*
Some time later, as they slept on, a small flyer was quartering the area, scanning and sending the information back to one of the Flying Fortresses. It passed overhead on a routine sweep, noting the presence of the Terrans in the tree. They circled while the scanner ran through its identification programme. The operator leaned over. The identifier read ‘Niseyen’ and ‘tree dwellers’. The operator grunted, annoyed.
“What’s wrong?”
“This useless scanner says ‘Niseyen’.
“Well that’s possible.”
“Up a tree?!”
“Oh. Who programmed it?”
“I don’t know. An idiot. What do I do?”
“Mark it as unknown tree dweller. Any sign of sapience?”
“Go around again.”
The plane circled again, checking for a second factor.
“No.”
“Mark it as unknown animal tree dweller. I don’t know why they use these cheap scanners.”
The plane continued on. Twice more, the scanner noted Niseyen; both of these groups were in caves. The operator and pilots again complained about the scanners as they logged the sightings as unknown animals. They didn’t bother to circle and check for signs of sapience. So they didn’t find any.
Alien Alliance Page 22
