really speaking in English, and I doubt you are fluent in Mirian.”
Lendox’s observation seemed to impress Charlie, who stood watching the vice consul’s lips and waiting for him to say something again. Lendox, however, was busy observing Marina as she paced around the room with her hands behind her back.
“If you’re really who you say you are,” she said, stopping dead on her tracks and turning to Lendox, “I think you made first contact with the wrong people. I’m just an unemployed engineer. You should probably be contacting NASA, or the president.”
“The president is my second stop,” he said, “and you will not be unemployed for much longer.”
Marina eagerly waited for Lendox to explain what he meant, but he had spied a microwave oven sitting on top of a shelf, and seemed to have forgotten all about her. This irritated Marina considerably: how could anyone be fascinated by an old microwave at a time like this?
“It’s not working,” she said, flatly. “It died last month.”
“It runs on energy, yes?”
“Of course. Why?”
Lendox placed his hand lightly on the microwave. To Marina’s and Charlie’s utter amazement, the microwave beeped back to life. A bag of popcorn that Marina had tried to microwave weeks before started popping cheerfully. Lendox looked delighted as the timer finally rang.
“Here,” said Marina, opening the bag and waving away the heat. “Try some – if mirians eat, that is.”
“It is our planet that runs on energy,” said Lendox, eagerly getting a handful of popcorn. “I run on food, just as you do.”
Marina and Charlie watched, shocked, as Lendox munched noisily, and then quickly grabbed another handful from the bag.
“A little hard on the teeth,” he said, chuckling, “but very good indeed.”
Marina could not figure out if it was Lendox’s good mood, or the smell of popcorn, that made her and Charlie crave popcorn all of a sudden. As the three of them ravenously finished the contents of the bag, Lendox carefully collected all the unpopped kernels from the bottom of the bag, and popped them right on his palm.
“Can all mirians manipulate energy like that?” asked Marina, impressed.
“Not exactly,” said Lendox. “You will see for yourself when you go to Miriax.”
Marina stared at Lendox. Had she heard right?
“If you agree to be our aerospace engineer, that is,” he quickly added. “We need someone to help us build some very special planes.”
“You guys can travel all the way here, but you need my help to build planes?”
“They are more like spaceships, as a matter of fact.”
“Why me, though?” insisted Marina. “There are a ton of great engineers out there.”
“You are not great,” said Lendox. “You are the best.”
“Well, I always thought so,” said Marina, flattered.
“At only twenty six years of age, you created the most technologically advanced aerospace designs to date. You called them the MG planes, after your own name. Your ideas were so brilliant, in fact, that your army hired you to work on their planes.”
“Yeah, and then I got fired,” replied Marina, embarrassedly. “I bet you didn’t know that.”
“I did.”
“And you still want me?” asked Marina. “I hate to say this, but no one’s been interested in my work for years now.”
“I think you will find that is about to change,” said Lendox, pleasantly. “The Consul of Miriax is talking to your president about you at this very moment.”
The Consul of Miriax? Talking to the president about her? This was almost more amazing to Marina than the idea that she was talking to an alien who liked popcorn. Before she could formulate any kind of reply, the phone rang loudly, startling both her and Charlie.
“I believe it is your president,” remarked Lendox.
Marina rushed towards the ringing sound, and fumbled through several piles of paper before she finally found the receiver.
“H-hello,” she stammered. “Gibbs Observatory. Marina Gibbs speaking.”
Charlie and Lendox watched intently as the buzz of a male voice echoed through the receiver.
“Y-yes, hello, Mr. President,” said Marina, glancing at them and nodding slowly to indicate that it really was the president on the other end. Charlie rushed to where she stood, and placed his good ear as close to the receiver as he could.
“I’m honored to talk to you as well,” continued Marina, trying unsuccessfully to push Charlie away. “Yes, he’s here,” she added, glancing at Lendox. “He did tell me. Uh-huh. I am interested, but I’d like to know more before I – a meeting? Now? We can get there that fast?”
Lendox nodded, as if reaching the White House within minutes were the easiest thing in the world. Then he spied a decrepit coffee-maker, and eagerly went to examine it.
“All right,” continued Marina. “We’ll be there shortly. Ok, sir. Good-bye.”
Marina put the receiver down, and took a deep breath. The whole thing was real, after all. Lendox, however, seemed completely unaware of her monumental realization: he had touched the coffee-maker, and looked nearly hypnotized by the gurgling sound it produced.
“I can’t believe you just talked to the president, Marina!” cried Charlie. “That’s harder than talking to an alien! Are you going to meet him?”
“Right now,” she said. “I guess I’ll have to squeeze into that roomix thing.”
“Hold on,” said Charlie, worriedly. “How do you know it’s safe?”
Marina looked at the old security guard. The thought had not even occurred to her.
“Is it safe to go into the roomix, Lendox?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, finally turning away from the coffee-maker. “It is also very comfortable. It has thirty-seven different kinds of pillows inside.”
“There you go, Charlie,” she said, smiling. “It can’t be dangerous if there are pillows in there.”
“I don’t like you going alone with him,” Charlie insisted, in the kind of whisper that is louder than just about anything else. “He could be taking advantage of that to kidnap you!”
“Charlie,” began Marina, somewhat impatiently now, “if he wanted to kidnap me, don’t you think he could have done so already – and without calling the president first?”
“I guess,” he said, with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “But who is going to take care of this place if you take off with
