Moonliner: No Stone Unturned

by Hanzel, Donald

  Suddenly, images of scientific diagrams start appearing on the wall, drawing Cedric’s full attention. He sees the moon, satellites, grid lines, waves, and flashing lasers all within the rapidly refreshing sequence of images. It makes sense to him somehow, but only momentarily in flashes of brilliance.

  The images on the wall shift to the park, Lost Lagoon, and the bench on which Cedric and Nikki would frequently sit. It’s a still image, but not sitting still. It’s changing between seasons; time is lapsing. Over and over again, the image rolls rapidly through the seasons before it abruptly fades into the wall, leaving Cedric staring.

  He imagines the stone and it appears, projected onto the wall. He’s astounded by this ability and decides to further test it. He imagines a tranquil sunset, and there it is. Personal images begin showing on the wall in rapid succession. Cedric sits back, stares at the wall, and smiles widely. For the first time ever he seems to be controlling the scenario; running the projector in the theater of his mind. Positive images continue to flash in front of him. He’s in a state of pure euphoria, or bliss.

  “Wait,” he thinks, “If I can orchestrate my own reality…”

  He ever so slowly turns his head to the right, to the other end of his sofa. Sure enough, Nikki sits there smiling. She turns her head to look at him, but again says nothing. She just smiles while silently gazing into his eyes. Cedric looks deeply into her eyes as well, and at her pretty face.

  “It’s really you,” he says softly. She smiles.

  Cedric closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, knowing to control the moment. He has to keep a clear mind if he wants a little more time with her. Sensing that his zone has weakened, he opens his eyes again and looks back at Nikki. She’s so beautiful, so relaxed. He takes another deep breath, then extends his hand to her. She reaches out to touch it. Their hands meet across the sofa. Cedric knows now that he’s deeper into the moment than ever, sitting next to Nikki, holding her hand. He can even feel her baby soft fingers between his dry knuckles, but only for a moment.

  From far away, Cedric can hear music; it’s that DP song everyone’s been playing all summer. It gets louder. Cedric looks at Nikki and they both smile, listening to DP and holding hands.

  Nikki stands, still holding Cedric’s hand, then moves toward him. She stands in front of him for a moment, then gently sits on his lap face to face with him, straddling him. Just as her lips are about to touch his, a radio announcement is heard.

  “That was the latest from Domesticated Primate off their 3rd release – hieroglyphic. Coming up we’ll play some DogBone for you within the hour, so hang tight

  “Flybox will be at the Pleasure Dome on Friday August 30th and Saturday the 31st. If you’re into them you might wanna get on your beam. We’ve got a pair of tickets for the Friday show for caller 9 at DOT-5 Slide 34T. C’mon, what’ve you got to lose?”

  Eyes wide open, Cedric is now awake. The radio continues to play but fades to background as he makes a vain attempt to get back to sleep, back into his dream. He quickly realizes he can’t, so he grips a sofa pillow and throws it down on the floor.

  He gets up, walks to the window and takes a long look outside.

  Moonliner 3:11

  Lennox sits in a conference room on Moondock, bored stiff. His meeting with the Lunar Council is already four hours in and they haven’t even come close to all of the topics on their checklist to discuss. Among them, Nikki’s crash and measures to prevent further recurrences, which Lennox still hasn’t mentioned to Cedric but plans to when the moment is right.

  The morning has been filled with a lot of idle blathering from various council members surrounding docking privileges and berthing fees for private craft. Being there only to listen on behalf of the council to ensure that their actions are compliant with UN standards and international law, Lennox has no political or voting power with the body, but is well respected among them nevertheless. His advice, legal or otherwise, is taken quite seriously among council members.

  Today however, his mind’s adrift as he looks out a large oval window at the rotating moon and stars. He thinks about Cedric’s transmission and wonders if it really has any chance of beaming back in time. What if they’re somehow messing with the fabric of space and time, possibly causing irreparable damage?

  Were it just nineteen months earlier, prior to learning of his wife’s desire to pursue a divorce, he may have easily felt compelled to decline any help to Cedric out of fear the transmission would do just that; disrupt the harmony of space and time, leading to unforeseen risk. Now, however, what does he have to lose?

  Lennox is a selfless guy. It’s why he showed up at Cedric’s place to check on him. He genuinely cares. With all the time he’d vested into his career and marriage, his social life had been limited to work related functions and family obligations. Now left alone, he feels a need to live a little, or to do some things for himself. He no longer shoulders the selfless stresses that come with marriage. He doesn’t have to constantly worry about his wife. In fact, he shouldn’t. He also doesn’t have to worry if the universe falls into a wormhole. He’s now only looking out for himself.

  In many ways Lennox and Cedric are both in the same shoes; they’ve both suffered losses. It’s why Lennox can really sympathise with Cedric, he’s had more time to deal with his. Both men are now free as birds, but neither by choice.

  The meeting finally adjourns for lunch and Lennox casually leaves the conference room. He embarks on a somewhat lengthy stroll, planning to walk the entire length of the ring. Standing on Moondock can feel surprisingly similar to standing on Earth. Walking, however, feels a little different, like your always sinking a little before being caught, or stepping onto an escalator with every step. It takes a little getting used to but is much less disorienting than weightlessness.

  Halfway into an enjoyable stroll around a largely quiet ring, Lennox finds his favorite lunch spot on Moondock; the Captain’s Catch. It’s a charming, high-end, seafood restaurant that sits neatly tucked between two hotels. A little lighthouse outside its entrance helps him spot the place, which is dimly lit with rustic lanterns lighting each table.

  Taking full advantage of the council’s dining allowance, Lennox orders lobster tail and a porterhouse medium rare. It’s astounding, he thinks, that such a fine meal, tailored specifically to satiate the most discriminating tastes could be served up here, high above the moon as it orbits high above the earth. He knows all too well what it takes to put that meal in front of him; all the hoops people have to jump through, from the food regulations to the work staff requirements. He probably understands the contracts, the sub-contacts, and the inner workings of the entire station better than anyone else on board. His job is better rounded and far less parochial than most of the people who work on the station.

  He watches another bright blue earthrise as he finishes his steak, well satisfied with his meal. What a life, he thinks, realizing the uniqueness of his position in the universe. He’s starting to feel his self-respect return for the first time since the end of his marriage. Divorce can really leave a guy feeling deflated.

  Cedric’s transmission is also adding to the long needed return of Lennox’s dignity. It feels cool to be connected to a potentially historic event; the first messages ever known to be transmitted through time. What if it happens? He knows and has always known that Cedric has enormous potential and could easily be on to something big. It’s fascinating to Lennox and well worth being in on.

  With the earth now riding high in the lunar sky, Lennox thinks about the human psyche and the diminishing return that comes with each repeated experience we have; each weakening impression upon the mind. He thinks of his first earthrise, and the dozens he’s seen since. There’s a huge qualitative difference between the first one and the last one. Cedric, who has been dying to get to the moon, has yet to see his first earthrise. If he could only give one to Cedric, he thinks to himself.

  Full of fine seafood, Lennox pays his tab, then walks out of th
e restaurant and into the main tube. He sits on a bench near the tube’s center and checks his blue-beam for messages. With no new messages showing, he opens Cedric’s recorded attachment.

  He planned to have this lavish lunch in case it turns out to be his last, knowing it’s time to transmit the message. With Cedric’s original message open, Lennox lifts his thumb to hit the repeat button. Highly hesitant, he relaxes without pressing it. He takes a deep breath, then hits the button.

  “Message sent,” shows on the screen.

  Lennox takes a long look at Earth in the distance, sits back and smiles, then beams a quick message to Cedric.

  “I sent your message back in time and the universe still appears to be here,” it reads.

  Part 4: March 11, 2014

  Seattle, WA

  With soft, indistinguishable radio chatter on in the background, Beau has fallen into a deep sleep on his sofa. Unemployment forces a guy to think, and heavy thinking has left him drained. Sleep gives him a mental break from his perpetual unease and the chance to reboot his mind.

  Beau’s discomfort grows by the day, slightly yet detectably. He knows that things will work out. They have to. It’s just a matter of time. It’s time, however, that’s eating at him. Like in many equations, time is a factor and cannot be factored out. Every minute that passes has a price tag attached to it and Beau knows he has no income. He’s living on borrowed time.

  The radio suddenly drifts out of tune and into a soft, repeatedly interrupted squelch, as if it were a car radio going in and out of a series of short tunnels. It’s not enough to wake Beau, at least not at yet. Next, a higher pitched signal can be heard fluctuating between a high and mid-range, a lot like when a receiver hones in on a radio wave.

  Then Cedric’s voice comes over the radio.

  “The tsunami will never come,” is all that can be clearly understood before the message slows down considerably. It starts to speed up again but is lost in a few seconds of squelch. The radio then goes silent. Beau remains asleep.

  After several seconds of silence, the radio comes alive again with Cedric’s transmission. A series of beeps and shrill sounds that almost sound like a coded message come loudly across the radio, followed by louder squelch. Beau immediately awakens to the sound of Cedric’s voice coming across his shortwave.

  “Between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus. If you find this to be more convincing, please leave a more detailed reply for me under the stone. It’s the only proven place. Only this time, please bury your response a little deeper, beneath the coin to ensure that we don’t disturb the coin’s initial discovery.”

  The message stops. Still in the wake of a deep sleep, Beau is confused by his environment and takes a few seconds to get oriented. He soon realizes that it was Cedric’s voice and reaches for his memo recorder, which isn’t where he usually leaves it on the desk. Hoping the message will repeat itself, he frantically searches the room for the device, overturning everything in his path.

  As hoped, the message starts again from the beginning, only Beau has yet to find the memo recorder.

  “This is a message to the person who left the coin beneath the stone,” Cedric can be heard saying; “should you be hearing this, I realize how hokey this must seem getting a message from the future. I’ll be honest, I don’t believe it myself. I am, however, obliged to examine all plausible results, and therefore must follow up on the coin. Assuming you are real and that you were at that tradeshow. If my calculations are correct, it’s now early March for you. The tradeshow ended on the eighth, the same day that Malaysian Air flight #370 disappeared; a flight that will unfortunately take over a year to find any remnant of, and years to solve.

  “March 12th, 350 buildings in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood will be evacuated due to a massive fire. The next day, March 13th, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake will occur near Japan’s Kyushu Island. Three days later, on the 16th, a 6.7 will strike off the coast of Chile, triggering tsunami warnings. The tsunami will never come. The next day, president Obama will announce sanctions on Russia over the Crimean crisis. And if that’s all too soon, on March 26th, the first-known ringed asteroid will be discovered; 10199 Chariklo circling the sun between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus.

  “If you find this to be more convincing, please leave a more detailed reply for me under the stone. It’s the only proven place. Only this time, please bury your response a little deeper, beneath the coin to ensure that we don’t disturb the coin’s initial discovery,” the message ends.

  Beau laughs, then looks even harder for his recorder. He has to record this for Kendra. If anything, it will take their minds off of their financial fears a little. It is, after all, free entertainment.

  “Where the hell is my recorder?” he yells, now moving large stacks of books around on his desk to examine each nook.

  Cedric’s message begins to play again, as clear as any radio station on the dial.

  “Damn it!” Beau yells, now fearing he won’t be able to document the transmission and knowing it’s too chock full of details to remember. The message plays on. Just as it nears its end, Beau catches a glimpse of ruby red plastic between the cushions on his sofa; the memo recorder. He quickly grabs it, but the message has played out.

  Seconds of silence seem like minutes as Beau patiently waits for the transmission to replay. His hopes fade with each ticking moment. Would the message play again? He wants more than to report it to Kendra; he wants to play it for her. More seconds however, lead to doubt, then disbelief. He must have missed it, he thinks as he relaxes his thumb away from the red button on his recorder.

  Then suddenly, the message begins to play again. Beau hits the record button and captures every word of it. He stops the recording after the message ends, then plays the beginning of it back just to ensure that he’s got it, which he does.

  He kicks back on his sofa and smiles, knowing that at least he has something new to tell Kendra over dinner, which reminds him; Kendra will be home in a few minutes and he hasn’t lifted a finger, and it’s his night to cook. He jumps off the sofa and darts into the kitchen, where he starts rummaging through all the pots, pans, and appliances.

  Moonliner 4:02

  An hour later the table is set and dinner is ready. Beau has worked up one of his own culinary inventions; chicken udon-alfredo, a Japanese noodle dish with an Italian sauce. When finished, he leaves the noodles on low in a crock-pot and sits back down on the sofa to wait for Kendra.

  The sun is back after three days of rain, but now quickly falling toward night. Beau leans back on his sofa to allow what’s left of the natural light to hit him on the face. He’s just about to drift back to sleep when Kendra opens the door, back from a long shift.

  She kicks off her shoes, drops her handbag on a chair, and pops the lid off the slow cooker to see what smells so good. She smiles and bats her eyes at the sight of the udon-alfredo. She actually really likes it but knows she’ll have to admit it sometime during the course of her dinner. Beau likes a little praise for his cooking, especially for his own dishes.

  She hangs her jacket in the closet and goes into the bathroom to wash up.

  “How was your day?” she yells to Beau from the bathroom.

  “It was good,” Beau answers, wishing he had more to report on the job front.

  “Any luck with the job hunting?” Kendra asks.

  “No, not yet,” Beau answers.

  Kendra serves herself a plate of noodles with a salad on the side. Beau gets up and comes into the kitchen to join her. They both sit down to eat.

  “So how was your day?” Beau asks Kendra.

  “Exhausting,” she answers, happy that he thought to ask; “I was swamped from the moment I arrived. At least it went fast.”

  “It was nice this afternoon,” Beau says; “did you get a chance to get out at all?”

  “Yeah, we took a walk at lunchtime and ate outside,” Kendra answers. “It was a little chilly out, but nice. It felt good after raining all day
yesterday.”

  “It’s these breaks that get us through winter,” Beau says.

  “Do you have any job interviews tomorrow?” Kendra asks.

  “Look, I really don’t wanna talk about job interviews anymore tonight,” Beau snaps, surprising both of them.

  “Relax, job loss is a part of being a professional,” Kendra says; “besides, it’s only been three days since Neotech. Something could still come of that.”

  “No I’m sorry,” Beau replies; “but it’s Monday, the first business day and I still haven’t heard back from anyone yet,” he says, now feeling less secure about his prospects.

  “That’s the way the business world works,” Kendra says. “Remember, they have their jobs and aren’t quite as anxious as you. I’m sure you’ll hear something soon.”

  “I hope so,” Beau tells her. “Speaking of Neotech,” he says; “he got the coin.”

  “Who got what coin?” Kendra asks.

  “The guy in the future,” Beau answers; “he found the coin beneath the stone and responded.”

  “The future guy replied?” Kendra asks excitedly.

  “Yes, that’s what I said,” Beau answers rolling his eyes.