In space, a vengeful fleet waited.... Thenthe furred strangers arrived with a plan tosave Earth's children. But the General wasn'tsure if he could trust an
ALIEN OFFER
By AL SEVCIK
ILLUSTRATOR LLEWELLYN
"You are General James Rothwell?"
Rothwell sighed. "Yes, CommanderAku. We have met severaltimes."
"Ah, yes. I recognize your insignia.Humans are so alike."The alien strode importantlyacross the office, the resilientpads of his broad feet makinglittle plopping sounds on the rug,and seated himself abruptly inthe visitor's chair beside Rothwell'sdesk. He gave a sharp cry,and another alien, shorter, butsporting similar, golden fur,stepped into the office and closedthe door. Both wore simple,brown uniforms, without ornamentation.
"I am here," Aku said, "to tellyou something." He stared impassivelyat Rothwell for a minute,his fur-covered, almost humanface completely expressionless,then his gaze shifted to thewindow, to the hot runways ofNew York International Airportand to the immense gray spaceshipthat, even from the centerof the field, loomed above thehangars and passenger buildings.For an instant, a quick,unguessable emotion clouded thewide black eyes and tightenedthe thin lips, then it was gone.
Rothwell waited.
"General, Earth's childrenmust all be aboard my shipswithin one week. We will startto load on the sixth day, nextThursday." He stood.
The aliens supervised the loading as anguished parents looked on.Rothwell locked eyes with thealien, and leaned forward, grindinghis knuckles into the desktop. "You know that's impossible.We can't select 100,000children from every country andassemble them in only six days."
"You will do it." The alienturned to leave.
"Commander Aku! Let me remindyou ..."
Aku spun around, eyes flashing."General Rothwell! Let meremind you that two weeks agoI didn't even know Earth existed,and since accidentally happeningacross your sun systemand learning of your trouble Ihave had my entire trading fleetof a hundred ships in orbit aboutthis planet while all your multitudinouspolitical subdivisionshave filled the air with talk andwrangle.
"I am sorry for Earth, but myallegiance is to my fleet and Icannot remain longer than sevenmore days and risk being caughtup in your destruction. Now,either you accept my offer toevacuate as many humans as myships will carry, or you don't."He paused. "You are the planet'sevacuation coordinator; you willgive me an answer."
Rothwell's arms sagged, hesunk back down into his chair,all pretense gone. Slowly heswung around to face the windowand the gray ship, standinglike a Gargantuan sundial countingthe last days of Earth. Healmost whispered. "We arechoosing the children. They willbe ready in six days."
He heard the door open andclose. He was alone.
Five years ago, he thought, wecracked the secret of faster-than-lighttravel, and since then we'vebuilt about three dozen explorationships and sent them outamong the stars to see what theycould see.
He stared blankly at the palmsof his hand. I wonder what itwas we expected to find?
We found that the galaxy wasbig, that there were a lot ofstars, not so many planets, andpractically no other life—at leastno intelligence to compare withours. Then ... He jabbed a buttonon his intercom.
"Ed Philips here. What is itJim?"
"Doc, are you sure your boyshave h