“I wish there was something we could do. We know so much; but, there’s so much more to learn. Don’t give up, my friend. We’ll keep at it.”
The two hugged. Jack sat down; and Bellos went to the podium.
“Good afternoon my Ever-Life friends…Welcome to this month’s Life Celebration. We gather to honor those dearly departed, and pay respect for their contribution to all of us; to their families, friends, careers, and to the many of us, who they never knew, but whose lives will be forever changed, and better, because they lived. They will be remembered, and ever live, through us all…
…Also; today is a very special day, because we lost one of our most beloved and accomplished GGM’s, Mr. Gordon Swanson. He was my predecessor, mentor, and for all of us, the longest most progressive and successful GGM in our history. His life and his efforts have affected us all, for the better. Let us pray:
‘We thank our Lord for giving us this man…Thank you for your service, Gordon. You will live in our hearts, and our minds and our daily lives, every day’…
…And now, may each one of our stations play the short video, celebrating of our great GGM’s service record, for all of you to reflect upon, if you so choose…This ends today’s broadcast ceremony. May God bless us all!”
Bellos took two steps back from the podium, and everyone stood, while the Ever-Life anthem played. At the end of it, each person turned and faced the grand chasm. To everyone’s surprise, all went dark-pitch black, the light, which all took for granted, went out. After the nervous awes of the crowd subsided, the Carriers displayed what could only be described as breathtaking-another first. They began shooting fireworks; but, there were no sounds, just silent explosions of magnificent and varied colors. The beauty was indescribable. People began to clap and cheer. Wonderful music started playing from the monitors. The show continued for twenty minutes. The finale was like nothing anyone had seen. When it finished, light came on again; and, Bellos addressed the crowd, one last time, “Thank you all for remembering our loved ones; Ever-Life, everywhere!”
Then, he stepped down from the stage and began greeting and talking to the few personal friends, who sat in front of the podium. There was Mike Warren, LuAnne Rather, Angie and Carla Bellos, Jack and Brian Sheldon, Andy and Patty Sarkis, Swanson’s secretary, Jake Burns, and Hamil Stevens, the freshman Time Trust coordinator. They all chatted with tears and smiles; and then, they disbanded to meet in the grand hall for refreshments.
Chapter 32
Hope Springs
Rachel had been ill for weeks now, since the episode in Rio. Jack had the lab rearranged into a high-tech hospice; and, he continued to run tests every day. Unfortunately, they yielded no conclusive results. Ever-Life labs indicated nothing new either. There was no suggested direction or prognosis. Jack had been researching the orphan diseases for the last month, trying to correlate the gene pools. He was frustrated and at his wits end. He spent all his time back and forth to Ever-Life, but to no avail. As had become his routine, early one evening, he sat in a rocker, beside his wife’s bed, dozing. Rachel lay, barely breathing. Brian was there too, kneeling on the other side of the bed, holding one of her hands. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, she opened her eyes and saw Jack; and then, she squeezed Brian’s fingers.
“Brian…”
“Mom? Dad, Mom is awake.”
Jack jerked up, leaned over to her and kissed her cheek. “Hello, Darling.”
“I must be in and out quite a bit…Come closer, both of you.”
Her men moved quickly and smiled, as she began to talk.
“I am happy…I know you think I am going to die, but it’s not true; not at all. I’ve been having dreams. They are so real. I am just going to change. Jack you taught me; remember, in the lab, C.P.T.? My thoughts and memories, my soul; they will live on and multiply, just as life gives new babies.
Brian, promise me you will have babies?”
“Of course I will.”
“Rach, save your strength, I’ll get you something, just be still.”
“No Jack; I have to get this out. You have to listen.” She looked at them both and continued, “Death is just the labor of a new birth…Brian, you are going to know me better than you ever did, better than you ever imagined. We will be closer than I ever hoped; and yet, you and your children will be even closer. And sometimes; sometimes, when you need it most; we will talk. All you have to do is Love.”
Then she turned to Jack. “Oh my Love, I know, I’m such a romantic, I Love you so. So many said it before, better than I could; but it’s true, to give and receive love is to see the face of God. I see him in you, Babe. Now give me a good kiss.”
They smiled, and Jack kissed her with tears rolling down his face. In that kiss, she stopped breathing.
Brian squeezed her arm and sunk his head into the bed. Jack caressed her face and cried. After that, he got up slowly, walked to the other side of the bed and helped Brian out of the room, upstairs to Angie’s waiting arms. Angie walked him to the couch, while Jack walked back down into the lab and closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Rachel. With the deepest sadness, he held her hand and cried like a baby, “My God, you can’t leave me.” He looked up and prayed out loud, “God, if you can hear me, now is the time.”
Up in the living room, Angie comforted Brian, “Come on Brian; let your father be with her. Let’s take a breath, for a few minutes; get some air; walk with me?”
They both went outside. In the lab, Jack sat whimpering. His eyes were blood red from the tears. He couldn’t say words any longer, but his thoughts were crystal clear. Take me; bring her back. I saw you, I know you. I know you can take me.
He cried himself out, and placed her clenched fists over the covers, trying to adjust her comfortably.
Who knows how much time passed; but then, from the far corner, Jack heard a whistling, whirling sound, like the wind through trees. He looked; and, to his amazement, a small glowing statue of a Carrier appeared on the floor. It was no more than 15 inches high. He walked over, examined it and read the inscription on the base, “Allenfar…Christ, what is this!”
Then, he startled at hearing a voice from the bed. There, sitting beside Rachel’s corpse, was the figure of a man.
“Hello, Doctor. Do you remember me?”
Jack was emotionally spent, with no patience.
“I’m in no mood for games; no, I don’t. Who are you and how did you get in here?”
“We met on your trip back to the surface, in a Carrier Bubble. I spoke to you and your wife.”
“Yes; it is you. Well; you picked the wrong time for a visit.”
“It seems your wife finally pushed the communicator, I gave her. All this time, and nothing to report… Oh my.”
“You are too late; she’s gone.”
“I promised her I would help her, if you remember?” He smiled at Jack and stood up. “You see, she did push it. Look; there in her hand.”
Jack leaned over and opened her left fist; sure enough, there it was; the small little peanut device, the Tyree Master gave her in the Bubble.
“Doctor Sheldon, you, of all people, believe in hope, do you not?”
Jack felt his knees buckle. Catching himself, he almost missed sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Who are you?” He began to tear up again.
“I am here to remind you that nothing said has any meaning without hope. Your wife touched us in a special way. Your discoveries touched us in many special ways.”
“But, I thought sunlight killed your kind.”
“The fact is; many things can kill us, just like many things can kill you. But, I am alive; and you two proved that your love for each other reaches beyond death; not that others don’t. It just seems like the proper thing to say at this moment.”
“What?”
The man smiled. “You know, you people say that word quite a lot…
… Ah, it’s only a word anyway, ‘death’ I mean. Here, I have thi
s for you.”
Jack held out his hand and the man gave him a small two inch blue vial.
“I trust you know what to do with this? We have made sure it will work. It’s a gift. Oh, and I brought the little statue over there, to remember us by.”
Jack reacted by turning to glimpse it. When he turned back again, the man was gone. He looked at the vial in his hand. Then, he took a deep breath and sat on the bed next to Rachel. He reached down, held her hand and took another deep breath…
Chapter 33
Airlift-Mid July
A private airlift zoomed far above Earth, travelling with only two passengers, Marion Brock and Charlie Rosse. An optically clear window, four feet long by three feet high, lined one wall of the cabin. The entire vehicle was fueled by the Brock Companies’ Moon Mining Businesses. This was the first completely operated, unmanned space travel vehicle, not controlled or financed by a government contract. It had all the accoutrements of a high class hotel, on Earth. The two men sat comfortably looking down at the majesty of the Nile River.
Brock snickered, sarcastically, “It’s hard to believe that ten miles under there, men have built a way of life based on healthcare. If I hadn’t found out Swanson was holding out on me; well, I should be thankful.”
“What do you think people will do, once they know about ‘The Colonies’?”
“Nothing, the media frenzy will last a week, two at most. We will be fine; people are stupid. When all is said and done, this little gadget will make the difference up here.”
Brock and Rosse had just left Brock’s personal port station orbiting Earth and were now on their way to the Moon.
“Marion, for the last nine months now, your whole effort was to discover time travel. Why?”
Brock was in a good mood and knew the trip was going to take a while, so he put up with Rosse.
“Given my history and the events of this year, I trust you’ll understand; insurance was always a consideration.”
“Sorry, I don’t understand.”
“I guess I shouldn’t expect you to. I have a dream that my companies will revolutionize life. Can you imagine; if on that silly little planet, we all could travel in time, not just through it? Until me, our only choice has been to decide how to spend the time we have. What if we could make the time we have, whatever we want? That’s what I wanted…And more than that, I wanted to break away, to break out, from the prison of time. Of course, how do we do that, without the right fuel? Do you realize how much fuel is burned up, just trying to get out of the gravitational pull of that little planet; hence my multitasking, to mine the moon. Who else is doing it, the governments? I know that’s all bullshit.”
“So this has all been to lead the people of planet Earth to space travel?”
“Both…Time travel is much more than you can imagine. Think of this. As we get less dependent on the base elements of our little blue ball, we can jump from one planet, to other planets and mine fuel as we go. But whatever the fuel is, it has to generate power enough for ‘time travel’. Time Travel is the key. It will allow us to travel far beyond our little blue ball, through the Galaxy and beyond; I think someone said.”
Rosse stared at Brock in amazement.
“Hah, I really had you there for a minute.” Brock broke out into laughter. “Here, read this.”
Brock handed Rosse a booklet that was stamped TOP SECRET.
“You should see your face Charlie…You gullible shit. See; a little sincerity and even you will listen. I got your attention; didn’t I?”
“You have my attention with this too. You never mentioned this, in any meeting with me.”
“What did you think I was doing with that Carrier, anyway?”
“I thought you were trapped inside him.”
“Up to a point, I was. He wanted me; and I found out many things, because, as he grew, so did I. We know time travel is possible; and we will take all the knowledge we got from Stevens and the Carrier, and set up shop elsewhere.”
“You mean out here?”
“I have just the right spot in mind. And there will be no threat or interference, this time. Look, that’s where we’ve been, but that’s where we’re going.”
Rosse followed Brock’s finger and looked out the portside window. There; through it, he saw the moon getting larger.
“My companies have built 3 space stations and an inventory port, for the distribution of space fuel needed to power all travel, from point to point out here. There’s plenty on the Moon. You are going to see what the Brock Companies have invested silently in, for the past 35 years: Space Fuels to fill vehicles, like gas stations do, for cars on Earth. It’s a whole new world. With fuel, communication, and time travel up here; there are no limits.”
“Communication? You mean the VAD. I must say, it was brilliant, your introduction on the 4th of July.”
“Yep, and now we have a way to communicate up here that’s light years from the old cell or satellite technology. I have 300 of these little gems back there, and we’re going to deliver them to the mining camps and distribution port. Charlie my friend, I am making you the top dog up here. It’s graduation; reward time for you. You are going to run the show.”
Rosse did a double take, half smiled and asked, “That’s great; but, I thought this was a fact finding mission. Marion, I’m flattered, and certainly I could, would; yes, I…Thank you.”
“Good, it’s settled. You will be impressed. The mining camps are almost 100% robotic-cyber operated. We only have 10 people, in management positions; smart guys…That makes all the difference. Why these little devices will enable us all to interact, as though we were in the next room. This trip is as much ‘PR’ as anything else. You and I needed to get away, anyway.”
Brock patted Rosse on the shoulder and sat down in a comfort chair, facing Earth.
KNOFER, ECHO 4: VAD
Introduced July 4, 2999 by O.P.A.S., Seattle Washington
After only 10 months of combined research, The Brock Companies present the Knofer Echo 4
General Specifications: VAD-Video/Audio Device
Size: 3.25 inches X 4.5 inches X 1/8” inch
Brock Co. Software
Security Imprint able
Diamond Circuitry
Transcontinental Communication Device and Medical Monitor
Connect to Worldwide Medical Hospitals
Battery life: 2 months, solar or electric recharge
Capable of global interface at any frequency
Unlimited download
Fact finder, capable of interface with all known languages
Translates to and from any language
Unlimited Random Access Memory
2D/3D display
Streaming to and from any device
Hermetically sealed
Impact resistant: up to 100 ft
Temperature limits: -200 +200
Military Grade available
Voice activation
*Contact your Brock Company Dealer for more details.
^^^^^^^^^^
Rosse sat across from him, staring at the Moon and whispering to himself, “Mining camps, ten people, the Moon…”
He reached out, in front of himself, flipped his plastic seat-back down and took out a map and details of the Moon Camps.
“Mining Camp Robots; they don’t look like they even talk. Maybe I should find out…” He took out his new Echo 4, VAD. “…No time like the present to say hello to these guys.”
He pressed his thumb against the screen, to activate the features. Then, he tapped it again, and again; but, nothing happened.
“Uh, Marion, is your Echo working? Mine looks great, but it doesn’t seem to do anything; must be the altitude, eh.”
Brock took his out and pressed his thumb on the screen; likewise, nothing. He did it several times, and then muttered, “It was working fine on the port station. Here, let me see yours.”
He shook them both, giggling at first, “I never should have negotiated with o
ur prison friend, Marshall. This was my failsafe. It was all about the power.”
He continued, repeatedly, to press his thumbprint and shake the Echos. “My researchers said they could duplicate those lovely, little, Knofers, I gave them.”
“Knofers; what’s a Knofer?”
Brock gradually became more intense, “Shit, it should work! Why doesn’t it work? Stupid! Stupid! I gave them the samples. I gave them the damn samples! They worked fine. It was unprecedented, a new VAD-Video/Audio Device in ten months, unprecedented. July 4th was Nick’s birthday…Lotta good that did.”
“Let’s just call someone, from the cockpit.”
The two went upfront and sat in the two captain’s chairs. Brock commented, “These are just for show, this is all automatic.”
As Brock studied the lighted panel before him, they both felt a jerk, and heard a sputter from the rear of the cabin. Then, the panel lights went out and everything went dark. The Airlift began to drift to one side, and they heard what sounded like a carburetor sputtering. Brock quickly concentrated on the Echos again.
Rosse panicked in the dark. “So we’re stuck here?”
“Don’t be stupid; 25,000 miles per hour is hardly stuck…This thing is supposed to draw power from any source. God damn Sheldon…Damn that Swanson; that’s what I get for trusting them all.”
Brock’s hissy fit was escalating into a rage.
“Marion, I think we are passing the Moon.”
The airlift jerked again, and it started to slowly tumble and spin out of control. Charlie Rosse watched Brock keep talking to himself, obsessed with the two Echos. At first, they couldn’t feel the spin, because of the weightless environment; but then Rosse sensed the momentum increase, when he saw the Earth pass across the window like the sun fast forwarding across a clear Seattle skyline. It moved from the top of the window to the bottom with ever increasing speed; faster with each spin. Rosse pushed himself out of his seat, back to the big bay window. He could see both the Earth and Moon now. The Airlift began not only spinning side to side, but it was also flipping back over front.
Ever-Life the Two Book Set: The C.P.T Incident and Time Trust Page 43
