Jesus On Mars

'One picture is worth ten thousand words,' he muttered.

'What?' Bronski said.

Orme started to repeat himself, but he stopped almost at once.

'Hey, that's us!'

There they were being questioned by the six.

The images were snapped off abruptly; the a

Then another picture flashed on.

Both men leaped out of their chairs. There were Madeleine Danton and Nadir Shirazi getting out of the same kind of vehicle which had carried them from the outside tu

Orme groaned, and said, 'So now they've got them! But how?'

5

Orme and Bronski had expected that their colleagues would be brought to their quarters. But on reflection they realised that Shirazi and Danton would have to be quarantined and so placed elsewhere. When their interrogators showed up in the morning, Bronski told them that he had seen the capture on TV.

'Of course,' Hfathon said.

Sha'ul opened a box and began bringing out new artefacts. Bronski got red in the face, and Orme growled.

Hfathon said, 'What troubles you?'

'Apparently you're just going to continue the lessons and not satisfy our curiosity,' Bronski said. 'Don't you have any feelings of empathy, of compassion? Aren't you human? You must know that we're bursting with eagerness to know what happened to our shipmates. Are they all right? How did you get them? What do you plan for them?'

Hfathon's long, lean face remained impassive.

'No, I'm not human, not strictly speaking. But I know what you mean. Yes, I appreciate your feelings. If I were in your situation, I'd burn with impatience. But this committee has been instructed by the Council to tell you nothing. I don't know why; it seems to be a security measure. The Council will tell us in its own good time why these restrictions have been placed.'

'For the love of God,' Bronski said. 'Can't you tell us anything at all?'

'We've been told to teach you our language as swiftly as possible. The Council apparently believes that time is vital. So, let us proceed.'

Upon having this translated, Orme bit his lower lip, and said, 'Avram, you tell these hyenas that we're not cooperating with them until they tell us what's going on. Mum's the word until then.'

Bronski spoke Greek. The six looked grave, but only Hfathon replied.

'We have means to make you co-operate, but we are too humane to use them. Very well. Your comrades are unharmed and in good health. They're in quarters not unlike yours and not distant from here. The woman can't speak any language we know, but the man knows some Hebrew. It isn't quite the language used in our liturgies, but it's close enough for a limited communication. He's been told about you.'

'Ask him how those two were removed from the Aries,' Orme said.

Bronski reported that Hfathon said that the lander had been examined by some Krsh scientists. After determining its methods of operation, two of them had gone up to the ship. They'd been admitted and when the two Earth people had refused to leave, they'd been anaesthetised.

Orme said, shaking his head, 'Can you imagine the consternation on Earth when that scene was transmitted?'

Bronski spoke to Hfathon. 'Did it occur to you that this seizure might be regarded as a hostile act? Are you trying to start a war?'

Ya'aqob said, 'There is no need for war. What we've done has been for your good. It will all be explained in time to the satisfaction of your people. Now, let's get on with the lesson.'

The swift pace of the lesson allowed little time for thinking about anything else. Nevertheless, Orme couldn't help wondering now and then about everyone's reaction on Earth.' What were the governments of the North American Confederation saying about the forcible seizure of their citizens? What about the other nations which were members of the IASA and had contributed funds for this expedition?

Once Ya'aqob spoke sharply to him, saying that he must concentrate more. Orme glowered at him, then decided that he must not antagonise his captors. After that, he smiled often, though it was an effort, and even made some of them laugh when he deliberately made a pun in Krsh. Sha'ul especially seemed to enjoy it. Orme picked him as the person to cultivate, and, perhaps, use later on. The blondish man seemed more open and sympathetic than the others. If he could be talked into revealing more than he was supposed to, he might be the key to their escape.

Though it seemed impossible that he could get back to the lander, Orme had not given up the idea. If he was easily discouraged he would never have become the top astronaut of the NAC.

During the supper break, he turned on the TV. In the middle of a programme about medical research, the images faded out. There was Hfathon seated at a desk, the wall behind him decorated with bright abstract designs. He spoke in Greek for a minute. Bronski, smiling, said, 'They're going to let us talk to Madeleine and Nadir.'

Hfathon disappeared, and they saw their colleagues, each sitting in a chair and staring at them.

'Hey, you two!' Orme cried. 'Are you all right?'

For the next few seconds the four babbled at the same time. Orme called a halt to that.

'We don't know how long they're going to let us talk, so we better get the important stuff out of the way. Tell me, were the transmitters on when you were taken?'

Danton and Shirazi both started to talk. Orme whistled and said, 'You first, Nadir. You outrank Madeleine.'

'The IASA saw everything from the moment the Martians came out into the tu

'When you saw them get into the lander, what made you decide to admit them? Why didn't you take the Aries out of orbit and return to Earth?'

'It was a difficult decision to make. If we pulled out, we left you two behind. We had no idea what kind of treatment you were getting, good or bad. But it seemed to us that if your captors were friendly, they'd have allowed you to tell us so. We made radio contact with the two Martians when they entered the lander, and they answered - in a totally foreign language. We had told the Centre what was going on, of course, and even with the transmission-lag, there was plenty of time for Carter to make a decision. He said there was no way to determine whether the people in the lander were hostile or not until they came aboard the Aries. And if they were friendly, and we repulsed them, then they might interpret that as hostility on our part. And we might be deserting you two, in effect.

'On the other hand, he didn't want to order us to stay and so possibly endanger us. In the end, he left the decision to us.'

'And so,' Madeleine said, 'he dodged his responsibility. He's a fine administrator, but he's essentially a politician.'

Shirazi smiled and said, 'If he'd ordered us to pull out, I don't know what I'd have done. I didn't want to go. For one thing, it would have meant leaving you in the lurch. It'd be another three years before another ship could have been sent. But even stronger was my curiosity. I could not endure not knowing what had happened to you and what all this was about.'

'And I,' Danton said, 'would have protested strongly if you had decided to return.'

' Did Carter say anything about sending a relief expedition?' Orme said.

'Yes. He swore that another ship would be coming along as swiftly as possible. Of course, he can't determine that. If the funds aren't available...'