“When I call your name, shout here or something,” Candi said. “Marcus Abnernathy.”
“Here!”
“Guy Baker.”
“Here!”
At each response, she checked the name off her list. Everyone was present and accounted for except for one. “LaTasha Zeldon!”
No answer.
“LaTasha Zeldon?”
Silence. Chloe and others in the audience scanned the theater. Council members exchanged worried frowns.
“We can’t start until LaTasha gets here,” Laurel murmured, looking concerned.
Of course,everyoneshould attend the meetings, but if anyone skipped, well, LaTasha was just a kid. Her presence couldn’t be that critical.
“Has anybody seen LaTasha?” Candi asked.
“I’m here!” Braids flying, LaTasha bounded into the theater, and the council let out a collective audible sigh of relief. “Sorry I’m late. I got tied up in…a last-minute conversation.”
With whom? Everyone was here.
“Come on up to the stage,” Laurel directed.
LaTasha scrambled up the side steps and took the seventh chair.
She can’t be thesourceof the life-altering information, could she?On the other hand, as amessenger, LaTasha had frequent contact with everyone.Maybe she found out something important.
The mike got passed to Laurel. “Let’s begin. You’re all aware of the situation. The human race will survive—but reestablishing industry, technology, mass communication, and transportation when we lack energy, expertise, equipment, and manpower has seemed insurmountable.” Laurel paused, taking a breath. “This morning, we were presented with a possible solution.”
“What? From who?”
“What kind of solution?” Questions rang out in the audience.
“Please, let me finish.” Laurel banged a gavel. The people quieted. “We received a communication from the Federation of Alien Beings.”
A collective gasp erupted in the theater. “Who are they?”
“What did they say?”
“What do they want?”
Why did the name sound familiar? Chloe leaned closer to Rok and whispered, “Have you heard of the Federation of Alien Beings?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
She would have asked him more, but Laurel rapped the gavel. “Please, please. I know you all have questions. The message we’re going to play for you will answer a lot of them—it’s better if you hear from the source rather than from us.”
“How was the message received?” Guy called out.
Good question! Communication was one of their big issues. They had no working phones, internet, satellite or cable TV, or even radio or telegraph. They’d been reduced to signage and hand-delivered messages.
Grav held up an iridescent cube the size of a jeweler’s ring box. “This appeared on our dining table this morning. It came from the federation.” He placed the cube on the small square table, flicked a switch or something, and the air shimmered. A holographic image of an alien being materialized atop the table.
* * * *
