Chapter 3: Reunion

Two days later, Brendan was sitting on a sofa at his favorite coffee shop, gazing out the window. It was pouring outside, and the smell of fine coffee, bread, and cakes permeated the air. The coffee shop was, as usual, crowded. A waiter walked past, carrying steaming, outsized blueberry muffins and a tray of coffees. Nearby, a woman with a clipboard took notes, and another responded to her questions.

Three young women in their early 20s glanced surreptitiously at Brendan from a table nearby. He didn’t notice them. David strode inside wearing a jaunty hat and carrying a sodden umbrella. He parked his hat and umbrella, removed his coat, and looked around. He beamed when he saw Brendan. Brendan noticed the young women at a table nearby nudging each other out of the corner of his eye. David, like Brendan, often excited a reaction but rarely noticed.

Brendan stood as David ambled over, David’s arms opened for a hug. The two buddies held each other tightly, slapping each other on the back.

“Congratulations, Dr. Murphy; my mother tells me you graduate next month.”

David smiled. He was pale and had prominent black rings around his eyes. David wore a small knitted yarmulke held in place by a hair clip.

David bowed formally before he sat. “Oh, illustrious friend, I can’t believe you finally completed your doctorate and will get your first congregation.”

Brendan grinned, and then his face fell. “I have a horrible feeling the aliens will screw everything up.”

“There’s no use worrying about what we can’t change. Let’s wait and see what happens,” David smiled.

“We were expecting you back last year this time,” said Brendan.

“Shit happens; Covid changed everything. It forced me to do my internship in New York. I couldn’t get back.”

“How was it?”

“I have never worked so hard in my whole life. One year in New York dealing with Covid gave me years of experience and lingering fatigue that I can’t shake off. It was a nightmare. I’ll need a couple of months to recover. I slept while in quarantine, but I still feel like a truck hit me.” David rubbed his upper arms. “How are you doing, Bren?”

Brendan scratched his neck and chin while looking down at the table. “I’m freaked out. I was anxious before the aliens arrived. I’ve felt uneasy this whole year. My anxiety hit the roof after your email and the news and worsened after seeing the cube in town. I can’t shake the feeling disaster is around the corner.”

“How are your family?”

“You’ll see Ashlyn in a few minutes. We visited my grandparents yesterday. Grandma was back to how she was twenty years ago. Grandpa was much worse and hadn’t improved. Grandpa and a third of the other residents died last night.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your grandpa, I always liked him. How is your grandma’s arthritis?”

“Grandma is mobile and almost pain-free. Even her hearing has improved. She chucked out her hearing aid.”

“How did she react to Grandpa’s death?”

“She’s feeling guilty she improved, but he died. She is staying with us until after the funeral,” Brendan smiled.

“I’ll come to your house to see her and your family this afternoon or tomorrow as convenient. How is your mother bearing up?” David asked.

“My mother is strong. Superficially, she is doing well. She is happy that her mother is so much better. But she is always close to her grandpa. We expected Grandpa to go first, but I don’t think we can prepare for grief. We grieve when they deteriorate and must all grieve again when the loss happens. There is only so much you can prepare for ahead of time.” Brendan looked up from the table and directly at David. “What do these aliens want from us?”

“The answer to that question is beyond me. I can only hypothesize about how the aliens are killing and curing us. I suspect the cube spread a giant virus or a series of viruses. These viruses spread in our population. Viruses can influence our immune system and even change our DNA.”

“David, how do you know this?”

“I read a recent paper by Mordecai Sachs, a famous genetics professor from my medical school. He observed recently that babies with previously known genetic abnormalities show evidence of profound ongoing gene changes. He also noted an increasing rate of early infant deaths in the same group. The children who died demonstrated severe genetic abnormalities that irrevocably damaged the babies early. Those that survived improved dramatically. The rate of fetal deaths is rapidly diminishing after an initial increase. The children who survive with milder congenital abnormalities show evidence of continued improvement. The professor says the observed genetic changes are ahead of anything we can do. Prof Sachs said he sees fewer surviving patients with severe congenital abnormalities. Children are no longer born with spina bifida. Many children with cerebral palsy are improving,” David explained.