“Yeah, your people made that very clear,” said Tessa.
“Why does the inside of this truck look like the inside of this truck?” I said. “You can do a lot better than that, right? How about making it look like we’re in orbit around Saturn. You know, so we can feel like we’re in the same place that you are.”
The Michelle avatar smiled, no doubt using an AI program similar to the one Nari had used to convert languages and expressions back and forth. But in this case, not only did her alien expressions get translated, they were made to emerge from a human face. “Fishing for information, Jason?” she said in amusement. “Okay, I’ll bite. The answer to your unasked question is this: yes, I am calling from the interstellar asteroid ship orbiting your sixth planet.”
She paused. “And to respond to the question you actually asked, apologies for the drabness of this trailer. I’ve arranged for our conversation to be shielded from the guards at the back of the compartment. They won’t hear a single word we’re saying. But I can’t do the same for elaborate holographic and nanite interiors. And I’ve revealed too much advanced technology already. I wouldn’t want them to get the idea that I’m not really human.”
“Yeah, perish the thought,” I mumbled sarcastically, but I was still focused on what she had said just before this. Our escorts couldn’t hear our conversation. More bad news. So much for trying to steer the conversation in a way that would play to the captain.
“So are you Rho?” asked Tessa.
Michelle shook her head. “I am not,” she replied. “For that matter, neither is Nari,” she added.
I was surprised to hear the Federation leader’s name, although her tone made it clear that she and Nari were anything but friends.
“Do you know him personally?” asked Tessa.
“That isn’t important. What is important is that I’m aware that he spoke with you.”
“Wait a minute,” I said in confusion. “Why did you say that Nari isn’t a Rho?”
“Mostly because Nari isn’t a Rho.”
“What does that even mean?” I said.
“It means that he and his race are not from the Rho Cancri system as he claims. And he and his people don’t look anything like the hologram of himself he shows you. No more than I look like the woman speaking to you now.”
“Why would he lie about that?” asked Tessa skeptically.
“Why, indeed,” said Michelle. “You’ll just have to take my word for it, since I don’t plan on discussing it further. We don’t have time to dig into every subject.”
I wanted to press further but knew it would be futile. “So what species are you?” I asked instead.
“I’m not willing to say. I represent a faction made up of several member species of what you call the Galactic Federation. But I won’t get more specific.”
“Why not?” I said, truly at a loss. “You plan to have us killed after we’re done here anyway. So what could it hurt?”
She cringed as I said this, as if even contemplating future violence against us was too much to bear. “What could it hurt?” she said. “Probably nothing. I can’t imagine you escaping given your current circumstances. But you must know there’s a mystical quality surrounding you. Look at what you’ve managed to survive so far, the odds you’ve managed to defy. So it’s better if I pretend you’ll get the chance to inform my enemies of everything I tell you. That way, I won’t disclose anything I’ll come to regret.”
“So why are we here?” demanded Tessa. “And why should we engage with you when we know your intentions?”
“I can’t really force you to. But there is no doubt that humanity is wired to be ultra-curious. In fact, you’re the most curious species in the known galaxy. We suspect all wolf species—as Nari now calls them—have this same drive to learn. To know. And this drive is especially strong in the two of you, even among your fellow humans.
“So if you engage in open conversation with me, answer some of my questions, I’ll try to answer some of yours. Regardless of what might . . . transpire . . . afterward, I think you’ll continue to engage with me on this basis alone.”
I blew out a long breath. She had us there. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s take this step by step. Will you answer Tessa’s question? Why are you so desperate to speak with us?”
“I was hoping you could tell me what Nari had to say to you.”
“He didn’t share that information with the rest of the ark?” asked Tessa.
“Maybe yes, maybe no. Either way, I’d like to hear it from you.”
I turned to Tessa. “What do you think?” I asked her.
“I have no idea. It’s your call.”
I considered the situation for several long seconds. “Okay . . . Michelle. Here goes. He told us about the Galactic Federation. That each of its twenty-two members have twenty-one hollowed-out asteroids hanging out in their home systems filled with representatives of each galactic species. He told us that all twenty-two species are passive, technologically inert—sheep—and that we’re the only wolf species the Federation has been able to find before it self-destructed.”
Michelle nodded thoughtfully. “Go on,” she said.
“He told us that all members of this Federation are dying out, ever so gradually. So you’re here to save us—so we can save you. Spark you back to life. Catch up to you scientifically and then hurdle over the immovable scientific wall that has you stumped, leading you into a new age.”
“Succinctly put,” said the extraterrestrial. The trailer shook violently for just a moment, perhaps as the mighty vehicle hit a pothole or some other minor obstruction. I glanced at our four guards, but all had managed to stay on their feet, and several were now gripping tie-down straps with their free hands.
The Michelle avatar leaned forward. “Did Nari tell you that you might be important?”
“He did,” I replied. “And I know that you think so too.”