Ladies and Gentlemen: Good Evening!: My name Jarrod Forsythe. I will be your Narrator for this extraordinary, historic, broadcast presentation. (A slight pause.)
A discovery was made about a year ago, of a 10-volume set of journals found to be 150 years old. A couple about to purchase a beautiful old house in the Hatcher neighborhood discovered them. The house was previously owned by a doctor famed for his philanthropy as well as the building of two of the finest hospitals in this state.
The journals were discovered by accident, hidden within a regular bookcase that turned out to be twice as deep as the part facing into the library. It was only discovered because it was resting slightly askew from the wall.
The events I am going to relate to you happened at a time in our history when we were just discovering more about our place in our solar system. In another few years, we would be able to move off our planet and discoveries we made on Mars and the Moon were astounding. These journals add to those discoveries and will answer that age-old question: are we alone in the universe?
If during and after these broadcasts you have questions, and I am sure you will, there will be notations at the end of each roll of credits directing you to a telephone number of persons who have volunteered to answer many, if not all, of your questions, we hope. Time will be allotted to enable you to write down these contacts and phrase your questions concisely, to not ramble and take up too much time.
There will be only one short break each half-hour, and then the broadcast will resume. Each broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. and last 2 hours. There will not be any commercial interruptions, as this broadcast is too important for delays. We will return this same time tomorrow. So, plan accordingly. You will not want to miss this broadcast.
When we take our first break, and at the end of the broadcast, you will see a list of the persons who made this presentation possible and a list of the volunteers who will be taking your questions.
Finally, this broadcast has been scripted into a taped format, with live actors portraying the persons from which this presentation was drawn. And we want to thank those actors who portrayed the aliens.
Thank you for your attention and we will begin in 30 minutes.
Persons of Interest:
Melissa
[the main character of the story].
William
[mate, but not husband; the title is used for convenience but is different where she comes from].
Guests at the table
[A neighborhood doctor, his daughter, his colleague, the colleague’s two sisters and two of his four sons].
RRee
[pronounced as-are-ree, a Kzinn. In our culture, called an alien].
The Commissioner
[In charge of an extremely critical mission]. Human.
Prxzt
[pronounced prixt; this is the messenger from the Ahn. Also, alien].
His assistant [no name is given in the journal. Human].
Narrator: Jarrod Forsythe
The restaurant was in an old Victorian house still in a fashionable Boston neighborhood. Recently restored to its former glory, it has been a favorite dining spot since its opening. A wide, white painted porch surrounds the house on all sides.
From the front of the house two people approach and walk up the wide walk to the porch. The first is a woman. She is best described as a little person, short in stature, and walking with a very erect posture, perhaps a sign of haughtiness, but something else is — ‘off’. She is dressed expensively but not ‘flashy’. The second is a man. He is tall, very fit, is naturally complected and somewhat on the handsome side, with dark hair and eyes, but in high contrast to the woman’s paleness. These differences cause us to wonder what drew them to each other.
She is carrying a baby, completely bundled in blankets, obscured to those around her. The baby seems to have no air space around which to breathe.
The husband follows, pushing an elaborate and expensive looking carriage. The woman is smiling broadly, clearly pleased with herself and the infant. She approaches a table to her left and brazenly intrudes, loudly, into their conversation, enough to cause several to appear startled and look up, somewhat annoyed.
However, in an old-fashioned gesture, the men stood. But, to her right sat the youngest off the three woman and the one that did not look at all too happy to see this ‘intruder’. On her right is her father; on his right the father’s friend and colleague, his two sons, and their significant others. The husband stays with the carriage on the walkway.
Her name is Melissa and she is proud of this infant she carries. Too proud. A kind of pride that seems somewhat beyond the norm. She immediately directs her attention to the girl on her right, hardly acknowledging the others. She actually nudged herself closer, violating the personal space of the girl and the man on her right.
Mel. Oh…Jo, I’ve been trying to reach you for the longest time. Then I remembered you and your father liked to come here on Sundays, so I took a chance and here you are. Isn’t that wonderful. I want you to see him, he’s so beautiful, doesn’t even resemble his father, only the female side of the family.
[The girl stood. Mel pulled back a small portion of the blanket but seemed to not notice Jo’s reaction. Jo’s upper body stood up straighter, very suddenly and she tightened the muscles in her face to stop the expression that she felt coming over her. But the husband did not fail to see this reaction and neither did Jo’s father, who stood up immediately and moved closer to her.
It was at that moment he saw the ‘strangeness’ in the child and he too stiffened. But Mel pressed on. Moving around Jo and her father and closer to the Prof.]
Professor. I know you love children, because you have several of your own.
Prof: Yes, I do. To both statements. How are you?
Mel. [She ignored answering]; I remember now. Twins is that right.
Prof. Yes, that’s right, all twins.
Mel. And very handsome boys they are. Would you like to hold him? [She moves to offer the child to him, but having noticed the reaction of the others, he declines, gracefully.]
Prof. No, Melissa, it’s been a while, thank you. And it’s a little tight in here to pass around a baby. I’m sure you can see that.
Mel. Oh…well maybe you’re right. I don’t want him to catch something, he’s very important you know.
Prof. Important?
Mel. [Now others begin to catch just the slightest glimpse as the blanket becomes loose during the jostling of the baby. Their reactions, while somewhat less obvious, are equally telling.] Yes. He’s a prince. When we return, he…
[The husband quickly moves up to her left side, but Jo just manages to get in a response.]
Jo…A prince? [With a slight smile on her face.] Melissa, I didn’t know you were royalty. You never told me.
Mel. [Realizing she had perhaps said too much, she stops.] Oh…I didn’t, well it doesn’t matter to you, I know. He’ll take his rightful place in a short time. [But now Will, is beside her. His manner is more reserved and courteous.]
Will. Melissa, excuse my interruption, but we are late and your mother is intolerant of waiting. We should be leaving….
Mel. [She is snappy and won’t have it.] I will stay as long as I like. And again, you need to be reminded of your place and status. This is my son. I want to show him to the people I’ve been closest to since we have been here.
Will. [But he keeps trying.] These people would like to finish their dinner before it gets to cool to sit outside. I’m sure you can see that. [The realization was slow in coming and too slow for those standing, but it did come. Looking rebuffed, Mel briskly gathered the blanket around the baby and moved quickly down the steps and toward the pram and the car. Only the husband lingered.] Please accept my apologies. Things have not been easy lately and the strain has taken a toll on her. [There were looks all around the table.]
Father: [Glancing toward Mel] I can see that, Will. Try to be patient and attentive. She will appreciate it later.
Will: I will doctor. And thank you. It’s been a pleasure knowing you and your family. Please excuse me.
[Mel waits for him near the car. He opens the car door for her. But it is clear, at least in her mind, that she is not done with him. Glowering and waiting for him to collapse the pram and get moving, her mood has not improved one iota for having to wait even again. In fact, she becomes more biting once inside the car; after he had stowed the pram, Mel nails him.]
Mel. You should know better than to speak in that manner towards me.
Will. [It’s clear that he has finally had enough, and it’s been years in the making.] Yes I should. But for a moment there, I forgot who I was. It won’t happen again. I promise you that. [He quickly started the car and they made their way to the house].
[Once there, Will pulled the car into the covered garage. His mood is mild rage, but he controls it. His face only shows tautness from what he has had to put up with for so long. Inside the door, the mother awaits. She does resemble the daughter. Small in stature and exhibiting the same general characteristics as the daughter; her mood is also one of haughtiness.]
Mother: [Her voice is loud and sharp.] William…what’s the meaning of this? You both are almost an hour late. Melissa?
Will. That’s right…ask her. I have work to do.
Mother: Good! Because we have received the signal. [Mel and Will both snap their heads around, in unison.] The transport is nearing the the rendezvous point. We will need to leave within 4 hours. We must move quickly. I’ve set the orbs in every room. They will be activated when the sensor relays no living being is in the house. Mel…I’ve moved only those items you will need. Will, you need to complete the final checks and board.
Will… [He thinks…finally!!!] I know my duties and will be on board in an hour.
Mother: [Gives him another searing look.] I’ll board now. When Melissa comes down I’ll place her in the pod. I also want to make one final inspection of the house and then join her and the boy.
[He moves away from her off, to his left into a small side room, which is the laundry room. A shiny golden orb is set pulsing on the floor. He gave it only a quick glance. The orbs will sweep clean all traces of their presence in the house, including furniture. He shed the suit he is wearing and shoes. Under the suit he wore what could be described as a ‘space suite’. From under the sleeve he pulled a very fancy looking ‘watch’ and checked the face. Satisfied, he moves on.
From this room he went straight across the entry way and pushed on a part of the door frame; the door slid sideways, and he entered the stair well into the basement of the house. It’s like all basements except this house has a second basement where he turns left, crosses the concrete flooring and stops at another door. He presses the molding along the door frame to his right, at chest high, and the door slides into the wall. He enters and it closes quickly, silently, behind him. He is now in the control room.
There is no front window, only a bank of 4 large screens. He sits, and the chair wakes up. It moves forward and a systems check begins. Screens blink on and reveal a room with three pods in it, very technical looking.
The mother is there with the daughter and the infant. The daughter is also clad in a similar garment. She is assisted into a pod, the infant is taken from her and placed in its own, smaller receptacle. There is no emotion from the mother as she takes the third pod, adjusting her own settings from within.
The palest of pink mist fills both pods and leads snake down from a panel behind the head of the occupant. These attach to her arms, head and legs, going through the fabric. Then the fog inside clears away and what is left has formed a shell around both bodies. The process is complete.
Once he realizes the three are secure, Will pushes more buttons, slowly and with precision. One of the screens shows the outside of the ship. Some type of electrical field begins to form around it, even though it is still underground. The more the electrical field spins, the more the ship becomes encased in a gleaming shell. The spin maneuver also dissolves the ground around it, pushes it forward very slowly and when clear of the ground, lifts it up, again very slowly and takes it from the earth’s gravity, into space. There is no sound except the ground around the exit point and it does begin to protest. After only a few minutes, this ‘protest’ causes lights in the neighborhood to begin popping on, and people rushing to their windows; what the see is a sight they will forever puzzle over and never forget. It is the first and last anyone will see of this object. It is a beautiful sight, as it appears to us as a moving and spinning ball of light! A moving star! It engages in a final maneuver and shoots skyward.
Will pushes a single button and the pod room pops up on a screen. All three passengers are secure in the transport pods. Three buttons are near his right hand and a different color from the others. He presses them carefully, deliberately, one at a time, and all pods exude a mist that darkens the inside. After a few seconds it stops and if pulled back inside the mechanism. This is just the last of the procedure before the dark and cold of space. The array across the screen turns off.
He gets up, moves to another door, this one behind the console, and enters. This is a private area. A twentieth century reproduction of a sitting room, with a library of books filling floor to ceiling bookcases. Books both ancient and new. An overstuffed leather chair, with a good lighting source, illuminates this area, and is situated directly to the left of a floor lap. He gently picks up a book and begins to read.
Will is an artificial intelligence. He needs only a few minutes every 72 hours to recharge, which he can initiate on his own. Within 12 months of our time, he will be at journey’s end. Here in his private space, he will read, listen to his music, finished up his journals and prepare to bring about the conclusion of this mission.]
