The Otherlings and the Crystal Amulet

by S V Hurn

  The restaurant decor had an authenticity about it; it felt as if they had been immediately transported to the Mexican Riviera.

  Seated only a few moments later, they were handed menus and water glasses were filled. Their waiter proceeded to take drink orders. Although everyone else ordered the house frozen margaritas, as it was a celebration, Dorathy ordered her favorite tequila, a double and on the rocks. Betty shot her a sideways glance and said, “You really are celebrating tonight.”

  Dorathy retorted, “Well, it’s better than curling up in a ball.” Ron could sense a bit of irritation building in his wife, and asked what interesting projects had Dorathy been working on lately. Sipping her water, she said enthusiastically and without hesitation, “Cryogenics!”

  Betty replied almost immediately, “Why?”

  Dorathy didn’t quite know where she was going with this, but what the hell. “Why?” Dorathy quickly responded. “Why not?” She knew by the look on Betty’s face where this was going to go and thought, Oh, well, she wants to go down that road, then let’s go.

  “Well, Betty,” she began calmly, trying not to sound condescending but failing miserably, “there are people who believe that although medical technology can’t correct certain health problems now, the technology will be available at some time in the not-so-distant future. Say that someone has a terminal condition, whether it’s cancer or some other fatal illness, and currently the technology does not exist to cure that illness, it does not mean in a few years scientists won’t develop a cure. Therefore, at the time one is pronounced clinically dead, their body is prepared and frozen in hopes that they can be cured and revived or as they like to call it, ’reanimated,’ at a later date. Pretty simple, really.”

  Betty had a frown on her face that spoke volumes. She shook her head and said, “The spirit has gone on to heaven, so it’s impossible to be brought back from the dead.”

  Dorathy put her chin in her hand and looked back at her in astonishment. She sighed and bit her tongue, not wanting to offend her daughter’s future in-laws. She said in a way not to sound superior, “Well, maybe your spirit finds its way back into your body when they wake you up.” She continued, “What I’m saying is, that if a person dies and their spirit has gone to the other side, why shouldn’t the same spirit come back to the person when revived? I just have a hard time believing a spirit carries a one-way ticket.”

  Betty argued earnestly, “If a person dies, it was God’s will. Our Lord has called you home and it’s unethical to try and change His will. Besides, why would anyone want to come back if they are living an everlasting life with our God in heaven?”

  There were a lot of things Dorathy could say, but she wanted to add one more little irritant just to lighten her mood. With a huge grin, Dorathy offered a more esoteric argument. “Well you know, Betty, I understand that there are some people that have chosen to have just their heads frozen. These people believe everything that makes us who we are is all stored in the brain. So those individuals’ brains are put in suspended animation. Then when they are revived their consciousness can be uploaded into whatever type of creature they want. Perhaps even a cyborg!”

  Betty gasped, throwing her hand in front of her mouth, but before she could get on her soap box their waiter arrived to deliver drinks and take dinner orders. Dorathy slammed back her tequila and politely asked for another. Athena quickly changed the subject. Kevin and Ron were thankful for that, as the conversation was surely heading to hell in a handbasket.

  After dinner they all said their goodbyes and Kevin settled his mother into the back seat of his car while his dad rode shotgun. Before Kevin could get the car started, Betty began to preach about Christian doctrine and that Dorathy needed to be saved. As she leaned forward into the front seat to be heard, she asked about Athena’s religious beliefs, because she was emphatic that she did not relish the idea of her son marrying a heathen.

  Kevin was annoyed. “Mom, you really need to get a grip. Athena is brilliant and she’s a great person and so is her mom. I love Athena and we are getting married. You need to deal with it. Besides, you really need to open your mind and not hang out with those old ladies from church so much, I really think they’re brainwashing you.” Ron remained silent in the passenger seat and thought, I’m not getting in the middle of this, I’ve had a long day and I just want some peace and quiet.

  Betty replied, “Okay, my darling. I just want you to be happy.”

  “I am, Mom.”

  After spending a nice, quiet weekend doing exactly what she wanted, Dorathy was excited on Monday to be moving forward with her cryogenics project. She was always enthusiastic about new projects, but she was passionate about this one. The thought of being frozen and sent into space for eternity gave her the feeling that somehow if the world were to implode, careening through space would give her a sense of immortality—that somehow, she would be the last survivor, the last evidence of the human existence.

  CHAPTER 3

  Dorathy was looking forward to flying to Arizona to meet with the owner and CEO of Lifecor. Alex Mason was a brilliant scientist and a research doctor. Although the process of cryogenics preservation had been available for over a century, he wanted to utilize modern technology to perfect it. During his years of research, he had developed an accurate formula for the process of freezing and storing humans. Death had haunted him for far too long, while the ability to live his life had eluded him. He felt as if he were left in purgatory. Lifecor was his whole existence, and the means of perhaps giving others a life from death somehow made him feel whole.

  After an exhilarating drive to her office Dorathy entered the building while the rising sun cast beams of light through the high, vaulted windows. As she approached, Lisa inquired about what she had done with her roses. Dorathy stopped and squinted for a moment as if deep in thought and, with a sigh, she said, “I totally forgot about them, guess I’ll have to water them.”

  The suspense was killing Lisa, and she couldn’t help asking in the whisper she always used when secret office romances were the subject of conversation, “Do you know who sent them to you?”

  Dorathy couldn’t help herself, always keeping her private life under wraps, and simply said, “Yes. Yes, I do,” as she continued through the lobby, leaving Lisa to ponder whom it might be.

  First thing on Dorathy’s agenda was the meeting with Hugo the director of JPL and Jack, JPL’s lead particle physicist, to sort through the details of her cryo project. When she reached her office, she gathered her files and stopped a second, leaning over to smell the roses, which had bloomed over the weekend and filled her office with their fragrant scent. She smiled and shook her head and murmured under her breath, “Silly boy.”

  Dorathy walked down the hall with a spring in her step that surprised even her. Getting out of town for a few days was going to be a welcome change. Entering the conference room, she noticed Hugo and Jack deep in conversation. Both men were in their early seventies although much younger in appearance; Jack with white spiked hair and bright blue eyes glowing against his perpetually tanned skin, and Hugo, standing a good foot taller, getting help from his worn-in cowboy boots and hat, always wearing a big Texas grin. Hugo was boisterous, while Jack was easy going and had a carefree attitude.

  She approached and they suddenly halted their conversation, both looking at her with raised brows and pursed lips. She stopped and put one of her files down on the wood laminated table. “What’s up? You both look like a couple of cats that got the bird.”

  Hugo smiled and said, “Ain’t nothin’.” Jack could hardly keep a straight face, his hands fidgeting in the pockets of his khakis.

  Dorathy was beyond agitated by their behavior. She said with asperity, slapping her last file on the table, “What gives?”

  Jack attempted to hold back laughter with little success and said, “We heard what you did to Carlo, that poor bastard.”

  Dorathy looked down at her bright blue suede heels against the wood parquets flo
ors. It brought back a striking resemblance, but with the stark contrast, to the days gone by in the pioneering years where women in the office sported long pencil skirts and beehive hairdos and smoked while taking dictation.

  She looked up, annoyed, and exclaimed somewhat more loudly than she anticipated, “Oh for fuck sake, are you kidding me? How does this shit get spread around so damn fast? He’s too damned young, and should know better. He had it coming, and I doubt he’ll pull that macho shit with me again. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. Subject closed!”

  With that, Jack and Hugo shut their gaping mouths and sat down, still giggling. Dorathy had always been treated like one of the guys as far as everyone was concerned. Bad language seemed to be part of her make up in a field that had traditionally been dominated by men. And, as far as everyone was concerned, bad language also seemed to fit her temperament.

  Hugo said, “All righty, then,” and pulled out his work and set it on the table. “So, let’s discuss your human popsicles.”

  Dorathy, accustomed to the office bullshit, decided to ignore the jab that would defuse any lingering awkwardness from the exchange. She knew that she was well respected by every member of the management staff and had a great working relationship with both Jack and Hugo. Her outbursts were simply accepted as a personality trait that everyone was comfortable with because it always seemed to be comical when it occurred.

  Smiling, she took out her files and went over the logistics of the project, such as design aspects, staffing, projected cost, etc. By the end of the meeting they had agreed that it would be best for her to fly out to the Lifecor facility to get a better understanding of what their management envisioned for the project. Perhaps then they would have the owner or one of their engineers fly back to spend some time at JPL for production of a prototype.

  When the meeting ended Jack got up, gathered his things and said he was off to another appointment. He was going out the door when he chuckled to himself and shook his head. Dorathy was left guessing what was going through his mind. Meanwhile Hugo quietly asked Dorathy if he should have a sit down with Carlo about his behavior. Dorathy replied, “Absolutely not. I’ll handle it. He has probably never been away from home or his momma for very long, so I’ll talk to him and get him straightened out.”

  Hugo said with a smirk, “I’m sure you will . . . remind me never to get on your bad side.”

  She retorted with a smile as she walked out the door, “I’m sure you could handle it.”

  He thought to himself, Yeah, maybe. If I were twenty years younger, I would have liked to have given it a shot. What a woman!

  Dorathy was walking back to her office when she glanced at her watch and realized it was lunch time. Dropping an armful of files on her desk, she walked across the hall to the break room where Carlo sat alone eating a cheese and bologna sandwich. She stopped to look at him, a bit closer this time and thought, God he looks like a lost puppy. She pulled out a chair and sat next to him. “How long have you been here?”

  He said with his thick accent, “Abouta year,” and then he started in on how beautiful she looked today, how her . . .

  She cut him off sharply, saying with asperity, “How old are you?”

  He stuttered slightly and said with a bit of hesitation, “Twenty-six.”

  “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. You obviously have never been away from your home, except for your education, and you don’t really know anyone your own age to socialize with. So this Saturday you are going to come to my home, and I am going to cook you a fabulous Italian dinner. You are going to meet my daughter and a few of her friends and they are going to take you out to a night club and perhaps you will find a nice young lady to mingle with, okay? Oh, and furthermore,” she went on to say, “you need to drop this whole machismo thing, because it is not going to work on the type of woman you should eventually meet. Got it? I will see you Saturday at my house at 6:00 sharp, you can bring the wine.”

  With that she got up, straightened her skirt and strode over to the fridge, pulled out her salad and decided to eat at her desk while Carlo sat alone to digest her plan. Now the only thing to do was to try to get Athena to agree with it. She would, Dorathy was sure, once she presented her case to her.

  Seated at her desk she called Lucy, their executive assistant. Lucy said she’d be right down to review travel details, so she could book Dorathy’s trip to Arizona. A few minutes later, she showed up at the door wearing one of her customary brightly printed dresses accessorized with metallic gold heels.

  Lucy was the same age as Dorathy, with bright blonde hair that just touched her shoulders, and a petite, toned physique. When she wasn’t at work she was working hard at the gym. Her husband had a great job and made a good living, so she didn’t really need to work, but she loved her job at JPL and was quite good at it. She was usually the first one there and the last one out. In fact, she was happy anywhere, if she wasn’t home with her husband.

  Dorathy loved hanging out with Lucy; they would go out for cocktails after work most Friday nights. Lucy was one of those gals who was always the life of the party, with a bubbly personality and the tendency to stop and talk to anyone and everyone. When they walked into a room together most people would turn to look.

  Lucy started by saying all in one breath, “Oh. My. God. I heard what you did to poor little Carlo, that is so hysterical! Did you see what Lisa wore to work today? Her boobs were totally hanging out. So, when do you want to go to Arizona? I looked at their website, pretty interesting stuff, I wonder what they do with all your blood when they take it out, because you might need it after they wake you up. The owner, Alex Mason, he’s sort of hot looking.”

  Dorathy, as usual, was struggling hard to keep up with Lucy’s pinball train of thought and said, to focus her attention, “I think all I need for this trip is air from Burbank to Phoenix Sky Harbor, Sunday to Sunday, at a hotel within close proximity, and a car.”

  Lucy wrote that all down on her pad, got up and said, “Okay, good. I’ll get it booked. Are we on for this Friday?”

  Dorathy smiled. “Absolutely!”

  Lucy bounced out of her office and down the hall, chatting to everyone on her way to the elevator. Everyone loved Lucy. If you were having a bad day, she had a magical way of lifting your spirits and she would do anything for you.

  Dorathy sat at her desk pondering making a call to Alex Mason personally. Now that the project was officially hers, she needed to get comfortable with the fact that they would be working closely together to get it off the ground, so to speak. Closing her office door, she sat down and dialed his direct line.

  After two rings he answered simply, “Alex, here.” She couldn’t place the accent right away, but guessed it was Australian. She spoke with a bit of hesitation at first, working to shrug off a case of nerves.

  “Hi, Dr. Mason, this is Dorathy Rosen from JPL. I am the project manager and design engineer assigned to your project. I am due to come out to meet with you next Monday, if that works for you, and plan to stay the week to start out.”

  He replied, with a bit of excitement in his voice, “Yes, absolutely, I look forward to meeting you.” And then after a slight pause, “Yes, the infamous Dr. Dorathy Rosen, your reputation precedes you.”

  Dorathy was unsure how she should respond to this statement. She stuttered a moment and felt herself tripping over her words as she spoke. “Ah, well, ah . . . what do you . . . mean?”

  He knew he had made her feel uncomfortable, but figured she could handle it, so on he went. “Heir to the multibillion-dollar Rosen foundation, holds dual doctorates from MIT, and works at one of the most prestigious, scientifically advanced companies in the world. I am truly honored to be working with you on my project.”

  “Well, Dr. Mason,” she caught her breath and exhaled slowly. I hope that you are going to be able to get past your illusions of my grandeur.”

  He let out a bellow of a laugh and responded, “And you have a sense of humor on top
of all the rest. I think we’ll get on just fine and call me Alex.” He continued, “So Monday it is, say ten in the morning?”

  She responded with a quick, “Okay, sounds good . . . then I’ll see you next Monday.”

  She could almost hear the huge smile on his face as he replied, “Indeed, you will, Dora.” And with that he disconnected.

  She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a moment before putting it down and mused, to no one in particular, “Well that was . . . unusual.” Alex had confounded her, and not too many people were capable of doing that. Still shaking her head, she went on with her work on some of her smaller projects in order to finish them up before the end of the week.

  By the time Friday rolled around, with her work done, she was looking forward to a few cocktails with Lucy. She was putting some files away when Lucy popped her head around the corner of her office door. “Are you ready for some karaoke? I got some of the guys from Lunar Dig to meet us there.” Lucy then pleaded, “Can we take your car? I love going in your car, makes me feel like a rock star.”

  Dorathy said, “Yeah, sure,” with a smile. Lucy was bursting with happiness. She then broke out in song: “Sky dive naked from an airplane . . . ,” holding her hand up and shaking her blonde head like a heavy metal groupie from the old days. Dorathy laughed and said, “You’re nuts, girlfriend.”

  As usual, when they pulled up into the parking lot all eyes were on them as they got out of the car. Dorathy didn’t need the attention but she certainly liked it. Her take on life was simple really: “Life is too short to drive a boring car . . . or really to just live a boring life.” As wonderful and grateful as she felt for being born into this life of hers, something deep within her remained empty, a void that she couldn’t fill. A true love had always been missing, but it was something more than that, something on a grander scale was surely missing from her life.