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difference is not in skull width, but in
skull height, and only in the area of the
brain case, not in the face, the neck,
or the base of the skull. The evidence
indicates that they have larger brains,
which could account for their superior
technological development.”
Nathan leaned forward in his chair.
Because of the tall hats the alleged
Martians had been wearing in the movie
footage, it was impossible for Nathan to
determine whether or not the drawings
were accurate.
But if true, it would probably mean that
the portions of the brains responsible for
higher reasoning are larger. At least…
going by the drawings. It’s the only part of
their head that’s enlarged.
“Aside from the difference in skull
shape, the Krenth seem to be a bit taller
than the average Earthman, at least, if
we can judge by the specimens we have
seen so far,” Dr. Robinson said. “That
puts their average height about 6’2.
We have also noted that they typically
do not walk fast, and they seem to tire
swiftly, although they try their best to
hide it. We believe that this is due to
Mars being of a smaller size. Given that,
we should expect them to have greater
height, but weaker muscles.”
Dr. Robinson paused, took off his glasses
and wiped the lenses, then looked over
the men in the room.
“We suspect that the average Martian
may only be half as strong as the average
human,” Dr. Robinson resumed. “Which
means they would be considerably
weaker when compared with the
specimens in this room, and with our
military men in general. They have gray
skin, but they bleed red, and they have
eaten most of the food we put before
them without any issues. Therefore,
we believe that there is nutritional
reciprocity between our world and
theirs. You men should have few to no
issues eating Krenth cuisine while on
their planet.”
“Thank you for that presentation, Dr.
Robinson,” the general said. “Do you
men have any questions?”
“I have a question,” one of the men said.
“Go ahead,” the general said.
“Do we know what caused the Krenth to
make contact?”
“When the Martian ship crashed in
Germany they couldn’t hide their
existence any longer. The crash was an
accident, but there were fresh bodies
inside when the Germans found it.”
“I see.”
“Why tell us if only the Germans
knew?” another man asked.
“What the aliens told the President is
that they are serious about establishing
formal relations, but they want to get
the best deal they can,” the general
answered. “They said, ‘When more than
one bargain for the same commodity the
one seller gets a better deal.’”
“Oh,” the man replied. “I thought maybe
it was out of a sense of fairness.”
“General.” Dr. Robinson interjected.
“If I may…”
“Go ahead,” the general said.
“We don’t know what kind of
sentiments the Krenth have yet,” Dr.
Robinson said. “So far they have shown
no emotion, other than curiosity and
occasional disdain. It may be that they
had their own Zeno or Confucius, and
that philosophy just came to dominate,
in which case showing emotion might
be considered taboo. Or, it may be that
their brain structure is simply different
than ours and they aren’t capable of the
same range of emotions.”
The man who asked the question fell
silent, but another spoke up.
“Who is in charge of this
mission?” he asked.
“That is still being decided,” the
general replied. “Are there any further
questions?”
The men said nothing.
“In that case you will all report to our
new facility in Nevada, where you will
begin training for the mission. As you
train, our scientists and engineers will be
working on the ship,” the general said.
“In addition to the ship we’re going to
need a whole slew of special tools and
suits for the mission. The strength and
effort of the entire country will be going
into the project. Gentlemen, we can do
this, we have to do this. Dismissed!”
Nathan Benson stood and saluted
along with the rest of the men, but
he remained skeptical of the entire
presentation.
I’ll play along for now… and hold off
giving an opinion before I see hard evidence
that points one way or the other.
The next day Nathan was flown to
Nevada, where he was taken to a
sprawling military complex. The facility
was newly constructed, but it was
already heavily fortified, having concrete
fences topped with razor wire and guard
towers spaced at regular intervals. On
the interior, the barracks, hangars, and
a few concrete buildings were already
constructed. In addition, there were
metal scaffoldings for structures which
were still under construction.
There were no major roads anywhere
in sight, but a lone river ran through
the desert close to the base. There were
water treatment plants and pumps near
the river to supply water to the base,
and the new facility also had its own
power sources.
Nathan and the other men trained
for months to prepare for the voyage.
They worked to build muscle and bone
density, because one of the scientists
theorized that being in space for long
periods of time may cause muscles
to atrophy due to a lack of use. They
engaged in g-force tests which involved
spinning rapidly in a giant centrifuge,
and low gravity simulations which
consisted of underwater activities
performed in prototype space suits.
While the men trained and practiced,
new equipment was continually
developed, tested, and refined. Every
time a new piece of equipment was
ready, they had to train with it.
One day the general approached Nathan
as he was lifting weights. When Nathan
saw the general, he quickly pushed
the bar back up with an extra burst of
strength, then he stood up and saluted.
“At ease, soldier,” the general said.
“Sir,” Nathan said.
authorial magazine | 49