Project Earth I: Origin

by Lidier Fernandez

  I hear some noise coming from down there, from time to time, but I just keep on vacuuming.

  It’s getting dark, so I come out of the water and we decide it is time to go home. There is no video recording this time, as we forgot the camera at home.

  “Silly us, babe, we should make sure we don’t forget the camera tomorrow,” I say to Gina as I come out of the water.

  “We can’t come tomorrow Lee. It’s Sunday and your brother, Javier, is coming over with his family.”

  I show disappointment by burying my face in my hands.

  She continues, “He said they would come at ten o’clock in the morning to have a brunch with us. Did you forget about it?”

  “I sure did honey. I still don’t want to remember it.”

  “They usually stay until three or four in the evening.”

  “Oh boy! Let’s make sure we don’t leave too many clues that will trigger my brother into asking a thousand questions about what is going on around here. Maybe I should call him and tell him we are too busy doing farm work.”

  “That won’t work Lee.” She walks over and sits next to me on an old log by the pump. “Last time we told him we were too busy, he came even faster to help us out.”

  “It’s true. I know! Let’s have a picnic in the back of the house, with a BBQ and some games. His kids will love it.”

  “That’s a great idea, but your brother is also going to want to ride the motocross track. He always goes right by the lake and he’s going to see the pile of mud. How are you going to handle that?”

  “Think, think, think, Lee,” I mutter, tapping my head with my hands. “I got it—I can cover that pile of mud with some bushes and plants. It is not so visible unless you come really close to it. The track goes that way. I will tell my brother we are going to ride it the other direction—backwards, so to speak. That way, this area is out of view. There you have it. Who’s your Daddy?” I joke.

  “Okay, Daddy!” says Gina. “Great idea! You better get your ass busy covering up all that mud and putting away the equipment.” She turns around and starts walking away.

  “Well…where are you going? This is teamwork! Isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I will do my part of the teamwork back home by making some food, doing laundry, and cleaning up the house. I don’t want your brother and his family to find our house in a mess tomorrow.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to give you a ride? You worked so hard today…”

  “No worries, I’m good. See you at home, Daddy!”

  “Okay. I’ll wrap it up soon, so I can come help you!” I have to literally shout to her as she is… gone.”

  I stay a bit longer to disguise the area. I am still feeling strong—despite a long day of work.

  Chapter 4

  An Adventurous Family Visit

  It is Sunday morning, my brother and his family show up at 9 am—earlier than when we had agreed. They show up to have breakfast with us and then stay for lunch around noon. Good thing we had done a fair amount of cleaning the night before.

  Gina and Irene, my brother’s wife, make breakfast while my brother and I get cups of coffee, set up a table on the back patio, and start to watch a soccer game that had just started on the television. Soccer is one of my favorite sports, but I had no idea about this particular match; my brother did, and so did his kids, Andrea and Esteban.

  The project at the lake had kept Gina and me pretty busy these past few days and I don’t miss watching TV anyway— so much garbage on it these days. Sometimes I feel like I’m being hypnotized by it—all the commercials telling us how to spend money that we don’t have, to take drugs that we don’t need, and movies telling us how to live our lives. I can’t stand it!

  Breakfast is over, the soccer game is over, and my brother wants to go ride the bike. We go to the garage and get the two big bikes ready, along with the two small ones. My niece and nephew will also ride around the track. Gina and Irene will be sitting on a bench, or walking around watching the kids. I will keep an eye on them too. I also have to keep an eye on my brother. He is not a very experienced rider, but tends to get really excited and tries to do everything I do: big jumps, fast turns—everything. We have picked him up off the ground a few times, but he is very persistent, stubborn as a donkey.

  We start riding and having a great time. My brother thought it was kind of weird that I decided to ride the track going the opposite direction, but it wasn’t a problem. I told him, that’s what pros do, so he felt challenged. We are riding along and soon I realize I am riding harder than before. I am not having any considerations about the big jumps or taking the turns too fast. I can literally make the bike fly.

  My brother seems to be doing all right, too. We stop for a water break and he asks, “Have you been doing a lot of riding lately?”

  I pat his shoulder and tell him, “Of course bro, practice makes the master.” I had no real explanation, so I threw in a little lie. “You are also doing much better! You are doing those jumps and going so fast without a problem!”

  He has a big smile on his face. “I feel really good, man,” he says, wiping the sweat from his forehead, “You also did something to this bike, didn’t you?”

  “Tuned it up, and I give it good maintenance,” I tell him.

  The girls had been watching us and they tell us how impressed they were about the speed and that there were no falls or accidents. Gina waves me over and whispers in my ear, “What was that, Lee? You are riding the track like a real ‘pro’ today.”

  “I don’t know babe!” I wipe off the sweat coming down my face. “I feel like I can do anything with this bike. I actually have to restrain myself from doing more things. It would seem too strange to them if I do too much stuff. I also feel safe and don’t get tired.”

  She winks at me. “I like the safe part of it. I don’t want you to get broken bones like you used to!”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing! No more broken bones.” I start the bike and head towards the track—to chase my brother again.

  We do a few more laps on the track and all of a sudden my brother breaks loose and starts riding towards the lake. “I’m going to kill him!” I mutter.

  I start chasing him. He has gone to the south side of the lake. He stops by the edge and takes off his helmet. I catch up to him and park by his side.

  “Nice!” he says, “This place is like a paradise. I can even smell some flowers. Where are they?”

  “Well, they could be anywhere,” I answer, “Their aroma travels far.”

  “I think they might be around that side of the lake.” He points to the opposite side, somewhat close to where we have our project. “Let’s check it out,” he adds, starts his bike, and takes off again. Just before he reaches the site of our project he stops and says: “There is nothing here.” He keeps looking around. “But look, that’s the area right around there.” He points directly to where I don’t want him to go.

  “Now I need a miracle!”

  As soon as we start our bikes, we see my nephew, Esteban, coming down towards us. He waves at us in a hurry.

  “What’s happening, young daring rider?” I ask him.

  “It’s Gina,” he answers, panting, “she said to run and find you—she is having some strong contractions and wants you to come back right away.”

  “We got to go back,” I shout to my bother.

  We get back and the girls are already walking towards the house. Gina says she wants to rest so I help her get into bed.

  “She is not feeling so well,” Irene says.

  “I just got a strong contraction,” says Gina as she winks an eye—as if saying, “I knew you needed some help.”

  “Well, rest a little bit and let me know if it gets worse babe.” I wink back. “My brother and I will get going with the BBQ.”

  As Javier and I start the grill, he tells me it was not just a nice smell of flowers down there by the lake, he also felt compelled to go there, and he a
lso felt good and strong when he was around there. I tell him I feel the same and that Gina and I go there to relax and get away from the routine sometimes.”

  “You are so lucky to have this place. I wish I could visit you more often and ride. It’s so much fun. I could ride every day!” He turns the juicy steaks over on the BBQ.

  “Smoky,” says his boy, Esteban, and moves on.

  “Yeah I know man. I made the best deal ever when I traded my old house in Los Angeles for this place.”

  Ten minutes later, Irene gets attracted by the aroma of our steaks and she comes by to check on us. “It smells so good boys. I think they are ready!” She then yells, “Come on everybody! Food is ready, table is ready—grab a plate…”

  We talk, eat, talk some more, and eat some more. We all have things to say, even the kids… especially the kids.

  They decide to leave around 6 pm and that’s the end of our Sunday. A pleasant day though. We all enjoyed it.

  “Huh! What a day sweetie,” I say to Gina, “It was a bit stressful, but kind of fun too.”

  “Ouch! I am having a contraction,” says Gina, placing her hands on her lower back.

  “Oh, no worries honey, no need to save me from anything right now. They are gone!”

  “I’m serious, Lee! I mean, it is not a big contraction, but it sure is one.”

  “Oh…ah…so what do we do now?”

  “Nothing. Well…massaging my back will help.”

  “That’s right!” I start to massage her lower back. “You have been working so much recently.”

  “I think the recent work has helped as exercise and has gotten me into better shape; nothing wrong with that. Sarah is also moving around a lot. She is running out of room in my belly. I am sure she is getting ready to come out!” She grabs her tummy and keeps talking to the baby.

  Gina has contractions almost every night. I keep massaging her lower back, her legs, and even her feet. That seems to help her the most. We also take walks together, and do some exercises that help her during contractions.

  Chapter 5

  Sarah Is Born

  Another week has gone by and I have not done anything else at the lake. Gina and I go there sometimes just to relax, but that’s all. Tomorrow is Saturday so I will go and see if I can do some more digging.

  I get up early, Gina stays in bed a bit longer. After having made coffee and eaten some breakfast, I put all the stuff in the truck and head towards the lake.

  “It feels good to be back down here,” I say to myself as I get ready to jump in the water.

  Gina and I have decided to call this thing we found, ‘a ship’. We have no idea what kind of ship, but we are sure it is some sort of a ship.

  I am going to be digging more towards what seems to be the front of this ship. Maybe there is a window or some sort of entrance. The mud is so thick around this area it is hard to tell.

  It looks like a very interesting piece of machinery. I hear some noise coming from the inside from time to time, but I’m not scared. Something inside of me tells me not to worry.

  I wish I knew what kind of material this thing is made out of. It looks like titanium, but I don’t really know. What kind of material could be under the water and not corrode or rust without being painted?

  There is so much to dig, but I am finally getting towards the end of the ship, which appears to be the front. The vessel is a beautiful silver color and about forty feet long. I have no idea how tall it may be. I have dug only three feet down from the top, but the mud just gets harder and harder. It is close to noon so I head home for lunch and to check on Gina.

  When I get home, she tells me Sarah is moving a lot, so I decide to stay home for the rest of the day.

  Gina starts to get very strong contractions throughout the night and so we head to the hospital at 6 am the next day.

  Sarah is born at 2 pm. We stay in the hospital the rest of that day, and are free to go home the following day.

  I spend one whole week taking care of them and a week later Gina is able to take care of herself and Sarah, so I resume work at the company.

  I really miss working on the project at the lake. I can’t wait to get down there again.

  I take Gina and Sarah by the lake on the weekend. It is fun—even for Sarah. She is very excited, moves a lot, and makes noises.

  Chapter 6

  Monumental Discoveries

  A whole month has passed. I have been staying at home on the weekends to help Gina and Sarah, to make it easier for them.

  It is Saturday afternoon and I finally make it to the lake.

  “I am going to do some more digging now,” I murmur to myself and put on my diving gear. I will dig around it in the center area so I can strap it and pull it out later, I decide.

  Digging is getting more difficult. I am now hitting lots of rocks in some areas. I am going to need some shovels and other tools to reach deeper into the mud. I am getting a lot done despite all this.

  This ship…it seems to have a spot that glows sometimes.

  “There is something here! It looks like a window. That’s where the glow is coming from! I’m going to dig around it some more, and then let the water clear up so I can see it better.”

  I finish digging around the window and head back up to the surface, get the flashlight from the car and dive back down.

  I get close to the window. “Okay, let me see…that’s one shiny window, made out of some type of glass. I don’t really need the flashlight—there is light coming out of there! That’s the glow Gina and I had been seeing. It was shining through the mud. But how could that be?”

  I get even closer and start to see the inside of the ship.

  “Oh my God! There is some sort of life inside of this thing; there is a…creature in there.” My eyes grow as big as saucers and I start to tremble. “It saw me…now it’s coming my way. It’s not afraid of me. It shows me the peace symbol with its hand. It only has four fingers—not five.” I stop trembling, and as he looks at me I feel safer, so I show the peace symbol to him as well.

  We look at each other. He has pretty big blue eyes—unblinking eyes. I can tell it is a “HE”; I just know it. We keep looking at each other. He emanates peace. I realize that’s the feeling, the vibration Gina and I perceive when we have come around the lake. This creature emanates it, and he does it on purpose too. I wonder why?

  I can see he is trying to communicate something. He knows we have been working here, trying to dig up the ship. He is telling me that he knows I am working on digging up the ship. He communicates through some form of telepathy. The idea arrives in my mind, and once I think about the answer he sort of picks it up.

  “This is so weird,” I wonder to myself, feeling mighty puzzled.

  “We need help,” he tells me.

  “We?” I ask silently.

  He goes away for a moment, and then comes back with a second creature, another “HE”—I think. The other one has deep big blue eyes too. They communicate in some strange form of language. I watch them for a moment.

  They get close to the window again, look at me and say wordlessly, “Thanks for helping us, Markus! We are very glad you found us.”

  “You are welcome,” I reply by thought, “but my name is Lee—last name Duran.”

  They turn to each other; exchange a few words and then the first “he” gets back to me, “Okay, Lee. I am Jon, Captain of this ship, and this is Leo my assistant and second in command.”

  “Nice to meet you both, Sir!” I respond respectfully.

  “You can just call me Jon, and call him Leo.”

  “Okay. How did you get here, Jon and Leo?”

  “We are part of the five ships that got shot down three months ago. Did you hear about it?”

  “I certainly did Sir. But aren’t you supposed to be the bad guys?” I ask.

  “Well, that’s what the media said, and it’s all over the internet too,” he replies.

  “But how
do you know about the media and the internet?” I ask, starting to wonder how they have survived in there for the past three months.

  “We have access to the internet and media channels from this ship,” Jon informs me.

  “Unreal!” I respond.

  “But we certainly aren’t bad guys. We were on a peaceful mission, visiting your planet. We were working on a project, which started many years ago, trying to establish a strong relationship with all the inhabitants of this part of the galaxy—the Milky Way, as you call it. Now the project has been terminated, because our ships were attacked and destroyed—all, except for this one.”

  “I am so sorry!” I say, feeling bad for what my people had done.

  “That’s okay,” says Jon. “We are aware, by now, of the fact that you are not used to having visitors from outer space—other beings and such.”

  “Yes Jon. That’s correct.”

  “But don’t worry Lee. We don’t hold any resentment against you. We know you are kind, and maybe you can help us turn things around, if you are willing.”

  “Sure!” I respond with another strong thought, “I will do whatever I can to help you guys out. I will definitely help you go back to your planet or wherever you came from, if I can!”

  “Well, our spaceship is quite damaged,” says Jon, “and we lost a member of our crew. The first thing will be to get the ship out of the lake, and see if it can be repaired.”

  “We are happy you found us,” says Leo. “We will keep flowing you power— also to your wife and baby.”

  “What?” I ask, “How do you know about them?”

  “We know about a lot of things Lee,” says Leo. “The fact that our ship sunk into the lake doesn’t keep us from knowing what’s happening around us.”

  “But how do you guys do it?” I ask in awe.

  Jon gets a bit closer to the window and starts to tell me, “We can operate exterior to our bodies, if we want to. We are beings—not bodies. We only use our bodies to interact with the finite universe.”

  “You guys are amazing!” I start to feel really comfortable communicating “by thought”.

  “We all are!” says Leo, “Even you Lee.” his thought came to me with such intention. “But you lost practice—let’s put it that way.”