I could have stayed here forever.

Somewhere ahead, I heard water-a stream. I followed the sound and-

The forest opened out onto a meadow.

A riot of color, gaudy brilliance, dazzling to the eye!

But such a meadow! Nothing like this had ever been seen on the Earth before!

I stepped forward hesitantly.

Purple ivy, streaked with lavender and white, curled away from me. Black shambler bushes struck silver sparks in the air. Slender red growths rose like fountains, exploding into feathery black and pink fronds.

And over everything- mandala vines.

They captured the eye, they overwhelmed the senses. They were a carpet, they rolled away in endless waves. The mandala flowers piled themselves high; they dripped from stumps of rotted trees; they hung from branches in a riotous celebration of color, a royal display.

I stood and gaped in awe and wonder. Silver and crimson, orange and indigo so dark it was black, magenta, yellow and blue, cascades of hue and shade beyond the eye's ability to differentiate.

And, oh-the smells!

Waves of scent swept over me-fresh baked bread, strawberry jam, thick fresh cream, apple cobbler, peaches-and scents for which I had no names at all. Dark purply scents laced with scarlet overtones: sweet chords of gold and opium perfume. Heady aromas of magic, sparkling spells; doorways into crystal heavens and beautiful trips through Hell.

The forest behind me was forgotten.

Dammit! Why did the invasion have to be beautiful too?

On the morning of the third day, the sensors picked up a worm on the east edge of the meadow.

A quiet voice on the radio said, "I think I've got something." We crowded around the monitors. The big display showed a smallish-looking worm poised on the high end of the slope. It seemed confused. Its eye-stalks swiveled back and forth as it studied the three mottled domes in the middle of the pasture below it. It flowed a few meters forward

-and stopped. Hesitated. Swiveled its eyes. Backward. Forward.

- We went to full magnification. The eyes irised shut and open again. Sput-phwut.

The worm half turned and looked behind itself. Then it swiveled its eyes toward us again.

I felt as if I could read its mind. It was a five-year-old child, seeing something very interesting, but not knowing if it should investigate by itself-or go tell Mommy first.

It made up its mind. This was a well-trained five-year-old. It completed its turn and headed off to the east as fast as it could go. Nothing else happened for the rest of the day.

During the night, the sensors picked up movement on the ridge, but it could have been deer or coyotes.

LIZARD WOKE me up. "Jim-"

"Huh? What?" Everything was dark. "What time is it?"

"Shh. Be quiet. It's almost dawn. I want you to come forward." I rubbed my eyes and fell out of my bunk

"I said, `Be quiet!"' she whispered again.

I followed her forward. "What do you want?"

"Look-" She pointed.

I looked to the monitor screen on the console. I looked out the window. Through the netting, I could see-

There were three bunnydogs sitting on the opposite side of the circle.

"This is it," I said. I looked at her. "Isn't it?" She nodded.

I started unbuttoning my shirt. "We should get started-"

She put her hand on my shoulder. "There's time. We'll do it by the mission book."

"But they could leave."

"I doubt it," she said. There was certainty in her voice. I turned to her.

"How long have they been there?"

"For an hour."

"And you didn't wake me?"

"As mission commander, I felt you needed your sleep. If they're here to communicate, Jim, then they'll wait. And if they're not, then it's a mistake to rush into anything. We'll follow the checklist. I'm calling condition yellow. I have to open two separate channels to Oakland, satellite and direct. I have to wake the observation team and the defense team; I have to activate the high-level monitors. You might as well have breakfast and go through your exercises with Fletcher again. It'll be at least ninety minutes before I'll go to condition green. Probably longer. Until then, my friend, you're still under my command. Got that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"First thing, I want you to put on a medical harness. I want you to stabilize your heart and respiration before you go out there."

"Is it that obvious how excited I am?"

"Just do it," she said, hooking a thumb over her shoulder. "I've got work to do."

I moved. I went and woke up Fletcher, showed her our guests and then the two of us fell into the familiar routine of preparation and clearing. The excitement was growing in me like a bomb. This was worse than Christmas.

Fletcher took me to the back of the chopper and began talking to me low and quietly. At first, I couldn't hear a word she said. All I could think of was the bunnydogs.

"Jim!" Her tone was urgent. "Pay attention."

"Yes, ma'am."

"What are you here for?"

"The bunnydogs. Um, creating a relationship with the bunnydogs so communication can occur." The words fell out like a recorded phrase.

"Sorry, I don't get it. Where are you, James-because you're sure not here with me."

"I'm-sorry. I-guess I'm just excited."

"I know. All right, strip down and put on the harness. Let's see what's going on."

The decision had been made that the contact-me-should be naked. Or as close to naked as possible. To allow the bunnydogs to experience the animalness of the individual first. The physical beingness. I'd voted in favor of shorts. We'd compromised on a loincloth.

As soon as I'd stripped, Fletcher had me slip into the medical harness. She studied her console and frowned. "Is there any part of you that isn't elevated?" she asked.

"Well, there is one," I said, glancing down. "But, if you want-"

"Knock that off." She was all business. "Close your eyes, James. Good. All right. Here's the exercise. Thirty deep breaths. Like I taught you. See how long you can take."

I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. Breath number one. Breathe for your toes. This oxygen is for your toes. Take in as much as you can. Take care of your toes. Hold it as long as you can. Now, let it out. Breath number two. Breathe for your left foot. This oxygen is for your left foot. Take in as much as you can.

I could hear Fletcher and Colonel Tirelli conferring softly in the front of the chopper. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I knew it was about me. I could sense the concern in their voices.

This breath is for your right knee. Take in as much as you can. I was going to go through my whole body this way. I was going to be thoroughly oxygenated. I knew I was letting myself be distracted.

The sounds from the front of the chopper were too negative. If I wasn't ready, they weren't going to let me go. That's what they were discussing. If I was too excited, I wouldn't be able to hold my focus.

Breathe for your stomach. This oxygen is for your stomach. Breathe for your chest.

They stopped talking then and the only sound in the ship was the sound of my own breath.

Breathe for your brain. Take in as much as you can. Hold it for as long as you can.

When I opened my eyes again, Fletcher was sitting opposite me.

"How are you feeling now, James?"

"Better." I added, "But I'm still not ready. I can feel it. I'm too giddy."

"You're doing fine," she said. "It's just that you think this is important. It's not. It's only an oddball little experiment that no one is taking seriously. So there's nothing at stake here. You got that?"

"Yes. "

"Good. So that means you're off the hook, Jim. No matter what happens out there, you can't screw up. Whatever happens, we still learn something. The experiment is already a success. All that's left is to find out the results."