Chapter Two: "What Would You Do With Eternity?"

Chapter Two: "What Would You Do With Eternity?"

Lunch broke up as everyone ate. Hugh would have been content to go back for seconds or thirds, but after his encounter with the 'police force' he was eager to get away from these people. After giving the matter considerable thought, he decided that his best option was to get back to Base. They already walked past where he thought the front lines were, which meant he had to go further to find his people... And that meant getting to an airport, or a seaport. Neither of which he'd find here.

Alec had asked if he wanted to rest, or find lodging, as he was going to help out on a project for a while. Hugh elected to go along, hoping to find a map of the area.

The two of them, and another half dozen men and women had climbed into the back of a truck. The model was unlike anything Hugh had ever seen, but the workers all had shovels and rakes. Hugh had been handed one, and suddenly found himself surrounded by people who wanted to know his story. He gave them part of it. He didn't think the war was an issue here, but he knew better than to give them anything more than name, rank and serial number... Except that nobody was interested in any of his tactical or strategic knowledge. They honestly couldn't care less what kind of planes he flew, or where he took off from...

Eventually, they went off road, and conversation stalled as everyone held on tightly for a while.

When the ride stopped, they were at the side of a hill, and Hugh could see more trucks coming along behind them. Even a few horse drawn carts. They were all carrying seedlings. No, not seedlings, saplings. A few feet tall each, just starting to show leaves.

“We're planting trees?”

“We're restoring whole forests.” Alec said with a smile. “I'm told that if every soldier in the world planted a tree, we would've saved the whole world.”

“From what?” Hugh asked.

Alec grimaced a little. “Be glad you missed that part, brother.” He handed Hugh a shovel. “Shall we?”

~~/*\~~

Hugh found he rather liked the work. He'd worked with the Corps of Army Engineers more than once, and was pretty handy with garden tools for a city kid. The men and women worked together well, not arguing or getting frustrated with each other. He'd never met people who did this kind of work and enjoyed it so much. He didn't hear one curse word or dirty joke.

Every now and then, a pair of little kids would scamper up and down the line of workers with a large jug of cold water, and provide drinks for everyone. Everyone always said please and thank you.

“After A-Day, there was a lot of work to do.” Alec told him, planting one of the saplings snugly. “Most of the... grisly stuff was done for us. I don't imagine a fitting introduction to paradise would involve burial. After the first few years, we realized the cities would take care of themselves. All the concrete paths were being broken up by grass and tree roots breaking through. Living things do that naturally, of course, but we always wondered if that process was being helped along.” Alec sipped, happily telling Hugh the history. “We've never been quite clear on how the Resurrection is organized. Most of the first ones to come back were the people who knew it was coming.” He beamed. “Mm, there was a party that lasted almost a full decade. It was like a reverse funeral. The guest of honor hears testimony about their life, has all their loved ones around them telling stories... And when one was finished, we start again with someone else. It was a very wonderful time. Especially for the ones that were in the truth their whole lives. Some of them had no idea the harvest that their work had brought about, and-”

Hugh raised a hand. “No, look, just no. I don’t care what others believe. Free speech and all that; I’m all for it. And I ain’t against religion as a rule, you understand. But after two years on tour, there’s one thing I know: God’s Love and a dime will get you coffee. I’ve cast my lot with the world that I can see and hear and touch. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to say goodbye to you now, and get back to base.”

Alec smiled patiently. Hugh hadn’t seen him frown once. “Okay. I can’t force you to go anywhere. Look, when you’re ready to talk, give me a call.” He tossed the small device over to Hugh and turned to go. “Just tap the screen to wake it up. Tell it to ‘call Alec'.”

Hugh waved after him. “I cannot possibly accept this. I have no idea what it is, but I’m betting it costs more than I make in a year.”

“Keep it. I have another.” Alec insisted. “Besides, you’ll need it if you need directions. Just tap the screen and ask it things. You’ll be fine.”

“Alec, keep it.” Hugh was trying to be polite about it. “I won't be coming back.”

Alec just smiled. “That's up to you. But you'll need directions anyway, and you're going to have questions. I can help-”

“Okay, look.” Hugh put his foot down. “Enough already.” Alec didn’t even frown. In fact, he looked like he’d been expecting this. Hugh didn’t care; he just said what had been building since he woke up. “I don’t believe in your God. I never have. I don’t know what happened, but one thing I can tell you is that nobody with a few IQ points to rub together would believe in Him. You tell me that random chance and evolution is a joke, but it’s about as rational as a talking snake giving a woman in a garden some poison apple. I believe in what’s real, not in what you wish for. You say the war is over? That’s good news. I don’t know if I’m in some weird afterlife, or if I time traveled, or what; but there’s a hundred different things that it could be.”

“And everything you’ve learned since waking up on the beach?” Alec tested.

“I don’t know how the Witnesses got a handle on it first. What I know of you says that you’re driven and you’re organized. So if the war ended, and everyone was looking for leadership; you could just have been the first one to have a story that fit. There was a guy in my unit, who said that heaven was a garden full of pretty girls. Another guy who said you come back as someone else. So I’m dead. I can live with that. But God? Doesn’t make sense.”

“Why not?”

“Because He doesn’t make sense!” Hugh snapped. “You have any idea the places I've seen while on tour? Places where people were starving in the streets. If I had the power, would I stop it? Yes; of course I would.”

“And that’s when you realized that God could have fixed it all, and didn’t.” Alec finished.

“Exactly.” Hugh told him harshly. “And I could roll with all of that, but then my brother got captured.”

Alec swiftly understood. “Your younger brother.”

“Who lied about his age and volunteered, because he wanted to be just like his big brother.” The former soldier felt his throat catch. “So I prayed. For maybe the first time in my life I prayed real hard. God was apparently busy that day. Of course he was; there was a war on. And what was my brother’s firing squad compared to that?” His face clouded with anger. “So if there's a God, then He's a kid with an ant farm. He likes to watch, and every now and then He likes to squish someone! WORSHIP THAT?! NEVER!”

Alec jumped back at the sudden temper. “Y’know, that’s an argument that would have meant something back before this all happened. But you just proved the point I’ve been trying to make all day.” His voice grew firmer and harder than Hugh had ever heard him speak. “What happened to your brother was monstrous. A monstrosity that played out a billion times on a billion different people, and none of them while God was running the show. The answer wasn’t ‘no’ it was ‘not yet’. Look around you, brother. All the prayers have been answered all at once. Your brother will come back, alive and well and unhurt.”

Hugh almost swung on him. But the Winged Ones were still close in his memory, and he held himself back. “Damn you for that. Damn you for using my brother to score that point. You think I don’t get what’s happening here? Everything you’ve done since we met was just to recruit me to be like you. And I can forgive that, but not… You’re using my brother as bait? No.”

“And if your brother does come back? Is it still a lie then?”

Hugh was breathing hard, trying to get his cool back. “No. I don’t believe it. I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago.” Alec started to speak, but Hugh beat him to it. “NO! No more words! I’m going home!”

Hugh stormed off. Alec didn’t follow him.

~~/*\~~

Finding transport was easy. Hugh had just hitchhiked. Nobody had so much as blinked before taking him on board. He’d been riding in a horse drawn cart, and then another half mile on a lorry, and then the rest of the way to the harbor on a train. There were plenty of people making trips. Nobody asked him for money, which was a relief since he didn’t have any. In fact, he hadn’t seen any money change hands once yet.

Can’t be real. Can’t be true. Fairy tales. Happily Ever After doesn’t happen in the real world.

Eventually he made it to the harbor. He knew how to get back to Brooklyn back in the day. Get across to England, and from there a plane. He wasn’t sure if the war was over or not, though at this point he was willing to bet it was.

The more he traveled, the more certain he became that something was very very wrong. If it was a con, or a trick to get information out of him, it had been a damned good one, but Alec hadn’t been interested in any sensitive information. He’d asked what year it was, and had already known his name. He hadn’t even asked for a rank and serial number. If it was a secret plot, or a long con, Hugh couldn’t begin to guess what the point of it was.

But eventually, he made it to the coast, and from there, it was easy to find the docks.

~~/*\~~

Hugh had been around civilian harbors and military naval bases plenty of times. But even here, things were different. The ships were all in configurations that he didn’t recognize, some of them immense, some of them covered in material he didn’t understand.

But the harbor was so… orderly. Nobody was pushing, or yelling, nobody was fighting for position around the cargo and baggage stores, there was no cursing. Everyone was being polite. Nobody was speaking languages he couldn’t understand.

The longer he walked in this strange new world, the harder it was to disbelieve it.

Eventually, he found the transport ships. He went to the Departures Board, and started looking through the list. There were passenger liners, airships…

Hugh had seen Zeppelins before. They had been used during the war, but not widely. He looked for a price, and found none.

He went to the ticket counter, and tried to explain his situation. “I… um, don’t have any money on me; so I was hoping you could tell me how to wire a money order for my ticket.”

The woman behind the counter smiled broadly. “You’re new here, aren't you?”

Hugh was really getting sick of everyone telling him that. “Well, yes.”

The cashier made a quick call and had a conversation with someone that Hugh didn’t see. When she came back to speak to him, she directed him to a person coming out of the office. “This is Kasumi, she’s a friend of mine; and as it happens, she’s heading to the Brooklyn Branch as part of the Convention preparations. She’ll show you how to get there, and help you find a place to stay when you arrive. If you have family members, you can look some of them up at the Convention Center, here and in Brooklyn, plus the database on your flight.”

“Flight?” Hugh said like a prayer. He always felt better while flying. And then he looked to his left, and got a look at his new guide.

The Japanese woman smiled broadly. “Pleased to meet you, Mister Alman. Call me Kasumi.”

Hugh’s mouth became a very thin line. “Yes, pleased to… meet you. Look, you’re nice to offer, but I think I’m going to make my own arrangements.”

Kasumi faltered. “What? Is there-”

“Thanks anyway.” Hugh turned on his heel and started walking again. He walked for a few minutes, arguing with himself. He still had to get home, and of all the luck, the guide he had been offered was-

“I saw that.”

Hugh looked over and his jaw dropped. “Airman Aimes?”

The man laughed. “Nobody’s called me that for a while, Cap’n. Good to see you.”

“And you. You’re the first familiar face I’ve seen since…” He suddenly faltered. “Well, since I…” He had no idea how to say it.

“Does it strike you that nobody’s comfortable saying it out loud?” Aimes grinned. “Does it seem to you like people are finding creative ways around talking about it?” The kid asked. “I've heard most of the Returnees come up with all kinds of euphemisms. “'I was away'. 'I was out of circulation'. 'I was out of it'…” He smiled. “I suppose it’s still an idea that they have to get used to. Even if it has no sting any more.”

Hugh gestured at his dock-worker outfit. “So, you switched to the Navy?”

“Civilian.” Aimes promised him. “There are no navies any more. When the dust started settling, everyone was on the move. Communication was the priority at first, then transportation soon after.” He grinned, and gestured at one of the large, slow moving airships overhead. “Pretty cool, huh? The airships are the perfect transport for people these days. Slow; but they fly forever, and can handle huge loads.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I knew more about planes and ships than most, so I took a job shipping and piloting. Here I am.” He smiled. “It’s really good to see you again, boss. I spoke at your memorial. So did the Lieutenant.”

Hugh held a hand up. “Stop. You’re freakin’ me out.” He cast about for something to change the subject. “What was that you meant before? About noticing something I did?”

“When that sister came over and offered to show you around when you got to Brooklyn. You blew her off like she was on fire.”

Hugh felt awkward for some reason he couldn’t quite place. “Nothing personal against her, but-”

“But she’s Japanese.” Aimes nodded. “And it must have been… what? About six months after Pearl Harbor for you? Maybe a year?”

Hugh nodded. “I mean, I keep hearing that the war is over now, but instinct is pretty powerful, y’know?”

“I know exactly what you mean. After I retired, it was the height of the Cold War, and then my kid went into the service, and by the time he graduated, that was over, and suddenly they were having joint operations with people who were our enemies a few years before."

“What? Even the Germans?”

“No, the Russians. When the war was over, Germany became an ally again, this time against the Russians.”

“The Russians?” Hugh was surprised. “They were half the reason we were winning the war.”

“Exactly. Then they were the enemy, and then China was the enemy, and then Korea was the enemy, and then, and then, and then. I’ve been meeting people from all through the timeline, all through history.” He smirked. “I was USAF. In my lifetime alone, America allied with the Russians and the Brits against the Germans, with the Chinese against the Japanese, and then with the Brits and the Germans and the Afghans against the Russians, and then with the Japanese against the Chinese, and the Afghans against the Russians, and then with the Brits and the Russians against the Afghans. And that’s just over the course of a hundred years. A single century.”

Hugh couldn’t help but scoff. “And they’re all here. How do they plan to make world peace work with that kind of baggage?”

“That was actually the thing that did it for me.” Aimes offered.

“Did what?”

“Made me believe.”

Hugh scoffed. “Not you too. Every single person I’ve met has been trying to bring me around and have me join the ranks, doesn’t anyone think for themselves any more?”

“We all do. We just seem to be reaching the same conclusion.”

“Name one time in human history where that made sense.”

“Granted, but… After you went down, I got a promotion. Got two more before the war ended. Except that the lines kept shifting and our enemies were our friends, and our friends became our enemies. That was what made me believe. These people… They’re always on the same side, even when that gets them locked up, beaten up, shot up; they stay family. Loyalty and Duty and Honor are everything to a soldier, but the politicians kept changing the rules. You think any of them even knew who their friends were after a while?” He shrugged. “And now we’re all back to square one. No enemies, no armies.”

“Can’t imagine how they pulled that off.” Hugh breathed out. “I can’t imagine life without the service. I’m a fourth generation soldier; and just like that the army is gone?”

“Not as hard to live with as you think. 'They will beat their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, Nor will they learn war anymore'.”

“I’ve heard those words before, but I can’t imagine what the point of them is now.”

“You think not? By the time it all fell apart, the world was spending more than half its money on preparations for war. They actually calculated it. If they spent one week’s worth of international defense budgets, they could wipe out world hunger. One week. Two weeks, they could build enough houses for all the world’s homeless. If all the world’s soldiers planted one tree each, climate change would have been gone.”

“What’s Climate Change?”

Aimes grinned. “See? This is kind of my point. You think the war was bad, but by the time we got to A-Day, nobody could tell the difference anymore.”

“The difference between what?”

“Between anything! Between times of famine and plenty, between peacetime and wartime; between depression and wealth.” Aimes shook his head. “I missed it too. I lasted until the late nineties. It was decades after that when I came back. My kid didn’t make it to the end, but he was close; and he keeps going on about how bad it got.”

Hugh Alman felt sick. He was getting testimony from someone he knew. Someone he’d trusted. Someone he’d served with. “It’s not a con, is it? It’s not a big trick that everyone but me is in on?”

“Nope. This is all wonderfully true.” Aimes smiled. “Strange, isn’t it? If I told you there had been a catastrophe, you’d have an easier time believing it than good news.”

“I would. I really would.” Hugh jerked his thumb back the way he had come. “How do I get to Brooklyn?”

“Take an airship. It’s slower than the sorts of planes we used to fly, but it’ll be the smoothest ride you’ve ever had. And you’ll be able to access the internet, track down any Returned relatives, get some local news…”

“Yeah, but here’s the thing? When I… woke up, I didn’t have any money.”

“Transport is free of charge now.”

“What?”

“It was decided when this started, that certain things were human rights, and shouldn’t be profited from. Food and water, shelter, transport and communications.”

“Medical care?”

“Haven’t needed so much as an aspirin in a hundred years.” Aimes just smiled. “You won’t need any cash to get back to Brooklyn, but I doubt you’ll recognize the place when you get there. Come on, I can show you where to board, but I don’t think the airship leaves for a few days. You’ll join me and the wife for dinner, of course?”

“You got married?” Hugh was about to beg off dinner, when it suddenly occurred to him that he didn’t have any idea where to find dinner. He knew the communal tables would be available for the evening meal, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be so… surrounded. The truth was, he knew Aimes. And he was the first person he’d met since his arrival that he actually knew. “I’d love to…” He snorted ruefully. “But it just dawned on me that I didn’t actually book a ticket on the airship. I should do that first.”

Aimes nodded. “I’ll tell the wife to put away the breakables.”

“Don’t trouble your lady too much. Anything that’s not served on army trays will be fine.”

Aimes laughed. “You have a phone yet? A Screen?”

Hugh pulled it out. “More bells and whistles than a Swiss army knife. I’ve used it for everything but a phonecall so far.”

“Tell me about it.” Aimes took the device and his fingers flew over the screen for a moment. “This will remind you when dinner’s getting closer, and give you directions to my place.” He handed it back “Roll with it, Captain; and you will be amazed. That much I can promise you. You’re going to see some awe-inspiring things. We’re on the leading edge of a full-on Golden Age that may never end.”

~~/*\~~

Hugh made his way back to the ticket office with proverbial hat-in-hand. The Cashier gave him the ticket without comment. It was starting to become surreal. Hugh wished just one person would tell him off for something. The more certain he was that this world was real, the less he belonged.

It was another two days before the flight left, another few hours before dinner. Hugh was casting about, looking for something to do, when he looked over and noticed the Asian woman from before. After his conversation with Aimes, he felt bad about his actions. Sure, he was a soldier, and even if the war was over, it was less than a week before that people like her were the enemy, at least to him. But his family had been military for four generations. His father had fought in the Great War, and he’d told stories of meeting lone enemy soldiers in the no man’s land, collecting wounded and waiting for orders. They had actually traded some rations, chatted like friends, commiserated about being far from home…

And then started shooting each other an hour later when someone told them to.

It made Hugh feel foolish. The line between fighting and hating had always been blurry for a soldier. Especially in a time of war.

After his conversation with Aimes, he knew he had to make amends. So he went over to her. “Hi. I’m… I’m Hugh Alman. I wanted to… apologize for before.”

“We weren't introduced before. I’m Kasumi.” The young woman offered a hand and bowed a little automatically. “Kasumi Mori.”

“Hugh Alman.” He clasped her hand but didn’t shake it. “So, um… Where are you headed?”

“Nowhere at the moment.” She gestured at the airship with a self-deprecating smile. “But in two days, I plan to head for the Brooklyn Gardens.”

“Brooklyn Gardens?”

Kasumi snorted. “You’re new, aren’t you?”

Hugh twitched. “Everyone keeps saying that. Is it that obvious?”

“Not obvious, exactly; but a lot of people are on the move nowadays.” Kasumi smiled. “I was planning to get some tea. I know a place in town. Care to join me?”

~~/*\~~

Hugh found the tea-room fascinating. Kasumi had unpacked a teapot with the most incredible coloring on it. It looked wildly expensive, and she was carrying it in her travel bags, properly secured.

“The patina is the result of the tea itself.” She noted his look. “Every day, you brew tea in the pot, and pour it over the teapot carefully, pouring the tea from the runoff. Over time, the tea stains the pot. If you do it correctly and evenly, the ceramics are given a beautiful luster, called the patina. If you fail to do it every day, the delicate ceramics dry out, and the pot begins to crack. There are some places in the world, where the tea is made ceremonially, every day. For hundreds of years, someone has kept this pot alive, even through war and riot and international travel, looting, bankruptcy and all manner of hardship. When these things were kept in museums, someone still came every day to keep the tradition alive, even during time of Tribulation.” She smiled at him. “It was a tradition passed from parent to child for a hundred generations. Now, the original potters have returned and taken up their craft. It was a surprise, that such obscure people from such an ancient time, should be returned early. I think that it was a way to help people come to grips with eternity. These teapots, they can last for centuries, and only grow more beautiful if care is taken. Anyone who wants one can have one, and can continue the tradition for eternity by themselves. My grandmother will be so happy to find that her teaset survived.”

“This is yours?” Hugh was surprised.

“No, not mine. I'm just in keeping of it. My grandmother worked in a museum, and it was her job to keep the ritual going, so that the thing didn’t fall apart in its glass case. Every morning before the museum opened, she would make the staff a pot of tea. Such things can yet survive time, even before time became meaningless. I made my way to them, and asked the original makers if they wanted it back. When I told them the story, they told me I knew who it should belong to. When my grandmother returns to life, I will make this teaset a gift to her.” She handed him a delicate cup. He was almost afraid to take it. “This is one of the many things that can be done if you have the time. There are vineyards in Europe that have aged their wines for fifty years. I am told that some people are spending their days looking at new methods of preservation. You leave wine in a bottle too long, and it turns to vinegar. A single lifetime is enough to make a good bottle an excellent one. Now imagine that a lifetime has no limit.”

Hugh smothered a laugh, but not too hard.

She sipped her tea. “What would you do with eternity, my brother?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if you never had to worry about having enough time, what would you do? Is money a concern? Food and housing and communications are considered basic rights now and cost nothing. The poorest worker with the smallest pay can still put aside a single coin once a week. Over a thousand years, those single coins add up to a mountain of money, the likes of which even the billionaires of your time cannot dream of. Resources and wealth become a considerably smaller problem for those who can afford to be patient.” She raised her cup. “So I ask again, what would you do with eternity?”

Hugh was staggered by the question, not because he’d never thought of it before, but because it wasn’t an abstract question. Not for her. Or for Alec. Or even for Aimes. These people expected to live forever. “I… I don’t know.”

“Good answer. One that you need not worry about just yet. There’s so much more for you to be aware of first.” Kasumi sipped her tea. “Back in the old days, the brothers were told to keep their eyes on the prize. You and I have each been given the prize that they longed their whole lives for.”

“And they don’t mind this?” Hugh asked reflexively. “If it were me, and someone else had just been handed my lifelong dream, I’d be pretty ticked off.”

Kasumi smiled. “I shared these thoughts with a few people, many years ago. Nobody ever seemed angry about it.”

A wave of… unworthiness swept through Hugh. “It just occurred to me that I’ve been telling everyone I’ve met here that I think they’re all insane.” He took a breath. “I owe you an apology as well. Japan was an enemy when I was around.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, your side won. But there are no enemies any more. The brothers who taught me say that part of learning the truth is to unlearn the lies.”

Hugh chewed his lip. “I don’t like the idea that I’ve been wrong my whole life. The things I cared about then? They decided my whole lifestyle. Career, money, family. I cared about my country, so I volunteered. I cared about-”

She put her hands up soothingly. “I understand, really I do. My father was the same way.” Kasumi offered. “There’s still plenty of work to do across the world. Construction is the largest industry on the planet, communications in second place. My travels have allowed me to contribute to Convention Plans and such. Thought I’d see Europe, America, maybe Australia too. Lend a hand here and there, make a few friends.” She waved a hand around the dock. “I think a lot of people always wanted to see the world, but money or safety or language was a barrier.”

“Well, you speak English very well.”

Kasumi smiled secretly. “You are new, aren’t you?” She teased. “Would it interest you to know that I am, in fact, speaking Japanese right now?”

Hugh felt his heart give a solid thump. “What?”

“You’ve been through Europe, and now this dock, full of people coming and going from all parts of the earth. Are you having trouble understanding anyone?” Kasumi asked him. (Author's Note: The most up to date reference I can find is in the 8/8/2000 Awake, on page 13. Quote: “Thus, it would seem logical that in his new world, God would further unite mankind by providing all peoples with one common language, reversing what he did at Babel.” Whether this will happen through education or miracle is not specified; but for purposes of this story, I chose this route.)

“This is a con, right?” Hugh said reflexively, but he glanced around the dock, pointing his ears at one crew or another. Passengers with bags, different regional clothing, different races… but he heard no words that he couldn’t understand perfectly. “There’s…” He almost swallowed his own tongue. “There’s too many people here for them all to be in on the gag.” He breathed. “How? How is it possible?”

“Is it really so hard to believe?” Kasumi asked him kindly. “When God created humans, he created them with language. During the early days after the Rebellion, people became organized in opposition to Jehovah, and he responded by confusing their languages. Where there was one language, there were suddenly many. It was meant as a barrier between warrior tribes; but God wants no such barriers between His people. Is it such a hard thing to believe that He can simply undo it?”

“Well I guess if He can raise the dead, He can make them all- DID I REALLY JUST SAY THAT?” He clapped his hands over his face in disbelief. “When did any of this become normal?”

“Whole New World.” She smiled. “Hugh, my brother; there are going to be a lot of things you’ll have trouble with. There are billions of people coming back, and everyone gets a fresh start. The vast majority of those people have never heard the Truth. Plenty of them will predate Christ. You think you have trouble believing in Jehovah’s Kingdom, and his anointed Son, imagine the learning curve for people who have never heard of either. But sooner or later you’ll see something you can’t explain any other way.”

“I already have.” Hugh said quietly. “I think I saw an angel.”

“Really? Lucky.” Kasumi smiled. “I would have loved to have seen that so soon.”

“You say that everyone sees something? What was it for you?”

“Oh I was a believer within two hours. Believe it or not, the idea of coming back from the dead was the easy part for me.” Kasumi smiled. “You see, I had plenty of time to get used to the idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“You say that the war was still going at your time? Well, I can vouch for the fact that it ended a long time ago. My grandfather committed seppku when the Emperor announced that Japan had surrendered. He was very much into the Shinto belief; couldn’t handle it when it was suddenly collapsing around him. I was born almost forty years after it ended. Not far from a place called Hiroshima.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Lucky you.” Kasumi smirked. “When I was a kid, I was diagnosed with an illness that you wouldn’t have heard of, called Leukemia. I spent a year in a hospital bed, dying by inches.” She shuddered. “I fought it for a long time, and then I just didn’t have the strength to fight it any more. Next thing I know, I was here; with more strength and health and life in me than I’d ever felt before.” She smiled broadly. “That was almost forty years ago.”

He looked at her without meaning to. It was hard to believe that she was older than twenty.

“I don’t understand the pattern of people being returned, but it no doubt makes sense to God.” She continued. “I accepted the resurrection immediately, but I didn’t want to believe in the Christian God. But there comes a point where you can’t deny what’s right in front of you.”

“I know.” Hugh said quietly.

“Speaking for myself, it takes more blind faith not to believe.”

Hugh nodded. “I don’t know why that scares me, but it does.”

“Can I ask a personal question?”

“You can ask, won’t promise I’ll answer.”

“Are you afraid of God?”

Hugh took a moment before answering. “Interesting question. I knew a guy back home in my Squadron that was. He lived in terror of judgment and hell.” He shivered. “I never really believed in any of it. It just seemed like such a cruel joke. One that I didn’t want any part of.”

“Why?”

“Because if there was a God, I figured he wouldn’t be impressed by how much I put in a collection plate, or how many times I said Hail Mary, or how many times I cussed. The Padre where I grew up said that God weighed the works of our souls. Like God has some cosmic ledger. Have an impure thought, take out a dime, be nice to a stranger, add a nickel. I couldn’t believe that some all-powerful God would really nickel and dime us into hell.”

“Mm.” Kasumi nodded. “Y’know, I believed long before I did anything about it. I was in denial. It wasn’t that what I was learning didn’t make sense, it was that… I didn’t want the responsibility.”

“Responsibility for what?”

“Me.” She spread her hands wide. “I never had to decide anything before. I went from school to a hospital bed and never got to do anything. And suddenly I had to decide something that would profoundly impact a life that could last forever? It was really scary for me.”

Hugh couldn’t help the nod. “That’s what it is. It’s fear. I don’t know why I should be afraid of someone I never believed in, but every time someone starts talking about God and His Kingdom and everything… I just want to stop listening and walk far away.”

Kasumi nodded. “I didn’t like the idea that someone was always watching. I felt like every time I misspoke someone was going to smite me.”

“How’d you handle it?” Hugh asked with interest, glad to have someone who understood.

“I spent a lot of time with the people.” She told him. “These are good people, and they know their stuff. It took a long time for them to convince me, but I was looking at it all wrong. It’s not like God is looking over you, waiting for you to screw up. It’s more like… when you’re little, and you make a mistake? Your dad knows before you do, and he’s right there to help. That’s what God is like. Once I got my head around that… It’s a comfort, having Him there.”

Hugh looked out over the water. “I just can’t wrap my brain around it. I told this guy Alec that there were a dozen more reasonable explanations, but the further I go, the less sense they make. But I just can’t.”

“It’s not an easy thing to wrap your head around.” She allowed. “At least, not when you’ve spent so much time learning about how rough the world is, going all the way back to the days of your ancestors. I fought with all my strength not to be broken by the state of my failing body. When I got here, everyone was nice to me, and I burst into tears. Why can kindness break you down when misery cannot? Spend a year embracing this world, you’ll never understand how you could have lived without it.”

“Well, I’ll know soon enough.” Hugh gestured at the doorway out of the tearoom. “I’ve just bought my ticket back to the States. I’m going back there, and I’m going to try and reconnect with command. If I can’t find them, then my family. If you and Alec are right, then I guess I won’t find anyone. If this is all some insane hallucination, or if it’s a Long Con that I can’t even begin to guess at; I’ll know once I get there.”

Kasumi nodded. “The airship leaves in two days. I was actually going to buy a ticket for myself.”

“What do I do for two days?”

“Won’t be hard to find a place to stay, even if only for a little while.”

Hugh looked around for a clock and couldn’t find one. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen a clock for a while. Something occurred to him, and he pulled out Alec's Screen. “Um… What time is it?”

Nothing. Kasumi reached across and tapped the glass for him. It lit up and Hugh asked the question again. The time promptly appeared on screen and he slurped his tea. “Well, as it happens, I have a standing dinner invitation…”

“Don’t be surprised if that dinner turns into an offer of lodging for the night.”

~~/*\~~

Kasumi was correct. Aimes was only too happy to take him in. It was the first complete family unit that Hugh had seen since waking up on the Beach, and it was an eyeopener. Aimes had two kids, and two grandchildren. But they were all full grown. Aimes hadn't changed in appearance at all. Healthier, perhaps, but when Hugh had known him; he was barely 20 years old. He looked about the same, maybe a little more mature; and so did his wife, Veronica. The only sign of their age was their eyes.

His kids were both full grown, apparently with children of their own, and not one of them looked any older than thirty. It was somehow more unsettling than the idea of angels guarding the streets and all wars and weapons being done away with.

“A little hard to tell at a glance, isn't it?” Aimes almost laughed at the look on his former Captain's face. “You can never be sure if you're talking to my wife, or my daughter, or my sister.” He chuckled. “I never realized how much we depended on relative ages until we didn't have them anymore.”

Hugh toasted that one, despite himself.

After dinner, the kids all returned to their own homes. Hugh wondered how far spread humanity would become; if nobody ever died. Once he was left alone with the happy couple, Veronica had served espresso, and they all went out onto the porch. The night was temperate, and there was plenty of light from inside. With the stars above and reclining porch furniture, it was a very relaxed moment.

“One nice thing about working on a dock, you get to see what’s coming into market.” Aimes sipped his coffee gratefully. “You’ve seen the markets?”

“The open air things? Yeah.” Hugh nodded. “Nobody seems to be hurting for food and drink, though.”

“Produce is plentiful, but some things still grow better in some places. Coffee beans happen to be one of them.” Aimes chuckled. “The good thing is, if it takes a full year to grow, harvest and ship a relatively small amount of something, everyone still gets a share eventually. There’s no hurry.”

Comfortable pause.

“So many stars.” Hugh remarked. “I can’t remember having ever seen so many.”

“Air hasn’t been this clean for a thousand years.” Aimes nodded, gazing up at the moon..

“Still more stars to see on your journey. I hear you're taking the airship.” Veronica put in. “That's supposed to be quite a fun ride. I've never actually gotten around to that; but I've always wanted to.”

“Really? I thought the world was all about wish fulfillment now.”

Veronica laughed. “I remember thinking the same thing, back a long time ago. I was a Witness in the Old System. It happened after… well, after.”

Hugh looked at Aimes in confusion. “I thought you said you didn't make it past the 90’s.”

“I didn't, but... Well, my wife was a good bit younger than me at the time. Except she's actually a decade or two older than me in real time.” He smiled broadly. “Hard to tell now, isn't it?”

“Huge scandal at the time.” Veronica chuckled. “First thing we did when he came back was elope.” (Author's Note: I've searched high and low, looking for a straight answer about marriage in the new system, with regard to resurrected ones. There is only one scripture that refers to it, in Luke 20:34, 35. The most recent commentary on this scripture is in a 2014 Watchtower; which suggests reasons that Jesus may have been referring to the heavenly resurrection, not an earthly one. The short answer is, the bible doesn't specify directly. I have chosen this route, but it is pure speculation on my part.)

“When I told my mother I was engaged, she forbade it." Veronica explained. "She wouldn't let it happen in my family church. She was the head of a lot of little social groups, and they brought a lot of business to the parish, so the Pastor backed her. After we married, there was an accident. We both survived, but he was in a wheelchair for a good long while. I went back to the Church and demanded to know why. The Pastor suggested it was probably punishment, for defying my mother.”

Hugh snorted in disgust.

“I never went back to church again after that.” Veronica nodded in full agreement. “Years later, the Witnesses found me. I loved what I learned with them.” She shook her head. “I grew up in that Parish, and not one of the people in it came to visit me when I was widowed. They were all part of Church programs, and that made them all too scared of my mother.”

Hugh snorted again. “So when you converted?”

“I was officially dead to her. My father and sisters were too scared of her too. The day I became a Witness was the last time I ever spoke to my family.” Veronica gestured at the family photos back in the house. “My kids, God Bless them all... they rallied around me, took it seriously.”

“So when it all happened, and I came back? I found my wife, and kids and the grandkids I never met, all eager to tell me where I was.” Aimes put in. “I woke up and saw my father as my Welcoming Committee... Thought I was in heaven.” He smirked. “And while I've never been to Heaven, I can't imagine it being any more perfect than this.”

Hugh looked back to Veronica. “I... I don't know how to ask this, but what about your mom?”

Veronica sighed. “I was in my mid-nineties when That Day came. My mom was long gone by then.” She sipped her coffee. “She isn't in the registry yet. She'll come back. And when she does, I'll have a difficult conversation ahead.” She sipped again. “ That Day? I could barely move about my own retirement home. When the brothers all had to get ready, I told them to leave me. It was a very dangerous time to be a JW. Took your life in your hands just going outside. They came anyway. I'll stick with my brothers.”

Do they still feel that way about me? Hugh wondered. I would understand... Aloud he said it. “I... I just don't get that.”

“Get what?”

“Everyone coming back? Sounds like a good plan, but... If someone talks trash about you for years? If someone treats your people like dirt, or arranges to block you... I mean, Witnesses had enemies. I remember Sunday School, even Jesus had enemies. Why do they get the same reward that lifelong servants do? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful; but I don't understand a God that can't tell His friends from His enemies. What's the point of being good, if bad gets away with everything?”

Aimes sipped his coffee. “A lot of us went through that sort of thing. In fact, it was one of the key talks at the 'Now On Earth' Conventions.”

“Now On Earth?”

“On Earth, As It Is In Heaven.” Veronica quoted the scripture. “It was an amazing thing. The whole thing sprang up so fast, there was no way they didn't have it planned years in advance. I mean, before That Day even happened.” Her voice had taken on a dreamy, almost folk tale quality. “It was less than a year after the Great Day. At the time, there was almost nothing being done. People were just picking up pieces, living from day to day, looking for friends. We were all celebrating, of course, but there was a lot to sort out. The local congregation Elders had one instruction: Rebuild Communications. In some parts of the world, that was just a matter of someone getting a vehicle working and heading for the nearest town. By the end of the first year, they had contact restored; and everyone was getting in touch, seeing who was where.”

“Seeing who made it.” Hugh guessed. “I was killed in action in the middle of a really big war, Mrs Aimes, I get it.”

She shrugged. “Well, the first year ended, and on the Anniversary, we had a Convention. A Big one. With communications back up, they broadcast the program over the whole world. They say that nobody slept for a full forty hours.”

“Sounds like a long day.” Hugh commented.

“Oh it was, and yet...” She smiled broadly. “I was there, and I can remember thinking how I wasn't a bit tired. All over the world, people were listening. A lot of places didn't have stadiums, or convention halls. I've seen pictures; most people were reclining on hillsides, on beaches, in fields... They broadcast the program to everyone in the world at once. The Program was all about what happened next. Work began the very next day. In the centuries since, it hasn't even slowed down. You know why that Convention was the most important one we'll ever have?”

“Because it was the first one?”

“Yes, but that's only a fact of the calendar. What made that one the most important was the audience.”

“The Audience?”

“The Resurrection was long away, and anyone who had just come through it with the benefit of the doubt? They had quickly been met and taught. For the first time in the history of the world, the whole world was in attendance. Literally. The streets were empty. The houses were empty. The only ones in the world were the brothers and sisters, all of them listening in at the same time. Can you imagine that? When the audience applauded, the whole planet applauded. When they sang praises, every human being alive sang together. It was an incredible experience.”

“Which brings me back to my original question.” Hugh got back on topic. “How do you expect to make peace with people who got rewarded for fighting against you so hard?”

“They were duped.” Aimes said simply.

“Duped?”

“We fought an evil man, back in the day.” Aimes told him. “But the guys shooting back at us? Were they our enemies? Or their children? Or the grunts in the trenches, come to that?”

Hugh was silent a long moment. “It sounds like it should be an easy answer, but I remember Sal told me about a time when he was out on patrol, and came across a lost German officer. Just a kid, really. Sal told me that they stared at each other down their gun-sights for a minute, before one of them put their hands up. The two of them split a smoke, traded some rations… Sal told me that they both kept smiling, but when they heard someone else coming, they both grabbed for their guns. One German was a person. Two together were Nazi’s.”

“Exactly.” Aimes was pleased. “Because they were in the grip of a complete lunatic, and the way they were brainwashed over there, they all rushed to volunteer... And they got something completely different than what they were promised.” He pulled out his own device, and tapped at the screen a moment. “Here. 1 John 5:18: We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.”

“We, all of us, came to Jehovah from outside His house.” Veronica added. “Even the ones who never said anything bad about Him directly. None of us were perfect. All of us had some sin to apologize for. How can we be mad when everyone else recognizes that they need the same thing?”

“The Devil made them do it?” Hugh snorted. “Heard that one before. Just like I’ve heard ‘I was just following orders’ or ‘I didn’t know what I was doing’ or ‘it was all his idea’ and ‘I’m under huge pressure’.” He shook his head. “I’ve heard a hundred excuses, and what it all boils down to is that nobody wants to admit when they just got it wrong.”

“People made their own choices.” Aimes agreed. “But have you ever known a man to make a smart, carefully reasoned decision while drunk, or while drugged, or with a gun to their head?”

“Don't tell me you can't feel it.” Veronica put in. “That oppressive feeling is gone. You were in WW2. You must have felt it. That constant fear, that constant pressure on your soul...”

“Well, yeah; it was a warzone.” Hugh snorted.

“By the time the end got close, it was constant.” Veronica explained. “Life was just getting you down on every level. Economic, spiritual, political, industrial, social. There was just this constant noise that filled people with dread and anger and depression and disgust and apathy. The world belonged to Wicked Powers. It was like a noose around the throat of every man and woman. It was so constant and universal that nobody even noticed it. It took me a while to notice when it was gone, in fact.”

Hugh started to say something, when he froze and tried to say something else. Finally, he settled on it. “I can feel it.” He admitted. “It's like... something happens to make you smile. Then a few moments pass, and the smile fades. That's the way it's always been. But now... it's like the smile stays on your face a lot longer. Smaller things make you smile. I don't know how it's happening, exactly. But I do know that back during the war, I'd have a harder time believing any of this. Maybe that's just what comes of going from wartime to peacetime, but...”

“But maybe it's something more.” Aimes finished. “Cap'n, after the war? The worst of the lot got taken prisoner, given fair trials, and were punished for war crimes. When someone goes to jail and does their time, they leave prison and they’re back to square one. The very worst, the very most that a human court can order is the death penalty. What happens when that particular prison term expires?”

Hugh found the thought oddly funny.

“I always liked the idea of being forgiven at death.” Veronica offered. “What worse could you have done to you? Someone goes through that, you can't really ask more of them.”

“Yeah, but... It's not like they took the time to think about what they've done.” Hugh pointed out. “What if it doesn't make a lick of difference? Isn’t it just another excuse to be forgiven for stuff once you get caught?”

“Well, you tell us. You're resurrected too.” Veronica shot back, with a coy little smile.

Hugh didn't have an answer to that, but he knew why Aimes had married her.

~~/*\~~

End of Chapter Two