Chapter 33

As we disembarked upon our arrival home we all had the same reaction. It was Jane who voiced it, commenting "gods, I never realized how putrid it smells here!"

We also found that their van was missing so we dropped them at Cambridge and waited out of sight until the taxi showed up. We figured his van had been stolen while we were away. That was proven wrong as we watched the news after getting back to Hazard.

The lead story was the "mysterious reappearance of Stephen Hawking and his wife. Even the reassurances of their children that their parents were on holiday hadn't stopped the speculation after finding their "abandoned" vehicle in the park. The police impounded it for evidence.

We might have pulled it off if not for the loudmouthed cabbie. In less than a week the tabloids had the story of how he had picked them up and how the professor had been walking and talking the whole time. We worked out the response over the telephone. It was weak, but the bestwe could do.

A news conference was scheduled at Cambridge and we picked up the BBC on our dish to watch. Jane wheeled her husband out and some preliminary remarks were given before it was his turn to address the press.

Two podiums were set up. One was full sized and the other at a comfortable height for him. An audible gasp arose when he did. He calmly walked to the larger podium and began.

His voice was now clear. Another gasp went up when he used it. "Good morning to all" he began "I have agreed to fill you in on recent developments. I will not be taking questions, merely providing a statement."

The protests died immediately when he continued to talk in order to hear him. I suppose he figured it would shut them up and as usual, was right. When we could hear him again it started with "not available in the UK. This treatment has allowed me to recover substantially. We did not know if it would work or if it did, to what extent. I can give you no details as to where I went as I have agreed not to. All I will say is it was out of this world." The howls of protest were quite loud as he walked off stage.

It was still in the news when I reported to spring training. I had been chugging right along in both sports but baseball was getting more difficult. I wasn't getting too many decent pitches anymore.

It could have been the fact that I had 419 home runs in my seven years in the league or the 71 I had in the last year alone. That didn't stop me from hitting 68 in 1988; it just made it more interesting. I was hitting pitches that no sane person would swing at. I got Gehrigs record, too. The hitting streak now stood at 87 games.

When you know where the pitch is going to be, it's much simpler to hit. If I could reach it, I could drive it. After the games I got my updates from Rhonda. She was just as busy but still played information manager. She took the raw information and fed me a condensed version.

Before games and on weekends, I (and anyone else who happened to be with me) visited hospitals and nursing homes in whatever city we happened to be in. I had added the nursing homes after seeing first-hand what Alzheimer's could do to a person and their family. In this time they were still calling it "dementia" and had no clue what caused it.

After healing Reagan, I did. A naturally occurring enzyme caused severe damage to receptors in the brain when over produced. This enzyme was not a necessary component of human physiology and could be eliminated without causing problems. I didn't actually heal anyone though.

I could remove the enzymes and repair the damage which would make the disease go away temporarily but could not prevent more from being produced without causing problems. The enzyme might not be necessary but it was a by-product of natural functions.

This enzyme damaged the receptors over a very long period of time and in most cases would take 60 to 70 more years to repeat that damage. I passed what I had learned on to the others for conventional study. This started us looking into any links between various forms of cancer.

I hadn't thought to look at it that way until Nina pointed it out. We found several to investigate. If the cause could be eliminated the cancer would never occur in the first place. In the mean time we'd carry on with doing what we could.

The Rangers continued to dominate and took the World Series again, sweeping the Dodgers. It hadn't been easy though. Orel Hershiser was in his prime and I got the call to face him in the last game. I had pitched game 1 and he had pitched game 2. The final game would probably be a regular on ESPN Classic when that began.

We ended up winning it 1-0 on a home run in the ninth. Hershiser threw a 1 hitter and lost to my no hitter. I was more proud of receiving the Roberto Clemente award than I was the trophy, MVP, and Cy Young.

Football season was great. I really enjoyed this game and put every bit of effort into it. I didn't hand the ball to the ref every time I scored anymore. I still gave him his pat on the back but the ball always went to a child in the stands. I had begun to do this in the middle of my first season.

I was questioned about the lack of celebration when I scored a couple of times and people seemed to appreciate my answer of "I've seen the end zone before, and hope to see it again. I don't need to celebrate doing my job any more than a heart surgeon needs to spike his scalpel after a successful operation or a plumber needs to do a little dance after unclogging a pipe."

I was only asked about giving the ball away once. I just smiled and told the reporter "I think the league can spare a couple of balls. If they can't, I'll pay for them. I love kids and if I can make a few of them happy I will."

The same reporter then asked about the hospital visits and I got serious. I looked at her and explained as best I could. "If you were facing what those kids are I think you'd appreciate an occasional visit. I know I would. I just hope it helps cheer them up a little."

I think she asked those questions because of the game. I had one touchdown and it was pretty special. It was a playoff game and I intercepted the ball on our 30 yard line with us down 24-21 and less than 3 minutes left in the game. Thanks to some great blocks I ran it all the way back for a score.

I was used to the kids in the stands screaming for the ball and looked around. None of them jumped out at me as needing it so I carried it back to the bench. After the extra point I looked in the stands behind our bench and saw one. I didn't always give it to a kid in the end zone. I liked to spread it around and besides, that would just look like PR.

This boy didn't look like he'd kill for it. He looked more like he'd die if he didn't get it. He was five rows up and I pointed at him, motioning him down to the rail. I thought he'd cry when I handed it to him. I gave him a hug over the rail and cautioned him to take care of it. I also whispered to him that if he hung around by the players exit I'd sign it for him.

He was there with his dad after the game. After the introductions I started to sign it but he stopped me. "Could you please sign it for my sister, sir? She's an even bigger fan than I am."

I gave his dad a questioning look as he wiped an obvious tear from his face. "His sister... my daughter Katie... is in the hospital. Tim is right; it would mean the world to her if you would."

After a couple more questions I found out she was in the cardiac care unit at the teaching hospital in town. I got the impression the prognosis wasn't good. I signed the ball "To Katie-Remember, PLAY THE GAME TO WIN- Matt Sussmann.

I handed the ball to the dad before reaching in my bag and extracted another. I looked at Tim and asked him if he remembered the sack and fumble recovery in the second quarter.

His eyes shone as he exclaimed "man do I! You really clocked that guy!"

He looked on in awe as I signed it for him and I got a great hug when he saw what I wrote. I even got one from his pop after he read "To Tim, A real team player! Matt Sussmann". Before he let me go he whispered so only I could hear "you're a good man, Matt. I couldn't believe it when you picked a black kid out, much less my son, but this is something else."

Before he let me go I whispered back "there is no black or white. People are people."

I'm pretty sure they didn't expect the other thing. Visiting hours were over when I got to the hospital but I had been there quite a few times. It had been a home playoff game and I was a regular here.

I was taken directly to Katie as soon as I asked. She had an infection that had severely damaged her heart. Without a transplant they didn't have much hope and it would be a miracle if she got one in time. Her eyes opened a little when I took her hand and then shot wide open, as did her mouth.

She stuttered "you're MMM... MMM... WHAAA... HOWW..." I laughed and said "careful Katie, you'll spike the EKG and frighten the nurses!"

I explained that I had met her dad and brother at the game and thought I'd visit. Using my free hand I extracted two baseballs from my bag and put them in easy reach. She didn't let go of my hand but used her IV encumbered free one to examine them in glee. "World series balls... and you signed them!"

I nodded and suggested she read the other side. One was from the no-hitter and the other a complete game shut-out. I had signed one for her and one for Tim. We talked for a long time before I felt I should leave. It was almost midnight and she needed her rest.

Katie told me she knew about me giving her brother the ball. He and her dad had called but she would have known anyway. She watched the game and the whole episode was filmed. As if that wasn't enough, the announcers talked about it for almost fifteen minutes and had to go into detail about me doing it all the time. Oh well, at least it was good PR. I really wished they would keep there noses out of some things though.

I asked her to call me when she got out and I'd make sure she got to meet Rhonda. It had come up in conversation that she just adored Rhonda Kaye. The kid had good taste. This didn't make her any happier though. She obviously thought she'd never get out of here alive. I knew different and got the promise, along with a nice hug and kiss before I left. I also left four tickets to the next game.

We had a home game next week too. I hoped she'd call. She had hopes and dreams that would be fulfilled with us. Her dad was a machinist who expected to lose his job (and health care benefits) soon. We could use his skills too.

It was her father who called. He was almost incoherent at first and had trouble putting a sentence together. Finally, I got him to agree to meet me for dinner that night. There was a restaurant (one of many) along the beach that I really liked. The fresh seafood was excellent and the atmosphere relaxed.

Tim, Dale (the father), and Bea (the mother) were right on time. They were somewhat awestruck at the company. Carl's team hadn't made the playoffs and he was in for a visit. Tina, Angeni, Nina and Kathy were there also. We were happy to hear that Katie was doing much better after my visit. They also thanked me for the tickets. I thought we'd need smelling salts when we invited them and Katie to visit us at the house. We had a really nice place in Florida with a private beach.

When Bea looked at me suspiciously and asked why I was doing all this, I shrugged. "You seem like good folks, and I like you. Katie also tells me her daddy is a darned good machinist whose company is laying off people left and right."

Dale's shoulders dropped and he told us he was probably next. They couldn't compete with the foreign competition. I asked if he knew anything about fabricating production equipment and he explained that was what he did at a semiconductor plant. They had no problem with relocating as they had done that for his present job from South Carolina. Kentucky sounded good to him, especially when we outlined the benefits package.

After we got back to the house our small group sat in the living room to talk. Along with Jackie, Angel, Connie, Faith, and Rhonda had arrived while we were out. We began talking about our lives so far, what we had accomplished, and what lay ahead of us.

I finally decided to bring up something that had bothered me for a while. If the Gods knew what was going to occur, why send us back? Why hadn't they addressed the problem then? Seconds after I had I voiced my concern, Loki and Freyja entered from the kitchen and joined us. This time (to Freyja's obvious relief), we merely rose to greet them.

She smiled and said "I wondered when these types of questions would arise. It is time for you to learn more. We were surprised that it took this long."

Loki continued "quite flattering, actually. It demonstrates the level of your faith in us. Be seated please, while my lovely companion fills some gaps in your information."

After we were comfortable she began. "Our laws limit our interaction with humans somewhat. We can not personally interfere with free will, for one. This prevented us from stopping what occurred with the terrorists. If they had been followers of ours we might have influenced them but alas, they were not. Perhaps if there had been more warning, we could have done something but it was not to be. We might have gathered enough of the people who believed in us to mitigate the carnage. I say might because our followers are few and they were many. It did not bode well in any case, since the followers we did have were not in a position to combat effectively and were scattered all over this world. By the time you had gotten organized it would have been too late to stop the events that happened. This was our only recourse. If you were returned in time to become an effective fighting force we felt you would stand a good chance of winning. This was the only choice available."

Kathy spoke up "Freyja, if I may?" Freyja nodded and she continued "you say your interaction with humans is limited but how limited could that be if you were able to do so much with us?" I heard Loki stifle a chuckle and Freyja shot him a look and suggested he answer the question.

He looked at Kathy and said "because you believe. Even then, you were given the choice to either proceed or not. We have been on this planet longer than man, at least as you know him has existed. I am about to let you in on a secret that humans have been searching for through history. In what you refer to as Anthropology, your scientists have been searching for what they call the 'missing link' of evolution. I can safely say that they will never find it. We made a bit of a mistake there. I suppose we just got a bit over anxious. You see, we have been giving a nudge here and there to help where we could. It took a very long time to do this. As Freyja stated, we can only affect believers. Your kind is so unpredictable that occasionally these well-meaning attempts prove disastrous. This has also promoted more caution on our part."

Freyja took over again "I still vividly remember that Einstein fellow. A remarkable man with great compassion and dedication but others used what he discovered for the betterment of your species to develop the worst weapons imaginable. Others like Edison turned out better but no matter who we affected, it was a gamble and the stakes were too high."

Angel had been fidgeting like she was waiting for an opportunity to speak. Freyja finally told her to do it and she timidly asked "are there other gods besides the Vanir and Aesir?"

Loki exchanged a glance with Freyja and she nodded. Loki answered "It would be better if all mortals did not know all of this, but the answer to your question is no. The people who follow the others impression of them is somewhat skewed. Even more so than many who claim to follow us. Many would be shocked at who they pay homage to. Allah, for instance, is the entity referred to as the fire demon Surt. He was loose in this world for a time before we were able to subdue him and prevent the end. His goal was to destroy this world, you see. He is destined to oppose us in Ragnorok. There will be a time when we are unable to prevent his return. His ability to gather an army is one of the conditions that must be met for the final battle to begin.

Loki seemed to look to Freyja for approval to proceed and got another nod. He sighed and began again. "Many humans would be disheartened to learn that they worship us, albeit unknowingly. Odin goes by many names, as do we all. The most shock would come to those who worship an illusion. Some humans saw power in religion and successfully subverted it for their own gain. Holidays and festival dates were used to help the subversion. Eostre (Easter), Yule (Christmas), Vetrnætr, (All Hallows Eve), and others were 'borrowed' to aid them. It's sad really; many humans unknowingly worship Baldur. He was quite distraught over this even though he realizes it was not of his doing."

"If I may, I'd like to ask one more question of you" I interjected. When they turned to me I waved my arm to those seated and asked "what of us? Assuming we succeed, I mean. When this is over, what happens to the ones changed? At last count, we have about 2 dozen people who are basically immortal and have power unheard of in our race. Does that go away? If not, what are we to do when this is done?"

That drew a sad look from both of the gods before Freyja said "It can not be reversed. What is done is done. We were very pleased when you discovered other planets. You will need them eventually. If or when your kind discovers the power you command they will try to use or destroy you. You are in effect, much like us. I am afraid that will only get worse as time passes. It is inevitable that the changes you bring about will make you look like a threat to many, as you will be. If humans who do not possess your ethics obtain the information you will possess, what happened with Einstein will look like one of your firecrackers. All of this will have been in vain. You would do well to remember this. Your powers will continue to grow over time. You must also be very careful about enhancing others as you have been doing. We are pleased that you are finding conventional means to offset this need and strongly suggest you continue. To do otherwise could cause you severe distress in the future. Immortality is not for everyone and should be confined to your core group as much as is feasible. You are, in effect, a different race entirely now. There will be more than one missing link."

As they walked away we looked at each other in stunned silence. Finally, Carl lightened the mood by looking at me and saying "we always said the girls were goddesses, looks like we were more right than we knew."

They must have liked his comment and my agreement because we got worshipped until our peckers about fell off. When we finally took a break Rhonda said "we should have asked one more question. We know what we'll have to do but what about them? When we leave Earth, won't almost all of their followers leave with us? If they derive their power from worship what will they do? Won't they need to leave with us?"

Good question and one I hadn't considered. It made me (and the others, I'm sure) worry until we heard a deep and thunderous voice boom out "thank you for being concerned, but be not worried. Our mission binds us here for good or ill but we will survive. There is still much about us you have yet to learn. Be well..." I'm not sure, but I think it was Odin.

Around this time something occured that puzzled us, or I should say it didn't occur. We had reluctantly decided not to prevent Pan Am flight 103 being destroyed over Lockerbie, Scotland. The logistics just weren't there to enable us to pull it off. The Achille Lauro incident aside, we didn't want to be publicly associated with preventing attacks.