“How could you find Ultima by visiting Earth?” you ask.
The moment you speak, sparks fly about your head, buzzing like angry bees. You dive to the floor, and cover your face with your arms. The sparks die down, except for a glowing ember that lands near your feet. It flares for a few seconds, then tums gray, then black. Cautiously, you touch it and then pick it up. It's like a tiny smooth pebble you might find on the beach, vet it's denser than lead!
YOU WILL COOPERATE.
The voice is speaking again. Trying to gather your wits, you answer, “I am a human being. Please ...”
The lights flicker. The ship is descending so fast that you are pinned to the floor.
YOU ARE UNSUITABLE.
WE SHALL RETURN YOU TO EARTH.
YOUR MEMORY WILL BE ERASED.
YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN IN SPACE.
You are sitting in your room at home, feeling very strange. What's happened? You remember having boarded the Concorde bound for France, sitting in a seat next to a white-haired man, then...
Reaching into your pocket, you pull out a pebble about the size and shape of a watermelon seed. Why is it so heavy? You tum it over and over in your hand, then toss it at the wastebasket.
It's just a matter of luck whether it lands in the wastebasket or not. You have about a fifty-fifty chance. Does it go in or not?