To Sail Beyond the Sunset (61 page)

“Mrph. I suppose—”

The roof fell in.

It may have been part of a Spitfire, or perhaps a Messerschmitt. I don’t know; I was under it. Gwen Hazel heard it through my mike; her grandsons Cas and Pol got themselves badly burned going back through to rescue us.

Everybody got burned—Castor, Pollux, Woodrow, Father, Dagmar, me—and gasoline burns are nasty. But Hazel got more help through, dressed in fireproofs (planning, not happenstance) and we were all dragged out.

All of this I got from later reports; at the time I was simply clobbered and then I woke up in hospital an unmeasured time later. Unmeasured by me, that is; Dagmar says that I was laid up three weeks longer than she was. Tamara won’t tell me. It does not matter; Lethe keeps one comfortable and unworried as long as necessary to let one get well.

After a while I was allowed to get up and take walks around Beulahland, a beautiful place and one of the few truly civilized places in any world. And then I was transferred back to Boondock…and Woodrow and Father and Dagmar came to call on me.

They all leaned over my bed and kissed me and I cried awhile and then we talked.

It was a big wedding. There was Mycroft and Athene and Minerva of course, and my grandson Richard Colin, who had at last forgiven Lazarus (for being his father). My darling Gwen Hazel had no reason to remain on leave from the family when Richard Colin was willing and eager to join. My daughters Laz and Lor had decided to cancel the indentures of their husbands, Cas and Pol, in recognition of their heroism in diving back into the fire for us four laggards—and to allow them to marry into the family. And there was Xia and Dagmar and Choy-Mu and Father and Gretchen—and the rest of us who had been Longs for years—some more years, some less. Our new family members each had had one reason or another to hesitate, but Galahad and Tamara made it clear: We take just one vow, to safeguard the welfare and happiness of all our children.

That’s our total marriage contract. The rest is just poetic ritual.

Whom you sleep with, whom you make love with, is your private business. Ishtar, as our family geneticist, controls pregnancy and progeny to whatever extent control is needed for the welfare of our children.

So we all joined hands in the presence of our children (of course Pixel was there!) and we pledged ourselves to love and cherish our children—those around us, those still to come, worlds without end.

And we all lived happily ever after.

People in this Memoir

Maureen Johnson Smith Long, July 4, 1882

Pixel, a cat

MAUREEN
’
S ANCESTORS
,
AUNTS
,
UNCLES
,
IN-LAWS

Ira Johnson, M.D., father, August 2, 1852

Adele Pfeiffer Johnson, mother

John Adams Smith, father-in-law

Ethel Graves Smith, mother-in-law

(
Paternal Ancestors
)

Asa Edward Johnson, grandfather, 1813-1918

Rose Altheda McFee Johnson, grandmother, 1814-1918

George Edward Johnson, great-grandfather, 1795-1897

Amanda Lou Fredericks Johnson, great-grandmother, 1798-1899

Terence McFee, great-grandfather, 1796-1900

Rose Wilhelmina Brandt McFee, great-grandmother, 1798-1899

(
Maternal Ancestors
)

Richard Pfeiffer, grandfather, 1830-1932

Kristina Larsen Pfeiffer, grandmother, 1834-1940

Robert Pfeiffer, great-grandfather, 1809-1909

Heidi Schmidt Pfeiffer, great-grandmother, 1810-1913

Ole Larsen, great-grandfather, 1805-1907

Anna Kristina Hansen Larsen, great-grandmother, 1810-1912

IRA JOHNSON
’
S SIBLINGS

Samantha Jane Johnson, 1831-1915

James Ewing Johnson, 1833-1884

(married Carole Pelletier, 1849-1954)

Walter Raleigh Johnson, 1838-1862

Alice Irene Johnson, 1840

Edward McFee Johnson, 1844-1884

Aurora Johnson, 1850

MAUREEN
’
S SIBLINGS

Edward Ray Johnson, 1876

Audrey Adele Johnson, 1878

(married Jerome Bixby, 1896)

Agnes Johnson, 1880

Thomas Jefferson Johnson, 1881

Benjamin Franklin Johnson, 1884

Elizabeth Ann Johnson, 1882

Lucille Johnson, 1894

George Washington Johnson, 1897

Nelson Johnson, cousin, 1884

(son of James Ewing Johnson and Carole Pelletier)

MAUREEN
’
S DESCENDANTS AND THEIR SPOUSES

Nancy Irene Smith, December 1, 1899

(married Jonathan Sperling Weatheral)

Carol Smith, January 1, 1902

(married Roderick Schmidt Jenkins)

Brian Smith Junior, March 12, 1905

George Edward Smith, February 14, 1907

Marie Agnes Smith, April 5, 1909

Woodrow Wilson Smith/Lazarus Long, et al. November 11, 1912

(first wife: Heather Hedrick)

Richard Smith, 1914-1945

(married Marian Hardy)

Ethel Smith, 1916

Theodore Ira Smith, March 4, 1919

Margaret Smith, 1922

Arthur Roy Smith, 1924

Alice Virginia Smith, 1927

(married Ralph Sperling)

Doris Jean Smith, 1930

(married Roderick Briggs)

Patrick Henry Smith (by Justin Weatheral), 1932

Susan Smith, 1934

(married Henry Schultz)

Donald Smith, 1936

Priscilla Smith, 1938

Lapis Lazuli Long, cloned from Lazarus,
A.D.
4273

Lorelei Lee Long, cloned from Lazarus,
A.D.
4273

Richard Colin Campbell Ames, grandson,
A.D.
2133

(son of Lazarus Long and Wendy Campbell)

Roberta Weatheral Barstow, granddaughter, December 25, 1918

Anne Barstow Hardy, great-granddaughter, November 2, 1935

Nancy Jane Hardy, great-great-granddaughter, June 22, 1952

MAUREEN
’
S SPOUSES
,
CO-SPOUSES
,
LOVERS
,
FRIENDS

Charles Perkins, 1881-1898

Brian Smith, husband, 1877-1996

Justin Weatheral, 1875

Eleanor Sperling Weatheral, 1877

James Rumsey, Sr., M.D.

James Rumsey, Jr., M.D.

Velma Briggs Rumsey (Mrs. James Rumsey, Jr.)

Mammy Della

Elizabeth Louise Barstow Johnson (Mrs. Nelson Johnson)

Hal and Jane Andrews

George Strong

Arthur Simmons, 1917

Jubal Harshaw, 1907

Tamara

Ishtar

Galahad

Hilda Mae Corners Burroughs Long

Deety Burroughs Carter Long

Jacob Burroughs Long

Zebadiah John Carter Long

CATS

Pixel

Chargé d’Affaires

Princess Polly Ponderosa Penelope Peachfuzz

Random Numbers

Captain Blood

MORE PEOPLE

Judge Hardacres, a corpse

Eric Ridpath, M.D.

Zenobia Ridpath, a gracious hostess

Adolf Weisskopf, M.D.

Dagmar Dobbs, RN

Major Gretchen Henderson, Time Corps soldier

Jesse F. Bone, DVM—he saved a kitten

Ira Howard—he funded the Howard Foundation, 1825-1873

Jackson Igo and sons

Judge Orville Sperling, Foundation Chairman, 1840

The Reverend Clarence Timberly

Mrs. Ohlschlager, neighbor and friend

The Reverend Dr. Ezekiel “Biblethumper”

Mr. Fones, employer of Brian Smith

Mr. Renwick, driver, Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Co.

The Reverend Dr. David C. Draper

Mr. Smaterine, a banker

Deacon Houlihan, a bank president

Mr. Schontz, a butcher

Anita Boles, a stenographer

Arthur J. Chapman, Howard Foundation Trustee

Dr. Bannister, dean of academics, KCU

Alvin Barkley, President, U.S.A., 1941-1949, time line two

George S. Patton, Jr., president, U.S.A., 1949-1961, time line two

Rufus Briggs, Foundation trustee, an oaf

D. D. Harriman

Col. Frisby, Argus Security Patrol

Rick, Argus Security Patrol

Mrs. Barnes, matron, Argus Security Patrol

Mr. Wren, Public Health officer

Mrs. Lantry, Public Health officer

Daniel Dixon, financier

Dr. Macintosh, chancellor, University of New Mexico

Helen Beck, dancer/scholar

Dora Smith (Mrs. W. W. Smith), New Beginnings colony

Helen Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Smith

Freddie, a gunsel

Patty Paiwonski, a priestess with snakes

Wyoming Long, daughter of Gwen Hazel and Lazarus

Castor and Pollux, grandsons of Gwen Hazel

The Reverend Dr. Hendrik Hudson Schultz, Time Corps agent

Gillian Boardman Long, RN, quondam high priestess Church of All Worlds

COMPUTER PEOPLE

Mycroft Holmes IV, chairman Lunar Revolution, time line three

Minerva Long, former executive computer Tellus Secundus, now flesh and blood

Athene, executive computer Tellus Tertius, Minerva’s twin

Shiva, Athene/Mycroft interfaced, led by Minerva

Dora
, sentient ship

Gay Deceiver
, sentient ship

THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

Time line one—Captain John Carter of Virginia

Time line two—Leslie LeCroix

Time line three—Neil Armstrong

Time line four—Ballox O’Malley

Time line five—Skylark DuQuesne (
NOT SHOW
)

Time line six—Neil Armstrong (alternate time line)

THE COMMITTEE FOR AESTHETIC DELETIONS

Dr. Frankenstein

Dr. Fu Manchu

Lucrezia Borgia

Hassan the Assassin

Bluebeard

Attila the Hun

Lizzie Borden

Jack the Ripper

Dr. Guillotine

Professor Moriarty

Captain Kidd

Count Dracula

PUBLIC FIGURES

William Gibbs McAdoo

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Josephus Daniels

Woodrow Wilson

Robert Taft

William Jennings Bryan

Al Smith

Paul McNutt

Herbert Hoover

John J. Pershing

Pancho Villa

Patrick Tumulty

William Howard Taft

Leonard Wood

Harry S. Truman

Champ Clark

Theodore Roosevelt

William McKinley

PEOPLE OFF STAGE

Dr. Chadwick

Dr. Ingram

Richard Heiser

Pop Green, druggist

Dr. Phillips

Jonnie Mae Igo

Mrs. Malloy, landlady

The Widow Loomis

Mr. Barnaby, principal

Major General Lew Rawson, target

Bob Coster, ship design

Elijah Madison, driver

Charlene Madison, cook

Anne, a Fair Witness

Sarah Trowbridge, dead

Miss Primrose

“Scrooge” O’Hennessy

Annie Chambers, madam

Mrs. Bunch, gossip

Mr. Davis, see “Fones”

Cowboy Womack, miner

The Jenkins girl

Mr. Wimple, bank teller

Nick Weston

Mr. Watkins

Mr. Hardecker, principal

Granny Bearpaw, cook

Mr. Ferguson, chief engineer

ASSOCIATED STORIES

The Man Who Sold the Moon and Other Stories

Persons in “The Man Who Sold the Moon”—D. D. Harriman, George Strong, Daniel Dixon, Chief Engineer Ferguson, Bob Coster, Leslie LeCroix. In “Requiem”—D. D. Harriman, George Strong.

Revolt in 2100 and Other Stories

In “‘If This Goes On—’”—Nehemiah Scudder. In “Misfit”—(Elizabeth) Andrew Jackson Libby (Long).

Methuselah’s Children

Lazarus Long aka Woodrow Wilson Smith, Andrew Jackson Libby.

Time Enough for Love

Lazarus Long, Ira Weatheral, Hamadryad, Ishtar, Galahad, Tamara, Lapis Lazuli, Lorelei Lee, Justin Foote 45th, “Theodore Bronson,” Dr. Ira Johnson, Maureen Johnson Smith, Brian Smith, Nancy Smith, Carol Smith, Brian Smith, Jr., George Edward Smith, Marie Agnes Smith, Woodrow Wilson Smith, Ethel Smith, Richard Smith, Justin Weatheral, Eleanor Weatheral, Jonathan Sperling Weatheral.

The Rolling Stones

Hazel Stone, Castor Stone, Pollux Stone.

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Hazel Stone, Mycroft Holmes IV.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Gillian Boardman, Jubal Harshaw, Anne (Fair Witness), Patty Paiwonski.

The Number of the Beast

Deety Burroughs Carter, Zebadiah John Carter, Jacob Burroughs, Hilda Mae Corners Burroughs, Lazarus Long, Elizabeth Andrew Jackson Libby Long, Lapis Lazuli Long, Lorelei Lee Long, Maureen Johnson Long, Hamadryad Long, Tamara Long, Hazel Stone, Castor Stone, Pollux Stone, Minerva Long, Jubal Harshaw, Athene, Anne (Fair Witness), Dr. Jesse F. Bone, Samuel Clemens.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

Hazel Stone aka Gwen Novak, Col. Richard Colin Campbell Ames, Gretchen Henderson, The Rev. Dr. Hendrik Hudson Schultz, Tamara, Athene, Dong Xia, Marcy Choy-Mu, Pixel, Lazarus Long, Wendy Campbell Ames, Maureen Johnson Long, Justin Foote 45th, Wyoming Long, Jacob Burroughs Long, Deety Burroughs Carter Long, Jubal Harshaw.

N.B.:
The Past Through Tomorrow is an omnibus volume containing The Man Who Sold the Moon and Other Stories, The Green Hills of Earth and Other Stories, Revolt in 2100 and Other Stories, and Methuselah’s Children.