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