Kirsty: "We don't want to inflame these people against alien races. We
might find one some day. It seems to me this idea might have all sorts
of undesirable by-products. Suppose each side regards it as a ruse on
the part of the other. We might touch off a war instead of preventing
it. Suppose they turn over to preparations for repelling the invaders,
to an extent that cripples their economy? Suppose a panic starts?"
Dilly: "Say, Mr. Chairman, is there any of this idea left at all? How
about an interim summary?"
Eru coughs to get a moment for thought, then says:
"In brief, the problem is to provide a menace against which the two
groups will be forced to unite. It must have certain characteristics.
"It must be sufficiently far off in time for the threat to last
several years, long enough to force them into a real combination.
"It must obviously be a plausible danger and they must get to know of
it in a plausible manner. Invasion from outside is the only threat so
far suggested.
"It must be a limited threat. That is, it must appear to come from one
well-defined group. The rest of the Universe should appear benevolent
or neutral."
He just stops, rather as though there is something else to come; while
the rest of us are waiting B sticks her oar in to the following
effect.
"Yes, but look, suppose this goes wrong; it's all very well to make
plans but suppose we get some of Kirsty's side-effects just the same,
well what I mean is suppose it makes the mess worse instead of better
we want some way we can sort of switch it off again.
"Look this is just an illustration, but suppose the Menace was
pirates, if it went wrong we could have an Earth ship make official
contact and they could just happen to say By the way have you seen
anything of some pirates, Earth fleet wiped them up in this sector
about six months ago.
"That would mean the whole crew conniving, so it won't do, but you
see what I mean."
There is a bit of silence, then Aro says, "I think we should start
fresh. We have had criticisms of Lizzie's suggestion, which was not
perhaps wholly serious, and as Dilly says there is little of it left,
except the idea of a threat of invasion. The idea of an alien
intelligent race has objections and would be very difficult to fake.
The invaders must be men from another planet. Another unknown one. But
how do the people of Incognita come to know that they exist?"
More silence, then I hear my own voice speaking although it was my
intention to keep quiet for once: it sounds kind of creaky and it
says: "A ship. A crashed ship from Outside."