The Zooid Mission by Gerdean
Ch 11   NEW ARRIVALS
 
 

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11

 NEW ARRIVALS

Flora and Cybelle

 

            They were ten in number for dinner.  Jesse headed one end of the table, Doc Will the other.  Andrew, Peter, James and John, the four Zooids who had been in the all-day Planning Session, joined Sylvia and Brad, Audley and Lanon.

            In retrospect, Jesse regarded this evening as the last “normal” evening for him as the administrative head of the Colonies.  He basked in the triumphant atmosphere wherein everyone had something to celebrate and to share.  Brad and Sylvia were rather feted as prospective new Zooids.  Audley, the new Journalist on Contract, was made to feel welcome.  JCP member-at-large Doc Will was proud to bursting in the sense of rightness about everything transpiring. And Lanon’s social artistry was so natural, the Board members had no clue he was a man from another world.         

            After introductions and before the first course was served, Jesse stood and proposed a toast.  “I know you are excited about the new project, but I’d like to hold off discussing business matters until tomorrow when the other Board members arrive and can join us.  There are many other things we can share and enjoy, not the least of which are our own relationships.  Thus,” he raised his glass,  “I would like to propose a toast: ‘To friends, old and new’.” 

            When Jesse sat down, Doc Will stood up.  “I would also like to propose a toast.”  He lifted his glass.  “To the betrothal of Brad, who is like my son, and Sylvia, who is like my daughter.”  Glasses were raised high in acknowledgment of the young lovers.  Sylvia was radiantly happy and Brad had never appeared more handsome. 

            This festive group, with its odd mix of interests and personalities, conversed easily and shared readily.  It was impossible to distinguish between the good spirits of the wine and the good spirits of the group.  Words and time flew.  And when everyone was physically sated and intellectually replete, they strolled onto the grounds to enjoy the spectacle of the sky, intense with the deep reds and purples of the second sunset, and the psychedelic rain that was uniquely Gateway’s.  Then, as the moon rose, the group dispersed, Board members going their own way and Doc Will retiring to his room to read medical histories. When Jesse offered to show Brad the TASC Terminal, Lanon asked to join them. The two women were left alone.

            As darkness fell and the stars came out, so did Angus.

            “Angus!” Audley called happily.  “Come!  Join us!”

            “Your soul mates have gone off and left such beautiful women unattended?” he lamented on their behalf as he sandwiched his visage between them.

            Audley pouted, “Yeah.  Jesse took Brad to see the Terminal and Lanon went with them.”

            “Then I will see to your companionship,” he assured them aloud while his mind silently asked after their more subtle needs.

            At length Sylvia asked, “What did you mean by that, Angus?”

            “By what?  Soul mate?”

            The women nodded.

            “Ah,” he said.  As he prepared to orate, their ears sought the timbre of his voice.  His atmosphere held them in his grip as he said, “In the vast realm of human relationships, there are many kinds of relationships and for many diverse reasons.”  He paused to clarify.  “We are talking about adult love relationships here, of course?”  Sylvia and Audley nodded eagerly.  “Of course.  So we will not talk now of family life.  We will discuss love companions.”  He needlessly paused to make certain he had their full attention. 

            “Playmates!” he pronounced. “Children playing together.  This relationship is simple and uncomplicated.  It may be physical in nature, such as a hug or a pat on the back, but it fulfills an elemental human need.”  Sylvia thought of the photographic essay of the couple on the train.  He continued, “A playmate relationship can involve mutual social interests, where you engage in athletics together or attend a concert.  Beyond the moment, not much is required  from each other in a playmate relationship, but if it were to be developed, it might evolve into that of helpmates.

            “Helpmates are friends.  A helpmate relationship is a friendship that sweetens your hearth and makes your Urthly existence less barren, less troublesome.  In the most common sense, it provides convenience, but in many cases, helpmates marry and have children, hence home life, but not always.  Often helpmates commit themselves to each other for a shorter period of time, or for a specific purpose, while some stay together for a lifetime.  It is a worthy relationship.

            “And finally we come to soul mates.”  Angus’ voice, like resonant music, waltzed the women round and round the compound.  “In soul mates we find the love relationship between two people who have each evolved sufficiently to include the aspect of their souls.”  At this use of the word ‘soul,’ Audley scowled. 

            “Any and all of these relationships involve responsibility to the other partner and they all have value in the Stream of Time, but the two personalities who are involved in the soul mate relationship have perhaps the greatest responsibility.  They have not come to the relationship out of a sense of need, but from a point of compliment.  They must each know their Self so well that they have become individually replete.  Their union augments the personality gifts of each other.  Thus, in order to have a soul mate, one must have a knowledge of and appreciation for one’s own soul.”

            Sylvia was content to hear Angus share his concepts, but Audley’s confusion was discomfiting.  Was it possible for her to be any kind of mate with Lanon?  He was from Zenton; she was from Urth.  How was it possible for her to trust any kind of feelings under these circumstances?

            “Angus,” she ventured, “is the soul the same thing as what Lanon calls the Nucleus?”

            “Oh,” he lauded.  “Such keen sense perception!  It is, indeed, the same.”

            She didn’t know if the nagging insecurity in her stomach was a message from her soul or a touch of indigestion. “Do you have one?” she asked.

            “Oh, yes!  And so do you!” he let her know.

            Sylvia asked, “And what about a soul mate, Angus? Do you have one of those?”

            His non-face lit up the night.  “Oh, indeed, I do.”  He would have elaborated, but their attention was drawn to an unusually bright light in the heavens. 

            “What is that?” Audley asked.  “Is it a star?”

            “I don’t think so,” Sylvia said, recalling Twilah Leighton’s story.  “It appears to be moving.”

            “It’s not an airplane,” Angus assured them. 

            “It must be a falling star, then,” Audley concluded.  “Go ahead, Sylvia. Make a wish!”

            “You make one, Aud.  Mine has already come true!”

            As they stood there gazing, neither of the women could see that Angus’ piercing eyes acted as a beacon light for the new arrivals.

 

WHEN AFTER THREE TURNS around the grounds the men had not yet returned from the Terminal, Angus accompanied the women as they moved Sylvia’s things into Audley’s new apartment in the employee wing before bidding them good night.  Sylvia unpacked her bags and hung her clothes in the closet while Audley drew herself a bath. 

            Once settled in and settled down, Sylvia sat on the toilet seat to do her nails while a pensive Audley soaked in the tub, thinking about Angus’ lesson on mates.  She had rather ruled out being sexual playmates with Lanon, and if he couldn’t have children, there wasn’t much point in being helpmates.  But the idea of being soul mates intrigued her.

            What did it mean to have a relationship that addressed the aspects of the soul?  What were her soul’s aspects?  Since she wasn’t certain, did that mean that her soul was as undeveloped as Lanon’s emotions were undeveloped?  Their prospects of ever being soul mates looked bleak.  Given their differences, having come from different parts of the universe, she perceived that Lanon might never develop an appreciation for the full range of human emotions, and she might never develop a full appreciation of her soul.   What the hell is a soul, anyway?

            As the nail dryer blew warm soft air onto the fresh layer of rose-colored enamel, Sylvia asked, “Do you think Jesse will offer Brad a job?”

            “Probably,” Audley murmured through the bubbles.  “He’s qualified.  Angus likes him.”

            Sylvia squirmed and purred, “I like him, too.”

            It suddenly irritated Audley that her friend should be so smugly content while she herself had major personal problems to work out.  She sat up slowly.  “But what if he does go to work for the JCP, Sylvia?  What would you do?”

            “I would become a Zooid and live happily ever after.”

            “But what would you do?  I mean, what could you offer the JCP?  You don’t know how to do anything!”

            Sylvia threatened to drop the electric blow dryer into the bathtub.  “Audley Blackstone, what a mean thing to say!  I’m not totally illiterate, you know.  I’m sure I could do something!  After all, I’m divorcing Roger because I’m sick to death of sitting around feeling useless!”

            “Oh,” Audley uttered, sliding back under the bubbles.  “I thought you were divorcing Roger so you could marry Brad.”

            “I left Roger before I got involved with Brad, I’ll have you know!”

            “Well, it sure didn’t take you long.”

            Sylvia stood her ground.  “Audley, why are you being such a bitch all of a sudden?  It didn’t take Brad and me long because we need each other.  You never did need Brad, but I’ll bet it didn’t take you ten minutes to be dazzled by Lanon!”

            “True,” she had to admit, smug in the realization that the love relationship between her best friend and her former fiancé did not qualify for the responsible level of soul mates.

            “Then why aren’t you two at least playmates?” Sylvia persisted.

            “Because he isn’t emotionally ready,” Audley allowed.

            “Oh, that’s absurd.  Men are never emotionally ready.  You have to trick them into it.”

            “I don’t want to trick Lanon into anything.”  She pulled herself up, clean, and stood in the tub to dry off.  Sylvia handed her a thick terry-cloth towel and said, “It seems to me that you’re the one who isn’t ready.”

            “You’re probably right, Sylvia,” she said, rinsing out the tub, “I’m not ready.”

            “Well, have you at least let him know you think he’s special?”

            Audley started a bath for Sylvia, sighed audibly then said, “He knows I think he’s special.”

            “Then what’s the deal?  Isn’t he interested?”

            Audley thought about the night in the motel room when he stood up, the blanket sticking out in front of him and his recent attempts to be romantic.  She grinned.  “Yeah, he’s interested.”

            Sylvia shrugged.  “Well then, go for it!”

            “I don’t want just a playmate, Sylvia!  I want more than that!”

            “Like what?  Here.” Suddenly Sylvia took off her ring and handed it to Audley. “Take it!”

            “Don’t be ridiculous.  It’s yours.”  In this gesture Audley recognized what she had thrown away and what Sylvia had acquired – a mortal victory.  Sylvia had acquired a helpmate, a ‘real catch’.   Audley was quick to suggest, “Unless you want a new one, of course.  I’m sure Brad would get you a new ring if you want.”

            Sylvia put her ring back on triumphantly and slid into the tub.  “Why would I want another one?” she mused.  “This one is beautiful and it’s hardly ever been used.”

            “I guess that’s appropriate,” Audley said, hanging up her towel.  “You’ve hardly ever been used either!”  Abruptly they laughed, happy in their friendship.

            Audley meandered into the outer room, something still weighing on her mind.  Too many things had happened lately that she hadn’t had time to process.  Lighting a cigarette, she opened the door to the compound, allowing visual images to parade through her mind’s eye, critically surveying each one for signs of her discomfort.  It was not because of Sylvia and Brad, no.  She really was happy for them.  What about quitting her job with Weinberger and taking on this new assignment?  Hardly!  A scoop series on the Jural Colony Project coming out in the Silent Majority could land her a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism!  Nothing wrong with that!

            Across the compound, Lanon and Brad were just now returning from their visit to the Terminal. Brad was closing the door to his guest quarters when she spotted them, but Lanon saw her and waved.  It was late.  She waved back.  “Good night!”  His door closed.

            It was something about Lanon.  It was about the relationship between soul mates.  He was here on a mission to bring the Zooids into open communication with the rest of the cosmos.  What did that mean?  How could she possibly compliment that?  What was her mission?  Did she need one?  Did her soul?

            Sylvia, coming out from her bath and slipping into bed, distracted her by asking, “When do you go out on assignment, Aud?”

            “Whole Child.”

            “When’s that, pray tell?”

            “Three days from now.”

            “I’m going to Reno in the morning to start my divorce proceedings.  You have time.  Why don’t you come with me?”  She fluffed up her pillow and adjusted her covers.

            “To Reno?” Audley resisted.  “Whatever for?”

            “Just to get away for a few days.  Take a vacation.  Wear some real clothes for a change and maybe meet a hunk right off the divorce press.”

            “Don’t be ridiculous,” she snarled.

            “Alright, forget the hunk, but come with me.  We’ll go shopping, get our hair done.   It would do you good to get away and get your mind off Lanon for awhile.”

            Audley closed the door and disposed of what was left of her cigarette, then crawled into her side of the bed.  “You’re probably right,” she acknowledged wearily, turning out the light. 

            “I know I am,” Sylvia murmured. 

            In the dark, Audley’s mind wandered.  A “hunk” indeed.  A hunk of Lanon is just what she needed!  Where was that cosmically condoned one-night-stand Angus had talked about?  With other men, she’d had no trouble jumping into the sack.  What was keeping her and Lanon from doing the same thing?  Why wasn’t she hotfooting it across the compound right now instead of being in bed with Sylvia? 

            She was yanked away from her fantasy by Sylvia’s common ploy, to be lulled to sleep with a bedtime story.  “What were you doing in Spain?” she asked in the dark.

             “Spain?”  Audley collected her thoughts, glad for  something specific to focus on.  “I went there to interview Professor Alexius Vessey, the founding father of the JCP.”

            Sylvia said, “Hmmm,” meaning, “Go ahead, keep talking, I’m listening.”

            “He reminded me a lot of Dad, in a way,” Audley reminisced vaguely.

            “Hmmm?”

            “Oh, I don’t know” she mused.  “He was old.  Wise.”

“Mmm.”

            Audley thought back to the evening with Alexius and Dierdre when, at dinner, she felt as if she were being drawn into some new dimension.  How could she begin to describe such a thing?

            “His wife is gorgeous, Sylvia!”

            “What’s she do?”  Sylvia’s voice was sleepy.

            “Do?  Dierdre?  She doesn’t ‘do’ anything!  She’s a perfect wife and mother.”

            “I mean for work.  She doesn’t work?”

            “She works all the time, but it doesn’t look like work.  She manages their beautiful home.  She takes care of her husband and their kids and the garden.  What a garden!  And those kids, Sylvia.  I don’t usually like kids, but....”  She recalled their sparkling eyes and laughter the day they gave her the sunbonnet to wear into the village.  Without thinking, she found herself asking, “What about you, Sylvia?  Are you and Brad going to have a family?” 

            Sylvia’s answer was so long in coming, Audley thought she might have said something wrong, but at last Sylvia murmured, “Yes, I want to have a baby,” in such a way that Audley was glad.   As Sylvia’s breathing lapsed into deep sleep, Audley wondered if her problem might have to do with Lanon’s inability to have children, but no, it was not about children. 

            Staring at the ceiling, she let herself delve deeper.  Picking up her earlier train of thought, she let her mind take her to where her soul could see, and suddenly it was clear  that her quandary was not about sex or marriage or children or even romance. 

            She threw off her cover and lit another cigarette, not surprised to discover her hands were shaking.  Standing up and throwing open the door, she acknowledged that her problem was the one her father had pointed out to her many times before.  She was mortal!  No matter what Lanon was or where he was from, she was indissolubly mortal.  Thus, she was vulnerable.

            Standing in the open doorway, blowing smoke into the night, she realized that for years she had been passing judgment on the entire human race for their emotional weaknesses.  She had disdained people who couldn’t embrace the unknown, who hid from adventure.  She had looked with pity on those who, with their frailties, shrank from life, with its vicissitudes.  And all the while she had been denouncing people for their fears, she had been totally oblivious of her own.  She was afraid of love.

            Long after the light in Lanon’s room went out, she closed the door, put away her smokes, and lay back onto the pillow, letting hot tears well up to roll down her temples and into her hair.  She was afraid of love and afraid of life, afraid that love would be taken from her, and she would be left alone.  It would be emotional suicide for her to fall in love with Lanon.  Everybody knows that nothing lasts forever.  Better to not get too close in the first place than to have to mourn its passing.

           

BRAD GOT AN EARLY START, eager to apply himself to the Terminal, first stopping into the dining room for a quick cup of coffee.  There he ran into Sylvia and Audley.

            “Hey!” he said, joining them at their table.  “What gets you up so early?”  He pulled his chair in close to Sylvia.

            “I’m on my way to Reno to get a divorce,” Sylvia announced brightly.  “I’ve got to get that out of the way to make this official!”  She flashed the ring at him, as if he’d never seen it before. 

            He caught and kissed her fingers.  “Are you sure you like it?  Does it really fit?  We can get you another one, if you want,” he worried.

            She beamed at him, “It’s perfect, darling.  I love everything about it.”  Pouting suddenly, she said,  “You were out late last night.”

            “Yes.”  He was undaunted.  “Audley,” he insisted,  “tell Sylvia what an incredible thing that Terminal is!”

            Sylvia wrinkled her nose.  “I’m not crazy about computers.”

            “It’s not a computer,” Audley said grumpily. “The TASC is a movie theater, a library, a telephone, a radio, a bank, all the modern conveniences rolled into one.”

            “Can it do my nails?”   They ignored her. 

            “So what do you make of all this, Brad?” Audley asked, in an attempt to be sociable.

            “That Angus is all right,” Brad admitted.  “He’s got a great sense of humor, huh, Aud?”

            Audley grinned.  “Yeah, he does.”

            Sylvia wanted to know, “Is he going to offer you a job?”

            “I don’t know.”  Brad shook his head.  “Angus seems to want me to do it, but I’m still not sure what the job is!  It’s some new development.  I have the feeling it’s another one of those Top Secret things.”

            “I doubt it, Brad,” Audley cautioned.  “Zooids don’t have any secrets.”

            “Well, I don’t know about that.   I really don’t know much about anything, but I will know something later today.  There’s a Board Meeting scheduled for this afternoon, so I imagine they’ll make a decision then.”  He looked at his watch and stood up.  “Anyway, I’ve got to go,” he said in his ‘time’s a wasting’ way.  “Angus is waiting for me in the Terminal.”  He bent and kissed the top of Sylvia’s head.  “How long will you be gone?”

            Sylvia stood.  “I don’t know,” she said, winding her arms around him.  “They say you can get a divorce in Reno in no time, but I don’t know how long ‘no time’ is.”

            “Well, however long it is, get right back here!  And behave yourself.” 

            “Oh, I will!”  Sylvia crooned.

            Ignoring the lovers, Audley sipped her cold coffee until Brad’s elongated frame disappeared into the elevator and Sylvia began to badger her again.  “I don’t know why you just don’t come with me, Aud.”

            “Because I have work to do!” she said.  “I’m on the payroll now.”

            Sylvia argued, “You don’t have to start work for three days yet, and all they’re going to be doing in the meantime is messing around with that computer and having meetings.”

            “Yeah, but the meetings might be important!   Maybe I can learn something from them.”

            “Oh, come on, Aud!” Sylvia badgered. “I’ll tell you all about my visit with Twilah Leighton.”

            “Who’s Twilah Leighton?”

            Sylvia rolled her eyeballs conspiratorially.  “Anyway,” she bribed, “Don’t you need to find out how the Transport Lines work?” 

            “Yeah,” Audley allowed.

            “Then come with me,” Sylvia cajoled. “I’ll even let you tell me about that damned computer.”  In the end, Sylvia’s calculated verbal efforts won out, as usual.

 

THE FALLING STAR that Audley made a wish upon, set down in the desert north of Gateway.  It was a small ship, easily hidden in the dunes.  Cybelle, a nature goddess, and Flora, a flower goddess, took a moment to adorn their bodies in mortal raiment then set foot on terra firma.

            This was a wondrous morning on planet Urth.  The summer wild flowers were in full and radiant bloom, such that Flora was immediately pleased with the offerings and began at once to gather a variety for her study.  Cybelle, who had never been on such a finite world before, opted to climb to the top of a nearby rise, the better to see the terrain. 

            The terrain was unremarkable, but she watched two solar-operated vehicles appear in the distance, approach to within a quarter of a mile from her, then stop.  Two males, Lanon and Jesse, got out of the first vehicle.  Three other mortals, two males and one female, got out of the second vehicle.  They did not see her watching them, but she could hear them discussing the proposed site of the new structure.

            “This land,” Jesse explained to Lanon, “was purchased by the JCP at the same time we bought the Gateway property.  It was rather too small to do anything with, but the price was right.  We figured if we did need it, we could easily connect to it from headquarters.”

            “What are the neighbors like?” Lanon asked, still not in total command of the nuances of the English language. 

            “We’re right next to the nuclear testing site of the Nellis Air Force Range and Nevada Proving Grounds of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.”

            “So nobody would notice if there was a mild implosion of energy here now and then,” Lanon suggested.

            “It’s a very remote spot,” Jesse confirmed.

            Lanon was very pleased with the location.  “You must have intuitively known this would be the ideal location for the Portal, Jesse.”

            Jesse demurred, “Actually, it was just a good deal on a piece of real estate.”

            Project Engineer John Brothers hauled his equipment out of the van and set it up in preparation for reading the area.  Overseer of Aesthetics Rebecca Brothers, with her binoculars, was of course surveying the aesthetic aspects of the area when her vision fell upon Cybelle on the distant rise.

            “Jesse,” she cautioned.  “Look.”

            Jesse took the glass and focused into view the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  Cybelle, realizing she had been discovered, stalwartly held her ground and lifted herself up to her full dignity stature.  The red-gold of her hair appeared as a crown glistening in the sun.  Her garments were stately yet sensual.  An emerald green leotard caressed her perfect body like a second skin.  The skirt a bustle of pale emerald chiffon that wafted then settled when she turned to Flora to advise her that they had been discovered.  Jesse was spellbound.

            “What is it?” Lanon asked.

            Jesse reluctantly handed over the glass for Lanon to see first Cybelle and then Flora on the rise.  “Who are they?” he asked, handing back the glass.

            “They?”  Jesse looked again.  Now two beautiful female forms stood overlooking their proceedings.  If possible, the second was even more beautiful than the first.  A cloak of golden hair poured over her body like a shaft of sunlight.  Her regalia were the color of royalty.  Shaken, he silently returned the glass to Rebecca.  “I don’t know who they are or what they’re doing here,” Jesse said, confused and intrigued.

            “Shall I go find out, Jesse?” John offered.

“I’m a woman,” Rebecca objected.  “I should go.”

            Thomas asked,  “Are they trespassing?”

            “No,” Jesse said to his crew.  “I’ll go and greet them.”  Adding, “They are the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.”

            Rebecca was dumbfounded -- not because she felt slighted, no, but because never in all the years of knowing Jesse, had she known him to take the slightest interest in  any woman.  Of course, she had to accede, these were not just any women!  She looked again.

            When the goddesses saw that Jesse was coming across the sand towards them, they began the descent to greet him.  Flora explained to Cybelle that it was not uncommon for a delegate of the native tribes to greet her upon her arrival.  With the superstitious, as most mortals are, she did not feel any danger.  As a rule they treated her according to her rank and allowed her to leave when she was ready.  Once or twice, she confessed, they had tried to get her to stay to rule their kingdom, but not often.

            Jesse had never before been enthralled by a woman.  In his years at Knossos women had sought him, but he had been too occupied with his studies and his relationship with Alexius to devote any time to the opposite sex.  Since the inception of the colonies, he had been devoted to his work and had not really made time to think much about female companionship.  But his eyes and his essence were drawn to the redhead.  The nearer they came to each other, the more beautiful he realized she was.  When at last they stopped, perhaps ten feet away from each other, he was breathless at the sight of her.

            Flora, the more experienced, spoke.  “Greetings.”

            Tearing his eyes away from Cybelle, he found his voice.  “Good morning,” he said to Flora, then felt compelled to say, “Welcome.”

            “We are visitors to your land,” she explained.  “I am called Flora and my companion is called Cybelle.”

            “How do you do?” he said.  “My name is Jesse Brothers.”

            Flora took a step nearer to the mortal, who was humble in her presence but not nearly as backward as those she normally encountered.  Cybelle approached as well, fully alert to the mortal man’s admiration of her.  She was also alert to Lanon, who was advancing.

            These two beings could not be ordinary women, Jesse thought.  “What kind of tourist are you that would bring you to this remote part of the desert?” he inquired.

            “I am a galactic botanist.  I study native flora, hence my nomenclature,” Flora explained.  “I am on a gathering mission, and Our Mother has recommended that Cybelle accompany me on this particular assignment.”

            Jesse seemed fixed to the spot.  He noticed that Flora carried a handful of wild flowers.  Cybelle’s eyes left Jesse to smile at Lanon as he stepped into their range. 

            “Greetings,” Flora repeated.

            “Greetings,” Lanon replied.  At once, he recognized that these were not mortals.  Their Nuclei were powerful.  “I am Lanon from the Constellation Zenton,” he said by way of introduction.

            Flora was pleasantly surprised.  “I have been there!” she said.  “I am from the neighboring Constellation of Uriah.  What is your mission?”  .

            “My mission is to attempt to open the door between this isolated sphere and the cosmos.  And yours?” 

            Jesse was amazed at nature of their casual exchange.

            Flora was happy to report, “I study local flora.  I am on a gathering mission of native flowers, which I will take back with me.  They tell us a great deal about the survival aspects of life, particularly in such a barren atmosphere as this.  Cybelle is my companion on this mission.  It is her first assignment.”

            Lanon smiled at Cybelle.  “This is my first, also.”

            “Did you come on a ship?”  Cybelle asked, and when she spoke, Jesse felt his ears tingle.  Her voice was as music.

            “No,” Lanon replied.  “I was materialized.”

            “So you are here as a mortal!” Flora remarked.

            “Yes,” Lanon acknowledged. “My assignment is to determine the status of a particular civilization.”

            “Are you faring well?”

            “As far as I can tell!” Lanon acknowledged. “But I’d love to discuss this with you further and get your perspective.  Will you be staying here long?”  He grinned, realizing that to a human “a long time” could be ten minutes, but to other-terrestrials, “a long time” could be ten millennia.

            “We do not have a specified return,” Flora responded to his smile, reflecting long experience with the amusing peculiarities of local languages. 

            Flora was intrigued that planet Urth was more advanced than she had anticipated.  She was delightfully aware of Jesse’s obvious infatuation with Cybelle, so she was not at all surprised when Lanon suggested to Jesse that the visitors might like to make Gateway their base of operations during their sojourn here.

            “Of course!” Jesse agreed, finding his voice.  Eyes fixed on Cybelle, he said, “Please, stay as our guests.”

            “You are very gracious,” Cybelle responded, bringing goose bumps to his flesh.

            Lanon went on to explain to the visitors that the area was being surveyed for eventual construction of an edifice for terrestrial escape. 

            Flora exclaimed to Jesse, “A Portal!  How exciting for you, and for your world!”

            Most of this sailed over Jesse’s head; he was just as pleased to let Lanon explain,  “We need to work here for a Part of time,” he said, “before we return to Gateway.”

            “Very well,” Flora said.  “We will accommodate your schedule.  Cybelle and I will go about our business until you are ready to take us there.” 

            Cybelle smiled at Jesse and his knees became weak.  Lanon took Jesse’s arm and turned him around.  The new arrivals watched in silent communion while the men descended to their arena, before they ascended the hill to dispatch their ship and to resume their work.

            Back at the site Rebecca asked, “Who were they, Jesse?”

            His face was aglow but his only reply was, “Tourists, ‘Becca.  Let’s get back to work.”

 

DOC WILL SLEPT FITFULLY and woke late with the nagging feeling that he had entered a phase of  life wherein he couldn’t keep up if he wanted to, and he didn’t want to.

            He had given Brad and Sylvia his blessing, but he still had his resentments.  Sylvia had gotten pregnant immodestly fast.  This implied to him that they hadn’t even had the decency to wait a civil amount of time before going at each other like dogs in heat, and he was disappointed with both of them.

            He was also disturbed that Lanon had planted seeds of death in his mind.  The initial motivation may have been for science and the benefit of evolution, but the reality was that he was cursed with the damned blisters.  Now, instead of approaching death academically, he was burdened with having to consider it as a reality for himself and he was afraid.

            He was also irritated with that apparition Angus.  How dare he know more about Mindal Science than Doc himself?  How dare he know that Sylvia was thirty-two hours pregnant?  How dare he guide Brad’s career and secure Audley’s affections?  It wasn’t fair that he, Dr. Wilhelm Blackstone, had devoted his entire life to science only for this half-here, half-there apparition to come along and know all these things innately.

            He was irrevocably mad at Audley for bringing all this into his life and onto his shoulders, but he was mostly angry with himself for having limitations. He didn’t have the strength or the time he needed to enjoy such an exciting new phase of planetary development, but he wouldn’t let himself consciously acknowledge that yet.  He didn’t want to talk to old people about dying.  He didn’t want to talk to Jesse about the new project or the old projects.  He didn’t feel like getting out of bed, and so he didn’t. What he did want, he admitted, was Sarah.

            Undisturbed in his bed he thought of her in living color, remembered when they had been as enthralled with each other as Brad and Sylvia were now.  It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to remember how wonderful it was to share his life with his woman.  Too long.  Before, it had only made him feel lonely to think of her, and so he had quit thinking of her.  When he thought of her now, however, it did not make him feel lonely.  He was already lonely, and so the thought of Sarah made him feel loved, and he felt better.

            After a while he began to wonder if perhaps Sarah wasn’t trying to tell him something, and when it dawned on him that he was thinking of her in the present tense, something happened to him.  He acknowledged the conversation he had earlier with Lanon, about love being an active verb, about Sarah being alive and well, and suddenly the idea of leaving this world became exciting to him.  He could be, would be with Sarah again! 

            He became charged with the image of himself molting from the flesh, leaving the rheumatism and the arthritis behind, and waking up in a new world, with Sarah, strong and vibrant as they had been when their love was young.  Together they could be so much, do so much.  He could almost reach out and touch her, and this knowledge brought tears of joy to his eyes.

            In spite of his enthusiasm, his body was slow to respond.  He pulled himself up, bathed and shaved, dressed in his customary brown jumpsuit, and went out in an expectant mood.  He told himself he was ready for the Portal and wondered how long he would have to wait for the Portal to be ready for him.

 

JESSE RETURNED TO GATEWAY with the Board members, leaving Lanon to escort the new arrivals to the guest wing.   At the site all morning Jesse had been preoccupied with the realization that something was going to have to be done about all these visiting entities.  If they were to be a regular feature of colony life, the Zooids, or at least the Board members, would have to be advised. 

            He put in a hasty call to his mentor and launched as soon as Alexius’ ancient visage appeared on the screen. “I think I’m losing my grip here, Alexius.  You never told me this would happen.”

            “What is it, Jesse?  What’s happening?”

            “Ever since Lanon got here, things are different.  There are so many things to adjust to.  I just feel like I’m . . . losing control.”

            Alexius had been anticipating this call for days already.  “Give me an example.”

            “Well, like Angus for one thing.  You know Angus.  He’s like The Invisible Man or something!”

            “Yes, I know Angus.  He’s a good friend of mine.  It’s not his fault he’s non-corporeal.”

            “What makes him look like that?” Jesse complained. 

            “He’s 5,000 years old!  But you don’t have to worry about him.  He knows how to get in and out of places and can take care of himself.”

            “5,000 years old?”  Jesse sat down abruptly, dizzy in the dimension he had fallen into. “A good friend of yours?” 

            “And he’s your friend, too, Jesse,” the Professor counseled.  “What else is troubling you?

            “This morning we went out to the site, out to where we’re going to build the Portal?”

            “The what?”

            It dawned on Jesse he hadn’t even discussed this with his mentor.  “Oh, God.  You see what I mean?  It’s all happening too fast!  I’m losing it!  How could I forget to discuss the Portal with you?” he asked incredulously.   “It’s Lanon’s idea.  It’s for ‘terrestrial escape’ he says.”

            “I’m not worried about that. You can trust Lanon.  What happened at the site?” 

            “Two women showed up from the Constellation Uriah, wherever the hell that is, to study wild flowers or something.  I’m not sure, Alexius, but I think they arrived on some kind of space ship!  Is this what I can expect from now on?”

            “Well, I don’t know!  Are they interfering with your work?”

            “Well, no, but .…”  

            “But what?”

            “Alexius, ... these two women, these new arrivals are ... superhuman!”   He admitted it. “They are like goddesses!  And the redhead?  The one who calls herself Cybelle?  Well,…”  Words failed him. 

            Alexius grinned into the receiver.   “It’s about time!”

            “What do you mean, ‘It’s about time’?”

            “It’s about time a woman caught your eye.”

            “But, she’s a --  I don’t even know what to call her!”

            “Call her Cybelle.  That’s her name.  She is an other-terrestrial.”

            Jesse acknowledged to himself that “other-terrestrial” sounded better than “extra-terrestrial.”  Maybe she was just another humanoid from a world whose advanced technology made it possible for her to come here in a space ship.  Maybe he could think in terms of feeling something for her.  Maybe all of this was merely an adjustment in perspective. 

            “Well, I’m going to have to at least tell the Board members something!  If all these invisibles and other-terrestrials are going to be coming and going or staying here at Gateway, sooner or later we’re going to have to tell the Zooids something!”

            He came back to himself hearing Alexius say, “Look, son, we will, as soon as it’s time for them to know.  This isn’t an emergency, Jesse,” Alexius reassured him.  “Don’t worry about the Supernals.  The door is opening, that’s all.  It’s all part of the Jural Colony Project.  This is what we’ve been working for, all these many years!”  Jesse shivered, and  Alexius continued, “I’m so excited for you, Jesse, to be there in person, experiencing all of this.  How I wish I could be in your shoes to see it all happen.”

            Alexius had known of this, had been waiting for this, all this time, Jesse realized.  “I don’t mind telling you, Alexius, I wish you were here.  As an administrator I usually  feel at least competent, but all of this is outside my normal jurisdiction and I have no idea what’s going on.”

            “It’s outside all our jurisdictions, Jesse.  This is what makes it so exciting!  What’s happening is that we’re coming into contact with other worlds, with cosmic intelligences, higher authorities.  You’ve got to trust that this is all happening according to plan.”

            “Yeah, but whose plan?  What if something happens to the Zooids?” 

            Alexius recognized the source of Jesse’s fear.  “Nothing bad is going to happen to the Zooids and certainly not from these outside entities.  The Supernals are here to help.  It’s like we’ve talked about so many times, Jesse.  It’s a friendly universe.  Remember our talking about this?  ‘Forward strides in science and evolution go hand in hand, but belligerence doesn’t go far from its origin.’  If these entities can travel so far in space to visit us, I can guarantee you they are beneficent.  They are our neighbors.  Make them welcome.”

            “I am.  I think.  We did.   Anyway, Lanon is.”

            “And he is one of the visitors, so you see?  Already you are being assisted.  You are not alone in this, my boy!”  As Jesse nodded, Alexius said, “Listen.  Why don’t you ask the Board members to come by this afternoon and use it as a forum to introduce them and see what happens?”  While Jesse scowled, Alexius persisted.  “I believe you’re worrying needlessly, Jesse. I can assure you the Supernals are part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

            “I’ll think about it.”

            “The universe knows what it’s doing,” the professor concluded.  “And as for the redhead?  Don’t argue with it, son.  You’ve been alone long enough!  What did you say her name is?”

            “Cybelle.”  He liked saying it.

            “Cybelle,” Alexius repeated.  “Nature goddess.  Nice name.”

            Suddenly the line clicked off, leaving Jesse standing in front of the blank screen, staring into space, hair mussed, holding the mike to the viso-phone.       Lanon found him thus.             “Is something the matter, Jesse?” he asked. 

            Jesse turned off the viso-phone and waved to a chair, inviting Lanon to join him.  “It’s just that everything is happening so fast, Lanon!”

            “Like what?”  Lanon sat.

            “Like what?”  His laugh was a bark.  “Like you, for instance!  You show up telling me you were materialized into the body of a full-grown man less than a month ago.  Like Angus!  No material body at all!  What is he, for Christ’s sake, and how can he survive in our atmosphere like that?   How can he be 5,000 years old?”   Jesse ran his fingers through his hair again.  “And those women we met this morning, your neighbors Cybelle and Flora.  What are they doing here?  They have to be doing more than picking wildflowers, Lanon!   What’s going on?” he demanded.  “Who are these people?  Who are you?  And why is everything changing so suddenly?”

            Lanon answered levelly.  “Nothing has changed, Jesse. Your world is still the same. And nothing will change, either, unless and until you and the Zooids approve of the changes that might come about as a result of your own decisions.  We would never interfere with your free will.  I’ve told you that.  If you don’t want to proceed, I will leave and the others can go back to doing whatever they were doing before you had knowledge of them, and you can continue on as you have been.  If, however, you do want to proceed, you will obviously be coming into contact with other forms of life.  But nothing will happen without your full consent and cooperation.”

            He continued, answering Jesse’s unasked questions, “I’ve told you why I am here.  I’m basically a reporter, giving my superiors an account of your level of existence.  I haven’t done this before so I don’t know why the others are showing up in your life at this same precise time, but maybe they’ve all come to show you what you can expect.   We can ask them!  We can talk to them if you want to, and if you don’t, if it’s all too much, you can make the decision for us to all leave and maybe we’ll return again forty or fifty years from now.” 

            “So,” Jesse clarified, “what you’re saying is, if it doesn’t happen in my lifetime it will happen someday.”

            “Yeah, if your planet is still here,” Lanon said “and if it can still maintain life.  If it hasn’t destroyed itself or been destroyed.”

            Jesse reacted passionately.  “If Urth is destroyed, it won’t be because the Zooids haven’t tried to advance it!  We have fought hard against the darkness.  It’s what motivated us into existence in the first place!”

            “I know that, Jesse, and I’ll testify to that fact.  Regardless of Urth’s destiny, the destiny of the Zooids is assured, but we are not blind to the ignorant forces at work on your planet.  We might be able to help you!  If nothing else, we could keep you company!  Even so, this is your decision.  Yours and your fellow Zooids.  Let us know your wishes, Jesse, whether we should leave you alone or whether we should proceed, and your free will will be honored.”

            Jesse felt immense relief.  He was not losing control.  He still had choices.  All this was simply another part of the emerging new paradigm.  He knew they were progressing quite well on their own, but it did bother him to think that the Supernals might leave because he was reluctant to progress further.  Such an attitude was not zooidal.   Besides, he had to admit that the idea of Cybelle keeping him company was an inducement if not out-and-out cosmic coercion.  He smiled and nodded.  “I was thinking of introducing you all to the Board this afternoon.”

            “That’s a great idea,” Lanon said, visibly relieved.  “I’m glad you have opted to proceed.”

            “Well, I haven’t,” Jesse hedged.  “But I can’t make this kind of a decision alone.  The Board has to be involved.”

            “Of course.”

            “I’ll arrange for the meeting,” Jesse said.  When Jesse turned to leave, he asked, “Where are Flora and Cybelle?”

            “Downstairs.”  Lanon grinned.  “Having a massage.”

            Jesse nodded, his eyes twinkling.  What a clever way to introduce them to the human condition.

 

IN RENO, SYLVIA AND AUDLEY checked into a luxury hotel and had lunch before Sylvia left Audley at the pool.  She went on to investigate how to get a divorce in no time.   After finding the right lawyer and fixing the right price, she filed her Petition, then, while waiting for certain paperwork to be processed by the appropriate offices, found a jeweler who would give her cash for her rings.  They were worth ten times the amount she got, but she was glad to be rid of them, glad to be done with the false security they offered. 

            The next item on her agenda was more difficult.   From the hotel room, she checked the airlines then called Hoagland and made an appointment to see him the next day regarding Jennifer.

 

 SUMMONED TO THE BOARD meeting, Angus left Brad alone in the Terminal and Brad was happy enough to be left alone, for the computer he had so arduously sought had literally been laid in his lap.  With a machine like this, he could predict the future indefinitely.  He could calculate the reason for the blackout and offer future remedies.  He could access the government’s files on UFOs and Remote Viewing.  He could see into submarines, the KGB, anything!  

            Sitting in the cold room, amazed by his good fortune, he thanked God that at long last, he had his own task.  Within minutes, Brad’s steady breathing had taken on the same rhythm as the Terminal’s ventilation.  He had become One with Science.

 

IT DIDN’T SIT WELL WITH OSCAR.  He was angry at his boss, Dr. Spencer, for leaving him -- his assigned Presidential Aide -- to go off with a woman -- his girlfriend and self-appointed Investigative Assistant.  The only difference Oscar could see in their qualifications was gender, and he came “this close” to filing a report against Dr. Spencer for sexual discrimination.  It angered him even further that Brad was not keeping in contact, not even keeping his Aide informed. 

            Seeing no reason why he should stay cooped up in a dreary library reading all there was to know about potassium while Dr. Spencer was out having fun, Oscar planned some fun of his own. They had said they were going to Malibu.  What for?  What was in Malibu?  Didn’t Sylvia say she had been staying at the Grand Hotel?  A call to the Grand Hotel led him not to Sylvia but to her husband, Roger Watergate, an attorney who lived with his wife Sylvia in Beverly Hills. 

            Making a mental note of this, in case he decided to file a discrimination case, Oscar went on to his next contact, Dr. Spencer’s socialite mother, Lydia Spencer, who was infinitely more helpful than the hotel desk clerk.  Lydia had done her own homework and was able to confirm for Oscar that Sylvia was not only the wife of Roger Watergate of the Prince, Damon & Watergate, P.A. law firm, but she was also the daughter of Hiram Chandler, the newspaper magnate. And, not to be overlooked, she was also a close friend with the eminent Mindal Scientist Dr. Wilhelm Blackstone’s daughter, Audley, a one-time reporter for the Silent Majority who happened to own a studio in Malibu.  Oscar was on his way.

            In Malibu, Audley’s house sitter Eugene admitted to Oscar that Dr. Spencer and Sylvia had been there with a fancy metal detector they brought with them to do a reading.  He made a note of this and asked several more questions.  Yes, they did detect high traces of potassium.  No, Eugene didn’t know where they were now.  Audley?  She supposedly went to Spain but should have been back by now.  Perhaps her father, Doc Will, would know more about the current whereabouts of his daughter or Sylvia or Dr. Spencer. 

            Having previously been to Doc Will’s Santa Barbara estate, Oscar had no trouble getting information from Martha.  Eager for company with Doc Will gone, she greeted Oscar as a long-lost friend and fed him a lunch he would not soon forget.  Ever anxious to oblige, she was quick to tell him that as far as she knew, they had all gone to Gateway.  All?  Yes, all: Brad, Sylvia, Dr. Blackstone, Audley and Lanon Zenton.

            Oscar the whiz kid had earlier cracked the code for Sam and copiously studied Brad’s notes.  Of course, he had gotten into the files and found the lab report on Sylvia’s soil samples as well as the “For Your Eyes Only” communiqué referencing a recent potassium explosion in the galaxy.  He now used every telecommunications system available to Sam and to Uncle Sam but could find no reference anywhere to a Lanon Zenton.  He found a file in general records on one Lanon Zentonovitch; it was a remarkably unenlightening document. 

            Before approaching Gateway to confront Dr. Spencer, Oscar investigated and studied in depth all recorded data about the Zooids of the Jural Colony Project, an obscure, registered not-for-profit undertaking that was condoned by the government but carefully observed for potential subversive actions.

            It was not Oscar’s conclusion but it was his strong suspicion that the August 14th East Coast blackout was caused, somehow, by a foreign potentate in collusion with the communist sympathizer JCP.  Fired by his ambition to lead his boss to discover this subversive plot against the government, he advised Lassater, on behalf of Brad, then set out for Gateway in Nevada.

 

SYLVIA HAD LUNCH ON THE PLANE to Denver.  When she arrived at the hospital, Hoagland himself met her in the lobby, as solicitous as ever.  He directed her to his office and exchanged her generous financial contribution for a tax-deductible receipt before relaying to her that an unfortunate turn of events had transpired.  Sylvia listened with uncommon poise as Hoagland explained that two days ago Jennifer had developed viral pneumonia, through no fault of the hospital, and they had been compelled to put her on a respirator.  He explained that they had tried to notify Mrs. Watergate but could not locate her, although Mr. Watergate, through his law office, had been notified at once.

            Assuring Dr. Hoagland the hospital would suffer no negative ramifications from them, having been for years completely content with the hospital’s management of their situation, she asked to see her daughter. 

            “Well, yes, of course.”

            Jennifer was in the same room she had been in for the past seven years.  It was a private room with a window overlooking the parking lot. As Sylvia sat on the side of the bed, looking out to the view of distant mountain peaks, she realized for the first time the irony of the window.  The view cost an extra $5,000 a year and she was the only one who ever looked out.  As her eyes caressed the horizon, she thought about Lanon’s comment that the Voids should be eliminated, and she now very calmly agreed with him.  Who was she to play God and insist that Jennifer find this existence meaningful?

            Jennifer lay there as if asleep, as beautiful as ever - totally perfect.  Sylvia could see herself in her daughter, how together they had suspended time and set aside living.  If Jennifer were freed from that young body, if her soul -- if she had one -- were released, wasn’t it possible that Jennifer might  find happiness in a new existence much as she had found happiness in her new life with Brad?

            It was clear to Sylvia what she must do. 

            After forcing open the window, she disconnected Jennifer from the life-sustaining apparatus, then kissed her daughter good-bye for the last time.   She sat with her, then, until the need to leave was greater than the need to stay.

            She stopped in the office to thank Hoagland again for his courtesies and assured him Jennifer was resting peacefully.  

            In the parking lot, she turned to look up at Jennifer’s window.  Taking a deep breath, she watched as the curtains billowed like clouds, her heart swelling as she sensed her daughter’s and her own release to freedom.





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