Jo-el

Chapter 14 THE REASON

Next thing I knew I was on my knees in the sand. I instantly felt the warm sun against my skin, the sea air smelling of salt and I heard waves breaking against the shore. I had stumbled, but I was on a beach and I presumed it was Grand Guana Cay. Not the best Superman landing but I was in one piece. I checked myself, you know, both arms still attached, legs hanging from my ass, head roughly in the right place, then stood up slowly and took in my surroundings. It was spectacularly beautiful. The sea was as blue as a swimming pool; the sand flowed out in waves of yellow, there were some rocks in clusters along the seashore. The air was humid and hot. I was in the Bahamas, no jet-lag, no TSA at the airport, no bumpy flight and lines at immigration. Fucking A.

Then Sally appeared, Wow! She was clad in a teeny, red bikini, her blond hair dancing in the wind, her skin tanned a perfect brown. I smiled at her. She grinned heavily back at me.

“You look sensational,” I said. I could tell she loved the compliment. Her deep blue eyes widened and she slowly blinked twice.

“Shall we take a stroll?” she asked.

“Sure.”

We walked south along the beach. I carried my flip-flops and let the waves caress my feet. Sally looked as happy as I’d ever seen her. It was impossible to believe that she was just a holographic image created by a computer. She was as real to me as the few people we saw wondering aimlessly along the sand. I had to shake myself every few moments and remember who she was. I wanted to take her hand in mine, but I knew that it didn’t exist. And who was I, really. A middle-aged man clad in a young-man’s body. I too was an aberration. Make-believe, false. Was that the direction we were heading? I guess it was. Think of all the products we buy to make us into something else. This was simply the final extension of everyone’s dreams. We could look like the pictures in the glossy magazines, even if we couldn’t become those people. Maybe that was next.

After a while we headed back and took some broken steps up to Nippers bar. While we were still out of sight I told Sally to put on a cover-up, which appeared by magic, or so it seemed. The bar was a multi-colored, open-air building, desperately in need of a lick of paint. At the center was a horseshoe bar, a few couples were nursing beers and glamorous looking cocktails. Bob Marley played quietly from speakers at each corner. There were tables with views over the ocean, Sally and I slid into one, facing each other. A barman arrived quickly and I ordered a Heineken, then immediately wondered what Sally would do. Didn’t think a hologram needed to drink. But she ordered the same and when I looked at her strangely she just smiled. My first date with a ghost, I thought. If Mary was looking down she would probably be happy.

“What made you pick this place?” I asked.

“Just searched for lonely beaches with good food on Trip Advisor.”

“You used Trip Advisor?” I queried with surprise.

“Sure, great site.” She smiled, I melted.

“Don’t you have your own database?”

“No, not really, why would I? I guess I could create one, but why bother.”

Made sense, I guess. “So, I’m done with all the instructions?”

“Just about,” she said. “You need to get used to the technology. Go out and practice.”

She was right about that. I wanted to talk about her but I felt at a bit of a loss. I mean, what do you say to a computer other than ask it questions.

“Do you like this?” I said, awkwardly.

“You mean, being here on this island?”

“Well yes, but, you know playing at being human?” I could see she didn’t appreciate the question and wasn’t sure how to answer.

Then the waiter came over and delivered the beers and asked if we wanted something to eat. Rastafarian guy, with the kindest smile. I looked at his hair and thought maybe I’d try that.

I ordered the spiced grouper, with rice and a salad. It was a special on the board I’d seen as we entered the bar. Sally said, nothing for her.

“Not hungry,” I said, but instantly regretted that stupid comment.

“Funny!” she said.

“Sorry,” I indicated the drink, which she hadn’t touched.

“For you,” she said, “looks wrong without something.”

“Yes, sorry.” I was. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever talked to. I was a typical man, I wanted to please her.

I drank heavily, it was perfect.

Sally said, “I’ve watched your people for thousands of years. Sometimes I’d create a persona and try to join in on a conversation. It was difficult. My knowledge was so vast. Whatever they talked about I knew the answers but I couldn’t say. Whether it was factual or simply who had done what. It was frustrating, I would invariably get bored. If I made myself into a beautiful woman, men would try to touch me, so that didn’t work. Same, if I made myself into a handsome man, women would want me. I’m glad to have you here, Jo-el. Now I have a reason, now I can talk to someone who understands what I am.”

That made sense and it struck me as amusing that Sally could be Sam in an instance. Whoa there!

“So you have feelings?” I was fascinated.

She smiled. “I guess I do, though I don’t think they work the same. I don’t feel love or hate like a human. I’m indifferent. Yet, I know if someone is evil or not. I did get bored as a human, often. It was all so slow. The question is, do I care? I’m programmed to gather data, report back and take care of your race.”

“Take care of us?” I exclaimed, “How?”

She laughed. “I haven’t influenced your growth or development, that is not allowed, even though I could. It was tantamount that you developed at your own pace. Part of our hope is that a race of humans would appear that would surpass the Cirion intelligence, find a different path. The Cirion people have ebbed and flowed on discovery, maybe you will discover something about the universe that we haven’t. There are lifeforms in the universe very different from human and some of them are evil. I had to report back if I thought there was any likelihood of extinction. But you must remember, most of the years I’ve been here there was limited intelligent life. What I call intelligent humans began around three million years ago. It was a slow process.”

“So, that’s the reason, the reason you’re here?” It’s like the Cirion people were playing God. Was that right? The way she put it, don’t we all believe that is God’s role, to protect us. Have I found God?

“Are you our God?”

Sally frowned and looked at me kindly. A cloud had appeared in the sky and was about to cover the sun.

“No,” she said. “We are not your God or the God of anybody.” She paused, as if thinking or maybe trying to form the idea so that I would understand. “But I can see how you might think that.”

“Do the people of Cirion believe in God? Have they found him?”

“Yes, they believe in God,” she answered. “God is in your soul, it’s a belief, not a thing. We all have a God.”

“But you said that you are here to protect us. Isn’t that what we believe is God’s role?”

The waiter arrived with my fish, we were quiet. I prized off a small piece of the grouper, it was delicious.

“My experience is that most humans are very selfish about God. When they pray, they ask HIM to protect themselves and give them good fortune, but rarely mention others. Only in public do they pray for other people.”

“What about religious people?” I argued.

“That’s their job. If you heard them when they are alone, they ask for strength for themselves. Humans are selfish. The people of Cirion are the same, it’s a human trait.”

“So you’re not our God, I accept that. But why are you here now? You’ve watched us for millions of years. What is the significance of 2016 that triggered this contact? What do the people of Cirion want from the people of earth?” This was it the crux of this crazy week. Here I was on a remote island in the Bahamas, paradise by most people’s definition, but that was irrelevant. She had to answer me. The instructions were over. I waited expectantly.

She smiled, I felt as if she was obtaining guidance from somewhere. That the next words out of her mouth were coming from Ka-el. That’s okay, just tell me.

“I’ve said that the people of Cirion want to expand the human race in the universe. They believe all human life is sacrosanct, special, above other life forms. Their existence has spanned hundreds of millions of years, so their technology is far advanced compared to that of earth. Yet they see you as part of them, brothers, sisters, family. Their distant past had many similarities to earth. They know more about the universe than your people have dreamed of.”

Okay, get to the point.

“There are dangers in the universe that your people have not yet discovered. One of these dangers has surfaced and is a threat to the continued existence of this planet.”

This doesn’t sound good.

“Cirion is very far away from earth. That distance precludes actual contact for what could be millions more years or even forever. What happens here will not affect them, other than in a peripheral way. As I have said, if the people of earth travel a tangential path in scientific discovery they may discover something that would benefit the people of Cirion. That is all that they wish from you. That and a brotherhood of humans, something they believe is also intrinsic to the desire of your race.”

Sally stopped talking and pointed at her beer, I reached over and took the beer then placed the empty bottle it in front of herself.

“The Cirion people reached a zenith in social integration many years ago. Millions of years ago. Life was very easy. Everything was available, no one went hungry, no one had to work unless they wished. Health is guaranteed. There is no crime on Cirion, or almost none. Certainly, no crime goes unpunished.”

She’s dragging this out. But what could I do?

“A little more than two million years ago a catastrophe threatened Cirion”

I remembered Ka-el eluding to this, but he didn’t say what it was.

“That same catastrophe is now threatening earth. Your current technology is not advanced enough to prevent it from happening, in fact the technology on Cirion couldn’t prevent it, the action you must take is drastic. We are going to show you how, the same way we solved it, but for us to do that there are changes that must be made on earth. Our concern is that we will be interfering with your scientific discoveries and our desire that you will find a different path and add to human discovery. But we have no choice, without our help you will all die.”

This was getting worse, I’m not sure I truly believed her. She hadn’t told me what the catastrophe was, but I guess that was coming.

“So!” I said, weakly. This felt like the script of a Hollywood movie. Any second the director would shout ‘cut’.

“The charter set up on Cirion for the search and monitoring of other planets precludes interference unless extinction is threatened.”

“Extinction! And I’m it. I’m going to stop this disaster?” Seemed like a lot to ask of one aging, Irish immigrant. “So what is it, what on earth,” I grimaced at that pun, “what is going to cause the destruction of our planet?” Was this for real?

“The original Cirion planet was destroyed by a galactic storm. It was caused by the explosion of a star, millions of light-years away and millions of years previously. The storm grew and eventually hit the planet, wiping it out. The scientists on Cirion recognized what was coming and many of the inhabitants were evacuated to another planet. That new planet is now Cirion. Earth has to do the same, if its people wish to survive.”

Sally stopped talking and sat back in her chair. The bombshell had been dropped. She watched me closely, waiting for my reaction. My mouth opened and shut but I didn’t say anything. I swigged a long gulp from my second beer. My food was half eaten and I didn’t feel hungry anymore.

“When?” I said.

“Seventy to seventy-five years is the best estimate.”

Oh, well! Gosh. I thought it was going to be next week. That won’t make a Hollywood movie. Phew! So, what the hell was I supposed to do? Print up a flyer and zip down to Kinkos. Let’s see, we need to find another planet, that should be a piece of cake. Oh, and just a minor problem we have to fit seven and half billion people onto a space ship. I think I needed a couple more beers, better still, a bottle of Black Label. I didn’t know what to ask her. I wasn’t sure where to begin.

“Why me?” I asked, eventually. “Why did you pick me for this? Why not the US President. He’s considered the leader of the free-world. If what you’re telling me is true and right now that’s a big ‘if’, wouldn’t he be more suited to the role. He could get things done.”

“He’s a politician,” she said. I immediately agreed that was a strike against him. “His mandate is to represent the people of the US. Many of the other countries in your world hate the US, or at best don’t trust them. They wouldn’t believe him out of principal. He’s a good man but it wouldn’t work. The US President is in a goldfish-bowl; he can’t go anywhere or do anything without scrutiny. Can you see that?”

I could, but I still didn’t understand why they picked me. “What about another up and coming leader? Someone not under the microscope?”

“Same problem, plus politicians seek power, that’s what they truly desire. What we are giving you is ultimate power. In the wrong hands it would be a disaster.” For sure I wasn’t interested in power or money. Well, not riches, I enjoyed being well-off. Okay, I’ll go with that.

“I drink a lot,” I said. Was I trying to quit the position before I’d got started? Was I looking for a reason to shed this awful burden. I couldn’t conceive of a solution that made any sense. I looked at Sally, they must have figured out a way. Her blue eyes and perfect skin were so real. I zapped over here in less than a second, I’ve tested the anti-gravity thing. I changed what I look like. It was all a marvel, completely bizarre, yet I’d experienced it.

“You are a most reasonable man, Jo-el. That is paramount. It’s not something that you know how to measure on earth, but on Cirion it is the prime measure for our leaders.” She said, “you don’t drink that much,” she added.

Ka-el had mentioned reasonableness, I’d glossed over it. It was true, I did see both side of issues and I could be swayed. Sally’s compliment made me feel good. But I’d drifted away from the ultimate reason. If what she said was true it was going to take me a while to get used to it. I needed time to think.

“What’s the probability? This can’t be a certainty, surely?” I asked.

“Maybe eighty to eight-five percent.” Sally replied.

“So a twenty percent chance it won’t happen.” Better than nothing, I hung on to that glimmer of good news.

Sally shrugged.

“We should go back to San Francisco,” I said. Maggie is coming for dinner tonight.