Carl Sagan’s Hunt for Intelligent Life in the Universe Read Online Free PDF Page A

lap in the flat back portion of the vehicle. She was sitting cross-legged in her “Sunday finest.” Hsissh glanced up at her. Her eyes were on the Benjamin’s son, Sergei, sitting in the backseat. You didn’t have to use telepathy or even be human to know she was attracted to him, or that it was one-sided. The sight made the fur on the back of his neck prickle, and he couldn’t say why.

    T he sun was bright above the front lawn of the Church of Three Books. The adults were off talking in the shade of the steeple. Hsissh was draped over Noa’s neck. She was hanging around some boys, of whom Sergei was one.
    “You only think you want to be a pilot,” Jacob, one of Hsissh’s former tormentors, was saying.
    “What is that supposed to mean?” Noa demanded, hands going to her hips.
    Jacob shrugged. “You’ll fall for some boy and you won’t want to be a pilot anymore. My dad says so.”
    And suddenly Hsissh knew what was bothering him about Noa’s eyes on Sergei. She wouldn’t be the first member of any species to be distracted by thoughts of procreation—Hsissh had often been, in this form and others. But she couldn’t afford to be.
    The church doors opened, and the congregation began moving into the building. Spinning on her heels, Noa muttered, “I will be a pilot.” Stroking Hsissh’s tail, she added, “Watch me.”
    Hsissh forced a long purr out of his chest. Her eyes slid to him and she smiled. As they moved into the shady interior and Noa took a seat at the pew, Hsissh desperately hoped that he would be able to see her achieve her dream.
    As soon as everyone was seated, the church leaders—all male, and one for each of the books—raised their arms. “We will open with a prayer.”
    Noa bowed her head and silence swept through the church.
    “Hsissh!”
    The whisper on the waves made his ears perk—the source was very close—as was the smell of fresh rat blood. Peering down the aisle, Hsissh’s nose twitched. He saw an unfamiliar young werfle on its hind legs waving at him. “Isn’t it amazing!” the werfle whispered across the waves. Hsissh blinked and was able to identify the consciousness in the new body. It was Ish. What was he doing here, so far from the human “capital” of Prime?
    Ish put his two middle pairs of paws behind his back, and gestured with the top pair for Hsissh to join him. Hsissh didn’t really want to get up … but some deep social instinct within compelled him, as did the smell of fresh rat blood. He stiffly slid down to Noa’s lap, and before she could react, skittered to the floor and down the aisle. “Fluffy!” she whispered.
    “Shhhhh … ” said Mom. “He’ll be fine.”
    One of the church leaders cleared his throat. Noa settled and bowed her head. There was no sound except for Hsissh’s and Ish’s claws on the wooden floor. Ish’s claws were much louder because his young body was hopping up and down.
    “Do you feel it? Do you feel their consciousness rising?” Ish said, spinning in a circle. Ish was older, wiser, and more prone to reflection and study than Hsissh—who was mostly prone to eating and sleeping—but the body Ish inhabited was young and vigorous. It made Hsissh tired just watching his excitement.
    Hsissh didn’t respond. The first few times Hsissh had come to church he’d been excited, too. He’d felt some of the congregation’s minds touch the wave and experienced the same elation he’d felt when his first blind hatchlings had cracked through their shells. But his hatchlings had soon opened their eyes; the humans never left their bodies.
    “No, they’re not,” Hsissh said. “They’ve been doing this for all of their recorded history.” He’d learned that through Noa’s history lessons.
    “Don’t be such a pessimist,” Ish said. He delicately touched his nose to Hsissh’s, but his hind legs continued to hop. “We’re witnessing evolution!”
    Hsissh didn’t agree. Noa had to become a pilot, so she could get off