Unexpected Opportunity

"Ray, wake up, we're at the old Yasgur farm and what goes better with a 3:30am call than rain."

"Carl, don't quit you're day job to become a comedian, okay? Let's get the ponchos on," Ray said as he reached into the pocket under the seat and got his out.

As they got out of the squad car, Carl and Ray began by swinging their flashlights around looking for what had prompted the call, a possible plane crash.

Ray got on his radio, "Hey, Lucy, Ray here, any word from the airports about any missing planes?"

She answered, "Nope, none missing. I've got calls into Fort Drum and Saratoga Springs to see if they have anything missing, but haven't heard back yet."

"Thanks, Lucy, Carl and I will check the area. It might be a prank. That Renaissance Fair opens in a couple of days."

As they walked the area, they reached the Arts Center and about seventy feet from it and in front of the Bethel Woods Museum was an object. In the rain and dark, it was hard to see it clearly. It reflected their flashlights well enough.

"What the hell is that Ray? Don't see any engines, it kind of looks like a boomerang."

"I've no idea, but I do know it doesn't belong here. Look at the furrow in the dirt, Carl. It came in from the northeast, just missed hitting the museum, and plopped into the field. Mighty fine piece of flying to do that and not hit any buildings at night, with no landing lights on the ground or on it."

"Flying? You mean it's one of ours and there's a crew inside?"

"I was an Eagle pilot in the navy and that's not one of ours. You were right, no engines at all.

Now, it just might be an elaborate prank, but I doubt it. Let's take a closer look and see if there are any markings; gun at the ready."

They walked about ten feet toward the object when a golden-yellow globe just appeared around the object and extended out from it about fifteen feet.

Four gunshots rang out. "Carl, why the heck did you shoot at it?"

"But, Ray, there wasn't any noise, I must have missed with all four shots."

"You're almost as good a shot as I am, you'd never miss at this range an object that big. That field must have deflected the shots. This is no prank. Get Sally, Bill and Keith up here, pronto. I want a perimeter established and we need to find out if anyone was here and saw it."

Jack Armsford was enjoying the sunrise this August morning, on the porch of his year round home. The only thing he wanted when Kristy left him. With the sun now just peaking over the hills, that millennia ago had been made by a retreating glacier, forming what was now known as Keuka Lake. It was serene and relaxing; it also helped keep the chest pain caused by his stage-three lung cancer, making it feel almost nonexistent. His coffee was half gone, but still gave off some steam as it sat next to the crumb-filled plate that used to have two English muffins on it. His phone vibrated. DC, wonder what Dad wants?

"Hello, Dad, no international problems needing your undivided meddling?"

"Morning, Jack, I just happen to need your help, and it's right up your alley."

"I've heard that before, and the phrase 'your alley' seems to have different meanings to us."

"I know, but not in this case. I've already sent a helicopter to get your rear to some dairy farm in White Lake, New York. It's happened, Jack, just what Sagan predicted and CETI's been looking for: an alien ship has landed on Earth! I've sent a unit of the 101st Airborne to secure the location. You're my point man and CETI will be in charge, it'll look better that way. "

He paused. "Yeah, they all know who you are and what our relationship is or isn't. You'll be reporting to me on this one, but this way the public at least feels that the government is out of the loop, and other governments don't think we're keeping it all to ourselves."

"Really? Why haven't I heard anything about this earlier? I am the director of CETI, I think they'd contact me about this."

"True, IF they knew about it and I allowed it. I've now officially informed the director of CETI of the event. There's a communications black out there, only done via the 101st's signals unit and General McDarren."

"So, do I report to General Mayhem, or does he report to me?"

"You report to me, but he controls what communications go out, except those to me, use your cell for that. He's the military commander on the ground."

"Okay, I can't wait to get there and I really do mean that. Aliens on Earth, my God how will that change us?"

The black SUV pulled up to the third checkpoint, soldiers ever-watchful with their guns out. The sergeant checked the IDs of all inside. "Vincent, I will say that General Mayhem will never be accused of a lack of security consciousness," Jack said as they were waved past and directed over to a series of tents.

The door opened and Jack Armsford, and his assistant, Vincent, got out. They could see the top of the field that surrounded the alien ship. According to the report he'd read, it was thirty-five meters across and extended underground. The reason was inside that golden globe, it wasn't crystal clear but it was clear enough. The alien space ship, despite the random arcs that looked like those bolts you'd get when you touched the plasma ball toy with your hand, was readily visible. The ship was a gray-red color in the shape of a crescent moon. He saw three, black, canopy-like protrusions. There were no visible engines, doors, hatches, or seams.

"Isn't she beautiful, Vince?"

Vince had a smile almost as big as Jack's. "Yes, she is, Jack, she sure is.

"How does one describe opportunity, Vince? Do you think this what those Stone Age tribes in the Pacific and Amazon jungle thought when they saw a plane? Our religions, man just think of the headlines. Angels crash land on Earth!"

"I don't know, Jack, and to tell the truth, right now, I don't care. I'm just glad it happened, and that it happened here," Vince replied.

Well, at least it happened before I died.

As he headed toward the command post, Jack thought. How lucky am I that this happened when it did. This will be my Giza, talked about for thousands of years. It'll be studied in colleges and schools worldwide. I'll be this generations Neil Armstrong! I'll be as close to immortal as a mortal can be!

Arriving at the command post, he saw the General. "Good afternoon, General McDarren. How's Ruth and the rest of your family doing?"

The General turned and shook Jack's hand. "They're fine sir, thanks for asking. Welcome to CP-51."

"You're welcome, General; now, please brief me on the situation."

"Sir, an alien vessel landed here seventeen and a half hours ago, about 0200 hrs. Local law enforcement was on scene about forty-five minutes later, a sheriff Raymond Floyd and one of his deputies. They admitted to firing some shots at the shielded ship, missing it. Sheriff Floyd called in three more deputies and established a perimeter. Units of the 101st airborne arrived ninety minutes later. A thirty-mile radius has been cordoned off, nobody allowed in or out. Local airports have been alerted to redirect all air traffic away from this area. The sheriff, his deputies, and twenty-one other civilians are in a detaining tent. All cell phones and other recording devices have been removed and checked along with landline phone records checked. Fortunately, there hasn't been and communication to the outside."

"Good. Have we tried to communicate with the ship?"

"Yes, but no response from the ship, sir. Specialist Cranston can answer any other questions."

Specialist Cranston sat at a desk, monitoring a bank of radios and other equipment.

"Specialist Cranston, would you please explain, for the Director, with a bit more detail what we've done."

"Yes sir. Sir, we've tried AM, FM, short wave, and C.B. We've sent a friendly message of greetings in twenty languages. There was even a suggestion to bring in lights and a computerized synthesizer, like in the movie. Anyway, there has been no response to any of our attempts, nor any attempt from the ship, or at least nothing we've been able to detect. In fact no signals of any kind from her." sergeant Cranston said.

Jack just looked at the filed surrounding the ship. "General, what other weapons, if any, were fired at the shield?"

"Well sir, just some small arms, machine guns, and a LAW. All with no effect... well, actually the effect was most unusual. The weapons just hit the shield and fell to the ground, even the L.A.W. and without exploding. The projectile just stopped when it hit the shield and fell to the ground, like the rest did."

"A pity, but why am I not surprised? The military played with their toys."

"Sir, with all due respect, it's those toys and the men who use them and are ready to die so that you are safe."

"Okay, General, my apologies for my attitude. Please tell me about the shield," Jack said his tone was remorseful and that surprised him.

"It appears to be some type of unusual, magnetic-electrical field. It constantly shifts polarization and charge, with no pattern we've been able to isolate. The shield has no surface temperature difference. Radar doesn't penetrate the shield. No heat, cold, or radiation emanates from the shield. No electrical field either. Those 'arcs' of mauvish light that pass through the field are most unusual.

Video of the LAW being fired at the shield shows that one of them reached the impact point on the shield exactly when the warhead did. Yet, those same videos do show the field, only show a black void on the other side."

"Has anyone approached the shield?"

"We have patrols that stay at least six feet away, nobody goes closer."

"Is it safe to approach?" Jack asked sergeant Cranston.

"Well, uh, yes, I think so Director." he answered back.

"Good, let's take a walk."

The General paled a bit at the request.

"Sir, though the shield maybe safe, we still have no information on the occupants of the ship. They might be hostile and you being the President's son, we can't risk your life."

"Interesting statement, General, you've admitted that we've fired weapons at them and yet you think they might be the hostile ones! Next, how would they know I'm the President's son, and if so, what would that mean anything to them? Maybe the old fashion way of communications will work," Jack said.

"What way is that, sir," the general said with some sarcasm.

"Why, since I see no apple pies, I'll just head on over and ask our new neighbors if I can borrow a cup of sugar," he replied and started for the shielded alien ship.

The general and a team of soldiers immediately followed. It took a few minutes to reach the shield. Jack began started walking around its perimeter. He came to the spot where the LAW warhead was just lying on the ground. "General, how does the warhead on a LAW work?"

"When the warhead impacts a target, the nose cone collapses sends an electric charge that detonates the warhead."

Jack picked up the warhead.

"This warhead looks brand new, like it's just out of the package. Did it hit the shield?"

"Yes sir, but as it hit the shield, those arcs met it."

"Okay, General, but how did those arcs stop its forward momentum, yet prevent the warhead from being damaged?"

"I don't know because that shouldn't have happened."

"Well, an undamaged, yet-fired warhead would be a rather undeniable fact. Somehow those arcs broke the laws of physics, at least as we know them."

As they walked the shields perimeter, the General asked, "Director, why would a race of intelligent beings build a starship, land in plain sight on an alien planet with intelligent life, and NOT want to communicate with them?"

Jack had a sudden and intense bout of coughing, eight or nine in a row. As he pulled his elbow away, he saw a few flecks of blood.

"If you'll excuse me General, I picked a bad month to stop smoking. In answer to your question, based on the ship being at a forty-five degree angle, the furrow it made as it came over the Arts Center, I'd say she crash landed, so their landing was an unexpected event. Maybe it was like the check engine light coming on when you're on a long trip, so you head to the nearest garage in an emergency. As for why they haven't communicated with us, two thoughts: First, maybe to them we aren't intelligent. Second, maybe they are trying to communicate with us and we just haven't figured out how."

"Director, that makes sense" the General said as Jack was intently examining the field.

He slowly started to move his hand closer. Just like the tech had said, Jack felt no heat or cold. He did feel the wind and a slight tingling as the hairs on his arm began to stand up. There was no sparking or did any of those arcs head or were drawn toward his hand. He stopped a couple of inches from the shield. If the wind passes through it why not a person? The warhead wasn't destroyed when it came in contact with it. It just stopped and dropped to the ground. Why not try, not like I'm going to live forever. To the surprise of all, Jack just jumped through the shield.

When Jack came to, he was laying on the floor in a room. Man, my head and body feel like crap. Well, I'm alive, I've my clothes and possessions, and I'm not tied up. The room's about fifteen feet square, no doors or windows. He stood up. "Hello," the seconds seemed like minutes as he waited for a reply. I'm such an idiot! Man's first words with alien life and I manage to say Hello. A Richelieu I'm not.

"Hello! My name is Jack Armsford. I come in peace."

This time, he heard a reply. "Greetings, Jack Armsford. We're glad you come with no harmful intent Are you feeling good?"

It didn't sound robotic at all and in perfect English. "Well, I do feel like I was hit by a truck. My body is all tingly, my muscles hurt, and I have a massive headache. Other than that, I'm just swell. Just what did happen to me?"

"Mr. Armsford, we know what a truck is, but you definitely were not hit by one. You actually jumped through our protective shield. We were unprepared for your action, one we had not considered. We've compensated for that lack of foresight, and it won't happen again. As for what did happen, in terms you would understand, and though not fully correct, you could say that you walked through an electromagnetic wall. Why did you do that?"

"I wanted to meet you, to be the first person on Earth to meet and contact aliens," he said.

The voice answered back. "As correct as that is, we can sense there is more. Was that the only reason?"

Crap, can they read my mind? "Okay, seeing as you have such technology as an interstellar spaceship, I felt that you would have better medical knowledge and could help to let me live longer."

There was a pause before the reply came.

"Mr. Armsford, while possible, we wouldn't do that. Do to your unexpected action, we have examined your biological systems to see if any abnormalities or damage had occurred. We did need to make a few corrections. However, like the rest of your species, you will live the normal seventy-five to eighty revolutionary cycles of your planet around the sun. To grant you longer life would be wrong and against our laws. We had almost finished our emergency repairs when you passed through the shield. Those have since been completed. We'll be leaving shortly and you will be shown the way out. Due to our mechanical failure, your species now knows for a certainty that life outside their planet does exist. Our arrival shouldn't have happened but was unavoidable. We've hidden ourselves from sight and contact as much as possible. We altered our voice and allowed no visual contact. Please follow the open egresses. Goodbye, Mr. Armsford."

An arch appeared in a wall and that led to a hallway, which then lead to another archway and a ramp out of the ship. As he walked down the ramp, his eyes widened and Jack noticed that he was crying. His smile was ear to ear and with a spring in my step that hadn't been there in fifteen years. He started to whistle "Zippity Doo Dah" as he walked out of their ship.

They said I'd live the normal 75 or 80 revolutionary cycles of our planet!

THE END

Bio: Mr. Yorio has degrees in education and operations management. This is his first published story.

E-mail: Jeffrey Yorio

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