Chapter 16: On-the-Job Training

Eric sat in the claustrophobic ISSDD capsule once again, wondering how he’d ended up back there. Everything happened so fast. His last request of Paul Crisfield was to withhold the story until Eric was safely back at Cape Canaveral. Once he’d arrived, still wearing dirty, wrinkled clothes and several months’ beard, things moved swiftly. Despite what he’d told Sarah, the staff was shocked at the shape he was in. He outran and outperformed crew and military personal several years younger, despite not getting much exercise for the past year—he had more opportunities to run in Alaska and Omaha.

“10...”

The intellectual training had been intense, only he’d been the instructor, not the participant. Everyone wanted the lowdown on what he’d learned and how it applied to future missions. They also had large prints of the photos taken by the latest probe. Eric went over them in detail, outlining what they showed and how the blurry, faint images varied from what he’d witnessed when he’d dreamed of roaming through space without a suit. NASA brought in the people who’d developed the camera, including Nina Myers, who hadn’t realized quite what they were working on. They grilled him extensively, promising to revise the entire project, though they still had no way of knowing quite what they were looking for or how they’d record it.

“9...”

Security had been intense. Cape Canaveral had always been a no-fly zone, but now they had Navy jets threatening to shoot down any civilian aircraft which varied off their approaches to the nearby airfields. Every time he went running, he had four to six Special Forces agents to keep him company. Instead of going drinking in town, they had beer crated in and armed guards standing outside while they let off steam. He went from living by himself, sleeping in a different public park every night, to being accompanied everywhere he went. It was disconcerting as hell.

“8...”

NASA had been busy, and Congress came through with the authorizations. They’d run several reconnaissance missions, maintaining their distance. They’d also ventured further, avoiding the ‘empty’ regions of space, which increased the risks of complications. Remembering their last incident, Eric tested his restraints once again. The new ISSDD capsules were larger, with a greater oxygen capacity and, best of all, exits and larger windows. As much as he’d been impressed with the views the last time, he wasn’t anticipating walking in space without a suit this time.

“7...”

He and Sarah got along, as they always had, but things progressed on that front as well. Not only did she want to pick his brain, she was also fascinated with how he handled the stresses. They were openly romantic, and no one in NASA questioned it. Everyone knew the future of NASA depended on Eric, and anything that kept him alive and sane was paramount. After having been alone for so long, it was refreshing. They were involved when they first traveled the country together. She’d accompanied him, living in various parks, as he traveled the country. It added to the realism and granted a level of authenticity to the endeavor. Whatever else you said about her, she was dedicated, especially where Eric was concerned.

“6...”

What worried Eric, more than anything else, was how the aliens would respond. Whether they’d remember him, see him as friend or foe, ignore or challenge him. They hadn’t bothered the remotes, but those were outside their sphere of influence. Another living being analyzing their home turf might be a different matter. The shock of encountering them had sent him into a near coma, which they’d treated before sending him back. He hoped he wouldn’t piss himself this time, even if no one cared.

“5...”

Most of all, he hoped he wouldn’t be stranded again. He knew he’d been lucky they took pity on him. They’d not only taken care of him, but reviewed his memory and indirectly taught him what he needed to know. Since this mission was farther away, if something went amiss, they might not be as quick to respond.

“4...”

Eric exhaled, controlling his breathing. While these moments were stressful, his prior knowledge made it worse. But the biggest issue was simply the wait. It gave the mind time to dream up worst-possible scenarios. As if his last visit was a walk in the park.

“3...”

Most of all, he knew that if something went wrong, he was prepared. He’d witnessed a lot over the past two years, and grown comfortable in his own skin and with his own mortality. He still wasn’t sure whether he believed in the afterlife, but he at least knew it was possible, as he’d seen an entire race living it. Instead of visiting the afterlife after death, they’d evolved into creatures of pure energy. He knew that wouldn’t happen to him, but he’d learned enough about the state of his soul to be satisfied with his own life. He had nothing to be ashamed of. He’d done the best he could, and while he hadn’t been able to help everyone he wanted, he’d learned a hell of a lot. Surely advancing civilization counted for a lot in the overall scheme of things.

“2...”

He tested his restraints one last time, reviewing the status displays to ensure everything was working correctly. Luckily for him, the capsule wasn’t equipped with the huge light displays. They had nothing to prove this time, so they utilized the extra space for life support.

“1...”

Eric held his breath, saying a last-minute prayer, despite his personal doubts. More than anything else, he was alone once again. He’d be light years from rescue, and he’d make all the decisions, observations and recordings. The automated systems were ill-equipped for this mission. Everything depended on him. He was responsible, not only for his own life, but for the future of NASA and possibly mankind as well!

“LAUNCH INITIATED!” The now familiar hum enveloped the entire ship as everything vibrated and the dials spun, showing his in-flux status. He knew better than to worry about the measurements, as they were recording quantum fluctuations. Glancing out his window, one minute the NASA containment building was there, the next, it was gone, just as he was.

It took a few moments for Eric to reorient himself. Physically, nothing moved within the capsule, but the transition left him feeling disoriented and unsteady. He quickly recovered and checked each status display, leaving nothing to chance. The last thing he wanted on this mission was more surprises.

Everything checked out, and he couldn’t resist peeking out the window. Unfortunately, the damn capsule was pointed in the wrong direction. It was still a wonderful vision, though fairly boring since there was so little in this area of space. He remembered his previous visions. Every distant star stood out in amazing detail. He realized he hadn’t viewed just the stars visual light, but their full spectrum of radiating energy, which was much more vivid.

He checked his watch. “00:01:37. Everything checks out. Everything’s intact and I’m still in one piece. With luck, I’ll be coming home this time.” He typed some instructions and the cameras mounted on the capsule began rotating, but he knew it wasn’t his goal. The remote probes had already accomplished that.

“00:02:17. Preparing to depart ship. You know, this is weird. After my last time, I was prepared for the worst, but this is actually a disappointment. No alerts, no alarms, the capsule is maintaining its structural integrity. This is no way to produce a sequel.”

He checked his gloves and helmet. “Testing, 1, 2, 3. Everything seems intact. Thanks for making quality equipment this time, guys. The last batch didn’t hold up quite as well.” He turned another knob. “Turning on my suit’s air supply and venting the capsule air. Pressure levels are okay. It’s now 00: 05:42. I’m opening the airlock.”

As usual, it took longer to open than he’d anticipated. Eric figured they’d really gone overboard to ensure the ship maintained its structure as long as possible. He might need to apologize for his jokes. Nah!

Opening the airlock was a surreal experience. He flashed back on his prior encounter and marveled at how distant everything seemed. In his recollections and dream, everything was intensified. Now they looked ... plain. He knew he was seeing the stars much more intensely than anyone else, but it was less intense than what he’d witnessed before. Now he’d have to determine how this region appeared. Looking around, he didn’t notice anything standing out, but then again, he was millions of miles away from the area of their interest, and still facing the wrong direction. Checking his tether, he maneuvered around the ship until he came in view of where he’d arrived the last time. This time, the view was breathtaking!

His memories of being alone in space before only involved himself. He didn’t recall seeing anyone else besides the millions of stars. This time, despite being millions of miles away, he saw life all around him. It glowed, it twinkled, it flicked on and off. It pulsed and interacted with each other.

“You’ve got to see this, guys. It’s the most unbelievable sight in the world. There are millions of these energy creatures. I can see them, despite the incredible distance. I can...”

Something touched his mind. Literally reached out and grasped it. He could feel a foreign entity enter his mind, and it felt familiar. He’d met it before, but hadn’t realized it at the time. It was the being assigned to take care of him.

“I’m in communication with the aliens. Their world, while having no physical manifestation, is huge. While Earth is running out of room with a few billion people, this makes the entire Earth’s population look like a tiny remote enclave cut off from civilization. There are trillions of living, intelligent creatures here. Shit! He’s introducing me to them. I’m seeing multitudes of individuals flashing through my mind in an instant. I’m getting a kind of mental handshake, so I can recognize each one. I don’t think I can contact any of them on my own, but they can each communicate with me. I’m guessing they have quantum communication techniques, where distance doesn’t mean anything.

“I’m still meeting new beings, already having interacted with billions. I don’t know how I can hope to remember any of them, but they seem to be connecting with my soul’s energy, storing their personal IDs there where it doesn’t take up my limited mental capacities. The level of sophistication is ... phenomenal!

“Whoa! They’ve figured out how to reach inside my mind. My work with the homeless is helping. Since I know which areas of my soul connect to which areas of my brain, I’m guiding them. He’s revealing how the transition from physical creature to energy being occurs. It’s like the physical body splits open, being discarded, and the internal energy escapes to take on a life of its own. That’s what they did with me, though I didn’t possess the means to accomplish it on my own and needed guidance.

“Sorry, dudes, but the thoughts, images and information are flying too fast. I can’t keep up and convey it at the same time. I won’t be speaking while I soak up the information they’re sending. I’ll continue this ... later. But, it’s both beautiful and phenomenal.”

The ISSDD capsule appeared as abruptly as it disappeared. Since its return was controlled by Eric rather than being automated to return at a set time, everyone had been sitting on the edge of their seats.

“It’s here!” one of the engineers shouted.

Everyone had been stressed. After having lost him once, they realized what might happen, so they’d been sitting on pins and needles the entire time it was gone.

“Total mission time, 00:52:27. He cut it close. I’m guessing he wasn’t eager to return.”

“Enough with the flippancy,” Roberts ordered. “Stick to facts and details.”

“Eric? Can you hear us?” he asked. There was no response. “Get in there and cut him out if necessary. If we lost him again, they’ll be hell to pay!”

Three technicians ran in wearing full body suits, unsure about radioactive exposure from the energy Eric had anticipated. Before they could reach the capsule, the hatch popped, swinging to the side. Eric leaned out and smiled before spinning around and climbing out.

“Eric, report!” Roberts insisted to no avail. Eric didn’t respond. “ERIC! Report, damn it!” Still no response.

He wasn’t wearing his helmet or gloves, so Roberts wondered whether he’d taken another unscheduled space flight, but pushed the thought aside. Eric turned, flashing a thumbs up at the display window and the cameras. The assembled crew shouted and cheered, even as Roberts tried to shut them up, trying to get control of the data.