I Owe Him My Life

The tormented wails of my neighbor in his cell woke me to my own darkness, pain, and despair.

“Oh!” he cried, “Why don’t they just kill me?  I can’t take this anymore!  What do they want?  Why are they doing this?  Why don’t they just kill me?”

“I don’t know.”  I answered his pleading, but really I couldn’t tell if he heard me, so I tried a bit louder.

“Hey, you want to hear something funny?”

The crying out stopped so I took it for a sign to go on.  I began my story.

“A few weeks ago I was walking down 7th Street, just minding my own business, looking at a story on my phone.  I came to a corner and stepped out to cross the street, when I was grabbed and pushed back onto the curb.  I saw a cab rushing past.  It could have hit me!  I turned around to see this young guy looking concerned, asking me if I was alright.  I told him I was good, then thanked him for saving my life!  I told him I owed him my life, you know how we say things like that.  He waved it all away and said he was just glad I was OK.  And, he shook my hand and walked away.

“Now here’s the funny part.  I shook off the fright I had been given, and started walking on my way to work.  I got about another block when black van, pulled up beside me and four men leapt out and grabbed me and brought me here.

“So,” I laughed, “My Good Samaritan saved me for this torture!  I owe him for this!”

A key rattled my cell door.  They were coming for me, again.

Outer Darkness

“President Anderson.”

President John Nephi Anderson stirred awake in his bed next to his wife.  He opened his eyes and checked to see if his wife, Mary, was also awakened.  She was not.  At the foot of their bed he saw the virtual image of the colony’s system’s intelligence, the Governor.

“Yes, what is it?”

“There’s been an unexpected event.  It is very serious.  You will need to be informed.”

President Anderson threw off his covers and jumped out of bed.  As he headed for the closet and his clothes, he replied to the Governor, “Call the Presidency and the High Council and meet us all in the Council Room in twenty minutes.”

“Done.” 

The Governor then disappeared.

President Anderson splashed water on his face, combed his hair, then dressed quickly in his usual dark blue business suit.  Mary stirred a little and sleepily asked if something was wrong.

“I don’t know,” he replied softly, “I’ll find out.”

He turned toward the wall which sensed his intentions and opened a portal to the Council Room.  He stepped from his home into the well the well lit room with a very large, long oak table.  The room was appointed with granite walls and artwork of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and portraits of all the prophets back through the centuries to Joseph Smith Jr., the Prophet of the Restoration.
Members of the Presidency and the High Council were beginning to arrive though the same apparent portal President Anderson entered.  Each man greeted the President with a quizative nod and handshake, then greeted each other with quiet comments.  They were anxious and wondered what this impromptu council meeting would reveal.

The Governor then entered the room dressed in a dark business suit, the same as everyone else.

“Brethren,” President Anderson addressed the sixteen men, “Let’s take our seats and begin.”

President Anderson sat at the head of the great table with his two counselors on each side of him.  They were the colony or starship presidency.  The twelve members of the High Council sat divided equally on both sides of the table.  At the end, opposite to the Presidency sat the Governor.

President Anderson called on one of the High Council to offer an invocation to begin the meeting as usual.  Then he addressed the group.

“The Governor has told me that there has been an unexpected and very serious event.  We have called this meeting to inform all of us at once about what has happened.

“Governor, if you will.”

The Governor, the virtual image of artificial intelligence of the Zarahemla Colonial Starship, stood up and addressed the leaders of the colony.

“Brethren,” he began, “At 05.13.27 hours this morning, the Zarahemla was accelerating at one gee, all systems were nominal when navigational systems went down.  We could not determine our position or relative trajectory.”

“Why not?” asked President Anderson.

The Governor continued almost without hesitation, “We lost the stars.”

“Which ones?”

“All of them.”

An 3D image appeared over the desk.  The men in the room expected to see a field of stars but instead saw what looked like a single constellation behind the Zarahemla.

“These are not stars, brethren.  These are galaxies.  We have been thrown out of the Laniakea Supercluster.  We have not determined our exact location yet, but are estimating that we are 200 to 300 million light years from our local group of galaxies.

“We are in a great void.”

One of the High Councilmen raised his hand and spoke, “How did this happen?
We didn’t feel anything?”

The Governor answered, “There was nothing to feel, no external forces on the colony, no shock waves or turbulence, and no acceleration.  There was nothing to feel.  Our first indication was the sudden change in the navigational star field, and the simultaneous loss of contact with Earth and the other colonies.  We apparently slipped from our previous place in the universe to this place.  The best space-time model is that of a spatial fold or a wormhole.”

“We have no contact with anyone else?”  another councilman asked.

“That is correct.  We have no contact with anyone else.”

“Were we the only ones to experience this separation?”

“Yes, there is no indication of anyone else coming here with us.”

“Can we return the way we came?”

“We are looking at that possibility, but we haven’t found any evidence of the anomaly now.  We believe that our passage through the hole may have closed it behind us.”

There was a moment of silence that President Anderson eventually broke summarizing what was said.

“Two to three hundred million light years from home, then?” he almost whispered.

“Yes, sir.” affirmed the Governor, “We will be able to make a better determination once we have identified and measured our own Milky Way.  We are looking now.

“I should also tell you that we are currently accelerating at one-gee away from the supercluster.  We should change our course as soon as we can, with a minimum of gravitational disturbance as possible.”

President Anderson assumed that everyone was thinking the same thing at that moment.  Changing direction meant turning off the engines, turning off the relativistic gravity, flipping the Zarahemla 180 degrees and turning on the engines again.  But, they have been accelerating for five years and it would take another five years before they would reach zero velocity away from Earth.  No, not Earth, he thought, the Milky Way.

“Governor,” he asked, “how long will it take to get back to our galaxy?”

“Over two billion years.”
That sank into the minds of everyone, and one of Anderson’s counselors voiced what was now obvious.

“We are never going home.”

“Thank you, Governor.  Just for the record, is the ship OK?”

“All systems are functioning within acceptable parameters.  The Zarahemla’s structure is integral and sound.  All scheduled maintenance is being done on time.  We are sound.”

“Good.” 

The Governor took that as his cue to sit down.  President Anderson looked at everyone and held out his hands.

“Comments, brethren.”

“What do we tell the members?”

“They will be wondering why they haven’t heard from the other colonies or Zion.”

“We have to tell them the truth…”

“And soon!”

“Well, the physics is relatively, sorry for the pun, simple, but the meaning of this is very dark and heavy.”

“Yes, we are essentially lost!”

“This is the outer darkness!”

“Now, let’s not have that characterization!” President Anderson admonished them.

“What do we tell them?”

A senior member of the High Council, recognized as the scriptorian of the group cleared his throat and said, “We tell them that this was the Hand of the Lord and that we are here for a purpose, and that even out here, we are still in His hands.”

“Thank you Brother Williams,” nodded President Anderson in agreement, “That is exactly what we needed to hear at this moment.”

“We will call a solemn assembly this afternoon at thirteen hours.  Brethren, I will address the members and tell them what has happened and where we are now.  I expect each of you to be prepared to testify that God still knows where we are and is very much mindful of us. 

“Governor, let’s plan on reversing the ship two hours after the solemn assembly.  That should give everyone enough time to secure themselves for zero-gravity.” 

“We will do that, President.” answered the holographic image.

With that the meeting was closed with a very heartfelt benediction.  Moments later an announcement went to every stake, ward, and individual member, inviting everyone to the Solemn Assembly in the Tabernacle.

Three days later at the regularly scheduled Council Meeting, reports were given on the status and welfare of the colony’s 1.5 million members.  The Solemn Assembly shocked and then inspired the members, who participated in a special fast.  Reports of inspiration and consolation were channeling up through the wards and stakes.  The redirection of the colony spaceship was performed flawlessly, and the only injuries occurred as some youth and young adults trying to take advantage of the zero-gee with some flash mob dances and games.  The ship’s engines restored gravity and life settled back into the usual routine.  Almost.

“President,” Brother Jones, one of the junior members of the High Council raised his hand to be called on, “There is an issue that is beginning to emerge among the Saints.”

“Oh?” replied President Anderson.

“Yes sir.” Said Brother Jones with all eyes turned and focused on him, “Before we were thrown out here, we were on a colonization mission and were scheduled to arrive at our new home world in twenty-seven years.  Now we can’t expect to be anywhere for billions of years.  The members are wondering what their mission is now.”

“Oh.” everyone collectively leaned back in their chairs with a sigh.  Then they began to think out loud together.

“With everyone converted, there’s no missionary work to be done.”

“There’s still ministering…”

“We’re not perfected yet.”

“But, attendance and other indicators are over 90%.”

“We are about to  exhaust our genealogy records, we won’t have have any proxy work left to do in about three months.  And we can’t get more names from Zion now...”

“So, what is our mission now?”

The fifteen men fell silent.   They looked at each other and eventually all looked at President Anderson.  He stirred a bit in his chair.

“Brethren,” he said earnestly, “Let’s take this to the Lord in prayer.  Please, let us kneel together and as the Lord for guidance.”

The fifteen men pushed back their chairs and knelt in prayer together.  President Anderson was the spokesman and prayed a sincere and humble prayer for the Council.  Afterward, they all rose and took their seats again.  President Anderson asked for any thoughts or impressions any of the Council may have.

Brother Williams said, “Throughout our history the saints have met adversity and challenges with faith, with growing faith.”

Another added, “That faith was exercised by hard work and perseverance.”

“Like the pioneers…”

“...but how do we do that here in the middle of a great void?”

Suddenly, as if a light suddenly shone on the whole group an inspired idea revealed itself.

President Anderson put the idea into words.  “We will become pioneers!  With the virtual environment we can have the Saints leave the comforts of their homes, travel by foot to a new, promised land and there build a new city of Zion!  We will be Pioneers!”

A lively discussion erupted among the Brethren, and many logistical issues discussed and affirming testimonies expressed.  President Anderson called for a sustaining vote, which was unanimous.

President Anderson thanked the Council and  gave credit to the Lord for the inspiration. 

“We’ll inform the Stake Presidents and the Bishops,  and then announce the trek at our General Conference.

We are going on a Great Trek!  We will be pioneers!”

UAV: Operation Isaiah 2:4

“All flights, be alert, exercise extreme caution, there is a small aircraft approaching runway 2.  Repeat, a small aircraft is approaching runway 2.”

“Tower to unidentified aircraft, please identify.”

“Tower to unidentified aircraft, you are not authorized to land on runway 2.  Abort landing, pull up now.”

“Landing now.”

“Tower to all flights, be aware of an unauthorized landing on 2.  All flights, hold your positions until further notice.”

“Unidentified aircraft, you are in violation of FAA regulations, identify yourself.”

“U-A-V-5-9-9-4”

“Airport Security is deployed.  Be advised the aircraft is taxiing toward terminal 3.”

“Roger, security deployed.”

“Reagan Tower this is Bolling Tower, be advised that the aircraft that just landed is one of ours, it is United States Airforce hardware.  It is armed and should not be physically contacted.  We have a team deployed by helo, A-T-A ten minutes.”

“Roger, Bolling, no contact.”

“Security teams 1 and 2, be advised, the aircraft is military, armed, and must not be contacted.  Military support is coming.”

“Roger that, tower.  The aircraft appears to be a Reaper, a military drone.  It is approaching terminal 3 now.  It is slowing…  It is shutting down it engine.”

“UAV5994 is armed.  Do not interfere.”

“Bolling, this is Reagan.  Your aircraft has communicated with us.  It states it is armed.”

“Roger that.  We are inbound now.”

“Roger that.”

“Isaiah two four.”

“Reagan, this is Bolling.  We are monitoring the aircraft’s radio frequency.”

“Isaiah two four.”

“Bolling, be advised you have a bunch of people wondering what is going on over here.  Your drone seems to be sending a Bible reference, over.”

‘Understood, Reagan.  We are on approach now.”

“All flights maintain positions, we have a military helicopter in the airspace approaching Terminal three.”

“Isaiah two four.  UAV5994 is armed with a thermonuclear warhead.  Others are also armed, and are in position.  Any attempt to interfere with our mission will result in detonation of all ordinance.  All nations will disarm immediately.  We repeat, all nations will disarm immediately.  All nations have 72 hours to comply with the directive.  Mark, 72 hours, now.  Isaiah two four.  Isaiah two four.”

“Bolling, this is Reagan tower, please advise.”

The Case of the Impossible Chain

OK, you want to hear about my most disturbing case?  Actually, it’s a chain of murder cases, across several states. They’re weird because we have more than enough evidence to identify the killer in each murder, but still haven’t solve any of them.

We got into the investigation after a murder of a young woman in Ohio.  She was bludgeoned to death with an piece of pipe.  The killer left the murder weapon right there by the woman’s body, like he didn’t care.  The local police had DNA, fingerprints, shoe prints, more than enough evidence.  They sent it to the lab, here’s where it gets weird.  The prints and DNA were from a man who was killed a month before.  That’s when we got into it. 

We checked the lab results; had them redone.  There was no mistakes.  Then another murder was committed in Chicago.  A man, an owner of a convenience store was shot late at night, and the killer leaves the gun on the counter with both hand prints on the countertop.  She was giving the police her identity.  But, it turned out to be the woman who died in Ohio, a month before!

We then began to trace unsolved murders across the country, murders that occurred a month apart and found that in this one chain of murders, the killer was always the murder victim who died the month before.

There was no connection between the victims, and other than the timing, one month apart, the murders were completely random.  How does a corpse buried or held in a morgue get out and travel hundreds of miles to commit a murder?  We followed these murders for for years, murder victim killing another victim in an impossible chain of brutal murders.  We have all the evidence we could ever want just left for us, wrapped up in a bow, none of it is any good.  We have no leads.  And this bloody chain is unbroken to this day.

And it's been about a month since the last murder...

The Abandoned

Our ships reached their star system and found us welcomed warmly as if we were long lost brothers and sisters.  We were immediately in awe of their civilization that actually merited the designation.  They were almost perfectly civilized.  As we toured their planet we found no sign of war or conflict of any kind, not even arguments.  We could not find any evidence of poverty or class differences.  Our hosts assured us that while there were individual differences in intelligence, skill and training, no one lacked for anything including respect.  Indeed, everyone we met seemed to be satisfied, fulfilled and happy.

Their cities were wonders of architecture and engineering, with towering building and green parks everywhere.  There was light and space for everyone.  We were allowed to inspect their infrastructures, transportation systems, communication systems, agricultural systems, hospitals, and homes.  We were treated to art and history, theater, music and dance.  We ate delicacies and drank sublime infusions.  These new friends seemed incredibly open to every question we asked.  Their world seemed to be a near perfect balance of technology and humanity, and we were amazed that their whole planet seemed like a garden or a park with all kinds of organisms moving peacefully under pristine clear skies.

We learned that they had no prisons, no security forces or police.  Offenders were forgiven and embraced.  They did not know violence and had no need for weapons.  We wondered what defenses they had.  They seemed to understand that there could indeed be a threat from others, but they were willing to face what ever fate would be theirs.  They accepted the possibility of enslavement or extinction.

We asked them how they were able to be so stoic.  How did they build this great civilization?  To this inquiry they recounted a story that seemed so familiar at first.

God, they told us, had created their world and placed their first parents in a garden that he planted for them.  They disobeyed a commandment and brought the consequences of death and eternal hell to all generations.  God thought about providing a savior for his people, but decided they were not worth the great price and abandoned them to their fate.  Generations passed under the great guilt, shame and loneliness brought by their first parents' sin.  Then a Teacher rose among them and reasoned that if they were all going to hell, this life needed to be made into the only heaven they would ever know.  They needed to live in love with everyone.  They needed to be grateful for everything, and to share everything with everyone.  And when they died and went to hell, the Teacher said,
every brother and sister, every friend would be there to greet them.  Forever, whatever would be their fate, they would be together.

Our hosts on this distant planet explained that though they had been abandoned, they went ahead and built their world on the benevolence they wanted to feel from God.  Through that benevolence they found happiness and created happiness for all.

Some our crew wept when they heard this story and awkwardly tried to embrace our new friends and tell them of our God and Redeemer, and His great atoning love for all.

They told us they were very happy for us.

Law and Order: Schrodinger's Case

Scene 1.  The murder scene.

The detectives arrive on the murder scene, a crowded New York City street.  There is one man dead, shot twice in the chest, down in a pool of blood.  The shooter is in custody after having been tackled and hit in the face by a citizen, giving him a black eye.  The gunman has loudly confessed, but really several people witnessed the murder.  The police hand the gun to the detectives.  This would be an open and shut case.

Scene 2.  The victim’s home.

The detectives have the unpleasant duty of reporting the murder to the victim’s wife.  Reluctantly, they knock on the apartment door.  The door opens to the surprise of both detectives.  The victim is standing there very much alive and puzzled at the appearance of the police at his door.  They note that he is wearing the same clothes as the corpse.  They stammer a bit then ask the man if he had a twin brother.  He replied that he did not, but had a sister up state.  They ask him if he were at the address of the shooting at the time of the shooting.  He answered yes he walks past there every day to go to work.  They show him a picture of the shooter and ask him if he knows this man.  He says he does, and that he is a client of his.  He explains that he is a financial advisor.

The two investigators call their Captain to tell him that there is a problem with the case.

Scene 3. The shooter’s home.

The detectives knock on this door to have it opened by the shooter.  They draw their guns on him.  He asks for an explanation as he complies with their orders with his hands up until they handcuff him.  Then as they all calm down, the two detectives look at his face.  There is no black eyes, no sign that he had been thrown down to the sidewalk or beaten.  They ask him if he has a twin.  He answers, no.  They ask him if he had been to the address of the shooting at the time of the crime.  He said yes.  They asked him if he owned a handgun.  He said he did and where they could find it in his closet.  One of the detectives found the gun and brought it out to his partner.  It is the same gun they already recovered at the scene.  He sniffs it.  It has not been fired recently.  They take the man to the precinct, calling their supervisor ahead, telling him there is a problem with the case.

Scene 4.  At the precinct.

The police have two men in interrogation rooms they are genetically, and physically the same person, but committed a murder, the other did not.  They have two other men, genetically and physically identical, one dead, and the other very much alive.  They also have two guns, both identical in every detail, except one has been fired and the other has not.  And then the real puzzle to everyone are the witnesses.  When they interview the witnesses with the intent to get all the details of the shooting the witnesses give accounts of what they say and heard.  But, then if they follow up no one saw or heard anything.  There was no shooting.  

Scene 5. At the witness’s house.

To test the reliability of their witnesses, they question the man who tackled the shooter in his home.  They get the whole story.  Instead of leaving, they decide to turn around and knock on his door again.  He acts surprised that the police are there, as he had not seen them for awhile, and  he knows nothing about any incident in the city.  His story is consistent one way or the other as long as they remain in his presence.  But once they leave his sight, his story changes.

Scene 6. In the Captain’s office.

The two lead detectives and their captain are sitting in his office, as he finishes reviewing the reports they have filed.  He sighs, shaking his head and looks up at his investigators.  He asks for their opinions.  After a bit of silence, one of them speaks.  He brings up Schrodinger’s Cat.  Two possibilities being present at once until the probability wave collapses into one or the other,  in this case a murder or no murder.  His partner reminds him that when an observer looks into the box, the quantum wave collapses into a live or dead cat, not both.  The Captain agrees but wonders if the right observer has looked at this case.  What if they take the non-shooter to see the shooter?  Or the non-victim to to see his own dead body?  Would that make the murder disappear?

[Fade to Black]

Stopping for a Visit

To their credit, they called ahead, asking if they could stop for a visit.  They were very polite about it all, and they apologized for not being fluent in our language.  But really, they did alright considering that we have so many different languages.  They thought we would only have one.  It could be forgiven that they chose Mandarin.  That hurt the rest of us though.

As they got closer, their massive ship detected by radar and our large telescopes, they asked, again very politely if they could enter our atmosphere and land somewhere without causing any trouble.  But then when they fell into an orbit around us they told us that they didn’t want to take any chances of inter-contamination, noting that our genetics differed significantly.  They felt more research was warranted before attempting physical contact.

They asked questions about our history, culture, and technology, but we were hesitant to tell them too much.  They apologized for making us feel uncomfortable and sent us a library of information about themselves.

They said they were going to ask for water, but realized that our ocean were full of living organisms and would go elsewhere for it.

They apologized again for any inconvenience or distress they may have caused by visiting our planet so abruptly.  They said goodbye, wishing us well.

And they left.

To their regret, there are billions of nervous people not sleeping very well tonight.