The Voting Species Read Online Free Page B

after Alfonso?’
    The grey man
blushed. ‘We need someone who is well placed to help with our
expansion, and I’m in need of an assistant.’
    ‘ Nothing
else?’ The Senator smiled.
    ‘ There are
plenty of others who are less cerebrally challenging
Senator.’
    ‘ Yes…but use
her for routine accounting only...and try not to get tempted into a
more cerebral challenge!’
    ‘ Yes
Senator.’

    ‘ Thank you
Alfonso.’ Elena purred. .
    The grey man flashed a quizzical glance. ‘For
what Elena?’
    ‘For keeping me around after I strayed from
the Senator.’
    Alfonso grasped the opportunity. ‘He’s got
over it now, I made it quite clear to him that you were a good
employee and could do more than just entertain.’
    She summoned
up her most poignant look. ‘A business job will be much more
fulfilling than just entertaining. To be honest with you Alfonso, I
do go off into the jungle now and then, it is my home after all.
Not so much with Carlton now, nobody special.’
    ‘You should have more time to spend at Cyan
House then?’ Alfonso asked hopefully.
    ‘Yes Alfonso, but may I ask you a personal
question?’ her pleading eyes accompanied her words.
    ‘But of course,’ the grey man said, now
flushed with hope.
    ‘ I know we’re
work colleagues, but could we be friends as well?’
    Alfonso could
only absorb the vision before him awhile before answering. She was
the usual statuesque build of her people. Her higher cheekbones
under light expressive eyes were
perfectly set under short cropped platinum blond hair; the latter
being her concession to what she believed was a human
fixation.
    ‘ Of course
Elena, and now I’ll show you around our computer system, some
passwords are of course confidential.’ He
then dared add a suggestion, ‘Teaching you may take some
time!’
    She felt the
triumph of promotion at last and flashed her grateful smile which
was supported by those expressive eyes. ‘I hope it does Alfonso.
Now, which of these icons do I touch first?’

 
    ACTIVE MINDS
     
    The next day
a Senate side room was made available for what the Senators thought
was to be the start of mutual sparring, moving onto the desired
agenda of setting up trade. The visitors were escorted from their
living quarters to reach the room at the same time as the four man,
two woman Senatorial team. The favourite shaped table was large and
square, such that six delegates on either side could face all those
opposite. A chairperson in the form of the leader of the Senate,
Senator Cantrell, sat in the centre of one of the remaining sides;
the last side allowing a free view out and over the senate lawn,
now free of the hordes that had covered it the day before.
Recording equipment was at the ready, accompanied only by aides.
Media and public attendees were excluded as this was not a debate.
The Senators had to grit their teeth at being previously bypassed.
The aliens were in awe of their surroundings, but their hosts
coloured this as respect for humans.
    All were asked to sit, Senator Cantrell took
his place last and started his opening remarks. ‘Ladies and
gentlemen, if our guests will forgive us, we need to establish a
basis of trust before we can enter into meaningful dialogue, that
is to say, we know very little about each other…’
    The
Ambassador, adjusting his translator, interrupted with a warm
smile, ‘What you mean Senator, is you cannot believe that there’s a
species in the Galaxy equal to your own. I concede that this may be
so, but the evidence we have on this matter needs to be
discussed.’
    The Senator stuttered, ‘No, no…..that’s not
what I meant.’
    ‘Senator, feel free to speak your thoughts, I
state only what my people know as a matter of fact, we are not
guided by politics on our planet, only by evidence. Therefore I
suggest you ask any questions you like pertaining to our fitness as
a trading partner. Please be direct, we will reciprocate.’
    Cantrell
fidgeted uneasily, his team was startled.