That leaves anthropology to you, Lola. Besides, that's your line, isn't it?""Yes. Sociological Anthropology. I have my M.S. in it, and am--was, I mean--working for my Ph.D. But as Jim said, it isn't only the one specialty. You want me, I take it, to cover humanoid races, too?"
6
"Check. You and Jim both, then, will know what you're doing, while Belle and I are trying to play ours by ear." "Where do we draw the line between humanoid and non-human?"
"In case of doubt we'll confer. That covers it as much as we can, I think. Take us down, Jim--and be on your toes to take evasive action fast."
The ship dropped rapidly toward an airport just outside a fairly large city. Fifty thousand--forty thousand--thirty thousand feet. "Calling strange spaceship--you must be a spaceship, in spite of your tremendous, hitherto-considered-impossible mass--" a
thought impinged on all four Tellurian minds, "do you read me?"
"I read you clearly. This is the Tellurian spaceship Pleiades, Captain Garlock commanding, asking permission to land and information as to landing conventions." He did not have to tell James to stop the ship; James had already done so.
"I was about to ask you to hold position; I thank you for having done so. Hold for inspection and type-test, please. We will not blast unless you fire first. A few minutes, please."
A group of twelve jet fighters took off practically vertically upward and climbed with fantastic speed. They leveled off a thousand feet below the Pleiades and made a flying circle. Up and into the ring thus formed there lumbered a large, clumsy-looking helicopter.
"We have no record of any planet named 'Tellus'; nor of any such ship as yours. Of such incredible mass and with no visible or detectable means of support or of propulsion. Not from this part of the galaxy, certainly ... could it be that intergalactic travel is actually possible? But excuse me, Captain Garlock, none of that is any of my business; which is to determine whether or not you four Tellurian human beings are compatible with, and thus acceptable to, our humanity of Hodell ... but you do not seem to have a standard televideo testing-box aboard."
"No, sir; only our own tri-di and teevee."
"You must be examined by means of a standard box. I will rise to your level and teleport one across to you. It is self-powered and fully automatic."
"You needn't rise, sir. Just toss the box out of your 'copter into the air. We'll take it from there." Then, to James, "Take it, Jim." "Oh? You can lift large masses against much gravity?" The alien was all attention. "I have not known that such power existed. I will
observe with keen interest."
"I have it," James said. "Here it is."
"Thank you, sir," Garlock said to the alien. Then, to Lola: "You've been reading these--these Hodellians?" "The officer in the helicopter and those in the fighters, yes. Most of them are Gunther Firsts."
"Good girl. The set's coming to life--watch it."
The likeness of the alien being became clear upon the alien screen; visible from the waist up. While humanoid, the creature was very far indeed from being human. He--at least, it had masculine rudimentary nipples--had double shoulders and four arms. His skin was a vividly intense cobalt blue. His ears were black, long, and highly dirigible. His eyes, a flaming red in color, were large and vertically-slitted, like a cat's. He had no hair at all. His nose was large and Roman; his jaw was square, almost jutting; his bright-yellow teeth were clean and sharp.
After a minute of study the alien said: "Although your vessel is so entirely alien that nothing even remotely like it is on record, you four are completely human and, if of compatible type, acceptable. Are there any other living beings aboard with you?"
"Excepting micro-organisms, none."
"Such life is of no importance. Approach, please, one of you, and grasp with a hand the projecting metal knob."
7
With a little trepidation, Garlock did so. He felt no unusual sensation at the contact.
"All four of you are compatible and we accept you. This finding is surprising in the extreme, as you are the first human beings of record who grade higher than what you call Gunther Two ... or Gunther Second?"
"Either one; the terms are interchangeable."
"You have minds of tremendous development and power; definitely superior even to my own. However, there is no doubt that physically you are perfectly compatible with our humanity. Your blood will be of great benefit to it. You may land. Goodbye."
"Wait, please. How about landing conventions? And visiting restrictions and so on? And may we keep this box? We will be glad to trade you something for it, if we have anything you would like to have?"
"Ah, I should have realized that your customs would be widely different from ours. Since you have been examined and accepted, there are no restrictions. You will not act against humanity's good. Land where you please, go where you please, do what you please as long as you please. Take up permanent residence or leave as soon as you please. Marry if you like, or simply breed--your unions with this planet's humanity will be fertile. Keep the box without payment. As Guardians of Humanity we Arpalones do whatever small favors we can. Have I made myself clear?"
"Abundantly so. Thank you, sir." "Now I really must go. Goodbye."
Garlock glanced into his plate. The jets had disappeared, the helicopter was falling rapidly away. He wiped his brow. "Well, I'll be damned," he said.
When his amazement subsided he turned to the business at hand. "Lola, do you check me that this planet is named Hodell, that it is populated by creatures exactly like us? Arpalones?"
"Exactly, except they aren't 'creatures'. They are humanoids, and very fine people."
"You'd think so, of course ... correction accepted. Well, let's take advantage of their extraordinarily hospitable invitation and go down. Cut the rope, Jim."
The airport was very large, and was divided into several sections, each of which was equipped with runways and/or other landing facilities to suit one class of craft--propellor jobs, jets, or helicopters. There were even a few structures that looked like rocket pits.
"Where are you going to sit down, Jim? With the 'copters or over by the blast-pits?"
"With the 'copters, I think. Since I can place her to within a couple of inches. I'll put her squarely into that far corner, where she'll be out of everybody's way."
"No concrete out there," Garlock said. "But the ground seems good and solid."
"We'd better not land on concrete," James grinned. "Unless it's terrific stuff we'd smash it. On bare ground, the worst we can do is sink in a foot or so, and that won't hurt anything."
"Check. A few tons to the square foot, is all. Shall we strap down and hang onto our teeth?"
"Who do you think you're kidding, boss? Even though I've got to do this on manual, I won't tip over a half-piece standing on edge." James stopped talking, pulled out his scanner, stuck his face into it. The immense starship settled downward toward the selected
corner. There was no noise, no blast, no flame, no slightest visible or detectable sign of whatever force it was that was braking the thousands of tons of the vessel's mass in its miles-long, almost-vertical plunge
