Tuesday's Short - Headlines from the Starman

This week’s short story takes us from urban-fantasy science-fiction setting of a paranormal policing agent who discovers just how differently time moves in the elven lands to the newspaper commentary on the discovery of an alien and the makings of an intergalactic political incident. Welcome to Headlines from the Starman.

When a mysterious pod is found on the moon, and an alien emerges, the press have a field day.

This science-fiction short story is a first-contact tale that explores the relationship of the press to politics and to reality.Headlines from the Starman

For centuries he’d been there and, as far as we knew, he’d slept. The Starman. The Starman in the moon. He hadn’t been found when man first visited, and it wasn’t until humans were onto their third colony on that ancient satellite that he was unearthed.

“He’s from a starfaring nation,” the scientists had said.
Starman travelled the universe while mankind hunted termites with gorillas, the newspapers screamed.
People were fascinated by the discovery. The tabloids circled like hungry sharks, gobbling up every scrap of information they could find, and regurgitating it in a cloud of exaggeration.
“What are we going to do with him?” the scientists wanted to know.
“Well, you can’t dissect him.”
“We had no intention of that. We just want to know what to do with him.”
Scientists Banned from Dissecting Starman, the newspapers claimed.
People were outraged, politicians deluged with email, social media flooded with calls for protests and petitions to save the starman from death. Investigations into the ‘evil’ of science were called, and perfectly legitimate and law-abiding science projects almost ground to a halt. Scientists and politicians alike hurried to reassure the world that the starman was in no danger of being harmed. The press, they claimed, were exaggerating.
“The electronics on his pod are showing signs of activation.”
Starman Capsule Could Explode, the newspapers screamed.
Again, the politicians and scientists found themselves in alignment.
“There is no danger. The science is light-years more advanced than our own, but we have ascertained that it is not a bomb.”
Scientists Baffled by Starman Tech!
The first communications signal was picked up by an amateur radio enthusiast.
Mysterious Signal Discovered on Earth.
Who Else Seeks the Starman?
Aliens in our Midst!!
And the pod replied, sending out a cryptic series of codes, avidly monitored by alien enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists the world over.
Invasion Fleet Imminent!
Government Calls for Calm as Starman Capsule Activates.
In the end, no one came, but the starman’s pod opened anyway.
“What have you done?” he asked.
“Nothing,” the scientists said.
“We saved you,” the politicians told him.
He gave them a look that anyone could interpret.
“Why did you wake me?”
“We didn’t mean to,” the scientists told him.
“You would have woken anyway,” the politicians replied. “Isn’t it a good thing we found you?”
“Where is your technology at?”
Starman is Extra-terrestrial Spy!
“Why do you need to know?” the security advisors asked.
“To prepare your defences.”
Starman Threatens Attack!
“Why?”
“Let me speak with your scientists.”
Starman Shuns Military!
In the end, the starman got his way. He was more than a little dismayed when he discovered how recently mankind had made it into space.
“You will need allies,” he said.
Starman Offers Aid From Outer Space!
“And to muzzle your press.”
Starman Seeks to Silence Free Speech.
In the end, the scientists and politicians convinced him it was better to have the reporters on his side, to feed them titbits in order to keep them quiescent. There followed articles on the starman learning to swim, playing tennis and soccer, teaching our engineers how to construct the engines they’d need for interstellar travel.
“It was forbidden to teach you,” he said.
Starman Shares Forbidden Secrets!
“You were still fashioning clubs out of trees.”
“You visited the planet?”
“No, I only observed it through long-range scanners. Landing was planned, but…” his face took on a closed look.
“But?”
But the starman would not be drawn. He directed their attention to other matters.
Hydroponics came next, and ship-board gardens.
Luxury Starliner in the Offing.
The starman watched the ship grow in gantries on the lunar surface. He supervised the testing of its engines, downloading blueprints and test parameters from the databanks within the pod. He found wiring diagrams, and talked with the technicians who would design its life-support systems. And he sat long vigils in the comms centre, at a terminal dedicated to his use. Two years after waking, he received an answer.
Unfortunately, the answer arrived at the same time as the trogarian ship made lunar orbit. The moon erupted in panic. The starman said something in the language only a few of us had ever studied, and refused to translate it. The communications officer aboard the trogarian ship, laughed.
“Your Highness,” he said, “you had to know we’d find you sooner or later.”
“What happened to my people?” asked the starman, as a hush descended around him.
Highness? The press had a field day.
Starman Hides His Royal Status.
Starman A Royal Fugitive.
What are the Secrets of the Starman’s Past?
The press began looking for titbits of their own. The comms tech was replaced by a commander sitting in front of the screen.
“They didn’t know?”
“I did not tell them.”
“Did you warn them of the danger?”
Starman Imperils Earth.
“I told them there was danger.”
“You did not warn them?”
“It is not their war.”
“It is, now, and they must choose a side.”
“Do they know what you stand for?” the starman asked.
“Do they know what youstand for?” the trogarian officer countered.
“Both sides should present their case,” the politicians ordered, and were met with amusement from the trogarian starship, and discomfort from the starman in their midst. The look of surprise on his face was almost comical when the trogarian agreed.
“I am Captain Argranivar Cogarian,” he said, addressing the assembled politicians, scientists and communications personnel. “I am authorised to negotiate with the planetary leaders of your Earth for the surrender of His Royal Highness Barevarn Emdrinian.”
Curious faces were turned toward the starman.
“Highness?”
He, at least had the grace to look abashed.
“Let me explain in private,” he said, gesturing towards the screen.
“Agreed,” said the trogarian captain. “I will send the files showing our perspective, and renew contact in eight-hours’ time.”
“That will not be enough time for us to discuss your information,” protested Earth’s highest representative.
“But it will be sufficient time for you to be presented with talking points for the next meeting.” The trogarian’s expression was slightly predatory.
“Demands,” muttered one of the scientists, as the blank screen signalled an end to the communique.
“Not the contact you were hoping for?” Earth’s representative asked, turning to the starman.
His face showed regret.
“No. I was hoping for someone else,” he said, and there was pain in his eyes. “I will retrieve the files you need and retire while you consider them.”
“I think you should go with the Defence attaches,” the representative said. “They will find somewhere secure for you to wait, while we review the material.”
The starman’s lips tightened, but he did not argue. The press were having the time of their lives.
Starman Imprisoned.
Royal Imposter?
Royal Refugee Hunted to the Moon.
As it turned out, that last statement was almost true.
“I am the last of the immediate line,” Barevarn said, in a recording dated to the beginning of mankind’s rise to civilisation. “The war has brought our rule to an end, but we will not be forgiven for being born to what we were. The royal council has deemed that only those who had a voice in the decisions should be made to pay for them. To this end, they are scattering their descendants to the stars. We will find sanctuary among whatever people will take us, or we will find death. Either way, we will sleep. These are the sins for which our parents will answer.”
And there followed a history, from the ruling point of view, footage of the royal life, of the lives of those less fortunate, information smuggled from the halls of alien corporations and families who believed they had an older claim, a civilisation both at its pinnacle and in decay. It was a story we had seen repeated throughout our human past, but one that spanned planets. We could only stare in wonder.
And then we noticed the time. Three and a half hours had passed.
“We’ll need to make sure we have time to discuss what we’ve seen,” the Earth Representative had said. “We want to be in some position to be able to assess their ‘talking points’ when they present them.”
“Set the timer for three-and-a-half hours from now. We can at least give them the same amount of time to present their case,” suggested his advisor.
“Agreed.” The representative turned to the technician overseeing the conference room. “Can you do that?”
“Certainly, sir.”
The next set of files came from the trogarian captain. They told a very different tale, although there were similar elements. A royalty that kept a choke hold on development until no advancements could be made without their blatant profiteering. Corporations imprisoned in the stagnant backwaters of old technology so they couldn’t compete. Lethal force visited on entire worlds for a single voice of dissidence. When the timer was struck for the start of discussion, they had reached a part of the history where nothing moved without being royally suppressed.
“But, where then did they get the ability to rebel?” was the first question from one of the military advisors further down the table.
“We would have found a way,” said another.
“Who do we believe?” came another voice, one of the Earth council members.
“Do we have to believe either of them?” the advisor countered.
“We will be asked to choose a side,” the Earth representative reminded them.
“You don’t think we could just ask them, very nicely, to leave?” That suggestion was met with pitying looks for the speaker. He spread his hands as if to say the question had needed to be asked, and the discussion continued.
“What about the starman?” came the question from one of the press representatives. With communications to the outside world blocked for the duration of the meeting, the reporters were, for once, paying attention. None of them looked happy with what they had seen. The decision was not clear-cut.
“Either of those presentations could have been created by our hearts-and-minds departments,” murmured through the ranks of politicians and press alike.
“Well, it’s not like he’s in a position to rule, is it? I’d suggest we see if he is seeking asylum, or a temporary visa,” came from another Earth council representative.
“Senator! This is no laughing matter.” The primary Earth representative was outraged.
“You have to admit, though, it is funny.” The councilman unrepentant.
“I have to admit no such thing.”
“Why don’t we go through the files again and see what correlates,” the advisor suggested.
“It’s not like we can verify any of it,” one of the senators grumbled.
“That is a problem, but I think we can overcome it,” said the chief communications technician.
“What do you mean?” Earth’s representative wanted to know.
“I mean I’ve been monitoring the frequencies the starman has been using.”
“And?”
“Well, the signals travelled in only one direction.”
“So?”
“It was the same direction the ship came from.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, if he’s hiding from them, why is he sending broadband signals into their part of space?”
“What do you mean broadband?”
“I mean, those signals weren’t designed to avoid detection.”
“You mean he might have deliberately called that ship in?”
“I mean we have to consider the possibility that this is all an act.”
“But that’s preposterous.”
The technician subsided, but returned the Earth representative’s look with a raised eyebrow.
“Is it?” The Earth council advisor picked up the thread.
“I… it’s unbelievable.”
“I think it’s entirely plausible. I think we should try re-transmitting that signal in every direction possible.”
“But we’d never get away with it.”
“What’s to get away with? We’re not under attack. We haven’t been forbidden to communicate with the rest of the universe. I don’t think we’ve got anything to lose.”
“But won’t it annoy the trogarians?” The Earth representative asked the question that had crossed the minds of all those in attendance.
“My guess is that they’re going to be annoyed at whatever we do. My guess is that they’re going to demand the delivery of the prince, and when they do, he’ll ask us for sanctuary, and if we give him sanctuary, then they’ll use that as an excuse to attack.” The advisor voiced another set of fears.
“What if we don’t?”
“Then I think there’ll be another ship out there, one that will intervene, and we’ll discover he’s had allies all along, but, either way, I think we’ll face the same result.”
“And what’s that?”
“Earth’s annexation.”
Murmurs rose in agreement, pressmen reached for their communicators and then put them down in disgust when they saw they were still blocked.
“But they can’t do that.” The Earth representative voiced what they all felt.
“Sir, there’s a large technologically superior starship parked above us, one that we didn’t see coming in. I think you’ll find it is either more than capable of annexing our comparably backwards planet, or that it’s not alone. Either way, sir, I believe we are in dire need of some outside help, and that we should try to find it while we can.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, sir, that we can currently transmit, and that this might not be the case for too much longer.”
The Earth representative looked around those gathered, and saw his own doubts on their faces. The advisor waited for him to decide what to do next. His task was over.
“What do you think?” the Earth representative, finally, asked, and from the hubbub that followed, received the only direction that might save them.
“Transmit,” he said, when the unanimous decision was returned.
The comms chief left the conference room and, after a moment’s hesitation, they all followed.
And so they were all in attendance when the trogarian ship responded.
“What is the meaning of this?” the captain demanded.
“We are trying an experiment,” the Earth representative told him.
“On what grounds?”
“On the grounds that we are human.”
“What has that got to do with anything?”
“We don’t believe we are alone in the universe.”
“Since that much is clear, what makes you think you have to explore that idea any further?”
“Since you have arrived, and we are curious to see who else is in the neighbourhood.”
“Are you trying to start a war?”
“No, captain. Are you?”
The trogarian’s face changed colour, its humanoid features becoming less defined.
“Is this a direct transmission?” the Earth representative asked, looking over at one of the technicians.
“Yes, sir, but it appears to have an overlay.”
“Can you remove it?”
“I can hear what you are saying,” the captain interrupted.
“Then perhaps you’d like to show us what you really look like?” the representative countered, looking at the on-screen relay.
The trogarian stared at them for a long moment, and then glanced off-screen, its expression changing.
“I believe we have reached the agreed time for us to set our talking points,” it said, and the screen wobbled.
In the background, the Earth representative was aware of the chief communications officer speaking, low and urgent, and hoped he was transmitting a broadband cry for help. The screen wobbled again, and the trogarian captain’s face changed. None of those who saw it could suppress an exclamation of surprise.
Not human, was obvious, had been obvious from the scarlet tinge to the man’s very human-like features, but whatever the technician had stripped from the broadcast now showed a very different creature.
“What are you?” the Earth representative asked, motioning for calm as alarm rippled through the seated press.
“We are the Arach,” the creature said, although how they could understand words from the clatters, chitters and hisses they were hearing was beyond them. The arach’s skin gleamed a dull dark red, and two sets of forelimbs were visible above the console.
The Earth representatives chose to focus on something else, instead.
“Arach… as in short-for arachnid?”
That elicited a hiss of amusement tinged by scorn.
“You could say that.”
“And the starm… the prince?”
“Is not.”
They waited for the arach commander to elaborate. As they did, realisation dawned.
“If you are one race, and he is another, then…”
“The footage we sent was slightly altered. Two species rose to dominance on our world.”
“So what is he?”
The door hissed open, and the starman entered, along with more press. They could tell he was the starman from the way he dressed, but little else was the same.
Starman Descended from Extra-Terrestrial Dinosaurs! was immediately saved for later use.
His reptilian features and patina of scales made the tail look almost normal. The starman did not waste time.
“The messages were sent to the same quadrant because that is where both our races dwell.”
“So you knew they would come.”
Starman puts Earth at Risk.
“They were coming, anyway. They’ve been seeking pod beacons for millennia. It is the only way for them to ensure our people have no rallying point.”
“We’ve found most of the others.” The arach’s voice rendition was gloating.
The newly arrived press, for once, were silent, having finally noticed the creature on the communications screen.
“But not all,” the starman countered. “Some have outwitted you for longer than they needed.”
He turned to Earth’s leading representative.
“Your decision to broadband your plight was… unexpected.”
“But?”
“Effective. I should have thought of it myself.”
One of the reporters recovered enough for a headline: Earth Council Contacts ETs in Secret! went into the saved folder.
“And?”
The starman turned to the arach commander.
“Look to your sensors.”
The arach glanced away. It was only for a moment, but they all saw the shudder that ran through his body. When he looked back, he was tense with anger.
“You know this means war.”
The starman was unruffled.
“We were at war, anyway. Only the Earthers did not know it.”
The press discovered their mobiles were no longer blocked, and seized the moment.
War Declared on Earth!
Spider People Declare War!
“You are going to explain this,” the head Earth councilman said, and it was not a question.
Earth Council Confused.
“Shortly,” the starman said, and moved to another console.
The main communications screen split into two, and then one of those halves split into two again. He glanced back at the Earth representatives.
“You havedone well,” he said.
He manipulated the controls once more and a third panel appeared. Each of the new panels showed a fleet of dots moving closer to Earth. The third panel flickered, and another member of the starman’s species appeared.
Starman No Longer Alone!
The ships on the two side panels, blipped out and then back in, closer to Earth than before.
“Micro-jumps,” the starman said, and even he sounded impressed.
He glanced up at the third panel.
“Trogarian arach, Elemar, and Hualesh,” he said.
The lizard man on the screen wrinkled his nose. The arach rattled its mandibles, but no translation was forthcoming. The Earth Council representatives stared—and then the lead councillor threw the switch, and the screens went dark. He turned to the starman.
“Explain,” he said.
The starman glanced at the press, and the councilman curled his lip.
“They were your idea,” he said, “but I think I’ll keep them around for a while.”
Earth Council has Nothing to Hide, the news sites reported.
“It has taken millennia for us to rebuild our forces,” the starman said. “Millennia during which the arach have suppressed our people, and used them as cattle.”
There was a collective gasp from the press gallery.
Cannibals Attack Earth.
The starman ignored them.
“We needed a base of operations.”
“You were going to annex our world.” The Earth representative did not mince words, and he did not sound impressed.
Lizardman Take-Over Attempt Foiled
“You would not have survived the arach.”
“We would not have needed to, if you had not come to our moon.”
“You were living in caves and running after mammoth with sticks when I arrived.”
“That’s not the point.”
“No. The point is that I have given you the means to survive.”
Starman Claims Earth Owes Him Its Survival!
“And you think we should hand over our world to you and your people in exchange?”
“That depends on how badly you want to live.”
Starman: Come with me, if you want to Live, quipped one reporter, quoting an ancient movie.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a fact.”
The Earth Council leader waved a hand towards where the other two fleets had been displayed.
“And what about them? They have come at our request.”
Aliens Come to Earth’s Aid, one news site claimed.
“You don’t even know who they are.”
“They can’t be any worse than our current options.”
“They might.”
“And why would we believe you?”
“Because I hold the key to your survival.”
The Earth Councilman looked the starman up and down.
“Not any more,” he said, and he turned to the security personnel who had been in the room for the transmission. “Escort Prince Barevarn out of here.”
Starman Kicked Out of Conference.
“You can’t do that!”
Starman Resists Arrest.
The Earth Councilman did not dignify that with a response. He waited until the starman had been taken from the room, and then opened up communications to the incoming Elemar and Hualesh ships. First contact was never going to be easy. First contact with the whole world’s survival on the line? That was going to be a challenge.
And because the Earth Council did not know how to make their communications private, negotiations were done in the open, as the ships approached, with each of the interested parties staking their claims. Even when they were excluded from the communications centre, the press found other ways to follow what was happening—amateur space nuts who could hack the signal, became celebrities overnight, and the resulting headlines gave humans the world over, a vague idea of what was going on.
Lizardmen of Trogar Owed Compensation.
Trogarian Spider People Leave Empty-Handed.
Spider People Vow Revenge
Earth Alliance with Elemar and Hualesh Established.
The reporters fed on the negotiations for months.
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Headlines from the Starman is available as a stand-alone short story at the following links: books2read.com/u/mdKG0d.
You can also find Kristine Kathryn Rusch's latest free short story over on her blog: kriswrites.com. Why don't you go and check it out?