“I want to know what you know,” said Nils. “I’ve seen talking heads say that the biggest existential truth we could ever learn is that we aren’t alone in the universe, and that’s the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. We haven’t even scratched the surface. We don’t know anything about their civilization. We don’t know anything about why they’re here, or what they want from us. But I think the government knows. I think Cora knows. I think you know.”

“Nils, it’s not as simple as that.” The second he said it, he almost smacked himself. He didn’t even need to say anything else; this confirmed to Nils that he was in the know, and moreover, he had aligned himself with the enemy by wanting to put a filter on the Truth.

Nils was silent for a moment. Then, “If this police report got out, it would be really, really bad for you.”

“Nils,” Kaveh said, jaw trembling in disbelief. “She’s your daughter.”

“And as such, she has as much obligation to share what she knows with the world as you do.”

Kaveh’s breath shook, no anger, just pure astonishment. “Listen, she is in a very, very bad way right now. Something like this going public could push her off the edge—”

“She’s always been dramatic.”

“Dude, you have neither seen her nor spoken to her in five years! You do not know who she is anymore.”

“Okay.” Silence on the other side of the line. Then, “If you really, truly believe she’s a danger to herself, then she should be in an institution.”

Kaveh’s entire body fell. “There is no way I could get you any documentation. They’ve got me under lock and key. I can’t say anything, I can’t take anything.”

“I don’t need documentation, not if it’s from you. I just need a lead.”

Kaveh ran his free hand all over his face and through his hair. “Revolution, huh?”

He could practically hear Nils smile all the way from Germany. “Revolution.”

MARCH 5, 2008

n p r News

As Questions About “Human Shield” Cora Sabino Circulate, Some Remain Skeptical

BY HELEN O’LOUGHLIN

Since becoming the subject of a widely circulated photo in which she put herself between the bodies of two incapacitated ETIs and a gunman, Cora Sabino has to many become the face of a burgeoning peace movement calling for attempting to establish diplomatic relations with alien civilizations.

One leader, however, is evidently not impressed with accolades the young New York native has earned: Senator Todd Julian.

“What many are heralding as bravery, I only see actions that are, at best, naive, and at worst, plain old crazy,” Julian said on Thursday morning. “She clearly means well, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”