by S V Hurn
Athena leaned in and kissed her mom on the cheek. “Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.”
Dorathy smiled as she watched Athena walk through the courtyard, past the yard and down the steps to the beach to stand at the white lattice altar which had been decorated with tropical flowers and pink ribbons. Guest were seated in white chairs on either side of an aisle of sand. Alex stood at the end of the aisle in the front of the altar dressed in white linen, hands clasped in front of him. Standing next to him was his old buddy, Bob. Alex couldn’t help but think about Stuart being held captive and how much he wished Stuart were with them today, but at least they knew he was alive and well. He felt guilty but knew Stuart would be happy for him.
Dorathy approached Jack who was waiting for her just inside the courtyard. He had graciously agreed to walk her down the aisle. “You look beautiful, my dear friend. Beauty and brains—Alex is hell of a lucky guy.”
“Jack, I think I’m the lucky one.” They both smiled. A young native man started to play his ukulele as she linked her arm through Jack’s, and he escorted her down towards the beach.
Jack placed Dorathy’s hand in Alex’s, gave her a kiss on the cheek and turned to seat himself in a chair next to his wife. Athena stepped forward with a huge smile on her sun-kissed face and took Dorathy’s bouquet. The trade winds were blowing a fragrant breeze, waves lapped gently along the shore. It was a perfect day.
After they recited their vows to one another, concluding the ceremony with the traditional ‘I Do’s’ everyone clapped and congratulated the newlyweds. Dorathy hugged her friend Lucy and without fanfare handed her bouquet over as she cautioned, “Just, please, wait awhile.”
Lucy giggled and whispered back, “Oh Dora, I’m just using Roger for sex.”
A large catamaran had been docked, waiting for the party to arrive for a sunset sail with cake, open bar, hors d’oeuvres and live, traditional Polynesian music. The view of the tropical jungle and its jagged peaks was spectacular as they sailed around the calm waters of the lagoon of Rosen Island.
After the sunset sail the party continued at the pool bar till the wee hours of the morning. Alex and Dorathy decided to stay the night at the secluded, over-water bungalow and had snuck off at the height of the party. When they reached the end of the walkway Alex scooped up Dorathy in his arms and carried her over the threshold to a bed that had been covered in red rose petals and a variety of fragrant local flowers. He playfully threw her onto the bed. He laughed as he said in a pirate’s voice, “You’re my wench now. I’m here to collect what’s rightfully mine.”
Dorathy was giggling from too much champagne and cried in a high-pitched voice, “You need to tie me up first, you dirty scoundrel!”
Alex looked around the room and found the silk cords that had been used to tie off the decorative drapes of the bed.
Dorathy laughed and kicked her bare feet, trying to sound like a damsel in distress, “Oh please don’t . . . please don’t stop!”
Alex threw off his clothes and gently tied her wrists to the headboard. He said solemnly as he looked into her eyes, “I love you, wife.”
“I love you, my wonderful husband.”
They made love until sunrise and slept wrapped in each other’s arms until the warmth of the day woke them. Dorathy draped a sarong around herself as she got out of bed to greet the first day as Mrs. Alex Mason. Alex was sleeping soundly as she leaned in and kissed his cheek. She ran her fingers through his hair and whispered, “I love you, my darling.” He smiled, eyes still closed, “I love you, too.”
Dorathy noticed that someone had delivered a covered tray of fresh fruit and croissants packed in ice along with a pot of hot water, still steaming, for tea and French pressed coffee. She gathered it up and took it to the back deck, which overlooked the crystal-clear water of the lagoon.
Dorathy sat and turned to see Alex coming out of the bungalow to join her. “I could get used to this,” he said. Dorathy burst out in laughter at the sight of him wearing her hot-pink, floral print sarong tied around his waist. He looked down at himself. “What? I think this is a great look for me.”
She cocked her head to assess his sense of style. “Yes, I think we could both get used to this way of life and maybe we should start seriously thinking about it.”
Alex raised an eyebrow and lowered himself into the lounge beside her. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I think I am. Why not start enjoying our lives together free of stress, work, business travel, etcetera, etcetera? I like my job at JPL, but I’m ready for a change.”
Alex sat back in the chair and looked out over the water. “You’re right, we can do whatever we want to do. If we get bored, we can do something else. Dora, you’re right baby, we have our whole life ahead of us, why not make the most of it?”
“Damn straight! I’m going to hand in my resignation to Hugo after this project gets off the ground, pun intended. Right after the test launch.”
Alex leaned in to seal their plan with a kiss.
Dimitri was terrified as he lay on the table waiting for Brenda to give him his sedative. “Please, Brenda, I’m sorry for the harsh words I have said to you in the past, forgive me.” He was crying uncontrollably now. “I don’t want to die; I am afraid of what might happen to us!”
“Shhhh, listen to me. We are not going to die; we are going to live forever in perfect bodies. We are explorers; scientists working together to find the meaning of life. I’ll be right behind you and always beside you. Don’t worry, my friend. I’ll look after you and I will always care for you.” Brenda ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him on the cheek, smiling down at him she injected the IV and . . . Dimitri was out.
Outside the lab Hans sat at the table with Stuart. “I am not an unsympathetic man. I have a family and regardless of what you might think of me, I am a man of my word. You, my friend, have been working diligently with my engineers so they may build the automated reviving mechanism and I will send you back soon enough, but I must first be assured that your knowledge of this place be permanently erased from your memory. With luck you will retain the memories of who you are, maybe your family as well. You see I must secure the safety and secrecy of this mission. The truth cannot get out about what we are doing here and the technology we are using and why. The world is not ready for the truth, not yet.”
“Look, I know it’s useless for me to try to assure you that your secrets are safe with me, so I won’t even try. I’m just grateful you aren’t going to shoot me.”
Hans laughed at Stuart’s comment. “My friend, I am a lot of things but a murderer I am not.”
Stuart remembered what Brenda had instructed him to do and played along. “Dr. Brenda seems to be the brains behind all the memory uploads, so I guess I feel somewhat at ease knowing she’s the one operating the machine.” Stuart understood that secrecy needed to be maintained and the mayhem that would result if the truth were to get out. “I believe what you are doing is beyond most people’s comprehension, but slowly people will be ready, then what?”
“A new world order is on our horizon,” Hans said. “In order to achieve success, we must manage things with finesse and go slowly. The team will eventually find their way back with proof of why we exist, and how our existence is relevant to the rest of the universe. That is our goal.”
Hans stood up and said, “Come with me. Before I erase what you know of us, I want to show you what we have been building.” Stuart jumped up out of his seat, curiosity getting the best of him. Hans led him down the hall to the elevator and punched in a key code. As the doors closed behind them, Hans punched the button that read ‘Hangar Level One.’ Above that, another read ‘Hangar Level Two’ and one above that read ‘Surface.’ Stuart was now sure that Brenda had told him the truth about their location. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal secrets.
Stuart’s eyes grew wide as he gazed upon a massive ship. The color of the material was like nothing he had seen bef
ore. A dark, gunmetal gray, but where lights shone upon its surface it glistened like the sun on water—an iridescent, almost transparent ruby red.
Hans said proudly, “Welcome to the future of space travel.”
Stuart followed him out of the elevator into the giant hangar. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Hans said, “No you wouldn’t have, it’s been years in the making. Completely self-sufficient, it utilizes applications engineered from our most recent discoveries on negative vacuum energy to propel it. It is complemented by the device that is capable of bending space by contracting it and expanding it as the ship travels through by creating a wormhole. It can regenerate its fuel source and sustaining life by gathering matter from space and turning it into useable energy. Thanks to Dr. Rosen’s generous donation we have been able to fast-track its fabrication.”
Stuart reached up and stroked the cold underbelly of the ship as they walked slowly beneath her expansive girth. He almost felt as if an electrical charge was flowing through his body from his fingertips and he noticed the hull change color where his hand came to rest on the strange metal. It was a pulsing bright red as if it were alive. Stuart asked, “What type of metal is this?”
Hans chuckled. “My friend, it is not metal at all. It’s a type of absorbent, organic membrane. Just one of the many discoveries from secret expeditions.”
“It’s alive?”
“Yes, an alien life form. Completely impenetrable; attached to the outer hull of the craft by a nutrient-enriched skin. The material adhered to it and started to grow around it. It is best suited in space, but it seems to adapt easily, thus making it ideal for space travel and visiting other potential worlds. There is still much to do, but the project is progressing well, with your help. One day, in our lifetime I hope, I believe we will have all the answers to that which has created much controversy over the millennia. Our goal is simple; it is to create a new world with a new order of things.”
As Stuart continued to caress the underbelly of the ship, he had the sensation it was somehow trying to communicate with him. He was amazed by what was being accomplished in this hidden underground facility.
Stuart was justly overwhelmed by the information he now possessed. He knew it would be a matter of time before his release and deliberated about how much, if any, of what he knew of this place he could safely share with the public. He knew the chaos that would result if the truth were revealed. He felt that he alone must deal with the knowledge he carried; skepticism would be his enemy, knowing the truth would be his burden.
Everyone had thoroughly enjoyed their little vacation to the outskirts of Fiji. But it was now time to get back to work.
Dorathy and Alex had flown into Arizona for the grand opening night of Free. They had come up with the name together as they both agreed that once dead a person’s soul could finally have the freedom to explore the mysteries of the universe, the body would be preserved forever as recognition of the person having ever existed. So, ‘Frozen Remains Encapsulated for all Eternity’ conveyed accuracy in describing the project.
The test subject was a man that had led a long life, but not a very healthy one, and had died of complications at the age of a hundred and nine. It had been, to say the least, a good life worth living. Charles Wembley, or ‘Charlie’ as his friends and family knew him, had wanted badly to take a trip into space but his health had prevented him from doing so. His last wish was to be frozen for the trip he had always wanted to take but was never able to do.
Alex was finishing up the final prepping of Charlie’s cryotube for his long journey. Dorathy had been feeling melancholy thinking about his dying wish, thinking about a man she never met who had always dreamed about going into space but never having had the opportunity to realize his dream while he was alive.
Space was truly the final frontier and Dorathy thought how extraordinary it would be to travel the stars someday. She had been blessed with the opportunity to experience space firsthand when working on the ‘Space Hotel.’ She thought that to look upon the Earth from space made a person reflect on their place in the universe. How small our world was and how alone we must feel occupying this small blue planet so far away from anything, or anyone, else.
She walked down the corridors of stainless-steel tubes regarding the names on the plaques and wondering about each person that lay within . . . what were their dreams, what had they accomplished and what had they wanted to do, but never had the chance?
Dorathy bent down and the long braids adorned with pink silk ribbons from her wedding altar fell forward over her shoulders. She examined one plaque which read simply ‘Ivor “Wizard” Hurn, RAF.’ She smiled at the thought of the man inside that had gone by the name Wizard, obviously a fighter pilot. She wondered about him and the life he had led. She concluded that he must have had a pretty good life with a name like that. As she continued to walk, she thought about her own life. I have done some pretty goddamned, good, fun stuff. But it’s time for me to do what I want to do. I’m done proving my worth to everyone else, it’s finally my time to shine. My time for some adventures with the man I love.’
She saw Alex coming toward her from the far end of the warehouse. She smiled and blew him a kiss, when suddenly she was struck to her knees by a sharp pain in her head that drew the breath from her lungs and blinded her with bright, flashing bursts of light. As her vision narrowed, she could see Alex running, calling her name. Dorathy was gasping for air, but couldn’t understand why she couldn’t draw in a breath. Alex was by her side screaming, but she could no longer hear his voice. She looked up at him as her vision faded and managed to murmur, “I will always love you . . . test it . . . on me . . . love.” And she was gone.
SECTION 2
CHAPTER 21
Dorathy awoke lying in a bed of clover. The tiny, neon pink flowers scattered through the emerald green seemed to glow with shimmering specks of ruby, as if the blossoms had been sprinkled with a fine dusting of small grains of gems.
She was trying desperately to clear her head when she heard a dog barking. The dim sound was a memory from her childhood, and it was becoming louder as she struggled to her feet. Standing, she rubbed her eyes as she looked to the sky. She felt dizzy for a moment—she was seeing double. Two suns shone upon her face and on the distant horizon was a blurred image of something she couldn’t comprehend.
She turned to see a little dog barking happily, leaping through the high grass and clover, bounding towards her as fast as his little legs could manage. Dorathy started to weep as she crouched down. Zwicky leaped into her open arms, licking her face wildly and whining from joy to be reunited with his beloved Dorathy. She kissed the top of his curly, cinnamon-colored head and his black button nose. “Oh, my little Zwicky, I missed you so much my darling, little pup.” She hugged the small poodle close and stood to find her father and mother walking toward her. Dorathy called out, “Mom, Dad, you’re alive! Zwicky’s alive! How is this possible? Where am I? What happened to me?”
Her mother cupped Dorathy’s face in her hands. Dorathy looked deep into her mother’s eyes and saw a glow within; the outline of her face seemed to emanate an aura of light. “My precious girl, I’m so sorry I was never there for you. I left you when you needed me the most and for that I am very sorry.”
Dorathy was weeping with an inner peace that she had not even felt with Alex. “I never stopped loving you, Mom.”
“Oh, my darling girl, please forgive me.”
“Mom, I missed you so much. Dad, where are we?”
Dorathy’s dad hugged her close. “My little girl, all grown up. Only a moment ago you were in high school and now you’re here.”
She placed Zwicky on the ground and asked, “Dad, where is here? Where are we?” Her father looked past her into the distance and Dorathy turned to look in the same direction. She suddenly realized her vision was clear as she gazed upon a huge, distant ringed planet hanging low on the horizon. She gasped at the beauty and the splendor of it.<
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“Oh my God, Dad, I know this place, I’ve heard of this place . . . I died, didn’t I?” With a whimper she said, “We’re dead.”
“No, my darling angel, we have transcended. We have merely moved on to the next level of awareness.” Her father saw the look on her face, the anguish; she was suddenly overcome by grief. “Dad I was finally happy.”
“Yes, I know, we were at your wedding. Alex is such a good man and Athena has grown up to be just like her mother.”
“You were at my wedding?”
Her mother spoke with happiness for her daughter. “Such a beautiful bride and Alex looking so handsome in his white linen.”
Dorathy started to cry. “Alex, my poor darling husband, and Athena—they’ll be heartbroken.”
Her mother brushed Dorathy’s hair out of her eyes. “Don’t cry angel. They will be here shortly, and we will be together again.”
“Time doesn’t exist here, Dorathy.” Her father added, “Time as you know it has slowed to a stop here; we only just got here. But knowing, that is what remains with us through all time.”
Dorathy looked as a sudden realization hit her. “Yes, I know, I feel we are from a greater force than one individual. We are from the beginning of all things, we are from them, the first ones from before this time, from before any time. Dad, this is an alternate reality . . . a higher level, a different realm.”
Dorathy’s mom responded, “We come from this reality, this ‘other side,’ then we came back to it when we passed. We can see the other side as if we were only separated from it by a thin veil. Look, my darling girl, look with your heart and you will see.”
Dorathy closed her eyes and opened them to see Alex standing in front of her on the airstrip in the blazing New Mexico sun. His head was bowed, and his hands rested lightly on her cryotube. “Oh Alex, my darling man,” she murmured as she reached out to brush the tears away.
“Mom, I want to be with him.”
