Chapter Nine: What Paradise Means To Me

What Paradise Means To Me:

My first hour in Paradise, I heard the Angels singing praises. I'll never, ever hear anything that compares to that.

I sang with the school choir when I was small. There was a witness in my class, and at the end of the school year, he gave our teacher a songbook as an 'end of year' gift. That was the last I heard from JW's until one day someone gave me an invitation to a convention. I was in the area, and it was free, so I went.

Ever hear five thousand people singing in unison? They even had the words projected on screen, so I could sing along.

My first hour in Paradise, I heard Angels singing. I may never be able to sing again after that, but I will spend eternity waiting for a chance to hear them give an encore. If they're anything like me, they won't be able to restrain themselves forever.

~~/*\~~

The work spread out a bit. The Solar Cell Towers were left lining the roads. Communities were still small enough that only one or two were needed. They provided power as well as communications.

Restoring communications changed things dramatically for the small communities. They could call others in the area, and the lists started fading from the Bulletin Boards as everyone got their answers.

The Mail came through again, and Alec reconnected with his friends.

~~/*\~~

"Well, look at you, an MS now." Thomas grinned.

Alec met him with a tight hug. "How's Liam?"

"Got his mother's lungs. Tell you what though, my mom was Irish Catholic, before she died. I grew up with several babies in the house. He cries less than most other newborns I've met."

"Mm. Well, who knows why?" Alec smiled. "You saw the Towers?"

"Seen them all over the place. But the Range is limited. You want to call further, you don't need the other side to have towers, you need something to relay the signal the whole way." Thomas gestured upward. "I've seen at least one satellite falling out of the sky every night while I was on the road. I'm guessing nobody's taken them over."

"Guess not." Alec was unconcerned. "We'll get there eventually. People are champing at the bit to call other countries, wanting to know who's here. My question is, who's our long distance carrier now?"

"I got a better question." Thomas smirked. "Why did everyone hold onto their phones for so long?"

~~/*\~~

"So, Beckah seems nice."

Alec nearly swallowed his tongue. "Mom! She's the same age as Aunt Bailey."

"Doesn't mean you can't spend time with her."

"I know, but… The Elder's Meetings… they've been talking about people who are high on the emotion, and they're sort of leaping without looking." Alec explained. "Back in the day, they warned us not to marry young, when passions and inexperience could drive people to make rushed choices? Well…"

"Yeah, everyone's expecting another Baby Boom." His mother admitted.

"One that could last a thousand years." Alec agreed. "I mean, imagine someone from the Feudal Era, where a Lord could have any women he wanted, suddenly coming back from the dead, with a vitality and youth they haven't felt in fifty years, surrounded by all the hyper-healthy, eternally young people we're going to be…"

"We appeared to have wandered from the point a bit." His mother chuckled. "You aren't a Feudal Lord. Now come on, be honest with your mother."

Alec sighed. "Look, it's not that I'm not interested, but… She's got ten years on me." He looked at her. "In fact, I'm a little surprised you're encouraging me."

"Ten years, and growing younger every day. I get the feeling that age difference won't matter much in a while." She shrugged. "When it happened, That Day… I would have given anything to have your father with me for that. I was half a continent away from you, which was agony, no matter how wonderful a day it was. First Resurrection I saw? She was in her forties when she died, and he waited almost thirty years for her to come back."

"Yeah, but they were married, before being apart for so long. Beckah and I are just friends." Alec met her gaze. "And… how long have you been waiting for dad?"

"He died before your fifth birthday, Alec. You know exactly how long." She waved that off and put a smile on her face, not wanting to dwell on the subject.

Alec looked at her for a few moments. She had the three-tone hair that had become a common, if temporary style.. Many people colored their hair at that age. Collecting hair dye was a low priority, so the colored hair had grown out, revealing greyer roots. But then the hair color had returned naturally as people started growing younger, so the grey started growing out too. No small number of people had hair in three different colors, according to length. "It wouldn't be the obvious, would it?" He asked finally.

"What do you mean?"

"You never pushed me to date before."

She looked down, as if caught out. "All the things that a mother worries about when it comes to their kids dating? All the things a JW mother worries about? More than 90% of it is no longer an issue. I don't mean to preach at my boy, I'm just saying, I've been back for a week now, and I notice her sitting at your table at every meal. The lady seems a little taken with you. The age difference doesn't seem to bother her."

Alec looked down. "Yeah, well… I asked her about that once. She's been in a wheelchair since she was younger than me. I get the feeling she put a lot of her life on pause, since she was waiting to walk again in a whole new world; and she's picking up from where she was then. I have no idea what either of us will want in five years, let alone fifty, let alone a thousand. Ten thousand. A million."

"You can say that about every human alive. For that matter, you can say it about the ones married already. We both know the world isn't going to stop at just over nine million." She suggested with a grin. "Or you could just have coffee and see what happens."

"I don't think there's any coffee left for a hundred kilometers." Alec looked down. "We had peanut butter. She had the same allergy I used to."

His mother seemed pleased. "Ooh. Good move!"

Alec rolled his eyes and held up the letter. "Yes, but passing from matters of real importance to mere global interest… I have to put the weekly announcements up on the notice board."

~~/*\~~

Preparation shifted into a whole other gear. Convention Sites were selected, tests were run, living arrangements were set up for the few that had to travel beyond reach of the Pre-Fabs and Freeholds that were already built. There was little preparation needed in the way of food or money, since one was provided miraculously, and the other didn't exist yet.

Still, appropriate sites were arranged, cleaned up, filled with chairs. There was no facility big enough, so the overflow areas had assigned position on hillsides, and in meadows; where speakers and video screens could be set up for viewing. There was no fear of being rained out for those seated outside, reclining on the grass while the test videos were transmitted and played.

Early instructions started coming through to begin stockpiling. Communities went to work collecting raw material. Cottons. Wools. Timber. Tools. Prefabs. Everything a community would need to expand, except more people.

This preparation was done with anticipatory excitement, because everyone knew what it was for. There would be a lot more people in the world soon.

~~/*\~~

What Paradise Means To Me:

To me, Paradise means family.

You know what family is? Worry. Day and night, worry outweighs everything else. I worry about my kids, even when they have their own kids.

But now, I have to worry about them a lot less. It's still there, but for the first time; I'm more excited to see their future than scared of what the future holds.

Does Jehovah worry about us that way, I wonder?

~~/*\~~

The Restoration Work was just getting started. For weeks at a stretch, Beckah was planting trees. She didn't mind the work. It was actually quite enjoyable. The weather had turned mild, there were people she knew smiling and eating and working, routinely singing aloud, even without music.

But Beckah couldn't shake the thought that it was a waste of time.

Jehovah God, my father. Beckah prayed. Back in the day, I prayed constantly, because I needed your support just hauling myself out of bed and into the chair. I haven't felt desperate or haunted or worried in almost a year. But I am uncertain. I promise, I'm not like… I hear stories about people who are starting to complain. I haven't heard it here, and I promise, I still serve only you. But I don't understand my service. I know I don't need to, but-

"It's not a sin to have questions, you know."

Beckah jumped, startled out of her thoughts. The boy was just old enough that she didn't ask where his parents were. But when he spoke, he didn't sound like a little kid.

"It's not wrong to have questions, it's not wrong to have doubts." The boy said. "How many people are only here because they doubted what they'd been told their whole lives?" He reasoned. "Scripture says to ‘keep examining' yourself. Nowhere in The Book does it say to stop ‘examining' God, too. He can stand up to the scrutiny. And it will take some time for the answers to outnumber the questions."

"I suppose that's true enough." Beckah admitted. "The brother I studied with, he mentioned that the most experienced men in the faith, going all the way back to Abraham, were still asking questions, but their faith was strong, based on what they knew already."

"A scientist will always have questions about the universe, but even without having all those answers, he'll have faith that the sun will rise the next day." The boy smiled. "So. Ask your question."

Beckah sighed a little. "I know that it won't always be like this. I know that one day we'll get out of dorms and tents and quick-builds and have our own homes. I know there will come a time when I have more than the clothes on my back, but…"

"You know, for most of human history, those conditions were the norm." The boy reminded her.

"Yeah, but this isn't ‘human history'. Not exactly." Beckah pointed out. "We've been planting redwood trees for months, trying to seed three different forests. Why? I mean, I get that the world is more or less sucked dry. But it's not like we're needed for any of the cleanup work. Why doesn't God just snap his cosmic fingers, and just make the forests grow? He did it with the fruit orchards." Even in the midst of this conversation, she smiled gently. The sight of apples and oranges growing and ripening at phenomenal speed was a memory she would long cherish.

"That was for you to have food to eat." The boy smiled, and Beckah registered that he didn't count himself as human. "But to answer your question, consider the world now. No battles being fought, no wars, no armies to fight them anyway. No poverty, no hunger. The human race is sorting out the answers, being thankful for everything they've got, celebrating the fact that they're alive. Now consider the fact that aside from food drops, you haven't seen anything miraculous in months." The boy let that sink in. "Even the food will be taken care of in time. The oceans are recovering. The air is starting to clear, the weather starting to stabilize." The boy took her hands, made a point of looking at the dirt under her fingernails. "You're a part of that work. You're helping make the world better."

"True, but I doubt this is all for our self esteem." Beckah pointed out. "I hear the others talking about the Resurrection, and when they think it will start for people who weren't believers. We could have places built for all of them, but we're spending all this time on planting."

"No, you're spending this time on restoring the world to a strong, healthy ecosystem. In anticipation of a population boom, you're increasing production of lumber, food, ecology, even oxygen." The boy countered. "Seems like sound reasoning, doesn't it? When all those billions return, you'll be ready to integrate them, ready to train and teach them, ready to clothe and house them. The Great Resurrection won't be a refugee crisis."

Beckah heard those last two ‘magic words'. "Refugees. By the time the old world fell apart, there were hundreds of millions of people trying to get away from everywhere. Nobody would take them in, because they just didn't have the resources."

"The world has had nothing but resources. Management of them was the problem. Because you were right before." The Boy commented. "Living five to a tent, with naught but the clothes on your back? That's not what God had in mind for people. But for most of human history, that's been the norm. In fact, no small number of humans were willing to kill just to get that much." He smiled at her. "So what's the difference now?"

"Because this isn't ‘human history'." Beckah acknowledged the point. "Look, I know every kid your age for a hundred miles. I know you aren't… what you look like. But that doesn't answer the question: Why are we spending so much time on things like this?"

"Go see Rachel." The boy said.

"Rachel?" Beckah reached down to collect her jacket. "She's on the other side of-"

He was gone, like he was never there.

Beckah was surprised for a moment, though far less than she should have been.

"Beckah?" A voice called, and she turned to see Alec trotting over. "I just got a call through our new Comm Towers. Rachel is on her way back, and wants to know if she can get a pickup from the same station we dropped her off at… Okay, why are you laughing?"

Beckah pressed her fingers against her mouth. "I'll tell you in a minute, just let me savor it." She cackled.

~~/*\~~

"So, you're heading back to the UK?"

Rachel chuckled. "The words ‘United' and ‘Kingdom' have whole new meanings now, don't they?" She turned to Bagley. "You could come with me, KB. The Comm Towers were as much your project as mine."

"Mm, I can't leave just now." Kevin shook his head. "Two different Committee's are asking about post-Convention uses for this network we've built. I have to figure out signal loads, device compatibility..."

"Less than a year after the world has ended, and our top priority is to rebuild a television network." Rachel drawled. "Talk about a sign of the times."

Kevin laughed, long and loud; before handing her a rolled sheet of paper. "Take this with you. Have them make copies when you get up north. It's the program for the Convention."

Rachel unrolled the sheet, and her jaw dropped. "This? This isn't a program, it's a novel."

"There's a lot of ground to cover." Kevin told her.

Rachel slung her bag over her shoulder, and looked at him a little longer than was comfortable, before reaching forward and giving him a tight hug. "See you after the Convention?"

"I'll be here." He hugged her back.

"Are you sure? Because… I'd like to keep working with you." Rachel offered, actually a little nervous about his answer. "I mean, if you don't have other plans for… well, the future."

Kevin suddenly realized what she was nervous about and broke the hug. "Now who else would I want to work with? Nobody makes me looks as brilliant as you. Besides, you still owe me coffee."

"I do." Rachel smiled. "See you in a few months." She paused. "Oh, and if, by some chance, I can't get the Comm Towers working at the other end, I'll need you to record the convention for me. And half Europe."

"Now now, none of that quitter talk."

~~/*\~~

Mornings began with a community breakfast. The food was still being provided. Some brothers were taking cuttings from the fruit trees. They were growing back, and providing fresh fruit every day. The cuttings taken and replanted were growing at a normal rate, which actually disappointed some people.

"The tree's aren't inherently miraculous, they're trees." Roland told them at some point. "Did you think you'd found some rare variant that produces a thousand apples a day?"

Beckah smiled a bit. "Well, we're allowed to ask for ‘our daily bread' right? Think the principle applies to fruit and veg, too?"

"We don't have a lot of refrigerators set up. It's not like we can do much with a surplus." Alec told her with a smile. He'd been smiling a lot more, around her.

~~/*\~~

After breakfast came the morning worship. They had long since run out of articles to study and discuss, and were itching for new literature. But they had plenty of discussion topics. They made an effort to limit speculation, but they made sure that every day was another reminder of how blessed they were.

"Something we've long suspected has finally been proven with the return of long range communications." Roland announced. "Language is no longer a barrier between any humans across the world. We've got Spanish and Mandarin groups in our general area; and never had trouble communicating with any of them. We can now confirm that change is planet-wide, and includes recordings, and written letters."

The announcement was met with a round of applause. It was one of the less dramatic miracles, but no less impossible. Beckah felt a tap on her shoulder and followed Alec a little away from the table.

"Funny thing, but the miracle of communication doesn't apply to everything." Alec mentioned once they were away. "There's a museum exhibit in town? They have artifacts with one of the ancient languages on display. I couldn't read it. Think that extends to all written words?"

"No idea; but it's one of the things we'll find out once long range travel is restored, I suppose." Beckah licked her lips. "Listen, I hear you're on your way to collect Rachel? I want to come with you."

"Are you going to tell me why, yet?" Alec chuckled, remembering her reaction to the news Rachel was on her way.

"Let's say… you could both use the company."

Alec hesitated. "As much as I'd love another road trip with you, Beckah…"

"I know you're worried about being appropriate, but take my word for it, it's okay if I come with you." Beckah promised. "I have it on very good authority. And I have a question I need to ask."