Season of Bliss

by Craig Allen



  Season of Bliss

  by

  Craig Allen

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Season of Bliss

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  Copyright © 2013 Craig Allen. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Artwork by https://damon.za/com

  Visit the author blog:

  https://craigallenauthor.blogspot.com

  ISBN# 978-1-310386-39-8 (eBook)

  DISTANT

  Sasha shivered as she tugged at the thin gown. Why did examination rooms always have to be cold?

  “Ms. Merigole.” Doctors excelled at giving grim news. She assumed they had a lot of practice. Her doctor gestured at a series of lines on a monitor, as if she could understand what they meant. Things weren’t good, but she’d known that for a while.

  The thin bed mattress adjusted itself as she shifted. In theory, the automatic adjustments made a patient more comfortable, but she hadn’t felt comfortable for a long time.

  “We’ve been over this,” he said. He was concerned. If only she shared the feeling.

  “I know, Doctor.” They’d had this conversation before.

  He chewed his lip for a minute.

  “I’m extending your prescription,” he said at last. “You should continue taking them, even while blissing.”

  “Doctor, I won’t be—”

  “Sasha.” In the almost six years she had been his patient, he’d never called her by her first name. “The damage to your heart is considerable but not irreversible.”

  She nodded. “I’ll take the pills.”

  “The pills keep the pain to a minimum, but they won’t save you. The damage is too extensive.” He clicked off the monitor. “You need to bliss.”

  Bliss. Sasha hated that word. “That won’t happen, Doctor.”

  “If you don’t, you probably won’t survive.”

  Her shoulders sagged. What could she do? Without Andrew, there could be no bliss.

  The doctor tapped his tablet and sent the prescription to Sasha’s own tablet, which beeped inside her purse.

  “I also want to give you this.” Her tablet beeped again. “It’s an address to a blissing center.”

  She closed her eyes, trying to control her irritation. “Doctor…”

  “Sasha.” He tapped his tablet with his pen. He was older. His last bliss must have been years before. So was Sasha’s, for that matter, but for different reasons.

  “It’s not far from where you live. Just stop by. Please?”

  Sasha stood. “I’ll take the pills.”

  “We have had this discussion. What you are going through is normal. Others—”

  “Thank you, Doctor.”

  Sasha waited for him to continue to protest. Instead, he just nodded. “Contact me if you have any questions.”

  He left the examination room so she could change back into her clothes.

  Once the door closed, she picked up the tablet. She didn’t bother looking at the address before deleting it.

  ~~~~

  The wet grass soaked Sasha’s dress as she knelt. She brushed the leaves from the stone. The rain had stopped just as she arrived. The city superstructure loomed above, without overshadowing the graveyard. Thunder reverberated in the distance.

  This would be her third bliss without him. During the last bliss, two years ago, paramedics found her in her apartment after her tablet notified them of her distress. She recalled begging them to leave her, but they wouldn’t. The woman stroked Sasha’s forehead, telling her it would be okay. Both she and the man with her were on the edge of tears, and Sasha remembered they held hands at one point. They looked older. They probably hadn’t blissed in some time, but remained bound together until death. Watching them made her feel worse.

  She had stood to leave when her tablet chimed. She looked at the ID and smiled as she answered. “Hi, Kay.”

  The background behind Kay bounced as she walked while staring at her tablet. From the looks of it, she was in the prime minister’s home. “Oh God, have you seen the news?”

  Sasha smiled. Kay was never one for small talk. “I’m fine, Kay. How are you?”

  “Sorry, but you need to see this.” Kay spoke to someone off camera, but Sasha couldn’t hear what she said. “We’ll catch up later. Oh, and the boss wants to hire you.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “The paper you published in school. Remember?”

  Sasha had written a number of papers, but only one caught widespread notice. “Not…”

  “Yes, girl, that one.”

  “But… but that one was about what if someone from a lost human colony visited us.”

  “Exactly.”

  Sasha looked up. Along the sidewalk near the graveyard, a young man in an expensive suit held a tablet tightly, as if he were afraid it would get away from him. Several others crowded around him, entranced by whatever it was they watched. On the other side of the street, an elderly couple held hands as they watched their own tablet. Even from that distance, Sasha could tell they looked grim.

  Sasha looked back at Kay’s image. “What’s going on?”

  “Like I said, watch the news.” Kay disconnected. She always had a flare for the dramatic, even as a schoolgirl. For her, everything was an emotional uproar, blown out of proportion.

  But something different was under Kay’s playful tone, similar to when Andrew died.

  Sasha brought up the news. Less than a minute later, she knew nothing would be the same.

  ~~~~

  Sasha drove home in record time.

  She put on drier clothes as she watched the news feed. Her heart thudded even though she had taken a pill. This is unreal. In college, she’d written a paper about the possibility, but it had been a lark, little more than an intellectual exercise. Given the vast distances between stars, meeting another lost colony was unlikely, and yet her paper’s popularity had soared.

  And now it’s happening, she thought.

  “The vessel in question has parked in a high orbit, waiting for landing clearance,” the news bleated. “We have not yet received word of a response from the prime minister.”

  Sasha sat on the edge of a chair, watching the satellite footage. In geosynchronous orbit, the smooth, featureless craft reflected sunlight as if a mirror covered its entire surface. How such a craft could move baffled every engineer on the planet. It simply glided toward the planet like a leaf on a pond, and then maintained its position without any effort.

  Her tablet automatically lowered the newscast’s volume as a call came th
rough. She touched the screen and saw Kay’s smiling face. “Are you seeing this?”

  “Yes. My God, it’s unreal.”

  “Now you know why the boss wants to hire you.”

  Sasha bit her lip. “I’m not qualified.”

  Kay rolled her eyes. “You’re more qualified than anyone.”

  “I wrote a paper. How is that being qualified?”

  “It’s more than anyone else has done on this subject.”

  Sasha slumped into the nearest chair. God, of all the times… “I can’t.”

  “Why? Because of… Oh! Did you find someone?”

  Sasha said nothing.

  All sense of playfulness left Kay’s expression. “Are you still taking your pills?”

  Sasha gave a quick nod.

  “What’d the doctor say?”

  “He said I’m fine.”

  Kay closed her eyes for a minute. When she spoke again, her voice broke. “You’re still a bad liar.”

  Someone came into view on the screen and whispered in Kay’s ear. Her eyes grew wide. “They’re giving them permission to land.”

  Sasha still had the news on a small window on her wall screen. The vessel moved closer to the planet, diving into the atmosphere. “Where?”

  “Just outside Capella. The PM will be there, and he wants you there, too.”

  Sasha sighed. All she’d done was write a paper. She didn’t want to go, but she didn’t want to sit around and wait for the bliss either.

  “You can tell your boss I’ll be there.”

  Kay smiled. “Thanks, hon. He’ll be glad to see you.”

  “Where do I meet you?”

  “I’ve already sent a car.” She gave a little wave. “See you soon.”

  Sasha frowned, staring at the blank space where Kay’s image used to be. On the news, the vessel sank deeper into the atmosphere, until it was just a speck.

  ~~~~

  Sasha stood with the prime minister in Blessed Park, just outside the city. At four hundred square kilometers, it was huge, compared to any park inside the city. She and Andrew had used to camp there, but she hadn’t set foot in the park since he died. In spite of the momentous event about to unfold, being there pained her. She rubbed her chest, telling herself she didn’t need a pill. She reached for them in her dress pocket anyway.

  “It’s good to see you.”

  Sasha tried to give a reassuring smile as she looked at the prime minister. She remembered a time when his wrinkles were not quite so deep. Politics did that to a person. “And you, Prime Minister.”

  His jowls shook when he laughed. “So formal. You used to call me Uncle Jon.”

  “Thought it might be best to be formal.”

  “Formality.” He waved his hand in the air, as if to brush aside the whole matter. “I’m just glad I can’t run for reelection.”

  “I thought you loved politics.”

  “I’m afraid it wears thin after a while.”

  Journalists and casual onlookers had gathered in the thousands. The nearest stood behind the barricade a good thirty meters behind her, but the crowd as a whole surrounded the area at least three hundred meters from where the spacecraft would land. The visitor had requested everyone keep a minimum safe distance of at least one hundred meters, but the soldiers from the nearby base cordoned off a much larger section, just to be sure.

  She swallowed. She’d never seen a crowd this big, even after Andrew died. They were far away, but she could still feel their presence. It was smothering. She made fists, forcing the fear away. The panic was irrational—she knew that—but she couldn’t help herself.

  Uncle Jon put a hand on her shoulder. Her breathing slowed, and after a minute she felt in control, but she wouldn’t truly feel at ease until she was away from the crowds of people.

  What would the visitors think of the crowds? It was safe to assume the occupants of the craft would expect them to take precautions, but there was the chance they would take it the wrong way. She was about to ask where the deputy prime minister was, but she remembered. He was in seclusion in case something happened, just as her paper had suggested. Judging by the sophistication of the craft, they could do whatever they wished. The odds were against the precaution proving necessary. They had been friendly thus far, and God willing, they would remain that way.

  An officer approached. Sasha wasn’t sure of his rank, but he acted as if he were in charge. “Everything is ready, Prime Minister.”

  “Very good, Colonel Lambear. Please have your men keep their rifles slung.”

  “Yes sir.” The colonel departed.

  Uncle Jon looked at Sasha. She waited for the question, promising herself she wouldn’t be irritated when it came.

  “What was the doctor’s prognosis?”

  She tried not to frown. So much for not being irritated. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Oh, dear.” His wrinkles deepened. “Sasha, did he recommend a place you can go to…”

  “He did.”

  “Will you go?”

  She hesitated before answering. “I suppose.”

  “Oh, Sasha. I miss Andrew as well, but I don’t think he’d want you to be like this. I don’t want to lose my niece, as well.”

  “You won’t.” But Sasha knew that wasn’t true. Her inability to bliss would eventually kill her—if not this bliss, then the next one. And then she would be with Andrew again.

  “Prime Minister.”

  She hadn’t noticed Colonel Lambear return. He pointed upward. The craft flew into view, flanked by falcons, a type of fighter craft whose name came from some ancient species of bird from Earth. Their engines roared, but either the craft itself made no noise or the fighters that escorted it drowned it out.

  “Think those falcons will do any good if our visitors turn out to be hostile?” Colonel Lambear directed his question at Sasha.

  Everyone expected her to know about these things. The truth was that anything was possible. They wouldn’t know what the visitors wanted until they acted, and then it would be too late to do anything about it.

  The grim look on her uncle’s face mirrored how she felt.

  “Let’s keep the idle speculation to a minimum,” Uncle Jon said.

  Colonel Lambear mumbled a “Yes, sir.” His expression remained neutral, but he swallowed hard.

  The craft hovered over the park. The falcons’ engines curled, sending their thrust downward so they, too, could hover next to it. They slowly veered away as the craft lowered itself.

  The fighter craft kept their weapons retracted, fortunately. Again, it was part of her paper: Keep aggressive actions to a minimum. She would have preferred if the falcons weren’t present at all. It was unlikely they could do anything if the visitors turned hostile.

  The roar of the falcons faded as they disappeared to the east. The ground vibrated as the craft approached.

  “Ms. Merigole, any idea what that is?”

  Sasha wasn’t sure how Colonel Lambear expected her to know. She took a guess. “Their drive system, I’m sure. If it were harmful, I doubt they would land so close.” She hoped that were true.

  The craft touched down a hundred meters away from them, and the vibration ceased. For a moment, everything was quiet. Sasha had never heard such silence before. The only sound was the chatter over the colonel’s radio. Even the birds, so common in the park, had disappeared.

  The craft appeared to be maybe twenty meters across or so. There couldn’t be that many visitors on board.

  “Detecting movement,” the voice on the radio squawked. “Looks like it’s opening.”

  At first, Sasha saw nothing. Then, a slit appeared. The entire craft seemed to bisect down the middle. Within the opening stood a single figure.

  A voice came over the radio itself. “Hello.”

  Colonel Lambear held the radio at arm’s length, staring at it. Sasha knew little of the military, but she was certain they encrypted their frequencies.

  The colonel keyed the mic. “Who is this?”<
br />
  “I am the man standing before you.”

  Sasha stared at the radio for a moment, and then squinted at the figure in the craft opening. “He looks human.”

  The voice drifted over the radio once again. “I am.”

  She looked up at Uncle Jon. He, like everyone else, looked just as surprised as she felt.

  “You can hear us?” Colonel Lambear asked.

  “I can hear you quite plainly,” the voice said.

  Uncle Jon raised an eyebrow. “I see.” He cleared his throat. “Sir, I hope you don’t mind if I ask a personal question.”

  “Of course not, Prime Minister.”

  He hesitated. “How human are you, sir?”

  A short laugh came over the radio. “That’s a fair question. I am similar to you. I’m sure any differences are minor.” He paused. “Would it be all right if I approached?”

  Colonel Lambear shook his head and said in a low voice, “Prime Minister, it might be best if we escorted him to a secure location. We don’t know his intentions.”

  “If that is your wish,” the visitor said, “then I am happy to cooperate.”

  “What?” Sasha stepped forward. “You can’t do that.”

  The colonel looked at Sasha, irritated. ”Do you care to explain why, Ms. Merigole?”

  Sasha withered under his glare, but stood firm. “I think showing respect to a visitor with highly advanced technology would be a better option than whisking him off as a prisoner.”

  The colonel started to say something, but Uncle Jon held up his hand. “What do you suggest?”

  “He’s an ambassador,” Sasha said. “We should treat him as such.”

  Uncle Jon nodded. “I agree.” He looked across the field at the ship. “Sir, we would be honored if you joined us.”

  “Thank you.” A ramp extended from the craft. It remained extended just long enough for the visitor to exit before it retracted again. The visitor stepped forward as the exit closed, leaving no trace it had ever been there. He took his time crossing the distance from the craft to them. The suspense was agonizing.

  As he grew closer, they saw more and more detail. A brightly colored, single-piece suit hugged every part of his body like a second skin, revealing the muscles underneath. His blond hair seemed to point in every direction, but it looked as if he intended for it to be that way. What caught her off-guard was his smile. He seemed pleased to be there.