Chapter 26
A day and a half later Abe, Naphor and Terren stood holding the reins of their horses staring at what Abraham acknowledged was a close replica of his ship. But instead of high-tech metals it seemed to be made from some gray mesh-like material. He put his hand out and felt the surface. It reminded him of molded spaghetti. The hatch stood open and Abraham went inside.
Here is where the duplication ended. The inside looked so like his rooms in the tree it was eerie. A bed, a small bathroom, a table with a stool, and in the wall one of the phosphorescent lights. Otherwise, it was empty. He came back outside shaking his head.
“It looks like the shape of my ship out here, but all the controls, the hibernation chamber, the food station, all those are gone, come and see."
They all went inside.
" I guess the tree just used outside of the ship for a pattern but then reverted to the ordinary everyday stuff inside. I don't think this is thing will fly. There are no controls, no visible means of power.” Abe said rubbing his forehead and beginning to pace back and forth.
As they came outside, Naphor stopped in his tracks as if listing to something. He reached out his hand to his horse to steady himself.
"Wait! Listen! Did you hear that sound? Let us go back inside."
"Look." Naphor said pointing. There are in an alcove bathed in violet light rested the seed. It sat there swirling with mysterious images and patterns. Suddenly they all jumped, as the ship began to quietly hum and then to vibrate.
Naphor spoke. "Here I think, is your power source Abraham."
He looked at Abraham with a twinkle in his eye, "I think you'll find the ship operational now.”
Abraham stood speechless. The realization that if and he went inside the ship, it was possible he would either die in space or actually end up back on Earth came upon him. But the simplicity of the solution rankled his logical mind. And once more he felt an irrational resentment of G’var Daath for imposing its own solution to his problem.
"Do you think I can leave now?"
Naphor replied. "I see no reason why not. When you are returned to your planet, if you decide to plant the seed, it will need to be placed in soil to germinate. But I cannot tell you how long it will take to sprout, or what its requirements to grow really are, for we have no idea."
Abraham felt like Dorothy in the land of OZ. “You mean all I have to do is click my heels together and I'll be home?”
Naphor and Terren looked at him with wry smiles.
It seemed too easy. There was no hibernation chamber, there looked to be no food supplies. No obvious oxygen tanks. The whole thing seemed risky and improbable. But he decided that he must take the chance if it meant even the slight possibility of returning home.
"Well I guess there's no reason to hang around thinking about it.” He turned to Naphor, "Please thank Aeron for me. He was good to me."
Abe took a step closer to B’rofi. Their foreheads came together. Abe thought, Farewell friend. Faithful steed.
The horse leaned into Abe and nickered in mild distress. He had no words for an occasion such as this. As Abe turned away B’rofi pawed at the ground and tossed his head.
Terren stood near the horses in stoic silence. He moved to give Abe a bear hug, and turned away busying himself with adjusting a saddle girth, a tear slowly falling down his cheek.
“Thank you Naphor for teaching me something that I never thought was possible. I have no idea if I will still have this ability when I get to my planet, but I thank you for teaching me anyway. And I must be honest with you and tell you I don't know if I will plant this seed or not. What shall I do with it if I decide not to?"
"Most likely if is it is not planted it will probably deteriorate like any other seed. I just don't know how long that might take. You must do what you think is best for your own kind of course.”
"Goodbye friends, and if I go inside and close the door and nothing happens, promise you won't laugh when I come back out, all right?" He said with a smile.
"No, I don't think you'll be stepping out on this world my friend. May the Holy One go with you and may He give you wisdom.”
Abraham stepped into the ship. His friends pulled the hatch door around and closed it. Immediately from the inside the outline of the door disappeared Abraham then noticed that a panel was sliding down to cover the seed. The edges of this opening also disappeared. Now the humming and vibrations of the ship grew more pronounced.
Outside the men mounted their horses and moved off several yards, not knowing quite what to expect. They watched as the ship slowly lifted off the surface. It hovered about a hundred feet in the air briefly and then to their astonishment, suddenly disappeared. They looked at each other in awe. There was nothing to do now except go back home. From now on it would only be speculation as to what would happen in Abraham's world, and on their own for that matter.
Inside the ship Abraham was aware of it lifting away from the land. He found it difficult to stand so he sat down on the bench, gripping the edges of the table. He could only guess at what might happen next. He felt a certain queasy vertigo overtake him. There were no portholes to give him an idea of what was happening. Several minutes went by and except for the low hum and the continuing vibration, nothing much seemed to be happening. There wasn't anything to do in here, no gauges to check, no books to read, no manuals to consult. And after a long while the started to get bored. He finally lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
* * * *
He woke with the start. What was that? The humming had changed pitch and again he was aware of a slight dizziness. He sat up cautiously and looked around. Everything was the same except he thought he noticed that the ship was tilted at a slightly odd angle and then there was a jolt and bump as it came to rest. But where? That was the question. The humming slowly faded, the vibrations subsided and within a minute or so the ship was completely silent.
Abraham's mouth was dry. He wasn't even sure how to open the hatch. He only knew where it used to be. He walked over to it and realized he was walking slightly uphill. The ship must have landed on uneven ground. He began to feel around the edges for the hatch and finally placed his right hand fully on what used to be the door and the outline became delineated again. He gave it a hefty shove and it opened wide. It was night he could hear crickets.
He stepped out onto grass and walked up a small knoll. He was astonished to see the landscaped grounds of the Institute. The ship had landed in between two artificial mounds that were part of the landscaping. Lights shown brightly on the tall buildings. He slumped to the ground overcome with relief. He was home.
Home.
How much time had passed? Things looked much the same from what he could tell. The trees were bigger but the buildings looked about the same. As he walked toward the rear entrance, there was the patio with tables for the workers to eat outside in good weather. He realized it was going to be hard to convince these people what had happened to him. He hoped there was someone here that was still familiar with his mission.
It seemed very odd to be walking in the back door like he had gone out for a stroll to clear his mind before going back to work. As he walked somewhat unsteadily toward the building, suddenly flood lights went on and alarms sounded. Of course he thought, security. He stood still waiting for the guards he even put his hands over his head in preparation. This isn't exactly the greeting he was hoping for. So much for the return of the conquering hero.
Chapter 27
From the darkness emerged several heavily armed men. Abraham was confused. These guys were a far cry from the usual security guards that had been here when he left. These characters were dressed in what looked like full riot gear. In the glaring light he could barely see them. Their faces were hidden behind helmets and shields. They all had companels on their forearms plus a headset display plate on their helmets and it looked like their weapons were extensions of their arms. Geeze, these guys looked like a cross between Robocop and the Borg.
"Identify yourself." - came a booming voice from one of the guards. Abraham put his hands up higher than ever. These guys looked like they were capable of frying him right now and worrying about the mess later.
"My name is Abraham Talbot. His mind raced to remember, then it popped into his head, “Employee No. 39074. I was sent on the extra-solar system exploration mission in 2073. I have returned in the craft that you will find several yards behind me."
There was silence for moment, but Abraham could see the display panel that hung off the guard’s helmet. A small light shown from the top of this and was probably taking a picture of him. He could see the computer accessing his files in the transparent panel.
Suddenly the whole group stood down. Their weapons were lowered. "Pardon us Mr. Talbot, we were not expecting you. Please follow me. Doctor Howerton will see you." He made a motion to the others to go check out the spacecraft. Abraham wondered what these goons would think when they got a good look at it.
They reached the building and the guard stepped up to the door. A laser like light scanned his face and upper body. That was new Abe noted. They were using fingerprint scanners when he left. He began to get excited, what other progress had been made while he was gone? The door clicked open and they entered the building. He recognized the hallway and the cafeteria and dining area but everything was done in a blue-gray scheme now.
They entered the elevators and went up to the sixth floor. The hospital wing, where he had been given his hibernation tests. When the elevator doors opened, a small group of doctors and nurses stood waiting. In the middle stood doctor Howerton, now gray and slightly stooped. His companel blinked on his arm and he too had on a heads up display apparatus, but the transparent display was flipped out of his line of vision at the moment. For some odd reason at the moment it made Abraham think of the old-fashioned flags that used to be on mailboxes. For an instant, he thought it looked just plain silly. He realized he was experiencing good old fashioned culture shock. - - Again.
"My God, it is you." Doctor Howerton said in hushed tones. "We thought we would never see you again. We lost contact with the ship as soon as it passed Neptune, he paused, Twenty-two years ago. What happened? How did you get back? And my goodness, you look like you've been to a health spa. You positively look in top notch shape."
"It's a long story Gerry and I have my doubts that you will believe some of it. I'm not sure that I do."
The others one by one stepped up and introduced themselves. "James Davis Mr. Talbot, It's an honor to meet you.” He shook his hand with a look of awe. When they all had been introduced, Howerton led him to his office near the nurse’s station.
The two of them entered a room which lit up with one word from the doctor. The lights were unusually bright to Abraham who had gotten used to the more subtle lights in the Tree. He shaded his eyes. "Could we have a little less light?" He asked.
"Certainly, the doctor said looking curiously at Abe, do they bother you?"
He thought about explaining and realized he had his work cut out for him in describing Dhriana and he didn't know if he wanted to start with the lighting situation.
"Lights at forty percent" Howerton said. Immediately the lights dimmed.
"Oh that's much better, thank you"
" I must tell you I recognize your face but you look so, well, hale and hearty. You almost glow I have to tell you. It's quite a change from how I remember you."
"Oh really? Abe said. “I don't think I feel different actually, at least I don't think I do. You have a mirror?"
"Here behind the closet door." The doctor opened the closet and Abraham walked over to stand in front of it. With a shock he realized he did look different. Tanned and more muscular. His eyes were clear and penetrating. He used to slouch in the manner of some tall people, it had become a habit. But now he stood straight. His hair had grown long. Funny, he hadn’t thought much about these things. It was long and still tied behind with a braided cord, the same as all the other men on Dhriana. And he was dressed in kaki pants and a deep green intricately embroidered tunic with blue braided closures. Suddenly he realized he MUST look a sight to these people.
"Sit down Abraham. I should probably call my team together, but I don't think it’s necessary actually. Most of them don't know much about the mission. It's been long forgotten now. I think there will be only a handful of us left here who remember it. Do you feel up to telling your story or do you need to rest?"
"Well I just woke up from a nap to tell you the truth." This made Abraham shake his head. It was almost as if just enough time had gone by to leave the atmosphere of Dhriana and descend into the atmosphere of Earth and the distance in between was nothing. How this could be he hadn't clue. He rubbed his forehead trying not to think about it too much.
He was home and that was what was important.