by David Harp
ORION Institute continued its goal of creating a better world for humanity. Claude and Noreen were cherished celebrities who traveled around the world, returning home each month to dance under the Tree of Life.
J. Alfred didn’t remarry, but stayed busy as Director of the Institute.
Steve and Tammy performed research while serving on the Institute’s Board of Directors. They remained in their comfortable Lake Placid home with three adorable children living nearby, each with flamboyant red hair and conspicuous freckles.
Matt and Jamie both became esteemed ORION professors, living with their two children in the house Claude built on the Institute.
Brian and Katie served as joint directors for the Archbold Biological Station. They spent their vacations visiting the world’s most spectacular conservation sites.
Chris and Haley moved into the house J. Alfred built in Bayport. Chris became pastor of a large local church, while Haley spent most of her time pampering their four children, all of whom had beautiful emerald eyes.
The most peaceful spot on the property was a small cemetery where Elizabeth Shelby-Rogers was buried next to her husband Renee.
Linda and Dan moved to be closer to his father in Ocala. Mr. Naidoo died in 2052, a week short of his 100th birthday. Dan helped Linda run an equine rescue foundation. He also traveled the country giving lectures describing how the Four Pillars of the Great Coalescence were created.
No matter what other things were happening in their lives, the Prophies traveled to the Weeki Wachee River every year to visit the hidden spring. Many kids had discovered it, but they shared it with the old folks who had become legends. For a brief time each year the Prophies were young again, and it had nothing to do with the Tree of Life.
Linda and Dan had two children who were grown with children of their own when Dan received an invitation to speak at the University of Georgia in 2076. Though his short-term memory was failing, the dream on his sixteenth birthday was clear.
Dan made sure his affairs were in order and kissed Linda goodbye. She knew this day was approaching because they discussed the dream many times. They agreed it was his destiny, but Linda didn’t want to know the exact date. He could tell from her kiss goodbye she suspected.
“I love you,” she said, holding back tears.
The visit to the University went exactly as Dan remembered. It was as if he couldn’t change his fate even if he wanted to.
He remembered details from the last seconds of the dream on his sixteenth birthday. He saw the faces of young people in the audience, realizing his lecture was the most excitement many of them had ever experienced.
Dan’s life had been exhilarating and challenging, but the world the Prophies helped create for the next generation was dull and predictable. Those people lived in someone else’s version of the perfect world, an artificial, non-violent, asexual world. It wasn’t much better than what the Qabalah had in mind.
Dan realized there is no perfection on this Earth, only the dream. A familiar nursery rhyme played in his head as his heart stopped beating.
“We are all God’s children - he allows us to play - but he calls us home safely - at the end of the day.”
An infinite number of universes with an infinite variety of life appeared before him in the multiverse. He could see planet Earth in all its beauty and variation while remembering the words of Jesus as quoted in the fourteenth chapter, second verse of John. “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places….”
There were loved ones from previous generations, and those from generations yet to come. He was there for a moment and there for all eternity.
“How can this be?” he wondered as he sensed a familiar voice.
“You’re thinking in linear terms. Time has no meaning here.”
“Renee?” he thought. It was his old friend from Bayport.
“I see you have many treasures to offer,” he said.
“I don’t understand. What treasures?”
“Your life,” Renee answered.
Suddenly Dan’s existence as Daniel Naidoo passed before him: the good and the bad, the wonderful and exquisite, the tragic and painful.
The memories were beautiful, but only a tiny part of this new reality. It was an eternal dwelling that had no beginning and no end. His life on Earth had been a dream, a mere shadow reality.
He would travel again without leaving his eternal home. A small part of him was being reborn on Earth or some other world. As that part of his consciousness was entering a new life, he heard Renee’s voice.
“Life is a journey, not a destination. Live valiantly my friend but always remember, this is not your true home.”