The Orthogonal Galaxy (42 page)

“
I’m saying that I think
it would be in your best interest to trade in your orange jumpsuit
for a blue spacesuit, Paol. Serve your country on this mission, and
when you return, I can practically promise that you’d be pardoned
by the president. Besides, by the time you return, I’m almost
certain to have cracked this case open.”

“
Warron,” Joonter spoke
with complete surprise. “You just told me that the mission is
suicidal. If I wait here, I might be able to see my family again
someday.”

“
No,” Zimmer shook his
head. “I didn’t say it was suicidal… it’s the press and the
astronauts who say it is suicidal. My brother thinks there is
actually a good chance for success.”

“
So, I put my life in the
hands of one person, who is certainly biased towards making this
attempt.”

“
Paol, I would trust my
brother with my life. I have talked to him at length about this,
and I believe him—the mission can succeed.”

“
Why should I believe
him?”

“
That’s what everyone said
when he was looking for his parallel Earth. It’s what they said
when he first discovered an object faster than the speed of light.
Nobody believed him—but they were forced to in the end. Look, I’m
not going to pressure you into this, but I think it would be an
incredible opportunity to do something with your time instead of
sitting in this cell. I might get you back to your family within
the next couple of years instead of taking 13, but that all depends
on if I can find the smoking gun that lands the right person in
your place.”

Warron Zimmer stopped
there, as he realized that Paol was enveloped in a flurry of
thought. Weighing the options, his mind raced. He envisioned the
scenarios—perhaps he would spend many long years in a prison cell,
or maybe he would be returned to his family sooner than expected,
or maybe he should invest the 13-year side trip to regain his life
on his own terms, once and for all.

“
I’ll do it.”

Zimmer was dumbstruck.
“Don’t you want time to think about it?”

“
Warron, I didn’t get to
where I am—” he stopped to look around. “—Or I should say, where I
was—without waiting long enough for someone else to take the
opportunities away from me. In business, I always acted fast,
trusted my instincts, and more often than not, they served me well.
My heart tells me that the world needs to know about this other
place, so why should I sit here doing nothing, when I have the
opportunity to do something more—much more.”

“
But there are no
guarantees. You may not come back.”

“
Are you changing your
mind on this, Warron? I thought you trusted your brother with your
life. Besides you didn’t ask me just for kicks. You thought that it
might just make sense.”

Warron smiled.

“
So, I’ll do it, but under
one condition.”

The smile was erased.
“What condition?”

“
I get to bring my
cellmate with me.”

“
What?” Warron asked in
amazement. “You want to bring a hardened criminal in a maximum
security prison on the most dangerous undertaking of your
life?”

“
Well,
you just asked one person in that category to do this? Why do you
think there are no others in here that could do the job? He is one
of the most gifted people I’ve met—a real self-taught genius who
has read up on every subject imaginable in the seven years he’s
been here. Besides his intuition and quick thinking has preserved
his
and
my health
in this hell hole. And he has something in common with your
brother. ”

“
What’s that?” Warron
asked excitedly.

“
I
would trust him with
my
life.”

…

Blade Slater could detect
an expression of bewilderment on the face of his fellow inmate when
he returned. Barely looking up from his book, he inquired, “Good
news, I hope.”

“
Well, I’ll let you be the
judge of that.”

In curiosity, Blade closed
his book, set it on his cot, took in a deep breath and gave his
cellmate his full attention. “Well, go on, then.”

“
You remember that planet
that was discovered several months ago?”

“
Yes, I do.”

“
Turns out my lawyer is
the brother of the astronomer who discovered it. NASA is working on
a mission to fly there, but they are having a hard time rounding up
astronauts.”

“
And how ‘xactly do they
plan on flyin’ to a distant planet. Why… that’d take fo’ever to get
there!”

“
They’re going to hitch a
ride on the comet that was discovered in conjunction with
Earth2.”

Blade looked skeptical but
waved on his partner.

“
Well, they can’t find
astronauts to do the job.”

“
Mmm…” came the confused
grunt of Blade. He was trying to figure out where this was all
going.

“
My lawyer suggested that
I should take up NASA, and that way whether he is able to clear my
name or not, by the time I return, I’d get a nice presidential
pardon, admiration of the whole world, and an entry in history
books fer ages to come.”

“
How long’s the mission?”
Slater inquired.

“
Well, there would be
training for about five years.”

“
That’s some time!” Paol’s
cellmate interrupted

“
And then it would take a
year to get to the planet, six and a half years there, and another
five years to get back home.”

Blade easily and quickly
worked the numbers in his head. “Why that’s twen’y years from now.
No wonder they can’t staff that job. Such a foo’hearty thing to
even think ‘bout it. And I s’pose ya’ done told him you’d think
‘bout it.” Blade shook his head and managed a hearty
laugh.

“
Not exactly—I told him
I’d bring you with me.”

Blade’s laugh and smile
vanished as quickly as the understanding registered. Growing
disinterested in the conversation, he picked up a book, and said,
“What was ya’ thinkin’? I ain’t doin’ somethin’ so foolish as
that!”

Paol pulled his chair
around in front of Blade’s and sat down to face him. “Look,
Blade—this is an opportunity to do something no other man has done
before. And you’ll get out of here as well.”

“
Now, why would I wanna go
off fo’ twen’y years, when I’ll be sprung from here in abouts five?
It’s darn foolish, Paol.”

“
So tell me, what do you
think is going to happen when you do leave anyway?”

“
Well, I’ll make me a
respectable citizen. You know that!”

“
How?”

“
Get me a job… have a
family hopefully.”

“
Blade, you have no
education, and you’re a convicted felon. Who will hire
you?”

“
I’m educated—You know
that.”

“
I do—but they don’t.
There’s no formal education to back you up.” Paol’s tone grew more
serious, more important. “Look, Blade, think about what you’ll do
for mankind—for the knowledge of science. Think of how much you’ll
learn becoming an astronaut. That’s something you won’t learn by
reading all of the books in the Library of Congress.”

“
Paol, listen to ya’self.
You got a family. Ya’ just can’t go off and leave ‘em fo’ twen’y
years.”

“
I could rot in here until
I die, Blade. My family will be proud of my contribution. What do
you plan on contributing before life is over, Blade?”

“
Oh, I wanna contribute
too, you know that. But, I think I can contribute in plenty of
other ways to please my neighbors and my God.”

“
God!” Paol snickered in
derision. “I know you’ve been studying those world religion books,
but look around you, Blade! There can’t be a God.”

“
I think you’re wrong.
There’s a God.”

“
Why
would a
just
God
throw me in here, then?”

“
I
‘spect it’s fo’ the same reason he gives all of us trials in this
life of ours. Was it
just
of God to put me into a family in the ghetto,
whereas some kids is put in the ‘burbs? What’s important is not
that we have adversity but how we deal with it. We can choose to
get
better
or we
can choose to grow
bitter
.”

“
So you think everything
happens for a reason, huh? Everything is just as God would have
it?”

“
No, I don’t!” answered
Blade in a deep voice. “Ever’thin’ is not as God‘d have it. God‘d
not have us abusin’ little children. He’d not have us murderin’,
stealin’, liein’.”

“
Then why does he allow it
to happen?” Paol asked incredulously.

Blade gave a deep breath,
and reached under his pillow for the only book that he didn’t keep
under his bed, but instead on top of it. It had a worn black cover,
and thin, embossed sheets, which crinkled as he opened it to the
place he desired. Reading from the page, he spoke in a confident
tone:

See, I have set before
thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

In that I command thee
this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep
his commandments and his statutes and his judgments that thou
mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in
the land whither thou goest to possess it.

But if thine heart turn
away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and
worship other gods, and serve them;

I denounce unto you this
day that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your
days upon the land.

“
It
seems, Paol, God wants us to choose fer ourselves. It’s a test,
Paol—to see who is worthy to live in His presence. He’ss given us
commandments, and we just needs to choose. Look, I don’t know all
the answers. That’s why I still read. But, what propels us as a
race to survive, to thrive, to go fo’ward, if there’s no purpose to
life? And how could there be purpose in
life
if there’s no purpose in
death
. Without somethin’
more, why do we do so much? As a race, we’ve had plenty a’
challenges—plenty a’ opportunities to just lay down and give it up.
But we’ve never done that. Why not? I think it’s because there’s
somethin’ inside us—a God-made spirit—that drives
us.”

Paol thought for a moment,
desiring to steer the conversation back on track. “If there is such
a grand purpose, Blade, then think of what this mission could add
to our knowledge of that purpose? Will we find another God-fearing
people on Earth2? Will we understand better this universe really is
made by intelligent design?”

Blade’s head stared at the
concrete floor, his body expressionless.

“
Blade, you told me that
you wanted to make up for past mistakes—that you wanted to be a
productive citizen of your country and community. What better
opportunity than this mission? Think of how proud you’ll make your
mother and your uncle!”

Invoking thoughts of his
family, Blade replied with a choke in his voice, “If this could
erase even a little bit a’ the hurt I gave ‘em, then it’ll be worth
it. But, if I dies, then it would only make the hurt
worse.”

“
I’m not so sure,” Paol
rebutted. “They would think of you as a hero. Even that legacy will
erase the pain.”

Blade stood from his chair
and slowly walked to the bars which held him back from the things
he was eager to start doing in life. Paol remained seated, but his
gaze was fixed on his cellmate with great interest. After staring
off into the distance for a couple of minutes, he turned to face
Paol. His look was stern, the eyes intent. Realizing he had no
response to Paol’s last argument, he had to respond, “I’ll do
it.”

23

“
Bottoms up,
Gentlemen.”

Paol Joonter drained his
pint-sized bottle of clear blue liquid immediately, but Blade
Slater hesitated slightly. Glancing over at Paol, Blade gained the
confidence to follow his lead. As soon as the pair had completed
the instruction, two prison security guards pulled out their
wand-like laser keys and the sound of metal against concrete ensued
as each pair of hand and ankle cuffs dropped from each prisoner—a
sign of quasi-freedom that the two prisoners would now
enjoy.

“
As a reminder to both of
you,” began the prison warden, “the contents of the fluid will
remain attached to the blood stream for nearly three weeks.
Therefore, every two weeks, a member of my staff will remotely
monitor your consumption of the beverage by video feed. You will
continue to be monitored by a central team of minimum security
guards from Knoxville, Tennessee. You may not leave the borders of
the continental U.S. and any attempt to get within 50 miles of a
border must be preapproved and done under accompaniment of a
federal officer or guard. For you, Mr. Joonter that means you must
be very careful on home leave. Your home in Washington State is
only 90 miles from the border. I wouldn’t wander to far north if I
were you.”