Moonliner: No Stone Unturned (5 page)

              “I can’t blame them,” Cedric replies, “you’re worth protecting.” 

Nikki smiles.

              “Do you think I’ll get motion sickness?” She asks Cedric.

              “I don’t think so,” he answers.  “Weightlessness is a lot different from what I understand.  It may be a little disorienting but I think you’ll get used to it quickly.  Besides, most of your time will be spent on Earthport and Moondock,
[4]
which both have simulated gravity.”

              “Konban Wa,” a waitress in a colorful yukata says; “are you ready to order?” she asks.

              “Sure,” Nikki answers.  “Sendai Platter kudasai,” she says, showing off what little Japanese she can remember from a trip she took to Osaka back in her college days. 

              “And can we get two orders of agedashi-dofu?” Cedric asks.

The waitress smiles, repeats the order, then takes a quick bow and disappears.

              “I have something for you,” Cedric says, handing Nikki a small box gift wrapped in shiny red paper.

              “What is it?” Nikki asks.  “Can I open it?”

              “Sure, go ahead,” he replies.

Nikki opens the package.  In it, there’s a lavender, silk teddy and a pair of fishnet stockings.  She smiles, knowing the gift is just as much for Cedric as it is for her, but loving it just the same. 

              “Tonight’s a special night,” Cedric tells her; “a night to relish.”

              “Thank you,” Nikki says with a hint of bashfulness in her grin.

They raise a glass to the night, to each other, and to the mystique that enshrouds their near future.  They laugh like they always do, looking deeper into each other’s eyes as the evening rolls smoothly along. 

              “Before I forget,” Cedric says, reaching into his dinner jacket.

              “The message?” Nikki asks.

              “Yes,” he answers, taking a small metal transmitter out of his pocket and handing it to her.  “The message is already coded into the device.  You simply have to press
link
, then press
send
once you’re already on Moondock.  The message will then route through Moondock’s relay station, waiting for the exact moment I’ve programed it to transmit.  It’s directed to transmit back here, to our local relay station, where hopefully I can receive it and compare time stamps.”

              “And did you think of an alternative to laserlink in the event your message lands further back than expected?”

              “I did,” Cedric answers; “I took your advice.”

              “How did you tell them to contact you?” Nikki asks smiling, frolicking in the wonder of Cedric’s work.

              “I told them to leave a message under the stone near Lost Lagoon,” Cedric replies, pointing out Blue Sumie’s large glass windows, across the bay toward the park.

              “The moon stone?” Nikki asks.

              “I didn’t know it had a name,” Cedric replies.

              “How romantic!” Nikki says.  “Wouldn’t it be wild if someone left you a message under that rock?”

              “Yes,” Cedric answers with a highly skeptical grin, “it would be wild.”

The stars couldn’t be more aligned for Cedric.  This night is the sum of his dreams.  As anxious as he is to verify his scientific claims, he’s comfortable in the present just knowing how close he is, and that he’s the only guy on the planet who knows how to bend time.

After dinner, the two make their way to their hotel, the Orion.  They check into a room on the twenty-second floor with a breathtaking view of the city, mountains, water and the park. 

Nikki tells Cedric that she wants a bath, then goes into the bathroom and turns the water on in their sunken tub.  She adds bubble bath, then sits down on the edge of the tub staring into the mirror.  She can see in the mirror that modern life is wearing her down.  A hot bubble bath is just what she needs.

Meanwhile, Cedric kicks off his shoes and unbuttons his shirt, then lies on the bed shuffling through TV stations to find something to keep his interest.  He pauses on a news channel, then begins drifting to sleep as news is reported.

“What do Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, & Uganda all have in common?” the reporter asks; “they are among fourteen countries that lie on the equator, making them all candidates for the newly planned space elevator.  All equatorial nations are meeting with UN officials this week in New York at the orbital development forum.  A decision is not expected to be made on the matter until early next year, when the project reaches its next phase.

“Neuro-scientists, working with pathologists at Waseda University in Tokyo Japan claim to have isolated the notorious death gene.  ‘This is bigger than people realize,’ says Professor Daisuke Tanabe.  ‘We soon will not only have the means to have people cryogenically frozen, but also awakened.’  This discovery has sparked a growing number of sit-in protests on campuses of several major universities around the world, all fueled by the demand for greater laws curbing or banning the practice altogether.”

Cedric awakens to Nikki standing at the foot of his bed, wearing the teddy and stockings.  She has never looked more beautiful to Cedric, who couldn’t have had a more pleasant awakening.  Gently, Nikki slides into the bed and up next to Cedric. 

              “I’ll miss you,” she softly whispers.

              “I’ll miss you too,” he replies; “but I’ll see you again soon.”

              “I’m happy we skipped the mixer tonight,” Nikki says.

              “So am I,” Cedric replies. 

Their pillow talk fades to giggles, gentle sighing and soft breathing.  The waning moon comes into focus through the room’s sliding glass door, left open a little to exchange air.  A late evening summer breeze gently moves the door curtains as the bed sheets begin to flow in steady, rhythmic waves of passion. 

Moonliner
1:8

Nikki stands face to face with Cedric in front of a long, seemingly endless corridor.  Boarding announcements perpetually play in the background.  Nikki has an empty look on her face, as though she doesn’t want to leave.  Cedric offers what comfort he can.

              “You’ll be back in a few days,” he tells her; “you won’t even be gone a week.”  Nikki smiles a little.

              “Don’t worry about me,” she says; “I’m strong.”

              “I know you are,” Cedric answers; “I won’t worry.”

The two embrace, then gravitate into a deep, passionate kiss.  Nikki turns and walks down the corridor as Cedric watches.  Cedric then walks away.  Nikki turns to look at him one last time but he’s gone.

A radio DJ can be heard.

“Traffic is a beast this morning.  We have news of major delays on both beltways as well as the outbound duct of the central tube.  Traffic is brought to you today by
SkyBus
– the ONLY way to get to work.

“It’s the endless summer of 69 and I’m here with you til noon, keeping the summer sizzling.  Got something you want to hear, zap me at KDOT-5 Slide 34T.  Seriously, I’m bored in this booth.  Coming up we’ll play some Charlie Bone for you within the hour, but let’s start you off with the latest from DP off their 3rd release,
hieroglyphic.
”

Music begins to play.
 
Cedric sits on a Skytrain in thought, rapidly zipping through an inner urban landscape.  Meanwhile, Nikki sits on her flight to Earthport, also deep in thought.  Her craft has been aloft for several minutes and has already reached low earth orbit.  Her arm begins to float upward.  The captain’s voice comes over the intercom.

              “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now in a slightly elliptical orbit and on course to dock with Earthport in twenty-six minutes.  For your safety, please remain seated until we’ve safely docked.”

The large rotating rings of Earthport appear on the horizon as the craft approaches.  Meanwhile, Cedric’s train continues to whisk down the track, through the city below, through the night and into a darkening void.  He feels put in his place, now more than ever; one primate on a ball of molten iron, orbiting one of hundreds of billions of stars, in one of hundreds of billions of galaxies.

 
Moonliner
1:9

“We’re very curious to hear how your thesis work is going,” Dr. Ridpath tells Cedric as the two slowly stroll across campus.  “Your bold theories are drawing a lot of attention within the department, and without,” he adds.

“What do you mean by without?” Cedric asks.

“I spoke with Jonathan Archer about your work,” Dr. Ridpath replies.  “He’s the representative from Cygnus.  They want to know more about your work with time bending laser transmissions.”

“Why?” Cedric asks.

“I don’t know, but they’ve been asking me a lot of questions about what you do,” Dr. Ridpath answers.  “I can’t really answer any of them without seeing your results.”

“I don’t have any as of yet,” Cedric responds, enshrouding the news that he’s already sent a message back in time, somehow.  He now sees no need for even Dr. Ridpath to know what he has done, at least not yet anyway.  “My results are inconclusive,” he adds.

“You know, you’re a student,” Dr. Ridpath says; “you’re not expected to verify elaborate theoretical claims.  It will be done in time.”

“I understand,” Cedric replies, “but who better to verify a claim than the claimant?”

“So how close do you think you are?” Dr. Ridpath asks.

“Too close,” Cedric answers; “in fact, proximity is my problem.  I need more distance.”

“You mean in the transmissions?” Dr. Ridpath goes on to ask, now keenly attuned. 

“Yes,” Cedric answers, now thinking that he’s already said too much.

“So you have been close to something,” Dr. Ridpath says nodding.  “You know your conjecture is enough for a convincing thesis.  Your advisory panel would most likely pass you if you presented them with what you now have.”

“I will soon enough,” Cedric says, showing little interest in hastily concluding his thesis. 

Cedric is older and more patient than your typical grad student.  The perfectionist in him won’t allow abandoning this one prematurely.  Besides, he’s enjoying the uniqueness of knowing that he’s probably the only person on the planet who knows how to transmit a message through time; a one in eleven billion feeling.  He’s taken fire from the gods, yet he remains reluctant to give it to the world.

Dr. Ridpath excuses himself and walks away, off to teach a class.  Cedric sits for a few minutes to bask in the beauty of his campus.  It’s hot again but not as hot as it has been over the last few days.  Maybe summer has hit its peak?