Further than Before- Pathway to the Stars

by Matthew Opdyke

  She continued, “You are beautiful in every way, Joanne. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “You haven’t.” Joanne smiled. She had found it rather freeing to be an exhibitionist, with her beautiful pink, purple, black, blue, and varying shades of high-and-lowlights throughout her stylish hair, her left-side body tattoo-like mural, and mandala patterns, all expressing and sharing her desirably non-compartmentalized mental artistry through her extraordinary frame.

  “Why cover up all of this beauty?” Joanne enjoyed feeling the spacecraft breeze blow all over her person and testing gravity as she jumped up and down. “This is what it’s all about!”

  “Well, I agree with you whole-heartedly. I can’t see why you or anyone would want to hide all of that loveliness,” Yesha swallowed, shut her eyes, and then like that she followed suit or minus-suit. Together they walked down the path between Sectors 3 and 4 without any clothes on at all and talked about philosophy, history, politics, and the newfound rush of walking “free.” Yesha caught Joanne enjoying her unique artistry as well, out of the corner of her eye, and smiled. “You’re right, Joanne. This is the best I’ve felt in years!” Several families walked by as they were heading out for a family jaunt to the entertainment centers, the social halls, the beach, and the sports arenas, and they all smiled, waved, and seemed to understand the complexity of the situation without even so much as a sneer, jab, or pun.

  One mother could be heard by both Joanne and Yesha telling her son and daughter, “One day once you’re all grown up you’ll be able to walk freely like that. Aren’t they beautiful?”

  Before walking into the Coffee Tavern, they donned exquisite and sheer bikinis, to follow one of Joanne’s personal rules, which she abided by, but would never push on anyone else. It was all about consent in that regard. As long as no one would cause anyone else to lose a body part or become mentally deranged to the point of making others lose body parts, or murder or put something into someone else without their permission, it was quite alright. Things had changed, and the mind-sets of the masses had healed. No longer was nudity a sin. It never was.

  Bobbie was wearing his favorite full-on space-age-chef ensemble, minus the hat since he never was big into hats in the first place. Besides, his hair had been back for more than 19 years, ever since he was optimized, and he enjoyed showing off his clean-cut style.

  “How is it going, Bobbie?”

  “I can’t complain.” He pointed in the direction of Stafford, Jeremiah, and Christian. “They came to visit, and it seems they’ve studied up quite well on coffee, coffee recipes, and the special effects one can imbue them with. I’ve got it down to a level that is very personal, so I am anxious to see if they can too. I’d rather they did, so if they’re ever stranded out deep, they can raise the morale of everyone onboard their spacecraft. We will hang together on time off, as long as the jump gate terminals allow, however. Erin’s over there with them, she’s doing pretty well herself. Sheer excellence on the account of both of you, Yesha and Joanne! You both are as dazzling as always, but somehow you always find a way to dazzle even more. Feel free to hang out with Erin and our three friends. I’ll go ahead and fix you each a lovely cup of Joe.”

  Erin was indeed mesmerizing, her femininity was in full bloom, and the men, and they too were beautifully handsome in every possible way. Stafford, with his bald head, dressed in what looked like a business tycoon’s ensemble, Jeremiah’s dark complexion with his fluorescent tattoos all up and down his left side wearing knee-length sheer shorts, and Christian, the guy who made pretty much every girl in every establishment want to raise a family with him on some distant moon, planet, or post, wearing his sheer dark bikini shorts, were all sitting with Erin, who was also wearing a sheer bikini with colors that complemented her irises and her exquisite hair.

  “Hey boys, how’s it going? What’s up? Who’s winning?” said Joanne.

  “Well, well, well, look at you two. You are both a sight for sore eyes. We’re all tied up. What brings you here?” asked Christian. Smiling, simply being cheeky and somewhat flirty.

  “We just wanted to take a breather, take our minds off our work for a while, and catch up with a few friends. Funny, about the sight for sore eyes, I was about to say that about you three.

  Joanne had been in the music industry for a couple of decades now, and with that, she had gained a lot more unabashed confidence, similar to the kind of confidence Christian seemed to have. She knew that he would eventually be gone and lost in Zone-10, plus it was known that he and Scarlett Hart were building quite a relationship for the stars, so she kept everything playfully flirtatious as a form of genuine reciprocation, but in a way that showed a contagious form of respect. Everyone, there was having fun. Plus, Bobbie was busy, looked a little far away at times, and Joanne was starting to enjoy having him around more and more. Since he was always busy doing what he did best, he very rarely took time for himself.

  Bobbie scanned their minds, scanned their DNA, and in the most innocent and cool of ways sniffed the molecules of their genes floating in the air as though he was simply breathing in deeply, but in a non-crazy manner, and then put together the best coffees in the world, or the Universe for that matter, for every single one of his guests. He was unique, and he knew it.

  He actually enjoyed her company in a unique way that he could not describe. There was something about her, this verve, this tenacity, this sensuality that he could not put his thumb on, but whatever it was, he loved that about her. He wanted to make her every moment when she was around special. She and Eliza had done so much for humanity and the Universe already, he couldn’t help but feel that above anyone or anything else, these two needed the utmost of protection and care to continue on with this beautiful vision of theirs. Life was good, he knew it, and he didn’t want that to ever change. “Why create stress when and where it is unnecessary?” Bobbie would often ask himself.

  “Precious and fragile things need special handling,” Depeche Mode’s song, “Precious,” played throughout this temporary coffee house of his, on the Presidential Spacecraft, which would only be his while they were flying together as a contingency.

  During work-time, Bobbie would work as Vice Commander on-board the IMC 5, with Melissa Anderson, but once it was after-hours, the owner here, on-board the PCS would let him run his Sector 5 Coffee Tavern in his own way, until morning, so long as he cleaned up afterward. This was quite simple; a person, and in this case, Bobbie, could mind-sweep and interface with the spacecraft nanos and like that the place was spotless, back as the owner preferred, and in better condition, than he had found it.

  Each evening when he arrived at the PCS, all throughout training, planning, and prior to the missions, he had made the Sector 5 Coffee Tavern like a nightclub, with beautiful lights around and flowers near all of the plush and high-tech seating arrangements. He had his favorite tunes from Depeche Mode, Erasure, the Human League, Pet Shop Boys, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD, New Order, The Other Two and You, Red Flag, Information Society, Cause & Effect, Duran-Duran, and many others, to include interwoven tunes from various groups such as Enigma, Delerium, Jens Gad, Paul Schwartz, Balligomingo, Sleepthief, Amethystium, and Magna Canta, and some favorite Female Vocal Trance artists playing in the background.

  He wasn’t a DJ, but he had hired a couple of his favorites, to include Frank Fdieu, who was a close friend on-board IMC 5, as well as Sarah Lynn, Laura Aquí, Phildel, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Ana Criado, Kate Louis Smith, Susana, Christina Novelli, Katty Heath, Armin Vann Burren, Above & Beyond, and Cosmic Gate to mix things up. Every night had light-shows, music, and holographic imagery, and was filled with delightful conversations. The crews seemed to get to know each other quite well this way. Plus, everyone who enjoyed this sort of merriment tended to be the eclectic and forward-thinking crowd that he had always been fond of anyway. Everyone else seemed rather drab. They were flying through space after all, and this was the perfect music for it.

  He looked around the c
rowd in this tavern that had an upper and lower floor and noticed as Eliza Williams and James Cooper came in. He pointed them to Yesha, Erin, and Joanne. Together they sat, as the table expanded. Before they knew it, every single one of the IMC leaders was sitting at their table, catching up, and going on about this, the first day. Finally, once everyone was served, Bobbie went to the table, and Yesha and Joanne let him sit between them. “How is it going? This place is bustling quite well tonight.”

  Yesha smiled at Bobbie, she rather enjoyed his charm, his style, and the fact that he was playing some of her favorite tunes in the background. It was as if he’d made an old-fashioned tape just for her. “I couldn’t ask for a better cup of coffee. Come on, you’re not technically on the job right now, stay for a while. How is the competition coming along?”

  “Oh, it’s a work in progress,” smiled Bobbie. “I do believe I’ve served the whole of the IMC and the PCS. We have quite a wonderful crowd here. I cannot complain at all.”

  Bobbie looked around. He was always used to being up and at it. But, he was sitting there beside two of his favorite people, Yesha and Joanne.

  “The beach was full of the best waves, Joanne, you’ll have to check it out with us when we’re done here,” whispered Eliza, over the noise of the crowd. “You’re the Environmental Science Officer, and you have outdone yourself. Oh, I love this music!” Depeche Mode’s “Halo” was playing in the background, the Hyperspeed Remix, and its space-age video playing with it.

  “Thank you, Bobbie! You and me, we must be kindred spirits!” Eliza wasn’t whispering anymore. She was flying through space, with Morgan AI safely at the controls, all systems were in order, they had built literally thousands of tech cities on thousands of planets distributed quite well throughout galactic space, and all in the space of eight hours. This was the life.

  As Halo drifted to “If You Want,” also by Depeche Mode, Eliza looked at everyone at her table, and she saw and communicated with all thirty-six of them. “Come with me, let’s head to the beach, then watch a game in the arenas down below, hit up a play, and we can have Bobbie’s music playing in the background wherever we are. Come, Bobbie! Please!”

  They were quite a big table, but they all wanted to come with her. She was exciting, fun, cool, and the leader of this the new golden and space age. Work would be had in the morning, they had done so much today, and they would do even better tomorrow if they had a little fun now, slept well for a couple of Virtual Universe hours, which would also allow them to process everything within their minds, share more moments with each other, and relax.

  Chapter 75: Work and Play, Section 3

  Two minutes was a pretty long period of time within the Virtual Universe, especially if one were to factor in or compound the exponential result of fourteen full-on crews working together to achieve success. Within the space of eight hours, the entire Milky Way had been visited, observation posts, exploration stations, colonization tech cities, and so much more had been set up. Every hour for four hours twenty-two constellation regions had been fully squared away, volunteers from Sol were already requested, and now everyone was on a break.

  Joanne still had something to share with Eliza, her idea that would increase the output and speed with which Sol-based Civilization could comb the Cosmos and preserve the life of the Universe itself was still well-within her desire to share. Still, in every Region, every Sector, and every Zone, there were stories galore to share. Those stories would be told later. For now, it was time for a break on the beach with some tunes, some watermelon, and some amazing company.

  As they were heading there, Vesha Celeste opened up everyone’s neural link and said, “I love you, my friends, no matter where you are from, your identity, or creed, and all of whom are artistic, brilliant, creative, competitive, and kind. Many are correct to understand that there are aspects of our history we can be proud of, yet, in some cases, there are aspects we are merely born into and subjected to. No matter, there is always one thing that will always be valuable about any nation or sovereign state we are from, and that is each one of us and our untold potential to lift the spirits of those around us through kindness, dignity, respect, and compassion.

  “I love people in general, no matter the perceptions that are thrown around, and in less than constructive ways as well. Many are victims of their environment, subjects of cruelty, brutality, and even corruption. Let us please, always, remember to avoid generalization or casting a wide and toxic assumption of character on the faceless masses. In every group of people, there are amazing individuals who love, think, care, and recognize unhealthy behavior when they see it, yet they seek to be kind and available emotionally, as needed.

  “Throughout this Universe, we’re all part of the same team. We need each other to succeed as a civilization. We need to do due diligence by recognizing the good in others and by doing our part to cause a positive shift in focus to resolutions to issues met with action while seeking the well-being of each of the individuals involved.

  “This may seem random, since so much has been done, and we’ve had such a wonderful result from all of our efforts thus far. I say this, nonetheless, because we have solely explored our own Galaxy, and have many more places to go. Each location, as repeated as it may seem from a distant location, is unique, special, and full of opportunities to fill us with wonder. I love you all, my friends, and you have all demonstrated in so many ways how wonderful you are. Thank you, again, for bringing me back from death, Eliza and Yesha, and each of you who helped, because it is an honor to be a part of such a glorious time in history, the Golden Age.”

  Everyone with her had been slowly walking nearby, and they gathered around her, gave her a hug, and each individual thanked her in their own way, for her efforts in this endeavor as well. Much was done today, but much more would be done in the morning and for now, it was time to enjoy the Universe they knew and loved.

  ~ The End – For Now ~

  Appendix (Spoilers)

  Appendix – Dr. Eliza A. Williams – Preface

  Database Moon Archive, Celestial-Sol Date: 2010 April 6. President of Pathway LLC, Dr. Eliza A. Williams writes a foreword to her best-selling science novel, Vice President Yesha Alevtina submits it to the Database Moon Archives. These writings are for people worldwide, as written in Eliza’s book, “Pathway to the Stars,” recorded within the Virtual Universe, interfaced within the Pathway Melrose Campus. Input by: Yesha Alevtina, President of Pathway, 2015-2022.

  A journey or much more throughout space and time will most assuredly be needed if we are intent on preserving the life of our own species as well as the lives of those beings that complement our ability to survive. In order to survive for the next few trillion years or even longer as our journeys reveal many more answers and as we maintain and upgrade each advancement, leaving our areas of living even more capable of supporting sentient and harmonious life than ever before as we move forward, it makes sense to diversify the extent of the locations that we and our companions can exist in throughout the stars by having humanity in more than one area of our galaxy and in more than one galaxy itself at any given time to preserve and share our history, our knowledge, our wisdom, and our legacy throughout the Universe.

  We as a people just may be able to see amazing developments unfold before our eyes if we do not destroy ourselves first or if nature or the Universe itself does not decide it has lost any purpose in our existence and eliminate us. We are not slaves to the Universe, as a matter of fact, from all of the evidence before us it would appear the Universe is abundant with that which brings life, and would rather we live without fear and overcome the challenges necessary, so we can travel in freedom with the promise of a beautiful legacy that we can create, share, and enjoy.

  It is said that “mathematics is the language of the Universe” and in so many ways this is very true. To limit one’s self to one or two fields of science, research, or study, or to embrace but a mere few equations as the end-all-be-all of the purpose of life and
progression of humanity, however, is to deprive one’s self of an amplified understanding of all our Universe has to offer. We will, in fact, deprive ourselves of the bounties of the Universe if we fail to wrangle in uncontrolled chaos, desiccation, and disintegration.

  Every equation, every formula, and every model serves a meaningful purpose and a perspective that confounds many that by opening our minds, our perceptions, and creating a foundation of personal integrity we can solve more issues, and, in more ways, which will lead toward serving the purposes of humanity and the well-being of life itself, because those purposes will indeed be of an ethical and even noble character and we’ll have converged our knowledge to bring untold promise. Notwithstanding, we have also come to learn throughout so many periods in history that sooner or later each equation has also had its limitations—don’t become a victim of “I can’t.” It can be said that a balanced approach between what we know, what we will yet learn, and what we dare to dream just may get us there…

  Without what we know, the wisdom gained and shared over the centuries, and the miracle of the scientific advancements we have achieved through many all-too-often under-appreciated efforts we’d be hard-pressed to see any journey begin outside of a minimalistic and tribalistic lifestyle. Our ever-increasing scientific understanding of the Universe and all of its mechanisms and our asking seemingly far-out questions or even considering the possibilities of what we don't know will greatly assist humanity as we know it, to ensure we can grace the grand stage of the beautiful Cosmos for more than a brief period of existence while preserving knowledge of the dramas, the comedies, the artistic expressions, or the romances shared throughout the many ages.