Earth Shine

by Jerry Ahern

  “What about sheaths?” Newt asked.

  “Leather for the Bowie and not chrome tanned. That will rust the blade, maybe eight or nine ounces,” said Rourke. “Do you guys have any experience with the new plastic sheathes that recently came out?”

  “I know what you’re talking about, but it is referred to as Kydex, not plastic,” Newt said.

  “I’ll need one of those for the dive knife, and I’d like one out of leather for when I’m not underwater.”

  “What about blade length?” Newt asked, while he was taking notes.

  Rourke thought before answering, “Like I said, I may need to conceal them, so... What are your thoughts, five to six inches long? I want to be able to carry it conventionally on my belt or mounted horizontally in the back.”

  “I want to work on the blade geometry,” Newt said. “But, I think that is doable.”

  “Whatever you come up with will be fine, but I want them as visually similar as possible. The two knives will make a set. And, I’d like this mark on both knives.” Rourke took Newt’s pencil, sketched out a design, and slid it across the work table.

  Newt stood up and went to a cabinet, “Let me show you one dive knife I’ve been working on for a friend who is a commercial diver.” Opening a drawer, he pulled out a T-shirt wrapped bundle and opened it. Rourke took a look, handling the knife; he liked the balance and heft of it. “Newt,” he said. “This is close; this is very close.”

  Ed slid his chair back and stood up, “Mr. Rourke, how long are you going to be in town?”

  Rourke glanced at his watch and said, “It will be about another hour if you guys will let me buy you lunch. Then, I’m headed out to the Panhandle to meet with Hank; he has a little ‘project’ he needs some help on. If you think it’s enough time, I can pick them up on my way back through in about two weeks; just tell me the price.”

  Newt and Ed looked at the drawings and spoke for a moment before deciding, “Two weeks will be pushing it for both knives and the sheaths; a month would be better.”

  Rourke shook his head, “Can’t do a month fellas, I might be able to give you a couple of extra days, but as soon as I’m finished with Hank’s project, I leave for at least two months overseas. I understand if you don’t want the project.”

  Ed sized Rourke up before asking, “What are you thinking for lunch?”

  Rourke saw this as an opening, “If you boys can do it, I’m buying steaks.”

  Ed looked at Newt, “Whatcha think, Son?”

  “It will be tight, but I think we can do it,” Newt said rubbing his face.

  “Alright,” Ed said, if you don’t mind us putting our mark on the backside of the blade. Heck, who knows, this knife might be famous one day. Get out your checkbook Mr. Rourke; we’re walking about two blocks to Mother’s Cafe, finest Texas chicken fried steak in town.” With a handshake, the deal was sealed.

  Two weeks and three days later, Rourke had taken possession of the knives. The father and son team had exceeded his expectations. He had only used the knives once before placing them in his retreat in Georgia. He never saw the Martins again. Three months later, the end of his world began. Rourke was returning home from Canada; his airliner was diverted and forced to make a controlled crashed-landing in New Mexico, with Rourke at the controls. The day of the crash was when he first met Paul Rubenstein, a bespectacled nerd and a book worm. A geek with no training or abilities except one, he was willing to learn, and he wanted to survive. He had done both!

  Rourke had recently found the knives again, while he was going through boxes salvaged from the retreat. “I don’t know why I haven’t carried these more,” he said to Paul. “These would be great replacements for situations in which the Crain LSX is simply too big.” He laid the two Martin blades on the table along with the A.G. Russell Crock Stick and a half dozen other knives. The Crock Stick unit held two nine-inch long “alumina ceramic” sticks that attached to an oak wood base, ten inches long and two inches wide, at the correct angle to sharpen almost any type of blade. Rourke liked to use it to finish a sharpening.

  The angles involved in blade sharpening were well known; edges with less than 10 degrees were reserved for edges that are typically cutting softer materials. In this case, the edges are not subject to abuse, so the lower angle can be maintained without damage or edge failure. The lowest angles are typically on straight edge razors; those have a very delicate edge that is very easy to damage. In proper usage, a straight razor would never see the type of use that would damage the edge.

  Angles of 10 to 17 degrees are still quite low for most knives, making the edge typically too weak for any knife that might be used in any type of chopping motion. Also, consider that harder steels are also more susceptible to impact damage because they are more brittle.

  Most kitchen knives have a 17 to 20 degree angle. Some knives (typically Japanese manufacturers) will sharpen their knives to roughly 17 degrees, while most western knives favor roughly 20 degrees. Most pocket or hunting knives will fall into the 22 to 30 degree angle range. The knife edges are considerably more durable, and while they inevitably see abuse not seen by knives meant primarily for slicing or chopping softer materials, they are considerably more durable. A machete, cleaver, or axe must be durable as the typical cutting action of these tools would damage other edges; these usually carry about a 30 degree edge.

  Rourke also favored Norton India Combination Oil Stone with two grits, fine and coarse. One side is used to restore slightly dulled cutting edges. He used the coarse side to sharpen dull edges quickly. Paul had picked a small Arkansas Hard Rock out of the box. He was touching up the edge of his pocket knife, letting Rourke’s mind and the conversation run free.

  “Paul,” Rourke said, “when I was giving my lectures on survival, I tried to get over to people the necessity of planning ahead, which included going armed on a road trip. There are a thousand situations and locations where you could run into trouble on the road, one of the big ones being rest areas, especially after dark. I’m a firm believer that avoiding trouble in the first place is a lot better than shooting your way out of trouble.”

  “I know what you mean,” said Paul. “Long drives can be boring; it’s easy to tune out for a while. You can lose your situational awareness.”

  Rourke nodded, “Reminds me of an old friend of mine, Hank Frost, you would have liked him, Paul. Old one-eyed former Green Beret drummed out after he lost his eye. He did a lot of mercenary work back in the days before the Night of the War. He always said, ‘When you pull into a rest area, scan the area, particularly at night, and park in lighted areas away from other vehicles. Scan the area where you will be headed before you ever get out of your car. If you are going to get a snack out of the vending machines, have just a few bucks out of your wallet beforehand and leave the wallet in your pocket while you buy your snacks.’ Of course, that was when we still had rest areas along the interstate highways, but you get the idea.”

  “Yes, all of that makes sense,” Rubenstein agreed and smiled. “Here’s another tip; I’m right-handed. I keep my right hand free AND above the urinal on the wall; I pull my zipper down with my left hand. That way, should someone come up behind me and shove me forward at a urinal, both hands won’t be locked against the porcelain or the wall. I keep my strong hand up, so I can strike or grab my weapon instead of just holding my privates.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The flight back to the KI had taken only a few moments. The shuttle pilot had not spoken, and The Keeper had no idea what to say and no inclination for conversation. Once the shuttle had docked, The Keeper stood to disembark. The pilot turned and said, “Your presence has been requested by our Captain. He’s asked that you come directly to him.”

  The Keeper nodded and proceeding down the stairs where he saw an escort waiting for him. This is most unusual, he thought. He was taken to the Captain’s personal quarters. “I am glad you have returned Keeper; you have been away for too long. Much has happened in your absenc
e.”

  “Thank you, to what do you refer?”

  “Sit, we must talk,” The Captain indicated a chair. “May I have refreshments brought for you?”

  “Thank you, no.”

  The Captain nodded and began, “There are issues and circumstance you are not aware of. There are changes that have occurred while you were gone. Some of them you may be troubled by until I explain them.”

  “Proceed,” The Keeper looked at the Captain with a great respect.

  The Captain cleared his throat nervously before saying, “As I said, there have been changes... many changes.”

  The Keeper interrupted, “Captain, you are repeating yourself. What has happened? What has changed?”

  The Captain was not an individual at all familiar, or comfortable, with the level of intimidation he felt being in his old teacher’s presence. “Yes, you are correct. I am repeating myself. First of all, our leader’s health has suffered while you were absent. His physicians are not hopeful; they fear his passing could come at any time.”

  “I am sorry to hear about my old friend; when you are finished with me, I shall go see him,” The Keeper said with genuine concern etched on his face.

  “Yes, do that,” the Captain said. “Now, let me get to the rest of the reasons I wanted to speak with you. As you know, our leader is the last of his lineage; the Council has decided it is time for changes in our form and style of government.”

  “That is not unexpected,” The Keeper said.

  The Captain nodded his agreement, “It is not. I fear that it is, however, coming at a most difficult time. I would like your opinion on something.”

  “Certainly,” The Keeper said. “How may I be of assistance?”

  “I am concerned that our return to Earth is going to meet with... unnecessary resistance.”

  “Really, I am not sensing that in my conversations with Earth’s leaders. In fact, I believe that they are actively seeking our support; and frankly, their response to me has been welcoming, generous, and open.”

  “Yes,” said the Captain. “And, I would like for you to continue in your efforts. However, for the good of our own people and in an effort to reestablish our position in the order of things... I believe we should be making preparations should their attitudes change. I don’t believe we should ignore the potential for problems to develop, with governments we have no direct influence with. In that vein, while you were gone, I have reached out myself through our emissaries, and I am pleased to report we are making strides to a different alliance.”

  “Is that why my shuttle pilot was armed?” The Keeper asked. “Is that why I’ve seen some of your people on board armed?”

  “Yes,” the Captain smiled. “I have found a people who share our views and are willing to provide resources to help in the attainment of our goals.”

  The Keeper frowned, “Captain, is it not possible that you have been processing all you saw and heard against your internal dialogue and comparing and judging everything. Let’s take a look at that. Now, I am certain that you believe you were listening, but in fact, it may also be that you were simply just running the sounds of the day against your own inner dialogue, the beliefs and preconceived notions that you hold.”

  The Captain could feel himself growing somewhat defensive and replied, “Well, isn’t that how we and these humans process our experiences? We look at what we think about things, what our own experiences have taught us, and evaluate what the other person is saying?”

  The Keeper responded, “Well, that is one way to process experiences. You spend a large amount of your mental energy evaluating what they have said and deciding if it is ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ That leaves you actually listening with only a portion of your mental capability. The human ego is so busy doing its thing; we miss much of what is actually happening. What did you see on my face when you looked at me for my reaction to the other speakers?”

  “You seemed to be just listening. There didn’t seem to be any reaction,” the Captain replied.

  “That’s right. I was just listening. I had shut off all of the internal noise, so I could be present in the discussions.” The Keeper went on, “Who was doing the listening in your head?”

  The Captain said, “Well, I was. Who else could be?”

  The Keeper smiled, “And, who was watching you analyzing all that was occurring?”

  The Captain looked puzzled and asked, “What do you mean?”

  The Keeper replied, “While you were running all of your ego oriented judgments, was there not a part of you watching all of your mental programs and listening to your inner noise?” The Keeper went on, “So, where or who is the real you? Is it the part of you that maintains the mental noise, or is it the watcher who simply sees all the noise and doesn’t place any positive or negative value to the thoughts?”

  “You are not your thoughts. You are not your judgments. In many ways, you are not even your beliefs, although they can determine the direction of your day-to-day reality.” At this, The Keeper paused for a moment.

  “I will assure you of this; it will take constant awareness on your part to start to realize this new way of experiencing physical reality. The apparent ‘separateness’ or ‘us and them’ is a strong underpinning of physical reality itself. Very few humans have any memory of when they may not have been physically incarnate, and their greater instinct is to continue to experience life as they always have. It is a habit, perhaps one that we could stand to lose or change.” Once again, The Keeper paused, as if to let the Captain digest what he had been sharing.

  “Your conscious mind was developed to help you make decisions that would maintain the integrity of the physical body while in physical reality. The body needed a portion of the mind that could focus intently on what was in the immediate experience of the person. It would keep us from danger and learn from previous experiences. Such as, I noticed that the lion ate Uncle Henry. I probably should avoid being around lions in an unprotected way in the future.”

  “Unfortunately, the conscious mind, many times referred to as the Ego, took on the responsibility of not only protecting the body’s integrity and longevity but also its own. It was developed to assist us with the apparent separation that comes with being physically manifest; but, it started comparing itself to others and forming judgments and polarities. It started developing levels of separateness in our perception so that now we have an incessant, uncontrollable chatter continually going on in our mind.”

  “It has progressed to the point that very few humans are actually present in their day-to-day lives. They are simply continually running the inner dialogue in their mind and actually miss the majority of what life is offering in the moment.” At this, The Keeper stopped talking.

  The Captain sat down with his head bowed, attempting to follow The Keeper’s words. Inside, they felt right to him, but how does a person live that? What happens if we stop judging some as right and others as wrong? Surely, the Alien Greys were wrong, and the Humans were right!”

  The Keeper thought to himself, You have found people who share your views, and they are saying they will help in the attainment of your goals. I fear, my Captain, you are already making a deal with the Devil.

  The Keeper kept these thoughts to himself and said instead, “Captain, I fear I am somewhat light-headed after my journey. With your permission, may we continue this talk after I have rested?

  “Certainly, are you alright?”

  The Keeper nodded and made a point of rising from the chair with a bit of a wobble, “I suspect it is the differences between the gravity on Earth and what we are used to here. I’m sure I will be fine after a short rest. May I return to my quarters, and may we speak tomorrow?”

  “Certainly,” the Captain said. When the door to his quarters slid open, The Keeper noticed his escorts outside. He turned and said, “My dear Captain, I assure you I know the way to my quarters, but thank you for the escort. They will not be necessary however.”

  The Captain nodde
d and dismissed them, “Be well my old friend. Be well.”

  “And you,” The Keeper said stopping just outside the door and turning back. “One thing Captain; in my time on Earth with these people, I have learned theirs is a history filled with violence, intrigue, and death. It is also a history filled with great beauty, accomplishments, and knowledge. Their cultures are definitely different from ours, and those differences are somewhat oblique and difficult to define, as is their language. Be careful, my friend; alliances with them should be based on knowledge, performance, and ethics and not simply on statements of well-being and agreement.”

  The Keeper turned and walked slowly to his quarters, alone and fearful of what tomorrow and all of his tomorrows might now bring.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Rourke remembered dreaming many dreams that night but could not pull any of them up into his conscious mind the next morning. They swirled in and out of his consciousness, never actually manifesting; the only constant seemed to be they all involved The Keeper. He lay in bed and knew he needed to gather his thoughts; it was then he felt a “gentle probe” in his mind. He shook his head to clear it, but the probe again tickled his awareness.

  Barely a whisper at first, less than an impression and more like a mental breeze—a thought began to form in John’s mind, Yes John, it is me; lie back down and close your eyes. Rourke shook his head again, Trust me John; please lie back down and close your eyes. The first contact is always the most difficult. Rourke did not understand what was happening to him; was he finally losing his mind? The answer came unbidden to him, No John, you are fine. Relax, so I can reach you.

  “Keeper,” Rourke said aloud and laid back down closing his eyes. “Is that you?”

  Yes John, I am sorry I did not discuss this possibility with you before contact became necessary.

  “How?” Rourke asked. “What is happening?”

  It is a gift some of my people have; seldom is it practiced anymore. It became unnecessary due to our close quarters during our journey. It is only practiced today by certain few of my people. I look forward to more discussions with you in the future; I hope you will allow it. As you have said, the connection between you and I has always been strong, and I had thought to discuss it with you at another time later; now, it is imperative that I make contact with you.