A New Beginning Ch. 05

"Anything you say Father."

When we got there he offered me a drink from his stock. I accepted of course. I believe it would have been insulting not to.

"I know you were about to lay it into George for what he did to Ronald. But try to see this from George's point of view." He poured me a generous amount of scotch into a large glass and handed it to me. "Would you like some water with that? How many ice cubes would you like?"

"Yes, two cubes please but not too much water. Father, I . . ."

"Let me finish please." He paused as he got some of ice cubes for our drinks from his mini refrigerator. He poured some bottled water into my glass and then poured himself an equal amount of scotch and water.

"Up until now Ronald has been somewhat of a trouble maker. Right?"

"Yes Father but I don't see how that gives George the right to order Ronald off the flight deck after I said he could stay as long as he liked."

"I talked to George; he was not aware of that. According to him, Ronald never told anyone that. As far as George knew, Ronald was up there on his own, up to his old tricks."

"Ronald told me that he told George that I gave him permission to stay but that George didn't believe him."

"Well one of them isn't telling the truth."

"True." Father was helping me see another side to the issue. One that is hard to see when your own prejudices cloud the picture. Lord knows I disliked liked George and Ronald. I tried to be fair when dealing with them. For the most part, I'm sure I was. But they made it hard. I wondered who was telling the truth, George or Ronald. I didn't trust either one of them.

"How long does someone normally stay up there viewing the Earth?"

"I don't know Father. About 10 or 15 minutes I guess."

"And Ronald had been up there almost twice that amount today as well as yesterday. So, giving both George's and Ronald's past and their propensity to make themselves look innocent in all situations, what would you expect them to say? What would you expect George to do?"

"Thank you Father. You're a real fence mender and I'm glad to have you onboard."

"Thank you Toni. Now why don't we listen to some music? Would you like to listen to some Beethoven, his Symphony Number 5, or maybe Tchaikovsky, his Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy or Waltz of the Flowers?"

"Either one will do Father. I love classical music. I just wish I had the time to listen to it."

"Take the time now. That's an order." He smiled and put on Beethoven.

I knew what Father was doing. He was giving me time to cool off, time to calm down. Classical music has that effect on some people, me for instance. He knew that if I were calmed down then it would be easier for me to see both sides of the issue and I would be less inclined to berate George for something that he may not have been guilty of.

We sat and listened to classical music for over an hour and talked about a variety of subjects but mostly about Earth and how everyone is gradually abandoning it to live a space colony; life in a space city is more livable plus there is no pollution. Father Ray revealed that he hopes to live in Sol Two. Then he asked me where I intended to live; I momentarily got embarrassed and was hesitant to answer him. He smiled and said that there was no need to be ashamed for wanting to live in the nude. He added that there is nothing wrong with going naked. It's what a person does with their nudity that causes evil to enter into their soul.

I don't know if I was the first one to start talking about the science fiction story 2001: A Space Odyssey or if Father Ray just steered me in that direction in order to help me see the better course of action on another problem facing me. I have my suspicions but there good ones.

After listening to Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky, he asked me, "Would you like to listen to Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra? I'm kind of partial to that particular piece."

"Sure Father. Do you have that on disc too?"

"Toni, I have almost any composer you can think of on disc. Did you know that it's the theme song for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? That's a science fiction movie I like."

"I've never seen the movie but I've read the book several times. Aren't there some differences between the book and the movie in the planet that the astronauts visit?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with the movie and the book and their differences. On a similar note, wouldn't you say that we're in sort of a space odyssey of our own with the odd background stars, no Phobos and a different Earth?" He put on the sound tract from the movie.

Father Ray is no fool. Besides helping me calm down, he was also tactfully soliciting information from me about our situation. He knew as well as I did that the Earth that was viewed in the telescopic camera was not the same Earth it was when we left MC3.

The continents were shaped somewhat different, the Atlantic Ocean was much smaller and the Indian subcontinent was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, not rammed up into the belly of Asia. The Earth a person saw when he or she looked at it in the telescopic camera monitor was more like the Earth of 60 or 70 million years ago. It had us all perplexed.

I admitted none of this to Ronald of course. But Father Ray was a very educated man, probably the most educated person onboard.

That's why he chose to come on this mission. It gave him plenty of leisure time which he spent studying, theology, philosophy, science, history, literature and I don't know what other subjects. He could frequently be found researching something in the library section of the forward TV lounge.

Anyway, I couldn't get away with a simple statement that I would let him know as soon as I knew something. He was too well educated to be dismissed with a wave of my hand.

I told him about the hole in space, our being deposited near Mars after passing through it and how everything was different immediately after it closed. When I finished I begged him not to tell anyone.

He smiled that curious smile of his. Then he leaned over, lightly touched my knee and said, "Don't worry Toni, I 'absolve' you of your 'sin' of omission," giving the quote sign with his fingers; his way of telling me that he wouldn't repeat what I told him.

I asked him what he thought of it all.

He didn't answer me but swiveled in his chair. He typed in something on his laptop computer and did a search; I was too far away to read what he typed in. He turned back to face me. He shook his head and took a sip of his scotch. I did the same. The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss was playing.

"Toni have you ever read any Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?"

"Not much," I answered.

"How about Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of the Four, ever read it?"

"No Father, I'm afraid not."

"In it is one of his famous quotes. That's what I was searching for just now. I wanted to make sure I had the right story. 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,' ever hear of it?"

"Yes, I have heard of it. Father are you telling me that we should be searching for some impossible solution to our problem?"

"Before I answer your question I want you to answer one for me."

"Sure Father, whatever you say."

"In the science fiction story 2001: A Space Odyssey, as Bowman was about to land on the Monolith his last words were 'It's full of stars,' then he went through a stargate to another world. What do you think happened to astronaut Bowman?"

"Father, are you saying that the hole we went through is the same as the Monolith in Arthur Clarke's story? Are you saying that that hole we went through was some kind of stargate?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you. I've heard the rumors from the crew. They're saying that the explosion threw us into some kind of unfathomable, bewitching world. I'm sure you've heard that too Toni. Are you aware that Clarke's story is still very popular among the crew?"

"Yes and it's been bothering me too."

"I consider myself an educated man and I don't normally listen to gossip or rumors. But sometimes science fiction isn't fiction. I have come to only two conclusions."

"Which are?"

He took another sip of his scotch. I knew whatever Father gave me for an answer was one he thought out and meditated over several times. I also knew that I would have to consider his answer to my question as probable, however improbable.

"Either we are in another solar system, maybe even some other galaxy, or we have somehow been thrown back in time, back 60 or 70 million years to the time when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth. I'm inclined to believe the latter."

"I've thought of those alternatives too Father. But I've always dismissed them as too far fetched."

"Can you think of any other explanation?"

"No I can't Father."

"Then once you've eliminated all possible explanations, the only thing left is the impossible."

"What do you suggest I do Father?"

"I suggest you tell the crew the truth. Believe me they'll accept it. Telling them about a hole that we went through which changed everything is a whole lot better than keeping them guessing. The truth, even if it does sound like science fiction, is always better than conjecture, gossip or lies."

"I guess you're right Father. But I think I'll wait until next week when we are a little closer to Earth. Then the continents will be more discernable and we will be close enough for radio contact."

"But Toni if either of my hunches are correct there won't be any radio contact, especially if we've been thrown back in time 70 million years."

"Right Father but if we cannot make contact by next week then that will confirm your improbable explanations. Then I'll be forced to tell the crew something."

"Just don't put it off too long. In the meantime I'll go amongst the crew and tell them about Sherlock's little proverb. I'll also drop little hints that I believe we are returning to the Earth at a time when the dinosaurs ruled."

Once that was out of the way, we talked about some other onboard gossip. But I was thankful that Father Ray was understanding and helped me see the right course of action once we got nearer to Earth.

While we were talking Father Ray revealed that he is a widower. His wife and his five year old son were killed in a fire two years before he joined the mission to Europa.

He told me that that was the main reason he joined the mission, the second being it gave him plenty of free time to study. He showed me a picture of his family. She was a beautiful woman and his son looked just like him.

I also learned that Father Ray was from New Orleans, my and Sam's home town. We were practically neighbors. He was from the Carrollton section and I was from the Lakeview area. Sam is actually from Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans.

But Father told me he wasn't born there. He said that his mother brought him and his three siblings there when he was nine, after his father had been murdered in a mugging.

Then less than a year after coming to the Crescent City his older brother drowned while trying to save their younger sister; she also drowned. It was all too much for his mother; she never got over it. After that she just sat around the house, carrying pictures of her husband and dead children. Father Ray and his younger brother practically raised themselves.

He met his wife while they were in high school. He revealed to me that he was thankful that during the early part of the 21st Century the Catholic Church finally allowed priests to get married and women to be priests, as then it gave both he and Teresa the opportunity to serve God together.

They planed on getting married during their first year at Notre Dame Seminary but his mother died suddenly of a heart attack.

They put off the marriage until after they both graduated from the seminary. In the meantime, his brother and only surviving relative was reported missing when he and a friend of his went sailing in Lake Pontchartrain. Their sailing boat was found floating not far from the Bonnabel Street boat launch. The two high school seniors were found a couple of days later.

I am amazed that someone who has lived through so much tragedy as a child could still have a bright outlook on life. He is truly a wonderful man.

After I left Father Ray, I went to my cabin and asked the ship's computer to give me a projection of what the background constellations and stars would have looked like 60, 70 and 80 million years ago. The picture I got for 70 million years almost exactly matched the stars one could see through the James Cook's windows.

I then asked the computer to project what the continents would have look like 70 million years ago. Again there was almost an exact match. I kept the information to myself.

Father was true to his word. He worked his quiet diplomacy and talked to the crew in small groups. Within a week he had everyone believing that I was only waiting for the right moment to tell them what had happened, where we were and what I was going to do about it.

He told them that the only reason why they were never told earlier was because some of them could not take the sudden shock. They were like little children who have to be gently guided along. But letting the information come out a little at a time would soften the blow for them and for everyone.

When I asked him how he could lie to the crew like that, he told me that he didn't lie. He said that there are some crew members who couldn't be told the truth straight out, that they had to have it broken to them gently. Then he smiled that curious smile of his and shrugged his shoulders.

I was true to my word to Father Ray. Eight days after our little talk I held a general assembly in the cafeteria and told the crew what I believed had happened. With Father Ray standing at my side I apologized for not telling them about the hole in space. But I took a cue from Father and told them that the reason I hadn't told them earlier was because I wanted to break it to them gently.

I reminded them of the talks they all had with Father Ray over the past several days. If my and Father's suspicions were correct, as well as the beliefs of some of the other officers, then we were not returning to the Earth we left. That Earth was gone. We were either in another solar system, maybe even in another galaxy, or we were somehow 70 million years back in time to the time when the dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

"Which do you think it is Captain Antoinette?" Ruth one of the ship's beauticians asked.

"I've talked about this with Father Ray, Joshua and some of the other officers. It is highly unlikely to have two solar systems with the same make up of planets and with one of those planets exactly like earth. We all agree that we have some how been thrown back in time."

"Are you sure?" Ruth continued.

"None of us has ruled out anything. For all we know, that is the same old Earth we are all familiar with but it somehow got changed since we left it. True, we can't raise them up on either the short range or the long range radios. Nor are we receiving anything on channel eight."

Regina Aurora, a construction worker, called out, "But what about our . . ."

"Let me finish Regina." I cut her off. "We won't know anything for certain until next week when we are hovering above the Atlantic Ocean and watching spaceships go to and from Nuda Earth, or not watching them if in fact we've been thrown back in time 70 million years. Which, as I said, is what most of us believe."

I paused. Then, "If we are 70 million years back in time then the Earth we will be returning to will be full of dinosaurs, not human beings."

"But what about our pay? If we've been thrown back in time 70 million years and there ain't anything on Earth except dinosaurs then how are we going to get paid?"

"Did you do any work Regina?"

"No, but some of these others did, the cooks, the waiters and some of the others."

"You let me worry about . . ."

"Captain Antoinette are you telling me that I'm not going to get paid anything after letting all these men fuck me?" asked Terri.

"Apparently not Terri. Sorry."

"Well then I'm quitting prostitution as of now. No one else is going to fuck me unless he can come up with the cash first."

Veronica Anne, Josephine Jasmine and Alicia also quit offering their services. The crew didn't like that one bit. But I couldn't blame the girls. Had I been in their shoes I would have quit prostitution myself.

On another note though, I know that Chantelle and Josephine continued to have sex. Chantelle also continued to have sex with me and Victoria Rose.

The Earth at this time appeared almost as large as a golf ball. The continents were clearly visible to the naked eye. They were obviously different from what they were when we left. The Atlantic Ocean was also much smaller and the Indian subcontinent was clearly in the middle of what would someday be the Indian Ocean.

But the thing that affected me the most was that there was no Nuda Earth orbiting around the Earth. I wasn't going to be able to retire and live out my days in the nude in the naked city.

To be continued . . .