Mark McGinnis - The Simpleton

Halfway up the ramp, Cuddy felt Tow’s gentle touch on his face. He looked down, surprised to see Tow’s arms hadn’t moved—were still down at his side.

“Thank you for this… Cuddy. You can take me below.”

“Below?” Cuddy looked at his friend and noticed he was smiling.

“It is time now… you too possess the knowledge. Knowledge that Soweng passed on to you.”

“But why now?” Cuddy asked. “Please… not quite yet, Tow, I’m not ready for you to go…”

“Now is a good time, Cuddy.”

“I’ve forgotten what to do! No… it’s best you wait.”

“Do not worry, all you need to know will come to you when the time is right. All Pashier instinctively know the Shain ritual of the rejoining .”

Cuddy hesitated at the open hatch and looked back as Jackie, Kyle and Tony entered the clearing. “Would it be all right if Jackie came with us?”

“Yes. That would be fine. They all should come…”

Jackie wasn’t really sure what to expect. And, if she was honest with herself, she was more than a little freaked out. What she did know was Cuddy wanted her there and for now that would be enough. The last one to climb down to the sub-level of the Evermore , she waited for her eyes to adjust to the near-darkness. After several moments, she recognized the dark silhouettes of the others nearby. Cuddy—tall and broad—was walking toward her, with Rufus close by his side.

He said, “I’m glad you’re here, Jackie. For you to see this… be a part of it.”

When she heard the emotion in his voice, it made her want to reach out, but she held back and instead hugged herself. Cuddy, now at her side, turned to face the center of the room and gestured toward a hovering blue light in the near distance. Jackie realized it was the AI orb. Tow now lay flat on the deck and the two were conversing in low tones.

“I’m sorry… Cuddy. I don’t really know what’s going on, but I can tell you’re hurting deep inside.”

He shook his head. “I just wish I’d had more time with him. Maybe… someday.”

Now Jackie was totally confused, but she held her tongue. She reached a tentative hand out and placed it on his upper arm. He didn’t acknowledge it—his eyes steadily locked on Tow and the orb. Then, taking in a deep breath, he sighed, “It’s time.”

Jackie watched Cuddy slowly walk in the direction of the AI orb and the still faintly glowing alien. She moved closer to Kyle and Tony, and even though she couldn’t quite make out their faces in the dark, she could faintly see the two bands of white over Tony’s healing nose.

When Tony leaned in to ask Kyle, “What’s with this crazy shit?” he answered back, “Maybe if you keep quiet long enough, you’ll find out.” Jackie, thinking somewhat along Tony’s line of thought, suddenly felt it—a soft breeze lightly stirring within the space. A series of sounds—pretty musical tones—suddenly became audible around them. Placing her palms over her heart, she felt its beat—so emotionally charged that it just might burst within her chest. Then, a large, organic object appeared in the middle of the compartment, becoming fully visible. So that’s the heritage pod , she thought in solemn awe.

Jackie gasped aloud as spectacular, sparkling white lights began fountaining upward in the air. Slowly, opening from the pod’s top, one by one large leaves curled backward and then, one after another, slowly extended outward, eventually coming to rest on the lower deck. So many leaf layers she lost count. By now, the soft breeze had turned into a steady cool wind.

Jackie smiled and then laughed at the spectacular beauty. She spun her body around and around—taking in the moving, sparkling, lights encircling them—so many dazzling lights. And then they became conscious of being present within a spectacular spiraling galaxy—of countless slow-moving stars within a universe of unimaginable depth.

Jackie’s eyes then caught sight of Tow, now standing. He was gazing at something deep within the distant swirling stars. Cuddy, next to him, seemed to glow even brighter than Tow. Beautiful subtle hues—pinks and blues and greens—emanated from him.

Jackie then could see what Tow was so enthralled with. A star was moving—getting closer—growing larger. As the glittering light took on form, the shape of an actual being, Jackie knew it was a Pashier. One like Tow… but instead, a beautiful female. Her features were small—her expression full of anticipation. Holding her hand out, she beckoned Tow toward her.

Together, Tow and Cuddy walked forward—deeper and deeper into that starlit brightness that increased with their every step. Squinting now—the light becoming too bright to see into—brighter than the Sun—Jackie was forced to hold a hand before her eyes. And then, just as suddenly, the blinding light was gone, the musical tones quieted. The swirling stars were now moving in the opposite direction—returning back to the pod. The heritage pod’s giant leaves began to rise off the deck and reform into their original pod-like shape. Jackie’s eyes roamed the space—searching for Tow and Cuddy. They weren’t there. They were gone. Her mind raced… had Cuddy delivered Tow into that incredible afterlife realm… never to return ? Without so much as saying a goodbye ? Suddenly, her sense of loss was profound, but then, all too quickly, her sadness turned to anger. Her hands tightened into fists, her breath quickening with the passage of every progressive second. How could he… just leave us here? Leave me here ?

The glittering lights were all but gone now, hastening their rate as they funneled into the top of the heritage pod. All but one.

Jackie took a hesitant step forward, her eyes not wavering from the barely perceptive, yet increasing in size, light. Cuddy’s form soon took shape and she saw him walking toward her—crossing from that ethereal realm of glittering stars, an infinite universe—back to the everyday reality of the here and now.

Running toward him before she realized it, her arms open, she pulled Cuddy to her with desperation—with hunger for closeness she was unaware she felt. Burying her face into his chest, she sobbed uncontrollably as his strong arms enveloped her. Then she heard his voice by her ear. “It was so beautiful there, Jackie, like nothing you could possibly imagine. But it wasn’t my time to stay. And I felt you… felt you pulling me back here.”

Suddenly embarrassed, Jackie pushed herself away. Briefly looking up, without making eye contact, she noted the tears on his cheeks.

He said, “I wish… I wish he didn’t have to leave. I already miss him.”

“You said something… before. You said, maybe someday?”

Cuddy didn’t reply, instead stared across at the lone body, lying on the deck. “I now must bury my friend.”

Jackie watched Cuddy move away and head toward Tow’s body. She hadn’t realized it until that very moment, but what she’d earlier witnessed was something else… perhaps Tow’s essence—rising up, departing. What remained here was simply his discarded form.

Gently, Cuddy picked up Tow’s body. The AI orb, hovering mere feet away, stayed close by them. As Cuddy passed Jackie, he requested, “In the hold… can you find me something to dig with.”

Dusk had now turned into night and a waxing moon was providing just enough light to see by. Deep in the woods, they discovered seven elongated mounds of soil. Cuddy had found the burial site of Tow’s deceased crewmembers. Although Kyle offered, Cuddy insisted that he, himself, should dig Tow’s grave, and then made it as deep and symmetrical a rectangle as he could manage.