by Pamela Davis
She set down the clipboard on the desk and said, "So, you wanna help me move the telescope up here from the car? I thought I'd set one up here since this is my home away from home."
Tommy nodded. "Sure thing, Lis. Can I look through it tonight?" He was grinning eagerly, Lisanne noted.
"Absolutely. It'd be good if you learned all about it. Better if we have more than just me looking for...." Her voice trailed off.
"Looking for what?" he questioned.
"Oh...nothing...you know, looking for stars, seeing what we can see," Lisanne replied diffidently.
Tommy said, "Great! Man, I get to talk to a puppy, see the stars--things are really going fantastic!"
Lisanne shook her head at him, but his broad grin was utterly irrepressible.
After a few moments and more checks of the dials in the station, Tommy asked hesitantly, "So you and Andy, you guys are, like, a couple, right?"
"What?" Lisanne's lavender eyes opened wide. "A couple? Where did you get that idea? Sure, we traveled a long ways together, and he helped me out--well, I helped him, too, I think--but I never met him before then, and really how do I even know what he's like? We have nothing in common, nothing. Really. It is possible, you know, for a man and a woman to just be friends. So what if he's around a lot? Doesn't mean anything. All right, yes, so maybe there is some attraction there, and sometimes I wonder if--" She stopped talking abruptly as Tommy grinned at her.
"Yeah, uh, right. Not a couple. Yep, that's obvious, Lis."
Lisanne tossed her clipboard at him.
The Farm, Cape Fair
"I was a car salesman," Bob Perkins was saying to Gracie. "Now you want me to be a farmer?"
Gracie laughed quietly and said, "It's a new life we are creating here, Bob. Farmers are going to be perhaps the most important people in this new world."
The new arrival sipped coffee and then asked, "Hey, how long will we have coffee?"
"Ah, yes, a question I've heard a lot lately. We have quite a bit stored and can salvage some, but eventually...we can't grow coffee here, outside of a greenhouse."
Gracie studied the man across from her at the big kitchen table. Tall, in good shape, slightly balding brown hair, he looked to be around forty or so. He appeared somewhat bewildered by all the changes he'd faced over the past few days, but also seemed pretty steady. Not like he was about to crack up. Not like Abby. Which was a darn good thing, she thought. Probably had been helped by his kids and his wife having the dreams and convincing him it was all real.
"We're going to need wheat and vegetables. There are some orchards around as well. Tomatoes are going to be a staple. This region is great for tomatoes. We'd like to use the tomato canning plant if we can figure out how to run part of it, which might have to wait for the future. If not, we'll can them ourselves. Right now, we just need to get as much planted as we possibly can. You think you can learn to drive a tractor and some other farm machinery?"
Bob's expression lightened up. "If it has an engine, I can drive it, Gracie, don't worry about that!"
She asked hesitantly, "How has all this been for you? The disasters, the dreams, coming here?"
He shook his head and stated, "Completely bizarre. When the kids, Emma and Hank, first started getting the nightmares--and then we realized they were dreaming of things that were coming true, well, it was a shock! Then my wife, Penny, she started getting the dreams too. I didn't know what to think. But they were all so certain what they were dreaming was real."
He sipped his coffee and stared down at his hands. "You know, to wake up each night to the screams and cries of your kids, of your wife, and not be able to help them, to stop this thing that was happening to them--it wasn't easy for me. It seemed to get better when they started dreaming about coming here. They all just ganged up on me," he ended, chuckling. "Let's face it, you don't up and leave a good job and take off on a whim! But they kept at me, and they were so certain. So we headed south from Michigan. And ended up here. Where there really was a town called Cape Fair with other dreamers and animal talkers, and...Samantha. She was real too."
Gracie smiled. "Isn't she a cutie? My granddaughter, you know. She's such a joy to be around," Gracie said lightly.
"Oh! I didn't realize--you're her grandmother? Wow, that must be something. She's a special little girl."
"Well, all grandmothers think their grandchildren are special, Bob. And Sam does have some special abilities, it's true, but she's just a regular little girl, after all." Gracie watched and wondered if that statement would remove the reverence that entered Bob's tone when he spoke of Sam. Nope. She sighed inwardly.
Bob was saying, "But she's more than that. Emma and Hank talked about her all the way here. She knows things. Things no one else knows. I'm just thankful we have her here at Cape Fair. As soon as I met her, I knew my family would be safe."
So, Gracie thought, John was right. Or rather Alexandra was right--the one who had proposed the theory to John. Sam was going to be placed in a position of power, or moral authority, or awe--probably no matter what they did. Still, this was just one family. And perhaps out there somewhere was someone else like Sam, someone who could share that responsibility. Gracie hoped so. She hoped so very much.
The Stables at the Farm
Janine watched Max mount the gray gelding again. "Good," she said, smiling. "You got it that time. Okay, let's walk some more."
Max sat stiffly in the saddle and envied Janine's easy grace on horseback. This was harder than he'd thought it would be, but Black insisted he learn to ride. And Black was fast becoming the most important person in his life.
"See? It's not so bad," Janine was saying. "I could see you just let yourself relax. I bet you were thinking about something else and your body just did what it was supposed to do naturally."
"Oh, okay," said Max, tensing up again. How could he repeat it if he wasn't sure what he'd done?
Janine started to laugh. Max looked offended and said, "Hey, I'm not that bad!"
"Oh, sorry--no," Janine said immediately, her face becoming serious. "I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at the horses--what they were saying."
Max sighed heavily and asked, "The horses were laughing at me?"
"No, no," Janine said, smiling again. "They were reminding me of the first time I rode a horse. How it was so hard to relax and just ride. It seemed like so much to do, so much to remember."
Max looked stunned. "You? You were tense on a horse? That seems impossible."
"Well, now, maybe," Janine replied. "But back then it was new to me too."
Max nodded, and then said, "Uh, Janine can I ask you something?"
She looked at him warily. "Okay."
"Is it weird for you here? All these new people and everyone so nice to us and all. Total strangers being nice to me! It's never been like this for me my whole life. I just wondered how it was for you."
Janine's little sigh of relief was witnessed only by her horse. The horse knew she was afraid of questions about her past.
"Well, sure it's strange, Max. Everything is strange lately. Strange, but kinda wonderful." She paused and went on. "You're right that everyone is a stranger, but in a way they aren't. Most of them are having the dreams or becoming animal talkers, so we are all alike too."
"Yeah, that's true. Sam says one day Ruby and me will be able to talk as easy as her and Harry."
"That's cool," Janine replied. She noticed as they talked that he did just fine as long as they were having a conversation, something to distract him. So she continued. "Being here at the Farm is great, and Gracie is just such a good person."
"I don't really know her yet." Max grinned. "Of course, Rachel has talked about her some."
The two teenagers laughed together over Gracie and Rachel's stormy relationship.
Max said, "I guess the worst part is being a dreamer. Some of the dreams are just so awful. It doesn't seem fair."
"Fair?" Janine asked, puzzled.
"Well, if we can dr
eam really bad stuff that comes true, why can't we dream good stuff too? It's just all bad dreams, no good ones anymore."
"Huh, I never thought of that," Janine replied. "Lemme ask the horses."
He watched as she sat still on the horse, eyes closed for a minute.
"Oh!" she said, "We will, we can! Not yet--but someday. They think we can, anyway. They say the stuff going on now is just too big. It takes up all the dreaming space or something like that. I don't always understand what they mean," she said, peering regretfully at her horse, Feathers.
"Hey, that's cool," said Max. "To know one day we could have good dreams again. Definitely cool."
Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts
Phoebe counted the suitcases again. Still all there. Good. Now if they would just leave! Sitting on the edge of a chair in Mayor Dubois' hotel suite, she wanted to leave this place. Leave before all the horror started. But they were arguing again.
"And I'm telling you that it's impossible! First, you're the only one who dreamed it Zack," Margaret was saying forcefully. "Second, even if it's true, what the hell can we do to stop it?"
"Damn it, Margaret, we have a major news reporter here, I have a camera, we could lie to the studio and get on the air. Warn people, warn the rest of the government so they at least knew what he was planning--maybe stop the idiotic president from this craziness. It might work," Zack countered.
Alan hung up the phone and announced, "We wouldn't be heard beyond the Mississippi, nor down south. Communications are breaking up all over. But we could still be heard, be seen, here on the East Coast. Which is where it's important we be heard." He pulled up a chair next to Phoebe. She watched him warily.
"And do what?" Margaret demanded. "Cause a stampede of panicked people? All getting in their cars and jamming the highways, polluting the air even more--"
"Oh, for God's sake, Margaret, air pollution from an evacuation is not the biggest concern!" Mayor Dubois stated. "I think millions of people dying are just a tad more important."
"It's short-sighted thinking like that which has gotten us into this mess," Margaret replied hotly. "We can't go on with these attitudes toward the planet. Don't you get it yet? We have to change our way of life, our behavior, our lack of concern for nature in a drastic way to stop it all from happening."
Maria interjected quietly, "But, Margaret, the bomb isn't coming from nature. Phoebe and I did some research and this thing could really happen. A bomb in and of itself might not be enough to cause it, but once a bomb triggers off a slide, a landslide underwater--well, the gas hydrate deposits will destabilize the slope until there is a major failure, and then--tsunami."
"Gas hydrates? What is that? Something else we have polluted the ocean with?" Margaret accused.
"No, no," Maria began, only to stop as Phoebe spoke up.
"Gas hydrates are a mix of methane gas and water which are frozen. Frozen hydrates contain as much as 164 times the amount of methane than when in gas form. They are a huge storage of gas on the sea floor. Some scientists have been concerned that if global warming caused the ocean temperatures to rise, more methane would be released from the gas hydrates into the water and then eventually into our atmosphere. If that had happened, it would be a major greenhouse gas that would have changed the climate on a global scale--but, I guess that won't happen now," she ended weakly.
Alan Beakman's eyebrows rose, but he grinned at Phoebe in appreciation, nodding his head at her. She smiled shyly back at him.
"Well, now, alrighty then," Mayor Dubois stated, looking as surprised as everyone but Maria at Phoebe's sudden contribution, but always appreciative of efficiency. "Thank you, Phoebe, for that concise and illuminating report." Phoebe nodded her head jerkily.
"So we know what, we know how, we just don't know when or where the bomb will be placed to cause this tsunami, correct?" she asked.
Zack returned the Mayor's gaze with one of frustration. "As to when, I can't say for sure. I think we have a couple days, but I could be totally wrong on that. Damn it! I wish someone else had the same dream."
Maria patted his shoulder consolingly.
He continued, "As to where--I think Grand Banks, but again, it's sometimes hard to get a location like that when all the really horrifying action is when the tsunami hits the big cities. In the dream, that's what I ended up focused on."
"Where the hell is Grand Banks?" the mayor asked. "And can we get there?"
"Uh, boss, you better see this," Alan said, turning up the sound on the television.
They all watched as the President mounted the podium in the White House press room.
"Maybe this will help," Maria started to say.
"Don't bet on it," Dusty said, disgusted. "Why the hell did anyone vote for this guy? And now he's lost his marbles. If this speech helps anything, I'll eat my cowboy hat. Once I get one again, that is," she muttered.
"My fellow residents of this wretched planet Earth..." the President said.
"Uh oh," said Mayor Dubois.
Harmony's Cabins-by-the-Lake
Alexandra sat back on the sofa in her cabin and watched Nathan pacing up and down the braided rug on the floor. She liked the feel of the cabin, kind of homey and snug. It had been so long since she'd had a real bed to sleep in that it was taking a while to get used to it. There was such a lot to get used to all of sudden. She'd never imagined, over in Africa, a homecoming like this one. Well, hell, she thought, how could she? What was happening was unprecedented, unexpected, unknown.
"So you think she will become, is becoming a polysemic personage. A symbol with varied meanings for different groups? She's only a kid, Alex! You're talking about her like she's the flag of the U.S. or something. She's a real person, not just a symbol," Nathan said defensively. Except, he thought, she wasn't just a regular little kid anymore, remembering his earlier conversation with his niece.
"Yes, I know. But she also represents different things to different people. Look at the Perkins family today. The kids see her one way, as a cool new friend who can do the neat new things they can do, if somewhat better. The parents were reassured by her presence, the knowledge that she was real. Black, when he arrived, knew everything would be okay once he saw her. He knew his role would be to protect her, but others will arrive who will see her as a symbol of their safety and security. She is like the shaman, the goddess, the seer, the earth mother--she's all of it at once. Tomorrow we're supposed to get an influx of about thirty people, according to Samantha. You come up to the house and see the looks on their faces when they meet her. Then tell me I'm wrong."
Nathan ran his hand through his sandy blond hair. "Jesus, Alex! I know you're right, but that's a huge responsibility to put on her, and what does that mean in terms of the leadership of this community?"
"Well, it's probably going to work out fine since John is her father," Alex said, rising and walking into the little kitchen. "You want something to drink?" she called out.
"Yeah, a beer, if you've got it," he replied, sinking down into a chair by the fireplace that was more comfortable than it looked.
"Here you go," she said, handing him a bottle of Heineken. "I liberated this from the liquor store inventory."
"Ah yes, liberating, salvaging...we have such nice phrases for your criminal tendencies," he said with a grin. "So," he continued after taking a swig from the bottle, "John stays as the leader of the group and the town that gets re-established here, eventually...with Samantha's presence lending him the authority to remain leader. Which we both know is how it needs to be for now--one accepted leader--democracy won't work right away. If we even end up with a democracy again." His voice trailed off. Then he said, "You don't think it will shift eventually into a theocracy, do you? Worshipping her?"
"Who can say?" Alexandra replied. She lifted her long braid up and fanned her neck. The evening was warm and humid, but the breeze from the open window behind her helped. She'd kept her long, long hair all through the year in Africa, so she guessed she'd keep it thro
ugh the end of the world as well.
"I mean," she continued, "we can't be totally objective observers here." She paused, and then grinned and said, "Well, you and I both know anthropologists are never totally objective, anyway. But we live here, too, we are affected by all of the changes, we both get the dreams, you are becoming an animal talker. She's your niece, and I'm going to be her...advisor, she informed me today. We can try and extrapolate what the future will bring, but honestly, we are going to be in the dark. Because I don't think there has ever been a culture quite like the one that will develop here. Sure, there have been cultures where a religious person had visions, or where certain groups of people communicated in some way with animals. But there have never been so many in a society who had prophetic dreams. The animal communication has never been this direct...at least...as far as we know."
"Yeah," Nathan said a bit dreamily, "it is pretty darn cool."
"Nathan! Focus!" Alex said sharply.
He shook his head and looked directly into her alarmed brown eyes. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not trancing out or anything. Just touching base with Ursula. I heard all about Lisanne almost wrecking her car on the way here when she first started talking to Merlin, so I'm careful. I'm still new to it, have to kind of think a little bit to make the connection. Not like my niece. I think Sam can communicate with any animal between one eye blink and the next. According to Perceval, we will all get used to it and the more we do it, the easier it will get."
"And that's another thing," Alex said. "What role will the animals play in this culture? Do they have a say in the government? Perceval is as smart as any of us, and probably smarter than some people who will show up. Yet, we are all still adjusting to this new view of the animals. Not everyone will make that adjustment easily, particularly people who are not animal talkers. Some will persist in seeing animals as pets. Some animals will never be as evolved as Perceval or Merlin...or your Ursula."
"Yeah, probably so. I confess I don't understand all the animal communication. Will every animal be able to communicate with every human in the future?" Nathan wondered.