Chapter Three: Can You Hear Them Singing?

Chapter Three: Can You Hear Them Singing?

A day later, Hugh Alman was packing his things, ready to leave. He had little, but Aimes had gifted him with a change of clothes, and a Bible. He’d never read one before. The little device that Hugh had given him was full of videos, and with some experimentation, he’d had the chance to view them all. They were mostly instructional videos, interviews…

Watching them was a strangely emotional experience. During the war he'd seen enough partings, enough hardships, and enough reunions with lost family members to recognize the real thing. It seemed like every person in the world had a similar experience.

“You got everything you need?”

He turned and saw Aimes in the doorway. “Yep. Doesn't take long to pack when you don’t have anything.”

“The clothes fit?”

“Yes, and thank you for them.” Hugh looked in the mirror quickly. “Funny thing. I’ve been wearing this original outfit for days now. It doesn’t feel dirty, or worn out…”

“Hm.” Aimes smirked. (Author's Note: Deuteronomy 8:3, 4 says that when in the wilderness, the clothes and sandals of the Israelites didn't wear out. I don't know that we'll go back to that, but given that returnees are unlikely to come back with much in the way of possessions, it seemed logical enough.)

“Thanks for... well, all of this. I should pay you guys back somehow...” Hugh slapped his empty pockets for the eighth time. “It's worth noting that I haven't seen anyone pass a dollar back or forth once since I came back.”

“Oh, there's an economy. It's just a lot less important than it used to be.” He gestured. “I can give you a ride back to the Docks. You'll get there with plenty of time for your airship.”

~~/*\~~

The airship ride was amazing. Over land, Hugh had a better opportunity than ever to get a look at the new world. The ground was more lush and natural looking than he’d ever seen it. Over the ocean, he was having the same experience. The ocean colors were so much more vibrant, and he could see whales and dolphins playing in the ocean.

The Airship was split into living and working space. There were a dozen or more passengers, all of them going different places. Hugh had met all of them in turn, heard all their stories. Kasumi was there too, but after a few significant looks from other passengers, Hugh recognized that people were drawing the wrong conclusions, and the two of them only met up at mealtimes. There was a crew of half a dozen, but Hugh had heard that that number went up and down to accommodate whatever cargo or passengers they were taking along. The passengers were asked to stay out of the Crew Areas, where the equipment and engines were all kept. Hugh had snuck in and taken a look anyway. The engines worked on a level beyond anything he’d ever seen.

The Airship was called the Stargazer, and during the nights, he could understand why. The sky had never been so clear. He could see billions of stars. During the day, they flew at cloud level, with a layer below, and another above; constantly shifting. There was an observation deck that went around the outside, but it was cold at that altitude, and there were plenty of places to observe from inside. Hugh’s room had a window larger than anything an old airship from his world would boast, and he actually had a mounted pair of binoculars at the window, so that he could observe the ocean and the sky clearly.

Captain Carmen Diaz was the owner of the Stargazer, and she rented it out to charter flights, as well as a regular route. She had spent her off-duty time with the passengers; inviting them to join her at the Captain’s Table; which was at the forward edge of the Dining Room.

On the third night of the flight, Hugh happened to be out on the Observation Deck, and he noticed the Captain was there too. Sitting beside one of the observation windows, she had plenty of light from inside. Enough for her to focus on the sketchpad she had balanced across one knee. She was quickly and neatly sketching something. Hugh had intended to give her privacy, but she noticed him and invited him to sit beside her in one of the reclining outdoor lounges beside her own.

“Beautiful night.” He said, mostly to make conversation. But it was a nice night. Cool, but there was no wind buffeting them. A full moon, a billion stars and the ocean was still as a mountain lake, far below.

“What do you think of my ship?” The Captain asked. “You used to be a flyer yourself.”

“Still am, even if I don't have a plane right now.” Hugh retorted with a smile. “I never flew an airship, but I think she’s beautiful. I’ve never, in my life, seen such luxury in a flying machine of any kind. The Airships of my day had dining rooms, but never a cinema, or a library… Everything here but a swimming pool.” He shook his head. “I know I’m new in town, but how exactly does a world that focuses so much on its spirituality get this kind of luxury?”

“Wealth doesn’t mean you’re a bad Christian.” Diaz told him. “But loving your wealth, putting your trust for the future in money… it doesn’t work. We’ve seen it not working. We’ve seen the uber-wealthy jumping out of skyscrapers after a few bad hours on the market.”

“In God We Trust?” Hugh quoted ruefully.

“Irony of all ironies is that they printed that on money.” Diaz agreed. “Back in OS, The Witnesses dressed up in fine clothing for their meetings, even when they were cash poor. It was part of their worship. Time and financial pressures made it hard to live comfortably at almost every level. Now those pressures are gone, so the way I see it is: In a beautiful world, why not make a beautiful home to live in too?”

“But why an airship?” Hugh was curious. “It’s obviously not because you want the exclusive high-paying passengers. You’ve got a luxury liner you don’t charge for?”

“My father was in the Air Force during the war too, you know.” Captain Diaz said out of the blue.

“Really?” Hugh blinked. This woman could be his daughter, but she had the natural authority of command. Age, he was coming to realize, was borderline meaningless here.

“My father was a flight engineer.” Diaz explained. “He wanted to fly more than anything. During the war, they made him a wrench-turner; but they wouldn’t let him into the academy, because he was Latino. The only time he spent in the air was as a passenger.” She smiled broadly. “Now I live in the air. Haven’t set foot on the ground for more than a few hours in years.”

“How do you manage that?” Hugh asked in amusement.

“I live in the Stargazer. The solar panels and wind turbines give me power, the bag only needs to be refreshed with helium once a century, there’s an apartment in the forward compartment. It’s not big, but you don’t live on an Airship for the floorspace. You live there for the view.” She waved back at the Dining Room. “I take jobs as they come, I can carry over 230 tonnes; so if they want to move cargo or people, I can carry both. My crew is all freelance; depending on what job I’m currently doing.” Diaz looked out the window. “This is my dream come true. To live in the sky.”

“Sounds lonely.”

“Not really. I have a high turnover of people in my world. I keep in touch with several of them, always meeting new people and keeping the old.” She looked over. “I can see your eyes misting over whenever we go above the clouds. You’re a pilot too.”

“I am.” Hugh admitted. “But nothing like this. I flew propeller driven planes. I never got this high without… well, actually I never got this high. Every time you get close... My bomber jacket was zipped tight, I had a breath mask over my face, and no matter how used to it you get, the engine never stopped… This is something else entirely. A sealed cabin, a comfortable chair… And the whole ship is dead silent.”

“‘Dead’ Silent?” Diaz repeated the keyword as though it amused her. “Well, the propellers are powered by turbine and solar power. Something that simply didn’t exist in the 1940’s. Makes for a quiet ride.” She turned the pad to him so that he could see her sketch. She had drawn the dining room, including the passengers. It was an excellent sketch.

“That’s quite a talent.” He commented, making no effort to hide how impressed he was.

“Thank you.” She turned the pad back to herself and started sketching again. “What did you plan to do for the future?”

“I figured I’d retire when the war ended.” Hugh shrugged. “Most civilian airlines take in pilots with military experience. I gave some thought to teaching.”

“Really?”

“I had to train new pilots for the Air Force.” Hugh nodded. “Apparently, there’s still flying machines. Though I may have some catch-up learning to do if I’ll be training people on airships.”

“Oh, we have other kinds too.” The Captain assured him. “I know a man who likes to make wooden sailing ships by hand. He spends some time putting them together with hand tools and the same sort of techniques they used in the 1400’s. Then he sells it off, and starts again. He says it’s like a form of meditation for him.”

“Like sketching is for you?” Hugh smiled. “Kasumi has this tea ceremony she does with ancient crockery, Alec plants trees. In fact, almost everyone I’ve met has two hobbies. One using technology that I’ve never imagined, and another from a far simpler time.”

“You’ll find the whole spectrum in this world, brother.” Diaz pulled out the page from her sketchbook. “For you.”

He froze. “Really?”

Diaz nodded and closed her sketchbook. “In times to come, we’ll all have perfect recall. Sketching is partly a hobby, and partly a way to share memories. If you remember things perfectly, you don’t need photos for yourself.”

Hugh looked at the drawing she’d given him. “I’m insanely jealous. I’d love to be able to sketch like that.”

“Like anything else, it just takes practice. You’ll find that you learn things faster than you used to. Your brain is moving in a higher gear now.”

“Kasumi asked what I’d do with eternity.” Hugh commented. “I think everyone has a list of things they mean to do ‘one of these days’.” He lifted the sketch. “I have to admit, this would be one of them for me.”

Diaz smiled a little to herself.

“I know. I sound like I'm settling in.” Hugh admitted ruefully. “Back in the day, my mission was to shoot a few of these birds down. The ones we could reach, at least.”

“Hydrogen. Dangerous stuff.” Diaz agreed. “Most of the fleet was lost back then to fires. By the end of OS, the airships were history. And since everyone had invented jet engines, they weren’t needed, and people were in too much of a rush. Nowadays, we have a whole different standard on what ‘safe’ means, to say nothing of 'too slow'. The Techies are experimenting with everything all over again, including chemistry. I’m told that with a few more centuries of work, the Stargazer will have greater lift, greater speed, be even safer… Who knows what we’ll work out next?”

“So, uh…” Hugh scratched the back on his neck. “This is what you do with eternity?”

“Well, so far.” Diaz nodded. “Took me decades to get this ship together. It wasn’t something I could salvage or take over. I had to build it myself. Hydrogen is risky, Helium is expensive. Took a while to piece it together. Longer still to stock it. Test flight took me eighteen months around the whole world.”

“Captain Carmen Diaz, I remember that!” A voice put in. They both turned to see Kasumi coming over. “I remember reading about your Maiden Flight. You solo’d around the whole world. In fact, those photos you took? I bought one of your prints.”

“You solo’d the whole world?” Hugh was impressed. “You weren’t worried about supplies, weather?”

“Weather isn’t as much of an issue as it once was.” Diaz smiled. “The climate has really settled. Time was you wouldn’t dare fly around in these things.” She put her pad away. “I remember flying over the Himalayan Mountains. I remember reading that pilots were terrified of those mountains. There were storms that lasted for weeks. If they crashed, nobody would ever find their bones. Now, there are people living all over the entire mountain range, and the sun is shining.”

“Like a modern day Shangri-La?” Hugh shook his head. “Nope, I don’t buy it. Even if transport is safe, surely the weather…”

“Storms and hurricanes are what happens when there’s an imbalance in the climate.” Diaz explained with experience. “The storm comes and blows itself out, and everything settles back to normal. Storms are the weather correcting itself. These days, the climate is already in balance.”

“No. Too far.” Hugh shook his head pointedly. “I can process utopia. I can process coming back from the dead. But I've been a pilot my whole adult life and you expect me to believe there aren’t even storms any more?”

“A world where nobody gets sick, nobody feels greed or possession, and lives in total harmony with nature and each other? The whole world is Shangri-La now.”

~~/*\~~

The flight lasted a week over the ocean. Captain Diaz lowered the altitude to find some helpful air currents, and they moved with the wind. Moving at the same speed as the wind itself actually made the ride quite peaceful, and Captain Diaz opened the observation deck. The passengers walked around the outside of the airship, gazing out across the ocean. They were high enough to see the curve of the earth.

Kasumi hadn’t seen Hugh for almost two days, and went looking for him one afternoon.

He was in the ship's library; which included one large bookshelf, some reading chairs and three Terminals. The three other passengers were giving him a wide berth, not interrupting. Hugh was hunched over one terminal screen, intently focused on it. “What are you looking at?” She came over.

Hugh had been so focused he never heard her coming. “Everything!” He blurted. “Sixty years of what I understand to catch up on. Two hundred years of what I don’t understand to catch up on. Everything from the forties on. A dozen extra wars, a million innovations, the complete slow motion collapse of… everything… Part of me’s glad I didn’t see any of it. Part of me wishes I could have been there!”

Kasumi chuckled. “You know that a lot of that isn’t really relevant any more. You’re still adjusting, so people talk about the old days, strictly for comparison and common ground purposes; but it’s not like most of it affects anything in our day to day lives.”

“I know. Or at least, I’m learning. But it's like I’ve read the first chapter of a book and then skipped to the last one.” He smirked ruefully at her. “I never liked kids who snuck downstairs to peek at their presents, and I hated it when people would tell me how the story ends.”

“And now you’re in a story that doesn’t end.” Kasumi nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then.” She looked over at the other Terminals. “I might actually do some reading myself. My view of the world is a very narrow piece. I’ve already met a WW2 pilot. It’s only a matter of time before we get the Ancient Egyptians back. Might be worth taking a look at some history.”

And imagine the history books that could be written from eye witness testimony. Hugh thought to himself. But he didn’t say it out loud. It was still too fantastic to be real.

~~/*\~~

They landed in New York with the dawn. The entire population of the airship had come out to see it.

Hugh was horrified. The city was gone. There were still a few skyscrapers. He recognized some landmarks. Lady Liberty was gone. Brooklyn Bridge was still there. Yankee Stadium was entirely different. In fact, both those places seemed to gleam, as if they’d been singled out for special consideration.

But almost everything else he knew was gone. The city sprawl had always awed him, as though the entire world had tried to cram itself into a single island. And now it was… Practically a park. The sprawl of buildings and roads and brownstones had been replaced with common areas. The streets were now plazas, and where city blocks had been, there were now parks. It was as though Central Park had expanded to cover the whole island.

There were still plenty of people, tending to the impeccably tended parkland. It was beautiful, even paradisiac. Hugh could see community centers, and commons and walking tours. Statues and artworks were dotted around also. Everywhere he looked, he saw families having picnics, buskers playing music, people tending to the living things.

It was beautiful, but Hugh felt like he’d been punched in the guts. He could see the exact spot where his apartment building should be.

Kasumi sidled up next to him, very aware of his reactions. “How you holding up, brother?”

“Right there. It should be right there!” Hugh croaked. “The brownstone where I grew up. We were on the second floor. The staircase was narrow, but when I got my own room at last, I made sure and got the one with the fire escape. I timed it. I could be out my bedroom window and in the alley in less than twenty seconds. The kids in 2B would hear the rattle and come with we. We’d play stickball in the alley until a truck came through, and then we’d scatter while they unloaded their cargo, or collected the bins. Mister DeMarco would turn up his radio, tuned to the baseball game and the announcer’s voice would echo off the alley walls, like it would in the stadium. We’d all be at our windows, all up and down the four story building to listen.” He looked over at her. “I was born in that building, and now it’s gone. I mean, it was a dump. The wallpaper was peeled away all over the place, the brickwork was starting to crumble, and you didn’t dare hang your laundry without being there to stand guard over it…”

“But it was home.” Kasumi said with due sympathy. “And now you’re here, and it’s been replaced with something else entirely.” She looked out over the island. “Is it so terrible? What you’re seeing?”

“It’s paradise.” Hugh said grimly.

“Brothers and Sisters, welcome to the Brooklyn Gardens.” Captain Diaz called over the intercom. “Folks, if you look out your starboard window, you’ll see Yankee Stadium, as we make our approach. For those that don't know, the original stadium was torn down in favor of a newly built one in 2010. The new stadium is still used for all sorts of sporting events and concerts, but of course many of you will remember the original site as the location of the 1958 International Assembly. It held the largest one-day attendance of 123,707. A world record that stood until A-Day. Every year since, they break that record by an ever growing margin. If you look closely, you can clearly see the common areas around the stadium where the overflow audience gather during the sessions.”

“You guys had a convention in Yankee Stadium?” Hugh was surprised.

“Almost twenty years after the war.” Kasumi nodded.

“We’ll be swinging around the Brooklyn Bridge as we take our pass over the island.” Diaz continued. “Brooklyn, of course was the site of the world headquarters for much of the modern era, in the lead-up to A-Day. The buildings were sold, shortly before it all ended, but for a time, this was the nerve center of the Global Campaign.”

Hugh couldn’t help the laugh that choked out of him throat. “Last time I was around, you were being locked up as draft dodgers.”

Kasumi squeezed his fingers.

Hugh turned away from the observation deck, and made his way back to his cabin.

Diaz’s voice was still clearly audible, even in the corridors. “Once we’ve finished our tour, we will of course be heading in to dock at the newly renovated Empire State Building. Many of you don’t know this, but the famous Observation Deck of the Empire State Building was originally a landing platform for zeppelins and other airships. After the passage of centuries, we finally get to have it fulfill it’s original purpose-”

Hugh switched the intercom off as he made it back to his room. There was nothing familiar there either. He had nothing of his old world left. Not even a home town. Not even his old flight jacket.

But in his room, there was something new. It was a thick spiral-bound sketchpad, with good quality paper. It was stacked on top of a leather-bound journal, ready for the first entry. Included was a small bundle of sketch pencils. The whole thing was tied with a ribbon, and a small hand written note.

Hugh-

It just takes practice.

-Diaz.

Hugh snorted. The free device from Alec, notebooks from the captain, clothes and lodging from Aimes, tea and guidance from Kasumi… He had little to his name, but so far he’d never felt hungry or homeless.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, contemplating his situation, but he felt it when the ship was suddenly anchored securely to something. He went to the window. The Empire State had apparently undergone some renovations, but she was still the same building he had seen as a boy. It was the one thing that seemed in any way familiar.

Except now he had nowhere at all to go.

~~/*\~~

Kasumi was waiting for him as he stepped down the gangplank. She had nobody waiting for her either. All around them, there were reunions happening, like at any airport.

Unlike other airports, there was a welcoming committee. A small group of well dressed people, smiling grandly and shaking hands as people stepped off the airship. Within seconds, Hugh had been given a carry-bag for his sketchbooks, a map of the city, a small booklet describing the city and it’s history, and a promise from three different strangers that he was welcome to stay with them for a while.

It was quite overwhelming.

But eventually, he made it through, and found Kasumi waiting for him at the elevators. She ran enough interference that they had one elevator to themselves.


“I’m sorry for the way I acted before.” He said softly.

She waved it off without speaking.

“It’s all true, isn’t it?” Hugh whispered, soft as a psalm. “The Future. A-Day. God. It’s all true.”

“Yes.” Kasumi promised. Nothing more than one word.

“I came here to get in touch with people I knew were on the level. My Base, my family... But there's no point looking for any of them.” Hugh shivered. “First time in my life, I’m completely in the wind. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had nobody telling me where I should be.” He looked at her as the elevator dinged. “I mean, if everyone’s coming back, then what about my family? My dad? My…” He took a shuddering breath. “My brother? Is he here too? He died before me…”

“I don't really understand the pattern of returnees.” Kasumi warned gently. “But you should know that you’re not the only one looking for something familiar. If they’re here, the best chance at finding them is to put your details into the Tree.”

“The Tree?”

Kasumi grinned. “Come and see.”

“I thought you’d never been here before.”

“I haven’t, but trust me, it won’t be hard to find.”

~~/*\~~

The Wall had to be a thousand feet long, and filled with tiny, minute carvings. There were plenty of people standing at various points, tracing the carvings with intense scrutiny. Hugh came over, and took a closer look. The carvings were all names. Thousands of names, with delicate lines tracing between them. The intention was immediately obvious. “The Tree. You mean a Family Tree.”

“It’s all kept digitally too; with some biographical and contact details for as many names as want to be known. The database is shared between every Meeting Hall. Only the larger communities have something more... physical as well.” Kasumi agreed. “There’s still a long way to go, of course; but this is the Family Tree of Mankind. Every name, every child born.”

“Every child acknowledged, anyway.” Hugh said with grim irony.

“Hugh, being dead has a way of changing your views on your choices, especially where kids are involved. Everyone gets a fresh start, so why not be honest?”

“Because some people would rather die than be honest.” Hugh said seriously.

“That’s because the world was a very dishonest place, and some truths were made to be shameful. The more a place embraces lies, the less the truth is acceptable to hear.” Kasumi gestured at the wall. “Some things are best left alone, I agree, but not all secrets long kept are shameful. Not any more. The ultimate Clean Slate.” She gestured. “Pull up a chair. Put as much of your family tree in as you can remember.”

Hugh did so, hunting for keys. His name, his family names, his birthday, his mother’s maiden name… With every additional clue, the list of people scrolling in front of him shortened. Everyone with his family name, then everyone from his century, then everyone from his home country, then everyone…

“There!” Hugh blurted. “My maternal grandmother. She died before I was born, but I’ve seen pictures. That’s her!”

“Well, she’s back. Contact details are there, if you’re interested.”

Hugh hesitated. “I never met her. She didn’t even know I existed. If the point of this is to find a contact point with the world today…”

Kasumi nodded. “Well, it’s up to you. Sooner or later, everyone else will be on this list. The Tree is far from completed.”

The implications of that were staggering. Hugh looked at the wall again, his eyes roving across the millions of names written there with total clarity. He couldn’t see it, but he knew that the information he had just entered was being added to the huge mosaic. “So many…” He murmured. “So many people I’ll never know… You ever been to Arlington Cemetery?”

“Not personally, but I’ve seen plenty of pictures, movies…” Kasumi nodded.

“Sixty years since my war ended… It wouldn’t have gotten any smaller, would it?” He went over and traced the lines on the wall. “I think… I think it just hit me, all these people are alive. They put their names on the database, and they put their names on this wall. Everyone in this family tree… I did a project about genealogy for school; but I never got any further than my great-grandfather. But all these people… I could meet them, couldn’t I?”

“It’ll take a while, but sooner or later, everyone could trace their line back to Adam and Eve if they wanted.”

“And Arlington! All the memorial walls, all the graveyards…”

“Revelation 20:12.” Kasumi nodded, gently intoning a scripture that even Hugh recognized. “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. But another scroll was opened; it is the scroll of life... And the sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the Grave gave up the dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds. And death and the Grave were hurled into the lake of fire.”

“So many people…” Hugh moaned. “Thousands of millions, and all of them are gonna have those names on this wall… all of them are going to come here, or talk to someone and add their name to this Wall… Because each and every one of them was someone’s kid, and He knows all their names. He knows my name. I was nobody, and He remembered me.”

“You see it now, don’t you?” Kasumi said softly in his ear, warm and gentle. “You’re starting to get what this all means, what it means for everyone. What it means for you. What it means to have a God who loves you. Not humanity: You.”

Hugh felt tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. “When… The Chaplin said that we weren’t meant to know God. The Sky-Pilot said that we weren’t meant to understand the reasons why. He said that was for Him to know.” Hugh sniffed. “And then he waved his cross over us, passed the ammo, and wished us luck on the next mission.”

“And now you know that all He wanted was to give us a big, beautiful world where nobody would ever get hurt, or ever get sick, or ever feel alone, or ever, EVER die.” Kasumi rested a hand on his shoulder. “This is the greatest loss in the history of the world, that billions of people were lead away from the simple truth that Jehovah God cherishes each and every one of us. That’s not a cliche. He knows our names, and He’s calling us all back.” Kasumi’s eyes were shining too. “He tore apart the laws of time and death to do it; and now you’re starting to see it: He’s been waiting a long time. Certainly longer than we have. He’s waited so long for you to be here.”

Hugh was shaking. “No. No.”

“Too much?” Kasumi was at his side instantly, holding his arm.

“Way-y-y-y too much!” Hugh agreed, shaking uncontrollably.

“Then perhaps we should call it a day.”

“Yes please.”

~~/*\~~

There was no shortage of rooms. They weren't plush, but he found no peeling wallpaper, no threadbare carpet. There were common rooms on every level, but the bedroom was larger than his bunk at the Air Base, and he had it to himself. It was more than he'd had for most of his adult life, and he was glad for it. He wanted to be alone for a while.

He couldn't believe it was all a con. Not any more. He'd checked his location by the stars, and he was home, but the city was mostly gone. Not blown up, or torn to rubble, just removed. The technology was years beyond anything he could see, and he hadn't seen one elderly or infirm person since he woke up at water's edge. The Great War had turned out a whole generation of men with missing limbs and burn scars, but there were no such people in view. The churches were all gone, and he hadn't been asked for so much as spare change...

It was real.

It was impossibly, unbelievably, wonderfully, inconceivably real.

“Dear God…” Hugh said aloud, and then paused. No. It didn’t feel right. Hugh looked around, and found a pen. Every Guest Room had a certain amount of things. Hugh didn’t know if anyone was still producing notepads. He had seen most people taking notes on their devices. The forests he had seen from the Stargazer were growing bigger and healthier than ever, but with twenty thousand new people a day, he was sure they were still getting lumber from somewhere.

He took the leather-bound book that Diaz had given him, and opened to the first page.

~~/*\~~

Dear God.

I don’t know if it counts, writing out a prayer. But even if I believe that you’re there for the first time in my life, I still feel silly talking out loud in an empty room. There were some people who did that back during the war; having conversations with themselves. We worried about them.

I have spent most of my life rolling my eyes at You. I decided early on that You made no sense. I can’t deny what I’m seeing. Not any more. If it’s a trick, it’s such a good one that I can’t help but be taken in.

It changes everything, Sir. Lord. I don’t even know how to address you.

Back in Sunday School, the teachers said to save up my questions for the day I met you.

When I was a kid, my questions were about things like trees and birds. Do our jokes make you laugh? Why would you make us? Was humanity worth saving? Why did my brother have to sign up in the first place? Will I see him soon? Will he accept this? Does it matter what I believe? Will you accept me anyway? Why did you make us with only two eyes? Why did you make mosquitoes at all?

~~/*\~~

Hugh stopped himself. He could have filled the entire notebook with questions and had pages more. Sleep wasn't possible. That much was clear to him. He got up and went for a walk.

He didn't go far before he found Kasumi. She had her head bowed, and he suddenly realized that she was praying. Even before waking up in this strange place, he recognized the weight of it. Plenty of people Hugh had known prayed hard, before going on missions, and when they came back. He stayed back enough that she wouldn't be disturbed.

It was a fascinating thing, to watch her pray. Her expression changed, as though she was having a two way conversation. Maybe she is. But even with her head bowed, she was just... part of it. Invested in it. She was having a private conversation with someone that mattered to her.

Her eyes opened, and she looked up at the moon for a while, before seeing him, and motioning him to come and join her.

“I wonder sometimes, what's harder to handle. The supernatural, or the normal.” She confessed quietly. “I spent so long in a hospital bed that I barely knew the rest of the world existed. When I came back, the hospital was a dormitory. I got my old room back, and... The bed felt so familiar that for a time, I thought all this was a dream.”

Hugh snorted. “Put like that, maybe I'm lucky that there's so little I recognize.” He was silent a moment. “I don't belong here, Miss Mori. I don't belong in this world, and as long as I keep thinking of myself as a visitor, I can handle not being home. It's been that way for a lot of my adult life.” He hissed in a breath. “But I can't go back, can I?”

“No. That world is gone.” She told him gently, but firmly.

He nodded weakly. “Two hundred years?”

“Hugh, you’ve had your head put into a spin today.” Kasumi told him kindly. “But you know what? They still play baseball in Yankee Stadium. They still sell peanuts and popcorn. The game is still broadcast, and the kids will still play it. If you had made it home from the war, those kids would still be all grown up with kids of their own.”

Hugh smiled, despite himself. “They would, at that.”

“The building might not be there, but all the things you remember that made it seem like home? They’re more than still there; they’re glorious now. Any kids playing stickball in the alley will never be too sick to play. Those baseball games you heard on the radio? Imagine a baseball team with all the top All-Stars of history.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad when you say it.” Hugh admitted, eyes tearing up a bit. “This is what God wanted us for? To tend the gardens and play baseball and eat fruit right off the tree?”

“And to remember.” Kasmi added. “Never forget that.”

“Remember what?”

“That He’s the reason we can have it all. Saying ‘thank you’, is no small thing.” She smiled. “Imagine if you woke up one morning, and all you had was the things you remembered to thank Him for the previous night.” She rose. “Still on Europe Time, but I believe I can sleep now. How about you?”

~~/*\~~

Hugh didn’t sleep a wink that night. It was a warm night, and his room had a window. He went to it and leaned out, looking at the new world. There was a bonfire burning, with people around it. Some of them were hugging, laughing… Were they having joyous reunions? How many of them had gone through revolutions and revelations of their own, the way he had that afternoon?

It was like fireworks going off in his mind. God hadn’t taken his brother, or his father, or his mother. God didn’t start the war or cause the storms that knocked down his captain. God was the one fixing the damage.

Around the bonfire, he could see people. As he had come back in his uniform, he could see people in various eras of dress. Hairstyles too. There were men with muttonchops, the way they wore beards back in the last century. There were women wearing Victorian era dresses. Kasumi had mentioned that some were sticking to styles and customs that they were comfortable with. Hugh understood that.

Are they meeting their ancestors? Are they meeting their descendants? The questions swirled in his mind.

He heard someone start to sing, and half a dozen voices rose in joyful unison.

Scattered by time, forgotten by mortal man, and long since gone to dust, there were strangers becoming family. Hugh looked up. The moon was high and full, and the stars seemed twice as bright, and the ever growing family of man danced beneath them, voices raised. Hugh stared up helplessly at the moon, feeling like he was somewhere else entirely; but he could hear them singing.

Just see yourself,

Just see me too;

Just see us all in a world that is new.

Think how you’ll feel, how it will be,

To live in peace, to be truly free.

No evil one will then prevail;

Rule by our God cannot ever fail.

Hugh Alman stared up at the stars, the Truth exploding in his brain in a way that he’d never felt before.

“Um…” He spoke aloud. “Lord? Jehovah?” He shook his head. “No, that’s not right… Um… Sir, I’ve never done this before. Prayed, I mean. I said some words, once. I’ve heard them said a lot, but… I never had much respect for people who only pray when they wanted a wish granted. Even in foxholes.”

He looked back to the window. Was he supposed to look up at the stars, or bow his head? “I can hear them, and I guess you can too. These people, from all walks of life. Your people, if I understand it right. Whenever I came to churches, I found weeping widows, afraid of your anger, begging for Your mercy… but Alec and Kasumi aren’t like that. They aren’t afraid of you. To them, you are not a God of judgment. I never really considered what You were to me, but I think… During the war, I was afraid. Afraid to meet You. Afraid of what you’d see when you looked at me. Everyone who's done a bombing run wonders about what that means for them...”

The time will have come for a new earthly start,

The song of our praises will pour out from our heart:

“Jehovah our God, how well you have done!

All things are new by the rule of your Son.

The fullness of our heart overflows in our song;

All glory and honor and praise to you belong.”

“But apparently you found something worth bringing back.” Hugh continued. “These are the people who worked for You, praying for You to come and save them, living their lives dedicated to someone they couldn’t see, except they knew You were there, so sure that nothing anyone said or did could pull them away from You… And now I’m here, back again, and with them, like the soldier and the singers are both worthy of you… I can hear them. Can you? Can you hear them singing?”

Now see yourself, and see me too;

And look ahead to a world that is new.

No sight we see, no sound we hear

Will cause alarm or give rise to fear.

All has come true, just as he said;

Now over mankind, his tent is spread.

He took a deep breath, before he said what he was feeling. “I never understood… You. I never understood why You would take my family, or why You would cause hurricanes and floods. I don’t know why I never made the obvious connection: You didn’t. But just so you know… I wouldn’t have asked You to do it. I was a soldier, and I had long since given up any fear of dying. I never would have asked You to save me. It’s not like You ever owed me anything. I never claimed to have done anything particularly noble. But I am alive now, and Alec and Kasumi say that this… this Life, this Life Everywhere is what You always wanted for us. So, assuming this is all as real as it seems… I just wanted to say Thank You… And that I’m sorry I never spoke to you sooner.” He stopped and then looked back at the window. “Oh, um… Amen.”

He now shall awaken those sleeping in death;

Their voices will join us with ev’ry grateful breath:

“Jehovah our God, how well you have done!

All things are new by the rule of your Son.

The fullness of our heart overflows in our song;

All glory and honor and praise to you belong.”

~~/*\~~

Alec was in the European Region, planting trees, when he received a call. “Hello?”

“It's Hugh.” The answer came. “Looks like I can figure out how to use this thing after all.”

Alec smiled. “Hugh. What time is it there?”

“Late. I was...” Hugh cleared his throat. “I owe you an apology. The way I left things. It wasn't right. You've never said a word against anything I've been saying or the way I've been acting. And... The more of the world I see, the more I feel like a bloody Caveman. I'm completely out of my time.”

“It's not a unique situation right now.” Alec allowed with a smile. “What do you think of what you're seeing?”

“I prayed.”

“Yeah?”

“The only prayers I’ve ever said were said for other people. I prayed before bed because my mother told me to. I prayed in Sunday School because the padre told me to. I prayed before every battle, because… Well, no atheists in foxholes. But this was different.”

“Because this one came from you?”

“No. Well, yes; but... Because this is the first time I ever thought that someone might actually be listening.” Hugh nodded. “Belief is something I’ve never had before.”

“Don’t ever forget this feeling.” Alec told him proudly.

“So… is that it?” Hugh seemed awkward about it. “You just.. believe it?”

“No, there’s more to it than that. There’s a scripture that says that belief isn’t enough, because even the demons are believers in God. What comes next is more about what you do with that belief. It’s like the difference between knowing what makes a healthy diet, and actually eating healthy. The next step...”

“I think I know.” Hugh nodded. “Now I learn more, right?”

“Right.”

“I guess I should turn around and take a flight back then.”

“You don't need me to be your teacher. I'm your welcoming committee. Consider yourself welcomed.” Alec smiled. “Twenty-odd thousand a day get brought back into the world. And there’s always more to do. Twenty thousand more beds a day, sixty thousand more meals. We’re going like freight trains trying to keep ahead of the curve. You won’t have any trouble finding a place where you can learn more. If you want to be in your old hometown when you do, that’s just fine with me.”

Hugh hesitated. “I feel like I’m insulting you, Alec. You were the first person I met here, and now…”

“Hey, it takes a village to raise a child. I can’t give you eternal life. That’s between you and God. My job was to welcome you back and explain where you were. If you wanted me as a teacher, I would have been glad to do so, but I’ve brought eleven people into the Brotherhood; and I did it all because Jehovah drew them to him.”

“Well then, I guess that's it.”

“We'll meet again.” Alec promised. “If it takes a hundred years, or a thousand… The world we live in now? We never have to say goodbye again. Just goodnight.”

~~/*\~~

The thought made Hugh want to cry. A veteran of war, he’d had two goodbyes for every hello. Hugh had stood firm against all kinds of horror and fear. But this place was making him break down in tears every few weeks. How could paradise do what purgatory could not? “Well then… Until next time?”

“Until next time.” Hugh could hear Alec tap at his Screen for a moment. “As a matter of fact, I'm going to be at Brooklyn Branch myself when the International rolls around. I'll meet you there!”

“The International?”

“Conventions, my brother.” Alec said grandly. “In the meantime, ask around. You'll find someone to teach you the basics.”

“You're serious. You want me to just go up and ask a bunch of strangers if they'll put their vacation, or their work plans on hold to teach me stuff that apparently everyone knows? Nobody's going to go for that.”

Alec laughed long and loud with delight. “See you at the International.”


End Of Chapter Three