He looked back at her, then over at the others. “Maybe this isn’t some kind of invasion at all. Maybe it’s a trade mission.” Turning, he gestured at the shore of the lake where the alien shuttle craft had been hovering moments ago. “Maybe all the pugnaciousness Vantolos expresses is nothing but a negotiating ploy to get a better deal. And mentioning that their other contact teams are also negotiating with the Russians and everyone else is nothing but a similar ploy.” He thought a moment. “Or maybe what we’ve been hearing as belligerence is just their normal manner of speech. They may have learned our languages, but that doesn’t mean they’ve mastered the inflections and tonalities.”

“That’s a lot of maybes.” Reed looked dubious. “‘Maybe’ you’re wrong, and a misstep in interpretation of what’s actually going on could have serious repercussions. Like the loss of a major metropolitan area.”

Dev nodded slowly. “Possible. Though despite the evidence in the form of their ship, we don’t actually know what, if anything, they’re capable of. If this visit is some version of alien commerce and their vessel isn’t a warship of some kind, maybe all their threats are just that. Nothing but bluff to secure the best covenant.”

The big man considered. “Are you willing to risk, say, Washington or Brussels on that?”

“It’s not up to me.” Turning away from Reed, Dev gazed out at the calm water of the bay. He thought of his father, who always seemed to know how to make the right decisions, even if they only involved a few dollars. “Like the rest of you, I’m just here to offer my opinion. It falls on the shoulders and minds of others to make those kinds of decisions, thank Rama.”

“I would like to know,” Zimmer murmured, “if the same proposal has been put in exactly the same fashion by other alien negotiators to our counterparts in Moscow, Beijing, and Brussels.” He favored Dev with a fatherly smile. “If so, that would indeed suggest a kind of bargaining is in progress. The implications are—interesting.”

“Yes,” agreed his wife. “First demands, then threats, followed by an offer to trade technology for—what?”

“It doesn’t matter,” her husband insisted. “As Dev implies, if you can make demands, why subsequently resort to bargaining? Why not simply continue to issue demands?”

Pavesi looked thoughtful. “Perhaps that’s how they are. Maybe it’s their culture. To swing wildly between threats and offers of cooperation.”

“Great,” muttered Reed. “We’ve been invaded by all-powerful manic depressives.”

“I don’t know.” Dev was shaking his head. “Something just doesn’t feel right. About all of this.”

Reed admonished him. “Feelings don’t enter into it.”