“Hey now …” the big man started to protest.

Zimmer ignored him. “Whereas I am pondering a course of action that would result in the survival of an entire populace and the securing of their homeland for all eternity.”

“That is very admirable.” Dev was not immune to rational argument. It was the scientist’s increasingly strident tone that was troubling him. “How, exactly, would you propose to do this?”

“Since its founding, Israel has been faced with enemies on all sides. Permanently ensuring its safety would mean inducing those who would do it harm to suspend their threats, for all time.”

“A lovely notion,” his wife agreed. “How do you propose to employ alien technology to do that?”

He turned to his wife. “A demonstration. One should be sufficient. If not, another might be arranged. Something impressive enough to convince the country’s most implacable enemies that they would do well to finally agree to an enduring and unbreakable peace.”

She was shaking her head regretfully. “Jakob, I have been married to you long enough to know how your mind works. Your thoughts flow like a river whose direction and current I have learned to recognize. You are contemplating making a threat.”

“A threat?” Dev was aghast as he stared at the older man. “Utilizing alien technology? Leaving aside for the moment any considerations of morality and rightness, how, and with what?” He gestured in the direction of the distant bridge. “Remember what the A'jeii told us? This is a transport vessel. It mounts no weapons. There are no giant death rays on board, no containers full of alien nuclear bombs. Are you going to try and bluff Israel’s enemies the same way the A'jeii and the Olone thought to bluff the Mozehna?”

Moving closer to her husband, Katou-Zimmer looked hard into his eyes. “And what does it matter anyway, Jakob? You are not from Israel: you are from Connecticut.”

His voice was at once affectionate and calm as he replied gently. “My ancestors are—let us say, not from Connecticut. As to why I care—” turning, he nodded toward the silently watching Reed “—ask Gavin. The situation regarding his own ancestors is analogous even if the historical progression is different.”

Dev moved closer. “Didn’t you hear me, Jakob? There are no serious weapons on this alien ship. If there were, Syrenii or Tilenyii would have alluded to them. So what then? Are you going to ask for airtime when we get back to Houston? To put forth your bluff on international television? What happens when one or two leaders in the Middle East call it out? Won’t that make things worse? Assuming, of course, that our own government—you know, the one that rules Connecticut—doesn’t forbid you from embarking on such a folly?”