Chapter 24 - Home Sweet Home

   The work was drawing to a close. Joe realized he was going to miss Brack. Miss this place. This world, this universe. It always staggered his young mind as a child when he tried to grasp how large the universe really was, and get his mind around the idea it might even be infinite. An infinite amount of empty space around a bunch of matter, expanding for billions of years after a big explosion.

   This wasn't so hard to grasp, with what he now knew. His basic understanding was the same. There was an explosion. Matter was expanding. A lot of matter. Doing it in an impossibly big space. There was still an infinite amount of space around that expanding matter. There was now something in the infinite space around it. If you went far enough in any direction? You ran into another expanding ball of matter. The universe was still infinite, there was just something else in it. It made more sense that way, somehow.

   What had he really learned. Before he left, he had learned he loved his girl. His own Ada. She had seemed to realize it as well. He found it difficult to think that it had taken a crisis of sorts, and someone in another universe for the two of them to both realize what they already knew.

   His blue earth was a special place, but it was a little less special in a way. There were other earths out there. Maybe one more in his universe, definitely at least another in the next one over. There were no doubt more. They might not know, but that didn't in any way obviate their existence.

   He confided in Brack. That he felt slightly ashamed, that he would never live up to the giants he stood on the shoulders of. Men like Tesla and Einstein. Brack asked what he meant by that. He explained. They, had done it themselves. He had needed helped. He needed to stay after class, and get brought along by the teacher, instead of doing his homework all by himself.

   Brack shook his head.

   "Joe. You are not less than those men you look up to."

   "But... I only got close. They did it on their own. I feel like... I just missed out on greatness. We have a saying. Close but no cigar."

   Brack put his long slender arm around his shoulders.

   "Joe. Einstein? Was spoken to. Given ideas. When he did special relativity? It was the beginning. His biggest achievement, general relativity. Putting everything together? He had a voice. Just like you."

   "Really?"

   "Yes. And Tesla. He understood more. He believed in his voice even more. He abandoned everything, and dedicated his life to starting everything. He knew it was all that mattered. To start moving forwards, quicker."

   "Wow. Thanks."

   "Joe? They were the beginning. There is always a next step. You? Are that next step. We only spoke to them. But you? You are here."

   Joe was going to miss this place. What was the irony, that he had to travel to another universe, to find what he thought of as humanity. As it should be.

   How everything so far away could be so much like home amazed him, but he realized it shouldn't. The same forces were at work in their environment. Natural selection, evolution. Call it whatever you want. Evolution slowly finds what works, and it survives then thrives. What worked, then what worked better. A bigger brain. Standing upright and being a biped, to free your hands to make things. Talking, to coordinate better to accomplish more. Then writing was an extension of talking.

   The story there? Different but really the same as where he came from.

   They finally had their goodbyes. They were released in their orbital shuttle in zero G. Ben looked over at him.

   "You ready, Joe?"

   "Not really. I don't enjoy this roller coaster as much as you do, you know."

   "Joe. You sure this works? Like you and your equations say."

   "Ben. I'm going to answer you, the way one of my close friends once answered me."

   "How's that."

   He smiled back.

   "Relax. I got this."

   "Good enough for me. You ready?"

   "No. Do it anyways."

   They hit the anomaly and Ben cut the thrust. It was the same as before. They now knew what to expect. Intense light. That feeling of floating in abject darkness. With no light or objects, motion was undetectable. The intense light again, and...

   Familiar stars. A space station in geosynchronous orbit. A voice on a communications system that worked again.

   "88, this is station one. Is your transponder working okay?"

   "Hey. I just drive this thing. Why."

   "I don't know if its tower tracking, or... your transponder."

   "What."

   "Your blip. It was here. It's gone. Now? You're over there."

   "Are you telling me we have no traffic control?"

   "Everything else is normal. I'm thinking its your transponder acting up. You have any issues?"

   "88, is just another day at the office."

   "Okay. Hey. Better safe than sorry, Ben. You're on your last delivery anyways. Your call."

   "What's my call."

   "Pull in and I'll get another shuttle to deliver your last load to the resort station. I'd have a hard time explaining how I lost my safety trainer, you know."

   "One? I can see the station. I could shut the navigation off, and still get around."

   "Read me off your coordinates. I wanna check it against your blip on the traffic screens. We need navigation a hundred over a hundred."

   Ben read off the string of digits that gave his position.

   "Okay... that's what I have here... but..."

   "But what? My navigation, gives those coordinates. Your traffic screen? Has my blip at the same coordinates. What's the problem."

   "That's just it. So... you are near station one."

   "I just told you? I can see you. You want me to bump you, to prove I'm close."

   "No. Don't spill your beer on my account. Ben? I just talked to you... couldn't be more than a minute or two ago. You were near the resort. Now? You're here at the station. I don't understand."

   "Do you want me to drop this last load of clothes off, or not."

   "88? If you trust navigation, go ahead. Like I said. Your call. But you can come in now, if you want. I don't like a transponder going intermittent like that. Either way you call it? Send 88 to maintenance, list the transponder for a thorough check."

   "Will do. When I'm done for the night? Buggy 88, goes in for an oil change, and check the speedometer. Gotcha."

   "All right, if you're confident. Keep visuals, just in case it decides to shit the bed on you. I don't want you floating away on me."

   "Station one? Put your big girl panties on. I'm dropping the rich bitches dry cleaning off, then I'm pulling in and hitting the lounge. I'm starving."

   "Yeah, yeah. Just don't forget to log the maintenance check."

   "88. Over and out."

   They dropped off the last delivery of the shift, and... checked the shuttle in and Ben made sure they would check the navigation system.

   Ben couldn't help taking extra time out on the way back empty. Mainly because Joe was having a ball, driving around in empty space. When they got back in, Ben casually reported the navigation blip that tower control mentioned.

   "Yeah, I got the memo. They said your blip was bouncing around their screen or something. But, then the navigation locked back up tight... what the hell..."

   Ben winked at Joe on the sly.

   "What."

   "I got you down, you were out in buggy 88."

   "Yeah. Big old 88, right there."

   "But... this looks like its been through a splashdown and got recommissioned. 88 is a brand new buggy."

   "Hey. I just drive the things. You guys do inventory. How the hell would I know."

   "You didn't notice anything with the navigation. All shift."

   "Look. I'd have said something. Tower is the one reporting problems. Not me. I'm just here because they said to be."

   "I don't understand. How does a new buggy, look like one recommissioned from a splashdown. It doesn't make sense."

   "Can't you check your records problems later? You going to plug into navigation, or not."

   "Might as well."

   The maintenance worker plugged his diagnostic system into the navigation computer.

   "Holy shit."

   Ben dead panned him.

   "What now."

   "Look at the time of flight..."

   Ben glanced over his shoulder, to see the flight log data readout.

   Date and time left. As expected. Date and time returned, again as expected. Time elapsed, over 4,096 years and a matter of leftover months, days, hours, minutes and seconds.

   "Uh... gonna say that looks like you have a wee little bit of a problem with the calibration on that. I mean I'm not an expert technician, like you, but..."

   The maintenance worker just shoveled both hands at the craft.

   "How in the hell does a brand new shuttle, go out looking like new... and come back looking like its been crash landed. Look at this thing!"

   "Okay. You got me, red handed. I stole the orbital shuttle. It was my plan all along. I traveled to another universe, and crash landed on another planet. I lived there for months. It was a race of intelligent cats, that walked around on their hind legs, and they're all smarter then Einstein. They sent me back in time, to make my last delivery."

   The maintenance guy just started laughing.

   "Come on. You switched out an older buggy, for the new one. I mean, its a practical joke and you're in on it, right?"

   Ben just poker faced him.

   "No. But... can I go to the lounge now? My shift's over."

   "Yeah. I just can't figure out how we got another shuttle tagged as buggy 88... is there another 88 and we never noticed before? This is just weird. Ben? This isn't an extra carton of milk in the refrigerator at the store. This is a 40 million dollar piece of engineering."

   "Hey. Weird? Is the cool drugs the aliens party with, on that other planet I visited..."

   They left with the technician still laughing at Ben's sense of humor, and started yelling for someone to figure out how in the hell they got orbital shuttles mixed up, how was it even possible.

   Once out of earshot, Joe chuckled.

   "You had way too much fun with that, Ben. And I thought you didn't believe in time dilation."

   "I didn't say I believed in it. I also didn't say it wasn't fun to do that."

   "What now."

   Ben put his hand on Joe's shoulder and looked him right in the eye.

   "Carp? I owe you dinner and dessert. A bet's a bet."

   After dinner, they had a chance to talk alone on the far end of the pilots lounge.

   "So. What are you gonna do, Ben."

   "Honestly? I loved my life up until now. I wouldn't change a thing. The only thing different I'm gonna do, when I get back down? Is visit my doctor. If I really am in remission? Hell, I get to keep flying. I get to spend time with my wife and son. I... lost everything? I got it all back."

   "You going to go back to full time now, then."

   Ben sighed.

   "You know? I'm going to keep the lighter schedule. Not like its going to put me out on the street, and its going to be a lot more fun spending the extra time with my family. Now that..."

   Joe nodded.

   "Yeah."

   "What about you?"

   "I left without saying goodbye. I got my little Ada back at home. You know how much you love flying, you could never give it up."

   "Yeah."

   "Same here, I suppose. I like what I do. Probably as much as you like flying."

   "Hey, Carp. You might make a pilot yet. You didn't even puke on the way back."

   Joe laughed.

   "Yeah. I think puking was better. The dizziness lasts longer when you don't puke."

   "Hey. We're very different, but... we're the same, I think."

   "How's that."

   "We both got lucky, early enough in life? That we figured out what we love to do. What we can't live without."

   "Hmm. Now? All I have to do, is figure out what kind of a story I'm going to make up."

   "What story."

   "I've been gone for a while. I didn't tell my girl I was leaving, or where I was going. Pretty sure I'm in the doghouse."

   "Hey. I can't believe I have to tell you this. We got back? Before we left."

   "Really? For you, yeah. You came back a little earlier in your shift. Me, is another story. I was tramping around Space-town for two weeks. Looking for a ride. I'm in for a lecture."

   Ben laughed.

   "You're on your own for that one, Buddy."

   Joe was surprised how much different the ride back down from the space station was. Unloaded, and no scram jets and no acceleration. No baby elephants sitting on your lap either.

   "You know, Ben. I was worried about the ride back down."

   "Why. Its routine, we all do this every week. Relax."

   Joe chuckled.

   "Well. Its just that when you said it was a glide path back down? Last glide path was a little rough."

   Ben got a charge out of that wit. Steve, the head flight check out guard? Was on duty when they got back. He leaned in, all conspiratorially. How did it go. Did they figure anything out? Ben shrugged.

   "Hey. I just fly the damn thing. He's the research professor."

   Steve looked at him, expectantly.

   "I'm stumped. Four dimensional objects shouldn't exist. It looks like one does. I don't know what to think."

   Steve smiled.

   "Well. Not a total loss. Bet the ride was fun, huh?"

   Joe couldn't help it.

   "Yeah. It was okay."

   Steve looked at him, he couldn't be being serious.

   "Just kidding. Honestly? Biggest adventure in my life I ever had, Steve. Its like... visiting a whole other world, you know?"

   Steve nodded. Now that? Was more like what everyone said.

   "Beautiful, isn't it? Once you get up there and everything."

   Joe smiled.

   "Yeah, Steve. It sure is."

   On the way out, Ben picked up his car and drove them out the gate. Then they went and stopped at the little diner they met in. Joe asked if he could get a ride to the bus station. So he could get going back home to his Ada.

   "Bus ride my ass, Carp. You navigate. I'll fly."

   "But... your job..."

   "Relax. When I checked out? I put in for a couple weeks off. Carp? I kinda owe you my life. No way I'm letting you spend 2 days and nights on some crowded bus, with some fat guy snoring in the seat next to you the whole way there. Plus? I know what your story is. For you being missing, to your girl."

   "What."

   "You got a G-ride. You're friends with a shuttle pilot, dummy."

   Joe looked at his expensive sports car he was in.

   "I guess it'll do in a pinch. Just do me a favor, Ben."

   "What's that."

   "Get me there in one piece, would you? No controlled crashes. Once was enough for me."

   "Funny you should worry about that. Funny story there."

   "I'm afraid to ask."

   "I'm lucky I still have a license. I get speeding tickets like you wouldn't believe."

   "Yeah. I guess that figures. Pilot and all. Just keep the wheels on the ground, Ben-hog."