Visitors (Pathfinder 3)

Wheaton and the expendable made frequent reports during their days of data collection. Ancestors of the scuttling aliens were easy enough to spot—they were already as close to sentience as, say, Homo habilis. Using tools, but not yet making fire. “It is difficult for Professor Wheaton to stay focused on the project at hand,” said the voice of the ship. “He keeps wanting to go backward and forward and the expendable has to keep reminding him that only Noxon can do that.”

During one of the lulls between reports, while Ram was exercising, Noxon said, more to himself than to Ram, “I miss Deborah.”

Ram didn’t answer, but the alpha mouse did. “Why didn’t you simply copy her and bring her along? There’d be twenty of her now. Plenty to go around.”

“She wanted eyes,” said Noxon. “The twenty who came with us

would be disappointed for the rest of their lives.”

“What?” asked Ram. Now he heard.

“Just talking with the mice,” said Noxon.

“Whatever you say to them, they’re going to use against you later,” said Ram.

“Unless we use it for you,” said the alpha mouse.

“He can’t hear you,” murmured Noxon.

“I wasn’t talking to him,” said the alpha.

“I’ll eventually find someone among the colonists,” said Noxon. “I’m not worried.”

“You’re really strange-looking,” said the alpha. “Most of the colonists will be completely repulsed by you.”

“Is that why all the females were pregnant five times over before they came on this voyage?” asked Noxon. “So they wouldn’t have to do something as repulsive as mate with a small-testicled male like you? Or was I right that you were castrated?”

“I don’t have body-image issues the way humans do,” said the alpha.

“No, you don’t have any kind of shame at all,” said Noxon.

“Someday you’ll understand us,” said the alpha.

After three days, thousands of samples had been brought aboard and stored in the gene banks. The conclusion was clear. Most of the proteins that humans needed could be found readily among the native flora and fauna on both worlds. And a simple array of fast-spreading, highly edible plants would make up the deficiencies. “We can release any Earth fauna we choose,” said Wheaton, “and thus we’ll have meat to eat and enough plants for a varied and pleasing diet.”

“That’s what they’ve found on the other world,” said the expendable, “except that they need to spread a different array of Earth plants.”

“So, no destruction?” asked Noxon.

“Are you disappointed?” asked Ram.

“I still think that walls are a good idea,” said Noxon.

“Because you grew up in a wallfold,” said Ram.

“We can give the mice one wallfold,” said Noxon. “And reserve one on each world for the aliens alone.”

“And give us one to combine with them,” said the alpha mouse.

“If we give one wallfold to aliens and mice together, we have to make sure there’s a tight lid on their technology,” said Noxon. “I’m afraid of what their combined abilities might lead to.”

“Happiness and peace for all sentient species everywhere,” said the alpha mouse.

“No doubt,” said Noxon.

“Same discussion on most of the other ships,” said the expendable.

“Most?” asked Ram. “So we’ve diverged?”