Event Horizon

by Scott McElhaney

  “If we can trust them, we would be better off joining forces with them. We should get them to land here,” Danny said.

  “We have no way to send any communications at all. This whole unit is simply a receiver,” Brennan said, “It communicates with the satellite, but not in a way that can send messages like they did.”

  “Danny’s right though. We need to join up with them. They’re just a bunch of children who have no idea that there’s a colony of murderers here. And remember, there was a relay station on the Shark’s side of the continent. Who knows if they received this same message. We could use them as much as they could use us,” Shauna said, “Is it possible to trace where they land?”

  “We might not have to. There are only two continents on the equator that are of significant size. As luck would have it, the other continent is on the other side of the planet,” Rodney said, “If those kids are smart enough to survive for six years on board without any parent supervision, they would be smart enough to survive on this planet. The wisest place to land would be over there.”

  “What about our yacht?” Danny asked, turning to his father.

  “It won’t be done for at least another month,” Warren said, “And I don’t know about travelling halfway across the globe on a small yacht with only two storerooms.”

  Doreen punched him in the shoulder.

  “That’s not the way you talked about the ship a few weeks ago. You said it would be just fine,” she said.

  “It’s different when we’re not talking about an emergency. We’re perfectly safe here right now,” he said.

  Rodney slowly stood up and held onto the back of Brennan’s chair. He turned and looked over at Warren.

  “I was once told that our duty is to love our fellow colonists and to help out however we can,” Rodney said, “Those are a bunch of kids up there who have no experience with milling lumber or drilling wells. They don’t know what fruits are good and which ones are poisonous. They don’t know about our lengthy winter storms. Those are our Christian brothers and sisters up there.”

  Doreen nodded her head and put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. Warren finally nodded and put his hand on his wife’s.

  “I think we need to all chip in on getting that ship ready,” Brennan said.

  “The ship takes full priority,” Jared-the-blacksmith said, “But I think we all need to stay in the cave for the next couple of weeks. I would feel more secure if we took this little added precaution.”

  Brennan turned to him then glanced around the room. Johnny wore an expression of fear. Danny seemed confused. Shauna just stood up against the wall, cradling her daughter in her arm.

  “I agree. It might be an unnecessary precaution, but I’d feel better also. I propose that we all go home and grab our blankets, pillows, and clothing and bring it to the cave right away,” he said, looking around the room, “Bring some food to share also. That spaceship will be here in a week. Before it gets here, we need to be comfortable in that cave.”

  “But I thought we trusted them,” Dawn said.

  “Don’t forget, they trusted them also. Their own parents were going to kill all of us. There’s no telling if there’s still a maniac in their midst,” Brennan said, “Just do it for me. We can still work on the yacht everyday, but I want us to stay near the cave.”

  “Then let’s close this meeting in agreement and in prayer,” Rodney said.

  “Sounds good,” Brennan said, waiting for the others to bow their heads, “Dear Lord, we believe you have rescued us and those children on that ship up there. We ask for your further protection and wisdom. Please help us to finish this yacht and to guide us along your future plans. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

  . . . . .

  Johnny stuffed another toy spaceship into his bag. Danny reached down and took it from the bag and threw it onto the bed.

  “What are you doing? That’s my ship and I’m taking it,” Johnny yelled, reaching over to the bed again.

  “You don’t need toys to survive and Mom said for us to only take one bag to the cave,” he said, pushing Johnny.

  Just then, Doreen came in to the room and physically separated the two boys.

  “As long as you have two outfits in the bag, you can take whatever else you want. I don’t want either of you to be bored while we’re living in that cave. You’d better bring something to do also, Danny,” she said.

  “I’m not a baby anymore,” Danny said, “I don’t need toy spaceships.”

  “If you’re not a baby, then leave your brother alone. Most of his ships used to be yours in the first place,” she said, “Now get packed and let’s get moving.”

  . . . . .

  Shauna was sitting on her bed as she shoved the rest of the baby blankets and diapers into the bag. She felt around in the drawer for Erica’s favorite pajamas.

  “Hey there,” Brennan said from her doorway, “Can I come in?”

  “Of course,” she said, “Come sit down.”

  He sat down on the bed next to her and watched as she felt around in the dresser drawer. She pulled out two pairs of pajamas and stuffed them into the bag.

  “Now that things are going to become a little less private, I wanted to tell you that I... well, I enjoyed your company these past several weeks,” he stammered, “I kind of… I don’t know. I kind of enjoyed our little household and… and having you around.”

  “I liked this a lot, too. I don’t look forward to being in a one-room cave with a mass of people, but I guess that’s what’s best for us,” she said, looking in his direction.

  “Can I ask you something without making you uncomfortable?” he asked.

  “Well, I won’t know if I’ll be uncomfortable until you ask it,” she replied with a smile, “Try me.”

  “Okay,” he started with a sigh, “If I were to ask you to marry me… like, let’s pretend that everything was still normal. Let’s imagine…”

  “Yes, I would marry you. I will marry you, Brennan,” she interrupted.

  “Seriously? I’m an old man and we’re being displaced from our home,” he said.

  “Don’t try to talk me out of it. I made my decision and that’s final,” she said sternly.

  He scooted next to her and put his arm around her. She turned her head and brought her lips to his, kissing him with a tenderness he had not expected. He brought his hand to the side of her face, dragging his fingers through her long hair and then to the back of her head. He was suddenly aware of the fact that she desired him as much as he had desired her. He lay her back on the bed as he continued to kiss her fervently. She brought her hand up to his chest and gently pushed him away.

  “Go get Warren,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Warren is the only person other than you who can perform a wedding. Let’s get married right now,” she said, “We only have this privacy for so long.”

  Immediately understanding her statement, he rushed from the room and hurried over to Warren’s house.

  Twenty minutes later, they were officially married. Warren laughed, listening to the door shutting and locking behind him as he stepped down from the porch of Brennan’s house. He couldn’t recall the last time he was so rushed for a wedding.

  Ephraim Year 85 Week 37

  Ariel awoke with a shiver. The cave was exceptionally cool this morning, urging her to remain wrapped in the pile of blankets. She slowly sat up while drawing a blanket around her. Peering around in the misty darkness of the cave, she quickly discerned that she was the only one awake. The nearby fire was nothing but a bunch of crackling embers right now.

  A bad feeling was descending heavily upon her and she couldn’t understand why. She searched her memory for any nightmares that may have invaded her sleep, but no demons came forth. She shivered again and then looked down at her husband snoring next to her. He appeared so angelic and peaceful, but she wanted to wake him. She wanted him to hold her right now. She was frightened a
nd needed to be held right now.

  . . . . .

  The computer mainframe aboard the ISDC CetiDrifter started to come online, drawing from the ship’s batteries. Everything had been shut down the day before when the Landing Dome detached. The mainframe processed the commands that had been preprogrammed into its system over fourteen years ago.

  The OLPB doors opened and the two land-clearing bombs were armed with the final commands. The computer system ran a scan of the planetary surface. The Landing Dome and its surrounding areas were off limits in the computers preprogrammed commands. The mainframe processed the body-heat signatures produced in the immediate vicinity of the Landing Dome, listing the area as secure. The OLPBs were then provided with the target commands of all the other body-heat signatures located on the remainder of planetary surface. The next command from the computer was the release of both OLPBs. After release, the hatches closed and the computer went offline once again.

  . . . . .

  Ariel reached down and shook Edwin. He looked up at her then rubbed his eyes.

  “Huh? What is it?” he asked, “Are you feeling sick?”

  “Something’s wrong,” she said, shivering under the blanket, “I’m feeling terrified all of a sudden and I don’t know why. Will you hold me?”

  He drew her down to him and wrapped his arms around her. She shivered in his arms as he rubbed her to try to warm her up.

  “Did you have a bad dream, honey? Maybe the baby is…”

  He was interrupted by a sudden earthquake. The whole ground seemed to ripple beneath them. Everyone woke up as the loud rumble tore through the sky. Dust and pebbles started to fall from the top of the cave until the shuddering ceased. Then another earthquake shook the ground again. This time Shauna screamed, followed by the sound Erica crying. More dirt and pebbles fell from the cave ceiling while the thunder roared outside. Danny got up and ran over to his mom, sobbing loudly.

  “What is it?” Johnny yelled.

  Everything returned to normal as they stared at each other through the dust-filled air. Shauna continued to cry as Brennan held her and Erica. Danny sat in his mom’s lap while she looked around the room in fear.

  “OLPBs,” Rodney said, brushing the dirt from his hair, “There were only two hatches that I saw. We just felt two quakes. I think it’s over.”

  “But I thought they were our friends,” Johnny screamed.

  “They landed yesterday,” Rodney said, “We all saw the streak in the sky. I don’t believe they had anything to do with those bombs. I’d bet the SA programmed those bombs to launch even if no one survived the trip.”

  “Then why are we still alive?” Brennan asked, “If those bombs landed on our houses… well, we’re close enough to be dead ourselves – cave or not.”

  Rodney snickered. Everyone looked at him like he had suddenly lost his mind.

  “SA didn’t know about the Sharks. If they scanned our planet for heat signatures, they would have found their large colony and thought it was us. Our heat signatures would have been hidden beneath all this cold rock,” he said, laughing again, “God is good.”

  “You mean those bombs landed on the other side of the continent?” Warren asked.

  Edwin stood up and ran out of the cave. Brennan and Jared followed behind him as they ran across the beach then up the grassy hill that brought them above the cave. A dark cloud was indeed rising in the far sky from many miles away. The sky above the forest where their homes were located was clear. Brennan laughed. Edwin reached over and patted him on the back.

  Ephraim Year 85 Week 48

  The yacht bounced lightly in the waves as Warren stood at the side railing. Rodney, Jared, and five of the others who worked the fields and farms stood on the shore waving to them. Doreen stood next to Warren and put her arm around him. The solar panels were already soaking up the rays of the bright Ceti overhead. Brennan waved out of the wheelhouse window as he turned on the power. The three large propellers beneath the boat started churning the ocean behind the yacht.

  “Is Rodney waving to us?” Shauna asked, waving out the window.

  “Yes, and I think he really does look happy,” Brennan said, increasing the speed.

  “Yeah, happy to get rid of us,” she said with a laugh.

  Brennan put and arm around Shauna. Erica, who was finally starting to crawl, came over to him and tugged on his pant leg. He reached down and lifted the little girl into his other arm. Looking out the front window, he could see Edwin and Ariel peering over the ships prow watching the boat slice through the small waves. Ariel’s belly was so large; she could barely get close enough to the railing. Danny and Johnny seemed equally excited as they ran along the railing looking over the side. A large fish leapt from the water next to them, gaily racing alongside the ship.

  “So, how much longer until we reach that other continent?” Shauna asked.

  “A month maybe? Who knows,” he said, “Why, are you in a hurry?”

  “Hey, I’m just along for the ride. Take as long as you want,” she said.

  He turned the wheel and headed eastbound toward the other continent that hopefully lay just on the other side of the horizon. The yacht, christened the ES Edna, strongly sped away from their ancestral home.

  Part IV

  Skylar’s Discoveries

  5

  The Ceti System

  “Someone once told me that the world’s first time traveler, Sean Roush-Johnson, may have destroyed someone’s life when he went back in time to 1958,” she said, tenting her fingers while she stared at him across the small table.

  “Yeah? And how’s that?” Skylar asked.

  She arched her eyebrow and met his questioning gaze.

  “Come on. You’re a time traveler and you haven’t thought about all those paradoxes? Sean went back in time and met a girl. He fell in love and eventually married that Clara lady. Well, what if Clara originally married someone else the first time around? You know - before any time traveling ever occurred. Then in the 21st century, Sean decides to go back in time and he sweeps Clara off her feet. What about that first husband?” she said.

  He shook his head in disagreement the whole time she spoke.

  “As a time traveler, I look at the big picture from a timeless reader’s point of view. Clara’s life is like a book and that book is printed – at all times – with the story of her life. Time is a dimension inherent to our universe, so we experience the ‘book’ from beginning to end. But that’s just our viewpoint and our experience because we are bound and shackled within a universe of ‘time’,” Skylar stated, rising from his chair, “But this book is fully printed instantly to someone viewing it from outside of our time-constrained universe.

  “Now when that timeless person looks at the book, Clara always met Sean in 1958 and always married him. This is because further into the ‘book’, he goes back in time and meets Clara. This is simply how it is and how it happened. There is no paradox and there are no ‘what ifs’.”

  She rose from her chair and followed Skylar to the beverage machine.

  “And you state this as though you are 100% right. There is no discussion?” she asked.

  “I don’t have time for philosophy. I am a believer in science and there is no room for paradoxes in science,” he replied, “And don’t go thinking that we have no free will either. A lot of people will argue that since our ‘book’ exists in its entirety for those outside of time – such as the elusive ‘God’ for instance – that we have no free will to change that book. We do and we did. We make our choices everyday and we write this book with full freedom. The only confusing part is that God would have access to the finished product at any given time.”

  She laughed as she stared at him, “You’ve really gotten cocky over the years.”

  He turned at the beverage dispenser and smiled at her. He found himself questioning his sanity on many occasions over the past 13 years. Even staring at this apparition, he was forced to consider his growing instability.

>   Skylar had read somewhere that if you think you might be crazy or insane, then you don’t have to worry because you’re not. Insane people are unaware of their own insanity.

  “Computer, how much further until we get to the planet?” he asked, watching the lovely apparition disappear.

  “We are still almost a week out from the planet. I would feel more comfortable if you would return to your duties, Skylar Rains.”

  “I brought us out of warp. I took care of bringing the GF ring offline. I took-”

  “It seems that you’ve taken yourself offline and you’ve been roaming the ship like something is wrong. You are concerning me.”

  Skylar filled his cup then took a sip of the futuristic soda he had become so addicted to. He set the cup down then propped himself against the wall.

  “Thirteen years is a horribly long time. I didn’t think it would be this hard on me. I’m not meant for-”

  A shrill alarm suddenly tore through their conversation. Skylar jumped, feeling his heart race for the first time in years.

  “We are receiving a threatening transmission. You should come to the bridge immediately.”

  Skylar raced through the passageways and made his way quickly to the bridge. The computer had already taken control of the main viewing panel. The screen was split in two sections, displaying the incoming text on half of the screen and a rapidly scrolling view of the stars on the other half.

  “What is going on?” Skylar asked, shocked to see such a panic on the computer’s part.