EPILOGUE
The magnetic capsule enclosed them.
Audley nestled into Lanon and felt the
quiet thrill that always came to her when she
was near him.
“It’ll be good to see Jesse again,” he
said, drawing her even closer.
“Is he well?”
“Yes, but he misses Cybelle.”
“He’ll see her again.
Soul mates are always reunited.”
She rested her head on his shoulder and
let fall the hot tears of joy.
“Hey!” he said, “You’re getting me all
wet!”
“Hey!” she said, sitting up, laughing and
crying at once.
“So what?”
BACK AT GATEWAY, the receiving station secured
the capsule.
When they stepped onto the landing, Jesse
was there to greet them.
“God, Lanon, it’s good to see you!” he
said, hugging him.
“It seems like you’ve been gone a long
time!
So much has happened.”
The triad ascended to the deck where
Sylvia and Brad met them.
The women squealed and the men all
slapped each other on the back, grinning and
hugging, until the initial emotional outburst
subsided, then they all at once focused on the
newest member of the JCP.
“How’s the baby?” Lanon asked.
“He is alive and well!” she announced
proudly, taking Lanon’s hand and directing it to
where the baby was kicking.
“He sure is!” Lanon agreed, having felt
the thump.
“Are you sure he’s a he?” Audley asked.
Brad nodded.
“His name is Benjamin Wilhelm Blackstone
Spencer Brothers,” he said with pride, “but all
his friends call him Ben.”
“And what do they call you these
days, Brad?” Audley asked, pulling on a lock of
his hair. “A hippie?”
It had grown so long, it spilled onto his
shoulders.
“A dramatist!” Brad countered.
“What do you think?
You like it?”
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Audley
wondered aloud.
“Brad is Theater Director at a JCP
Artist’s Colony,” Sylvia explained.
“You must attend his next production!”
“I should say we must!” Audley agreed.
Jesse tore himself loose.
“You’ll have to excuse me, folks.
You’re welcome to come in and visit,” he
said, heading for his apartment,” but I’m in the
middle of something.”
“No, thanks, Jesse,” Brad said, waving
him away.
“You go ahead; we’ve got to get going
too.
But when we heard you were back, Audley,
we wanted to see you.
And it sure is great to see you again,
Lanon.
Welcome home.”
As the men shook hands, Audley hugged
Brad, then Sylvia and the baby, then hugged
herself in delight, then hugged Lanon.
“Call me on your TASC, Aud,” Sylvia said,
taking Brad’s hand.
“We’ll have a good long girl talk.”
When their friends disappeared into the
elevator, Audley and Lanon turned to follow
Jesse into his apartment.
They found him in his bedroom, a suitcase
open on the king-sized bed, selecting jump suits
of the most regal colors.
Lanon asked, “Where’re you going?”
He beamed when he announced,
“Switzerland!”
Audley couldn’t help but notice how
Jesse’s attitude had changed since this morning.
Whereas he had been somber, he was now
jubilant.
“Looks
like you’ll be gone for awhile,” Audley said.
“For awhile, yeah.
It’s time to get the International School
of Zooids up and running.
We’ve got our work cut out for us!” he
expanded, filling his suitcase.
“Since we caught the attention of
intelligent life in the universe, we get plenty
of free advice about getting this planet squared
away, but it’s us humans who have to do the
work!
New people have to be motivated,
selected, trained and assigned!”
“You’re leaving Andrew in charge?” she
pursued.
“No, actually, thanks for asking.”
He snapped the suitcase shut.
“You and Lanon will be taking over for
me.”
“What?” they both said in unison.
“That’s right.”
He reached for his over-nighter and
started packing it with shaving gear and
toiletries. “The two of you are now
co-administrators of the continental Jural
Colony Project.”
“Have you talked to the Board about
this?” Lanon inquired.
“What do they say about it?”
“The Board is individually and
collectively tuned in to their own Monitors and
couldn’t be more pleased with all these latest
developments.
I tell you, you won’t believe the
strides we’ve made since you’ve been gone!”
He zipped the over-nighter shut and
Audley took it, asking, “Like what?”
Lanon picked up Jesse’s suitcase and they
both followed him into the office.
Then, as Jesse packed his valise, he
explained, “Well, for one thing, Zenton has
assigned a Probation Auditor to Penn State
Reserve.
Since then, Phillip reports that PSR has
exceeded its own expectations.
Three of the guests have applied to go
through the Portal, inspiring a whole new course
of study in metaphysics.”
“That’s one way to get out of jail!”
Audley laughed.
“There are two new Midway Colonies in
operation, with two more under construction to
accommodate the number of anticipated grads in
the next few years.”
He turned to Audley.
“I tell you this especially because
Sylvia is one of our most prodigious workers.
She has become a master gardener and has
been able to work miracles of development with
the women and children of Midway through the
simple act of planting seeds.”
“I don’t recall Sylvia having such a
green thumb,” Audley observed.
Lanon interjected, “Seems to me it was
Sylvia who saved the life of your plants on more
than one occasion.”
“Oh, yeah, my coleus.
So true,” she admitted.
“What else?”
“Well, before Brad was smitten with
Shakespeare, he taught Oscar how to modify all
the TASCs throughout the colonies, so everybody
is getting to know their personal Monitor, and
that has given new impetus to many of the Zooid
projects that we have underway.
Plus, Brad saved the IOF from extinction
by introducing the manufacture of the viso-phone.
They are being mass produced and
introduced by major telephone companies on the
outside.”
“Did I hear you say Oscar is still
around?” Lanon asked.
Jesse nodded, giving his desk a last
minute check.
“Oscar is a new person.
He and Ellen announced their intent to
Unite almost from the start; they are devoted to
each other.
While they have been attending Marriage
School, both of them have been working with
Samuel in Sales and Resources.
Incidentally, Brad has been working with
celestial artisans to elevate the level of plays
and pageantry, and they have been very
entertaining!”
He packed his portable TASC into the side
pocket of his suitcase and checked his watch.
“Evidently, then, Supernal visitors are
still coming around,” Audley noted.
Jesse led his entourage with the luggage
into the living room and fixed them all a tall
glass of something cool and refreshing.
“Not a day goes by that we don’t have a
new contact. The
universe seems to be delighted with the work the
Zooids are doing.
They help us in ways we would never have
dreamed.”
“The Board members are all taking this in
stride?” Lanon asked, amused.
“Oh, Thomas gets his dander up sometimes,
but he’s just naturally contrary.
He is having as much fun as the rest of
them.”
“‘Them’, Jesse?” Audley probed.
“Aren’t you having fun?”
As she asked, Lanon peered at a spot in
the distance, watching as it approached.
“Of course I am!” he grinned.
“It just took some getting used to.
I had to go through some personal
adjustments when I saw that I wasn’t going to be
in control of everything all the time.
But once it all started happening, once I
realized I had no choice but to let it happen,
it has been one incredible adventure after the
other.”
His eyes sought the horizon.
“Any news from Angus?” Lanon asked,
watching the spot in the distance distinguish
itself as a ship.
“I’ve missed him.”
Audley followed Lanon’s gaze and saw it
coming.
“He’s been back twice since he left in
Zenith.
And Flora plans to return in Ascent when
the wildflowers are in bloom.”
The ship set down in the sand immediately
outside of Gateway.
“It would appear as though your flight is
ready,” Lanon said with a grin.
Jesse quickly grabbed up his luggage.
“I’d stay and visit longer,” he said,
“but ... duty calls!”
The smile on his face was a sight to
behold.
“Audley, the instructions are in the
TASC.
And Lanon, you’ll know what to do.”
The hatch of the ship opened and a small
metal ladder extended to the ground.
“Bye,” Audley said,
“Thanks for everything.”
Lanon embraced his friend, “Thanks for
the life!”
As Jesse disappeared into the elevator,
Audley and Lanon watched as Cybelle stepped out
of the ship and descended the ladder onto the
sand.
In a moment, they saw Jesse stride
forward, drop his suitcase and take Cybelle into
his arms.
He swung her around until they were both
enveloped in the cape of her beautiful copper-colored
hair.
In another moment, they were inside the
ship and it was hurtling through the universe to
the site of the future International School of
Zooids, in Switzerland.
For a long time then, Audley and Lanon
stood side by side looking out at the planet of
their mutual assignment.
Together they would face their task of
seeing old become new, of bridging this world to
the next.
Shadows deepened, sunset hovered, and a
lone star appeared.
As the psychedelic rain of eventide came
upon them, Lanon turned to Audley.
Assured of her full attention, he asked,
“Now can we make love?”
She opened to him, the whole woman.
“Yes,” she smiled.
“Now we can make love.”
Kissing her, he lifted her up, then
carried her in, and laid her in the center of
the king-sized bed.
The End
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