The Afterlife of Alice Watkins 2

by Matilda Scotney

  “I don’t understand how, with all the technology of this century, it’s not possible to prove who makes them.”

  “Children,” Noah said with certainty. “I can’t imagine adults carrying out wanton destruction of crops on such a scale.”

  “The formations are a fraction of the size of those in the 20th century, Alice,” Ben joined in the conversation, “except for the one we are going to see next, it’s unusually large.”

  “I don’t see how crop circle architects get by 26th-century radar,” the whole concept altogether stumped Alice.

  “No-one has come up with any convincing argument, Alice,” Ben replied, “the debate has raged for centuries.”

  Alice’s response to the next formation was entirely different— struck by the geometrical patterns, she asked Ben to go higher so she could see it in one frame. For some reason, and she didn’t know why, it made perfect sense.

  Noah saw her expression and the question forming on her lips. He held up a finger to silence her. Not now, he mouthed. They could speak of it later. She nodded and returned her attention to the ground below.

  Alice recognised the shape—the symbol for infinity. As she watched, it appeared to rotate. She blinked, and the formation stilled, the other designs scattered around and within the structure had meaning, a meaning which escaped her, even though she’d seen such patterns before, and in colour. In frustration, she raked through her memory, but couldn’t recall where she’d seen them, and the more she gazed at the formation, the more she felt she was being reminded. But of what?

  Like her sister, Principal Katya, Selina Ryan possessed limitless energy and enthusiasm. The entire day spent looking over ruins and architectural treasures, included an ancient cathedral holding important historical relics. Alice felt as if she were time travelling, standing awestruck in a building constructed centuries before her own time, running her hand over the ancient supports and examining inscriptions that surprisingly, withstood the ravages of time.

  Late into the evening, they arrived back at the house, and Selina decided not to impose on Alice’s cooking skills after such a busy day, so the Providore was summoned. The exhilaration of everything she’d seen and done during the day filled Alice’s head, and she found herself restless, interrogating Noah about the cathedral and the fascinating old city, and the agricultural applications of growing barley. But not once did she mention the crop formation.

  That night, Alice offered to take a turn in feeding Puppy, Selina, secretly desperate to make her feel welcome, gave her and Noah the first shift. This time the puppy took the feed greedily from Alice and deposited some formula back on Alice’s shirt. She held the hot little body against her and kissed the tiny face.

  “He’s so sweet, Noah, and your parents so devoted to his care. Has your home always been like this?” Alice’s mother wouldn’t even let her have a goldfish.

  “Always, and they are as kind to people as they are to animals. My sisters are the same; fortunately, they have tolerant husbands!”

  “What will happen to Puppy?”

  “If he survives, he’ll probably stay here, and as he grows, be renamed Dog. The other dogs are old, and I couldn’t imagine there not being canines around the house.”

  “I can’t bear to think he might not live.”

  “If my parents have anything to do with it, he’ll be fine, but in our home, the loss of a puppy or kitten was a sad fact of life. It’s getting late, Alice, I don’t know why you aren’t exhausted,” he kissed her forehead and took the pup from her. “I’ll put him in his bed, he should sleep now until his next feed.”

  He tucked Puppy into his crate and then turned to her. She’d made no move to go to her room. Only two more nights before Noah was due at the Tabernacle, and both were quietly aware of how quickly time was passing; neither of them would voice the private agony they felt knowing they must soon part. He stepped towards her and gathered her into his arms, and she held him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

  “Alice,” he breathed her name. Hearing the emotion in his voice, she felt an overwhelming desire to weep. She had been given so many beautiful gifts since waking to this new world, but her time with Noah was the most precious of all, how could she bear now to be parted from him?

  “Noah, do we need to go to the Top of the World?” she said, her voice muffled against his shirt and stifling her desire to cry. “Can’t we go somewhere, be alone? Just we two?”

  “I already considered it, Alice. We’ll arrange it so we barely see another person there,” he reached down and kissed her neck, pushing his hand inside her blouse to caress her shoulder, his other hand circling her waist to pull her closer.

  “I could, you know...here, right now.”

  She smiled.

  “In front of Puppy?”

  “Not in front of Puppy.” He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to her room.

  Alice woke in the morning to find Noah sitting beside her on the bed. He kissed her and offered her a cup of coffee. She wriggled up and took it from him.

  “Have I overslept?”

  “No, the Providore just arrived, so there’s plenty of time.”

  But there wasn’t plenty of time. As he said it, he realised, as she did, the time left to them could now be measured in hours rather than days. The first time they made love in the woods was the most profound and powerful experience of Noah’s life. These last few nights, lying beside her, he already felt the pain of being without her. But to resign or withdraw from the mission would be catastrophic, even though the thought—with guilty indulgence—crossed his mind more than once. And again, more than once, he considered his father’s suggestion of marrying her, but—he knew, while she was still discovering her world, now was not the time.

  “We should go to breakfast,” he said, pulling her up to sit on the side of the bed. He wasn’t going to spend this last too short a time lamenting his departure. “We can have breakfast again in Colombia Province if we leave here by lunch.”

  “I could get confused by such rapid changes in time, Noah,” Alice disappeared naked into the washer, “I have visions of meeting myself on a return journey from somewhere!”

  Chapter 27

  Noah’s parents waved them off cheerfully, prompting Alice to ask him why they seemed so comfortable with him being gone for so long, from what was clearly a close-knit family.

  “We leave home at 15, Alice,” he took an equally matter-of-fact attitude towards leaving them as well. “I haven’t lived here full-time for 25 years. It’s how this society works. Parents take a lot of comfort and pride in their children’s successes. I know my parents do, and they have a busy life here. They’ve done their job, bringing us up. Besides, they usually come up to the ship to see me before I leave.”

  “Still, they must miss you.”

  “I hope so. I miss them too, but they explored their world, and now, they celebrate that I explore mine. That’s the way of things. Different to the ways of your society, I expect.”

  “Very different, but I must ask, why did you shush me at the crop circle? I noticed you put a finger to your lips.”

  “I thought you saw something you recognised.”

  “And turn into my clever other self and not remember a word I said?”

  “Perhaps, and that might be too much for my parents. You were quite a shock, and they were just becoming used to you. Your scientific side might have pushed my mother over the edge,” he laughed and squeezed her hand. “What did you see in the pattern?”

  “Well, and this is not the other me talking, I’ve seen part of it before. I can’t remember where.”

  “Can you remember when, a time frame, your old life or your new?”

  There followed a strange silence, she wiped her hand over her cheek and looked down, as if expecting to find something in the palm. She held up her fingers, studying them, deep in contemplation. And then, he felt glad he’d shushed her. His mother, for all her intelligence, would have found Alice�
�s crossovers bewildering. Better for her she only sees one side of Alice for now, for here, manifesting herself with confidence, was the other side.

  “The mathematical component of the formation was to the base 20, the vigesimal system. This society uses base 10. I’m not an expert, but I know the Mayans used the base 20 system. I say that because much of their art suggests extraterrestrial contact.”

  Answer her, he told himself. Say something to draw this other self out.

  “Did you deduce a vigesimal system from the geometry?”

  He’d not paid enough attention to the circle, mainly because he knew it was possible to reproduce them, given enough skill.

  “The symbol for infinity is overlain at the upper pole by a design, as we flew above and around, it retained its symmetry.”

  “A Fibonacci spiral? They’re common in crop formations. Simple math and easy to reproduce.”

  She didn’t hear him.

  “The pattern over the lower half of the lemniscate is a geometrical sequence; cuboid at the far left, looking from the North, but from the East, another aspect emerged. I’m not sure about the snowflake design, depicting end of time I think. I recognise the cubes, but for the rest of the geometry, the calculation escapes me,” then she laughed. “I’m sorry, Principal Ryan, I’m rambling. The sequences have their roots in ancient geometry—I recognise the Mayan influence, but some of it goes back further. You’re interested in astronomical sequences, I’m surprised it didn’t interest you more. My uncle Martin would know the technical argument, that’s his forte, along with theoretical physics and a whole bunch of other stuff!” she glanced up at him, and just as he thought Alice would re-emerge, she offered what sounded like a simple, and loaded, throwaway line.

  “I believe it’s a message.”

  “A message?” That had been a popular theory over the years. “For you?”

  “Maybe, definitely meant for someone.”

  “Do you have any idea who created it?”

  “Yes, I do,” she said brightly. “Nature.”

  Noah had no answer, he didn’t even have a question. In a few moments, she would have no recollection of this conversation, so he tried to ask why she believed the circle was a natural phenomenon, but then Alice looked at him and shrugged, the moment gone.

  The Top of the World, Alice worked out from the registry on the shuttle, was near the Equator. Noah told her Colombia was a province, along with most of the area once called South America. Alice checked the climate and geographical features. It looked interesting enough, but she didn’t care, she would be there with Noah.

  He asked if she would like to go through the phenomenon, and though she knew that meant a natural or unnatural occurrence, thinking it an apt description of her situation, she wasn’t sure she wanted to meet another.

  “I don’t know what it is, Noah.”

  “A ripple in space, some people see colours, claiming it balances their mood and relaxes and clears the mind. I saw colours when I went but felt nothing else. The military controls visitation and permission is required—I sent word ahead just in case you chose to go. Otherwise we can head straight to the lodge and enjoy the rivers and rainforest.”

  “It might be interesting, is it safe?”

  “Completely safe, it’s been there since the dawn of time, it was only man’s limitations that kept it hidden. As to its purpose, scientists can only guess.”

  Noah brought the shuttle down on a small landing platform. A woman, in a grey military uniform, greeted them formally. The officer led them to an enclosure, showing them to a clear glass, single seat tube. The only control Alice could see was an autopilot console.

  The officer saw Alice hesitation.

  “Would you like to go to the anomaly now, Dr Langley, or would you prefer to leave it until later?”

  Alice looked at Noah. The tube looked like her sarcophagus—maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

  “By myself?” It hadn’t occurred to her she would be alone.

  “You can’t experience it in company, Dr Langley,” the officer told her. “The wave will only respond to a single presence.”

  “It’s OK, Alice,” Noah squeezed her hand. He’d never heard of anyone having a negative experience so he encouraged her, anticipating no problems and hoping it might give her clarity.

  “I’ll be here. You’ll be fine.”

  The tube, small, snug, and claustrophobic, momentarily sent Alice into a panic, but by the time she turned to say she’d changed her mind, the tube was already speeding away. She glimpsed Noah’s smiling face as the tube moved towards the blue sky at an angle, before pointing vertically towards space. Alice didn’t look behind her as the earth fell away in only a few seconds. She’d become accustomed to speed now, but in this small capsule, she was far more aware of the velocity. She felt vulnerable, and could only pray this would all be over soon.

  Above her, streaks of crimson and orange flashed across like a wave. It’s crest, or its borders indistinct. It was only visible for an instant. The tube halted, and though she searched, the wave had disappeared. All she could see was reflected light from the planet. Well, what a waste of time, she thought, assuming the experience was over, and that she would now be returned to Earth.

  But it wasn’t over. As she waited for the tube to begin its descent, the wave engulfed her, shimmering like silver sparkles all over her body, like being inside a shaken snow globe. Alice found herself swathed in a cloud of colours as the wave flowed through the interior of the tube, melting through the hull. Alice looked around her as she floated, weightless, drifting on a sea of swirling, sparkling colours.

  The safety field the officer activated to keep her in her seat vanished, and she moved upwards, weightless, free from any constraint. Her hands lifted to the level of her eyes, and as she turned them over, many brilliant lights moved with them. She floated, buoyed by all the colours of the rainbow. A pressure on her back propelled her forwards, causing her head to fall back, pockets of light beamed from her body. Laughter gurgled in her throat as colours she’d never seen before and that defied description, curled and touched her face, then vanished into the bright mist as she reached to touch them.

  She rested, suspended as the wave stirred around her. The colours cleared briefly, and a man and woman appeared; a woman with red hair, like hers. The scene changed to the monastery in Tibet, then to a building, grand, opulent, and surrounded by roofs, Chinese roofs. Turning her head, Alice saw the colours join, pass away, and mountains appeared—in the distance, she heard piano music. When the colours united once more, they darkened, losing their joy. Pain coursed with fiery intensity through her body, and she thought she cried out, her voice freezing in her throat as she gazed into the kind, worried eyes of a man she knew, but couldn’t recall from where.

  The colours mingled brighter and fell in on the vision like a child’s kaleidoscope. Alice’s body gently rotated to her left. A young woman formed from the mist—Alexis Langley. Alice looked down at her hands—the gold band Ted placed there at their wedding hung loosely on her finger, the skin on the hand wrinkled and aged. She reached up and felt hair on her chin. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to Alexis. The young woman smiled the saddest of smiles, gazing at Alice with her wide green eyes, a question or a plea hanging in the space between them, but Alice felt no power to understand nor answer.

  Both Alice, and the Alexis vision, raised their eyes as colours formed into people, into men and women Alice didn’t know, then softly scattered as quickly as they organised themselves, like leaves on a breeze. Alexis seemed to recognise them, she returned her sad smile to Alice, and in doing so, the edges of the vision blurred and coiled upwards as smoke, taking Alexis along in its wake. Alice glanced down at her hands, the hands to which she had so lately become accustomed were there, young and smooth.

  The forms gave way to words, not solitary, random words, but a sentence, a phrase perhaps. Alice peered into the haze and colour, trying to make them out as they came to her, lett
er by letter, syllable by syllable, entering through her chest, each one searing and burning its way into her heart. She opened her mouth to cry out in her pain, but again, no sound came, and she endured the words, their searing message.

  “The path you walk is not your own. This is not your time.”

  Then a voice, one she’d never before heard, murmured in her ear as the pain subsided. She moved her head to see who whispered.

  “You must let her go.”

  But she was alone in all the colours.

  Alice’s breath was forced from her body as she was slammed back into her seat in the tube. She sat for a moment, taking deep breaths to recover and compose herself. What did all this mean? Did it contain a message for her? She looked around the tube. She hadn’t been prepared, even though Noah seemed entirely comfortable with her going. One thing was sure, it wasn’t a fairground ride!

  The tube looked the same as when she boarded it; the forcefield restraint remained in place. The phenomenon twinkled at her and disappeared. Alice turned her face away and didn’t look back as the tube made its return journey. The whole experience took less than two minutes.

  Noah’s welcome smile dissolved as soon as he saw her. Not waiting for the officer, he released the tube and swooped Alice up into his arms, his eyes full of concern.

  “Are you alright? You’re so pale.”

  “I think so,” Alice felt in one piece. Noah set her on her feet but kept hold of her to make sure she wouldn’t fall.

  The officer also expressed concern.

  “Principal Ryan, shall I call for a medic? I’ve never seen anyone return with this reaction.”

  Alice held up a hand and managed a shaky smile at Noah.

  “Alice?” he waited for her agreement, perhaps calling a medic might be in order.