The Project

Chapter 2

The Project Chapter 2

Alex stopped shoveling, this wasn't right, something was wrong here.

"Well thank you Mr. Tate, but I couldn't…" Gideon shook his head,

"Sorry son it doesn't work like that, I can't just let poor Arna go off on her own, she may be a Motok, but she is human in every way you could imagine, and there's not a question she couldn't answer, gimmie your hand Alex." He cautiously offered his hand, whereby Gideon took it as well as Arna's placing his own hand over both.

"Arna, from this moment forward, you now belong to Alex Russom," suddenly Alex felt his hand get very warm as well as a distinct tingling pulse through it all the way up his arm. Arna gazed into his eyes, and stated,

"I am your's now Alex, I am at your command, if you would like a tutorial on my skills and abilities, pleas indicate with a "yes."

"Um, that's all right Arna, maybe later. Umm Mr. Tate, what was that you said about a ship?" Gideon smiled, and pointed to the place where Arna appeared from,

"Watch…Over there…Arna." Suddenly a glimmering shape appeared, slowly revealing the shape of a small spacecraft.

"Oh my god! Gasped Alex, where did that come from?"

"That my friend is the Karla-Ann, named for a girl I deeply loved, but could never have, feel free to name her anything you like, she's served me well all these years, never given me any problems, she's all your's now Alex."

"But…But, I don't know how to fly, how would I fly it?" Gideon continued to carve into the rock with a pen-like device.

"Don't worry about it Alex, Arna can fly it, and in time she will teach you to fly it as well." Alex was at a loss for words, focusing his attention on what Gideon was doing.

"What is that you've got?" He asked, Gideon continued to work.

"It's a sculpting tool, it literally melts rock, I use it to mark places where I've cached supplies, here I'll mark this stone with the symbol." Alex watched in fascination as Gideon used the tool to cut into the solid rock like a hot knife in butter, he carved a circle with a star inside of it inside the star; he carved a small "G."

"What do you mean "cached" supplies?" Asked Alex.

"Just what I mean son," then pointing skyward, he added, "Up there, out in space, there are dozens of planets, some large some small, where I've spent time, I've always hidden certain supplies. Don't know why, it's just something I've done, Arna knows where they're all at." Gideon glanced at his life clock again, and said,

"Better get to digging son, time's running out."

He quickly resumed his digging, as Gideon finished up his headstone,

"After I'm gone, feel free to take my gun, my knife, this vest I have on, but don't take my cloths, I don't know, it's just a notion I have. Zip me into the bag Arna will give you, make sure I'm comfortable down there. Cover me up, and Arna has something I'd like you to read over my grave if you'd be so kind."

"Su-r-e Mr. Tate I'll be happy to, but tell me, if I hadn't been around, who would you have gotten to do all this stuff for you?" Gideon grinned but kept working,

"Oh there was never any question that you, or…Someone would be here." Now Alex was really confused,

"Wait! How could you possibly know I would be here, as far as I know, my friend and I are the only two people who know about this place." Gideon stopped working and looked at Alex.

"Son, when you've traveled the galaxy as long as I have, you wouldn't need to ask that question. Alex, my time is at end, but your's is just beginning, take what is offered you, I don't know what you had planned to do the rest of your life, but I'm offering you something, something that might come only once in a lifetime. Take the next step son…Go to the stars."

Gideon then showed Alex his headstone, at the top was the star in a circle symbol, below it read,

"Gideon Tate

B-1925 D-2014

Project Completed"

"I'm only guessing at when I was born, the date was 200049 by the Neistraen calendar. We knew the Neistraen's grabbed everyone in 1880, but we were never really sure how long the aliens took getting to Z'ha'dum, or if they fooled around elsewhere, it's all speculation."

"So tell me about this "project," asked Alex, Gideon pointed to his grave and said,

"You just keep digging, and I'll tell you. The project began almost as soon as my people came to Z'ha'dum, careful records were always kept, every opportunity to learn and study the Neistra was taken. Later, we were able to determine that it took about two of our years to get from earth to Z'ha'dum, but it was still only a guess. Some how, some way, we were determined to return to earth and let people know what happened. Well, as things turned out just getting one person back was all we could manage, and I'm that person."

"Do you think your people are still alive back on Z'ha'dum?" Asked Alex.

Gideon shrugged,

"Hard to say, we were dying out, there were never enough women to go around, and great care was taken to avoid incest or inbreeding, some of the former whores had children by more than one father, but when I left, the population was rapidly dwindling, the Neistra took care of us, some of the Motok were trained in medicine, overall I think people lived longer, but as far as extended life spans, I don't think folks were living longer than humans were supposed to."

Continuing with his narrative, Gideon said,

"Over the years, we acquired some of the Motok, Arna is one, they were re-programmed to work for us and help us acquire information. We were able to steal Neistraen technology, but more importantly, the means to build this ship."

"Did the aliens try to chase you when you left?" Asked Alex. Gideon chuckled,

"Naw, by then they seemed to have forgotten us, anyway we were running things, growing our own food, the mines were pretty much played out, and I think the Neistra had moved on, when I left it had been nearly three months since they had picked up ore."

Alex finally finished Gideon's grave, Arna was sitting on the ground just watching, not saying a word,

"Would you like something to eat Mr. Tate?" Asked Alex. Gideon looked at his life clock,

"Looks like I'm down to two arr's, what the hell! What do ya have?" Alex brought out his supply of freeze-dried food, and began to heat water on his little stove. Gideon watched as Alex prepared him some beef stew and coffee, while Alex fixed himself chili Mac with beef. Gideon took a sip of coffee studied the cup and remarked,

"I only know about this stuff from the old timers, the Neistra gave us something called D'ol Meul, wasn't bad, kept you awake, but I was told it couldn't hold a candle to real coffee. Son, this is more that I could have hoped for, and I thank you."

Gideon savored his meal, as his time slowly ran out,

"Just make sure that packet of data and that little comp get to the authorities," explained Gideon, "Oh, I almost forgot,

"Arna, be a dear and get me that remote." When she returned with a device that was a little bigger than his iphone, Gideon handed it to Alex.

"This device will let you contact Arna along with my ship, I would suggest that you let her maintain an orbit over earth call her when you're ready to leave, she'll come to where you are." Alex took the device and looked at it,

"I don't understand what these marks and letters mean?"

"Got something to write with?" asked Gideon, Alex rummaged through his pack, and found a felt marker,

"I'll tell you what these symbols mean then you mark them in your language, by the way, what is your language called?" Alex stared at him,

"You mean you don't know, it's what you're speaking." Gideon shrugged.

"We never called it anything; it's what everyone spoke, no reason to call it anything."

Alex wrote down whatever the symbols meant in English, as Gideon looked at his life clock again, taking a deep sigh, he said,

"Almost time, any other questions you want to ask me before I go?"

"Let me take your picture, you too Arna," said Alex, taking out his iphone he quickly snapped pictures of Gideon and Arna, along with the Karla-Ann. Although he had just met Gideon, Alex's heart was breaking, holding back tears; he looked the old man in the eye.

"I'm gonna miss you sir, I've only just met you but I'm really gonna miss you." Gideon patted him on his shoulder,

"You can best remember me by taking the Karla-Ann, as well as Arna, don't mistreat her, go to the stars, find you're destiny it's your's for the taking son."

Gideon checked his life clock again, and said,

"Arna, would you please get that bag." The android went to the spacecraft and returned with a folded metallic bag. Spreading it out next to the open grave, Arna stood back. Gideon then took a small bag from his pocket, and started emptying his pockets into it, then removing his vest, he handed the items to Arna.

He than took off the device on his wrist,

"I want you to have this Alex; it's more than a life clock, which by the way, you can turn off if being reminded of your life span bothers you. It's a watch, a communicator, and a tracking device, and did I mention a tiny computer all rolled into one." Alex took the watch but said,

"Thank you Mr. Tate, I'm not going to wear this right away as my folks would wonder where I got it, but I'll be sure to keep it safe."

"Time for me to say good-bye Alex, it's been good to know you, do the right thing, and take my advice." He then proceeded to lay down inside the bag, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Alex thought this had to be some sort of hoax, but when he thought he heard a small bell ring. Quickly glancing at Gideon, he saw the old man stiffen.

"He is gone," said Arna then looking at Alex, she added,

"I am your's now, and await your orders." Alex was dumbfounded, now what was he supposed to do?

"How can someone just die like that? Just know how long you have to live, I can't believe it. Well, I guess we bury him, help me lower him into his grave."

After zipping Gideon into the bag, Alex stood, and said,

"Goodbye Gideon." Then with Arna's help, they lowered the body bag into the grave. Alex placed some small pieces of tin over the bag, before slowly filling the grave in. He had Arna collect rocks to protect the grave, and positioned the headstone at the head of the grave. When everything was finished, he asked Arna for the message Gideon wanted read over his grave she handed him a card made of a material that wasn't paper, or even plastic, and began to read the words printed on it.

"O merciful God, please accept the soul of Gideon Tate into your fold. He has fulfilled the task assigned to him, the project is now complete, and it's time to rest." When he finished, Arna began to sing a strange melodic song that Alex found haunting, he didn't realize androids could sing, but Arna certainly could. When she finished, she just stood looking at Alex, who sighed, and said,

"Well Arna, I need to think."