“While I breathe, I hope,” Jacob whispered.
Reo thought, What a strange thing to say.
Chapter 25:
AD 2131 Outside the Great Rift – Far Reach Station
An antique bottle of amber alcohol and a single glass sat between the two men. A cigar wrapped of the finest Cuban tobacco smoldered in the ashtray. An old fashioned felt hat sat on the table.
The scene was out of some twentieth-century video. If not for the aliens arranged about the bar, any human would have recognized the dive when they stepped inside.
Outside, the sign flashed Troubadour in rotating shades of the color wheel. Anything to draw attention to the dispensing establishment named after the fabled human. This was one of the largest tourist attractions on the station.
Black horn-rimmed glasses with impenetrable dark lenses hid the wrinkles only time can etch into a human’s face. That face was a blank mask. So many hidden secrets locked away in that mind.
The old man took a drink before speaking more. “Sol system was lucky. They made first contact with the TikaTiki. A much more violent race could have rediscovered Earth. Things could have turned out much… worse.”
The young reporter had traveled light-years to meet this legend. The experience was everything he expected and more. “Rediscovered?”
“Sure, the builders were the first, some centuries before, or there would be no gate. A few other races would visit from time to time but deemed humans too… volatile to contact. I think in many ways, an unofficial do-not-contact order was sent out. As a way to see if we would mature into the universe, or destroy ourselves and leave the Earth to a more responsible race.”
“I guess we did…”
“Not really… Once humans reached a certain point, the rest of the universe didn’t have much choice.”
“Back to the story…”
The old man finished the drink and poured another glass of bourbon. “Yes?”
“Isn’t that ending just a little… pat?”
“It would be nice if history was neat and clean, wouldn’t it be? Not a fan of deus ex machina? Mankind was outmatched. If not for the intervention, the outcome would have been different. Vastly different.”
“None of this matches… with official records.” The reporter flipped through his notes.
“And that surprises you? If humanity knew how many times… how close extinction hung over the race… many times over the centuries—”
“Centuries? There was more than one?”
“Many more. There is a reason why we say ignorance is bliss.”
“But the TikaTiki… They didn’t give Earth much.”
“No? I say they gave what we needed. A reason to go on. A reason to push past the bad, to keep searching for the good.”
“But they only broadcast…”
“I know what they did. Those plans for shields to protect from the cosmic rays and dampening fields to reduce the stress of acceleration, they were the stepping-stone to the stars. When we discovered Earth was not so far behind the rest of the galaxy, we went out exploring. All it took was a little nudge in the right direction of study. The TikaTiki was kind enough to offer the right push into modernity.”
“Where will this all go?”
“I don’t think anyone can answer that, do you? All this happened three decades ago. In today’s fast-paced world, that’s a lifetime of shit that hit the fan by anyone’s measurement of time.”
“And this is a good thing?”
“I think so. Listen, we all know Far Reach has only been around for a hundred twenty years. Think about what is going to happen in the next few lifetimes.”
“But you didn’t see any of this. You were gone by then… How do you know what really happened?”
“I have a knack of learning stories. It is, after all, my business. Listen, I didn’t see any of it. I left long before, nearly seventy years earlier. I was taken from my humble beginnings. But the story I told you was the real truth.”
“So it is true you were taken into space before Earth’s first contact.”
“That’s no secret. Many people were. I wasn’t even the first. But that is an altogether different story. Maybe next time. Now I need a rest. My old bones aren’t what they used to be.”
“How old are you?”
“That’s not a polite question to ask.”
“Then I must ask, are all your stories true?”
“A good magician never gives away his secrets. The truth of any good story is left up to the audience to decide. Truth is often in the eyes of the beholder. Some secrets are better off taken to the grave.”
“But the truth… is, well, the truth…”
“Do you always tell the complete truth in your stories, or do you bend the facts to match your narrative? No, every story has at least two sides. I’m sure John Huss would have a different tale to tell, one that didn’t paint the humans in such a rosy picture.”
“After that, the AI war started.”
“Yes, and fortunately, I was somewhere warm during that deadly part of our history.”
“Do you ever miss it… Earth?”
“Not really. Once Alliji and I met, why would I want to leave this land of adventure for a single gravity well?”
“But she’s not human.”
“When love is involved, why should race matter? Tell me why anything but that love should matter?”
Captain Hack finished his drink, covered his gray hair with the fedora, and snatched up the half-full bottle. “Now if you’ll excuse me, it's time for my nap.”
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