Third Moon Rising

by Ezra E Manes

  “That’s an excellent point,” Alex Brown said with his hand raised and finger pointing up for emphasis. “Earth wants to deal with the Zilans from a perspective of power, real or imagined. Why else would they want the Zilans to think we can travel rapidly to their planet? It makes me wonder what the real motive is for pushing this perspective. As Licia has pointed out, what do we want from the Zilans?”

  This comment by Alex resonated with Carlos’s concerns about Earth’s motives. He started to say as much, but Samuel Osborne responded first in his usual serious manner.

  “From my perspective, Earth simply wants to establish a position of strength from which to negotiate, clear and simple. The chosen approach should cause the Zilans to recognize they must deal forthrightly with Earth. It’s important to not present the message in a forceful or condescending manner but rather cautiously, first simply saying, ‘Hello, you are not alone.’ Then follow this with messages escalating exposure of who we are, what we have to offer, and where we want to go in the relationship. Hmmm, the Zilans could benefit greatly from the technology of Earth, particularly in areas like medicine and space travel, and should respond positively.”

  “Eve, what do you think?” Carlos’s question raised eyebrows around the room.

  “I agree with Samuel.”

  The compartment became quiet as everyone turned to eating and musing over what the next day would bring with initial Zilan contact.

  Samuel was right. The first message relayed from Earth essentially said hello and focused on similarities between the two civilizations. The message included astronomical representations of the solar system in which Zilia existed, its position relative to the other two star systems nearby, and the positions of all three solar systems relative to that of Earth.

  To help the Zilans quickly recognize the message originated off-planet, and to further impress them, they provided current images of Zilia and both its moons taken by a relay probe orbiting beyond the large outer moon. The message indicated Earth could communicate rapidly with the Zilans.

  The message was in the Zilan language and digital format compatible with their satellite surface stations. The Messier probes broadcast the message simultaneously at frequencies spaced across the full band employed by the satellite systems to insure early detection of the signal. It repeated every ten minutes. The three probes monitored signals from the surface to provide information on the reaction to the message from Earth.

  The Zilans detected the message quickly, only a matter of minutes after the first signal arrived at Zilia. However, it took much longer for them to generate a response.

  The crew members monitored the activities transpiring on the planet and were intrigued by and a little sympathetic to the Zilans’ position. Communications flew back and forth on Zilia about the message claiming to be from another intelligent race close by in the galaxy. It was a startling concept to a race that believed it was the only sentient life in the galaxy.

  At first the leadership on Zilia believed students in one of their polar research stations was playing a prank. However, information about the two nearby solar systems was not widely known on Zilia, and information about Earth’s solar system was new. The image of Zilia and its moons taken from out past the outer moon also raised questions, for it was taken from a relative position in space heretofore unachieved by the Zilans. A fabricated image would not contain the continuity of details shown. It was disconcerting to recognize the presence in their solar system of some device of extraterrestrial origin.

  However, there was no denying the repeating message came from off the planet after direction finding and tracking of the signal source. Tracking the signal revealed that its point of origin exhibited sidereal motion, moving in a slow orbital arc around Zilia. This knowledge caused intense debate among the Zilan leaders on how to respond.

  It took the Zilans almost one lunar cycle of their calendar to decide how to respond. During this period, the Messier probes continued transmitting the same message to camouflage that they were monitoring activities via intercepted satellite communications signals. If the repeating message had halted, it could have disrupted the already lengthy ongoing process to establish a position on how to reply to the contact message.

  Carlos was not sure at all that anyone at Messier or on Earth could have behaved as logically as the Zilans were under the circumstances. Their religion had as a central tenet their creation in the likeness of God, the one God they believed was responsible for everything in the universe. They had never questioned their uniqueness in God’s grand plan and were now discovering they were not unique. Not only that, they had neighbors relatively close by in space, ones sufficiently advanced to have a vessel already present near Zilia.

  The Zilans finally took an approach similar to that of Earth in its initial message. For the most part, the Zilan response was nondescript and nonconfrontational, indicating they understood the people of Earth’s civilization were very similar to those on Zilia. However, they concluded the message by directly questioning Earth’s intent with respect to Zilia and its civilization.

  Carlos breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the reply message. This response started the back-and-forth messages flowing that quickly escalated the understanding each had of the other. Real-time interactive communications were awkward due to the propagation delay between the orbiting probes and Zilia. However, Earth would not position probes closer to Zilia until sure of how the relationship would evolve.

  Earth stated its intent was to establish diplomatic relations with the Zilan people, the start of a relationship that could grow into information and technology exchange activities to benefit both civilizations. The agreements achieved as diplomatic relations evolved would govern the pace of growth in this relationship.

  Carlos couldn’t help but be amused toward the end of the first week of escalating messages. All internal Zilan discussions and information about Earth transmitted over satellite and other radiated energy communications links on the planet stopped abruptly. They had surely recognized that a civilization that could communicate rapidly over vast distances in space, and in the Zilan language at that, was likely monitoring the activity on Zilia in near real time.

  Shortly thereafter, George approached Carlos again to discuss the software program changes in the Eve unit and the ICP. He asked that Eve participate in the discussion.

  “Carlos, the only changes made remotely by Mission Control were to the ICP and communications system, and the changes were not in any area affecting life support or ship control. The changes simply improved the communications system stability. On the surface, the changes appear to be very straightforward and harmless.

  “But we did discover two curious things. The time tag of the changes corresponds exactly with the time of the original reasoning kernel software insertion. But there is no evidence the kernel software was transmitted from Mission Control—no transaction entry showed up for this kernel software in the transmission. I’ll let Eve tell you about the other curious discovery.”

  “I have the ability to view internal software programs without disturbing them in any way,” Eve said. “This is fortunate, for the software added to the communications system contains one small module that is encrypted and has safeguards against tampering. This module communicates periodically with a module in the propulsion system using redundant circuits. I have attempted to decipher the software but so far have not found the key.”

  “A security system of some sort?” Carlos asked.

  “That is the conclusion George and I came to.”

  “I knew there was a remote-destruct capability built into the New Horizon, and I suspect this is one aspect of that. But I’m surprised Mission Control changed this system after launch.” Carlos paused and felt a chill of apprehension. “Eve, don’t do anything that could potentially trigger a response from the encrypted module. In fact, stop your attempts to decrypt the software, just to be safe.”

  “I will do so,” Eve said, then s
witched back to address the kernel software. “There is nothing else that can be done from the New Horizon to identify the source of the kernel reasoning software. Logically, it came from Mission Control, but this is counter to the level of software development technology existing at the Messier Colony. And as far as we can determine through surreptitious inquiries, a copy of the kernel software does not exist at the colony.”

  “Maybe we should now communicate with Mission Control about this kernel software program,” George said.

  “No,” Carlos replied firmly. “Eve, monitor communications between the encrypted module and the propulsion system, and let me know of any change in routine you detect.”

  “I am doing so, Commander.”

  “George, I know you would like to continue investigating these software changes, but we need to get on with our mission plan. Eve can monitor and advise us of any change.”

  George reluctantly agreed and left grumbling. Carlos had to smile. George did not mean any disrespect.

  “Eve, can you intercept future incoming software changes to any system onboard?”

  “I believe I can, Carlos.”

  “Then do so, and alert me to any changes attempted. We should have a say in what changes are made, for our survival depends on the integrity of this spaceship and its operating systems.”

  “It will be done, inasmuch as my capabilities enable me to detect the attempts.”

  That’s interesting, he thought. Eve is now qualifying her responses.

  After the first seven weeks of communication, those on Earth and Zilia had provided about all the information they desired to convey until achieving a better understanding of what the others wanted to get from continuing dialogue. This new slant to the interchange was driven more by the Zilans than by those on Earth, for over twelve years of monitoring activity had provided a comprehensive look at the Zilan civilization.

  The Zilans continued struggling to assimilate the full meaning of finding another civilization in their neighborhood of space. Their uncertainty about Earth’s motives compounded this process. It was apparent the Zilans had progressed rapidly through several stages, from initial fear and awe to questioning their understanding of the universe and religious doctrine, and finally to the practical position of recognizing it was essential to work out basic ground rules for evolving the relationship with Earth. There was no doubt their future would change dramatically. Their goal was to control the changes as much as possible in favor of the Zilan civilization.

  Earth and Zilia agreed to focus on developing the basis for a formal diplomatic relationship while sharing summary information in select areas supporting this endeavor. Earth suggested they include in discussions the accommodation of a small Earth diplomatic embassy on Zilia in the near future, and the Zilans reluctantly agreed.

  As this was being decided, Carlos focused the crew’s attention on their extensive training phase, as laid out in the original mission plan. Preparations for the trip, including learning the Zilan language, had diverted team members from their normal occupations. The first objective of the training was to ensure they were as up-to-date as possible in their respective areas of expertise, as well as in other areas important to the mission’s success. Carlos had a distinct advantage in gaining this knowledge but never let on he still had a neural implant.

  They followed a three-level education and training approach. The first level focused on individual refresher education in their respective specialties. Of course, this education built upon that already achieved by the individual members when selected for the mission. A lot had happened in the almost twelve years they had been assigned to the team, most of which they had spent asleep, and it was essential they catch up in their respective disciplines.

  The second level of training focused on management, diplomatic, and survival skills in expectation of the early transfer of responsibility for interfacing with the Zilans and the eventual establishment of a diplomatic presence on Zilia. In addition, the team members were groomed as much as possible regarding the society they would be introduced to on Zilia, including a thorough refresher education on the Zilan language. Monitoring the ongoing communications between Earth and Zilia enhanced the effectiveness of this activity overall, for the communications were all in the Zilan language.

  The third level of training focused on developing a broad understanding across the entire team of fundamental knowledge in all areas of importance to the mission, in essence building layers of backup knowledge among various members. This would facilitate convergence in solving problems having import across multiple disciplines, such as propulsion and life support systems. This convergence approach had been proven long before in solving critical problems impacting space exploration.

  As they initiated the training sessions, Karen Sarkofsky reported to Carlos that some on the team were experiencing mild psychological problems associated with the finality of their mission decision with respect to the remainder of their lives. The prospect of never returning to the colony lay heavy on their minds after they woke from hibernation. Carlos agreed Karen should initiate group sessions to help the crew work through these anxieties.

  Carlos and Gloria helped significantly in this process by openly discussing their perspectives about the issue. Though it had been unspoken in general during the planning stages of the mission, they anticipated at the outset that all members would adapt to the Zilan culture and environment and not want to make the twelve-year return trip. Carlos and Gloria had fully accepted this fact before mission launch.

  However, Carlos reminded everyone that there was hope for those who might want to return because Earth had a concerted effort ongoing to develop advances in space travel. He quoted an old saying attributed to an unknown Earth scientist. “To let it be known something has been accomplished will result in its independent discovery and development more rapidly by others.” The first extraterrestrials detected by Earth appeared to have faster-than-light-speed space travel. It was not unreasonable to think Earth would develop similar capabilities by the time the Zilia mission objectives were met, thus making the return trip more of a practical option for the team.

  Another factor that helped was the special psychological conditioning administered periodically to crew members by the automated medical system. They jokingly called this conditioning “brainwashing” because it predisposed them to continue as compatible couples and as a team. They would learn the value of this conditioning as they moved among the Zilan population that was so imbalanced in the women-to-men ratio.

  Carlos spent more time than the others monitoring communications between Earth and Zilia. He noticed a growing terseness in the messages from the Zilans after communications had been ongoing for three months. He focused on gaining a better understanding of what was occurring, for it appeared something was going seriously wrong in the diplomatic liaison effort.

  Apparently the Zilans had received enough information to determine that Earth exercised a strict separation between political and religious matters. This greatly concerned the Zilans, which quickly became apparent in their responses to messages from Earth. The strong mix of religious and political elements in society on Zilia was causing great consternation among their leaders as they struggled with this issue. It appeared almost incomprehensible to them that such a separation of church and state could exist in an advanced society.

  Then the Zilans abruptly terminated communications for several days, refusing to answer even the most basic queries. Monitoring the scant signals from Zilia revealed that a great debate raged among senior religious and political leaders about whether or not to expose their people to the knowledge of such a fractured religious structure as that on Earth. The potential damage to their society by introduction of such a radical idea was of grave concern.

  They soon restored communications, primarily because of concerted efforts by one Ceripe Largena, a young advisor to the Zilan supreme leader. The supreme leader was the elected head of the political government on
Zilia but worked closely with the religious leadership. Ceripe Largena came from a very distinguished family with a long heritage of serving in public roles. She had become a favorite of the current leader through her wit and wise council.

  She made the point that with discovery of the inhabited planet Earth, and with their evident advanced space travel capability, it was only a matter of time before physical contact with this civilization occurred. It would be better to control that contact as much as possible from the outset. To emphasize her point, she asked if anyone could be sure the orbiting communications relay spacecraft did not have people on board who were simply waiting for the opportunity to land. She also pointed out it was likely there were other extraterrestrials in the galaxy, and the problem of establishing relationships must be addressed someday for those civilizations as well.

  Carlos found these observations insightful. Earth had not mentioned anything about the other intelligent race located some great distance from Zilia, and there was indeed a spacecraft approaching the Zilan solar system with Earth representatives onboard.

  Ceripe Largena’s argument finally carried, and the Zilans renewed communications with an apology for breaking off contact while they sorted out internal issues. They forthrightly extended an invitation for a visit by an Earth diplomatic team, but one that would also include the knowledge and expertise to initiate technology exchange efforts. The message also asked directly how long it would take Earth’s representatives to arrive at Zilia once the diplomatic protocol and embassy negotiations were completed. Carlos knew that hidden in this question was the worry that Earth already had a presence in their solar system.

  This invitation was exactly what Earth had hoped for, and it was immediately accepted. Earth indicated that a contingency plan was already in place for a mission to Zilia, with representatives arriving at Zilia in approximately one Earth year, or 338 days on Zilia. This seemed to relieve the Zilans’ worry that Earth might have people already in their solar system. It was mutually agreed that the initial Earth contingent would be a cultural and diplomatic mission, but one that would evolve to include expanded technology exchange.