“Does your silence mean that you don’t know?” asked Rigg. “Or that you just don’t want to tell us?”
“I cannot predict the answer to your question with anything approaching accuracy or certainty. But you will need to know many things about Earth, and you will need to know them soon.”
“Why?” asked Rigg.
“Why what?”
“Why will we need to know many things about Earth, and why will we need to know them soon?”
“Because they are coming,” said Vadesh.
“Who is coming?” asked Param.
“People from Earth.”
“When?” demanded Loaf.
“I don’t know,” said Vadesh.
“What will they do when they get here?” asked Umbo.
“I don’t know,” said Vadesh.
“Well, what can they do?” asked Rigg.
Vadesh paused. “There are billions of correct answers to that question,” said Vadesh. “In the interests of time, I will prioritize them.”
“Good,” said Rigg. “What is the most important thing they can do?”
“They can blast this world into oblivion, killing every living thing upon it.”
“Why would they want to do that?” asked Olivenko. “What have we ever done to them?”
“I was asked what they can do, not what they will do. And before you ask, I do not know what they will do. There are billions of answers to the first question, but there is no answer at all to the second. That is the future, and it’s a place where even the five of you can’t go, except slowly, a day at a time, like everyone else.”
“Here’s the water,” said Rigg. “It looks good. Let’s fill up the water bags, and drink.”