Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  “As time goes by, and as each of us are ready, we will all receive physiological and neurological upgrades, so perhaps we’ll discover at some point that we are able to fly and defy all of the current laws of gravity that we know of. Ultimately, the mind is a powerful thing, so we can each heal and become stronger than ever before as time goes by, and we can learn how to control the nanos, our thoughts, and convince those that are hopeless of a better way. If you can conceive of something that raises the quality of life, you will have the mental capacity to bring that dream to fruition, so long as it does not cause undue consequence to the rights of others.

  “Please, go forward, befriend those around you, and remember, the Universe is huge, but before we leave our solar system, we need to have the rest of humanity on board. Without that, wars and brutality will be the undoing of life on Earth. Hence, the necessity for a shared understanding, mutual respect, and a sense for the consent of the individual. Who here would like to have family and friends around when we eventually leave and return?”

  Everyone, now neurally linked, in unison thought together, “I would. Let’s do it.”

  Amber, realizing she remembered who she was, yet feeling completely revitalized in every way, and despite all of the amazing things she beheld that she was still herself, with even more clarity and capacity toward making sense of so much more, realized how she wanted to contribute. “Cancer, disease, all manner of neurological disorders, environments that are harsh and unwilling, the ability to overcome the worst through science and in a way that will benefit all so much more, a way that will not cost people their jobs, their way of living, or will not turn the economy upside down, and the ability to adapt life to live in whatever environment we find ourselves in are amazing efforts. I’ll do all that I can both in Pathway and in public to help people to live healthy lives full of care for our Earth as well as full of innovation, no matter my mission. This is an amazing way to focus my energies and my time—I’ve found my purpose.”

  “Indeed, you have found your purpose. I knew you were very unique, I knew there was something special about you, and you, Amber, are a kindred spirit and a forever friend,” Eliza received Amber’s mental thoughts and reciprocated her drive and clarity. Amber received everyone else’s thoughts but felt a particular openness about her two new friends. She knew now, that she was a part of Eliza’s and Yesha’s team, and every person felt a special connection with the other and bonded with various other teams, each with a wonderful purpose to fulfill.

  With Amber’s speed in neurological reconciliation, her ability to engage in critical thought, the rewiring of her cognitive framework, and her sense of purpose, she and her new friends had identified her as a very crucial biotechnology scientist, when it came to the significant impact she would make to help humanity’s role in preserving the future of the Universe. Eliza and Yesha shared their hopes and desires, and Amber realized that Eliza, Yesha, and citizens of Pathway LLC had anticipated she would become a delegate to the UP, an advanced scientist for Pathway LLC, and a member of the Pathway hierarchy. Amber was now fired up with purpose and accepted.

  “How do you feel?” asked Yesha.

  “I can’t say that I have ever felt this way before, but I love it! There is so much to do, but now I wonder where to begin,” Amber thought and had said aloud, noticing her voice was just a little more powerful, yet sweet and easygoing in nature, and she was pleased.

  Yesha and Eliza knew that the words Amber spoke were sincere, heartfelt, far from overly complicated, and yet as meaningful and genuine as the words that Yesha and Eliza had spoken throughout her training. They were now indeed kindred spirits.

  “Now that your Virtual Universe training is complete, let us introduce you to James Cooper.” As Eliza said so, James appeared in the room walking through the jump gate nearby.

  Upon seeing him, Amber immediately felt a connection and rather smitten by how handsome he was. She checked Eliza’s and Yesha’s thoughts, and they had a history with him, a deep one, and they had opened their minds to her regarding their special moments shared during James’ first days. “Freedom is had when jealousy is non-existent.” Yesha was looking toward Amber and smiled, as did Eliza. They had both said this in unison via their new link to Amber, and then James turned to Amber and smiled.

  “Hello. Amber?” James said as he reached out to shake her hand, but Amber pushed his hand outward and held her arms out for a hug. Somehow, she had seen how she had helped even Eliza in her lifetime, and James appreciated the notion quite a bit and reciprocated with an enjoyable hug.

  He then stepped back and continued. “I have no doubt that you have seen the Pathway Tech Cities in the Virtual Universe but let me show you a few of them in the real world. After I have shown you that, you must know that there is a family in Nebraska that I would like you to meet.”

  “I’ll follow your lead. Where do we begin?” asked Amber.

  “Here,” said James, smiling. “Follow me, but no worries, we’re friends. I’ll merely provide clarity.” James walked toward the glowing jump gate and Amber followed close behind.

  Together they went through many gates as they passed through many cities. Amber witnessed the forests, the ponds, the streams, the lakes, the rivers, the trees, the animals, the fish, the birds, the amazing infrastructure of a tech city, overlooking Neptune. “This is Triton. If it weren’t for the eco-environment we are encapsulated in, we’d freeze solid until we were rescued. If it weren’t for our nanobots we would die instantly if the eco-environment were to give in. But, no fears, our environment is protected by constant updates, and there is a nearly invisible cloud up there of nanobots keeps everything intact, and your nanos keep you intact as well. This moon is actually very large, is in a retrograde orbit around Neptune, and can house trillions of people. What do you think of the Sun and Neptune-set?”

  Amber laughed briefly but stood in awe. “Beautiful,” Amber was yet again amazed, as she beheld the variety of blues that gave Neptune such a unique and spectacular appeal.

  James then escorted her and showed her a large quantity of the tech cities on each of the moons of the planets in the solar system, and as he escorted her through them, he began to talk to her about a young girl named Erin Carter. “Erin Carter is a genius with a lot of promise, a promise unknown to the rest of humanity, but she is suffering from what many call “progeria.” She is currently six years old and based on her cellular activity and the length of her telomeres, in her current state, she will die in seven years.

  “Due to the constraints of laws in our home country, we have to find ways that are very subtle when it comes to healing her. Once her parents agree to allow us to provide continuous care, and they then decide to come to the Pathway LLC Campus in Melrose, Massachusetts, we will be able to heal her completely.

  “Amber, you must know from our shared thoughts that she is very important to Pathway LLC, and I, as well as both Eliza and Yesha, see a lot of promise in her. It’s almost as if our link kind of gives us a sense of clairvoyance, because in these few moments I can tell that you lost your sister, and for that, I am very sorry. As you get to know Erin, please think of her as another little sister. Will you please help her?”

  “Yes, of course.” Amber smiled at James. James smiled back, put out his arms, and she reciprocated for a warm, comforting, and gentle yet very sturdy hug. She looked forward to her first, yet very special mission, as she completed her master’s degree thesis and the rest of her college assignments with ease. Everything seemed to make more sense, and there were areas within her textbooks where she found she had a better idea. She would tackle that later.

  Chapter 19: Erin Carter, Section 1

  Database Moon Archive, Celestial-Sol Entry Date: 2018 December 25. Yesha Alevtina trains Vesha Celeste. In this part of her training, after her awakening, they explore the healing, backstory, and recruitment of Erin Carter by Amber Blythe. They use the recorded memories of Amber Blythe, Erin Carter, and Eliza Williams, within t
he Virtual Universe. Interfaced within the Pathway Melrose Campus. Input by: Yesha Alevtina, President of Pathway Industries, 2015-2022.

  Erin looked back in time as she always had and to her, it seemed somewhat relative. From her perspective, the way time passed by was dependent upon the individual. She knew, however, that in all reality, time was a given state of existence shared by all but quantified based on the civilization and the location they might exist in. During the day of her sixth birthday and each of the recess periods at school, she had taken advantage of the time to reminisce over the previous years of her life. As the days would go by in those early years, even from the very first day of school, she would ponder upon a myriad of memories from the day she opened her eyes until the moment she stood on the concrete right where she happened to be during break time feeling the breeze while looking into the meadows and the trees.

  On this day, in particular, she would have accompanied her parents on the family’s semi-annual hour and a half walk south to watch the early springtime Sandhill Crane migration. During the last couple of years, her young friends accompanied her as well. She could recall how the three children her age that lived on the same block seemed to grow faster while she became slower each year. Lost in their own world, they seemed to grow taller and stronger, while she could feel her muscles becoming weaker, her bones slimmer, and the sockets they rested in seemed more shallow and a greater source of pain. The more she exercised the more pain she felt, but she exercised anyway because it was good for her health.

  Instead of becoming frustrated about each aspect of her condition, Erin had begun to discover that sating her thirst for knowledge through education was what gave her the same kind of peace of mind as playing with toys would give to her peers. As painful as it was, she did her chores at home and was thorough, which took up a lot of her time, and then she found time to spend a few hours to exercise, walk, and play with her friends. No matter what, however, she made time to learn how to read, watch educational television shows, and ask questions of her parents if they were available, about life, the Universe around her, and any form of science. To Erin, parental advice was intriguing and full of clarity, and she was interested in looking toward the future, even while she pondered upon her past. The two seemed to go hand in hand, and while she couldn’t quite yet put her thumb on it, both were beautiful.

  In school, things had been different over the last seven months, since she had begun kindergarten. All things considered, she had appreciated the wonders of academia for as long as she could remember, so her curriculum was intriguing due to being very analytical. Even though she knew most of the material already, it gave her a chance to study those same items in even more depth or an opportunity to help her classmates, which she enjoyed doing immensely. At this point in her life, it seemed that her classmates’ and friend’s perception of time during recess was a shared event to the extent of which time would pass by slowly and as if a minute would take four. It also seemed to Erin that her peers would play with the energy of superheroes.

  Time sped by all too quickly and her energy would drain just as fast when she engaged in normal activities shared by children her age. Four minutes for her seemed to go by in a blink of an eye when she tried to play ball, or tag, or hide-and-go-seek just like her friends and the rest of the children. Instead of doing that each day, she chose to walk around the campus using a short and steady pace while thinking on some occasions about what she would normally be doing during this time of the year before school began. Since her peers were so fast and had much more strength than she, she looked up and outward toward the sky. This seemed to her the only way she could slow down time, breathe in a little respite from reality, and make life a little more pleasant while reflecting on the past, studying the different sciences, and appreciating nature.

  As she reminisced, she remembered how watching and even feeding the Sandhill cranes each year had given her solace. Watching these birds allowed her to grow an appreciation for the majestic beauty of flight, which, she as a human would never be able to enjoy, given her natural and obvious constraints. It was easy to watch birds fly and float about the cares of humanity doing the things she couldn’t, and she didn’t mind because they were completely different in so many ways. To her, despite the differences, they were beautiful just the same. On the other hand, it was difficult watching children her age, because they could physically do what she could not. Ironically, she, like any other child, saw and felt the similarities of childhood interests in so many ways. Although, they preferred toys while she preferred the sciences. As things were, it was painful to run with the children her age, and time sped by no matter what she did.

  At this point in her life, her bones had begun aching much more than usual than they had this time about a year ago. Perhaps her bones were burdened by carrying the weight of the organs in her body. Her bones weren’t thick enough to lug around the weight of a normal human being, but their unique flexibility helped to counter that in a smaller girl her size, at least unless they were to grow to become less flexible and more brittle, as the doctors had suggested could be a possibility once she had reached the age of eight. She began to notice the aches and pains during her last trek to the Platte River for her family’s annual walk from Kearney to just beyond the interstate to watch the spring migration of the cranes, typically near the time of her birthday.

  Along their way, they would stop by the overpass that at that time had been called the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, and later The Archway, which was often overlooked by travelers since it was located over the interstate, but with no off-ramp nearby. Eventually, they would build an off-ramp to increase revenue from tourism. While there, she enjoyed her brunch with family and friends and she would stop to listen to the historical displays of the simulated buffalo stampedes and trains. Once done at the archway, they would head out to the south side, walk over the Platte River Bridge, and observe and feed the cranes.

  Erin, this time, watched as the cranes flew high in the air above her in their typical large V-shaped patterns. Perhaps Betty was waiting for Erin to feed her at the river this year but in vain. She could see some of Betty’s friends flying overhead, but she looked for the details that were unique to Betty alone, just in case she happened to be flying overhead too.

  She learned one year that these beautiful avian creatures had existed and migrated throughout this region of the Earth for many centuries, millennia, or even longer. For as many cranes as were there, and despite the history of their migration, there was one crane that was special and unique to her. Erin had named her, Betty, and she recalled the first time they met.

  Erin had to have been about two years old when she could recall her first time being completely enthused with the cranes and their own majestic beauty. She had been so ensconced with them, yet somehow all of a sudden, she noticed there was one unique crane. She had three white feathers uniquely located in the center of her right-wing surrounded by darker-tipped plumage, and more visible as she spanned her wings. She walked closer to her that first day of their encounter while honking a few times. She then stood there for a few minutes, with an occasional flap of her wings, a couple of honks, and would look around.

  Her father, Daniel, pointed out how to tell the difference between the ladies from the gentlemen among the cranes, and how she was a lady among them. Males were typically a couple of inches taller and weighed about four pounds more. Her father then handed Erin some crane feed. She fed her, and then she named her Betty. Ever since then, Betty would approach her, in the same way, each year, honk a few times, and then peck at the ground before her, and then look at Erin while turning her head from side to side as if to see her from each of her eyes. As time went by each year, she was followed by a group of younger cranes. After a week or two, once they were filled and ready, they flew away honking, spreading their wings, and making their way northward.

  Today, Erin hadn’t been there to see them off; instead, all she found she could do to feel
a sense of normalcy was watch and listen as they made their usual yet much more distant communal honks and sounds as they flew high above her in the sky and toward the north. The winter snows had melted, and spring was in the air. Thus, they headed toward the northern regions of Earth for summer where eggs would be hatched, and their new-born would grow and accompany the more experienced cranes southward during the fall. She knew after a long series of flights and feeding, they would reach their destination and stay there until their fall migration when they headed back on their pathway southward.

  While her eyes gazed upon the birds in the sky above, Erin’s mind wandered as she recalled how on one night, about eight months before then, her parents had been engaged in their usual evening chats together. Even though she was supposed to be in bed she had snuck down the stairs, as usual, to listen to her Mom and Dad discuss their hopes and fears. Their topics of conversation were normally intriguing because she felt she learned so much as they talked with each other in a more adult fashion about the issues of the day, medical advancements, and their daughter.

  On this particular occasion, they were talking about Erin’s condition and how she was almost halfway through her lifespan already. In many ways, the tone they shared had been no different than usual as she listened, at least in the beginning. At one point in their discussion the sentiments they shared shifted from one of optimism for a cure, expressions of pride in her character, and admiration for her mental acuity for her age, to one of sorrow and sadness. Rather than their usual talk about how the previous day was, or of plans for the future, she heard them trying to talk through tears.

  Her heart melted. Why were they so worried? She knew her parents loved her. Perhaps they knew they would miss her because she would begin school soon? She would miss her parents, but she wanted an opportunity to learn even more, so she could read and study with children her own age. However, if what they said was, in fact, true, she knew that she would ultimately have the comfort of going off to some other unknown reality, while they would be left alone in this world without her. Perhaps that is why they were in tears. She listened in closely.