Wooden Ships (11 page)

Orbiting high above a pristine planet in a new solar system was a huge spacecraft. Not just any spacecraft, a craft that held the promise of a new beginning. Inside the spacecraft were rows among rows, as far as the eye could see of human-size capsules; everything was bright white and sterile-looking. In each of these human size capsules, were perfect, genetically manufactured human beings all dressed in white uniforms; and every one of the over one million beings appeared to be asleep.

Slowly, E-1 and E-2 floated side-by-side down the aisle between the human-sized capsules, while images and characters scrolled across their faces. They stopped at one particular capsule and looked down at the manufactured human lying in it.

As E-1 waved his hand over the capsule, slowly the clear protective covering began to open like the iris of a camera lens until it had disappeared. The human being lying asleep suddenly took a deep breath as if gasping air for the first time. Then opened his eyes and stared up at E-1 and E-2. Closely looking at his eye tiny integrated lights began to flash on and off from within his eyes as he came to life and reflections of both E-1 and E2 were visible on the surface. Where a normal pupil would have been a circular printed circuit insert had come to life.

In a harmonic tone, E-1 and E-2 simultaneously said, “Hello Adam, welcome to your new earth, your new home.”