Jarret Carter ran to his room after
school. He had homework from classes but he also had the entire weekend to get it done. He certainly would when his helper arrived – if he chose to come today. Jarret hoped he would.
He needn’t have worried on that
day. The wall next to his desk shimmered gold whenever his “best friend in the
entire universe!” waited to receive him. All Jarret had to do was knock and it
would open. He fairly dived to that wall with one small fist preceding him. He
tapped three times and the door opened—to an empty room.
Jarret peered in. No light switches
on the walls, no lights for that matter. It was lighted nonetheless,
from—somewhere. Jarret almost stepped inside when a voice sounded from behind.
His mother said, “Be careful son. You know the armor doesn’t like surprises.”
Jarret froze; afraid to answer,
afraid to turn around lest the massive cat pounce on him. The captain assured
him the armor would never hurt him but it’s hard not to be afraid of something
so big, so fierce and so – alien to
normal reality. Men have worn armor of some sort into battle almost as soon as
they figured out how to wage war. But nothing in all Creation prepared a mind
to process sentient armor. It is protection in every sense of the word, from everything
a mind could conceive of—from rocks to missiles to everything beyond that.
Finally a hand grabbed his
shoulder. Jarret instantly knew it was not a massive razor-clawed paw. He
relaxed and turned to face his captain and friend. “Aric!” He threw his arms
around the big man.
His mother gave him a stern look.
“Now, Jarret, I’ve told you over and over you must refer to the captain by his
proper name.”
Before he could respond he felt a
squeeze on his arm. Aricel said, “Not a worry, Lana. Jarret and I have been
friends a long time, practically since he was born. He knows as long as no one
else is around he can relax. Right, Jare?” The boy nodded. Aricel continued,
“Out in public he always calls me captain and that’s good.”
Mamma Lana shrugged lightly, “As
long as you don’t mind, captain, I won’t either. But in all my three hundred
years on this Earth I have never met a man like you.” She let herself out of
the room on her way to do whatever magic mothers do when children aren’t
watching.
Aricel called out to her, “You look
good for your age!”
“Shut it!” Came the swift reply
from down the corridor, which made Aricel laugh. He walked over to the desktop
scanner. “What type of work do you have for the weekend, Jare?”
Jarret was crushed. “Oh man! I
thought we were going to do something fun first. Can’t this wait until
tomorrow?”
“Actually no. I took a look at your
assignments before I came in and a couple of them will require some time to
complete.”
“Hey, no fair! Why do you always
ask me stuff when you already know the answer?” Jarret complained.
“Yeah, that’s cheating a bit. But
we are not here to see what I know, but to see what you know, what you understand. Now what do you want to tackle
first?”
Jarret sat down in front of the
open screen. “”Well, I like Math so I’m saving that for last. Communications is
just a lot of writing; I can do that in parts before bed each night, so that’s
no big deal. Let’s do this science project. Is that okay?” He turned around to
see Aricel sitting on a large furry chair. He did not hear the thing move into
the room. He shivered involuntarily. If either of them noticed they did not let
on.
Aricel scanned the list of projects
(that he probably already knew by heart,
Jarret thought). He picked the one entitled “Metamorphosis.”
“I figured you’d pick that one; it
takes the longest time to complete.”
“Yes it does,” Aricel smiled, “but
there’s a reason it’s on your list. Your teacher asked me to help you get
through the first run this weekend. I promise you it will be completed quicker
than you think. In fact, you can get all of your assignments done in time to
meet your father’s ship tomorrow afternoon.”
“Really? Awesome! I miss dad. I
wonder how far out they went this time? You know—I know you do—but you’re not
going to tell me – as usual.”
“Yes I know; no I won’t tell you,
and no I won’t explain. The one thing you need most is patience. Besides, if I
answered all of your questions about your dad’s trip, what would you two have
to talk about in the coming days?
“Now hurry along to your mother;
give her a goodbye kiss while I upload your assignments. We have much to do and
plenty of time to do it in.”
Jarret stopped. “That doesn’t make
any sense. It’s supposed to be ‘we have much to do and no time to do it in’, or something like that. The way you said it
makes no sense at all.”
“Are you sure? Well in that case, don’t worry
about it. Move along now; the garden waits.”
Jarret gave up trying to make heads
or tails of the captain’s words. Most of the time he tells you things ahead of
time this way but it takes a while before you understand what he meant –
usually after the time when you wanted to know. He found mom in the kitchen
talking to his great aunt Winnie while she cooked. The woman in the screen was
older than his mom by at least 20 years but they looked more like sisters.
Nobody seemed to ever get old – not
as old as the people in his history book. Come to think of it, he had never
once met a grey-haired person much less old and wrinkled. He would have to
remember to ask Aricel about it some time. Jarret politely interrupted their
conversation, greeted Aunt Winnie and then scooted out the door before his
mother could kiss him. He didn’t hate the kisses, mind you; he just liked
teasing his mother more.
Aricel stood outside in his formal uniform. The one Jarret had seen it before and liked the most. All in the purest white imaginable with special
adornments. Jarret liked the gold trimmed boots that go up to his knees. The
gold belt over the tunic also looked pretty nice.
That necklace was the most colorful
thing about the captain. Jarret tried to recall what the different jewels
meant. The "name jewel" was obvious; everyone at that level had one to identify
their person. The Name jewel, the Name
above all names that gave the captain his awesome authority and powers was
also impossible to miss. That lion head clasp was his tribal identity. The rest he would have to learn about later.
They took the long way to the
Garden. This was the first time they had walked the corridors since he was a
child of about six. He was much older now and could see more things and
understand more than he did four years ago.
Like how you can walk along the
corridors and see the glow of the Throne above your head, all of the time. It
didn’t matter if you were on the north side, west, east or south. Everyone knew
that. This time he noticed that it did not matter which floor you were on. Go
up four floors or down three or more and when you stepped out the view was the
same. It was as if the floors above you did not exist.
The highest floor a normal person
could go to was the Garden. That was the biggest park in the world. It was
miles and miles across. If you wanted to meet people like the captain, that was
the place to take a seat. Jarret followed along as Aricel greeted one or
another. It looked like a big family reunion for him. Once he hugged a fellow
for a very long time. They spoke quickly in a language Jarret could not
understand then hugged again before the other one left.
“Who was he, Captain?” He asked.
“She.”
Jarret looked back at the departing
being. “No I mean him, the guy you were talking to.”
“Jarret, that is no ‘guy’; she was
a woman and we used to be married.”
That took a moment to sink in.
Aricel stood by waiting for the small mind to process the imponderable. Turning
first one way and then the other, Jarret looked at the other beings in range of
his view. Not one looked like a woman – well not completely. They were all the
most handsome of people, not a mark on them, nothing that looked like a
blemish. Here and there one would unfurl a pair of wings and take to the air.
That one has two pairs. And two over there just vanished!
Jarret sat down in the soft grass.
He felt dizzy and sick to his stomach. He closed his eyes tight trying not to
get sick. Aricel told him to just look up at the light; everything would be
fine. Jarret did and he immediately felt better. When he stood up he felt rested all over.
“Captain, you are more confusing
the more I know about you.”
Aricel laughed. “I know it’s a bit
of a conundrum – a mystery. Gender doesn’t work the same way in the Eternal. We
are never going to die so we don’t have children, so there is no reason to get
married. Just understand we don’t need to marry or fool around but we do still
have feelings; we love each other and love to be around each other. Much the
same way as you long to spend time with your family, we rejoice when we are
reunited. Now, let us be about our business here.”
Every plant in the Garden
flourished in the undying light. Their branches and leaves lifted up in
lifelong praise. Jarret found a cluster of tiny silvery spheres under a low
bush. He walked around the bush looking for just the right set; a cluster of
three or four eggs on a single leaf as Aricel instructed him. He plucked the
whole leaf carefully when he found one. He then had to find a bush of the same
type with no eggs. From that bush he gathered a number of clean branches close
to the trunk. He carefully tied the bundle with a vine and cradled the single
egg leaf in the palm of his hand. Mission accomplished, they walked back home
together chatting along the way.
The standard game in the Carter
home began at the door. Jarret had to make his way to his room without being
captured in a motherly embrace and forced to submit to kisses and grooming. He
never understood his mother’s obsession with combing his hair. It would only
fall back into its usual tussled state a moment after she finished.
Sometimes he skirted by with speed,
other times he would try stealth. This time he tried a little of both, to no avail.
Mother stood inside his room, smiling with arms spread wide. It was cheating,
yes, but not against the rules. Eventually satisfied with his hair and a few
extra kisses she left him to his work. A stray lock fell over his eyes before
the door closed.
The far wall opened into Aricel’s
room as expected. Jarret did not expect to see what was inside. The captain stood grim-faced in his closet
hanging up what looked like work clothes or a uniform of some kind. It was the
only thing Jarret has ever seen him wear that wasn’t shimmering white or
metallic gold. The smell of smoke and burning hair touched his nostrils for an
instant, no more. The armor curled up in its usual place a bit ruffled and
licking something red off its massive claws.
Worse of all, the Captain’s face
exuded – a “darkness”; nothing evil, just a hard-edged scowl of danger. His
eyes flashed fire and lightning, the room felt cold and hot at the same time.
Jarret felt afraid of his friend for the first time. He had never seen this
part of the Captain and never wanted to see it again. He took a slow step back.
Quiet as he thought he was, Aricel
heard him. He turned to look at his small friend. Just that quick his face was
normal. The room seemed lighter then, and as comforting as ever. Jarret tried to
remember why he was scared but the thought fled away from him faster than the
wind. He said, “Where have you been, Captain? I only saw you a moment ago in
the hall and it looks like you’ve been away for a long time.”
Aricel smoothed his hair with one
hand, “Time doesn’t work the same way in Eternity, my friend. One of your
seconds could be a thousand years for me. I can’t explain it accurately until
you’ve had your classes in multi-dimensional transformations. And that won’t be
for another oh, nine years or so. Meanwhile let’s get started on your
assignment, shall we?”
Jarret stepped into the room. The
armor must have finished its grooming as it was curled up asleep in the usual
spot close on the bed. Jarret laid out his bundle on the clean desk; the leaf
floating in a suspension field to the right, the branches in a tube to keep
them fresh off to the left. Jarret reviewed his assignment, which was not very
precise. “Study the butterfly.”
That was all. Just one short
sentence—nothing to tell him what he was to learn or what to look for. He
scratched his head and turned to Aricel. “What am I supposed to do, Captain?”
“Well, from what I can see, you
have to study the butterfly.”
“I know that!” Jarret became irritated in his confusion. “I don’t see
any butterflies around here. Unless you’re hiding them somewhere.”
“They are right where you left
them, Jare.” Before Jarret could answer he turned back to see where the Captain
was pointing. The leaf floated in the same place he left it, for sure. But it
was not the leaf he needed to pay attention to, it was the tiny silver eggs.
Aricel placed a flat metal box on
the desk in front of him. It opened to reveal a space deeper than it was thick
on the outside. Jarret Was long since accustomed to the weird things the
Captain had access to. “Any tools you need are inside of the lid. The branches
will be fine in that tube and will never dry up. Now take one egg from the
bottom side of the leaf and place it on a clean leaf by itself. Use the
tweezers—carefully. Good, now place it in the basin and watch.”
As soon at the leaf touched the
lower plate, the egg hatched and a small caterpillar crawled out. It began to
munch on the leaf with neither thought nor care for its strange environment. The leaf quickly shrank as the little bug
grew.
“He has quite an appetite, doesn’t
he?” Jarret nodded. “Keep him under observation and keep feeding him leaves.
I’ll be back to check on your progress after Temple. A word of caution my
friend; do not try to leave the room. My ship is a dangerous place for folks
like you. If you need anything ask the armor, he’ll get it for you.” The mound
of fur didn’t answer just snorted in a way that made it clear it did not want to
fetch anything and did not want its sleep disturbed.
Soon the Captain was gone, the
armor still slept and the bug began to slow in its eating. Already it stretched
to a solid inch in length. It sat in one place for a while not eating. Jarret
thought there might be something wrong with it when it turned whitish and
dry.
Suddenly it burst out of a dried
shell of its former self. It began to eat with all the gusto it had at the
beginning.
This happened twice more and Jarret
began to think about having something to eat as well. He dared not disturb the
cat-like thing behind him. Perhaps it wouldn’t harm him, but Jarret was not
willing to chance it. He eased out of the chair over to the wall connecting to
his own room. It remained open so he went to the kitchen. He wanted a snack and
a drink. His mother worked in her office on something and Jarret did not want
to disturb her either for a minor task he felt good about doing for himself.
He returned to his room with a
glass or water and one of mom’s great sandwiches she seemed to have stocked for
just such emergencies. Jarret stepped
through the wall into a very different place than he had just left a moment
ago. It was colder somehow. Aricel came in the room at the same time.
“Didn’t I tell you that you needed to
watch the little creature closely?” Aricel did not look happy. The little basin
held the dark shriveled form of an obviously dead caterpillar lying next to a
dry stub of a leaf.
Jarret was shocked. “But I was only
gone for a moment. I stepped out, and went straight to the kitchen and came
straight back. It could not be even a whole minute!” Even as he said the words
Jarret felt the hollowness of each one. The best excuse in the world could not
put life back into the little insect.
Jarret no longer felt hungry.
“Well, that’s done and over now;
let’s move on Jarret, have a seat. Take another egg and another leaf, place
them in the basin.” Jarret did as he was told. Aricel placed the other body out
of the way in a cylinder up at the top of the desk where Jarret could still see
it.
The new egg hatched. The little
caterpillar began to eat as the other had before, only faster. The first leaf
disappeared in a flash and a half. Jarret hastened to get the next one in
before the tiny fellow finished the first. The cycle of Eat-Grow-Molt then Eat
some more proceeded as before just so much faster. In no time at all the
caterpillar exceeded the size of the first one. Jarret remembered that time
works differently on this side of the wall. He thanked the King for the fact
that he did not have to sit through the same exercise again. There are many
benefits to living in Eternity.
“I wish I were dead.” Jarret spoke
so softly he wasn’t sure he had spoken at all. The look on Aricel’s face
assured him the thought had escaped his brain and betrayed him through his big
mouth.
“Don’t you think your mother would
miss you?” Jarret expected to get a scolding for making such a stupid
comment—he knew it was stupid; though
he wasn’t sure why it was stupid. Aricel’s soft demeanor hurt more than any
rebuke. The question demanded an answer, as do all questions from the Captain.
“I don’t think so, Captain. Once I
have a body like yours she could see me any time she wanted, forever. And I
wouldn’t have to do all of these lessons. I’d already know all of this stuff like
you do.”
“Hm, interesting; hold on to that
thought. We’ll discuss it later. Meanwhile, how is the little guy doing?”
The caterpillar finally stopped
eating. It sat on top of the last partially eaten leaf, casting its small head
from side to side as the plump green body pulsated to its own rhythm. Aricel
showed Jarret how to select the right sort of branch for the caterpillar.
Before the branch stood fully erect the bug began its clumsy journey. It found
the perfect spot under the junction of three leaves and began weaving a cocoon.
This part did not go quickly. Jarret had the pleasure of watching the entire
process from beginning to end.
Aricel stood up. He moved to the
bed and spoke into the ear of his armor. At last he turned and said, “I have
another errand to attend to. There is no telling how long I’ll be gone but I
should be back in time for the next phase of the assignment.
“The rules are the same; do not
leave this room, okay?” Jarret nodded without turning so the Captain could not
see his crimson flush. He felt a large gentle hand on his shoulder. “If you
need anything I assure you, Mr. Grumpy will get it for you.” This time the
great cat made no sound. “In the meantime you can do other lessons or read if
you want.”
The Captain left quietly as he always
did. He could be next to you one moment and vanish back to his own world before
your next heartbeat. Jarret sometimes
wondered why he spent so much time back in the dull human world if the rest of
his world held greater wonders than this room; with its changing furniture, its
immeasurable size and marvelous food and drink instantly provided with a single
thought. Just this one room is a wonder!
Can anyone imagine the world beyond that door?
Jarret Carter’s mind always filled
with questions whenever he interacted with the Captain. He set those aside this
time, determined to not fail in his assignment. The cocoon might be a boring
thing just hanging from a twig but Jarret remembered, “Time works differently
this side of the wall.” Jarret suspected Aricel didn’t like to waste time any
more than he did only his friend could do something about it.
Colors swirled inside of the thin
shell. Toward the end it was almost like watched food in a processor turn from
almost entirely green to reds, orange and purple. In no time at all the casing
cracked and the little creature struggled to emerge into the wondrous world.
The small head was the same as before size but completely different. Almost
beautiful in a buggy sort of way, the large eyes and feathery antennae looked
almost elfin.
The new bug-form seemed to get
stuck after the wings slipped out. Jarret took the tip of a tiny knife and
helped to spread the crack in the seam a little wider. Only a thick strap held
the two parts of the clamshell capsule together. Once cut, the top sprung open.
The butterfly climbed out on the stem for a well-deserved rest after the
struggle for rebirth. The bloated abdomen pulsed in an effort to transfer blood
to the wings. Here Jarret noticed a problem.
The insect kept pumping its base
but the wings would not spread. Jarret reached in and took the butterfly on the
tip of one finger. Drawing it closer to his face he could not figure out the
problem.
Aricel returned about that time. “I
see you have a puzzle on your hands young man. Do you mind if I take a look?”
Jarret passed the bug over and watched Aricel place it in another cylinder
opposite of the basin and next to the carcass of the previous failure. He then
sat next to Jarret, looked at him gently and said, “Do you know what went
wrong?”
Jarret thought everything over
carefully. He never left the table, never took his eyes off of the insect and
observed it through what Aricel called “pupation.”
From egg to emergence the project proceeded naturally—right up to the part
where Jarret picked up the knife. “I was only trying to help him out of his
shell.”
Aricel nodded. “That was good
thinking, but you know; sometimes we do bad things in an effort to do good. This
particular species of Empress Butterfly has a natural block in their wings that
keep them from being inflated before they clear he chrysalis. It keeps them
from being damaged in the process. After the wings are out the lower part of
the body is forced through a narrow band. That breaks the block and allows the
wings to unfurl properly.”
They worked together to reset the
experiment. It all went very smoothly this time since Jarret knew what to
expect at each stage now. He fed the caterpillar like clockwork until it was
ready to pupate. The chrysalis developed quickly. In what felt like ten minutes
they had a fully developed, shimmering butterfly fanning new wings above a
leaf.
Aricel passed the butterfly to
Jarret’s finger. “Jarret, you now have a complete picture of the life-cycle of
this single species. A lot of insects go through something like this in their
turn. The details vary, but they process from egg to adult stage is usually the
same.”
Jarret nodded. Aricel went on.
“What you have not yet connected is this cycle of life applies to more complex
lifeforms, too. Most creatures start out as an egg of some sort. There is a
developmental period in which the body grows in size and cells become
specialized. Then there is some sort of transition—whether hatching or
birthing—when a fully developed body emerges.
“The same thing happens with
people, even you my young friend.’ Aricel swiped Jarret on the nose which made
him smile. “You were an egg and someday you’ll be an adult.”
“Like mom and dad.” Jarret
concluded.
“Yes and no, Jarret; life is more
than you know it to be.”
A revelation like that is too much
for a child’s mind to completely grasp. They had to be introduced to it gently
as they matured. In the past they were not told at all until they were adults
and even then not everyone got the full, unadulterated truth. The presence of
the King on Earth changed everything.
And people like Aricel who did the
amazing and miraculous everyday with ease had to be explained. “Jarret, in the
past people believed in different theories of where we as a people came from,
and where we as individuals came from. We all needed to know what we were here
for and what the purpose of life was.
“Over the next few years you will
learn a lot about those ideas and why they were wrong. This particular lesson
is to lay the foundation for those lessons. Simply put; you were once an egg in
your mother’s body. Knitted together with a cell from your father, you became a
new being. Right now you are a caterpillar taking in nourishment and growing.
Your body will change in different stages, like when this caterpillar molted.
“Eventually you will stop growing
in the ways of childhood. As a chrysalis you will learn to be a butterfly. Your
parents aren’t butterflies yet but in their own chrysalises. At the right time
they will emerge from their own shells into Eternity. They will either fly like
this last one or fail like the others. There is no guarantee that every egg
will survive to be a full butterfly.”
Jarret inhaled sharply, “You are a butterfly!”
Aricel stood smiling. His four
wings burst forth spreading from wall to wall. The full glorious shine around
him banished all shadows. Heavenly singing poured from the walls, the floor and
everything in it. The armor roared loud enough to crack the walls of a normal
house.
Aricel scooped up the insects and
Jarret. They flew through walls and sky, through mountains and waterfalls. As
far as they went they were in the Garden as quick as if they just stepped into
the next room. Aricel touch the two failed experiments and restored them to
full health. All three flew off to join their kind in search of food and
companionship.
Aricel took Jarret on another short
trip to the Northern Gate of Judah. The launch pad was usually busy with
people-made spacecraft going to and fro. It was always a special time when one
of the grand intergalactic ships returned. Humans could not match the speed of
the Eternals but they have made strides undreamed of before the Millennium
began. Science yielded up fantastic secrets when tethered to the truth of
Creation.
Jarret’s father specialized in exotic
lifeforms. He always had a few specimens with him when he returned from his
trips. This time Jarret would have a few stories of his ow to share. “Oh, I
can’t wait to see my dad!” He gushed.
“Why wait?”
Jarret looked up smiling. “Yeah!”
In a flash they were 480 thousand
kilometers above New Jerusalem. Jarret found Doctor Esteban Carter supervising
the placement of cargo pods. He was surprised to see his young son appear from
nowhere tightly hugging his waist. However, he felt no real shock as he had long
ago become accustomed to the ways of Eternals. If there is any way they can
intervene to make a child even that little bit happier, they would gladly do
it. With a wave of a hand and a flash of light the Captain departed the ship.
***
Lana Carter walked the lonely halls
of their home. Her time in this place drew to a close. Shortly after her
“husband” and son returned she would make a “voyage” of her own. She knew where
she was going and what awaited her there. The comfort offered by these strong
walls, these cool walls, did nothing
to ease the dread of the fires to come. “Sometimes I wonder what sort of Hell
is worse?” she said to no one.
Someone was listening. “It is only
a matter of perspective.” Aricel said to her.
Lana didn’t turn around. She knew she
was being watched; she was always being
watched. She could always see the Host hovering over her, she could always feel
their mind in her mind keeping her from saying the one thing she longed to say
so much to her son. “I’m sorry.”
“I know how you feel, Lana but you
must never let Jarret know what you did. It is important that he only know you
as the loving mother he always wanted.”
“Will he ever know the truth, about
the operation …?”
“The abortion. The choice you made
that took away all of his choices. Never forget that. And yes, I already told
him and Esteban – but they won’t know it for a number of years.”
“I hate your ungodly sense of
humor.”
“It’s not a joke. You know quite
well that time is not the same after the seventh dimension of existence. The
past is the future and the present is the past. The question of ‘when’ loses
all meaning. Esteban still doesn’t know you died during that plane crash or who
you were with. As for Jarret, he is a special case.
Children who returned to Eternity
without having been born are always children. Since the King returned, He gave
them a choice to remain a child forever (which is a great thing) or to come
into the world and grow into adults before going home again.”
“I just wish I knew why I’m being tortured like this. I can’t
look out of a window and I can’t rest in a chair. I can’t eat anything because
it disappears the moment I swallow, not that it has any taste. No drop of water
even touches my tongue. I can’t even feel my son no matter how hard I squeeze
him!”
“So why hug him at all?” Aricel
stood waiting.
“Because it’s the only time I’m not
in pain. The burning stops for a little while when I hold him in my arms. I
can’t feel him but at least I know he’s there. I just don’t know why this is
the way it is.” Lana wound down. If she could cry she would. Not a tear fell to
cool her cheek or soothe her shattered soul.
“This life is part of your
punishment. You can see the life you should have had with your son but not
enjoy it. It was your choice. But I’ll give you this one thing; the time when
you have no pain is a gift from your son to you. His love is what cancels out
your suffering for a time. Love overcomes all.”
Lana slumped over. “I wonder when
this is all going to end?” she walked to the only door she could open. “I had
two abortions, you know.”
“I know.” said Aricel as he closed
the door.
THE END
