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We stayed three days at the resort, during which the ground rules were established that would govern our subsequent visits, as well as their visits to the ship, and to Bohr's planet, which Olaf had offered them.
A standing team of tour guides was arranged by them, who would take us to any place of our choosing, answer any question we would care to ask; in return we would hold a news conference once a week and share our discoveries. It was an easy bargain for us, and a rich one for them, as they assured us. Their visiting teams, of course, were afforded the same hospitality. The plan was ideal, almost too good to be true, or rather, too good to come true. Unfortunately the dream didn't least for the length of time we had envisioned.
The first ten weeks went fine, until one day; the ship's deep space sensors recognized the approach of a substantial fleet of space vehicles. The sighting was shared with our friends on the planet after Martin and I had gone out to the fleet to confirm what we had suspected. The news, understandingly, initiated a great scare among them.
The planet had no defenses against a fleet of the kind that Martin and I had seen, a fleet of slow moving battle wagons, bristling with gun-like objects on all sides, which were potentially capable of firing nuclear weapons. Fortunately, their approach was slow. The 'O' people had at least six weeks to prepare a reception for the fleet.
In a sense, we were most fortunate to have come at the time we came. In times of crisis, the true color of a people becomes much more apparent than it normally would. It came as a great surprise to all of us that we were permitted to take an active part in the discussions about the planet's defense. We were limited only to the extent that our electronic translation system was able to keep up with the flow of the 'O' people's fast language, especially when they were speaking emotionally in the heat of the most crucial debate that likely ever took place on this planet. Nuclear weapons were mentioned. They said they had plenty of them, and beam weapons, and all sorts of high velocity rail guns. They had prepared themselves so thoroughly for this encounter that I couldn't see what the great excitement was about.
I soon found out the reason.
In spite of their immense stockpile of armaments that could have destroyed the fleet many times over, they were afraid. They had a deep-seated reluctance to deploy any weapon that would harm or even kill living beings. The very idea of having to destroy other people, even to stop the threatening ships, appeared to churn their stomachs. It was as if the 'O' people were at war with themselves rather than with the fleet.
One of the moderators of the discussion panel commented to us that their civilization would much more likely withstand the onslaught of violence, even the enormous destruction the fleet would most certainly cause, than it would be able to survive the introduction of violence into their own culture. Thus, they couldn't allow it, not even if it was vital for their physical defense. In a very real sense, these people were fighting for their survival before the war had even begun. They were sitting on an arms cache so huge, that a fraction of a percent of it could obliterate the oncoming fleet in deep space, with complete safely and long before the fleet came into range to harm them. But they couldn't use any of it. They felt they were doomed, no matter what they did.
Werner Heisenberg told the man not to worry. He told him that Olaf would think of something. He always had in the past.
"No Heisenberg," I interrupted him, "Olaf isn't Merlin the magician!"
Werner just smiled. "Just you wait and see!"
I suppose I should have realized by then, that whenever Olaf gets into the act the most exotic ideas come to light. Maybe his genius could outshine that of the 'O' people. After all, the 'O' people hadn't developed the Bohr/Miller effect yet, but he had.
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Stories about
War
from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche
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