V - The Original Miniseries Read Online Free Page B

had taken to reach the craft.
    Murmurs filled the rooftop, but Kristine's authoritative tones cut through them: "There he is! The secretary general is reappearing! He is apparently unharmed, waving cheerfully to the onlookers here on the roof of the UN Building ... Just a minute. It looks as though he's going to address the crowd ..."
    The older man's educated, slightly accented tones reached Donovan clearly as he focused on the speaker's face. "My fellow citizens of Earth ... these Visitors assure me that they come in peace and that they wish to honor all the covenants of our United Nations Charter. As you'll see, they are much like us ... although their voices are unusual. They first asked me to speak on their behalf, but I felt everyone would be more comfortable if their Supreme Commander, who is aboard this vessel, spoke directly to you all. His voice will be heard around the world, in every language necessary."
    The secretary general turned back to look up the stairs. Donovan focused past him on the dark opening in the belly of the shuttle. Movement-then he was seeing booted feet in the viewfinder, legs, a normal-seeming trunk, two arms, a head
    Donovan gasped, his fingers tightening on the camera. He'd expected differences, and there were none! At first glance, the alien appeared to be a normal human male of middle years, with thick gray hair and keen blue eyes. He was wearing high black boots, looking for all the world like ordinary English riding boots, and a reddish-colored coverall that was cut much the same as a pilot's flight suit. It had five diagonal black stripes across the breast.
    Kristine's commentary was analytical and precise: "Roughly six feet tall ... I'd estimate one hundred sixty pounds ... He seems to have some difficulty seeing in the glare of the floodlights here ... He's stopping now, halfway down the ramp ... I think he's about to speak ..."
The man's voice reached them clearly, but its unusual timbre-sort of a vibrating resonance-was even more apparent live, like this, than it had been over the airwaves.
    "I trust you will forgive me ... but our eyes are unaccustomed to this sort of brightness ..." Reaching into a pocket of the coverall, he took out a pair of surprisingly normallooking dark glasses and put them on.
    "As the secretary general has told you, we have come in peace to all mankind on Earth ... Our planet is the fourth in distance from the star which you call Sirius. It is some 8.7 light-years from your Earth. This is the first time we have journeyed from our system, and you are the first intelligent life form we've encountered." He paused, then a very warm smile brightened his features. "We are very pleased to meet you!"
    Donovan could hear the murmur of relief and welcome rising audibly from the assembled journalists and dignitaries. He continued shooting, zooming in for a closeup as the man took a few strides toward him before resuming: "Our names would sound peculiar to you, so we-my fellow Visitors and I-have chosen simple names from Earth. My name is John."
The Visitor smiled again. "The secretary general referred to me as a 'Supreme Commander.' Actually, I'm just sort of an admiral. I'm responsible for this small fleet around your planet ..." Small fleet? Donovan tightened his fingers on the camera, suddenly conscious that his hands were sweating.
    "We've sent other unmanned craft before us, some of which have monitored the Earth for quite a while, so we could learn your languages-but some of us are not as skilled as others, so we hope you will be patient with us. We have come here on behalf of our Great Leader ... who governs our united planet with benevolence and wisdom ... We have come because we need your help."
Benevolence and wisdom, thought Donovan cynically. Sounds like a real party hack. They ought to do just fine down here. John may end up our next president ...
    "Our planet is in serious environmental difficulty. Far, far worse than yours. It's reached a stage where we