I am amazed and encouraged. I just need to find the right place where I can settle once more and catch up on the history of this continent and its countries. When I reach the east coast, I continue north. The southern portion would be too hot for my liking. I’ve enjoyed the seasons. I finally make it to the neck of a large bay and follow a highway. There are more flying ships and I follow one. The ship is on a descent and passes over hundreds of little buildings with slanted roofs and lights. It travels 50 miles further. I maintain my altitude and observe from a somewhat cloudy area. The ship passes over a pentagon shaped building and lands in an area where other ships like it are congregated.
Now I need to find a suitable remote landing area. I will have to hide the shuttle again. I fly west away from the site to a small tree-covered mountain range. I finally scout what looks like a remote wilderness area and scan for people. There are none. I land. It is on the cool side. The leaves are orange, yellow, green, and red. “How beautiful”, I think. I grab what I can use from the shuttle and cover it with tree branches.
I then walk a few miles, knowing that everything takes time and it will take more time to get caught up and get re-established. I finally come to a small road. One of the small, moving objects with wheels passes by me. It has a plate with numbers on it and words that read “Virginia.” But I don’t know what it means.
I sit at a small table next to a building made of wooden trees and watch people come and go. The translator in my ear enables me to listen in and understand what people are saying. I finally gather that I’m in a recreational park and the building is an eating establishment.
I need appropriate clothing, however. Looking in various directions I finally spot a line between two trees with clothing hanging on it. I grab the clothing and change since no one is in the area.
I head into a structure built with trees. There is a plaque on the building with the inscription “Big Meadows Lodge.” Again, it means nothing to me, but I need to remember it if I ever want to recover the shuttle. I walk inside and look around. I find maps and grab one.
“What can I get you stranger?” A woman asks me.
I look up. “Oh. I’m sorry. I don’t have any money.” I reply.
“Did you lose your wallet? Were you robbed?” she asks.
I just smile and shake my head. “Things have gotten difficult since I lost my wife Deonna.” I tell her. “I left my home, and this is where I’ve found myself. I have no money on me and these are my only clothes.”
“Well, where are you from?”
“That’s the thing. I can’t remember. I don’t even know my name.” I tell her. Okay, it’s an outright lie, but I can’t tell her I’m not from this planet.
The woman is kind. She introduces herself as Betty. “Would you like a job?” She asks. “My husband and I could use the help right now. It’s busy up here with the changing of the leaves and tourist are coming through by the droves. It’s only for about two weeks. But it will give you a new start. Maybe you’ll get your memory back if you keep busy.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Betty and Tom invite me to stay at their residence for a while.
I help Betty stock shelves in her store. And Tom puts me to work collecting trash from around the site and other odd jobs. I work for two days and decide I should remember my name.
“I remember my name now, it’s Imhotep. Talon Imhotep.” I tell her.
“That sounds like an Indian name.” Betty comments. “Are you Cherokee?”
I don’t actually acknowledge that I’m a Cherokee. Whatever a Cherokee or Indian is. But I let her think it because it seems to work. I continue doing handy work around the area for Tom and we re-shingle a roof on one of the ‘cabins’ as he calls it.
“There are plenty of work and educational opportunities in the D.C. area.” Tom tells me.
“School? I’d like that.”
“I’ve got a family that lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland.” Tom tells me. “You’re a hard worker, Talon. If you’d like I could arrange with them to give you a room for a while till you’re on your feet again.”
“Thank you, Tom. One day, I will return the favor to you both.” At the end of two weeks Betty and Tom drive me to Gaithersburg to Tom’s brother’s house. His name is Mark Valentine.
Tom introduces us. “Mark’s a former Navy Seal, Special Ops. He runs his own company now.”
“Talon, welcome to my humble abode. This is my wife, Grace, and our two children, Meghan and Ryan. Kids this is Talon Imhotep. He’s going to be staying with us for a few weeks. Say hello to Talon, kids.” Mark says.
“I’m sorry I have to leave,” Tom tells us. “But I’m leaving you in good hands.” Tom shakes my hand and departs.
“Follow me, Talon. I’ll show you where your room is.” We go downstairs to the lower level. Marks home is very large.
“This is our guest room. You should be pretty comfortable down here. I call this my man cave. But the kids watch more TV than I do, actually. This is our pool table. And over here is a wet bar with a fridge.”
“Nice...Thank you very much. You’re very kind.”
“So let’s head up to my den and talk for a while. You can tell me about yourself. Grace is cooking dinner.” We head upstairs and Mark shows me his office. It’s very large with a very large window and a nice view.
“Betty and Tom told me you just passed through some tough times yourself.” I tell him.
“Well, I’m a veteran. I was a Navy Seal. But I can’t talk about most of the things I did because they’re government business. So we’ll leave it at that. But I have no problem helping other persons out when times get rough. Especially people who have experienced trauma, like yourself. I will say that one time I lost my memory and was lost while on duty in a strange country. That’s quite an experience. So I believe I can relate to you in that regard.”
“Sounds like it.” I comment. “Impressive, Mark. I see you have a lot of books on history, a globe on your desk and three or four world atlases. Would you mind if I avail myself to read them?” However, learning a written language will challenge me since on TerraNorre everything was documented in 3-D holographics. I welcome the challenge.
“Certainly, Talon. Make yourself at home. Can you tell me about your work experience?”
“Yes. I am a builder. I know a little about medicine. And I’m interested in science,” I try to inform him about myself without giving too much information. Obviously, I can’t tell Mark I’m from another time and planet. I’ll have to start out and fake ignorance.
“Mark...” Grace calls. “Dinner is ready.”
“Come on... Let’s grab some food.” We head to the dining room. Meghan and Ryan are seated already.
“Welcome, Talon. Have a seat.” Grace comments. “I hope you like your room.”
“I do. Everything is wonderful.” I answer.
“Great. You’ll have to tell us about yourself.”
“Yes.” Mark agrees. “Tom told us you’d recently lost your wife. We’re very sorry. And you lost a good part of your memory.”
“Yes. I guess I’ve just been down. I haven’t held a job in a while and I was attacked by three men. When I regained consciousness, everything I had was gone. I wandered into Big Meadows just shortly after that.”
“That’s what Tom told us. Can you remember where you’re from?” Grace asks.
“Well, to be honest with you, Deonna and I are not from this country. We come from the south. We hadn’t been here long before she died.” I tell them. “I’ll understand if you don’t want me to stay with you.”
“He speaks wonderful English, Mark. It sounds like Talon needs a job.” Grace comments.
“He sure does.” Mark replies.
“What?” I ask. “You’ll help me?”
“Talon, I own my company and I can hire anyone I want. I don’t know your educational background. But Tom tells me you’re the best fix-it man he’s ever hired. So we’ll start simple. My com
pany could use someone like you to help out with simple janitorial duties and fix-it jobs, if you’re interested. Suffice it to say, if you don’t mind starting at the bottom, we’ll send you to school and you can move up as much as you aspire to do so.”
“Thank you. Thank you both. I won’t let you down.”
“Don’t worry about legalities, Talon. My company will sponsor your citizenship. What country are you from?”
“I can show you on the globe.”
“Alright.” Mark smiles. “Let’s go look.” I look at the globe and the continents. From my memory of flying, I point to the part of the country, we crashed in.
“Here.” I answer. “This is where I’m from.”
“Peru. So you’re from Peru. Tom thought you were Indian. So you must be a descendant of the Mayans or Incas.”
I just nod. I don’t know who they are.
“Great. You can ride into the office with me tomorrow morning and we’ll get you started right away.”
“Can you read and write English?” Mark asks.
“I’m sorry to say...I don’t. I feel like I can barely speak your language.” I answer. Mark smiles. Of course, my translation device helps me with that.
“I think we can work things out. We’ll hire you a tutor. You can start tomorrow night when you get home from work.” He tells me.
After dinner, I grab an atlas to orient myself to where I am on the globe. I study the atlas books, but I can’t read them.
I finally drift off to sleep while thinking about Deonna. She’s in my dreams these days. I miss her terribly.
Mark knocks on my door to wake me, and tells me Grace has breakfast on the table. I wash my face and put on another set of work clothes. We have breakfast. I mostly enjoy the orange juice. It tastes wonderful.
Mark’s children ride with us and he drops them off at their school.
“You can start with maintenance. Once you’ve got the written language down, we can raise you up to security and my company will pay for your schooling. You choose the area of expertise you like and we’ll arrange for your schooling around your work schedule. We can find you a used car and you can be more independent.”
I choke a little. “Thank you, Mark. I don’t know that I deserve this. But I promise I won’t let you down.”
Mark smiles. Over the months, Mark gets me into my own apartment.
“You’re a superior worker, Talon.” He promotes me for excellence. My tutor has introduced me to the library and I spend a great deal of my free time there. I have a lot of catching up to do.
Six months later, I’m earning what they call a GED and Mark’s attorney has provided me with a two year green card. I’m legal now. Mark teaches me how to drive and helps me pick out a car.
“You learn fast, Talon. Your tutor tells me you’re brilliant!” Mark comments.
Next semester, I attend the local community college and work towards a degree in architecture. Finally, in 2008, I graduate and also hold a security clearance through Mark’s Company, Sigmas Solutions.
I have decided to continue my schooling. I have no family and I’m not content with just architecture. I will never forget where I come from. And I’ll never forget the Genesis Crew and the Life Seeds. In fact, I’m on a mission to gather up any Life Seeds that can be found and destroy them. I continue my schooling, getting two more degrees; one in genetic sciences and another in forensics. I graduate Suma Cum Laude from Albermarle University.
Mark retains me because of my educational achievements and eventually, I become part of management at Sigmas. I’ve always intended to tell Mark the truth behind my history. I haven’t quite come to that yet. We are the best of friends.
I eventually take a well-earned vacation and return to Peru because of its history and Machu Picchu. It’s like everything was a dream to me. I sit at a beach watching the waves and a beautiful girl named Daniele serves drinks. She speaks English and turns out to be a U.S. citizen from San Antonio. She’s down working in Peru for the summer and staying with family. Apparently, they are from Peru also.
We call and text each other long-distance, of course. I invite her to come see me in D.C. and we get engaged. The wedding is held in San Antonio and Mark and Grace attend with friends from Sigmas and Daniele’s family.
So I’m settled down now. Daniele and I live in a home in Rockville and finally have two children, a boy and girl. Mark tells me I’m the happiest of men he’s ever known. Of course, I owe it all to him.
The year is now 2016. Mark’s company has recently earned a large contract to do a very unusual excavation for the United States Government. It is a highly classified project. The crash site was discovered via satellite during another government operation in South America. I was just recently made aware they had found Deonna because of the stone box and the Life Seed Matt Vaughan’s group has excavated. I haven’t been able to bring myself to go see the redheaded mummy. And I’ve left it at that. For all intents and purposes I have moved on in my new life.
However, Mark has involved me in the project. I contemplate informing Mark about my past. But I haven’t even told Daniele where I come from.
I know the dig is all about the crashed ship. The Life Seeds are my biggest concern. Sigmas Solutions has already been involved in the Life Seeds over in Bowie, Maryland and I have also been kept informed. So far there has been no harm done and the Life Seeds influence has been of minor consequence. I watch the project closely with great interest.
I know it’s farfetched. But I can’t help but hope that one day Korban and Cassie will show up. I know the chances are slim. They’re probably dead. But one can always hope.
I continue to watch the project from a distance and run Sigmas in Mark’s absence.
THE VILLAGE
My fatigue wins out and I sleep through most of the flight. C17’s are never comfortable, my neck feels stiff. I can hear the pilot and it sounds like he’s clearing our approach for landing in Panama. Its times like this I really miss windows. I like looking out and viewing the area. The C17 finally touches down. Not a bad landing, I think. Must be a decent airfield for the military. Everyone gets excited when we exit the C-17 to look around. The crew has occasionally passed through Panama and they are used to the civilian airport.
“You’ll find a small commissary with a sandwich shop in that building over there. Be back in three hours, or you’ll be left behind.” says SSG Michaels. Everyone heads directly to that location.
“So far, you’ve snored the whole flight, Matt.” Ray comments. “How were you able to sleep?”
“Just lucky, I guess.” Suffice it to say Kim and I were out late the night before.
The food options are burgers, fries and other greasy tidbits. After eating there is very little to do but walk and stretch our legs, and look for a soda machine. We all report back to the C17 for take-off for the remaining five hour flight. SSG Michaels takes a roll call and shuts the door of the plane. Again the plane takes off. My team is essentially beyond bored, but determined to get through the discomfort.
Finally, the plane banks as it circles the landing strip in Peru. C-17’s haven’t changed much since Iraq. It‘s the Army’s choice because it handles shorter airstrips, which means the take offs and landings are much steeper than a regular jet. I suddenly realize I should have told everyone about that fact earlier.
“What the...we’re going to crash!” Peter shouts. “Brace yourselves”.
“Everything is fine, Peter.” Ray shouts. “We’re not going to crash.”
The C17 starts to level out as it touches down with a big thud and taxies over to the unloading area.
“What kind of a plane is this, Matt?”
Leesa laughs. “Where’s my camera when I need it?”
We exit the plane again and choke in the middle of a dust cloud the C-17 dragged with it. It’s hot and muggy on top of that. As the dust settles you can see the valley area which is encircled by mountains at every turn. The scenery is not disappointing. The
sun is setting over the western portion of the mountain range. Now this trip is getting exciting. It’s about time, I think to myself.
Two more C-17’s land. More dust to choke on. And uniformed personnel begin to unload the planes. Six V-22’s also land and now the dust seems to never end. The pace of personnel accelerates and the operation begins. My mind is in a whirl from going to nothingness for over eight hours to having to gear up and go on a moment’s notice. A small convoy of fuel tankers for the V-22’s and vehicles are unloaded. One tanker remains.
Starship Genesis Page 20
