Here to Help

Here to Help

  Steve M. Benner

  Copyright Steve M. Benner 2008

  Physolan, the phonetically derived name by which he became known, arrived on Earth at 10:32 AM EDT in 2021 A.D. in New York, NY. He made himself known to the United Nations in a way that was meant to impress upon the delegates both his power and his knowledge. The General Assembly was meeting in the main hall to discuss sending peacekeeping troops to Bolivia to stop the war there between rebel and government troops. Physolan instantaneously materialized at the podium as one speaker left and the next was moving up to replace her. Physolan appeared to be a human, Caucasian male about 30 years old, six feet tall with brown hair and eyes. His features were very non-descript, very average, with a slight artificiality to them and wearing a large grin that was somewhat disturbing. He was dressed in a slightly out-of-date business suit. He immediately began addressing the assembled members in a powerful voice. He spoke in English, but everyone could tell what he was saying whether it was translated or not. It was as if the message was carried directly to the brain of the listener, and the spoken words were there purely as a formality.

  “Greetings people of Earth. I have chosen to make myself known to you through this assembly of world leaders. I know what affect the knowledge and presence of a being from another world would have on your religious and political institutions. I wanted to talk to you, the leaders of your various nations, in order to prevent the anarchy that could possibly occur as a result. My name is Physolan; I have traveled over 1000 light years to visit your planet.”

  As Physolan spoke, most of the assembled members did not even take notice of what he was saying and those that did were either laughing or shaking their heads. One diplomat called security and pointed to the man at the podium. The guard called on his radio, and four men immediately began moving toward the podium, two from each side, with their hands on their tasers.

  Physolan realized that he was not being noticed; at least not in the way he wanted to be. He raised his arms and lightly flicked his hands at the security men moving towards his position. All four men were propelled back and slammed against the opposing walls a good 10 meters behind them, knocking them senseless. When Physolan began speaking again, his voice exploded from his mouth so loud and sharp that the windows shook and everyone in the room instinctively clamped their hands over their ears.

  “Let me start again.” Now he had everyone’s attention. “As I said before, greetings people of Earth. I have chosen to make myself known to you through this assembly of world leaders. I wanted to talk to you, the leaders of your various nations, in order to prevent any disturbances to your respective societies. My name is Physolan, and I have traveled over 1000 light years to visit your planet. I have come in peace and have come to help your civilization.”

  In spite of having obtained their attention, Physolan had yet to engage their minds. They understood what he was saying, but they either could not comprehend it or could not believe it. When Physolan stopped talking, there was a long pause, then almost all the members started talking at once, either shouting to Physolan or talking with their colleagues. It was mayhem.

  Physolan realized that this was not going the way he had envisioned it. He’d studied Earth for several years on his way here and thought he had worked out a good plan to make his presence known. Obviously, just watching Earthlings is not the same as actually trying to interact with them.

  In the same booming voice, that stopped all conversation, he said, “Please be quiet. Maybe I should meet with just a few of your representatives instead of such a large group. I have a lot to discuss. I will talk to the Secretary General and some representatives from the major powers in a more private setting.” Physolan nodded to Dr. Untiti, the SG, who was standing near the podium. The SG nodded back blankly. “Okay, let’s say in one hour in the conference room off this hall.” With that comment, there was a brief, bright flash, and Physolan was gone. There was pandemonium again.

  At the appointed hour and place, there were fourteen people milling around the conference table that filled most of the room. In addition to the five heavily armed security men, the SG, seven diplomats, and four others were present and talking excitedly among themselves. The conversations centered on Physolan’s earlier and anticipated appearance, and most participants were of the opinion that it had been an elaborate joke or trick. Suddenly, in a bright flash Physolan appeared at the foot of the conference table. His appearance startled everyone in the room. The security men recovered quickly and began looking ominously at the newcomer with their hands on their guns. Physolan, still wearing the large, disquieting smile on his face from earlier and the same suit, calmly sat down at the foot of the table. Seemingly oblivious to the effect his appearance had on those in the room, he began speaking.

  “Well this seems a lot more cozy. Please sit down. I want to get right down to business and lay out my plans for your planet. First, …”

  “Wait a minute! What the hell are you talking about and who the hell are you?” said the German representative in a voice that was a subdued shout tinged with panic. The other representatives were slower to regain their composure but nodded their heads collectively like bobble-headed dolls. Everyone, except Physolan, was still standing.

  One of the few people to not nod his head was Gaylord Winslow, a third generation American of British heritage, who was there at the behest of the American UN representative, Jason Jones. Dr. Winslow was a physicist working at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and happened to be visiting the UN on business when Physolan made his appearance in the assembly. The American representative knew Gaylord and had asked him to sit in on this meeting. There were not very many people available on such short notice; Gaylord was in the right place at the right time.

  Gaylord had a very open and inquisitive mind and was not easily impressed, but he was now. He studied the so-called alien and mentally began to make notes. He could see that his human appearance seemed to be real, but there were some aspects that weren’t quite right. For one thing, Physolan didn’t seem to be breathing, and, secondly, his skin didn’t look like human skin. Light penetrates into human skin to give it an inner glow; Physolan’s had more the appearance of a mannequin’s. Also, Gaylord could see a very faint, blue aura around Physolan that was only about three centimeters thick. This had not been noticeable on the recording of Physolan’s appearance earlier in the assembly hall. Gaylord thought, May be the recording devices didn’t pick it up. None of this was enough to convince Gaylord of something as radical as an extraterrestrial alien, but he did find it fascinating.

  “Come, come, ladies and gentlemen, please sit down and relax. I am definitely not a threat to you and am actually here to help you. I’ll be glad to answer your questions.” Physolan’s voice had a very soothing effect on everyone in the room, and the delegates took seats at the table with the SG at the head. Again, as was confirmed during his earlier visit, Physolan’s words seemed to be in the native language of the listener. Gaylord actually thought he picked up British enunciations in Physolan’s speech. Gaylord played on his British heritage by affecting a British accent sometimes at parties or special occasions that made him a very popular attendee.

  “As to your questions in reverse order, as I told the Assembly earlier, I’m called Physolan and have come from a star system about 1000 light years from here in the constellation you call Lyra. Our race is very similar to yours and may have a common ancestry since our DNA is very similar, but our civilization is much, much older than yours. We have had interstellar space travel for a thousand years. My ship is in orbit around your planet right now but is undetectable by your sensors. I’ll answer your first question once you are sat
isfied as to my origins.” Physolan paused to take a breath, metaphorically speaking.

  Everyone seated at the table started asking questions at the same time. The SG tried to bring the group to order and only managed to succeed after several shouts and table poundings. Physolan seemed totally unfazed; his smile unwavering. Gaylord was beginning to wonder if the smile was real or just built into his face. The only aspect of Physolan that caught Gaylord’s attention was his eyes. They seem to be too bright, not from reflected light but from an inner source. It was the only thing about Physolan that Gaylord found animated.

  Once order had been restored, the SG started off the questioning, and it then proceeded clockwise around the table. Physolan didn’t elaborate much on what he had already said. He wouldn’t say specifically which star system in Lyra he came from nor would he discuss the technology that he used to travel over such a great distance. He didn’t so much as not answer the questions as he deflected them or stated that it would be much too complicated to explain. Gaylord thought, This latter excuse made some sense since, if he was