We agreed to go somewhere for lunch and discuss the details of my new job. Job seemed to be too weak a term. Mission, calling, purpose, fate? None of them seemed to fit either. As we left the office I looked at the name on the door which only half an hour before had given me my identity: Mitch Cole - Agency Director. My life suddenly seemed so shallow.

I still felt as though I had entered a reality more bizarre than the dreams I'd left behind upon awakening this morning. Sharon must have sensed my mood. I remember vaguely that she asked me if I was OK, and me mumbling some inane reply intended to politely tell her nothing. We left the office and took the elevator down to the lobby where I checked out of the building. We exited the revolving doors at a fraction of my earlier pace this morning and caught a taxi shortly afterward.

I remember asking Mr. Whittleby where he'd like to go, and he politely suggested a restaurant across town with a good reputation and a menu attractive to those with means, but a modest budget. We talked very little about this morning's business, which in a way was a comfort. It would have felt strange to sit in a public restaurant eating a sumptuous meal with an alien describing his place of origin over a cup of cappuccino in the presence of dozens of interested listening ears. As it was, I could picture every eye staring at us with suspicion, ears cocked to catch a careless word. I barely tasted my food.

After lunch we decided that my apartment was the most logical choice of places to conduct our business, and departed leaving a generous tip. The bus ride was over quickly, possibly because I was so preoccupied. I had to be called back by the driver to swipe my transit card through the reader, something that had never happened to me before.

In my apartment I felt more at ease, and the sense of unreality that had shadowed me since we left the office this morning began to lift. Perhaps it was the comfort of the familiar. Home somehow made things seem real again. I began to feel like I could deal with this new situation with my intelligence and my sanity intact. Mr. Whittleby must have sensed my mind, or had other means of replaying his thought recorder, for he knew just when to speak and break the mood I'd been in since we'd left the office.

" You must have realized by now that this tool is merely a toy. Intergal has so many agencies, businesses, and industries of all types within its ranks that this technology is child's play compared to what's out there and available for the right price. We've watched your people and your planet for generations. Your primitive radio and T.V. broadcasts were like the peeping of a newly hatched bird to our ears, and we've watched you carefully to glean as much information about you as we could before making this overture.

"You especially stood out among many candidates. We know you as well as you know yourself, and we have no doubt that you're the right choice for the job." I was sitting on the couch only slightly at ease, with my feet propped up on an old cushion. Mr. Whittleby was sitting in one of my easy chairs across from me and he at least, appeared to be completely comfortable. I realized that with their mind reading capability the decision makers at Intergal must have had a lot of solid information to draw their conclusions from. It didn't make me feel any better. I wondered what they could understand about me that I failed to see in myself.

" Historically, your fictional writings have portrayed Alien beings as monstrosities bent on mankind's destruction. They've also been seen as beings with superior intelligence who are so far above you that to compare you to each other would be like comparing a microbe to a human. Aliens have likewise been caricatured as benevolent godlike beings with indescribable powers and little or no interest in mankind, except as a temporary curiosity.

" The truth of the matter is far from these images, and yet a subtle mix of them all. There are indeed stellar civilizations out there which have origins, cultures and values so different from yours that should you contact each other by chance or by design a clash would be inevitable. Needless to say, earth would lose. There are others who already know of you and want nothing whatever to do with you. You have nothing to offer them. Eliminating the potentially and admittedly hostile civilizations from a client's trade list is one of the functions of Intergal Traders."

He paused a moment, as if to ascertain my interest, then asked if I'd like to hear how they established their client base. I was indeed interested, and begged leave to go get us a couple of drinks. He waited patiently as I returned with a tray holding two tall glasses of iced tea, a refill pitcher, and a bowl of lemon slices. He continued as I set the tray down, taking a glass for himself.

" First we select a candidate civilization based on certain criterion. Is there sufficient technical advancement? Is there a planetary communication network? Is there potential to understand the need for planetary advancement, or enhancement of existing abilities?" He sipped his tea, and gave a small sigh of pleasure. "Are there abundant planetary and extra-planetary resources within the system of the home planet to favor mutual exploitation?

" Second we look at the dominant power structure of the candidate civilization. Is it possible to establish free trade given the current or potential political system? Is intervention needed to establish a framework for trade? Is the candidate civilization too militant to receive sensitive technology?" He took another sip and complimented me on the tea as he set his glass on the table.

As I thought about the last condition I squirmed a little uncomfortably in my seat. I knew well the record of human atrocities committed over the millennia and had no doubt how man could abuse his fellow man, even with such a simple instrument as was demonstrated to me this morning.

" I'm not reading your mind, but I know what you are thinking. I'm sorry for baiting you like that. I know your history better than you do. We have the ability to explore it in depth that leaves no room for speculation. What matters to us is not that you are capable of wars and atrocities, but are you capable of peace?”

He picked up his glass and took another sip of his tea, and seemed to relish it as he continued, " We believe that you are, with a bit of help. You were right to realize the potential of my little toy. In the wrong hands on this planet you'd destroy much that you've taken generations to accomplish. In the right hands though you have the potential for peace such as this world has never seen. If used properly, it need never get into the wrong hands, for it can be programmed to self select its user to fit certain parameters of operation. Thus any who'd be prone to dictatorial power or megalomania would be shut out from it."

" How can such a small device process so much information? The memory alone required to make coherence out of nonsense must be staggering!"

" Quite right! It uses every molecule of its construction to hold the memory used to process information, and processes at near light speed. There's no better pattern recognition device made, which incidentally this is."

" You mentioned that one of the functions of Intergal is to weed out incompatible civilizations from a client's trade list. You've implied that you've established a list of potentially compatible clients that we could trade with. You must realize that here on earth we have a monetary trade system. What would be the medium of exchange with an interstellar organization such as yours?"

" A simple one which may seem to you to be a regression of sorts: we trade goods and services, raw materials for knowhow. Your planetary system has rich resources that certain parties are interested in. They're willing to do much to help you advance to a stage that would allow you both to benefit by their exploitation."

" A barter system isn't all that primitive. Our monetary system is simply an adaptation of it."

" True." He swirled the last of his tea around, and finished it off.

" What resources could we have that others would possibly be interested in? "

He set his empty glass on the tray and leaned forward, an earnest tone in his voice. " Minerals which are so common on Earth that they've little or no value are worth more than their weight in gold on a gaseous planet with inadequate mineral substance. Your asteroid belt is a potentially lucrative source of trade. Your outer gas giants are vast reservoirs of energy waiting to be tapped into by the right parties." I sat there a moment taking it in. He paused, allowing me time to absorb the idea before continuing.

" Most agreements for resource development take into account the status of the civilization selling the resources first. For example, can they benefit by raising their technological level to a point equal to the purchaser? If so, the purchaser agrees to supply scientific and technological assistance that will bring the two parties in agreement to a state of parity. In exchange they share fifty percent of the available resources not existent on the home planet but within the planetary system.

" If not, as in a situation where two civilizations are already comparable the trade centers more around life forms, artifacts, art, philosophy, and the like."

" You already have some interested purchasers in waiting?" I already knew what he'd say, but I wanted to hear it.

" Absolutely. We're paid handsomely to find the right clients. You might consider us as sort of an intergalactic matchmaking agency."

The potential astounded me. What he was offering involved changing the world so quickly that there would undoubtedly be social shock waves felt globally. I could easily envision the scope of the changes needed to put us on a footing with some interstellar civilization. I had my reservations about the ability of mankind to assimilate them. I decided not to pursue that line of thought yet, but resolved to at a later opportunity. Rather than deal with these doubts, I chose to express another matter which had been nagging at me.

" How in the world am I supposed to make you known to the world without being written off as a lunatic? I realize that your proof to me was quite convincing, but to the observer who is secondary to the proof, I don't think it will have the same impact. If Sharon had been in the room and you replayed my mind to her, she would have wondered where you hid the camera. Surely you realize that you can't prove yourselves to everyone at once without doing something dramatic, and that may have the reverse effect of scaring people from wanting further contact with you."

" We thought perhaps you might be able to come up with some suggestions." He sat there with that deadpan expression on his face again, as impossible to read as a closed book.

" Well, you've certainly put the ball in my court on this one! How am I supposed to tell them about you, when I don't even know who you are yet? You haven't told me where you come from or even if you're human, though you look human to me." I felt exasperated again, and not at all confident of my abilities.

" Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment. We went to great lengths to ensure that you'd find me acceptable. I'm not human, nor am I alive in the sense that you know life. I'm something like what your early science fiction writers would have called an android. I'm programmed with the ability to think and act on my own. You saw me eat at the restaurant, and I assure you the food was consumed, and will be used as an energy source for my needs. I even enjoyed the taste.

" I don't require sleep, but can simulate sleep and all your bodily functions well enough to escape detection. I do have to avoid being examined too closely in one of your medical facilities. You have a saying, ' Beauty is only skin deep'. The same can be said about an android's looks." He looked genuinely amused.

All I could do was stare at him. For yet another time I began to question his sanity, and all thought of the proofs he'd shown me fled far away. When I began to recover my wits, it occurred to me to seek more proof. I had to know that I wasn't going crazy myself.

" This is twice as far-fetched as anything you've told me so far. I don't know about the rest of the world, but I'm not going to be able to take your word on this one."

He sighed and then asked me if I would show him my kitchen. I led him to the kitchen wondering what he had in mind this time. He went directly to my silverware drawer, opened it, took out a steak knife and without hesitation plunged it into his arm. He then withdrew it and showed me the absence of blood. Before I could react he then sliced along the length of his arm, and showed me the opened flesh. There was no blood or muscle beneath the skin, but a tightly packed mass of a sticky fibrous substance. Even as I examined it the wound began to close. New skin formed over the opening and left only a hint that the arm had been damaged in any way. He went to the sink, cleaned the knife, and placed it in the drawer where it had been.

" I'm closer to a plant in some ways than a robot, though far more intelligent than your earth varieties of either. My skin and muscle are a type of genetically engineered bark taken from a host species on a planet in the Rigel system. To touch me, you'd think I'm human. We saw no need to duplicate your inner anatomy, though we might have been able to given enough time."

" I'm convinced. I think I need to go back and sit down."

We returned to the living room and resumed our seats. I felt overwhelmed again, and needed time to think. Mr. Whittleby, for I could only continue to think of him that way, allowed me time to contemplate before continuing.

" I suppose I should thank you for handling me with care. If this got any more bizarre, I don't know if my system could stand the shock. Have you got any more surprises like that?"

" Yes, of course, but all in good time. Shall we continue?" He was so matter of fact I couldn’t help laughing.

" Please do, and don't mind my complaints. I think it must be human nature to dislike the unfamiliar."

" Exactly why we've come to you. We have several clients who desire a lasting working relationship with you. All of them are different life forms, some more acceptable in appearance to you than others. All have something in common besides their desire to trade. They all come from planets which have similar atmospheres and climates to yours. They have all gained the ability to make use of interstellar travel, either on their own, or through trade with each other. All of them stand in need of some of your extra-planetary resources. But most importantly, they all have a firm commitment to a peaceful, stable coexistence."

" Would they be willing to share their knowledge of space travel with us?"

Mr. Whittleby sat forward a little, poured himself another glass of tea, took a sip, and then replied, "Anything goes in trade. Nearly half of them gained their own knowledge that way. Your primitive rocketry is like throwing a stone at the stars, and will always be so. The secret to interstellar travel is not to hurl yourself to the star, but to learn to make the star draw you toward it."

" You mean to use the star's own energy to attract you?"

" Put simplistically, yes."

I realized that the explanation was likely to be far too technical even for an expert and wisely began to pursue a former line of thought. " You said that your skin and muscle were genetically engineered on a planet called Rigel. What about the rest of you?"

" No, I said they were from the Rigel system. Rigel is the star. You really should learn your stars better. The planet is the fifth one out from Rigel, and is one of two that are habitable. Anyway, my bionics were largely designed there in the Rigel system. My enhanced biomolecular memory came from Deneb as did the full integration of my design."

" How did you get to earth? I don't recall any UFO scares lately that could account for your presence. Or are UFO's the myth they appear to be?"

"Do you honestly think we'd be able to travel between the stars without some means of hiding ourselves from prying eyes?”

"I guess no one sees you unless they have the appropriate technology."

" Correct. I don't know what UFO's may be, but we aren't responsible for them. You'd be just as well off to find a Bigfoot and ask him."

He leaned back in his seat with a smile. I enjoyed his touch at humor. I found it incredible to believe the old man was an android. I couldn't separate what may have been programming from what could have been real feelings. He had all our nuances down, and his emotions appeared to be genuine. I wondered if he had any pleasures that he truly enjoyed, or places that he was fond of, or even if he was capable of liking something.

" What do you consider to be your home planet?"

" I don't, not in the sense you do. If I call any place home it would be the central headquarters of Intergal. You have no name for its star system because the galactic center blocks your view of it." He took a lemon slice from the dish and squeezed it into his glass.

" That would mean you're from the other side of the galaxy!"

" Not quite that far, more like the other side of the hub, near the galactic center. What better place could there be for Intergal where the concentration of stars is at it's greatest, and the cost of doing business between them is the least?" He took a tentative sip, seemed to enjoy it and drank nearly half the glass in a gulp.

" Why is it less?"

" A number of reasons. First is proximity. The stars are closer together, so it takes less time and energy to get between them. Second, it takes less energy to travel from the hub inward than from the hub to the rim."

" Why is that?"

He leaned forward and put his half full glass back on the tray. " Everything is drawn to the middle because of a massive black hole at the center of the galaxy. That means it is easier to move resources from the outside toward the center. However, the cost of getting there is extravagant, and thus resource rich outer systems are in high demand because they can ship raw materials inward easier than a resource rich inner system can ship outward."

"That’s a simplistic example. Gravitational pull is a major factor to deal with when computing cost of transport on an interstellar scale. Any craft will have to expend a little extra fuel to fight a natural drift toward the hub when they are traveling in any direction but inward.”

Mr. Whittleby sat back again and took another sip of tea, and gave a little sigh of pleasure. If he was programmed to do that, he sure fooled me. " A natural consequence of this has been great development in the hub regions, and only gradual exploitation of the rim areas. You're fortunate though. By the time the rim areas became needed as they are now their value was increased immensely. As we speak, the black hole is slowly drawing in the center of the galaxy, and all its remaining resources. Operations near the event horizon have gotten too risky, requiring us to look farther afield for our resources. Raw materials are now scarce at the hub, making your solar system incredibly wealthy. When your government enters into the agreement, your entire planet will benefit by it far more quickly and on a far greater scale than others with similar resources have in the past."

" It sounds like we've just won a sort of intergalactic lottery."

" In a way you have. Intergal will not only match you to the best prospective buyers, but our legal and technical support staff will help you negotiate your trade agreements. Without some expert help you'd be grossly taken advantage of, much like your purchase of Manhattan Island for a handful of trinkets." He had a wry look on his face, but quenched it with another sip of tea.

" That's quite a sales pitch. What does Intergal get out of the arrangement, especially if we're dealing in raw materials?"

" Raw materials are only used to get your foot in the door to the galactic community. They're your barter and trade until your system reaches parity. Afterward, you begin to function more normally in the galactic economy. As soon as you are, Intergal requires a percentage of your profits as a finder's fee. The more you advance, the more your industries will produce items of need that others will purchase. Likewise your people will develop a desire for otherworldly products not available to them now. Intergal will be there to help you every step of the way, and we only ask a modest fee for membership in our consortium."

I wondered if Intergal would be as quick to help us deal with the social chaos that would be sure to follow. I decided to probe a little more deeply into the function and purpose of Intergal. " Why was Intergal formed in the first place? I understand the profit motive, but was there anything beyond that?"

" Intergal was formed because it was realized that no one planetary government was capable of all the necessary tasks, and funding to conduct a trade endeavor of any type on an interstellar scale. The beauty of it is that we all benefit, and the more so as newer members are added to the consortium." " If it's so expensive, how did it begin in the first place?"

" Communications came first. The idea was presented to the founding star systems and they began to invest in the groundwork. It took nearly a thousand of your years for it all to come together in its infancy. Initially there were only a half dozen systems involved. Now, through careful management, and many colonial endeavors there are hundreds. Of these hundreds of star systems represented, there are hundreds of thousands of separate enterprises involved, all of whom have invested in Intergal. A profit for us is a profit for them. We've taken few losses in our history."

" What caused the losses?" I wondered if earth would become one of those few.

" One expensive loss happened when a star went nova, and wiped out a system that we'd just begun developing. Another happened before we'd learned to screen our clients better and war broke out between two of our trade partners. The conflict exterminated four star systems before it was ended."

I realized that if it took a thousand years just to get Intergal up and running, Intergal must be incredibly old. " How long has Intergal been operating?"

" Far longer than man has been making his mark on the earth. That's what delights us about you. You've progressed far more quickly than our experts predicted you would, since we first heard your radios chirping through the cosmos. Your creativity alone is your best and most valuable asset in the galactic economy, and will take you far."

" I think I'm starting to get the picture. One picture I lack though is how I'm going to go about introducing this idea to our people. I guess the first thing they'll need is to know that there is indeed intelligent life out there that knows we are here."

" I couldn't have suggested a better beginning myself. I just might have an idea to help accomplish that."

" How?"

He sat forward with a smile, and took another sip of tea. " Have you heard of the SETI program?"

" Aren't they a bunch of crackpot scientists looking for intelligent life with radio telescopes?"

" Hardly crackpots now are they?" He looked offended.

" Oops! You've got a point there. I still need to shift my perspective a little." I felt a little foolish.

" You're familiar with them then. Good. They may be the key to beginning this whole process. We need you to help us send them a message."

" Why do you need me? You've traveled halfway across the galaxy to get here. You already know our planet and culture well enough to pass yourself off as human. You've obviously listened to our radio for decades. Why can't you just broadcast a signal that we'd recognize as extraterrestrial and be done with it?"

" It would have a lot more impact if it were a human voice, preferably a human who could be proven to exist but is now missing from his place of employment. All you'd have to do is give your name, address, place of employment, and other pertinent information. You might also reassure them that you weren't abducted, but were invited and that we're quite good to get to know when given a chance." He drained the last of his tea, and put his glass back on the tray.

" How would you like to go to Tau Ceti?"

“What planet is that?” I asked.

He sighed. “You really should learn your stars better.”