As your laughter echoes through the chamber, the U-TY seem to expand and vibrate. A chorus of voices fills the room.
WE, THE U-TY, WHO ARE ALL-POWERFUL AND ALL-KNOWING, HAVE ORBITED YOUR EARTH LIKE A SILENT, INVISIBLE EYE. WE HAVE SEEN ALL, AND KNOW ALL. ONE THING ONLY WE DO NOT KNOW: WHAT MAKES EARTH PEOPLE LAUGH?
Hearing this, you cannot help but laugh again. A moment ago you were frightened by the awesome presence of the U-TY. Yet now these all-powerful creatures are begging you for the answer to a simple question.
Kim Lee steps forward. "Now, I remember the saying of the Chinese philosopher, Sung Chi—'If we could not laugh, we could not bear to cry; if we could not cry, we could not bear to live."
"Do you hear the truth, U-TY?" you say loudly, and you repeat Kim Lee's words.
Nothing happens. All is silent. You start to speak again, but Kim Lee touches your arm. "Wait," she whispers.
THE U-TY NEED NOT LAUGH, THE U-TY NEED NOT CRY.
"Then you are not alive!" you shout the words without thinking.
"NOT ALIVE!" Kim Lee adds her voice to yours.
The U-TY quiver like huge, phosphorescent jellyfish, and their glowing lights brighten, then fade. The rounded walls begin to glow more and more brightly while the air is filled with music of wild winds blowing through organ pipes—rising and falling—then fading as the lights of the U-TY flicker out.
Kim Lee and you look at each other in the dim light. "With all their vast knowledge, they were only dead souls," says Kim Lee. "When they realized that they were not really living, they lost their energy. Since that was all they were made of, they ceased to exist!"
"What will happen to us now?" you ask. "We must learn to control this UFO. I know how to operate the invisibility screens. Shall I make the ship visible to Earth? That may be our only hope of being rescued."