Both were quiet a moment. Tattie looked out the window and over the surface of the Moon. "Is that Earth?"
"Yes."
"It is so much like Nazer."
"Not really," Cris said, shaking his head.
"Are we seeing your Moon again?"
"Yes."
"How sad; it is lifeless and cold."
"There's no atmosphere, darling."
Tattie looked up at Cris and exclaimed, "There's no atmosphere on Flaster, yet life abounds."
"Life—on a moon with no atmosphere?"
"Planet, the inhabitants of Flaster use hydrogen, which they get by consuming the planet's growing stones. The solar winds replenish the hydrogen in the stones, so there is an unending supply."
"Excuse me," the voice spoke again. Cris and Tattie turned to see Mag'Osnik sitting alone at a large table, upon which sat a typical American Thanksgiving dinner.
Tattie turned to Cris. "The voice," she said.
"Yes, the voice. Mag, it was your voice we heard out there," Cris stated.
"Come my friends, sit, partake of this food and wine, you'll find it exceptional."
Tattie and Cris sat at the table, where plates were already prepared for them. Cris sipped the wine. "Hey, this is good."
"I'm afraid the wine on Nazer is not up to this quality," Mag'Osnik muttered, "but then, there are no grapes on Nazer."
Tattie sampled the turkey. "Oh, this tastes like hitchurn. The flavor is richer, though."
"It's all in the preparation," Mag'Osnik informed her.
"Look, Mag, I hate to throw a wet rag over your little celebration here, but we have a few questions."
"I know you do, Cris, please proceed. I trust you won't mind if I continue with my meal."
"How did you do it?"
"Rewind the clock, so to speak?" Mag'Osnik smiled.
"Yeah."
"Funny things, space and time. Once you understand them, it becomes possible to manipulate them, a little. Mind you, I did not say it was easy, just possible. One must be paying close attention to an event that might require a little manipulation.
"You see, Cris, Tattie…almost every thinking species in the universe measures time as a linear thing, like a piece of twine which they see as stretching on forever, or as the scientists of Earth incorrectly deduce, as starting with a bang and ending at some unknown point in the future.
"Time and space are not linear—time and space simply are. You'll want an analogy, so I call this the infinitely expanding sphere. Think of time as a sphere—a ball, if you will—that is constantly expanding, growing in all directions. Space is the area inside the ball. The ball and the space inside it never change, what changes are the events that occur inside the ball. Think of everything happening in the universe as much smaller balls inside the larger one. Your life, Cris, is a tiny ball that is constantly bouncing off the inside of the larger ball, and it never strikes in the same place twice. Happily, you and Tattie have collided and are now the same event. Do you better understand now?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Actually, it's best that you don't."
"Okay, so your ability to manipulate time and space allowed you to bring us back to Nazer?"
"Oh, no, you and Tattie did that."
"Come again?"
"Cris, I once told you to mark my words well, I knew you would not and, thus, your discovery was your own. Do you recall I told you that there exists a power many times greater than mine, greater than the power of all the armies that ever marched, or all the starships that have ever or will ever fly, a power so infinite that our finite minds cannot comprehend it? Do you remember me saying those words, Cris?"
"Yes, I remember."
"You know what power I was speaking of now, don't you?"
"Yeah—I do. Sappy as it might sound; you meant the power of love."
"Sappy? Did you think it sappy when you said these words to Major Selina," Cris's own voice now filled the restaurant. "Kathy—I love her beyond measure, beyond the stars, beyond the bounds of reality. She is my life force, without her, there can be no life."
"Or perhaps you were the sap when you spoke to Sergeant Alistair." Again, Cris's voice rang out, "No, Chuck—I discovered love. I learned how empty my life had been up to that moment. And I learned that if you live your life focused on one selfish goal, you become blind to all beauty."
"No, Mag," Cris said softly, "I'm sorry, there was nothing sappy about it. I meant it then, and I mean it now." Under the table he took, and squeezed, Tattie's hand.
"As I pulled the two of you toward the event horizon, you both thought you had died and were on your way to the afterlife. Cris, you thought you were on your last mission, afraid you were going to crash and burn forever. You imagined Tattie would be in Paradise.
"And Tattie, you thought you were passing into the center of all things, where you would find the love that reaches beyond death. Here, you thought you would find Cris in the valley of the good, among the brave and valorous.
"Each of you was thinking of the other, even after you thought yourselves dead. Love, in every tongue on every world in this and all the galaxies in the universe is most proclaimed, most adored, most written of, and most desired. It is most powerful. Love is generated from one source, the seat of all love. It is from this source that all that is or ever will be is born.
"You two have obtained a pure love from that source and are, thus, blessed. You have a second chance to fulfill your love, do not squander it, my children."
Tattie leaned over and kissed Cris. "We shan't, Mag'Osnik."
"No—I don't believe you will. Now, my repast is at an end and I must go."
"One more question," Tattie said. "Why appear to us as the phantom from Galdo Heirya?"
Mag'Osnik looked down and sighed. "Well—the truth is, that the phantom and I are one. Yes—I died there that dark day with my family. As the Thaumatergon, I alone had the power to extricate my soul from within those binding walls and work to heal our wounded world and release my people from their confinement.
"My plan to free these worlds brought you here, Cris; yes, it was I who guided your first probe to land where it did, and those were my hairy legs you saw," Mag'Osnik snickered. "I pulled you and your ship down into the hidero mas angia, the wormhole on your moon. Mind you, I did not cause the damned thing—a higher power yet caused that timely accident, which allowed me to bring you here from your distant home. I had foreseen that event, Cris, and I knew. It was you, Cris. I'd seen it in the stars. You and Tattie were the only entities alive in the entire galaxy that could have possibly succeeded.
"And of course, I was right. We are free, thanks to you two. My people and I will move on now into the center of all things, and there strive to be close to the origin of love."
A tear rolled down Tattie's cheek. "Will we never see you again?"
"Child, have you not yet learned that there is no never? I'm a wizard after all, I'm capable of showing up when you least expect me." He looked at Cris. "Do keep that in mind, my boy." He slowly turned his head toward Tattie, smiled and said, "Do not weep for me, Tattie, I go now to join my family and my friends in a great—" he indicated the table, "Thanksgiving." He stood away from the table and spread out his arms. "Now, the two of you come to me and say farewell."
Cris and Tattie rose and went to Mag'Osnik, who embraced them, saying, "Love one another, love your fellows, and be not afraid."
The smell of lilac filled the air, and the two of them awoke in their room. Outside, the sun was rising on a new day.
Tattie looked out the window and turned to Cris. "This new day will be our first together in a time of peace, our first since those awful dreams. Today marks the first day of our new lives together."
Cris looked at her and smiled. "Come back to bed, darling."
○O○
In the months and years that followed, Cris led the effort to rebuild Nazer. He had been unaware of the extent of the fighting all over the planet, fighting
that saw the end of the Lautmen infestation.
The valley of Faretress was restored, and the many cities and villages rebuilt, Gala, and Aldeya among them. His efforts extended to the other worlds, as well. He was surprised at Kalob. This world was from where all the technology in the system emerged. Thankfully, the inhabitants of this small world were proper stewards and administered it well. It was only misused when off the planet. Once Caval Du Mal occupied their world, they were forced at the point of a gun to do his bidding. Here, the destruction was greatest, but the recovery would be the swiftest.
Tattie was ever by his side. Without her knowledge of the people and their customs, Cris would have spent years accomplishing what, together, they managed in months.
While Tattie and Cris were off world, the people of Nazer went to work to create a gift for the two of them.
They rebuilt the old fortress of Kurat Vara into a magnificent residence for Cris and Tattie, whom they had come to see as their liberators, and so deserved more than a floor of rooms in a tower in Emer Alda. The fortress was now a palace, and renamed Pentakul Delektionis. The Plain of Dort became the Avory Etzera Bert, and home to a beautiful forest with trees that seemed to magically sprout and grow over night. There were a great many Avory in this new forest that appeared to be many hundreds of years old, and who was to say they were not?
Here, Tattie and Cris established there home, which was regularly visited by Tarnus and Capek, who had returned to farm the valley of Faretress where they rebuilt Tarnus's house.
Tattie did supervise the construction of the monument within Galdo Heirya as she had promised. The city was rebuilt and Cristened O'Arway Nifren. Here, too, Cris and Tattie established a home, and Tattie derived great pleasure at the sound of children playing in the great plaza before the temple of the Father's Son.
From Pentakul Delektionis, Tattie and Cris launched many trips to the other worlds in the system, where they shared many more adventures. But their greatest adventure came with the birth of their son. Everyone who saw the lad agreed he was the most handsome child yet born on Nazer, and this, they all attributed to the fact that he had his mother's eyes.
About the Author
Mike Gonzales was born in Long Beach, California, back in the 20th Century.
He spent twenty years’ service in the Army and over thirty as a museum curator. Now he has embarked on yet a third profession—that of fictionist.
Mike’s mind has always been a fertile place where at the sight of an oddly shaped cloud, or some other anomaly, he would ask himself, what if?
At last he has exhumed his imagination from the mental sarcophagus in which it had been so long entombed, and set it free. It now roams through caverns in the Moon, the blue forests of other worlds, and the WWII battlefields of North Africa, only to arrive on the Isle of Apples at the foot of Arthur’s tomb.
If you have no fear of murderers, aliens, wyverns, and phantoms—if the embrace of a lover's arms is your desire—if solving a mystery is to your liking—If you see tear drops on the page as a mark of the depth of your empathy…then come along on the many adventures this vibrant new author has given rise to.
The Unborn Galaxy: Book One
Dark Moon Rising
When a quake cracks the Moon apart and swallows a habitat with eight people inside, their survival is in question. Sergeant Hugh Pacherd takes command of the group, his primary goal to protect the woman he loves. Hugh discovers he’s on shaky footing, battling not only the elements, but the many powerful emotions at play within the band of survivors—envy, hatred, insanity, and the love between himself and Dr. Mary Eddington.
Inside the Earth’s satellite, they discover an alien base and a moldering spacecraft. Awakening the still-conscious but disembodied minds of ancient visitors could be their salvation—or the death of planet Earth.
An alliance is formed that both groups may return home. But there is a murderer loose—one of the humans—and Hugh believes the aliens can’t be trusted, either.
Deadly secrets threaten to destroy all life on Earth. Hugh Pacherd is the only man who might stop humanity’s destruction—but will he have to give up Mary to do it?
Nothing is as it seems—not even the valiant soldier, determined to save the woman he loves and the band of humans from a DARK MOON RISING…
The Unborn Galaxy: Book Two
The Battle of Broken Moon
When a lunar quake sets off partial destruction of the Moon and an international laboratory, all lives on Earth are immediately at stake.
A group of veteran soldiers have volunteered for the Lunar Civil Defense Detachment (LCDD) on the Moon’s Joint International Lunar Laboratory (JILL), but during training, a terrible accident changes all their lives in ways they couldn’t imagine.
Though the call for help has been dispatched and part of JILL secured for the treatment of the injured, a saboteur seizes the moment to try to finish the destruction the quake has caused. Terrorists, a familiar enemy on Earth, have also intercepted the call for help and invade JILL, seeing this as their opportunity to take over both fronts—Earth and the Moon.
With the war in Oceania now contaminating the Moon, will the complete destruction of JILL—and Earth itself—be far behind? How can a handful of soldiers hold off the hostile forces in this unforgiving realm that seek to destroy civilization?
Across a Sea of Stars Page 47
