Experimentally, Rebecca attempted to sit up, only to be gently held down by Lisa. "Whoa, easy does it. You need to give your body a chance to recuperate."
"Recuperate?" she said, her brows knitting together. "From what?"
"You've been in a coma for two weeks since shortly after we arrived."
"Arrived? Where are we?" Rebecca asked.
"2021 PK."
The memories returned with such force that Rebecca sat up and gasped for breath like a drowning person breaking through the surface. "What? We have to get out of here! The Torlig—the Torlig might be blending...waiting in disguise...we...we have to take off now!"
Startled, Lisa jumped back, then immediately put her hands on Rebecca's shoulders in an effort to steady her friend's shaking body.
"What are you talking about? Relax. Everything's okay."
She could see it all vividly: her capture, the "rescue" by Sikaris, the trial before Breuun, the Mrdangam, the Ryazan, the caves, the destruction of the Vanguard...
"The Vanguard!" she cried in amazement. "We're inside the Vanguard!"
"Yes," Lisa said, worry etched on her face. "Of course we are."
"But I saw...it was destroyed! How did you...they told me you were dead. What about the others?" she said as she brushed aside Lisa's hands and tried getting out of bed.
"Oh, no, you don't," Lisa countered, pushing Rebecca back down. "The others are fine. Now—"
"You don't understand!" Rebecca suddenly shouted, shoving Lisa away from her, her hysteria fueling her strength. "They're out there! We must—"
The door suddenly opened behind her, and two men rushed in. Rebecca froze in midsentence at the sight of them. "Captain Coffner? Ricky?" she breathed in surprise. Shaking her head as if to ward off her shock, she continued her urgent ranting. "Quick. We may yet escape. We have to take off now before—"
"Calm down, Rebecca. You need to rest," the captain said, attempting to help Lisa keep her patient from leaping out of bed.
Struggling against the three of them, Rebecca fought like a caged lioness. "Let go of me! You...must...listen!"
In her panic, Rebecca didn't hear Captain Coffner's command to Lisa, and neither did she notice as Lisa picked up the tranquilizer and administered the dosage. All she remembered was a blackness that grew and enveloped her until she fell unconscious.
Rebecca slowly regained consciousness to find that her entire body ached as if she had been run over by a rampaging elephant. Even the slightest movement of her arm caused her to groan in pain. Opening her eyes, she saw two familiar faces leaning over her.
"Try to relax, Rebecca. You overdid it last time. Your muscles were weak from not being used, and you pushed them to their limits," Captain Coffner said with concern.
Still groggy from the aftereffects of the tranquilizer, Rebecca remained silent.
"Your family sends their greetings," he continued. "They were extremely relieved to hear that you've come out of your coma. Mission Command also sends their regards."
As the effects of the drug began to wear off, the captains words began to penetrate her muddled mind. "Cap...captain... Lisa...we need to..." she said weakly.
"Now, now. Let's not start with that again," Lisa said warningly. "I'm sorry we had to sedate you, but your body wasn't ready for the strain, and we were afraid you'd hurt yourself."
Rebecca shook her head slowly. "No. You don't...understand. There are...creatures...out there."
Captain Coffner laid his hand gently on Rebecca's arm. "We've searched the entire area during the two weeks that you've been in a coma. We even flew to different locations around the planet, hoping for some signs of life. Trust us, there's nothing out there. I'm sorry to break the news to you, but our primary mission has failed, Rebecca. This planet is an inhospitable, lifeless rock. No aliens, no animals, no vegetation, not even any microbes."
"But...I've seen them. They can blend in...you can't see them. They captured me...I...was trying to escape. We went under the mountain."
Lisa leaned closer to Rebecca, her voice comforting. "Rebecca, when I left to help Team One repair their MDU, you were fine. After we brought the units online, we returned to find you unconscious, lying facedown just inside the clearing around the ship. You were only by yourself for about forty-five minutes.
"We got you back to the ship and did a medical check on you. Your vital signs were normal, and you seemed perfectly fine in all other areas," Lisa continued. "Although you appeared to be in some sort of coma, you had an unusual amount of brain activity, almost as if you were still awake. It sounds like you had a very vivid dream."
A dream? Rebecca closed her eyes momentarily. Could it really have been just a dream?
"Return now and remember." The words echoed in her mind as she saw Sikaris's eyes staring out at her from behind a veil of whiteness. No. It was too real. There has to be more to it than that.
Opening her eyes, she looked at her friends and shook her head in confusion. "No. I was there. I remember everything. The name of this planet is Ka'esch. There's a group of aliens called the Grinathians. They were helping me." As she spoke, the memories cleared away the residue of the sedative, allowing her to focus her mind. "Sikaris, Prin, Rysth-nuul—I can tell you all their names, what they looked like, even how they smelled."
Captain Coffner and Lisa exchanged concerned glances.
"I'm not crazy! I know what I saw!"
"Rebecca, think for a moment," Lisa said intently. "You told me that I had died. Do I look dead to you?"
"They told me you were dead, but I never saw any proof," she responded, her voice rising in pitch. "Maybe they lied to me. Maybe..."
"But you also said that you saw the Vanguard destroyed. Yet here we are inside of it."
Rebecca crinkled her forehead in concentration and closed her eyes tightly, trying to make sense of everything. "I don't know. Maybe they...had another one." Looking up at them, she pleaded. "We must get off of this planet! Please!"
"Calm down, Rebecca. The others are loading the probe into the hold as we speak," Captain Coffner said. "Once it's secure, we'll be ready for liftoff. If all goes as planned, we should be leaving in another hour or two."
"And the MDU grid? Is it still functioning?"
"Yes, yes," the captain said, beginning to lose patience. "In the meantime, you need to rest. I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Lisa, may I speak to you for a moment, please."
As the two of them stepped over to stand near the door, Rebecca leaned back, her emotions simmering between nervousness and controlled panic. An hour or two. Will that be quick enough? Will the Torlig or V'skir or some other clan find us before we can lift off? How can I make them understand?
Once Lisa and Captain Coffner finished their conversation, the captain excused himself and left the room. Walking back over to where her patient lay, Lisa smiled. "Now before we let you out of bed, let's check your vital signs."
Rebecca tried to force herself to relax, letting Lisa perform the needed tests. Staring blankly at the wall, her thoughts began to wander, reflecting on what Lisa and the captain had said. Am I going crazy? If it wasn't a dream, then how did I get away from the Torlig arena, and how could the Torlig have copied the Vanguard so quickly? But it all seemed so real. I can still smell the burning fuel from the destruction of the ship and the taste of the sand from the arena. Could it all really have been nothing more than a coma-induced hallucination? And what put me into the coma in the first place? Was it some kind of shock brought on by my fear of an imagined moving light?
Lisa's voice halted her train of thought. Turning her head to look at her friend, she said, "I'm sorry. What did you say?"
Her attention focused on reading the blood pressure gauge in her hand, Lisa merely repeated her question without looking at Rebecca. "I was just wondering how you got that scar on your arm. I didn't remember seeing it before we left Earth. Did this happen on the trip here?"
Rebecca turned her head even further to look at her left arm a
s Lisa removed the blood pressure gauge. What she saw made her heart stop suddenly with alarm and astonishment. Just above the elbow was a nasty burn scar that was almost three inches in diameter. She almost cried out in pain as the memory of the Mrdangam's acid searing through her flesh flooded over her like a torrent of rushing water.
Lisa, seeing Rebecca's distress, became instantly concerned. "What is it? Becky, are you hurt?"
Her barely controlled fear broke through its thin leash and burst out like a caged animal suddenly released. "It...it was real! Oh my...oh...we...we have to..."
"Rebecca, look at me!" Lisa commanded, grabbing her by the shoulders. "We're safe here, nothing's going to—"
"But you don't understand!" Rebecca said, cutting her off. "It was real! I can prove it. This scar is from a wound I received when a Mrdangam spit acid on my arm."
"A what?" Lisa said in bewilderment.
"A Mrdangam. It's a dragon-like alien that spits acid. They live on the mountain. That's why we have to leave quickly!"
"Rebecca, listen to yourself. A dragon? Spitting acid? Do you really believe you saw these things?"
"Yes! How else do you explain this?" she shot back, pointing at her arm. "You may not believe me, but I know these things are out there. If you're not going to...wait. What are you doing? Stop it. Lisa, I'm...not...crazy."
The last thing she remembered before the sedative took effect was the look of profound sadness on Lisa's face.
Before she was even fully conscious, Rebecca could feel and hear the rumble of the Vanguards engines firing, creating a steady background hum. Opening her eyes, she stared around at the familiar surroundings of her makeshift hospital room. The lights were turned down low, and music played softly in the background. The overall effect was soothing, and Rebecca, not yet fully awake, drifted peacefully in the calming ambiance.
The sound of the door opening and closing softly behind her dispelled the relaxing atmosphere and brought her mind closer to full alertness. Turning her head, she saw a shadowy form approach her bed. Before she could inquire about the person's identity, the visitor spoke.
"It's me. Lisa. I'm glad to see you're waking up again."
"What...what happened?" Rebecca said, still groggy.
Lisa sat down in a chair near the bed and situated it so she could see Rebecca easily. "Before I tell you that, I want to let you know that we're on our way home. We left 2021 PK an hour ago."
Rebecca came fully awake now, but this time, Lisa's news lifted a great weight from her shoulders. "You mean...we actually made it? We...we weren't attacked?"
Lisa smiled and shook her head. "Everything went smoothly. No problems."
Sinking comfortably into her bed, Rebecca closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Home.
"I'm sorry I had to knock you out again, but...well, with your state of mind being what it was, I thought it'd be best if you were unconscious until we were safely on our way," Lisa said apologetically.
With her eyes still closed, she merely nodded to her friend in understanding.
"Also, I wanted to tell you that all your vital signs look normal, so once you feel up to it, we can get you up and about. Until then, I'll leave you alone and let you rest. If you need anything, just give me a buzz," she said as she handed Rebecca a commlink.
"Thank you, Lisa," Rebecca said with an appreciative smile. "Thank you for taking care of me."
"Hey, no sweat, Gunny."
Rebecca was watching as Lisa turned and prepared to leave when a sudden thought struck her. Reaching out, Rebecca grabbed her arm. "Lisa, have you seen my journal?"
"Yeah. It's right here, along with some of your other stuff," she said, indicating a drawer built into the wall near the bed.
"Thanks," Rebecca said softly, trying not to let any of her suddenly turbulent emotions reveal themselves, lest Lisa decide to sedate her again.
As the door slid shut, Rebecca sat motionless, staring intently at the drawer as if she could pierce its metal exterior by merely gazing at it. Could it be possible? Stretching out a trembling hand, she slowly opened the drawer and removed the device. Cradling it gently in her hands as if it were an armed explosive, she held her breath and turned it on. The machine sprang to life as usual. Entering the access code, she cycled through the menu with shaking hands, looking for the list of previous entries.
With each passing second of searching, her heart beat more rapidly. Finally finding what she was looking for, Rebecca inhaled sharply as the screen displayed the number of entries contained in the machines memory: six. She nearly dropped it in shock. With trembling fingers, she opened the last entry and heard her own voice speaking words of despair from within the Torlig prison. With her thoughts scattered and confused, she shut off the recording. It's all here! All the entries I made while on Ka'esch. I was right! It wasn't a dream! I have to show this to the others. This is proof that... She stopped midthought, her body halfway out of bed. Slowly, she sank back down. No. They still wouldn't believe me. They'd probably end up sedating me again. Not to mention I need to think this through and figure out for myself exactly what I believe happened before I start trying to convince others.
As she sat in deep reflection, the soft music played continuously in the background, completely unnoticed by the room's lone occupant.
Rebecca stared out the viewport at the distant stars as they passed silently by the rapidly moving vessel, the ever-present rumble of the engines beneath her feet comforting her like a soothing massage. With her mind at peace for the first time in recent memory, she sighed contentedly. Pressing the record button on the device in the palm of her hand, she began to speak.
Journal Entry #7
I knew this trip to 2021 PK would be life-changing. I just never understood how deep that change would go. The very foundation of everything I have believed and built my life upon has been shattered. What I once thought was true has been proven false, and what I once thought impossible I now believe possible.
Even though the Cortex Propulsion Drive has been running at full speed, it still can't match the speed of the laser sail. It has been almost four months since we left 2021 PK, the world that I will forever refer to as Ka'esch. We should be arriving at Earth within the next couple of days. I can't wait to see my husband and family, yet I'm also somewhat apprehensive. I have so much to tell them, and I've changed so much. I pray they'll understand. But before we arrive, I want to record my thoughts about my experience on Ka'esch, for I believe that I finally comprehend what happened to me there.
Growing up in church, I remember hearing many stories of people having visions and meeting angels. As I matured, I came to the conclusion that they were just that: stories. Stories made up by imaginative people to get across some moral idea. A fable. But now, after what I've experienced, I'm forced to reevaluate my own beliefs, for my experience has direct similarities and parallels to those supposedly fictional accounts.
I have never believed in the existence of a Creator God. Yet now, how can I deny it? I could've written off the whole thing as a delusion or hallucination, but how can I write off a physical scar or the recordings in my journal? Are they figments of my imagination? Even if I could dismiss them, even if it was just a dream, the arguments made by Prin and Sikaris against evolution are still valid.
It seems that I've based my life on a lie. Evolution is a bankrupt theory that fails to account for all the complexity we see around us. Logic demands a Creator, and the evidence, when examined objectively, points to His handiwork.
And for some reason, He has chosen me to tell others. I'm thankful that He has left me with my journal recordings. For not only are they proof that I'm not crazy, but they'll also provide me with a starting point for my new research.
So where do I go from here? Should I let the others listen to the journal? Would they believe me? No, I don't think so. I know I wouldn't believe me. Maybe my family will understand, but I doubt anyone else will.
Sikaris said, "The Almighty Lord of the universe has
brought you here to show you many things. Never forget what you were shown and all that you have learned. You are the chosen vessel—chosen to deliver the message to those who will listen." My calling seems clear: I must study and refine my understanding of the scientific and logical arguments for creation and against evolution and then share that knowledge. I know it won't be easy, and it may even cost me my job, but when the God of the universe marks you and interrupts your life, it's bound to make an impact.
But before I begin, I have one thing I must do first. In order to tell others about the Creator's work, I must find out who He is. There are so many religions and opinions as to who God is. Will I even be able to know for certain which idea or theology is the correct one?
It's one thing to believe that God exists and that He created everything, but it's quite another to find out who He is and what His purpose is for your life. But no matter what the outcome, this much I know: He has personally called me, and I must respond.
Epilogue
REBECCA GRABBED the sides of the podium with confidence, her posture relaxed, and her mind alert. Scanning the crowd gathered in the hotel conference room, she locked gazes with as many of the attendees as she could. Taking a deep breath, she clicked the remote in her hand to switch the screen to her final slide.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what we must understand is that we can firmly say that evolution is impossible not because of what we don't know but because of what we do know. Because of our modern understanding of chemicals, it would be foolish to continue to pursue ways of transmuting lead into gold. In the same sense, we know that information cannot be created randomly, we know that complex organs cannot be put together step-by-step, and we know that mutations cannot create genetic material, yet some scientists spend countless hours and billions of dollars every year trying to do just that.
"Instead, we should simply face the cold, hard facts—the universe and all life must have been created. But many don't like that conclusion because of the implications. If we were created, then we are no longer the highest authority. We no longer set the rules of morality. They would prefer to believe in the impossible.
Logic's End Page 28
