The Cocoon Trilogy
Page 67
A hum of surprise, and some tacit approval, came from the Antarean section. Spooner then turned to the children. “And here are the newest Earth-humans to join us - the children of Butterfly House. They represent a giant evolutionary leap for the Earth-human race, and possess extraordinary powers. We welcome them to Antares, and to furthering the work of The Master’s Grand Plan.” Spooner bowed to the children and slowly clapped her hands, a gesture that was Earth-human, not Antarean. Her tribute was joined enthusiastically by the Brigade audience, then cautiously by the Antarean section and politely by the Antarean High Council. Then, as gracefully as Spooner had arrived, she left the stage. Scott and Melody stood and, holding hands, walked up the steps onto the stage.
“Thank you, Head Counsel Spooner,” Scott began, “thank you, High Council and Antareans; thank you, parents; and thank you, Brigade members and commanders for your kind welcome to Antares. Our stay here will not be long.” A murmur of surprise rippled through everyone in the audience. Melody moved forward.
“About nine years ago,” she said, “we learned that it is not our destiny to travel and work with Antares, or the Geriatric Brigade. Our mission in the Universe is different from yours.” Spooner stood and raised her hand, capturing the attention of the gathering.
“There is a misunderstanding,” she said. “The purpose of this gathering is to welcome you to the only true mission – that of The Master. In this great hall, we are surrounded by proof of His Grand Plan. Here are represented the hundreds of planets and systems; the thousands of races and beings; the wonders of our galaxy that we have visited. It is irrefutable, living proof of The Master’s Grand Plan.” A loud, high-pitched wail of approval came from the Antarean section. “It was The Master who guided us to establish Antares Quad-Three on Earth,” Spooner continued, moving around the stage as her voice grew louder and stronger. “It was The Master who sent the asteroid. It was The Master who had us form the Geriatric Brigade. It was The Master who gave back to your parents the gift of procreation and your conception. It was The Master who brought forth and gave you your gifts. It was The Master who gave you to us to use those gifts to spread word of His Grand Plan now, and even beyond our own galaxy. This you may not...you cannot, refute!”
A line of tension and confrontation in the Great Hall of Kinnear was suddenly, sharply drawn. The audience was hushed. The Antareans present had never seen or heard such an emotional outburst from their Head Counsel. The Brigade members and commanders were uneasy. What had the children done? Why had they waited until this moment to deny the Antareans most sacred mission and purpose?
“We can give you some insight into what we are, and what we must do, Head Counsel Spooner,” Scott responded calmly, “but no one, including ourselves, can know our ultimate purpose or destination.” The Antareans murmured their displeasure. Rising to her full height, Spooner glided rapidly toward the stage, apparently to confront the two children directly.
“Please be patient, Head Counsel Spooner,” Scott said, raising his hand to block her, “and take your seat. His tone of voice was polite, but firm. “Allow us to continue, and you will understand.” Spooner hesitated for a moment, considering her options. She then reluctantly returned to her seat, but sat stiff and upright, ready to interrupt and announce the gathering closed.
“Thank you, Head Counsel Spooner,” Scott said, as he moved to one side of the stage. Melody walked to the opposite side. The stage area darkened. Then an image began to form between them, and around them. The stage became the shore of a large lake. The land, foliage and water were tinted by the blue light of the dwarf star—Sparkle Plenty—the Life-Giver of the Aicha, on the planet Paccum, in the Manigra Galaxy. Scott and Melody walked toward a gathering of Aicha and their visitors - Brigade Commander Betty Franklin, the Brigade and Antarean landing party and Shai-Noa, the Antarean mission commander.
The Aicha children ran to greet Scott and Melody, squealing with excitement. Scott and Melody returned the greeting telepathically, but all in the Great Hall of Kinnear heard it.
“Ahhh,” Halo, the Aicha exclaimed. “The children come again. Greetings, dear friends.”
Betty Franklin and the rest of her landing party were dumbstruck. They saw no sign of a Mothership. The two had just appeared out of nowhere, millions of light years from Earth, Antares and The Milky Way Galaxy.
“Who are you?” Betty asked.
“I’m Scott Green. Mary and Ben’s son.”
“And I’m Melody Messina, Julia and Vincent’s daughter.”
“From Butterfly House? But how?”
“We have left Cayman Brac and, for the moment, dwell on Antares. Many there are observing us right now.”
“It is what I told you,” Halo, the Aichan leader, said to a confused Betty Franklin. “The children come and visit us. They are the ones who helped evolve our young in-egg.”
“You said watching us? Who?” Betty asked.
“Aunt Ruth, my parents, the Perlman’s, the Lewis’s, many of the Brigade,” Scott answered.
“And Head Counsel Spooner, Counsel Bright...in fact, the entire Antarean High Council and many Antareans,” Melody added.
“How is this possible?” Shai-Noa asked.
“We have the ability to project ourselves to far away places,” Melody answered.
“We do not want to disturb you,” Scott said to Betty.
“This projection is a way for us to begin to explain to the Antareans, our parents, and the Brigade, who and what we are, and what we must do.”
Those gathered in the Great Hall of Kinnear were silent, awed by the vision on the stage. Those parents and commanders, and Spooner, who had personally witnessed the children’s projecting before this display, were stunned by their ability to reach across hundreds of millions of light-years to other galaxies. Then Scott and Melody said goodbye to the landing party and the Aicha and their young, promising to return and visit soon.
“And you may speak to us whenever you wish,” Scott told the Aicha young as they gathered around him. “We love you. We wish you peace and long life.”
Melody and Scott began to fade, as did Paccum, until the stage in the Great Hall of Kinnear was again dark. Only Scott and Melody remained. Ruth rose and spoke first.
“You did not tell us you were able to project to other galaxies. What else have you kept from us?” In hearing anger in Ruth’s voice, Spooner felt, for the first time since the Antareans had to rely on the Brigade commanders for communications, that they were loyal and to be trusted.
“And where else have you meddled in the evolution of others?” Spooner added, as she stood to her full height.
“We have not meddled,” Scott said firmly.
“Really, Scott?” Ruth chided him. “What about the Sloor on Klane, and these young Aicha?”
“They evolved,” Beam Amato answered from her seat among the children.
“You say...” Ruth turned toward Beam. “Both races have been altered away from their phylum, toward mammalian. Both say it happened when you visited their young before birth. We saw that when you projected to Klane, and just now on Paccum. That cannot be denied.”
At that moment, all the children stood, and silently filed out of their seats, onto the stage, joining Scott and Melody. The unoccupied center of the stage grew very dark. And then, in a flash of bright light, the Erhardt twins and Laga Martindale appeared. A second flash brought Autumn, the daughter of Ruth and Panatoy, from the planet Rigel. She was followed by José, the oldest son of Brigade member Karen Moreno, and Tommachkikla, a miner from the planet Destero. Finally, Ilena, the daughter of Brigade member Ellie-Mae Boyd, and Dr. Manterid, a chemist from the planet Betch, appeared. All three showed features of both parents, but favored their fathers more. Now, gathered on the stage, were all the children of Brigade members born on mother-planet Earth sixteen years ago.
“You will have the answers to your questions now,” Scott announced. Awed, Ruth and Spooner sat down. Autumn blew her mother a kiss.
“Then explain the Sloor and the Aicha!” Amos Bright shouted as he stood, pointing a slender, blue finger. His tone was accusatory. “They clearly stated that it was you, the children, who caused the changes in their young.”
“Yes. But we have only projected to where we were invited,” Scott responded.
“Never to where we were unwelcome,” Melody added, pointing at Amos Bright. “Our abilities came to us because you caused genetic changes in our parents, and we became a new race. Is what you did meddling?” she asked rhetorically.
“Of course not,” Scott answered before Bright could respond. “You would say it was unforeseen, or necessary for space travel, or simply part of The Master’s Grand Plan. But the fact is, it happened,” Scott continued, “and we are what we are, in part, because of what you did. Do not blame us for what we are. We do not consider it meddling or blasphemy.”
“We do not blame for what you are,” Spooner then said. “It is for what you do that is our concern.”
“And what is that?” Scott asked. “We are summoned by other beings. We hear their calls, their cries, their prayers, their wishes. We cannot tune them out. And so we respond.”
“It is that response that we question,” Spooner said.
“They ask who we are; where we are; what we are. We speak truthfully. They invite us to meet. We join them. To teach. This mostly happens before birth, or hatching, or dividing. It causes cognitive capacity to expand. And, as in beings like the Sloor and Aicha, it results in genetic change, and sometimes evolutionary leaps. We don’t completely understand why.” Scott faced the Antarean section and the High Council. “You apply everything in this Universe to The Master. That is your belief. It is what anchors your civilization, and holds it fast. It has served you well and you are honored in our galaxy.” He then faced Ruth and the Brigade. “You brought us into being. You serve with the Antareans on their missions. You have seen a galaxy teeming with life. You are of great value to that work, and we are proud of you. We have seen that many of our home-planet’s inhabitants murder, oppress and enslave in the name of their respective God and gods. Their tradition is steeped in meddling and blasphemy. You and we are no longer like them.”
“You are cynical for ones so young,” Ruth said softly.
“No, Aunt Ruth. Not cynical. We have been privileged to see truth. We know where we came from; where we are going and what we must do. You see, there is more to tell.”
Once again, the stage grew dark. This time, all of the children began to fade into a large chamber of the main government building on Liast, in the Bezzolentine Galaxy. Frank and Andrea Hankinson, several Brigade members, Antarean Commander Duartone and his Antarean crew, were seated at a long table across from Shinner, the Liastan city leader; Tellic, from the Liastan central government; and more than a dozen off-planet visitors. The table and chairs had been specially constructed to accommodate the various sizes and shapes of those gathered there. All wore universal translating devices, except the children, who also appeared in the chamber. They were immediately recognized by the Liastan leaders, Shinner and Tellic.
“We are gathered as you requested,” Shinner stated, as he raised his massive head and spread his antennae.
“We greet you in peace, children of Butterfly House,” Tellic added, as he too showed respect.
The children filed along either side of the table, bowing until all had been greeted. All, except the Brigade members, knew the children. Scott stood next to Frank Hankinson, and Melody next to Shinner.
“I am Scott Green, and this is Melody Messina. We are from Butterfly House, as Tellic said.”
You are your father’s son,” Frank said and he took Scott’s hand and shook it. “We were told by the Liastans that a surprise was coming.”
“Many on Antares are observing us now,” Scott stated. “The Antareans hold deep religious beliefs that our Universe is controlled by an entity; The Master and His Grand Plan. They have traveled our galaxy, and now have come to yours. They have rules they live by. Good rules. Fair rules. One is to never meddle in the affairs of any beings or planets. To do so, they say, is to deny The Master’s Plan.”
“And your parents also believe this?” Shinner asked.
“We are not sure,” Melody answered. The Brigade is partnered with Antares at present. Although they may hold differing Earthly beliefs regarding the creation of the Universe, they have agreed to serve The Master’s Plan.”
“And they accuse you of breaking their rules?” Shinner asked.
“Yes.”
“But it was we who called out to you,” Tellic said.
“Perhaps you would like to tell how we first came to know Liast,” Melody suggested.
“The invitation came from our own young, as it did from many,” Tellic responded. “Everyone here knows, as we have learned from you of Butterfly House, the unborn everywhere are part of each other. They possess a strong common bond – the wonder of a life becoming. As they develop physically, in womb, or egg, or cell, or crystal, they know a powerful universal language, a common tongue transmitted by thought.”
A murmur spread throughout the audience in the Great Hall of Kinnear. None present could recall such an event in their lives.
“Yes. All unborn have the potential to communicate with other species and living forms throughout the Universe,” Melody confirmed. “But for most, this reality is lost at birth, because they are born into societies and civilizations whose rules, laws and customs are not grounded in universal truths, but rather narrow, myopic views of their place in the Universe, or, at times, grandiose ones. That language and means to communicate is forgotten. Yet a precious few do remember, and they are driven to fulfill a special destiny. They strive to keep the promise given before birth - to visit one another, to help all, to bring peace. That is who we are, and what we are.”
A Sakeous, called Tia-Ron, rose to speak next. Sakeous are a warm-blooded, carbon-based reptilian race from a planetary system across the Bezzolentine Galaxy, one-hundred-six million light-years away. Their planet is called Morihach-4. They, like the other non-Liastans present, have been space travelers for a very long time. They were one of the first to visit Liast.
“In the process of communicating with Liastans, we Sakeous learned that their unborn not only communicated with these visitors, but were exposed to their genetics. In our case, when contact was made on Morihach-4, we learned that those developing in-egg chose to borrow, to share, some of the genetic characteristics of their visitors. They were not forced. The children from Butterfly House did not meddle in evolution. Parts of the genetic material that they carried, when asked, was shared. But only when asked!”
One by one, the visitors from other planets and galaxies spoke of the children’s visits, and how grateful they were that they had met their young. The story was the same. The children never meddled, but they did, from time to time, when asked, share genes.
On Antares, the previously charged atmosphere of confrontation and condemnation slowly changed to understanding, and then to awe. The Brigade members and commanders were very emotional about the children. The Antareans were calmed. Secretly, they congratulated Spooner and Amos Bright for their initial decision to process the Earth-human seniors and bring them to Antares. That act, for them, confirmed The Master’s Grand Plan.
The last to speak at the meeting table on Liast were two humanoids with dark green, bark-like skin. They had two sets of eyes; one set aimed forward, and one that moved within a milky, viscous fluid, along the perimeter of their perfectly round heads. Several antennae protruded from their long necks. The taller of the two moved next to Scott, and put an appendage, a thin stiff arm with a flat, paddle-like end, around the young man’s shoulder.
“We are called Fougarden,” he said, addressing the audience on Antares as though he could see them. And he could. “I am called Thist – a seeker.
I am like your children with memory of time before birth and contact with other species in this Universe. We have been space travelers for as long as we have memory.” His voice, filtered through a translator device, was deep, yet soft and soothing, sounding like a kindly minister addressing his Sunday morning flock. “We are evolved,” Thist continued, “in a galaxy close to the very edge of this Universe...a very old galaxy. We are a race that, like you Antareans, explore and trade. This is our work and our way. Our young came to know the children of Butterfly House when both were unborn. They readily shared genetic material. Both our young and yours made evolutionary leaps.” He bent over and whispered something in Scott’s ear. Scott nodded. “We believe the children of Butterfly House, and our own young, now possess, reassembled, the basic genetics of the first alive; the ones from which all cognitive life evolved. To know these children, yours and ours, is to have a glimpse of what was, what is, and what will become, in our Universe.” The Fougarden said no more.
The audience in the Great Hall of Kinnear watched silently as the children bid farewell to those gathered in the chamber on Liast. The image faded until the stage was dark. And then, out of the darkness, all the children reappeared.
“Now you understand,” Scott said. “Contact and change came by invitation from the unborn, the unspoiled and pure. In that state, we know one another, and we are the same, unfinished but becoming. In that state of existence, many choices are made. This is how all evolved. This is how it has always been.”
“With processing, random genetic mixing, and visits from the Fougarden unborn,” Melody stated, “we are a new race on our own mission.”
Ruth and Spooner stood again. Both walked up onto the stage. They were of one mind, and spoke in one voice.
“We understand. We apologize. We accept. We wish you long life and success. Go in peace, and remember us.”