Beyond the Farthest Star: Chapter 17

Captain Max and his old friend Jones were walking down a quiet country lane. Earlier that morning they had discovered a narrow path, paved with gold, that meandered through a giant forest. The two men had been walking down that path for an hour now, enjoying its wonders. Although the giant trees that towered above them blocked out all sight of the sky, the forest was well-lit by a light that seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere. There were birds resting in branches and squirrels scurrying about, and once Jones had spotted a large black bear. Despite this activity the woods were largely quiet, save for the noise that the two of them made as they walked down the path.

The two of them were on their way to the Diano Computing Center, in response to an invitation from Dr. Temilotzin. When he invited them to drop by the Center they decided to simply walk there. Max and Jones were in no particular hurry, and neither of them ever grew tired of walking through Heaven’s woods. There was a sense of peace and serenity that seemed to permeate everything around them.

“So what’s all this about again?” Max asked. “I know Nehemiah wants to colonize stars, but I’m a little hazy about the details.”

“I know what you mean,” Jones agreed. “In a way we’re at a bit of a disadvantage. Dr. Temilotzin did not invent his probes until long after we left the 19th century, so we never had a chance to see them in action. When we arrived in the future we saw the results of their work, but we never witnessed the process itself. Our only actual interaction with his probes was Carroll Lane tried to murder us with them. So there’s a lot that we’ve missed.”

“I would certainly agree with that,” Max said.

“Of course, our friend realizes all this, which is why he’s asked us to drop by the DCC. He wants to introduce us to one of the key elements of his ambitious plan – the computing resources that he will use to drive the project. Mass-scale processing power is central to his colonization plans, just as it was last time.”

“It is? But why would that be the case? After all, things are quite different now! Our mental and physical abilities are vastly greater than they used to be. In fact, if you compare us now to what we were like before we died, we’re a race of super men! We can’t get sick, we can’t die, and – most importantly – we can’t become corrupt. In fact, civilization as a whole is completely different. Given how much has changed, why would he take the same approach that he took in the shadowlands?”

“Think of it this way, sir. There is something close to 500 billion galaxies in the universe, and those galaxies have billions upon billions of stars. In fact, the number of stars is on the order of 3 trillion times 100 billion. It’s quite a remarkable number! The number of planets is quite staggering as well.”

“It’s unimaginable,” Max commented.

“Quite so – and therein lies the problem! No matter how much smarter you may be now than you were before, it’s simply not possible for one man – or even a group of men – to keep track of the activities around 300 sextillion stars. The only way it could possibly be done is with a staggering amount of computing power. We are going to need the help of machines, sir – enormous, powerful machines, with capacities that dwarf anything the Artilect could have supplied. That is why the DCC was built. It is Ramon Diano’s answer to the staggering challenges presented by Dr. Temilotzin’s project.”

“I see what you mean,” Max replied. “The probes are going to be processing a lot of information, and that data has to go somewhere. But – well, who is this?”

The two men suddenly stopped. A dozen feet or so off the golden path, sitting under an apple tree, was Amanda Stryker. The girl looked quite content, and was reading a novel entitled Starlight. Beside her was a brown wicker basket that contained the food she was going to eat for lunch. When Max and Jones called out to her Amanda put the book down and looked up. “Hello there!” she called out.

“Why, good morning to you, miss,” Max replied. He stepped off the path and walked toward her, with Jones following closely behind. “Are you enjoying your day?”

“I am,” Amanda replied. “I like it here – this is a good place to be, if you know what I mean. Besides, I think some books were meant to be read outdoors, under a tree.”

“Quite so,” Jones commented. “For example, The Horse and His Boy is an excellent story to read outside. Personally, I recommend choosing a lazy summer afternoon.”

“Really?” Max asked. “I can’t say I’ve ever tried that! I really don’t do much reading, and now that I’m here I don’t see that changing. There’s just so much to do! There are old friends to talk to, and wonders to see, and all sorts of things going on. Heaven is a very busy place.”

“There’s always right now,” Amanda suggested.

“Actually, Jones and I are on the way to the DCC. A friend of ours invited us there to look at some computers. It’s part of a project that we’ve somehow gotten mixed up in.”

Amanda smiled. “Right – the colonization project! I’ve heard about it. I hope it works out – from what my brother has told me, Dr. Temilotzin’s plans are very ambitious. You two have your work cut out for you!”

“So it would seem,” Captain Max agreed.

“How is your sister doing? Jones asked.

“She’s – well, she’s pretty unhappy right now,” Amanda admitted. “Everyone wants something from her and she just doesn’t know what to do. Steve wants her to fix Xanthe and Miles wants her to fix Mars. She’s surrounded by all these demands and they’re frustrating her. She wants to help, but she doesn’t know how. Plus, she’s still pretty bitter over Adrian’s betrayal.”

“She is attempting the wrong task,” Jones replied. “That is the source of her problems. She needs to focus on what she can do, and not on what she cannot do.”

“What do you mean?” Amanda asked.

“The problems with Xanthe and Mars stem from the fact that the people on those worlds are corrupt, and that corruption has led to the situations they now face. It is impossible for Amy to cure that corruption. God can change them, but she cannot. All she can do is offer them one final chance. What they do with that chance is between them and God.”

“But they’ve had so many chances already! Mars could have changed two thousand years ago, when Miles built New Tikal – but they didn’t. Xanthe could have changed when I terraformed their planet and offered them a future, but they didn’t. They’ve had far more opportunities than other people have.”

“I know,” Jones said. “But you must understand that the judgment of the Lord is final and absolute. When He returns – and that return is nearer now than when we first believed – He will judge the world. On that day there will be no more second chances, no more offers of grace, no more pleas to accept His mercy. Those who accepted Him will go on to everlasting life, and those who refused to accept Him as Savior and Lord will go on to everlasting torment. Before He returns and puts an end to this age in history He is giving these three worlds – Xanthe, Mars, and Earth – one last chance to repent. Amy’s offer will be the last chance that they get.”

“And then what?” Amanda asked.

Jones smiled. “Then the Lord will create a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. That day is coming too, you know. Amy will not have to deal with all of these problems forever. All she needs to do is finish the race that is set before her. It won’t be easy, but it will be worthwhile. Many lives – many souls – depend on it.”

“Will it take very long?” Amanda asked.

“It will take longer than you would like,” Jones replied. “I know how much you miss her. But you do not have to worry. One day it will become time for her to step through the Door.”

“The door?” Captain Max asked. “What door? Are you talking about her death?”

Jones smiled. “Give it time, sir. You will see what I mean when that day comes.”

“You know, speaking of time, we’d better be hustling along to the DCC! We don’t want to keep our friend waiting forever.”

Amanda spoke up. “He’s probably right, you know. I hope you two have a good time! Don’t work too hard.”

“We’ll see you again soon,” Jones promised.