Second Landing Page 2

coldwhere I'm going. You too. Sure we don't want to change our plans andland in the southern hemisphere? It's summer there."

  "I'm afraid not. The great powers are in the north. They are the ones wehave to reach to do the job."

  "Yeah, but I was thinking of that holiday you mentioned. We'll berunning straight into it. That won't help us any."

  "I know, they don't like their holidays interrupted. It can't be helped.We can't wait until it's over."

  "I'm aware of that," said Bal. "Fill me in on that holiday, anything Iought to know. Probably religious in origin. That so?"

  "It was religious a long time ago," said Ethaniel. "I didn't learnanything exact from radio and TV. Now it seems to be chiefly a time foreating, office parties, and selling merchandise."

  "I see. It has become a business holiday."

  "That's a good description. I didn't get as much of it as I ought tohave. I was busy studying the people, and they're hard to pin down."

  "I see. I was thinking there might be some way we could tie ourselves inwith this holiday. Make it work for us."

  "If there is I haven't thought of it."

  "You ought to know. You're running this one." Bal looked down at theplanet. Clouds were beginning to form at the twilight edge. "I hate togo down and leave the ship up here with no one in it."

  "They can't touch it. No matter how they develop in the next hundredyears they still won't be able to get in or damage it in any way."

  "It's myself I'm thinking about. Down there, alone."

  "I'll be with you. On the other side of the Earth."

  "That's not very close. I'd like it better if there were someone in theship to bring it down in a hurry if things get rough. They don't thinkmuch of each other. I don't imagine they'll like aliens any better."

  "They may be unfriendly," Ethaniel acknowledged. Now he switched amonitor screen until he looked at the slope of a mountain. It wassnowing and men were cutting small green trees in the snow. "I'vethought of a trick."

  "If it saves my neck I'm for it."

  "I don't guarantee anything," said Ethaniel. "This is what I wasthinking of: instead of hiding the ship against the sun where there'slittle chance it will be seen, we'll make sure that they do see it.Let's take it around to the night side of the planet and light it up."

  "Say, pretty good," said Bal.

  "They can't imagine that we'd light up an unmanned ship," said Ethaniel."Even if the thought should occur to them they'll have no way ofchecking it. Also, they won't be eager to harm us with our ship shiningdown on them."

  "That's thinking," said Bal, moving to the controls. "I'll move the shipover where they can see it best and then I'll light it up. I'll reallylight it up."

  "Don't spare power."

  "Don't worry about that. They'll see it. Everybody on Earth will seeit." Later, with the ship in position, glowing against the darkness ofspace, pulsating with light, Bal said: "You know, I feel better aboutthis. We may pull it off. Lighting the ship may be just the help weneed."

  "It's not we who need help, but the people of Earth," said Ethaniel."See you in five days." With that he entered a small landing craft,which left a faintly luminescent trail as it plunged toward Earth. Assoon as it was safe to do so, Bal left in another craft, heading for theother side of the planet.

  * * * * *

  And the spaceship circled Earth, unmanned, blazing and pulsing withlight. No star in the winter skies of the planet below could equal it inbrilliancy. Once a man-made satellite came near but it was dim and waslost sight of by the people below. During the day the ship was visibleas a bright spot of light. At evening it seemed to burn through thesunset colors.

  And the ship circled on, bright, shining, seeming to be a little piececlipped from the center of a star and brought near Earth to illuminateit. Never, or seldom, had Earth seen anything like it.

  In five days the two small landing craft that had left it arched up fromEarth and joined the orbit of the large ship. The two small craft slidinside the large one and doors closed behind them. In a short time thealiens met again.

  "We did it," said Bal exultantly as he came in. "I don't know how we didit and I thought we were going to fail but at the last minute they camethrough."

  Ethaniel smiled. "I'm tired," he said, rustling.

  "Me too, but mostly I'm cold," said Bal, shivering. "Snow. Nothing butsnow wherever I went. Miserable climate. And yet you had me go outwalking after that first day."

  "From my own experience it seemed to be a good idea," said Ethaniel. "IfI went out walking one day I noticed that the next day the officialswere much more cooperative. If it worked for me I thought it might helpyou."

  "It did. I don't know why, but it did," said Bal. "Anyway, thisagreement they made isn't the best but I think it will keep them fromdestroying themselves."

  "It's as much as we can expect," said Ethaniel. "They may have smallwars after this, but never the big one. In fifty or a hundred years wecan come back and see how much they've learned."

  "I'm not sure I want to," said Bal. "Say, what's an angel?"

  "Why?"

  "When I went out walking people stopped to look. Some knelt in the snowand called me an angel."

  "Something like that happened to me," said Ethaniel.

  "I didn't get it but I didn't let it upset me," said Bal. "I smiled atthem and went about my business." He shivered again. "It was alwayscold. I walked out, but sometimes I flew back. I hope that was allright."

  In the cabin Bal spread his great wings. Renaissance painters had neverseen his like but knew exactly how he looked. In their paintings theyhad pictured him innumerable times.

  "I don't think it hurt us that you flew," said Ethaniel. "I did somyself occasionally."

  "But you don't know what an angel is?"

  "No. I didn't have time to find out. Some creature of their folklore Isuppose. You know, except for our wings they're very much likeourselves. Their legends are bound to resemble ours."

  "Sure," said Bal. "Anyway, peace on Earth."

  THE END

  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_ January 1960. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.