The
Rocky Road To Epiphany:
Here, dear-hearts, is a story I must tell to you, just
as it was
told to me over a series of mellow evenings
sitting sipping fine brandy from Kepler-186f in a bar
on a sturdy old freighter bound for
the research facility
which circles the super nova, Betelgeuse. I offer it to
you pretty much verbatim in the
hope that you will
both learn and enjoy.
……………………………………………………….
She stood on the hill, a gentle breeze on her face.
The day was pleasantly warm, as usual, despite the
Full cloud
cover, also as usual. Birds and insects
Were busy doing what they do best, and there was a
Gentle hum in
air. A couple of rabbits had come out
Of
their burrows early, unwisely as it happened, but
It would doubtless please the
hawk that lazily rode a
Thermal, waiting, though not for much longer. She
Brushed a fly from her lip and looked
down into the
Softly rolling valley below and studied the markers.
The mist rolled in; dense, deep and unfathomable,
Removing everything it covered – not removing
From view, though it certainly did that, no, this
Mist removed things, completely.
She knew not
Where it removed things to, but remove things
It most certainly did.
She knew this. She had held
A long branch and thrust it into the mist, then with
Care removing it. No,
that’s inaccurate. She didn’t
Remove it. That part
which had been in the mist
Was removed. She was left
holding only that part
Of the branch which had not entered the mist. It
Was neatly cut. She knew,
too, that it would
Cauterise any wound it cut.
The Fool, named thus
Affectionately for his phenomenal intellect, having
Lost his hand in an atypically, most foolish act of
Bravado. He would not so swiftly thrust himself
Into
that which he knew not again! That said,
in
Truth, it was most fortunate he had not done as was
His original intent and
stuck his head in to take a
Look round!
She shuddered slightly at the thought.
She shook the thought from her mind and turned
To pick up her bicycle.
She had confirmed what
She had thought was the case.
It had marginally
But inexorably increased its pace. According to
Her calculations, if it continued at this rate, it
Would reach her home within three months, and the
Village only
two months after that. If it sped up,
Who knew! It was all, truly, somewhat
academic,
However, as even with the rationing they’d be down
To eating grass
and leaves before another month was
Out.
At the thought of food her stomach cramped.
She gave an ironic smile. She had been planning to
Lose a little weight
for quite some time. She had no
Idea
that it could be this easy. How truly
wonderful!
On that thought she pushed her foot down on the
Peddle and rode
on home, Georgio loping along
Happily at her side. What she needed was tea!
…………………………………………………….
She woke to the sound of the school bells ringing.
It was the weekend.
Something must be going on!
Swiftly she rolled out of bed, gave Georgio a soft
Nudge and proceeded to throw some clothes on.
Next, onto her bike and she rode like a demon
Through the dawn’s fresh light to the village, to
Find there sleepy villagers all making their way
To the school to see what was going on. She was
Greeted, as always, with cheerful respect and the
Folk gave way so she could enter first, swiftly
Followed by Georgio. She
wondered yet again
How it was he managed to be such a slug but
Also on the mark exactly wherever she went!
Pushing that thought aside, she opened the school
Door, and entered cautiously, there to find the Fool,
Breathing heavily from his most unaccustomed
Venture into the world of freestyle bell ringing.
A momentary flash of annoyance flitted through
Her mind, thinking this one of his pranks, and
Then she brought herself up short. He had been
Ringing both the bells!
Her eyes flew to his arms,
There to find a hand at the end of each of them.
Now that was worth waking everybody up for!
When all were seated she held up her hand
For silence and then gestured to the Fool. His
Hands flew – she guiltily thought to herself
How very difficult life must have been for him
When he had been unable to communicate –
And she translated his signing for the audience.
His tale was strange indeed.
He had thought,
Certainly, it must be a dream until he had looked
And felt the wonder of it.
Not only was it a
Hand, but it was a better hand.
It no longer bore
Upon it the scars of his childhood accident when
He had near fallen in the fire, his hand doing so.
He held it high for all to see the smooth skin and
Complete absence
of the familiar scarring. No
Sign was there of surgery, just his hand being
Where it was meant to be.
Though it was all
Most odd and jumbled in his head, it happened,
Best he could recall, thus: he had just drifted off
To sleep when he was disturbed by a noise, a soft
Tapping at the
back door. Cautiously he had risen
And
gone to see whether it may be his cat, Squeaker,
Whom all there knew he loved most dearly, but on
Opening the door found there a strangeness! He felt
No fear, though he knew not why, and
welcomed
It in. It was tall,
willowy and, he thought, with a
Fine collection of sinuous arms. Then, somehow,
It was, he could not see it clear, but its voice was
Most soft, gentle and melodic.
Suddenly the story
Halted as he paused his signing for a moment, a look
Of absolute
astonishment crossing his face, and then,
With an initial hesitancy, he
spoke! It was as though
A dam had burst;
words poured from him in torrents.
All there were amazed, for it was known that he
Had suffered extraordinary abuse as a child in his
Far off home
country and had had the tongue ripped
From his head. Clearly
it, or similar, had also been
Returned to him.
She let him gabble his joy for a
Few minutes and then held up her hand
with the
Universal gesture to halt. She
asked him then, not
More of his mending, but if it was that his guest had
Spoken more, and so it
most certainly was … but he
Recalled nothing more, even with the most careful
Prompts. Thus they filed slowly from the school,
Another mystery to add to their list!
She then took
Him home for a frugal lunch, to let him enjoy the
Wonder
of being able to talk and need no signing.
…………………………………………………...
Georgio’s snoring woke her, not, to be sure, for the
First time. She had no idea where the extra bags of
Vegetables had come from, for him, but whoever
Had left them
outside her door had shown truly a
Great kindness. He would be most pleased. That
Puzzle aside, she turned and once again
walked to
The bathroom, peering through the half-light into
Her not oft used
mirror. There was no doubt about
It, the
grey had gone from her hair and she had a
Serious reduction in wrinkles.
She was not alone
In receiving this rejuvenation, indeed the triple
Centenarian
Old Jun had risen from his bed for the
First time in a six month and was
planning to take up
His paint brushes once again and hopefully thrill as
He
always had ere this with his glorious, life-given
And extraordinarily vital
portraits. This bounty did
Not appear to
be universal, however, and those
Villagers who had less than a century under
their
Belt were unchanged, or at least they appeared to be
So, but of course, they
were not showing signs of
Ageing to start with.
She shrugged. If she wasn’t
Always
hungry she would be more than happy,
Despite the mystery of it all. The Hell with it; she
Would use a little of her precious remaining gas and
Have a tea. As she watched the kettle get warm she
Considered
how lucky it was that she lived in such a
Large house, though she rattled
around in it. She
Had managed to eke out
her gas more than most by
Closing most of it off and pulling up floor boards
To use to heat the place using her ancient huǒlú
Which almost universally
people had considered a
Quaint but inefficient antique. She suddenly smiled,
Despite herself. She took the tea and went out and
Sat under
her old friend the oak, sitting where she
Had always sat since childhood. She felt far too
Young and fit to die! Another irony; the mist now
Stood still! She looked up as dear Georgio came out
Of the
door and strolled over to her. He was, as
he
Always had been for as far back as she could cast
Her mind, which was she
thought wryly, a pretty
Long way, very fine to see, and there was no way
She could imagine life without him. She reached
Down and stroked his most
delicately soft, floppy
Ears the way he liked and he made a soft burbling
Noise
of pleasure as she told him that more food had
Arrived for him and then sighed,
giving vent to her
Desire for more food to come for the villagers who
All had shared
so very well, and some for her also!
……………………………………………………
Again she woke to the ringing of the school bells
And hurried down the hill on her rickety old bike,
Georgio lopping along at her side. Whatever the
Terrain, his strong legs made for easy locomotion.
She came to a halt in front of the school where the
Gathering villagers were standing round a large –
Very large – silver container.
All eyes went to her
And you could have heard a pin drop. She almost
Forgot to dismount, but did so and carefully took
A walk round the object.
There were no obvious
Openings. She scooped up
a small stick, bearing
In mind the Fool’s experience, and tapped the side.
Nothing. She stood in
contemplation, gently giving
Georgio a stroke. The
villagers were used to him,
Since he had been with her for as long as she could
Remember, which was longer than the majority of
Them had been alive, and he burbled contentedly
As her brain raced.
Suddenly, for reasons she knew
Not, the Fool came forward.
With the hand he had
Lost and had returned he reached out and touched
The object’s side.
Everybody moved back swiftly,
As silently, like a flower swiftly blooming, it opened
And revealed multiple, neatly stacked boxes within.
She often wondered why the folk deferred to her. It
Seemed half a lifetime ago since she had been
their
Teacher but they had then, and it was no different
Now, as with
scrupulous fairness all the contents of
The boxes were methodically and calmly shared
out.
Later, relative to their personal
likes and dislikes,
The people could make exchanges, she had told
Them, but for now
they would all receive the same.
As the
last of the food was being distributed the Fool
Took his home and returned
after a short time with a
Freshly made cup of tea for her. He knew just how
She liked it, from all the
hours that they had spent
Together whilst she had taught him to sign, and
Then
over the long years since when he had come to
Her house to ‘talk’ and to break
his loneliness. He
Then took himself into the school and rang the bells
In celebration. Suddenly
life looked much better!
…………………………………………………….
Seven more containers appeared as time passed and
Seven more times she saw to the distribution, and
With particular
joy when the third arrived with a full
Compliment of gas cylinders for the households.
The mist remained just where it was and the older
Folk continued to rejuvenate, Old Jun increasing his
Frenzied
work with paints gathered from all who did
Not need them. Also she, the Fool and Old Jun had
Started
digging over his old vegetable patch, unused
For many a year, with plans to
plant it up with as
Many of the wild plants that they could eat. They
Needed to think more long-term. She had run a few
Lessons with the village
children, quite enjoying her
Recall to duty, and taught them which they should
Search for, and now they were all duty bound to
Scour all of the remaining
countryside for nature’s
Bounty when they had finished their half-day of
Schooling,
but not take it home for family eating.
She
had initially been elated with the way things
Were improving but with the
passing of time found
Herself becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the
Great mystery that was in total control of their lives.
Then she woke one morning, she thought, like any
Other and
suddenly she found that that had changed!
………………………………………………………
It was Georgio who had first made her realise that
Something was going on.
He had pulled her cover
From her bed and his antennae were quivering with
Excitement.
Remarkable! Georgio, as a general
Rule, didn’t ‘do’ mornings.
Up she got and was
Soon dressed. Looking
outside it seemed like any
Other day. She made her tea
and went and sat in
Her usual spot, Georgio burbling and nudging her
So she almost dropped her precious beverage. Then
She did! There, in the
gap between the hills, where
She could see the mist, there was no mist. She tore
Over to her bicycle and peddled furiously towards
The latest marker bars.
As she rose up the final hill
Her eyes feel upon an extraordinary sight! Instead
Of the mist she saw that there was some sort of
Transparent barrier, and looking up she could see
That it was, in fact, a dome.
Beyond the dome she
Could see black rocks, almost as far as the eye could
See. Beyond that, in the
distance, lay what seemed
Were probably mountains where mountains should
Not be. She saw, too, as
she looked out and upward
That the perpetual cloud cover had cleared, and the
Sky outside the dome was dark and star studded!
……………………………………………………….
Some binoculars and Old Jun’s telescope had been
Pressed into use, and they had established beyond
Any reasonable doubt that they were in a dome, on
A large rock, which was moving through space by
Way of being towed or pushed by some form of
Beams of light
which emanated from four vast craft,
The like of which they’d never even imagined. She
Had no idea what was going on but considered, with
What she hoped was a dispassionate and analytic
Mind, various options, none of which were to be
Seen as
immediately dangerous. One was that
They had been ‘kidnapped’ as interesting, though
Primitive, specimens for some kind of zoo. Some
How that didn’t ring true. Theoretically, at least,
An advanced civilisation would have an advanced
Ethical
code. If they hadn’t they, in all
likelihood,
Wouldn’t have advanced.
It was possible, she
Mused, that they had been rescued from a destroyed
Planet. That appeared unlikely, too,
however, since
None in the village had any recollection of a threat
Of that extraordinary nature before the mist had
Closed their
lives off from the rest of the world.
What was clear, especially through the food and
Fuel deliveries
and the rejuvenation, that they,
Whoever controlled this whole setup, weren’t
in the
Business of doing them harm.
So, she concluded,
She’d have to wait and see.
In the meanwhile she
Would continue to enjoy the view overhead when
The artificial sun went slowly down in the evening.
……………………………………………………….
Again Georgio woke her.
She sat up with a start.
There
was somebody knocking on her door. She
Pulled on her old dressing gown and followed the
Obviously excited Georgio.
Opening the door she
Surprised herself by not being surprised! There
Stood a creature that almost mirrored her
Georgio,
Though it differed in that it appeared to have a
Shallow indentation
in its back from which came
Two appendages absent from Georgio, each ending
With a series of tentacles which looked somewhat as
Though they were
cartilaginous and would be able
To be used to manipulate objects just as her hands
Could. Indeed in one
there appeared to be a formal
Gift of a bottle of baijiu!
Randomly her mind flew
Back to the last time she had tasted it, an occasion
When she, Old Jun and the Fool had polished over
Three bottles off in an all-night
debate. Somehow
Her visitor
appeared to bow, firstly and most rigidly
And seriously to Georgio, who burbled
contentedly,
And then slightly more relaxed, to her. It pressed,
Next, a button on an apparatus it wore round its
Neck and spoke
to her in clear, well-modulated and
Unaccented Mandarin offering her proper greetings
And handing her the bottle of baijiu which she took,
Whimsically considering
cracking it open this very
Instant!
She instead gave it a most formal reply and
Welcome and then asked it in
and on automatic pilot
She made herself a tea as her guest and Georgio
Burbled
to each other. She considered, in the
fog of
Her confusion which threatened then, momentarily
To overwhelm her
reason, that Georgio had not been
Doing his equivalent of purring, perhaps, but
could
Well have been talking to her! What a fool she was!
She walked down the hill, dressed and in full control
Of her intellect, her guest and Georgio on either Side.
It was her turn to ring the bells, which she
did
With gusto! It was harder
than she remembered, but
The people came on the run. When they were seated
She introduced her guest
and asked him – he was a
Him – to repeat the story that she had recently
heard.
After they had all politely
clapped, he did just that.
……………………………………………………….
He commenced with the arrival of Georgio, telling
How it was
that through all their research over the
Years they had learned that her father
found him in a
Life pod in deep space and returned home with him,
And as the
state showed no interest, chose to link
Him with his only child, his daughter,
as company.
This was at the end of the
outward urge of humanity,
And mutual suspicion was resulting in countries
Drawing back from space and pouring their funds
Into what were referred to as
‘defensive weapons.’
The pair had bonded immediately and became
Inseparable. They did not
know that then, however,
Indeed Georgio’s people had at first thought him
Killed
with his parents and all upon her, after the
Ship he was on was destroyed by
meteor strikes of
Unprecedented proportions, overwhelming its shield
And
defences. It was discovered then that an
escape
Pod had been released, however, and that pod was
Eventually found,
empty. Much time and effort had
Been thrown
into finding him who they knew as
Georgio, for his parents were the most revered
of
Philosophers and sages. Within their
culture the
Genes of the species were manipulated to develop
Skills within
progeny, Georgio being the final result
Of a gene programme which had been
taking place
Over a period of several thousand years. His mind
Was the culmination of the ultimate
endeavour of
Their society to produce a being who was the very
Finest that
their species had to offer the universe.
He, it was, who would go forward, when mature, to
Act as advocate for
them to gain their admission to
The next, higher phase which was possible for
the
Development of their Inner Core, that which was
Eternal within all living
things, to allow release of
Their physical forms and advancement to the
next
Sphere Of Learning. Imagine, he said to them, our
Sense of loss
when we found him gone, and imagine
Our joy when, after a huge and
time-consuming
Search, with hopes raised and
dashed over and over
Again, we knew we had found him. It was then, as
We were about to extract him
from the situation, that
Catastrophe struck your planet. It was, we believe,
From going over radio
chatter, the result of a tragic
Accident, but for whatever reason, a series of
awful
Nuclear strikes took place. As it escalated we made
Contact with he whom
you know as Georgio, and
Made clear the danger and his need to come with
us.
He, however, refused! This, we have posited, is part
Of a higher
ethical code which he has developed.
Whatever the reason, since he would not leave, we
Had to defend the area
which he calls his home, with
The limited resources we had on site, unprepared
as
We were for such an eventuality – an error which
Has now been recognised and
will not be repeated.
A stasis field was thrown over it, holding
you all in
Timeless thrall, and then the entire village, with
Georgio’s house
and the surroundings, was tractored
Off the planet and placed upon a small moon
of a
Neighbouring planet where it was swiftly anchored.
The structure you are now in is, indeed, your
real
And original home, as we were instructed it should
Be, and a dome,
artificial gravity and various other
Technical systems have been applied to it
to let you
Have the home as you see it and remain safe therein.
The Wise One has led the project since that time.
He instructed that the mist be created to
allow you
To hold hope initially that all was safe beyond it. It
Moved in slowly so that you might learn to
deal with
The fact that the outer world is gone. The hardships
You have endured with regard to
food and fuel have
Obliged you to cooperate and fall back on your own
Resources. It has also made you
appreciate what it
Is that you have.
Over the last period, with food and
Fuel, he has seen you to be well
enough adjusted as
Individuals and as a community to cope with the
Truth. Finally, the rejuvenation is his gift to thank
You for caring for him so well, for so long.
You can
All have considerably longer lives, if you so wish it.
He stopped, and after a moment there was bedlam!
……………………………………………………….
Georgio had remained with her, apart from a few
Hours when he was linked with his symbiont. That
Relationship was ideal. All the creatures required,
After their breeding
phase was complete, was food
And security.
The mind was almost non-existent
Once it no longer needed to reproduce,
so it linked
Handily with those of Georgios species, and it had
Been so since
time immemorial, thus giving them
The manipulative capacity they needed for
making
Their ideas concrete. She had got
used to it very
Quickly, and loved his real joy in the freedoms it
Gave him,
but at first she had felt really clumsy in
Georgio’s company. She had always loved him and
Tried to ensure
his happiness but in some ways, she
Supposed, she had treated him as a pet, and
he was
Some super-mind which could run rings round her
Intellect. Perhaps it was because he truly was as he
Was
meant to be that the stiffness on her side in the
Relationship was swiftly dissipated. He wore now a
Translation device, though he
told her, again to her
Initial embarrassment, he had long understood every
Word
she said. It was just a near
impossibility for
His vocal organs to make the noises required for
Human speech,
thus he had not been able to speak to
Her until he had access to the device,
and now that
He could, he found it a great joy, but on thinking on
It, had he been
able to talk with her originally then
He would not have spent so much time
listening to
Her, and learning from all she said. He also quickly
Reassured her that he really loved
having his ears
And antennae stroked as she did, and the noise he
Made, his
burbling at that time, was indeed his form
Of purring! He allowed her time to adjust at her
Own
speed, but it was really very soon they were
Talking freely, for they had so
much to talk about,
And he even started making her tea! So it was as
The dome continued on its
journey through space.
They learned that their eventual destination was a
Most
mellow and gentle planet where lived humans,
Their distant ancestors. It was named Epiphany.
These kind folk were part of humanity’s first,
and
More successful, adventures into space, a Great
Diaspora spread among the stars in the period of the
Earth’s history which was to be much later peppered
With so many legends of strange
events, buildings,
Spacecraft, spacemen, star charts, great advanced
Civilisations
rising and then disappearing in most
Peculiar circumstances, all giving rise to
a fine mix
Of adventurous thinking and conspiracy theories.
……………………………………………………….
She found that the Fool and Old Jun visited them
Increasingly
often and their discourses on life, its
Meaning, ethics, cultures and the like
with Georgio,
As he insisted they still call him, went deep into the
Night. The initial bottle of baijiu didn’t last long but
Fortunately,
in their new circumstances it was easily
Replenished.
A melancholy then started to creep in,
However, as they were informed that
they were now
Nearing their destination, and soon, with the happy
Agreement of
the present inhabitants on their new
Planet, the dome would be tractored down
to a
Pleasant, unoccupied area on its surface, peaceful,
Theirs, but near
enough for support in settling, and
The process of digging it in would then
take place
After which the fleet, and Georgio, would depart.
……………………………………………………….
On what was to be their last night together, they sat
Quietly,
she stroking his antennae gently. He
then
Broke the silence, somewhat atypically hesitant, and
Asked her if she was
looking forward to the morrow
And her new home-world. She admitted that she
Was not, it truth. He then took a deep breath and
Spoke again, telling
her that it was from her he had
Learned his ethical codes and all that mattered
to
Him. Since she had been his parent,
guide and guru
He wondered, just wondered, if they were to move
The house to an
area on his home-world and made
The land around it compatible with her wishes,
Would she consider making the great sacrifice of
Leaving her folk and going
with him as his friend,
Companion and sage?
It would be possible to
Arrange for her to go and visit her people from
time
To time, as she wished. She leapt
at the opportunity
But still they discussed it long through the night,
Both working
too hard not to impose on the other,
And then it was that the Fool and Old Jun
arrived to
Make their farewells, and in doing so got sucked
Into the
conversation which, after much wrangling
Unnecessarily in efforts to not do the
wrong thing by
The others, concluded with the agreement that the
Three of them
would accompany Georgio, living in
Her great house as neighbours, once the
floorboards
Had been replaced. They then
toasted the decision!
……………………………………………………….
And that, dear-hearts, is what they did. As to how it
went for them all, that is another
story for another time,
perhaps, but rest easy; it is a most happy one.
C
