Synopsis
Jack Olsen is a conscientious worker, a reporter for the New York
Times, just after the melting of the polar ice caps. In 2030, Jack
answers a message on his computer from Alyadille, who says it is
writing from the fifth planet orbiting the star Eta Boötes.
This answer
is the start of Jack’s great adventures. He finds love and
professional rewards as he researches the information Alyadille
asks for and uses information it sends. Other members of his family,
including his outspoken and brilliant sister Elizabeth, get involved
with Alyadille and its problems, and Jack himself becomes a Principal
Investigator in a project to validate a scientific paper sent by
the Senior Scientist on V Eta Boötes.
Is this entity
real or is he just a ‘kook in Omaha’ playing a joke
on America’s most distinguished academic researchers? Jack
spends many years not knowing the truth, but between 2030 and 2048
he assumes the entity exists and needs his help to save its old
and scientifically advanced civilization. Then, in 2048, the visitors
from V Eta Boötes arrive in America.
Sample Pages
August 31,
2030
Dear Sir,
I appreciate
your compassionate reply to my note.
We have reviewed
current status of technology on your planet and compared this with
our own history. If your progress is the same as our progress, we
estimate you will be able to communicate with other planets in other
star systems in your year 2203.
I have placed
all your recommendations before our Chief. It thought housing is
something that will encourage reproduction.
Our housing
is in what you call caves. These caves allow for plumbing and electricity,
to use your terms. We no longer burn open fires in the caves. Each
entity has at least a small cave. Some entities have much larger
caves. At the death of an entity, that entity’s cave is given
to the area’s Chief for reassignment.
We cannot go
to the surface of our planet except for brief periods. Too hot and
star breaks surface of body. During the time when our area is turned
away from our star, too cold. A revolution here takes seven revolutions
of your planet. Sometimes we are warmed at night by our star’s
twin. You call these two stars binary.
We live near
the equator of our planet in the caves. Some caves allow growth
of food and some allow fishing for food. We eat mostly plants.
We have reviewed
the information on your Internet about your homes. I believe, if
you would tolerate a conclusion from me, your people are concerned
with art and our entities are concerned with science. Your homes
reflect substantial interest in design and things that are pleasing
to the eye. We have been looking for designs for caves, but we cannot
see anything from your planet. Do you know where we could get a
design for a cave dwelling that is pleasing to the eye? With that
design, I can meet again with our Chief. It wants to offer such
a dwelling to selected entities after those entities have produced
four offspring. The Chief is now selecting the entities with your
recommendations in mind. The Chief wants to have parties, similar
to the balls described in Miss Austen’s books, to introduce
the selected entities to each other. I have recommended that the
reward for bearing a child be more than the reward for siring a
child, but the Chief has not yet decided about this.
Alyadille
September 30,
2030
Dear Alyadille,
Thank you for
your message. I would be interested in knowing the next step toward
establishing interplanetary communications. That is, what is the
next technological advance that we should expect?
As for cave
designs, I am not knowledgeable in any way about architecture. However,
a friend from my college days at Cornell is a partner in a large
architectural firm here in Albany, and she has drawn one interior
and four exteriors for your consideration. I have attached them
to this message. They reflect styles popular here for housing: Georgian,
Cape Cod, Federal, and Frank Lloyd Wright. These designs assume
only one adult and one child will occupy the cave, but you could
modify the design if two adults are sharing the cave by adding another
master suite with bath and study to the left of the sitting area.
Note that this
interior design is based on only 700 to 800 square feet per dwelling.
If you need something larger or smaller, write again. House plans
of all sizes are available on our Internet, but these are not specifically
designed for building in caves.
My architect
friend, Gerda, has told me that she can modify these preliminary
drawings if you wish her to do so, but she cannot specify ‘build
sets’ because she does not know about materials and building
regulations that apply there.
Please reply
if you need further information.
John J. Olsen
October 10,
2030
Dear Sir,
I appreciate
your compassionate reply to my note.
The next step
toward establishing interplanetary communications is to develop
the formula for changing energy or matter into space. This differs
somewhat for each planet due to its existing technology and machinery,
so we cannot help you. Our estimate for your technology shows that
you will develop this formula in 2071.
The Chief has
reviewed the architectural plans, and we are very happy with them.
We had a large meeting last day to decide where to build the models.
Our builders are deciding how to use our materials to make the bricks
and other surfaces. The most senior builder has said the four models
will be ready before your day December 1, 2030.
It was most
gracious of you to have Gerda prepare these plans. The interior
design is certainly the best we have ever seen. It is better than
any home on our planet. The four exterior designs are so unusual
that the Chief is sure the youngsters who are selected for the houses
will be anxious to bear offspring to get them. The Chief likes the
Georgian design best.
Our plan is
to have the selected entities tour the model houses right after
they are notified of their selection. The Chief would like to have
one of the balls just outside the doors of the models so the entities
could tour the models between dances. He is also planning to include
a copy of Gerda’s designs in the selection notices.
Do you have
any information about dancing?
Is Gerda sir
or madam?
Alyadille
October 25,
2030
Dear Alyadille,
Thank you for
your message.
Gerda is miss.
She believes it will take at least four months to build the houses.
As for information
about dancing, the best films of Jane Austen’s novels that
show dancing are Sense and Sensibility and Emma. These two films
show professional dancers and the dances that were popular in the
early 1800s in England. Also, any film of Johann Strauss’s
Die Fledermaus will show, in the second act, dances that were popular
in the late 1800s in Austria.
I have run a
small advertisement in our newspaper saying that the next major
step in establishing interplanetary communications is to develop
the formula for changing energy or matter into space. I included
an address for responses, and fourteen people, including three Nobel
laureates, have written to ask for particulars. Do you have any
further information about changing energy or matter into space?
Please reply
if you need further information.
John J. Olsen
November 14,
2030
Dear Sir,
I appreciate
your compassionate reply to my note.
Our model homes
are complete. Attached is a picture of the Chief and me standing
in front of the Cape Cod house. The Chief is the one with the tall
hat.
The Committee
toured the houses three days ago. The reaction was not expected.
Everyone on the Committee wants one of the houses. They have told
the Chief to forget the mating problem and assign the houses to
them. The most senior scientist on our planet is very insistent
that it will move into the Frank Lloyd Wright model immediately.
The Chief is
standing firm. The houses will be left vacant until after the tours
by the selected entities. Then, the Chief may decide to let the
Committee move in. This is based, the Chief says, on the fact that
no entity will be able to qualify for a house for several of our
years. I had to remind him that if siring four children is enough
to qualify for a house, this could be accomplished in less than
one of our years.
On the other
side of this problem is the fact that the builders like building
the houses. They have something beautiful when they are finished.
They are ready to build many more. They gathered materials from
many locations around our planet to complete the bricks. The Chief
has enough resources now to build 34 more houses, so the Chief may
decide to build houses for the Committee.
I, for myself,
have selected the Federal model.
Attached is
a scientific paper that our senior scientist wrote about the relationship
of space to energy. It asks me to remind you that at the time right
before the ‘Big Bang’ there was nothing but matter.
This paper means very little to an administrator like me, but it
may mean something to your scientists.
We have recorded
all the music from the films you recommended. The Chief has assigned
a gymnastics teacher to learn the dances and to teach them to the
selected entities at each ball. We are very anxious that these dances
will put the young entities in the mood to reproduce. We assume
it works that way on your planet.
Alyadille
January 4,
2031
Dear Sir,
Thank you for
your compassionate reply to my note.
We appreciate
the additional plan. Our builders have built four caves that follow
this second plan.
Our species
is very fond of swimming. I had not told you this before. After
our area of our planet turns away from our star, we go to the rivers
to swim. We swim until the waters become too cold. Sometimes our
star’s binary twin provides light and warmth for our evening
swimming.
These new houses
with the pools will allow a few of us to swim at all times. The
senior scientist and I were lucky enough to be among those chosen
to live in these new caves.
The builders
gathered small pebbles from the rivers and put them next to the
new pools. Of course, the new pools were dug out of solid rock,
so the builders did not need to devise a material that would hold
the water.
Thank you for
your suggestion about asking for resources for the new houses. The
Chief has never before asked for resources for caves, but it made
an exception for these new houses. Now, every entity with extra
resources is demanding a house. The Chief believes it will be able
to fund the houses for the youngsters who have been selected for
childbearing by overcharging others.
The balls held
just outside the new houses were very well attended. The youngsters
toured the houses and seemed to be awed by the beauty of the exteriors
and the interiors.
The balls were
not entirely a success in the way we had hoped. The youngsters did
not want to follow the lead of the gymnastics teacher. Instead,
they just wiggled to the music. The best part of the balls was that
entities paired. They have decided to have each pair try to impregnate
both entities in the pair. Some energetic and resourceful youngsters
have made arrangements to meet others later. I believe in this way
many of the youngsters will be impregnated by the end of our year.
This method certainly means the energetic and resourceful ones will
be responsible for siring many offspring. The Chief will have to
assign houses after this first round of births.
We are continuing
with the balls. We believe about one fourth of the youngsters, or
200,000 entities, are now impregnated.
In our culture
the old take care of the newborns. The parent gives the offspring
to a community of older entities after a few weeks. The parent may
participate in the upbringing of the offspring, but few do. Instead,
the parent returns to its work. Our older people are now preparing
for these additional offspring.
Long ago we
decided the care of newborns was as important as the scientific
work we do. For this reason some of the most honored entities on
this planet are the elders who have been charged with the raising
of our offspring. Many of these elders are among the ones demanding
the new caves.
We never allow
young entities to handle newborns. The parent may participate in
the upbringing, but the responsibility is with the elders. We select
the elders carefully, too, using the same rules for intelligence
as we used to select the youngsters for this mating project. If
you will allow an opinion from me, the custom on your planet of
having young people and people of low intelligence be responsible
for the upbringing of your young is not in the best interests of
your civilization.
I certainly
am enjoying my new cave with the pool. Please give my good wishes
to Miss Gerda and thank her for the wonderful design. I hope you
and Miss Gerda had an enjoyable time at the ball in the Pennsylvania
Poconos.
Alyadille
