Book 4: Chapter 4: Collection Run
Herschel
October 2332
New Pav
I watched on the monitor as the drones chivvied the ingots into the hold. As each massive block of metal arrived, roamers wrapped it in cable netting and carefully winched it up against a wall, then tied it down. We’d have raw materials for just about any project we cared to take on—for a long time.
The deal Jacques had struck was certainly efficient. Because Neil and I had been running around from system to system for the last fifty years or so, we had not had much opportunity to stop anywhere and stock up. And in any case, the residents of those systems would not have been happy with us poaching their natural resources.
We’d contacted the Pav on the way in. The kindest description I could give for their attitude would be curt. I guess Jacques was right about them. The thought made me sad; overall, we hadn’t been having a lot of luck with alien species. Between the Others, the Pav, and the Deltans, I was starting to wonder if it was outright impossible for mutually alien intelligences to get along. And if the local area was at all representative, there must be a lot of intelligences out there. Eventually, we’d run into another starfaring species with a technological advantage. That made war—and possibly the extermination of humanity—statistically inevitable.
I shared my thoughts with Neil, who was, as usual, draped over his chair sideways. “Jeez, Hersch, that’s gloomy even for you. You need a new hobby. Or a hobby at all.”
“Har de har. But what’s wrong with my logic, Neil?”
He sighed and was silent for a few mils. “Nothing, I guess. So what do you want to do about it? We’re still pond scum.”