Free Anomaly by Peter Cawdron Page B

in the minds of the delegates.
    Structurally, the building was sound, but the sight of the sun streaming in through a hole torn in the side of the assembly hall was unnerving. Once a day, when the anomaly aligned, the corner looked almost normal, but most of the time the wind swirled through the gap, defeating the air conditioning.
    Several diplomatic representatives initially refused to attend the assembly, notably the Chinese and the Germans, but after a flurry of late night phone calls from the State Department, everyone was in attendance.
    Dr Yani-Villiers, the Secretary-General for the United Nations addressed the audience.
    “The events of the past few days are unprecedented in human history. For the first time, we have verifiable evidence that we are not alone in this vast universe. That the creation we call our own is shared with other sentient, intelligent beings.”
    “The appearance of the anomaly has confirmed our greatest hopes while unmasking some of our deepest fears. Our world will never be the same again. We have awakened, as if from a deep slumber, one in which we only ever focused on ourselves, to find ourselves as part of a greater universal calling, one in which intelligence reaches out to find companions. There are many questions, few answers. Today, we have not arrived at a destination, we are undertaking the first steps of an epic journey. And it must be one of peace and understanding.”
    Teller was genuinely surprised by the depth of the Secretary-General's comments. They captured his hopes, his dreams. But he wasn't naive to the reality of international politics and knew there would be competing agendas muddying the waters.
    The Secretary-General rounded out his comments and introduced the President of the United States.
    “My friends,” the President began. “We are living through the most profound of historic events. The significance of contact with an alien intelligence is singularly unique and without parallel in human history. It represents a profound turning point for Homo sapiens as a species. We are no longer the only known sentient species. There is much we can learn, much we want to learn, but through all of this, we stand to learn the most about ourselves.”
    It was a good point, thought Teller, and one he hoped was not lost on the audience.
    “Already, the interest in the anomaly is overwhelming. We are working to provide scientists around the world with a raw, unfiltered, transparent access to the results of our scientific investigation.”
    And that was as far as the President got through what was supposed to be a carefully crafted, twenty minute speech. The floor of the General Assembly erupted in protest with delegates from all quarters crying out to be heard. The Secretary-General called for order. As the unrest abated, the Secretary-General addressed the US President.
    “You can appreciate, Mr President, that the very nature of publishing results itself implies a degree of processing and filtering already. Your results are, by definition, yours, not ours.”
    The President replied calmly.
    “Dr Mason has personally overseen the research team and can describe the protocols that are in place. Dr Mason?”
    From the look on his face, Mason hadn't expected to be thrown to the wolves quite this early. He cleared his throat, and started off-the-cuff.
    “We are broadcasting both raw metrics and internal discussion points directly to CERN in Switzerland to ensure neutrality and accessibility to the scientific community.”
    Again there was a flurry of protests from the floor. The Secretary-General calmed the delegates before settling on a question from the German representatives.
    “We don't want access to the data, we want access to the anomaly itself.”
    “In time,” Mason replied, before being swiftly cut off.
    “Your time table does not interest us, Dr Mason. We want access now, just as you have.”
    “You have to understand,” added Mason, determined to have his say.