Starship Genesis
Page 28
“Yes, we’ve frozen in the winter and suffered mosquitos and critters in the summer.” Cassie adds.
“And savages,” Korban finishes, “but we’re grateful for the experience. It has kept us alive till now.”
“I know it doesn’t seem like it here in this time period. We still have hidden dangers you have to watch for,” I tell them. “You’ll learn all of that soon enough. You can watch the media and that will educate you on current affairs. All in all, Earth is a better place now then where you came from.”
“It is beautiful here. On our planet the buildings were as tall as the clouds and it was impossible to have a view because of that. Our life has been much simpler here.” Cassie adds.
Kim pulls the SUV in the garage, and we all get out.
“What a lovely home, Kim.” Cassie states. “Have you lived here long?”
“Thank you.” Kim replies. “Matt and I were married just a few months ago. This is our first home together.”
“It’s very comfortable.”
“Come on, Cassie. I’ll show you around.” Kim drags her off. Kim has put out all of the Christmas decorations.
“Why do you have a tree in your home?” Cassie inquires. Kim then explains it’s for the Holidays.
“Oh Yes...Matt told us. It’s about Jesus, right?”
“That rights. We’re celebrating his birth.”
“Yes, the Jaredites told us they saw Him.”
“Interesting.” Kim replies.
Matt is with Korban. “Look, I’m certain our computers, televisions, and the rest of our technology is probably antiquated to you. But would you be able to tolerate a laptop computer if I got you each one?” I ask Korban.
“I have learned we have to take what we can get,” Korban answers.
“Mark has hired a tutor to help you gain your high school diplomas. We estimate you’ll have those in about two months the way you’re progressing. And once you get that, we can get you into a nearby college of higher learning. This weekend I’d like to teach you both how to drive.”
“Sounds good.” Korban answers. “Oh, and Talon wants us to come over for dinner Saturday, including you and Kim.”
“I think we can do that,” Kim says. “What do you two miss most about your world?” she asks.
“I think we miss family the most,” Cassie says. “It’s really funny. Because Korban and I had never dated until this world even though I liked him. And I knew he liked me. We couldn’t get involved because of our jobs. Korban was our captain, and I was the Genesis’ historian.”
“In a way, we’re glad we crashed.” Korban says. “Because now there are no more rules dictating our relationship.”
“What do you like the most about our time period so far?” Kim asks.
“I think I like the beds.” Cassie replies. “On the Starship Genesis, the beds were only a third of the size here. And down south we slept on the ground or in hanging beds. Now I can stretch out and really sleep!”
The doorbell rings and I answer it.
“Hello, I’m Andrea Colten. I’m here to tutor Korban and Cassie, per Mr. Valentine.”
“Oh yes, welcome. Please come in. Korban, Cassie... let me introduce you to your new tutor. This is Andrea Colten.”
“Hello Andrea”.
“Not only is she going to instruct you on our basics in education, she will teach you two other useful languages, which are Latin and German. Andrea will come on a daily basis Monday through Friday and work with you about four hours a day.”
Andrea shakes hands with them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m excited at what we can accomplish. Mark tells me that once you both have your diplomas they can get you into college and you can each intern at Mr. Valentine’s company as well. I’m sure you both will be invaluable.”
“Our first subject will be Geography. I’ve also brought magazines from the American Geographic Society that I want you to read as outside additional reading. It will bring you up on the political climates as well as other important facts. Andrea pulls out a very large map of the world, lays it on the table and shows them where they are.
“Talon is right. The continents have changed drastically.” Korban states.
Andrea continues, “This is the country where they found you. It’s called Peru. It’s part of the South American continent. Pointing northwards, this is the North American continent. We are in the United States of America and you are living in the state of Maryland.”
She then introduces Canada and the countries of Central and South America. She explains, “The lines on the paper indicate latitude and longitude.” She also teaches them how to read coordinates. Finally, she covers climates, topography, and populations.
“Let’s move on to basic math. Matt told me he gave you a little instruction. I’m going to assess your knowledge in math.” Andrea first covers the symbols and operations with them. “Once you know the basic operations, you’ll pick up basic math in just about an hour.”
An hour passes.
“Wow! You both passed off basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division so quickly!”
“I think Matt taught us a lot previously.” Korban answers.
“Well, great! Now we’ll cover reading and writing the English language. These are vocabulary words. I want you to memorize the spelling and then we’ll practice some beginning reading.” Andrea helps them read from a simple grade school book, 5th grade level.
“Great! In about one week, we’ll cover software on your laptops as well. Do either of you like art?”
Cassie replies, “I’m more of the art type. Korban likes building things.”
“Good to know,” Andrea replies. “Just to let you know, we will cover Science and Sociology on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we will cover Latin. I picked the Latin because it will complement your science and theological studies as well as English.”
“Please,” Korban says. What are Mondays, Tuesdays...”
I’m sitting in the living room, working on my laptop and realize I never have taken the time to explain weekdays to my guests. “Sorry...I interrupt.”
“That’s an easy oversight, actually. Let’s discuss it. In our calendar there are seven days to a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are typically working days. Saturday is a day off to take care of your needs at home. Then the seventh day is Sunday, which is considered a Christian Holy Day. Lots of people go to a church on Sunday, that is.”
“Did you mention Christian?” Cassie asks.
“Well, yes. Christianity is one of the three top religions of the world.” Andrea replies. “And currently, many of us are celebrating the Christmas Holidays, specifically Christ’s birth.”
“When we were living among the people in Peru, they taught us about Christ.” Cassie says. “They taught us that Christ is the creator and Son of God. The people we associated with called themselves Christians.”
“On the South American continent? Interesting.” Andrea says. “Let’s continue with the calendar, shall we? Each day of the week consists of 24 hours. You probably already know that. There are twelve months in our years or 365 days in a year.” Andrea then reads the names of the months and finishes up with the seasons, showing them the equator, Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer.
“Interesting calendar,” Cassie states. “I always made my calendars round.” Andrea looks up the Mayan calendar in her book. “Like this?” she asks.
“Yes. Just like that. I used to make them on tablets and trade them with the natives for food.”
“Fascinating.” Andrea says. “Can I ask you why you put 5,000 years on them? They all ended at 2012.”
“No reason,” Cassie said. “I just ran out of room and space.”
“Finally makes sense.” Andrea replies. “So many people used to believe that the end of the Mayan Calendar signified the end of the world.”
Cassie laughs, “Oh that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”
“No,” Korban says.
“Well, since there are 24 hours in a day, you can either count each hour from 01:00 clear up to 24:00. That’s considered military time. Or you count up to 12:00 hours. The first 12 hours of the day are considered a.m. or morning. The second 12 hours are considered p.m. or evening.
Cassie speaks up, “Oh I have seen the circular objects with the moving pointers.”
“They’re called clocks.” Andrea tells her. “Well, that’s enough for one day. You’re both doing great. For home work, if you would just do the exercises I’ve shown you and have those ready for me to review tomorrow that would be great.”
Andrea hands them both her card. “If you need anything you can reach me at this phone number.”
Cassie asks, “What is a phone number?”
“Oh my,” Andrea exclaims. “Forgive me. We take so much for granted here. I just assumed you knew what I’m talking about. Matt do they have cell phones, yet?” she asks.
“No. They don’t. But I will make sure we get them cell phones tonight,” he replies.
Andrea says goodbye and leaves. Cassie and Korban laugh.
“I feel like a little child,” Cassie tells Korban in their native language. Korban replies, laughing as well. I find Korban and Cassie’s language so strange. It has a musical tone to it. After dinner, Kim and I take them to the mall to look at cell phones.
Korban and Cassie become so excited to see wireless technology. Both of them choose iPhones and are delighted at the prospects of movies and pictures they can share.
Kim is helping Korban with the final purchase while I sit next to Cassie.
“I never thought you two would be so excited about cell phones,” I tell her.
“You have to understand, Matt,” Cassie informs me. “Korban and I will be able to communicate with you and others in this world. Up until now, we could only communicate among ourselves over a distance.”
“Wait a minute.” I respond. “You just spoke in present terms. Do you mean you can still communicate via hologram?”
“Well, yes, Matt. But there’s no need to communicate like that if the person is already standing in front of you.”
“We have always carried our communications, our technology, everything, just using holograms.”
“Well, how come you lost touch with Talon, then?” I ask.
“They slipped through the portal to another time, you understand.”
“Right.” I answer.
“If I want to talk to Korban, I touch a button on a hologram and talk to Korban. I can do so with or without a visual hologram. But I can also see the other person if that person allows me to have visual contact.”
“Think of it this way. It is not as personal as your communications today. You cannot touch a hologram because it is not real. In our world, one could become too dependent on such devices. We have found it invigorating to stand in front of one another and talk face-to-face. It has taken our relationship to a new level,” She says.
“Cassie, I saw some of your records you made on the ship. Many of your records survived. I don’t know how we found them. But I’ve seen them.”
“They were probably records from another ship, then. Because I have all of the records of the Genesis with me.”
“But I thought Talon told you he still had the log.”
“What Talon has is a backup to mine. A secondary device. I let Talon and Deonna use my back up for their exploration.”
She pulls a device from her waist. She has some type of a belt on that I couldn’t see before. “Talon finally did give it back to me. I am the keeper of the log for the Genesis crew. That was my duty on the starship.”
Cassie waves her hand over the disk and it begins to show a list of records in holographic form. They circulate upwards like a funnel into the air. She touches one of the records. They seem to be organized by date from the bottom.
“I have continued to make records every day since the crash. Here you see my last record before you found us.”
I view the blood bath in the village and the man called Coriantumur. It is like a continuous movie all around Cassie’s hand.
“How do you do that?” I ask. “How do you just record everything? You have no camera. And no one is aware you’re recording.”
“The device sees what the recorder sees, Matt. It’s an intuitive holographic camera and it records what the owner sees.”
“Then this means you have records going back to before the Genesis crashed. Is that correct?” The other records must have come from the New Mexico records after all, I think to myself.
“Yes,” Cassie replies. “But I haven’t felt impressed to share our technology with you until now. This is one technology you can understand, Matt. We have other technologies you have no use for. Not yet, anyway. So even if we do share much of it with you, it would be meaningless. You have no application for it.”
“Will you share your logs with Mark and me, Cassie?” I ask.
“Of course,” Matt. “There will be plenty of time for that. We can discuss it later in a more private atmosphere.”
Another game changer, I think to myself.
THE GENESIS RECOVERY
“Ray. It’s Mark. Need to get a progress report.”
“Hey Mark, most of the Genesis has already been cut in sections, crated, and removed. We’re just about ready to package the engine. We’ve made the cuts through portions of the mountain soil on both sides that it is abutted to. And now we’re marking the soil level we want to lift with it. Per your request.”
“Excellent.” I reply. I admire the craft, even though it’s like the wrecked ship we recently raised back in Maryland. “You know, the holographics we discovered in the New Mexico crash were impressive, aside from the fact that we can’t understand the language. But the Genesis Portal is the richest find, thus far. And rescuing part of its crew is even more amazing.”
“So what are your plans for our alien friends, Mark?”
“Even though I didn’t know Talon was one of them, he’s been a great partner in our business. He’s brilliant, yet humble. And he’s a good friend. We’ll probably have to find a way to protect them from the government so they are their own benefactors. Everything as far as the government is concerned should move slowly. I believe that rescuing them and incorporating them into our society will instill a desire in them to help us. It seems like the right thing to do.”
“Glad to hear that, Mark.”
“Well, you didn’t think I was going to...”
“Study them under a microscope, you mean?” Ray interrupts. “I know you better than that, Mark. But the government might. At least, I worry about it.”
“Rest assured, Ray. I will not let that happen. We’ll keep this classified and run the program. In the near future, they can do whatever they want.” Ray and his crew balance the cranes with the packaged ship and soil beneath it.
“Good thing the weather is cooperating!” Ray says. “Ready to lift, but go slowly and in tandem.”
One of the foremen directs the synchronized lift, and the cranes lift the Genesis three feet. The men then slip a large panel underneath with beams that can be used to attach packaging. The cranes then lower the Genesis back to the ground.
“That’s the bottom of the packaging. Now we’ll build the rest of the crate around it.”
“Remember, we need to accommodate extra space for one guard with a door to change occupants.” I remind them. I watch them assemble the crate. It takes a few hours. A V-22 arrives and we attach the cables so it can carry the Genesis back to the airfield.
The crane guys come down. “They hoot and holler about the whole thing and make comparisons as to the view in other projects. “There’ll never be another project like this one. Never!”
Apparently, they could see up to the two peaks and over int
o the coastal areas on the other side of the mountains. They felt lucky the weather was so good. It was a one-time occasion for the two.
“These crane guys get to see a lot of things we don’t see, I guess,” I tell Ray. My cell phone rings.
“Mark Valentine,” I answer. “Matt! How are things with our new friends?”
“It’s going great on our side, Mark. How are things down there?”