Trade World Saga 1: Manual Interpretation (26 page)

"We will land near you," Andrew stated and then turned to talk with his crew. "Tod, land near them and cut the screen down to 0.70. Align the lasers to hit at the weapon ports on the other ship.” He then resumed talking over the comm., “We will meet with you tomorrow at this time."

The ship landed effortlessly about one hundred meters from the alien ship and Andrew and Brad prepared to embark for the negotiations.

The E. S. officer watched the ship land. A day later, he watched the two beings step out. The ship was an odd design. Why, they were flying to the entry port of my ship. Whoever they were, they had valuable technological information. He had ruled out that this ship could belong to the native race since there was no evidence of any other devices capable of producing fields on the planet. Maybe this will prove interesting... at least, it would be a good diversion from repair of this downed ship.

NEGOTIATIONS

Brad and Andrew had not been idle in preparation for these negotiations. They arranged for some information to be gathered and sent to the worldwide news agencies who were clamoring for any news release. Brad also had gotten Steve to cross connect the ship computer to a Net, law database across the continent via satellite and linked those to the Mem-Dexs they wore on their wrists.

The night before they left, Steve had linked the ship's computer to a linguistics complex at a large South-western, electronics corporation laboratory. Rett's cooperation and near-perfect memory enabled him to put down the written form of
Trade
that had become the standard between all trading planets generations ago. His printing was exquisite. The language structure was brilliantly logical and had few confusing quirks in verb and modifier agreement. Prefixes were neutral and there were few synonyms. Most of all
Trade
was brilliant for its flexibility and pronunciation ease.

After flying gracefully to the alien airlock, Andrew and Brad prepared to board the alien ship. Both were equipped with the latest printer accessory to tie into their Mem-Dexs so they could have written accounts in both languages. Only years of advance programming at the linguistic computer complex along with an intimate knowledge of
Trade
(by Rett) could have provided the means for these computers to accomplish man-years of work, literally overnight. Brad carried the printer under on arm that they had removed from Desiree's lab.

They were met at the alien's airlock by three large humanoids whose most notable feature was their leveled hand weapons. Red tinged aliens in stark black uniforms standing two and a half meters tall with questionable intent would have intimidated most men but Andrew was doing his best to act unperturbed. The aliens had visible musculature and had, humanlike features, but the combination of small differences made them obviously alien.

"Captain Williams, a representative of the World Government, wishes permission to board your vessel." Andrew said to the aliens who could not have been anything but crewmen.

"You will not bring any weapons on board. Please give me any weapons you possess," said the alien closest to them who seemed as interested in them as they were in him.

"We will only give up our weapons to the ship Commander or some other higher ranking personnel. It is not fitting to meet the representatives of an entire planet with only crewmembers or guards," Andrew said surprising Brad who had begun to reach to his belt to give up his sidearm.

Andrew knew he had hit a weak spot as all three stood up straight and their weapons wavered slightly but did not lower. "Very well," said the same alien, "I have contacted the Officer-In-Charge and he will be here in a few minutes."

After about two minutes, another being came hurrying down the corridor. He was slightly shorter, but still taller than Andrew, and had bright, black lidless eyes with no trace of body hair, unlike the other hairy armed crewman. The new alien barked an order in some dialect and the crewmen put up their weapons. He then turned to Andrew and began to look over Andrew and Brad's white garments with their chrome like metal attachments and white belts that allowed these natives to fly.

"Is the meeting to be held in this corridor?" Andrew said trying to spark the other to action.

Appearing to ignore the sarcasm, the alien said, "You will be permitted to retain your personal weapons. What is the device under that one arm?" the alien asked pointing to the printer under Brad's arm.

"That is simply a device to print any agreement we may reach so we may have a permanent, written copy," Andrew said knowing he had sparked interest.

"I do not believe it necessary. Leave it here and take it with you when you leave," compromised the alien.

"No, but I will prove its function for you. If I prove its function, will you not hinder us further?" Andrew said using Rett's hints as a clue to the officer's behavior. Act superior or they will treat you as an inferior was what Rett implied and so far, it had worked.

Andrew had Brad synchronized the printer to his Mem-Dex and after Brad had keyed his unit he had Brad extend the arm toward the alien. The alien crewmen muttered and partially drew their weapons but the leader motioned them to cease.

"Speak into this after I say 'activate'," Andrew said indicating Brad's Mem-Dex. "Say anything you want in
Trade
."

"Activate," Andrew said and Brad held the printer so the alien could see it.

"This sun is cold and my home is far, far away," the alien said and stopped as the printer spewed out the printout to display in writing what he had just said. He held the sheet in his trembling hands and then turned back and said something in some other language.

"This will only work on
Trade
and our own languages," Andrew explained.

The alien looked at the printout he held in his near-human hand and then said, "Follow me."

As they walked into the bright interior of the ship, the other three crewmen fell in step behind them.

The procession soon came into a large room where their guide hastily conferred with the two aliens who were standing and then, in turn, bent to talk to the remaining alien who was already seated. This one could only be their commander, Andrew thought. Brad noticed an interesting point that the commander was almost of a different race as the remainder of crew with his unlined skin and graceful jutting cheekbones. Andrew saw those perceptive eyes boring through him and realized that this one was not to be trifled with.

"Will you sit down?" The alien commander said indicating some soft-topped squares in front of him.

"Thank you," Andrew said not realizing he had lapsed into English.

"What planet are you from? What is your claim to this planet?" the commander asked.

Andrew was stunned. They didn't believe he was even from Earth. This guy is really confused, thought Andrew. I had better set him straight, he thought and also realized how he could do so.

"I was born on this planet and the ship outside was built on this planet. All my crew were born on this planet. We are authorized to negotiate a trade agreement with responsible authorities. I will prove my claims if you can receive our visual broadcasts on the following frequencies," Andrew said showing him the frequency conversions that the printer had typed earlier.

The commander handed these to his Chief Technician who hastened away and returned shortly with a wheeled carrier with a small video screen. The screen looked like an old cathode ray tube device Andrew had only heard about in history books and only then because he was into trivia. Andrew sent a message to the ship to relay to the news media. The media had received material from the university where Susan had had the foresight to have visual recordings and crew biographies put together that formed an earlier documentary on the building of Earth's first starship. This documentary had been shown many times after Ling's broadcast before they had left for Tau Ceti but had the biographical part lengthened for this showing. Andrew hadn't anticipated that the aliens would not believe they were natives but had thought that the documentary would show the aliens that Andrew and his crew were actual representatives for Earth. In any case, the documentary should convince the aliens.

The Chief Technician turned on the videoscreen and adjusted the frequency until he picked up a broadcast. The screen showed a slightly distorted picture in two-dimensional black and white. He then sat down to await the broadcast that would soon replace the regular schedule.

Andrew asked the commander for permission to inspect the video receiver. The Chief Technician assisted and took off an inspection plate so Andrew could view the workings.

These people had never heard of miniaturization or anything more than the most rudimentary semi-conductor components. This receiver was a behemoth. The idea hit him suddenly and Andrew spoke quietly into his Mem-Dex to Susan on their ship. He then turned to the assembled, high-ranking alien officers.

"It seems that your receiver cannot take advantage of several aspects of our broadcasts so I have sent to my ship for one of our receivers," Andrew said. Seeing the translation, the alien Chief Technician rankled at the suggestion that his equipment was inferior to native products even if it wasn't as compact, Andrew continued. "I will need the assistance of your Chief Technician to provide a power source for our receiver because it isn't self-contained like this unit," Andrew said trying to be placating.

Andrew gave the alien all the requirements for the set and he was prepared when Ivan delivered the set. One alien crewman brought it into the room as if it was a quart of nitroglycerin. It was an extra meter and a half-square set from one of the lounges. The set was simply a good quality assembly line model because many of the shipboard items were made much better commercially rather than custom designs. The viewing panel of the set was gray with a simulated wood-grain case about fifty millimeters thick and the panel sat on a rectangular base that contained all the controls and adjustments.

The Chief Technician inspected the set while one of his subordinates attached the power leads he had prepared. Brad explained the controls to the fascinated alien as Andrew moved his seat to a more comfortable viewing position. Brad then had the Chief Technician turn on the set.

All the aliens let out a gasp almost as a group. This receiver was one of Earth's latest and besides being in color; it displayed a simulated three-dimensional picture using solid-state laser projection elements and a reflected image having the second holographic projection superimposed electronically. There was almost an hour of viewing before the special documentary was to be shown and the time sped by. Andrew used his computer linkage through his Mem-Dex and turned down the language broadcast in English so the aliens could hear the programs in a language they could understand over his Mem-Dex.

Not having been conditioned since birth to ignore commercials, the aliens were soon swaying to ridiculous tunes which showed how psychologically similar they were to humans, unlike Rett. Then the documentary came on and superseded the other broadcasts. The story of building Earth's first starship and the story of its crew unfolded. The story omitted that any technology originated anywhere other than on Earth and Andrew saw the rapt attention of the alien commander. Andrew also noted that the alien Technician looked like he wanted to take everything apart and see how it worked. Good luck, Andrew thought. Earthly electronics firms didn't put these products together anymore with user serviceable parts.

Andrew stood up. "I would like to present this to you as a gift from our people to your Confederation. Now that you know that we are of Earth and that we will soon build more ships to visit the stars, let us get down to the business of working out a trading agreement to prepare for smooth interstellar relations."

The alien dismissed everyone but his linguist and Andrew chuckled when he saw the alien Chief Technician carrying out his new playtoy. Andrew wondered if frustration or the high voltage in some sections of the set would kill him first. It was now time to set the parameters of the agreement. Andrew had to find out what regulations Earth would face while trading with other planets and what the Exploration Service had to offer plus a million other facts.

The Exploration Service officer was trying to decide how best to exploit the naivete of these natives to get the fastest transfer of electric technology. He didn't understand enough yet to call it electronics. He was also considering how to get off this ship and get promoted when he returned.

Andrew was not long in finding objection to several points the E. S. officer brought up. The treaty was to be indefinitely binding and binding on Earth's population generally. It was not solely with any government entity as the World Government because that could change. Internal politics was not to alter the treaty. There was a serious clash of wills because the Exploration Service ships were to have a service base built and they were to be the only ships enforcing the treaty. Rather than have the discussions break up at this point, Andrew suggested that this would be a good time for a short break where Brad and he could return to their ship. The E. S. officer was also feeling the strain and consented.

Brad had only stepped back aboard behind Andrew when Susan came up to them.

"We've been monitoring everything but the military can monitor all the outside computer link-ups and I'm afraid they'll break your digital-analog coded signal if they get access to the right equipment and have too much more time. Their encryption standard was good but could be broken given time and enough multiprocessing power. General Alexander has been calling every thirty minutes and he's threatening to force his way in here and take over," Susan said.