “Colleagues, we must not despair. If the incomers were openly hostile, we would have been attacked long ago. But this did not happen, therefore they want a dialogue. And a dialogue is always a chance. We should not waste it.

  “Like our colleague the historian, I would not want to cherish naïve illusions, but if in future we have to share the Solar System with the incomers, then it is our job to find the most acceptable form of peaceful coexistence.

  “Let us move the conversation onto more constructive lines, and for a start, let us decide how we are going to conduct ourselves with them. Is it worth us going deeper into this theme, or on the contrary, should we try to avoid it? It would be interesting to hear the opinion of the specialists in game theory.”

  One of the mathematicians rose from behind his table and straightened his shirt collar.

  “To formulate some kind of strategy, we need first to understand the motivation of the incomers and their system of values. At the present moment, in my opinion, we must pay discreet attention to this question.

  “If you want practical advice, we should ask questions cautiously, so as to get the best possible unders
tanding of its utility function. By ‘cautiously’, I mean forming the questions so they will not permit far-reaching conclusions to be drawn about ourselves. It seems to me that the object is trying us out, waiting until we start talking about ourselves. Let us take the same position.”

  Steve could hear MacQueen coughing in disgust. All this theoretical claptrap was obviously a pain to him.

  “All right, thank you for the discussion, now we have to go on to the next communication session. Please submit your questions,” Shelby requested. “Colleague Sullivan, I ask you to make the appropriate changes in the AI on Ganymede. We want answers from the object.”

  An hour and a half later, the text of the second dialogue appeared on the main screen in the hall.

  “Is this the first time you have visited the Solar System?”

  "Not possible to answer this question."

  “Do you understand the meaning of the last question?”

  “Yes.”

  “For what reason is it not possible for you to answer the question?”

  “Not possible to answer this question.”

  “Do you have the information necessary to answer the last question?”

  “Not possible to answer this question.”

  “Are there subjects you do not want to discuss?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are these subjects?”

  “Questions of science and technology outside the limits of your knowledge.”

  “On what basis do you assess the level of our knowledge?”

  “On the basis of the types of energy you have mastered.”

  “For what reason do you not want to discuss these subjects?”

  “Incompatibility of level of knowledge and development of civilisation involves the danger of destructive behaviour.”

  “What is the purpose of your visit?”

  “To establish contact with your civilisation.”

  “What do you expect from contact with our civilisation?”

  “Mutual positive effects.”

  This time it was the mathematicians who took the floor.

  “I think the sentence ‘Not possible to answer this question’ can be interpreted as ‘I do not want to answer it’. Remember that during the first dialogue, we asked a question about the origin of their race. The object answered that it did not possess this information. So when it really does not know the answer, that is what it says. But when it simply wants to avoid answering, it gives the impression that the question was worded ambiguously and therefore to answer it in that form is not possible.”

  “All right, let us assume that your theory is correct. Can you give a description of the object’s behaviour, based on what you have just said?” asked MacQueen.

  “I am almost certain that the object is playing a strategy game with us. That is, it is not simply communicating, it is trying to divert the discussion into the channel it wants. To be precise, it cuts short attempts to take the discussion away from this channel. The question then arises, is it worthwhile for us to let it do this, or do we want to take the dominant role? What do we ideally want from the dialogue and from the object?”

  “Primarily, guarantees of our security. This means an absolute ban on the presence of any offensive weapons inside the heliosphere. Crossing the boundary of the heliosphere by any apparatus only with the prior permission of specially established authorities. Subordination to the Civil Spacecraft Interplanetary Flight Control Centre,” snapped MacQueen.

  “But what is the practical sense of demanding that they fulfil these three points? Let us imagine that they have decided to take us over. What difference does it make whether we demand that they fulfil our requirements or not? It won’t alter the result of the conflict...”

  “We would be able to recognise a hostile act more rapidly. Forewarned is forearmed. We shall have time to prepare, which will improve our defensive capability. By regrouping the army, we can make it more difficult to neutralise our armed resistance. The attack would be a lot more costly. This is often enough to prevent an attack altogether.”

  MacQueen did not have to look far for arguments when it came to military tactics or strategy.

  “But what can we do to oppose a civilisation a million years older than ours? Anyway, they could attack and destroy us from outside the heliosphere.”

  “Perhaps they could. But war is rarely waged with the aim of total annihilation. There are usually economic interests at the root of military campaigns, so the economic potential of the enemy is a matter of interest. I don’t know what the incomers might want from our Solar System, but whatever it is, we can destroy it. If we have time to reach it,” said MacQueen.

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that, General,” laughed the mathematician, “but General, it doesn’t change anything, we shall still perish. What will it matter to us if we destroy our own planet in the fatal hour or not?”

  “Tell me, have you ever been stung by a bee?”

  “Yes. What does that have to do with it?”

  “After stinging, the bee loses its sting, from which it then dies. What sense is there for the bee in a defence like that? I don’t know what Game Theory tells you about it, but I am quite sure that few of us would voluntarily touch a bee with our hands.”

  “Gentlemen, I ask you to return to the main topic of our discussion.” Shelby clearly did not like the rising temper of the debate, which was gradually turning into a heated argument.

  “One thing that seems interesting to me is the object’s reply to how it assesses the level of our development. According to what it said, it does so from the types of energy we have mastered.

  “The most powerful energy source we know is the nuclear fusion reaction. But what is meant by ‘mastered’? Can the use of a thermonuclear bomb be described as ‘mastery’?”

  “It seems to me that it can’t,” intervened one of the physicists. “In my opinion, the object associates the mastery of forms of energy with the development of a civilisation. And a civilisation advances by means not of destruction, but of creation.

  “Let us also not forget that the object appeared immediately after the completion of the greatest experiment in the history of mankind. I refer to the technology of remote manipulation. Before the discovery of this technology, we could only act on objects within the space-time continuum. Now we can change the parameters of the structure of the Universe itself.”

  “Do you think there is some sort of connection between that experiment and the arrival of the object?” asked Shelby.

  “At first I did not see this connection, but on the basis of the incomer’s answers, it seems to me that such a connection does exist. You see, the object told us that it is not going to discuss questions going beyond the limits of our knowledge. According to it, this could be harmful, as I understand it, to us, to ourselves. Perhaps they have already been through such an experience.”

  “So it means that we have matured sufficiently for them to make contact with us?” laughed MacQueen.

  “I don’t know if we have matured to that level as a civilisation, but there is at least a grain of sense in that. After all, remote manipulation technology is suitable for terraforming. One can hardly begin to imagine all the new prospects this opens up to us. We are now capable of expanding our living space virtually to infinity, and of settling in almost any star system where non-gaseous planets exist.”

  “Indeed. I propose taking a short break, after which we shall go on to the questions for the third communication session.”

  The light in the hall became bright again. Steve stretched out in his seat. Communication with the incomer was turning out strangely, somehow. He had expected more action. But in fact, all they could do was theorise on the basis of virtually nothing. The object was in no hurry to talk about itself.

  MacQueen went up to Shelby.

  “Professor, I would like to discuss something with you.”

  “Of course, with pleasure.”

  “The discussion is not taking
the line I would like.”

  “And what line would you like the discussion to take?”

  “Remember when we first met? You told me then that we can influence the situation by talking the language of diplomacy. I don’t get the impression that we are influencing the situation.”

  “What exactly is it that you don’t like?” asked Shelby.

  “The object is avoiding direct answers. There are more and more evasive answers and we are permitting it. We ought to put it as a straight choice. If the object wants contact with us, then it must answer our questions...” MacQueen paused significantly.

  “Or what?” asked Shelby, pretending not to understand.

  “Or else the contact will not take place,” ended MacQueen.

  Shelby thought for a moment.

  “From my point of view, it would be advisable to leave our partner in the dialogue room for manoeuvre. If we give it an ultimatum, the dialogue may get stuck.”

  “Our analytical department does not rate the probability of such a scenario as high. I’m ready to take that risk,” responded MacQueen imperturbably.

  “All right. I’ll ask Sullivan to make the necessary corrections to the AI program. But I wouldn’t rush into this. In my opinion, we are gradually coming to a mutual understanding with the object. That is, of course, if it is so inclined.”

  “Exactly, Professor, if it is so inclined. And I doubt more and more that it is. I need answers.”

  Unclear intentions

  For a whole hour, Steve had been tossing and turning in his bed, trying to get to sleep. Thoughts kept rushing in a continuous flow through his brain. Why had they come? Why do they keep evading questions all the time? It seems as if they are playing for time. But why? How did they find us, and why now?

  Sleep did not come, and Steve opened his eyes. From the window he could see the street light, illuminating the path next to the house. A moth was fluttering round it, hitting it every now and again. Steve’s brain wove this picture into his reflections. His thoughts took a new turn. Could they have been brought here by radio waves?