Escaping the Cradle

by Karen Page

(follows on from Aurora)

---

Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot remain in the cradle forever.
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, 1912.

Prelude

Out in the deepest depths of space, an alien race received communications by their secure comms unit, in an area where a race of beings lived on the third planet from the star. Something that should not have, had indeed happened just outside the planet's atmosphere, within the blink of an eye, their intelligence operative noticed a portal open then immediately close, a short while later it happened again.

In their guttural language on the alien's planet, they immediately conferred and decided to send a craft to try and find out what caused the portal to open and close and to see if it was still in the area.

That species was not supposed to have this type of technology for decades, so who or what managed to open a portal twice. If it was the inhabitants, how did they come across this technology so fast, they had been watching this little blue dot for decades, and the latest intelligence from their planetary assets did mention some little blips on their scanning equipment but was not sure, as it lasted milliseconds and so small it was hard to detect.

They had to find out if their enemies were encroaching on their own plans for that species and the planet. They didn't need that specific atmosphere for their species to live, but there were not many planets that also had oxygen and a large body of surface water, which was vital for their species to not only live but thrive.

The small blue dot was in their region of space, but could they get to it first before their enemies? They immediately despatched five of their own portal-based scout ships. One to make contact while the other four searched the solar system for signs of their enemy. They had to know one way or the other.

Part 1

"Yes?" mumbled Tim Harper sleepily as he answered his mobile. The number was withheld, which wasn't that unusual. A lot of his contacts didn't like their number to show.

"It's Tom", the voice identified himself. "Just thought you would like to know; the Prime Minister is back early.

"What?!" exclaimed Tim, suddenly very awake. Tom Harrison worked in the Downing Street press office and was one of Tim's old friends from university. The Prime Minister had been at Davos and wasn't due back for a few more days. "What happened? Why's she back early?"

"I know no more than that. I just got a phone call to tell me my holiday was cancelled and get into the office ASAP. When I got there, I saw Georgina Harries rushing into her office."

"Okay, thank for the tip. If you hear anything, let me know."

Tim Harper couldn't believe that he'd been caught on the hop. The Prime Minister's plane had touched down from Switzerland without anybody knowing she was flying back. He did a quick search on the wires, and internet, but nobody was talking about it. If it hadn't been Tom, he would now have been thinking it was a windup, but he knew that Tom was ultra-reliable.

"What's up?" Andrea, his wife asked sitting up in bed.

"I'm not sure yet," he responded. "Let me check something, but I might need to go into the office. Sorry for waking you."

"Let me make you a coffee."

Tim scratched his stubble in deep thought. Something was up, but what? He thought about ringing his boss, but he wanted more information. If the Prime Minister isn't in Davos, had anybody else left?

Ruby, their economics correspondent, answered her phone within two rings. "Hi," she answered. "Isn't a bit early for you?"

"A bit, but always good to talk to you," responded Tim. "How is the conference going?"

"Missing the Prime Minister?" she laughed back. "I know she's always doing sit downs with you. I'm hoping to get fifteen minutes with her before she leaves."

"So, nothing juicy for me?"

Tim made some small talk but didn't hang around for long. He wanted to get into the office. Something was up, and he wanted to make sure he got the story before Sky.

As he got himself shaved and ready for the day, Andrea appeared with a coffee in a travel mug.

"Oh perfect. Thank you." He kissed his wife and was soon out of the door.

Thirty minutes later he arrived at the office, all clean and ready for the day. Stubble might be a modern designer thing, but it was frowned upon by the owners. All presenters had to look the part. He'd spent the taxi journey calling contacts he knew would be awake, but everyone he spoke to talked as if the Prime Minister was still in Switzerland.

Even at five in the morning, the newsroom wasn't quiet. It wasn't as busy as it would get, but there was always a background hum. News didn't sleep just because most of the United Kingdom was in slumberland.

Tim didn't bother going to his desk but went straight to Robyn, the news editor.

"You're in early," she commented as he saddled up.

"The Prime Minister is back in Downing Street," he murmured. Robyn had been a political reporter when she was younger and instantly understood the gravity.

"Are you sure? I've not heard anything."

"A source I have in Downing Street saw her an hour ago. He is reliable, but I've had no confirmation from elsewhere. Ruby thinks she's still at the WEC, as do two MP's and a minister."

"Keep at it," Robyn urged. "We can't go live with this until we have confirmation and understand what it means. Just saying the Prime Minister snuck into the country isn't a story. If she is here, something is up, but what?"

Tim sloped of to his desk and booted up his computer. Time to check the wires to see if anything else stood out. He didn't get chance to finish booting up before he saw Larry stand up. "CNN has just announced that there been mass mobilisation of the American National Guard."

Tim continued his digging. Something was happening, but things were just individual events. Over the next hour, Russia and then China went on alert. Yet other indications didn't seem to indicate an issue. There were no press briefings of issues. In fact, the press offices in the major governments were a lot quieter than normal.

All the foreign correspondents were pressing their contacts for details, but they were coming up blank. Nobody was talking or didn't know what was happening. It was too late for any White House briefings, and their correspondent stated that there wasn't any more movement that normal. Yet there had been the National Guard mobilization.

It was early in Russia, and there were troops on the corners of their main streets, but there didn't appear to be any military planes flying which might have indicated war. In fact, there was a distinct lack of any military flights on the popular tracking apps. Were they all flying with transponders off or was it unusually quiet.

The ping of his phone distracted his trawl of the wires. He looked at it was Tom. "PM to make historic announcement from the dispatch box. Will be announced in fifteen minutes."

"How historic?"

"White House, Kremlin and major governments will be advising their media to cover it."

"Thanks for the heads-up. Any idea on the subject."

"No."

There was certainly something happening. He could sense that. There were too many things wrong. Little things, but when it was added up, it amounted to something major. Tom had used the word 'historic'. Perhaps a cure for cancer. Perhaps an historic peace agreement; after all, the three major powers appeared to be colluding. But why was the PM making the statement and not one of the superpowers?

Tim grabbed his phone and rushed to tell Robyn, the news editor.

* * *

Unusually for a late Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister was at the dispatch box for 11:30am. This was a time normally for regional or international development questions, but not today.

After morning prayers, the speaker took his position and rose. "Order. As a change to the order paper, we have an urgent statement by the Prime Minister. She has asked that questions wait until the end of the statement. Prime Minister."

The speaker took his seat, and the Prime Minister, Georgina Harries, rose her eyes flickered across the full house. She always wanted his life to have meaning. She'd always wanted to serve. She got a first at Cambridge and had a life planned out when she got the calling for negotiation. It wasn't until after the fateful transformation that she got into politics.

"Thank you, Mr Speaker. With your permission, I would like to update the house on some quite extraordinary events that took place yesterday. These events have the potential to have a significant impact on society. I'm going to split this statement into two parts. The first covers a simple statement about what occurred yesterday. The second part outlines the response."

The Prime Minister was dressed immaculately. Her hair had just the right amount of wave that it looked stylish, but still professional. She knew this speech wouldn't just be seen on UK television but in other countries. It would be a speech that would become one of the defining moments.

The chamber was normally a raucous, but if it was the grave nature of the Prime Ministers statement, or something else, the chamber was quiet.

"At 7pm UK time, while I was in conference with some other leaders at the World Economic Conference, two alien lifeforms projected their images and made an offer to us."

The stillness in the chamber was broken by several exclamations of incredulity, but before the speaker could chastise the house, it was again silent.

"Confirmation that this wasn't a hoax was made via a secure connection with the Space Station. They confirmed the existence of a spacecraft in orbit. It wasn't visible on any trackers. We were approached as our technology level means we could soon start to reach beyond our solar system. Humanity has been invited to join an alliance of worlds, but part of that stipulation is a unified representation covering the entire world. This has never been an issue as nations came to arrangements between each other and there were forums like the United Nations. If somebody had suggested a world government before this, I would have laughed. Yet now this is something that doesn't sound so ridiculous."

There was some muttering while the Prime Minister took a sip of water.

"It was reported this morning that some countries raised their defence levels. This was purely a cautionary measure, due to worry on how people might take this news. I have faith that after the initial shock, most people will understand that this is an opportunity. We are being recognized for our achievements."

"The UN Secretary-General was the first person to be told, as per plans in place. I was the representative asked to break the news to the public. This statement isn't just for parliament, nor just the people of the United Kingdom, but the world. There will be regional meetings of leaders across the world and in parliaments. If we are going to take up the invitation, we need to work out a way to unite. We are one species. We have more in common now that we've ever had.

"There will be some people who will think we should shoot first and kill any aliens we find. This has often been the history of humans. Kill those that are different. Protect from any perceived risk. Our history is full of this. Kill those who are from the wrong country, the wrong faith, the wrong skin colour, or even the wrong sexuality.

"Our recent history is full of television shows and films with lifeforms from other planets. Could it be like Star Trek, where it brings prosperity and good? Or could it be like Independence Day, where we send a welcome wagon, and they are blown out of the sky? Perhaps it could be like Babylon 5, where a sign of respect could be misinterpreted and cause a war? Just remember, those examples are fiction. This contact is real life.

"We should be cautious. They have technology that is way beyond what we have. There are two main questions. Are they benevolent? If so, would joining this pack help humanity, or would it rush us too fast and cause us more trouble. There will be some who think we should have nothing to do with aliens and put Earth first, or their country first.

"This is a topic I never thought I'd be discussing, and the ramifications are huge. We can't put the genie back in the bottle. We now know we aren't alone. There is no denying this. No matter what happens from now on, we know that our world is no longer the centre of the universe. This will change who we are, and what we feel about life. We have a choice. Do we stay on our own, with our internal bickering and strife, or do we look out and seize this opportunity to reach for the stars?"

The prime minster sat, and the speaker immediately indicated the leader of the opposition, Paul Smythe.

"I thank the Prime Minister for the prior copy of her statement. As she stated at the beginning of her statement, this wasn't something I thought would ever be discussed in this place. I feel much more information is needed before a true discussion can take place. So, I will keep my remarks short. I will leave aside if this is a good for the UK or the world.

"Mr Speaker, is this something that is truly possible? We left the European Union, so this place was again supreme for making our laws. The SNP still want Scotland to leave the United Kingdom and there are factions in Wales that want to leave too. Those desires for separation are just what's happening here and is quite civil. There are struggles around the world where areas want to have more autonomy and more regional power. This proposition is for a world government, which seems to be the opposite of what some countries desire. I beg that time is given to fully understand the ramifications before any decisions are made."

As Paul sat, Justin Petterson, the government chief whip, stood. "A point of order, Mr Speaker. I beg to move that this House do now sit in private."

"Order. Order," bellowed the speaker over the uproar of the house. As they quietened down, he continued. "Order. The question is that this House sit in private. As many of that opinion say aye."

There was a cry of "aye" from the government benches, as they followed the instruction they'd been handed before coming into the chamber.

"The contrary no."

A large cry of "no" rang out.

"Division! Clear the lobbies!"

The division bell rang across the parliamentary estate, but it signalled to nobody. There wasn't an MP that wasn't in the main chamber.

"This is extremely rare," said the commentator on parliamentary television. "The house hasn't sat in private since 2001 and prior to that it was 1958. If this passes, there will be no broadcast coverage of what they debate, and nothing reported in Hansard."

Tim closed the app he was watching on. He could have watched it on any channel; they were all covering the speech. His phone pinged. He glanced at it and saw it was an old friend from school wanting to meet up. He responded that he couldn't at the moment, too busy. He wanted to arrange an interview with the Prime Minister.

* * *

"Hey David, it's been some day today," said Tim Harper, joining David at one of the tables in the small corner café. It took Tim a few minutes to spot David. It wasn't a big café, but David wasn't looking like Tim remembered, and that was only a year previously. David waving helped.

Tim had received a message for a meeting. At first, he'd said he was too busy. When David had said it was relevant to today's announcement, he decided to accept. He knew some of what David did, and when they'd talked once previously, David had provided some astounding but highly accurate information. The type of information that nobody should have, but that when followed up unlocked the type of story you got awards for.

"You think it's crazy now. It's going to get a whole lot crazier."

"Really?"

"Really. I have a favour to ask. I'd do it myself, but I don't have the contacts you do."

"Oh, you have contacts, just different ones. You've never asked for anything before, so what favour do you need?"

"When you get to interview the PM, I'd like you to ask her a question. What race were the aliens?"

David took out a slip of paper and handed it to his old school friend. On it were two words. Tim didn't deny that there were discussions between his editor and the PM's office to try and get an interview. He took the paper that David had offered him and glanced at two words.

"What's this?"

"Those are the two prominent alien races."

"I don't have time for jokes. "

"This isn't a joke. This is deadly serious. Also, if the name matches, the PM might open up more to you."

"If she gets an interview arranged. I need a bit more than something from an old school friend. How did you know about this?"

"You can't use me as a source. If my name gets out, I won't be able to continue to do my job."

David half expected a query about what he did do, but a muted nod was the only response. Tim folded the paper and placed into his coat pocket before saying, "I came across the code you said to look out for on the wires. I wouldn't do anything to stop the work you do. Was Turkey you?"

"Not me personally, but I know who it was. Totally messed them up for a while, but I saw them briefly a few months ago and they were recovering well. One other titbit. When the PM said that we were about to reach out of the solar system, that is what caused this reveal. A test of a new spaceship happened. If she asks, you can tell him that."

David continued, "Now something for you. Be careful with this though. I presume your science correspondent is going to be overwhelmed but ask them about the space station Pudsey Bear incident and the NASA investigation."

"That was just a stunt, wasn't it?"

"I thought you were a better journalist than that," said David sadly. "There were two other things, but if you start digging into that, you might get some very unwanted attention. And I don't want you or Andrea to get into trouble."

"But that's my job."

David paused and then said, "Find out what I gave you, I'll then give you some inside scoop. Your editor is going to want more than I can give you though."

* * *

"Hi Storm, how're you doing?" asked Tim to the science correspondent.

"What do you think!" she retorted. "Every news report wants me on explaining the science of how aliens could get here, and how they used holograms. Please don't ask me something else I can't help with!"

"You have contacts at NASA, don't you?"

"Oh sure, but they don't have a clue what's going on either."

"Go back to November. The teddy bear on the space station. Did Huston find out who smuggled it?"

"It was just a stunt," said Storm.

Tim just shook his head.

A conversation like this, she knew he was giving her a major tip. Tim never joked around with things like that. She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her extensive list of contacts. She checked the current time and mentally subtracted six hours before ringing.

"Jim, it's Storm Daniels. Yes, I know the time, but I wanted to talk to you before you got to the office. I wanted to talk privately."

"I don't know anything about aliens."

"It isn't that. Just a quick question. Are NASA going to fire the astronaut who smuggled that bear onboard the space station."

He sighed and eventually said, "No."

"Why not? Isn't that the NASA policy?"

"That's the policy."

"Was the bear authorised?"

"No."

"Then you aren't making sense."

Jim sighed and said softly, "Look, you didn't hear this from me. There was an investigation. No astronaut admitted their involvement. NASA reviewed the last six months videos of everything that was sent. It wasn't there."

"So how did it get there?"

"Nobody knows."

"Has that ever happened before?" asked Storm in shock. What got sent into space was tightly controlled. They didn't want anything that could cause a fire, cause some allergic reaction or disintegrate and have bits all around them.

Another pause. "No, not before."

That evasive answer sparked alarm bells in Storm's head. "Since?

"Look, I'd get fired. Make a request on the health of Randy Rowlins."

Jim hung up before Storm could ask something else. She turned to Tim. "What the f–?"

"I have a contact who implied the bear was not a stunt. Somehow it got to space, and nobody knows how. Don't ask anybody about Randy but do some digging. Was he supposed to do any events, but they got rescheduled etc?"

His editor, Robyn, came rushing across. "Tim, I've just had the call. They are asking for you in person to do a one-on-one interview. They want it to go out live."

"I'll get Aaron on it," said Storm the smirked. "Go talk with your friend."

Tim ignored Storm's friend comment. Tim interviewed lots of politicians, but for some reason the Prime Minister seemed to favour Tim for interviews than any other journalist. He didn't know why, and he didn't really want to ask the PM. That would just be awkward.

"Why live?" Tim asked Robyn, as they made their way back to her desk.

"She feels that it is such an important topic and doesn't want any of it edited."

* * *

The Prime Minister, ever wanting the backdrop to be relevant decided that they would give an interview to Tim Harper at the old Royal Observatory at Greenwich. January wasn't a time to be sat outside, so it was staged with one of the eighteenth-century telescopes behind them.

All that people would see on the screen were Tim and the Prime Minister talking. In reality, there was an entourage on both sides. For Tim there was sound, makeup, lighting, camera people, let alone the producer who organised everything. This would be a nice cosy discussion, with twenty close observers and a few million watching live.

After Tim made his opening remarks, recapping today's announcement, he moved onto the actual conversation.

"Prime Minister, there are two parts to the announcement you made. You talked a bit about the encounter, and then you talked a bit about proposals. I have some simple fill in the gap questions, before some more detailed ones. It feels wrong to call them The Aliens. Like saying, that black guy, or that white woman. Do the alien race have a name?"

"Yes, they call themselves the Reginaddes. It seems they are part of a larger community of different aliens."

Tim paused for a second. That was one of the two names on David's list. Now he was really glad that he'd gone for a coffee. What else did David know and how?

"And why did they make contact now? In your speech you mentioned about us going beyond our solar system. I didn't think we'd sent people much beyond The Moon with some ambition to get to Mars. Sure, we've sent satellites all across the solar system and two have left that, but they are centuries from going to another star system."

"The Human race is full of ingenuity. Look how much we've grown over the last century. The rate of progress keeps growing. We should be proud that we've got to a position that they think we can take part in something like that. We've always thought about ourselves as the country we lived in, or the religion we believed in. Now we can think what a great species we are. We have reached a level where other species have noted us and are interested enough to make contact."

"I went for a walk earlier, and it is all that people are talking about. I didn't see any mass hysteria. Are the countries that sent troops on the street overly paranoid?"

"They did what felt right for them. A lot of countries have discovered it hasn't led to mass riots or panic. There have been a few emergency calls where people thought aliens had landed in the back gardens, but mostly the British have been very British. We keep calm and carry on. I'm sure there are people nervous out there. I'm nervous myself. It is something new. It's something different. It's the unknown."

The prime minister paused for a moment, and Tim let her gather her thoughts. She continued, "But the only difference is our knowledge. We aren't alone. We never were, but we just didn't know it. We now do. The situation hasn't changed, just what we know. There aren't alien spaceships floating around the planet. They stated they would leave us alone to make our decision."

"Have they been here before?"

She gave a small shrug, "They probably have. They know our languages. They have made an assessment on our progress. They couldn't have done that without visiting Earth before."

"These aliens, the Reginaddes, introduced themselves and invited us to join their club. Just like that?"

"Just like that. Rather a surprise to everyone in that room."

"I bet. And the only stipulation to us joining their club is having a world government? What if we don't join? Do they ban us from exploring the galaxy?"

"No. There were no threats. They have technology far superior to ours. Perhaps they've got past the need for war. At the moment we know little about them. What we do know is that we aren't alone. We can't continue to fight over limited resources. There are more opportunities for metals and minerals in our solar system. When the great explorations like Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and James Cook set sail to discover new lands they brought discoveries we had no idea about."

"Isn't that a bit simplistic?" challenged Tim.

The PM smirked a bit. "Not really. There have already been probes looking at the makeup of asteroids. And we now know it is possible to travel between the stars. Think of how this will encourage science and research. We know something is possible, just not how. Instead of wondering if something is possible, they just need to work out what to do."

"You mentioned about a world government. What form is this going to be in and do you think it is feasible?"

"There was no request on the form it should take, just that there was a single rule for the planet. It would be Earth that got admitted, not individual countries. It's less than twenty-four hours since we met them. If the public accept a world government, the format will need to be agreed. So, let's not get ahead of ourselves looking at specifics. At the moment it is coming to terms with our new reality."

Tim decided to play devil's advocate. "There are some out there that are saying we should just stay on Earth. Put Earth first and not expand. Space travel is a waste of money and resources."

"We could do that, but as I said, there is finite resources on Earth. I'm not talking about going to Mars and setting up a big drilling operation there. I'm talking about asteroids. A new frontier. I mentioned names earlier like Columbus, the explorers of our history books. This will be the time for new explorers and new hope. We aren't alone, but it doesn't mean we have to cower."

"The Moon Treaty of 1979 has only 18 signatures and even one country that withdrew. Even the UK never signed it. Is that a good starting position?"

"I'm sure, just like you, there have been a lot of reading on the status of space law. For a lot of countries, it was never relevant. Yet back in 1967 the Outer Space Treaty was warmly received and is signed by over a hundred countries. That is the more fundamental principles that bind us together. That and the treaty on mutual rescue. We are one species. Gender, Religion, Sexuality, Race, Creed. They shouldn't matter."

Tim couldn't agree more. Where he'd gone to school those were the type of virtues that were instilled in them. But he was a journalist, and he couldn't let his personal judgement cloud his job. Well not too much.

"That's a nice sentiment–" started Tim.

The prime minister didn't let him go further than that. "No, that isn't a sentiment. That is how I feel. I'm sure there are people out there that don't feel that, but I can only express my personal feelings. It is my job to lead, not to tell others how to live their lives or how they should feel."

"One final question. Does a world government mean a world currency and a single language? "

"I'm not going to be drawn on the technicalities. As I stated earlier, this is something that isn't even been discussed yet. I'm not wanting to pre-empt those types of discussions."

"You mentioned this morning in your speech to parliament that you wanted the population to have their say. If they don't know what is being suggested, or the options, how can they make an informed choice? "

"And informed they will be. This process has only just begun. I've spent this afternoon talking with other world leaders, just has the other people that was in that room. This isn't something that has been planned for. But it does have our full attention. I challenge the viewers to start to think where they want our species to be, not just on this planet, but beyond."

"Thank you, Prime Minister," said Tim, wrapping up the interview. "Today has been a momentous day which Holly Preston is going to discuss with her guests."

The red, 'live' light winked out. When the sound equipment has been disconnected, Tim offered his hand. "Thank you for giving us your time."

They shook hands. "Tim, please walk with me."

"Certainly," he responded, glancing across at his producer. He just nodded.

They went down the corridor and when they were out of earshot, the Prime Minister said, "You didn't seem surprised with the name of the aliens."

"I obviously didn't spend enough time playing poker while at uni. No wonder why Tom always took my money," responded Tim, taking the slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to the PM.

"What's the other name on here?" she asked after glancing at it.

"I was told those were to two prominent aliens in this region. Even though my source is top notch, I thought this was a bit unlikely. You proved me wrong."

"That's one heck of a source," the Prime Minister agreed, handing the paper back. "Anything else this source can share."

"They said that a new type of spaceship was tested. I've no idea who tested it, or where it was tested or how it is different from any other spacecraft. Anyway, they think this test is why you were approached."

"Two alien species. Did your contact say anything else about them?"

"No. Just it was important to know which one you met."

"That makes it sound like one is better than the other. This concerns me. I'm itching to know more about your contact, but I've learnt that sometimes it isn't a good idea to know where some information comes from. You have Tom's number if your contact thinks there's something I need to know."

"You want me as a conduit?"

"If you want to put it like that; yes. We don't want to make a bad mistake in this. To be honest, we are very much out of our depth. They seem to know about us, but nobody I or any of the heads of government I've talked to have any idea about aliens. All those rumours about area 51 and Roswell seem to now show to be just that; rumours."

"Okay, if I find out more, I'll contact you via Tom. In the meantime, may I suggest you keep that second name to yourself for now."

"Yes, it's always good to have a few cards up our sleeves. This, I think, is our first."