Gifts From The Stars (3 page)

Then, 28 hours and 9 minutes
after it happened in Utah, the enveloping darkness occurs again.
They turn on the catapult which throws the baseball and blocks into
the darkness. Two seconds later, the bright lights flash and
crystals appear as at the other sites. But the objects sent from
this side stay on the other side.

. The scientists hold their
breath and wait while the objects vanish.

Finally, after the artifacts
refuse to return in accordance with the prayers and chants of the
scientists, the usually sober, rational people holler like
children.

“Yahoo! We did it! We sent
the things over to the other side,” Nora shouts.

“Wonderful! But now we have
to start negotiations,” Dan says. “And you think communication
barriers exists between countries? What type of barriers will we
have with an interstellar culture?”

“It'll be rough. But there's
been research done in how to solve it. A linguist at Stanford
designed a program to teach a culture our languages with only
pictures and diagrams. We might be able to communicate,” Nora
says.

“Let's hope they'll want to
talk.”

They assemble the material
suggested by the linguist and pile it atop the catapult at the next
reception site at a farm in Kansas.

Just as before the materials
vanish exactly 28 hours and 9 minutes after the last event at the
new location near the heartland of the country.

But no response although
three hundred pounds of printed matter vanish to the other
side.

“There's no doubt about it,”
Dan says. “They intend to destroy us. Slowly, we'll be buried in
this stuff. There's no way we can stop their advance. I give us a
few years at most.”

“The incredible thing about
this is their smugness. No boasts. No threats. None of this costs
them anything. Talk about cold-heartedness,” Nora says looking at
the chaotic jumble of crystals imbedded in cornstalks and bales of
wheat near the farmhouse.

“Yes. But we're not going to
let them call all the shots. We can play rough ourselves. A few
well-placed bombs sent to their side should take care of the
threat,” one of the Army officers says.

“Not until one of us goes
across. We need to see them face-to-face before we declare war.
Besides we're not sure why they're doing it,” Dan says.

“It is amazing. We just got
reports of rioting from sight-seers back in California. Speculators
will pay big dollars for the crystals, so people fight over them.
And New Age folks like them too. They think they're proof of a
coming new Utopian age, while others think it's a sign of the end
of times.”

“I didn’t realize the social
effects,” Dan says. “I saw it strictly a scientific
problem.”

“Well you should look a
little closer to the ground more often. Even some of the workers
and soldiers have been pocketing them. I don't blame them. They do
look beautiful,” Nora says, staring at one.

“Any luck at identifying
what they are?”

“Last word is they're
basically carbon with a mixture of common and rarer elements. No
one crystal has the exact same chemistry, which may explain why
they have so many varied shapes.”

“Interesting. But we're
still not closer to solving why. Someone needs to cross over. We're
not going to find answers from here,” Dan says.

“True. But it's a big risk
since we're not sure living beings can survive the trip,” Nora
says.

“We can send a test animal
before any of us go. We'll just aim it so the subject is sent to
the teleport chamber and hopefully returns.”

“You're not going to use the
catapult!”

“Of course not. We'll put
him in an electric cart and turn it on when the doorway
opens.”

“Okay. I don’t want the
animal activists on us.”

“I can’t promise the animal
will return. But even if the animal doesn't return I'm going over
into the doorway soon, before politicians decide to war against
them.”

“Wait a second. Who says
you're going?” Nora objects.

“Who's better qualified?
Besides. I don't think the Army cares who goes. Also, realize we're
running out of work time. Within five days the objects will
materialize at the heavily populated east coast. There's no time to
select outside candidates the way they select astronauts. The point
is to get the job done.”

“Where is the next
site?”

“It’s also in
Kansas.”

“Really?”

“Kansas is a big state. It’s
400 miles from west going east.”

“No wonder people make jokes
when they take road trips across the plains.”

At the next site in Kansas,
a dog is placed at the center. Sitting with the dog, Nora and Dan
leash him to the electric cart placed near the focal point. Around
his neck they place a small micro-motor driven pump with a
container to vacuum in atmosphere from the other side.

“He can sense something’s
about to happen. Poor fella’s starting to shiver and whine,” Nora
says and she pets the dog's head.

“We better get ready to
leave. The next event is in six minutes.”

“Have some heart, Dan. Just
another few minutes. I feel bad leaving him here.”

“Come on, Nora. Let's go. We
have a distance to walk.” He pulls her from the dog.

While they walk to the new
barricades, the light brown dog sits, wags his tail quietly whines
and yelps.

. Then, as at least six
times before, the horrible darkness envelopes the center of the
site, the cart turns on and the dog is pulled in and vanishes in
the dark. Then as quickly as he vanishes the bright lights cut
through the darkness, deposit the crystals…along with the dog at
the spot they placed him.

“He's alright!” Nora shouts.
“Look! No crystals in him. He's only slightly disoriented.” She
jumps over imbedded pieces to get to the barking dog.

“A person can make it over,”
Dan says.

“Let's do a complete checkup
on him to make sure his organs or genetic structure hasn't been
altered,” one of the biologists says.

“Yeah, don't conclude he
hasn't been harmed,” Nora says.

“But even if he has been
harmed, we have to jump over before they hit our cities. I am
going. ”

“Maybe not you,” the Army
commander says. “We're waiting for the joint chiefs to decide.
After all, you have no training in diplomacy.”

“It's not my intent to
negotiate, just to understand what's going on. It should be a
scientist first. I could identify phenomena on the other side. If
I'm able to return or even if I can't, then send diplomats. But
please, I'm willing to take the risk.”

“It's not my decision,” he
says.

“Whatever they decide, tell
them to make it fast,” Dan says in anger. “We need it solved before
these things hit the East Coast.”

He then walks to the mobile
lab where the doctors examine the dog.

“Do you really want to go
over?” Nora asks. “You may not be able to return. The doorway could
strand you in some nightmare world forever.”

“Thanks for the
encouragement.”

“I’m just teasing you. But
aren’t you scared?”

“Yes. But think of the
possibilities,” he says looking at the skies. “For the first time,
humanity will meet people from another world.”

“You don’t look scared. But
you're the guy who has anxiety attacks when you have to give a
speech.”

“You’re right. Do you want
to know what I really feel?”

“Yes.”

“Of course I'm scared.
Actually terrified. This place may be anywhere in the galaxy or
universe. The people could be different from anything we can
fathom. But I still want to go.”

“Then let me go with you. At
least you won't be alone if the worst happens,” she says, adjusting
his tie.

“No. Just one of us should
go. Besides, you'd have to say goodbye to your parents and
siblings. I don't have those attachments. There’s only a few people
for me to let know.”

“We've had some good times.”
She looks in his eyes. “Won't you miss me?”

“Umm.” He looks away and
blushes. “Did they do a spectrometer reading on the atmosphere from
the other side yet?”

“You didn't answer my
question. But yes. The numbers seem good. 70% nitrogen, 20% oxygen,
10% inert elements.”

“Good. Even though the
percentages differ from ours, it is breathable.”

“How's the dog
doing?”

“Excellent. No internal
changes whatsoever. He hasn't been affected at all by the
trip.”

“Then it’s a go. When the
higher-ups give us approval I'm going on his little trip myself!”
Dan says.

Twenty minutes later, the
Army commander walks back to the scientists.

“Alright, Ophelder. You
wanted to go. It's all yours. Just try and come back in one
piece.”

Chapter 6- We’re Not in
Missouri Anymore

Nora hits Dan’s shoulder.
“Why do you get to have all the fun?”

“Ha! Are you trying to kid
the fear out of me?”

So again, five minutes
before the next scheduled appearance Nora stands with Dan at the
center of the predicted event, now in Missouri.

“Well, keep out of trouble
out there. Make us look good,” she jokes.

“God I am going to miss
you,” he says hugging her.

“Well, I finally got you to
say it.”

“Umm.”

“Then make sure you come
back.” She hugs him back and kisses him.

As she walks away, Dan waits
at the focal point. In spite of the tension, he starts to laugh,
realizing he’d be the first person crossing the stars. But he
wouldn’t see space and may not even return.

He scans the blue skies, and
wonders where in those skies he'd end up.

He looks at the grass,
breathing deeply in the fresh air and realizes how much he’ll miss
these small things.

He looks one last time at
Nora and a happy flood of memories come to him. For one second he
almost changes his mind. But finally, the waiting ends. The
detectors start agitating with loud beeps and fluttering
meters.

Then, blackness appears, and
although he feels terror as he stares into it, Dan Ophelder walks
into the emptiness and vanishes. For one second he sees nothing but
black and feels like he walked off the edge of a building. But just
as suddenly, he feels his feet on a surface and sees light
again.

When he reappears, he finds
himself on a ledge just below some machinery. On the ledge, sits
all the materials sent across. Below the ledge, a roaring river of
sludge flows toward other machinery.

“No wonder these people
never answered. They never received it!” he shouts above the
crashing waters and leans over the ledge. Trying to pull himself
over it, material sent over blocks his way. Suddenly, he slips on
the slick surface and falls over the ledge into the
sludge.

“Help!” he shouts as the
sludge chokes his mouth. Two workers hear his incomprehensible
cries and run to the ledge.

“What is that thing?” asks
one of the purple hued creatures in their own language.

“It looks like some kind of
monster,” the other alien says. “Let's get out of here.”

“No. Though I can't
understand what it's saying, it needs our help. Creature or not,
I'm going to try. You call the security people.”

Then with those words, he
jumps into the stinking sludge and pulls out the drowning
earthman.

After they clean him with a
water hose and spray him with various chemicals, they take him to
their scientists, where he babbles incoherently. They figure he
wants them to examine the inscriptions earlier sent
over.

“He wants us to translate
this stuff. Let's put it through our computers and see what it's up
to. Maybe it's the first of an invasion force. In the meantime,
let's learn his biology. But watch him in case he becomes a
threat.”

“We'll know for sure if he's
dangerous, when the material is translated. What strange sounds he
makes. I'm not even sure if our computers can handle
it.”

“Don't worry. They included
more than enough to translate,” he says as he examines the
material.

Meanwhile, Dan is escorted
to a room with bright gadgets and an examination table. For hours,
they put him through diagnostic machinery similar in function to
those in our own hospitals. While examining, they bring in pictures
of thousands of natural phenomena from stars and planets to atoms.
They encourage him to say each object into a small machine,
including pictures of everyday objects similar in function to those
on earth.

He realizes he was to be the
link with the written material sent from Earth.

“Cup. Light. Star.” They
even encourage him to use whole sentences while he
speaks.