“Oh Frack, Nathan! FRACK!” She buried her face on his shoulder and cried long and painful tears. With her voice muffled by his shoulder she said, “It wasn’t real for me before. Not until I actually saw their bodies. It just wasn’t real!” She cried even harder and said, “Now it is.” Nathan wordlessly cried along with her. The two people stood there crying, giving comfort to each other, for a long time. Finally, Nathan said, “Let’s get out of here.”
Nathan and Kelly stood on the bridge, now wearing standard starship jumpsuits. Nathan looked at the little crowd of people and said, “We are going to bring Katy and Henry back to life. They have suffered a severe traumatic experience together so we want this resurrection to be as stress free as possible. Everybody is to stay here on the bridge. We do not want them to see anybody but Kelly and myself until we are able to fill them in on the situation. Everybody understand?” When everybody nodded understanding Nathan said, “Good. We are going to proceed now. You may watch the proceedings on the main view screen.” He took Kelly by the hand and led her from the room.
As the pair walked into the medical bay, medical bot number seventeen greeted them. His cameras pivoted towards them with a loud squeak and he said, “Hello Nathan. Hello Kelly. I am afraid that I cannot help you today. I seem to be malfunctioning. My internal clock and the ship’s, computer’s clock disagree by seventy-five years, zero days and six hours. This indicates that I am suffering a severe corruption to my operating system.”
Nathan smiled and patted to bot upon its mechanical head. “Relax Seventeen, my old pal. Your data is correct. You have been offline for that long. Please synchronize your clock with the main computer.”
The bot nodded his cameras up and down with another squeak and said, “Data synchronized. What is it that you need of me today?”
Nathan patted the bot and said, “Do you remember what happened?”
The bot nodded and said, “Of course I remember. I am a computer.”
Kelly laughed and said, “Please tell us the story of what happened from the time just before Katy and Henry…” her voice caught for a second… “died, until the last thing that you remember.”
Seventeen nodded and began speaking. “I was in standby mode in the medical bay when I received a call from both Katy and Henry. When I arrived in their sleeping quarters, I found both of my patients in an extremely distraught condition. Both humans requested euthanasia and I did as they commanded. They specifically told me that they did not wish resurrection in new bodies after they were gone. Shortly after they passed on, all power in the ship shut down. I had to use my gravity plates and operation lights in order to return to my station here in medical bay seventeen. As the ship began to cool down, I shut myself down in order to conserve my internal power in case someday the ship was revived.”
Nathan looked at the bot with compassion. “And you have been faithfully waiting here for seventy-five years,” he softly said.
“Yes Nathan,” Seventeen said, “I have not left my station.”
Nathan gave the faithful bot a pat on the head and said, “We are here today to revive Katy and Henry. Would you please run a diagnostic on the Kelly One 3D genetic printer please?”
Seventeen said, “I am very sorry. Katy and Henry were very specific about not wanting resurrection. I cannot comply with your request.”
Nathan looked upon the bot in shock, as he opened his mouth to protest, Kelly silenced him by laying her hand upon his arm. She turned to the bot and said, “Seventeen, it would not be right to leave them like this. They must live again.”
“I am very sorry, Kelly,” the bot insisted, “Their instructions were very specific in this matter.”
Again, Nathan tried to speak and again Kelly stopped him with a touch. “Seventeen,” she said. “What, in your medical opinion, caused both Katy and Henry to wish to end their lives?”
Seventeen’s cameras squeaked as he nodded and said, “Captain Katy Klienyan suffered from severe depression. This condition was precipitated by her long, fruitless search for a habitable world. Her condition developed slowly over a very long period. When she decided to end her existence, Henry, who also was tiring of the search, did not want to go on alone. He decided to end his existence along with Captain Katy Klienyan.”
With tears in her eyes Kelly said, “What if I told you that if Katy had only have waited six more hours her search would have been over?”
Seventeen looked her over closely and said, “Please explain, Kelly.”
Kelly sadly said, “If she had only waited six more hours, Forgotten Hope would have dropped out of warp in a system with a class A+ planet. Her long search would have been over.”
Seventeen was silent for many long seconds before he said, “In that case Kelly, I say that I no longer have any objections to resurrecting both Captain Katy Klienyan and her husband, Henry.”
Nathan laughed excitedly, gave his wife an appreciative glance and said, “Well let’s get started then!”
Seventeen confounded him yet again when he said, “Negative Nathan. The printer has sat idle for over seventy-five years. I recommend that we do several test printings first.”
“Of course, of course!” he said impatiently. “Please proceed.”
Seventeen said, “Okay, I will initiate a re-priming of the print heads now.” Instantly, the printer came to life and quickly completed the priming of its print heads as if it had only been offline for mere minutes, rather than for seventy-five years. “Priming successful. Now printing a beef steak.” It was a tribute to maintenance and repair bot number One-seven-seven-six’s engineering skills when the printer flashed to life yet again and then quickly printed the beef steak. Seventeen scanned the display and said, “Printing successful. No abnormalities detected in the bovine flesh.” The bot turned to Nathan and said, “I recommend one final test. I wish to print their canine. If the printing of Willie is successful, I shall print Captain Katy Klienyan and Henry their new bodies. Shall I proceed?”
Kelly excitedly said, “Yes! Please do!”
A second later, the printer sprang to life yet again and then Willie miraculously appeared. The dog sat up, shook its head, jumped down and then ran over to Nathan and Kelly wagging his tail furiously. They both fell to their knees and hugged the dog tightly. “Hello boy, good dog!” Nathan said. Kelly merely hugged him and softly cried.
When at last they stood up, Kelly said, “They are going to wonder why Misty is not here.”
Nathan looked at her thoughtfully and said, “Well, that cannot be helped now.” He turned to Seventeen and said, “Just print their bodies now. Do not upload their consciousness until both bodies are printed. I want to wake them up simultaneously.”
“Understood Nathan,” seventeen said. “Printing Captain Katy Klienyan now.” Again, the printer performed its miracle. Her new body flashed to life and all indicators showed that all was well. Nathan gently picked her up and laid her upon the adjoining diagnostic table. Seventeen then said, “Printing Henry now.” As it had done many times before, the printer again successfully printed a new human body.
Nathan looked at his wife and said, “Go stand by Henry. I shall stand by Katy.” When they both were in place, Nathan turned to Seventeen and said, “Begin brain uploads.”
Katy felt a mixture of joy, grief and relief at the thought of spending eternity in the arms of her beloved husband. “It is finally over,” she thought to herself. The next instant she felt her body take a breath. “Wait, I am not dead!” she thought in surprise. She opened her eyes and saw Nathan tearfully staring down at her. “Hello Katy,” he said before taking her up in his arms and hugging her tightly.
Henry awoke in a similar fashion. As Kelly hugged him tightly, she whispered in his ear, “Welcome back, brother.”
Katy’s eyes opened wide in surprise as Willie jumped up on her and licked her face. She turned to Nathan and said, “How did you find us? Why have you brought us back?”
Nathan did not answer. Instead, he han
ded her a new jumpsuit and said, “Get dressed. I have something to show you.” He looked over at Henry who was standing silent and wide-eyed watching his friend and his wife embrace. “You too, Henry. Get dressed.”
Katy quickly dressed and said, “May I get something to eat, Nathan?”
“Not yet,” he replied. “Follow me.”
Intrigued, Katy followed him, holding hands with Henry.
Katy gasped and stopped dead in her tracks when they arrived at her ship’s bridge. Henry also stood immobile, shocked into silence at the sight of the small crowd of people. The Starship Project Director Jane McCann smiled, ran up to Katy and embraced her. “Madam Director!” Katy said in shock. “How?”
Jane put her hands upon her shoulders and simply said, “The search has ended Katy. Welcome home.”
The 75th anniversary celebration lasted a whole week. On the last day, everybody talked in surprise when Nathan announced that he was going to reveal something special at the closing ceremony. The rumors spread wildly however none came close to the mark. “Maybe we found another Eden!” said one. “No, I say we found an intelligent alien race!” said another. Everybody had his or her own theory… and everybody was wrong.
Everybody stood around talking excitedly amongst themselves as Nathan and Kelly walked up onto the podium. Nathan spread his hands for silence and everybody quieted. You could have heard a pin drop as he began speaking. “At the opening ceremony, I reminded everybody to remember the names Katy Klienyan, Henry and Forgotten Hope. What I did not know at the time was as I spoke, an old version one starship had drifted into our solar system without power.” Nathan gestured with his hand and both Katy and Henry walked up onto the podium. “I am here to say that we no longer have to think of them as just a memory for that starship was the Forgotten Hope.” A huge, collective gasp came from the crowd as he said, “I present to you Captain Katy Klienyan and her husband, Henry.” The pandemonium that erupted from the crowd may have been enough to cause a minor earthquake.
When the chaos finally died down, Katy both joyfully and tearfully turned to Nathan and Kelly and whispered, “I cannot believe that you called the town Katyville!”
Epilog
Two hundred and fifty years had passed since the discovery of Eden. True to the charter that Nathan had laid down so many long years ago, everybody protected and loved the planet. Although there were now nearly a million humans living there, the environment was as clean as the day Nathan and Kelly first landed so long ago. In some ways, the planet resembled a well-loved and tended garden and not a place where so many souls lived.
In addition to Katyville, many other small towns had sprung up over the years. Following the inspiration of the naming of Katyville, there had quickly come Nathantown, Kellyburg, and Henryville.
The most beautiful of the new little towns was Janesville. It sat in a bay upon the sandy shores of a large inland sea. Jane blushed at the dedication of the large statue in center of the town’s park when all the townsfolk began loudly singing her praise.
Every single one of these little towns and the many more that had sprung up over the years were in furious preparation for the momentous anniversary celebration soon to come.
The woman sat on a park bench petting her dog. She wore a lop-sided smile as she looked upon the giant bronze statues depicting the discoverers of this world. She inhaled deeply of the scent wafting from the large flower garden surrounding the statues. She laughed at the small army of flying bots industriously tying multi-colored ribbons and balloons to the statues. “They sound like a swarm of insects!” she thought. She waved at a man as he flew by on his gossamer, human-powered airplane. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the warm sunshine upon her face that fell from the clear, blue sky. She sighed deeply with an expression of pure bliss upon her face.
A couple walked up with a cute little girl in a pretty, sky-blue sundress adorned with little yellow flowers. They stood watching some men hard at work behind the statues. The little girl tugged her mother’s sleeve and said, “What are those men doing over there, mommy?”
The mother smiled at her child and said, “They are setting up an old fashioned fireworks display, honey. Tonight, when it gets dark, they will set them off and beautiful colored lights will shoot way up into the sky with big booms of sound.”
Wide-eyed, the little girl giggled and said, “May we come and watch, mommy?”
The young mother smiled and said, “I wouldn’t miss it for all of Eden, honey.”
The little girl tugged her mother’s sleeve again and said, “I want to see the statues!”
Certainly sweetheart,” she said, following her daughter. “Do you know all of their names?”
The little girl pouted and said, “Of course I do mommy! That is Nathan, Kelly, Katy and Henry,” she said pointing to each one in turn. “In the middle are Misty and Willie. The bots are Seventeen and 1776. He is my favorite!” she gleefully added. The little girl turned around and gasped. She pointed excitedly at the woman and the dog on the park bench.
The young mother turned red and said, “Honey, it is not polite to point!” Muttering an apology, she took her husband’s and her little girl’s hands and quickly led them both away. The woman on the bench smiled and waved at the little girl who was still gaping at her over her shoulder.
After they had gone, Kelly got up from the bench and said, “Come Misty. Time to go home, sweetness.”
A Word From the Author
Thank you for reading “The Silence Between the Stars”. I hope that you had as much fun reading it as I had in writing it!
Science fiction has always been a passion of mine. I have been reading it for almost as long as I have been reading for enjoyment. I have also always been a bit of a romantic so combining the two genres was a logical choice!
This is my second novel. My first one was a pure romance entitled “Golden Salvation”. It was always a dream of mine to write. I never knew where to begin. In 2014, I decided to give it a try. I bought a cheap laptop, a copy of “Microsoft Word for Dummies” and a copy of “How to Write a Romance Novel for Dummies” (Seriously, I did!) and just started writing. To my surprise, I found that I had an aptitude for it and the words just flowed. Those whom I know who have read Golden Salvation raved that they loved it… so I must have done something right.
In this age of self-publishing, it was ridiculously easy to get my novel out there to the world. There is a big downside to self-publishing however and that is, no advertising budget. Oh, numerous sites out there claim they will advertise your book for you… for a fee. I did a lot of research on writing forums and there was no real consensus whether or not these sites are effective. I got the impression that some of them are borderline frauds. You pay your money and hope against hope that they boost your sales enough to offset their cost. I chose a different route. I tried using social media to get the word out. It was moderately effective however to this day I have yet to make enough money to pay for the laptop that I wrote it on! You see, in this age of self-publishing, you can publish a novel quite simply. The problem is this; even though those who read Golden Salvation raved about it, it is just one grain of sand on a very large beach. It might be a very shiny grain, but it is just lost on the vast beach with many other sparkling grains.
I could use your help spreading the word. If “The Silence Between the Stars” has brought a little joy into your life, please tell your friends. Perhaps they too will get some enjoyment from it and perhaps someday, I may even pay for this silly laptop!
I would love to hear from you. Please see the section entitled “About the Author” for the information on how to contact me.
Acknowledgments
I want to take this time to say thank you to the people who have helped me with advice while I was writing this novel. I could not have completed this task without them.
First, my biggest thanks goes to my wife JoAnn. Without her proof reading my final draft there would been a good number of errors. I
n addition, her tolerance of me disappearing for months at our cabin to write my first and second novels, it would not have been possible.
Many others helped with advice. I appreciate each and every one of you. First, I would like to thank Gail Huntley who ran the weekly writer’s group at the Long Lake, New York public library. To be able to sit down with other writers gave me the valuable inspiration to improve upon my work.
To my neighbor at my cabin, Diane Rokitowski, I say a big thank you as well. Your advice on my partial (and thoroughly awful) first draft gave me insight to improve. Without this insight, the final version would have been a lesser work.
About the Author
Alan Davenport was born in New Jersey on February 16th, 1956. In 1961, his parents moved the family to Ogdensburg, New Jersey, a small, rural town in the extreme northwestern part of the state. It was here that he developed a love affair with the outdoors.
An avid hiker and angler, he spent many long years exploring the outdoors. On one of his vacations, he discovered the Adirondack Park in northern New York State. Alan quickly fell in love with the region. In 2012, he and his wife JoAnn bought a small cabin near Long Lake, New York. It is here that he writes the majority of his novels.
Alan’s hobbies include hiking, fishing, reading, backpacking, photography, amateur radio (Call sign W2GZN) and computer gaming.
You can reach Alan at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/AuthorAlanDavenport/
https://www.facebook.com/alan.davenport.33
http://amazon.com/author/alandavenport
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