On March 29, 2049 (Rios Time), the Rios-Nwadian war ended.
This report on the recent conflict has been prepared by the Bureau
of Public Information and Education, Rios Branch, for the purpose of
enlightening the inhabitants of Rios about the War, its causes, and the
proposed policy of the Nwadian government concerning the administration
of your planet.
In order to provide for full understanding by the people of Rios,
Riosic terminology shall be used wherever possible in this report.
Thus, Rios shall be called 'Earth', Nwad shall be designated 'Venus',
and all dates, measurements and other data which are different on the
two planets shall be indicated according to the Riosic calculation.
* * * * *
The War ended on March 29, 2049 when the last Earthian troops
surrendered to the Venusian peace forces.
When did the War begin? The first battle was fought on December 18,
2048, but the first 'incident' that led directly to the conflict
occurred in November, 2042. And even before that date, many years
before, officials on Venus knew that war between the two worlds was
inevitable.
Space scientists of Venus have been observing Earth for hundreds
of years. The first space ship to reach your planet and return
to Venus made its voyage in the Earth year, 1891. From that time
on, explorations were made sporadically until the 1950's, when
revolutionary improvements in the design of our ships made possible
more economical and faster trips.
It is an interesting coincidence, incidentally, that atomic power
was discovered on Earth just as we on Venus had made atomic driven
spacecraft obsolete by the introduction of the magnetico-gravitational
drive. This fact is mentioned because it was the evidence of atomic
explosions on Earth that increased our interest in your planet a
century ago.
In all our observations of Earth, the most obvious fact we learned was
that its dominant race was aggressive and war-like in nature. Having
no desire to introduce this war-mindedness to our peaceful world, we
avoided all contact with Earth.
We realized, however, that in time the Earth race would accomplish
space travel and thus force a contact with us. Therefore, we devised
highly potent weapons for our defense in the event that the people of
Earth ever stopped quarreling among themselves and attempted an attack
on our world.
High officials in our government were appalled at the thought of war
with its chaotic and indiscriminate killing. There were those who
deemed it an actual act of aggression on our part to arm ourselves
in preparation for a war. The opposition to our defense program was
strong. Yet, it was our preparedness which saved our civilization from
destruction when your forces launched their invasion of our planet
last year.
* * * * *
To understand the events which led to The War, it is best that we
briefly review the history of space travel by Earthians. In the year
2002, the six remaining nations of the Earth formed the Federation
to abolish war and to enable the people of your planet to put forth
a united effort to discover the secret of interplanetary travel.
This endeavour, in itself, was considered by our leaders to be most
creditable. But the entire pattern of your development, observed
for many centuries, instilled seeds of doubt in our minds. You were
conditioned to war and the mere establishment of a Federation to
monitor the future was not adequate insurance, we felt, against further
conflict. In your concentration on conquering space, however, you did
stop warring among yourselves.
Space travel from Earth began thirty-eight years ago. The first
successful trip to Luna and back was made in 2011, and by 2020 the
Lunar space port was opened. It was in 2020, also, that the space ship,
Pioneer, left for Mars. It was never heard from again.
Unsuccessful attempts to travel to the other planets were made during
the years 2021-2027. The Pioneer II, bound for Mars, the Adventurer,
bound for Mars, and the Enterprise, bound for Venus, all disappeared
without a trace.
In September, 2028, the Space King returned to Earth after completing
a voyage to Mars. The ship landed safely, but the excited celebration
that greeted it was short-lived when it was discovered that the
entire crew was afflicted with a neurological disease that your Earth
scientists labeled 'space sickness'. This disease posed a new obstacle
to interplanetary travel. It attacked indiscriminately and it proved
fatal in almost every case.
Research and experimentation on the cause and cure of 'space sickness'
was carried on continuously from the time the Space King returned with
its dying crew until the disease was conquered in 2041. During these
years, the experimental ships Enterprise II, Razorback, and Space King
II were utilized as laboratories in orbital flights.
In April, 2041, the space liner Morning Star was completed,
incorporating technological improvements designed to prevent the
occurrence of 'space sickness'. The Morning Star left the Lunar station
on July 17, 2042. Its destination was Venus.
In government circles on Venus, it was felt that no further delay
could be permitted in establishing contact with the people of Earth.
They were already too close to space flight maturity to forego any
opportunity for formulating an understanding. Therefore, The Morning
Star, whose flight had been observed constantly, was allowed to pass
through our ionic barrier and land unharmed on our planet. Emissaries
of our _Lora Dannun_ (nearest translation: Supreme Council) were on
hand to greet the Earthmen when they left their ship.
As a precautionary measure, two atomic scorchers were trained on the
ship, but our officials approached the debarking Earthmen without
side arms and in a friendly manner. The Earthmen, understandably
apprehensive, came forward with their hand weapons drawn.
Although we on Venus were already familiar with your International
English language, our welcoming committee did not think it wise to
further startle the men from Earth by greeting them in their own
tongue. Therefore, our friendly intentions were made known by elaborate
and unmistakable gestures.
The aliens from Earth, nevertheless, were startled enough by our
appearance. They stared wide-eyed at what appeared to be four
child-like specimens of human beings. This resemblance which Venusians
bear to humans, and which should have impressed the crew of the Morning
Star with the possibilities of intelligent negotiations, did not deter
them from jumping to irrational conclusions.
Our chief emissary, Ser Madi, heard their leader and his lieutenant
in the following conversation (which is reproduced from the auto-tape
recording made on the spot):
_Leader: What do you make of them, Jensen? They look almost like
human children, don't they?
Lieutenant: There doesn't seem to be anything to worry about here,
sir. They seem friendly enough. But why children? You'd think
they'd send some bigwigs out to welcome us. Why did they send
children?
Leader: I don't know.... Maybe it's a trap!
Lieutenant: You're right, sir. We can't afford to take any chances.
Leader: Take them back to the ship for the psych boys to work on. I
don't like the looks of this._
At this point Ser Madi revealed his knowledge of the Earth language. "I
assure you, gentlemen," he said to the strangers, "that this is not a
trap. Please follow us peacefully."
The invaders were stunned into silence, but it took the leader only
a moment to recover. "I'll be damned!" he exclaimed. "The sly little
devils understand English! Jensen! Have these creatures escorted onto
the Star. This is something we'll have to talk over on the ship."
At a signal from the man called Jensen, eight of your people advanced
toward the four members of our welcoming committee. Ser Madi spoke
again: "I warn you, sir, not to try to abduct us. Order your men back."
The leader of the Earthmen laughed. "Look at them!" he said to his
lieutenant. "These things are threatening us!" The soldiers had paused
at Ser Madi's words. "Go on," the leader ordered them. "Take them
aboard the ship!"
"You were warned," Ser Madi said sadly. He motioned to his companions
and, in an instant of brilliant light, the space ship was reduced to
smoldering ashes.
The stunned Earthians were easily taken into custody. They were
completely awed by the destruction of their ship, which had been
accomplished with "invisible" weapons. Ser Madi did not think it
necessary to explain the compactness and efficiency of the atomic
scorchers to them. They would not have been able to comprehend the
principles behind the finger ring weapons.
* * * * *
Captain Daniels, the leader of the Earth expedition, was interrogated
at great length, but he remained hostile and uncooperative. The only
information that he offered was his name, rank and serial number, which
he repeated over and over again. Jensen and the remaining crew members
refused to answer our questions also, insisting that their captain was
the spokesman for all of them. This action increased our fears that the
intellectual and emotional make-up of Earth was incompatible with that
of Venus.
We accomplished nothing in four days of questioning. It seemed
impossible to determine the means whereby we could arrive at some
workable line of reasoning. It was equally impossible for us to
ascertain whether the hostile actions of the Morning Star represented
the attitude of the Earth government or if they were merely the
impulsive results of the emotional strain endured by Captain Daniels
and his crew on their voyage.
The Supreme Council decided it was necessary to visit Earth now, make
our presence known, and see if friendly relations could be established
with that planet. We had hopes that this might be done, for there
had been no war on Earth for almost fifty years. It was hoped that
the people had finally achieved a civilization capable of friendly
interplanetary exchange.
The Council ordered a delegation to leave immediately on the first
diplomatic mission from Venus to Earth. Ser Madi had justifiable
doubts about the possibility of success, but the Council overruled his
objections.
The delegation, led by the elder statesman, Ser Alaga, left for
Earth aboard the light cruiser, Tunn. The date was December 9, 2042.
Returning to Earth aboard the Tunn, were the eleven survivors of the
Morning Star, treated not as prisoners, but as survivors of a space
wreck.
* * * * *
The Tunn landed on Earth two miles out of Abilene, on December 15,
2042. A few hours after touching down, the Venusian delegation arrived
in the Earth capital and presented themselves at the Ministry of State.
The office worker who stood between them and the Secretary of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs was amused by the delegates' story. "Why
don't you kids go home and stop annoying us?" he said. "And stop
watching those TD shows!"
Ser Buldi indignantly repeated his request to see the Foreign Minister.
"Get out of here!" the office worker said in a tone that indicated he
was through talking to us.
Ser Buldi began to reply but he was silenced by Ser Alaga, who wished
to avoid any unnecessary incidents which could have proved embarrassing
to the Earthmen. Instead, the elder statesman approached a young lady
seated behind a desk.
"What can I do for you, little boy?" the girl asked with a smile.
Ser Alaga, with the aid of his hypno-tube, quickly convinced her to
admit the delegates to the office of the Sub-Secretary for Foreign
Affairs.
Then began a three day procession through the offices of many
sub-secretaries, four under-secretaries and two deputy ministers. In
each office our diplomats were received skeptically and passed on to
the next.
Finally, in desperation, the delegation released the survivors of the
Morning Star. Although Ser Alaga realized that their account of the
incident probably would be distorted, he knew that it would serve to
verify the delegation's identity.
* * * * *
The Abilene News of December 19, 2042, shouted at the top of its
headline voice: