Cedric takes a long look through the year’s major headlines and events, taking in as much history he can.
He collapses all graphs and images and puts his devices away. Before exiting the building, he stops by the front desk and asks to check out a hylo-light, two stage signal booster from the media room. The woman at the desk asks to see his I.D., then quickly bioscans Cedric to verify him. She tells him the item has been flagged by the department, meaning he can check it out but it will be reported back to them.
Cedric nods, takes the booster, and leaves the library. As he walks across the campus quad, he suddenly sees Dr. Ridpath standing in front of the Communications Department. He hasn’t seen Cedric. Not wanting to be seen, Cedric ducks into the school’s Museum of Natural History & Science. Once inside, he finds himself face to face with the University’s newest edition; a one-hundred and fifty-four million year old, nine-meter allosaurus. Cedric stands in sheer awe. How fitting, he thinks, to be face to face with something that lived and breathed so long ago. To think, we walk across the same soil, drink the same water, and breathe the same air as this mighty beast, only at different times.
Cedric looks carefully at the bones, so well preserved. This thing could and would rip his head off were it alive today. It still has almost all of its teeth too. What horrific suffering this planet has witnessed, he thinks. Life was then and still is pitted against itself in a system where organisms have to devour other organisms to survive. Time may have refined the game, Cedric thinks, but it remains a game just the same.
There’s a little button to push for a narrative video on this dinosaur. Cedric pushes it and learns this particular allosaurus was found near the Wyoming-Utah boarder, along the Morrison Foundation, a famous dinosaur highway that’s well preserved in sedimentary rock from the Jurassic period. It died a tragic death after apparently falling into a large bog that claimed the lives of hundreds of animals over time.
“Was the sun shining that day?” Cedric asks the dinosaur. “Was everything going your way? Did you die quickly?” he asks. The dinosaur does not respond.
Cedric ponders time, and where someone would have to be in the universe to watch this dinosaur fall into the bog live, right now, assuming that person had some super-massive telescope. One hundred and fifty-four million light years puts you well outside our galaxy, but still within the confines of neighboring galaxies. In fact, you could watch our sun, this planet, the moon, and our entire solar system form right now and still not be half way across the universe from here.
“I wish I could help you,” Cedric tells the bones of the beast; “but I wouldn’t even know where to start.” His dinosaur will just have to wait, even longer.
He leaves the dinosaur and the museum, takes a good look around for Dr. Ridpath, then zips across the grass to avoid student traffic, only on campus for the booster. On his way back to the Skytrain station he thinks again of the dinosaur and wonders how much distance it would take to transmit one of his laser signals back to the day that allosaurus fell into the bog. Oh well, he thinks to himself, what good is a message that can’t be received?
Moonliner 5:10
Cedric stands near the keyhole-shaped entrance to the Sun Yat-Sen garden, in the International District, waiting to meet Chara and Oriona during their lunch break. A few minutes early, he looks through the portal and into the Chinese gardens. Still being outside, the contrast between the modern and ancient world is stark. Just outside the garden you have multi-colored, solar powered LED lights embedded in everything. Vending machines line the cobblestone street. Parked scooters line the garden’s exterior wall. Through the keyhole portal, however, Cedric sees another time, perfectly preserved. He sees why Nikki would frequent this place.
Oriona and Chara chat as they round the corner of Carrall Street and approach the entrance to the garden. Cedric smiles and waves to them as the women approach. They wave back, excited to see him again. He gives each of them a quick hug. They all stand and stare at each other, speechless for a moment.
“Well, can I get a tour of the garden?” Cedric asks them, knowing how they used to come here with Nikki.
“Haven’t you ever been here?” Oriona asks.
“No, I’m ashamed to admit,” Cedric says; “Nikki and I talked a lot about coming here together, but just never did,” he tells them. “Maybe it was her place to hide from me?”
The women smile. Then the three of them step into the garden, essentially stepping out of 2069 and into the fifteenth century Ming dynasty. It is so peaceful inside, drowning out a lot of the city noise. A huge pond fills the center, covered with large lilypads. Carpe swim in the pond and around the garden’s small streams. Jade colored water flows around the weathered Ti Hu rocks, creating a serene, peaceful scene. Time stands perfectly still here.
A low flying Airbus glides silently and slowly over the park, momentarily polluting the scene with modern technology. Chara, Oriona, and Cedric follow a small winding path that leads them between exotic pine and cypress trees, over an arched, stone footbridge, through a grove of miniature rhododendrons and bamboo trees, and finally to a gazeebo in the center of the pond. They sit down to rest and take in the garden’s view.
After a few minutes of silence, Cedric speaks.
“So how are you guys holding up?” he asks; “are you doing okay?”
“We’re doing fine,” Chara replies, speaking for both of them. “How about you? We’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m okay,” Cedric responds; “I went through a rough patch, but I can honestly say I’m okay. Thanks for your concern.”
“Thanks for calling,” Oriona says; “we’ve been meaning to touch base with you to see how you are.”
“I appreciate that,” Cedric tells them. “Both of you are dear friends of Nikki’s, and through Nikki, good friends of mine.”
The mood is little too somber for Cedric.
“How’s are things at the station?” he asks the women.
“They’re fine,” both of them reply.
“They had a memorial service for Nikki at the station and we didn’t mention it to you,” Chara tells Cedric, getting it off her chest. “We felt so bad that you weren’t invited that we didn’t have the heart to tell you,” she adds.
“It was nice Cedric,” Oriona says; “sorry you weren’t there.”
“Oh you guys, please don’t worry about me not being invited. It’s fine with me if the station wants to keep it internal. I don’t worry about those things, and Nikki wouldn’t want you to either,” Cedric replies.
“Thanks Cedric,” Chara says with a sigh of relief, hanging her head.
Cedric hangs his head down too and the two of them softly bump foreheads for a few seconds as a simple gesture of mutual sorrow. Oriona smiles, feeling relieved too that Cedric would be so dismissive of not being invited to the service the station held for Nikki.
The sun is riding high in the afternoon sky. Part of the park, like most of the city, is parched from the long summer’s toll. The air is crisp. It’s hot again, but the late summer now has a pinch of autumn to it. There are subtle differences to the sky that are hard to put a finger on, reminders that summers are finite.
“She really loved to come here,” Oriona says, steering the conversation back to Nikki.
“It’s true, she was the one who first dragged us here on our lunch breaks, when we weren’t out on assignment. It was her way of stepping out of a hectic day,” Chara adds.
Cedric smiles, letting them speak their minds, knowing what a powerful impact Nikki had on their lives.
“You know I was jealous when she got the assignment to go to the moon,” Chara says. “Then I felt lucky that I didn’t go when I learned of the crash. I feel so guilty for thinking this way.”
“No Chara, don’t,” Cedric tells her; “those are all natural feelings that anyone would have. Look, Nikki always thought the world of both of you. She couldn’t have been happier and she valued both of your friendships deeply.”
>
Oriona and Chara both smile, comforted by Cedric’s words. Despite speaking honestly and harboring genuine concern for Nikki’s best friends, Cedric has ulterior motives for meeting them today; he hopes to find a link to Nikki, or a larger target window to aim a transmission, perhaps a time when she was near a DOT-5 receiver, viewing a screen. The station has some of the most powerful equipment in the game.
“You were both with her a lot,” Cedric mentions; “what was she like leading up to that trip?”
“She was excited, but nervous to go,” Oriona answers.
“Did she use any of the satellite communications equipment at work at any time that you remember prior to her trip?” Cedric asks.
“Why?” Chara asks, truly curious.
“Nostalgia,” Cedric answers; “I’m trying to put together a personal portfolio of her life.”
“I don’t remember her using any of the comm equipment, do you Oriona?” Chara asks. Oriona gives her head a small shake “no” and a look as if she wished she could, but she really can’t remember any such occasion.
A young family of four follows the footpath over the stone bridge and to the gazeebo. Nikki, Oriona, and Cedric remain silent as they take a long look at the garden from inside. They speak a few soft words of Chinese amongst themselves, snap a few pictures, and soon leave. Cedric, Oriona, and Chara continue their private conversation.
“What about the day she got the assignment to go to the moon?” Cedric asks. “I remember she told me she was with both of you that day. She mentioned the library.”
“Yes,” Oriona answers; “we went to a coffee shop first, then to the library on that day. I remember it rained that afternoon too,” Oriona goes on to say as Chara remains quiet.
“Did you guys link in with the library, or use any of its equipment at all that day?” he continues to ask.
“We used the floating catalogue,” Oriona answers.
“Is that it?” Cedric asks.
“Yeah,” Chara answers this time; “why do you want to know?” she asks him.
“I wanna make sure that I didn’t miss any messages from her, that’s all,” Cedric answers.
“We didn’t really use much at the library. We used our press credentials to access the stacks,” Chara tells Cedric, wanting to help with whatever he’s up to.
Cedric is then hit with strong but momentary déjà vu. His vision blurs a little and his mind echoes with Chara saying, “access the stacks.”
“You mean the actual stacks, not the digital ones?” Cedric tries to clarify after regaining focus.
“Yes, the real books,” Chara answers; “nothing linked to the system.”
“Interesting,” Cedric says to lighten the conversation; “I didn’t even realize the old books were still kept in the library.”
“Neither did we,” Oriona says; “they were fascinating. It was like going back in time. Nikki was really into it. She spent quite a while looking at old books, and thumbing through them.”
“Whose idea was it to go to the library?” Cedric asks.
“It was Nikki’s,” Chara recalls; “she wanted to learn more about the moon, whether she went or not.”
“Did she express any reservations about going?” he asks them.
“Yes,” Chara answers. Oriona nods in agreement.
“She was nervous,” Oriona says; “excited but nervous.”
“Did she make any video calls?” he asks in a last ditch effort to find any connection to Nikki that he can.
“Not that I remember,” Chara answers with Oriona shaking her head to show that she couldn’t either.
“That’s okay,” Cedric responds; “I’m just asking.”
The three sit silently for a few more minutes, listening to flowing water and letting their minds wander before checking the time.
“We have to get back,” Oriona notes, fearing for her job.
“She’s right,” Chara adds, a little less fearfully.
“Would you like me to walk back with you to the station?” Cedric asks. The garden sits in one of the city’s less safe sections.
“No,” Chara answers; “thanks. We do this every day and we’ll be fine in the daytime.”
“Sounds good,” Cedric says; “take care, and if there is anything I can do for either of you, please don’t hesitate.”
“Thanks,” they both say in unison. They wave and walk away, toward the station.
Cedric sits alone in the garden, thinking.
Moonliner 5:11
The city’s gondola is in full swing, whisking tourists along Georgia Street between Science World and the park. A new double-decked Skybus glides slowly overhead, giving its riders a spectacular view of the entire Frasier valley. It silently drifts over the downtown, then rounds the park before crossing the water and stopping on the north shore.
Well below, in a small, grassy park tucked neatly into the bustling downtown, Cedric sits on a bench, quietly thinking to himself. The little park does a wonderful job of drowning out the city’s noise. It’s an oasis of sorts.
Pender enters the park looking for Cedric. The two spot each other. Pender walks over to the bench and sits next to Cedric.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” Cedric tells Pender.
“It wasn’t a big deal; I’m downtown all week anyway,” Pender responds.
“Did you bring the repeat sequencer?” Cedric asks.
“Yeah, I brought it,” Pender answers; “but I had to check it out, so it’s my ass if anything happens to it.”
“Don’t worry,” Cedric responds; “I’ll be careful with it.”
“And don’t get me in any trouble for illegal transmissions,” Pender adds.
“You worry too much,” Cedric tells him. “I’ll have these back to you soon and nobody will know a thing.”
“I hope so,” Pender adds, to reinsure Cedric he’s concerned.
“So how is everything going on campus?” Cedric asks.
“Alright I guess,” Pender answers; “but they’re running out of patience with you.”
“Why? What’s been going on?” Cedric asks.
“Dr. Ridpath is growing uneasy, asking me daily if I’ve heard from you,” Pender answers; “and there’s been this guy from the National Communications Commission at the school, lecturing us on the legal limits of our transmissions and warning us there could be legal consequences if we don’t follow them.”
Cedric remains quiet, looking carefully at the sequencer, listening to Pender but not seeming concerned in the least with any of the matters he’s mentioned.
“What do I do if they ask me about any transmissions done with equipment under my name?” Pender asks Cedric, suspicious of what he plans to do with the sequencer.
“Don’t worry about it. Deny doing anything,” Cedric answers.
“And if they ask me about any specific transmissions they’ve documented from this sequencer, what should I tell them?” Pender asks.
“Ask them for time stamps for any transmissions in question,” Cedric answers. “Tell them you’ll compare them with your notes to see if any messages may have been sent using either mistyped or miscalculated data. They won’t have any time stamps. They’ll be the only parts of the transmissions they don’t have, but they won’t have them.”
“You’re sure of that?” Pender asks.
“I’m sure,” Cedric answers; “and without a time stamp, all indicators lead to faulty equipment.”
“Is the equipment really faulty?” Pender asks.
“No,” Cedric responds; “it’s just that the transmission has originated in another time, confusing the temporal sensors.”
“Wow, you’ve really done it haven’t you?” Pender asks, still amazed that Cedric has come so far with his work, and still not even knowing the half of it; Cedric hasn’t said a word about the stone to Pender.
A small clock tower in the park strikes three o’clock. A little boy and two little girls, run up the concrete steps and into the little grassy par
k to play, only to immediately run back out when they notice Cedric and Pender.
“What about your thesis?” Pender asks.
“What about it?” Cedric asks back.
“Are you gonna hand it in?” Pender asks. “Look, I know you’ve had more slack than the rest of us with your time tests and your project, but they really were pissed when you missed your review.”
“Pender,” Cedric says; “I appreciate all you’ve done. I really don’t want you to worry about any of this. You’ve got enough on your own mind. In fact, you can keep the sequencer if you makes you feel that uneasy.”
“No, no, go ahead and use it,” Pender says; “I’m not worried.”
“I appreciate that as well,” Cedric adds.
“I’m just concerned that you’re not gonna get your PhD, that’s all,” Pender tells him.
“Fuck a PhD,” Cedric says; “I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Pender smiles widely, having always looked up to Cedric as an apprentice would to a master. There’s a little side of him that wishes he could say the same, but he knows he’s owned by the school, or at least the banks that put him there.
“What have you got going on?” Pender asks.
“I’m a lot further along than I was the last time we talked,” Cedric tells him.
“With the time transmissions?” Pender asks.
“Yes,” Cedric answers.
“So,” Pender asks; “what’ve you found?”
“I can’t tell you yet,” Cedric answers.
Moonliner: No Stone Unturned Page 20