Another thought from elsewhere answered, and yet Professor Kennicot, somewhat, was tuned in: "Impossible. The signal picked up was very close to telepathic frequency."
It wasn't until two days later that Professor Kennicot discovered that he wasn't the only one who had experienced the auditory hallucination. The entire college was babbling about how Professor Johnson had come running out of the Chemistry Lab, which was two doors away from Physics, holding his head and babbling nonsense.
Professor Kennicot made a beeline for the hospital and had a quiet discussion with Professor Johnson, a discussion which is now historic. They discovered that not only were both their I.Q.s over one hundred and eighty, but that both of them, sitting together discussing the matter, were simultaneously getting new messages which nobody around them was receiving.
It wasn't long after that, of course, that many of the most brilliant men on Earth were reporting the same hallucinations, and as news of it spread it became obvious that not all could be insane in exactly the same way with the same thoughts. Excitement and puzzlement ran tremendously high because, although these intellects of Earth could receive telepathic messages, they were not advanced enough to send. They only knew what was being messaged to them; and this continued to be so until feverishly working physicists pinned down the telepathic wavelength mechanically. That was when conversations were begun and the entire Earth was able to listen in, by translation and regular broadcast.
The discussions did not go well. The beings from outer space would not answer questions. They only asked. The first thing, apparently, that made them cautious, was the first official question from Earth.
"How is it that we understand your thought even though many of our scientists speak different languages?"
The whole world awaited the first answer. None came. There was a silence lasting four hours. Then came a message:
"Your question indicates you may be a low grade of developed life. We shall investigate and fit you into our needs according to your capabilities."
A thrill of horror went around the world. What kind of monsters were these? What would they do? The uproar that ensued was full of frantic military preparations. Bombs were readied in the atomic planes, rockets were raised in their cradles adjustable to any orbit. Unfortunately, nobody thought to conceal this, and some fool had failed to shut off the telepathic wavelength. One morning the world awoke to a non-electrical society in which nothing electrical would work.
"We have put a field of force around your planet," came the message. "There must be no violence. Be not afraid. We come as friends. We will appear now and investigate. Be calm."