by John Ricks
“Katie is gifted, and she pays for it by being able to hear what she doesn’t want to hear.”
“You eat, and then you have to use the restroom at some point.”
“So what you’re telling me is that for anything you do, there is something that happens because of it. My professors called it cause and effect.”
“Not all things are bad, Freddy. You bake a cake; someone gets to eat it. You fall in love with someone, and someone may fall in love with you. Some reactions are good. We just need to sit back and ask ourselves, ‘If I do this or that, what will the reaction be? Will it be worth it? Will it be good not only in the short term but also in the long term?’ For most of us, it makes very little difference what we do, as it affects very little. You, on the other hand, have the ability to affect everyone on this planet. When I was very young, my father sat me down and told me this. He said he was one of the lucky ones—what he did made little difference.”
“I disagree. He had you, and you’re making a lot of difference to me.”
“That’s sweet, Freddy, but he was saying that he felt sorry for the ones who are destined to change the world. They take a lot of people with them, and the souls of many rest upon their shoulders. Everything they do affects everyone else, and they will be held responsible in the eyes of God. Do you believe in God, Freddy?”
I looked at her with tears starting to develop in my eyes. Fear of God and the possible reactions if you don’t do as told would cause anyone to be afraid. “If you could read minds and receive as strongly as I can, you would have no choice. It takes no faith when you know he’s there.”
She looked startled and leaned in closer. “Freddy, have you ever talked to God?”
I looked at her and said nothing, but she could see the worry in my face. “Colleen, if you knew there was a God, and you knew that he wanted you to do something—say, like making space travel possible—what would happen if you refused?”
“I would not refuse anything that God wanted me to do, Freddy. But if I did, I would expect God to take vengeance on me and mine. God loves us very much, but he does get angry when we don’t obey him.”
“I don’t think he gets mad very much, but he …” I stopped to think how I could say this without sounding like I was crazy. “I mean, conversationally speaking, yes, he does love us … very, very much. I’d also say he laughs a lot at the predicaments we get ourselves into.” I looked up at the ceiling with a disapproving look and said, “I’ll bet he likes to watch us fall in love and rolls all over heaven with laughter when we get kissed unexpectedly.”
“So you mean you believe that God has a sense of humor?”
“I’d say he gets enjoyment out of the simplest of things. His love for us is more than my heart can take sometimes. He pours his love into my soul and fills it up so much when I do something good that I almost feel like I’m drowning in pleasure.” I looked startled at Colleen and said, “This is all theoretical, of course. Please don’t tell anyone.”
“Oh, of course I won’t.”
I continued to eat breakfast, and she saw that I was closing up on the subject.
“So Freddy, do you suppose that you would take time to eat lunch if I packed you one?”
“You bet.”
She turned back to the counter and started cutting some roast from last night’s dinner. She made me two sandwiches and put in an apple too. “Do you have anything to drink in your lab?”
“Water.”
“Good. Water is best for you. When you come out, you’ll need to drink milk. I’ll make sure we have fresh milk for you. Any chance you’re coming out today?”
I thought about it and said, “Not likely.”
Gray exclaimed, “God?”
Most everything went black, except I could sense the machinery. I started trying to figure it out.
Green said, “Yes, master. They think they have several gods.”
Blue added, “We are checking on this. It has come up in nearly all subjects. We believe that a superior life form is leading these creatures somehow, teaching them, perhaps telepathically. It is a strong being or beings, as it seems to have many names. It may rival us in strength. We have found traces of an unknown substance in several places designed to watch this planet. They do not belong to any creature we have found, and they have been here a long time and just recently used.”
Gray looked shocked. “Why were we not informed?”
A voice behind Gray, belonging to nothing I could sense, said, “Because we deemed it not necessary.”
All bent over in what had to be the deepest of bows and stayed there. The voice said, “Rise, and get on with it. Blue, you will report to me at the end of this session. Green, you will protect this creature with your life. If anything happens to it, all three of you will answer to my displeasure.”
Blue stood up saying, “Yes, Majesty. As you wish, Majesty.”
I sensed that the disembodied voice was not there anymore.
Gray let out a telepathic sigh. “I wish I could sense him. It is very unnerving to have him talk only inches from my receptors.”
Green said, “He visits here often. We are use to it.”
Blue said, “Go slowly, Green. Do not harm the creature.”
Chapter 3
Party Time
After breakfast I moved all the supplies inside my workshop and started correcting my design for the shuttle. I came out four nights later, around two in the morning. The watch came out and walked me inside. I cleaned up and went to bed.
The next morning I checked in with Shop to make sure things were coming along well and then told Home I would be outside most of the day, getting some rest and making plans. It was very busy inside my workshop. I had made several robots and attached them into the shop computer for control. I needed some things completed by these new robots before I could go any further.
The idea of making robots was a good one. At first, it was frustratingly slow, but after I created the first three or four, they did the work I would do and did it better. After that, every robot I made sped up the processes. I made the robots adjustable so that they could accomplish a lot of things. My main shop computer is good enough to run about five hundred robots at a time, all doing different tasks. With them receiving orders from her, I can change the orders, and she can stop the work when she recognizes a design problem. She is actually my best work. She can take in anything I say or do and reason out exactly what I need. That programming took me years to develop, but I started it while I was in college. Home was my first attempt at the design, and it could do more than almost any computer in the world. Shop was the next level, and it runs rings around Home. Luckily, there’s no animosity between computers, just facts and programming. I thought about making a computer based on an organic brain, but a bad feeling came over me, and I quickly decided that I could do without it.
I spent the rest of the day talking with the lieutenant, making decisions on a new cook, inventing, talking to Becky on the cell phone, and just resting. I was going to go for a swim, but it was getting very cold outside.
The routine of working and resting went on for the next two months. There were breaks for installing a power and scanner system at the radar site and at the navy base. In addition, we installed a power source in one of the helicopters. They’ve been running it nearly constantly for a month, and the power still reads full.
One day I was sitting at my workbench in the shop, reading a letter from Becky for the umpteenth time. I had been trying to figure out why everyone was so sad. Their emotions were depressing me, and this wasn’t like them. Something Becky had written broke through my work tenaciousness and into my consciousness.
Dear Freddy,
I miss you, and I hope you will come see me soon. At least for Christmas.
“Shop?”
“Yes, Freddy?”
“What
date is it?”
“December 10.”
I thought about that and realized that I hadn’t seen a tree, decorations, or anything. Time to close up shop for a while. I didn’t want to miss Christmas. I needed to go shopping, get presents, and see some shows. I sat for a minute longer, thinking out loud. “My family had traditions at Christmas that I think I should continue.”
“That sounds good, Freddy. I have enough to keep me working through this time next month. Go have some fun, and get some rest.”
“Good idea, Shop, and thanks.”
I left the shop and was met by the commander. Susan had received her promotion and was now a lieutenant commander, but protocol, in less than formal circumstances, prescribed that I could call her “Commander” and leave off the “lieutenant” part.
“What’s up, Freddy? You were only in there for one day.”
“Susan, did you know it’s almost Christmas?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Do we have a tree and decorations?”
“No, we don’t.”
“What fun is that? How are you keeping morale up?”
“It’s not much fun, and, actually, morale is a problem that worries me.”
“Don’t you believe in God and Jesus?”
“Yes, I do, and so does the rest of the team, each in his or her own way.”
“Well, then, we have some planning to do—a tree to buy, decorations, shopping for presents, special foods, and a party to plan. Are we having a New Year’s Eve party too?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d go for something like that.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and looked up at her. “Commander James, how are you going to keep the troops happy if we don’t celebrate sometimes? Birthdays, Christmas, and New Year’s are the perfect excuses to have some good fun, invite the families, or go see families, and watch movies like Miracle on 34th Street. That’s one of my favorites. We need to watch friends open presents, bob for apples, make snow angels, string popcorn. There are so many things that we need to do! This isn’t a wish or something I just want to do. This is much more important. This is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!” I put my hands on my hips and said, “I love Jesus and want to celebrate his birth, so are you going to help or not?”
She smiled really big. “I would be glad to help, but my orders are to keep you working as much as possible.”
“Bah, humbug! I’m going to party. Are you with me?”
“You bet!”
“Good, but don’t tell anyone yet. Let’s get cleaned up, have something to eat, and then during dinner, I’ll broach the subject with the others. I’ll bet we pull everyone into the fun.”
She smiled. “They’re worried that because you’re a scientist, you don’t believe in God, so you wouldn’t do anything for Christmas. This will be a big help, Freddy.”
“Didn’t Colleen tell them what my beliefs are?”
“No. Why? Does she know?”
“Yes, she does, but I asked her to keep it to herself, and she did. I like that I can trust her.”
“You can trust all of us, Freddy.”
“It’s good to know that, because just after the holidays I may need your help in the shop. I need to test some things.” I could feel her genuine relief, like drinking from a cool spring on a hot day. I turned back toward the house and secretly smiled.
During dinner I assessed the emotions around the table. Almost to a person, the morale was low. Everyone wanted to address the thought that Christmas was coming soon, but no one said anything. Sometimes orders can be taken a little too literally, and that can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances. I thought about a good way to start the conversation.
“I have a question.”
Katie took the bait and asked, “What would that be, Freddy?”
“Why don’t we have a Christmas tree?”
That opened up the floodgates, and everything escalated from there. Plans were immediately made for getting a tree, decorations, shopping, bringing in loved ones, sending out gifts to their families, and a special dinner with all the trimmings. A New Year’s party was part of the plan, along with, of all things, a Super Bowl party. That was a tradition I’d never had.
Everyone volunteered to handle different parts of the plan, and the commander assigned teams for the big stuff. The master chief was really happy that we were going to celebrate, but she reminded everyone that watches and protection were not to be compromised.
I said to all that the watch on duty for Christmas and the one on New Year’s would be specially compensated. “The commander will decide what the compensation will be, and I will pay for it.” I turned to the commander and said, “I would be happy to pay for round-trip airline tickets and lodging for them to go home or almost anything else you might suggest.”
“Good idea, Freddy.”
Shopping was going to be fun, and I suggested that we take a trip to the largest mall in the United States, so we also planned that trip. I called Mrs. Crain, the owner of the local inn and a personal friend, to let her know that I would be coming to town and needed to talk with her to get ideas for presents for her family. She started to give me the old line that I didn’t need to do that, but I put a stop to it. I called Betty for the same information, and then I called the mayor.
Miles Devin was happy to hear from me and was even happier when I said I wanted to exchange Christmas presents with the town. We talked about what the town really needed and what I needed. We decided on a new school for the town, but I would only be allowed to supply the materials. He’d call a town meeting and get the rest of them to supply manpower and agree to my request. “Nothing like the raising of a new house, church, or school to bring the town together.”
I told him I’d be there at the meeting so that we could make plans.
Everyone was now very busy doing something they loved to do. Their emotions were high, and that was much better than the prevailing attitude of the past couple of weeks. We went into town the next day.
Blue looked thoughtful. “So this superior being sent the creature a mental no on making artificial intelligence.”
Everything stayed open. Green said, “Oh no, you don’t!” Everything went completely black. Frustrating!
“Yes, sire. It would seem that this being is especially concentrating on this one creature.”
Gray said, “Poor thing.”
Blue looked at Gray and smiled. “Green, what or who is this Jesus that everyone needs to celebrate his birthday? Did we capture a Jesus?”
Green said, “Just a count”—and then went blank in thought. A couple seconds later, his mind cleared. “The body system says that we have captured eighty-nine of this species with the name Jesus. They say that none of them were anything special that would require mass celebration, though some were in high positions.”
Gray said, “Perhaps it is this creature’s offspring.”
Green said, “No, our records show he was too young at the time in question.”
Blue said thoughtfully, “Perhaps it is another name for his God.”
Green said, “Possibly. We have counted over three hundred names that it goes by. Nearly this entire species believes in a God and often in the same way. There are many religions that go with this God—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, to name a few.”
Gray asked, “Why do we know so much about this God and their religions when we know so little about them?”
“They pray.”
“What?”
Green said, “When they are in trouble, they talk to their God through prayer. We have allowed this and have learned much by just listening.”
Blue ordered, “Gray, find this God!”
Gray left for a second and returned. “It will be found, sire. Green, continue.”
Chapter 4
Heartbreak
The kids, including Becky, were in school when Mrs. Crain and I sat down at the kitchen table, which was full of pies and cakes for a bake sale, to determine what I could get each of them for Christmas. She gave me several ideas that changed considerably when she found out I was doing the shopping at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. She also gave me ideas for the captain and several ideas for her. Once I got her talking about shopping, it was easy to pull the information I needed out of her. I cheated a little and watched her open mind so that I could get her real wants and needs for her and the captain. She did make me agree to keep all the presents down to less than fifty dollars each. I balked at this, but she was very serious that it would make them feel bad if I went overboard. She wanted me to keep it to ten dollars or less, but I talked her into the higher figure.
“The cost of things at the Mall of America will certainly be high, and I would never be able to find anything for just ten dollars.” She finally agreed with me. Betty and Janice were the same at not expecting presents, but I finally got them to tell me what they would really like. Betty knew what the mall was like and knew what she could use, so it was no problem, but Janice had no clue. I pulled it out of her mind anyway. I figured that I would be forgiven for using my powers in that way—it was for a good reason.
We ate lunch at Betty’s, and after lunch, I sat down with the shop owners and placed orders for the equipment I needed to install my eight new mini-homes—they would be delivered any day now. The construction company and I had agreed on the design, and they had finished manufacturing the buildings two weeks ago. They were coming overland by truck and could be assembled on my property. I was keeping it a secret from the SEAL team. I could barely contain my laughter a few days ago when I heard them complaining about not having enough room. My home has two master bedroom suites and six regular bedrooms. Each has its own bath, but the commander had insisted on keeping the second master bedroom suite and two of the regular bedrooms for guests. That left the one master bedroom suite for me and the four regular bedrooms to be shared by eighteen others. Some stay in tents, but the team had grown, what with cooks, groundskeepers, patrols watching the town, and a constant watch on Becky. I was upset when I found out about that, but the commander informed me that the watch was necessary. They kept the watch very quiet and unobtrusive by using my scanners.
