Resnick, Mike - Second Contact

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Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
2
Fictionwise Publications
www.fictionwise.com
This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either
are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.
Copyright ©1990 by Mike Resnick
NOTICE: This ebook is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or
distribution via email, floppy disk, network, print out, or any other means to a
person other than the original purchaser is a violation of International copyright
law and subjects the violator to fines and/or imprisonment. Fictionwise
Publications offers a $500 reward to anyone who provides information leading to
the conviction of a person infringing on any Fictionwise ebook copyright.
COVER DESIGN BY CHRIS HARDWICK
This ebook is displayed using 100% recycled electrons.
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
3
To Carol, as always
And to Pat and Roger Sims—
intrepid travellers,
dedicated gourmets,
damned good friends
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
4
PROLOGUE
The Menninger/Klipstein Tachyon Drive, without which Man would
never have been able to physically explore his galaxy, was theorized
in 2029 A.D., created in 2032, and successfully field-tested in 2037
after a number of minor mishaps.
Mankind's first contact with an alien race was made on March 5,
2042 A.D., on the outskirts of the Epsilon Eridani system.
Nobody knows what precipitated the events that followed, nor in
what order they occurred, but this much is known: within a matter
of minutes both the Earth starship, Excelsior, and the alien ship,
name and class unknown, had completely destroyed each other.
To this day no one knows which ship fired first. There is no record
of any action by either side that might have invited such a reaction.
No messages were sent back to base during the ensuing battle.
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
5
Neither ship tried to escape once the conflict began. There were no
survivors.
It took Man almost a decade to regroup, and by that time all space
exploration was under the control of the military. Only the United
States, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and the
Republic of Brazil continued to send ships into deep space. By 2065
A.D. there were fourteen starships exploring the galaxy, each
mapping and charting the stars and planets while fruitlessly
searching for signs of alien life. Five of these ships belonged to the
United States, four to Russia, four to China, and one to Brazil. Of
them, the largest was the Lenin, a massive Russian ship. The best-
armed was the one-year-old Russian starship Moscow. By far the
fastest was the Chinese ship Confucious.
But the ship that made all the headlines in 2065 was the Theodore
Roosevelt, which was currently orbiting the Earth while the fate of its
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
6
captain was being decided hundreds of miles below it.
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
7
1.
Max Becker rode the airlift up to the fifth floor of the Pentagon,
walked rapidly past a row of holographs of former Chiefs of Staff,
and finally came to the office he sought. The door's sensors scanned
and identified him and allowed him to enter.
“Good morning, Major Becker,” said the gray-haired man who bore
three stars on his shoulders and was seated behind a large chrome
desk. “I've been expecting you.”
“May I request the meaning of this, sir?” demanded Becker,
waving an official-looking document in the air.
“I should think it would be self-explanatory,” answered the
general. “It's your next assignment.”
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
8
“I haven't had a furlough in more than two years,” said Becker.
“I've already bought my tickets and paid for my hotel.”
“We've arranged for your money to be refunded,” said the general.
“May I respectfully point out that I don't want a goddamned
refund! I want a vacation!”
“Respectfully?” repeated the general, arching an eyebrow.
“I've worked my tail off for this department for two years. I've got
five weeks’ leave coming to me, and I want it!”
“I'm afraid that's out of the question, major.”
“Why?” demanded Becker. “And, more to the point, why me?”
“You're the best man for the job.”
“I'm not even Navy!” protested Becker. “This guy ought to be
defended by one of his own.”
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
9
“There is no differentiation of services in the space program,
major,” replied the general. “I'm sure you'll find the Navy eager to
cooperate with you in every way.”
“I doubt it, sir.”
“Why should you say that, major?”
“Because if this case is as open-and-shut as it's supposed to be,
anyone can handle it,” answered Becker. “So when you bypass 300
Navy lawyers who work in this building and choose me, I can't help
feeling just a bit suspicious.” He paused. “May I respectfully ask why
I was selected?”
“It wasn't my choice,” responded the general. “We asked the
computer to select a name.” He stared at Becker. “You look dubious,
major.”
“If it was programmed to select the best criminal lawyer in the
service, it would have picked Hector Garcia.”
Second Contact
by Mike Resnick
10
“It did. You were its second choice.”
“Well?”
“Garcia's on leave.”
“And I'm about to go on leave.”
“He outranks you.”
“May I point out to the general that I outrank 200 other lawyers
who can handle this case in their sleep.”
“The computer picked you.”
“What if I refuse?”
“If you refuse with cause, we'll give the case to someone else—but
I personally guarantee that it'll be at least a year before you get that
furlough,” said the general. “If you refuse without cause, I'll demote
you a rank and offer you the job again. I can keep that up all the
way down to Private.”
“May I speak frankly, sir?”
摘要：

SecondContactbyMikeResnick2FictionwisePublicationswww.fictionwise.comThisebookisaworkoffiction.Names,characters,places,andincidentseitherareproductsoftheauthor’simaginationorareusedfictitiously.Anyresemblancetoactualeventsorlocalesorpersons,livingordead,isentirelycoincidental.Copyright©1990byMikeRes...

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