What Lies Beyond the Stars
Page 34
Adam quickly took down the sails to give him an even more unobstructed view. Next he turned off all the lights until he was in complete darkness, his boat now just a silhouette against both sky and sea. Feeling his way up to the bow, Adam found the space between the forward hatch and front pulpit, just big enough to lie down.
There he floated in a sea of infinite space.
The experience was an affirmation of everything he had been through. To feel himself lying there, a dot suspended between two great unknowns, the questions “Who am I?” and “What am I doing here?” no longer tormented Adam. Instead it fueled him, adding to a new current inside of him, one that extended vertically out of the horizontal expanse that had once been the limits of his domain. By allowing himself to open up to this new direction, he could finally see a great truth about his life. He was not simply a meaningless speck floating between the two immense realms of heaven and earth. He was what linked them.
Adam flinched. Then his eyes opened. There had been a loud crash like some enormous object shattering. But for all its volume, it sounded like it had come from somewhere far away.
Lifting his head slightly, Adam looked around. It was still night, and he was still lying at the front of his boat, which now just barely rotated on the water like a pinwheel.
Then Adam saw it. Out across the ocean in the direction the sound had come from, a jagged line had formed in the night sky. Stretching from the horizon all the way to the top of the celestial firmament, a hairline fracture had formed, splintering the distance from star to star to star.
The sky had cracked.
It was impossible. It made no sense. Yet there it was. Like standing inside a giant eggshell looking out. Adam could even feel warmth from the other side. Perhaps he was dreaming. Perhaps he was the only person in the world able to see it. Or perhaps he was just the first.
The light streaming down illuminated the ocean all around Adam’s boat, and when he looked out, he noticed something in the waters directly ahead of his bow. The shores of a new land.
Adam had arrived.
EPILOGUE
FOR ALL CHICKEN BOYS AND GIRLS
“This evening’s traffic report is brought to you by Buzzworld. Buzzworld, personalizing your online presence in today’s global marketplace. Be unique. Be the Buzz. Buzzworld-is-a-subdivision-of-Virtual-Skies-Media-and-Marketing-Solutions.”
The white minivan rolled forward a few feet toward the toll plaza before coming to a halt. Up in front sat Robert’s mother and father, their faces glowing taillight red. In the middle seat were Robert’s siblings; his brother was sleeping, while his sister listened to her music. Robert sat in the way back, strapped into his booster seat. He was eight years old now; he was taking five milligrams of Adderall a day; he had his very own smartphone; and he no longer acted like a chicken.
“It’s 7:26. Celebrity Watch will be starting shortly, but right now here’s a special report from our Tech Times reporter Cynthia Gainsburg with a look at new developments in the Virtual Skies hacking scandal. Cynthia?”
“Thank you, John. It has been a week now since initial leaks surfaced indicating a widespread hack into Virtual Skies’ MyStar network. Lips are tight around the Tower, however, several unnamed sources have confirmed that up to thirty million users could potentially be affected by the breach. Top security analysts are speculating that this was an inside job, as leaked e-mails made multiple references to the discovery of a backdoor found deep within the proprietary code used to run recently added features of the network.
“The code in question is believed to have originated from one of Virtual Skies’ subcompanies, Pixilate, which took charge of all social gaming for the company in early 2008. Pixilate founder Blake Dorsey, who many see as Rene Adiklein’s potential successor, issued a statement insisting that, ‘rumors of a worm spreading through the network are just that—rumors.’ But as the day went on, unfortunately for Mr. Dorsey, it was the rumors themselves that continued to spread. Which brings us to this morning’s importuned press conference, held by Rene Adiklein himself to address the issue.”
“Very soon, we will be releasing an update,” Adiklein’s voice from the press conference sounded as cool and commanding as ever. “To address whatever minor issues users may be experiencing. But let me assure you all, this is just a little blip, a little nothing. Everyone will have completely forgotten about it by tomorrow night’s episode of America’s Most Popular.” Adiklein gave a charming laugh, before the female reporter’s voice cut back in.
“All assurances aside, it was what took place while Mr. Adiklein was taking questions that has everyone now talking. Video of the moment, which has spread like wildfire across the Internet, shows Mr. Adiklein in mid-sentence, suddenly becoming visibly agitated by something he appears to notice at the back of the pressroom. Moments later, sounds of a disturbance can be heard breaking out. Eyewitnesses at the event claim the altercation occurred between an uninvited individual, described as a disheveled man in a wheelchair, and the security team attempting to remove him. It was at that point when Mr. Adiklein, known for his calm, unflappable demeanor, is seen on camera losing his temper.”
The radio broadcast switched again to sounds from the press conference where a commotion could be heard, along with Adiklein’s voice, just off mic, yelling, “Out—get him out of here, now! A—a derelict like this—it’s, it’s a disgrace to the city! Out of my sight, now!”
The female reporter’s voice came back on, “Needless to say, the bizarre incident did not help public confidence, or investor confidence for that matter, as Virtual Skies stock took its biggest hit to date. Requests for comments from Mr. Adiklein have so far been declined. We will keep you updated as the Virtual Skies hacking crisis continues to unfold. Back to you, John.”
“So, Cynthia, with this potential worm, what exactly does it mean for the millions of us out here that may be affected?”
“At this point, John, whatever it is that’s spreading throughout the network does not appear to be malicious. However, people are still advised not to open any—”
Robert’s mother reached down and switched off the radio, just as his father pressed down on the gas. The minivan rolled forward another foot in the stop-and-go traffic.
Back in the third row, Robert slouched down in his booster seat as he continued to collect the kills needed to upgrade his Lust 4 Flesh avatar. Zombie Babies was still his favorite game, even though he was a little old for it now, but like all his friends at school, he had recently moved up to L4F.
Just as Robert was about to hit 100,000 kills, he heard the ping of a new message coming in from the online stats board. It was from another player, a Michael something-or-other, not a name he recognized. Without thinking Robert clicked on the message. The moment he did, the game froze. Robert tapped the Attack icon. Nothing happened. He tried his Eat icon. Nothing.
And then, without warning, his screen went completely black. Robert suddenly became aware of the faint reflection of a boy’s face looking back at him. It was his own face, but it somehow looked older, like a second-grader’s. Then he remembered he was a second-grader. A big, square pixel suddenly appeared right on the tip of his reflected nose. After a moment, the pixel expanded into a line, and the line started wiggling around the screen, inching along like a crazy caterpillar. It made Robert smile.
The caterpillar stopped moving in the center of the screen. Then, like accelerated, time-lapse photography, it spun into a chrysalis, and then slowly pushed its way out of its encasement and emerged as an old-school, 2-D animation of a butterfly. Below the butterfly appeared the words:
What lies beyond the stars?
Robert read the message and at first it confused him. He considered the question again. What lies beyond the stars? It didn’t make sense. Nothing is beyond the stars. Just more stars, right?
To make sure, he set down the electronic device he was holding and turned to the window. What lies beyond the stars? There was a sea of red-and-white
lights all around him on the highway, but he strained to look up above it all, up at the night sky.
At first he saw nothing. But then, slowly, he began to see little points of light twinkling away. I remember you, the boy thought. We used to be friends once.
Then he noticed something else. Something that didn’t make any sense, something that couldn’t possibly be up there, and yet there it was. He saw it faintly at first, and then more clearly. And what he saw made Chicken Boy’s body tingle all over, as his eyes filled with wonder and hope.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Goorjian is an Emmy Award–winning actor, filmmaker, and writer. His acting credits include Party of Five, Leaving Las Vegas, and SLC Punk. As a filmmaker, he achieved widespread recognition for his first major independent film, Illusion, starring Kirk Douglas. Other directing credits include the Louise Hay documentary, You Can Heal Your Life, Wayne Dyer’s film The Shift, and the Hay House film anthology, Tales of Everyday Magic. Michael lives in Oakland, California. What Lies Beyond the Stars is his first novel. Website: www.michaelagoorjian.com
Hay House Titles of Related Interest
YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, the movie, starring Louise Hay & Friends
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: www.LouiseHayMovie.com
THE SHIFT, the movie,
starring Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: www.DyerMovie.com
THE INTERNET TO THE INNER-NET: Five Ways to Reset
Your Connection and Live a Conscious Life, by Gopi Kallayil
THE LAST LAUGH, by Arjuna Ardagh
THE MAN WHO WANTED TO BE HAPPY, by Laurent Gounelle
WALKING HOME: A Pilgrimage from Humbled to Healed,
by Sonia Choquette
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