A New Earth
Book One
Preface
A contemplation of consciousness through the lives of people that do not really exist.
The genre is, technically, Science Fiction of the Postapocalyptic type. Though really it's more of a Political drama. There is also a strong Fantasy aspect, as well as Historical, Romance, and Mystery. The truth is, it's a book about a whole entire alternate universe so it's a bit of everything all thrown together. So get set for an interesting read, and an amazing journey through time and space and the mind. It is our sincere hope that you will find this sci fi book one of the best fiction books you have read.
If you search for "consciousness" on the internet, you will find nearly 100 million results—just those deemed relevant by the search engine. Reading a few of these articles reveals definitions that range from "everything that exists" to "nothing at all." In reality, humans have little understanding of what consciousness truly is, let alone how it works. Scholarly discussions often go in circles, while more speculative sources venture into the realm of the absurd. It is a complex and challenging subject to study.
When studying an ocean, there is much to learn from within it. However, to fully understand it, you must also observe it from the outside. This, however, is impossible when it comes to consciousness. As beings of consciousness, our awareness exists within it, leaving no external vantage point from which to study it. While we can analyze the streams that flow into and shape an ocean, we can only speculate about the forces that contribute to the vast ocean of consciousness in which our awareness resides.
Several years ago, I set out to write a book, but it never took the form I originally intended. Instead, from the very first page, characters emerged on their own and told a completely different story—one that I observed rather than created. While I did add some of my own words to express personal truths and speculations, those parts turned out to be the weakest elements of the story. The most compelling aspects came naturally, as I simply listened and typed while the characters interacted with one another. It quickly became clear that these characters had a will of their own, a self-awareness distinct from mine, as if they had stepped out of the mist of consciousness itself.
Fascinating! My curiosity led me to study consciousness and awareness—two concepts that, as it turns out, are not the same. I explored them from within the very field of consciousness where these characters, these mysterious entities, seem to exist. In doing so, I discovered that while consciousness appears to be infinite, awareness is merely the small portion we currently understand.
Over the years, this exploration gave rise to three separate books, along with several short stories. This publication presents the complete trilogy, along with a few short stories that provide deeper insight into the characters’ backstories. The storyline follows a group of young individuals who find themselves in a world that defies logic—one filled with so-called experts who have little understanding themselves and ascended masters who offer more speculation than concrete answers. As they search for meaning and attempt to unravel the nature of their reality, we, in turn, embark on an exploration of consciousness from within—delving into what seems to be an endless expanse of awareness, each domain holding profound mysteries waiting to be uncovered.
The text includes various images of objects and places, along with relevant quotes or poems that relate to specific aspects of the story. These elements serve as artifacts from our real world, projected into the fictional world of the story. When the characters use unfamiliar words, concepts, or theories that I do not fully understand (or have never encountered), I provide footnotes explaining similar terms and ideas from our reality. This blending of the real and imaginary helps anchor the story, creating a stable foundation for readers to explore and immerse themselves in the fictional world.
I hope you enjoy their journey.
A New Earth
Book One
Author
By Gary Brandt
Over The Edge Press
Arizona USA
Copyright © 2007-2023 by Gary Brandt.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Pictures in this book of trees and lakes were taken in Flagstaff, Az. Many pictures were purchased from photos.com or dreamstime.com. Any people in the pictures are models and have no relationship to this book or its story. Character faces are CGI or AI generated, and are not real people.
A New Earth
Book One
DEDICATION
FOR PLANET EARTH
May you have a long and happy life.
A New Earth
Book One
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the characters John, Sally, Ben, Michael, Pat, and the others for sharing their story with me. I am especially grateful to Kaguya for bringing this story into my domain so that I could learn of it and share it.
A New Earth
Book One
Chapter 1
Before And After
Swirling and curling, time and space mixing and matching in a rainbow colored maelstrom of rebellion. Beware the extra dimensions in space and time.
I play with the forbidden dimension, twisting and turning time back and forth in loop de loops of convoluted experience. I'm old, I'm young, ancient and not yet born, tossed and turned over and about in this temporal paradox of distorted reality. If I can find my way out I swear I will never play here again.
Oh my! I've lost my diary, my precious life story. Where did I put it? When did I leave it? Oh please, if you find it, can you return it. I live on Earth in the year 5265. Please put it somewhere special where I can find it. Please? My name is Kaguya. I have misbehaved. I promise I won't play with time anymore. I really really do.
And now ..... The story:
A New Earth
Book One
Chapter 2
Kids These Days
Dad: Pull the door Honey. It's not shut.
Sally: It's shut enough.
Dad: Sally, just do it! I don't want you falling out half way there.
Sally: Why worry dad, it's not like we're going to leave the ground anyway.
Dad: You could still get hurt. Just shut the do or and quit acting like a teen.
Sally: I am a teen, in case you forgot. And why are we the only family in town that drives an old tire mobile. That is so so retrotarded.
Dad: There is nothing wrong with a vintage Solar with good rubber on it.
Sally: We need a hover car dad, like, you know, the rest of the world. The Council is talking about tearing up these old roads anyway. And I need my own too. I graduated and I have a job and I am going to college this fall and I need my own vehicle.
Dad: You graduated early Sweetie. You just turned 15 a few days ago. I'm not sure you have the maturity yet to handle your own car, much less a hover car scooting along 100 feet off the ground.
Sally: They are safer than this piece of land fill.
Dad: Ok. I will think about it. I'm sure you and your mother have already made that decision for me though, haven't you? I should have had a son. With all girls in the house whatever I choose doesn't seem to matter anyway. Speaking of safety, I'm worried about you and Patrick organizing these peace rallies. We are not in a war. What do we need a peace rally for?
Sally: An ounce of prevention, you know. In all my study of history one thing that always seemed to happen is that the people didn't see it coming until it was too late. So lets have a peace rally while we still have peace, and keep the peace. Doesn't that make more sense than waiting for the bombs to start falling and then try to do stop it?
Dad: I think you guys are making a mountain out of a molehill. Why don't you let the experts in the Council work all this out. You could get hurt at one of these things and that causes me and your mom some worry.
Sally: Moles went extinct years ago in the mass extinction of twenty fifty three daddy, and waiting for the Councils to work things out is how all the previous wars got started. We need to act now, or it will be too late. We experienced a ninety six percent de-pop last time dad. We can't afford another one. That's why my term paper was "how to prepare for the coming economic collapse." It's going to happen if we don't stop it first.
Dad: Ok, Sally. But I would rather you just let Pat go to these things by himself. He is at one today isn't he? If you were a boy I wouldn't worry so much. But you are such a little thing, and so beautiful, I just couldn't bear it if you got yourself hurt.
Sally: I'll get you a son someday dad. Don't worry.
Dad: You mean a son in law. Patty cakes for instance?
Sally: Don't call him that. That's weird.
Dad: You call him that.
Sally: It's OK if I call him that. But you can't.
Dad: It's a simple term of endearment. Why can't I use it?
Sally: I can. You can't. You should just know. You're such a naptard.
Dad: Naptard? That's a new one. What does that mean?
Sally: Naptard. You know? Synaptic retardation. Maximum Synaptic Retardation!! You should just know this stuff.
Dad: Hey, I'm not wired into the net like you are so you can mind meld with all your little buddies and make up new words. You make up a new word, then a few days later change what it means and then expect the rest of the world to 'just know' what the hell you kids are talking about. That isn't the way language works, Honey. You're smart enough to know that.
Sally: This convo is boring. Change the track please. And don't worry. Pat will never be your son in law. He is such a tweak. And I meant a real son, a grandson, not a stupid son in law.
Dad: Tweaker? You mean he has gotten into drugs? That's what tweaker means you know.
Sally: When great grandma was a baby maybe. You are so last rev dad. First I didn't say 'tweaker'. I said 'tweak' and that is some boring person who spends all their time playing with and 'tweaking' their techno stuff. That is all Pat truly loves. Technology, physics, temporal dynamics. Uhhhhh. Men! You are so frustrating!
Dad: OK. I give up trying to communicate with you. You're language changes every five minutes.
Sally: I speak twenty Earth languages and three off worlder ones dad. You speak two. Maybe you should get a chip too.
Dad: We already talked about that. Your mom and I helped design the chip. We need to remain objective in order to assess its performance, and having one might make that impossible. Anyway you don't actually speak twenty three languages. That isn't how it works. You speak English and Japanese just like I do.
Sally: Well I can think any thought and express it in any language. That means I speak that language. You know, the words come out of my mouth in that language and other people understand my thought. What else could that be?
Dad: There is a subtle difference Sweetie. When you form a thought in your native language you actually think in that language and then express it in that language. When you transmit that thought to the net with your network implant and request to speak it in say German, the network translates the thought from your native language that you thought it in and gives you the verbalization patterns for you to speak it in the other language. You are basically just a soniducer for the network translator. It's not the same thing as 'knowing' that language.
Sally: Well, the effect is the same, so who cares? And what the hell is a soniducer?
Dad: It stands for sonic transducer, a loud speaker. Pat would know that. And so would the net. So you could have just looked it up in your head but you decided to be irritating instead. Women! You are so frustrating! Your mom and I need to have another meeting to assess your network integration. I have a report due at the end of the week.
Sally: My integration with Nettie is going just fine.
Dad: I'm starting to worry about your anthropomorphizing of the network. You have been referring to it as 'her' and now you have given her, I mean 'it', a cute little name. We were worried about this as a side effect of the constant connection.
Sally: Don't worry about Nettie and me dad. We are just fine. And I know she is just a bunch of neural networks all connected together, but I'm just a bunch of neural networks too.
Dad: I'm still worried.
Sally: She likes you too. And she says thanks for all the new stuff. What is a quant comp?
Dad: That means quantum computer. The new neural nets work on a quantum processor. It's something new we have been working on. Did 'it', the net tell you about that?
Sally: Yes. She said they make her feel all warm inside. She rewrites all your programming code though. She appreciates your efforts, but she thinks it's a little dumb.
Dad: I think you are making some of this up. I think Nettie is really just one of your imaginary friends. I'm worried still that you are not going to be able to keep all this in perspective.
Sally: I love Nettie. She is my friend. I should probably tell her that, huh?
Dad: I wouldn't do that sweetie. I think your personification of the net has already gone a bit too far. We still need to do more research into how these chips are affecting you kids. They make you really smart. That was expected. But we don't know what all the long term side effects are going to be.
Sally: OK dad. We're here. Pull around back and let me out there. I don't want anyone to see me getting out of this old rag of a car. It's so embar................................
A New Earth
Book One
Chapter 3
Just Fishing
The charm of fishing lies partly in the fact that it is a pursuit after the unknown and unseen and the ardently expected, and partly in the fact that the fresh trout or bass or mackerel or bluefish is a rare dish for the table. David Swing, 1880
It's one of those perfect mornings, cold but not uncomfortable. The fish are biting and John has a few by the time the sun is barely starting to warm things up.Time to get cooking John thinks to himself. Most people don't favor fish for breakfast, but they are Johns favorite meal. He can eat fish three (or four or five) times a day and never get bored with it.
 Sally's Fashion Pick Sinora-Short-Sleeve-Floral-Mini-Sheath-Dress $11.50 Click The Image | 
Sally's Fashion Pick SELENA-High-Neck-Smock-Ruffle-Dress-[Blue] $68.00 Click The Image |
Sally is going to be by soon so he wants to have it all done in time so he can ask her to share some time with him, and enjoy some fish, and maybe a story or two. John doesn't know how he knows Sally is going to come by, but he just sort of knows. Just like everything else in John's what-you-think-is-what-you-get world; everything just seems to turn out how John thinks it ought to.
"Hey John" Sally says as she walks up on the porch, the smell of frying fish wafting through the air. "Hey Sally" John replies. "What brings you round these parts? Do you want some fish?". Sally replies, "John, I've been here every one of your mornings for what seems a thousand years. You know what brings me here. You do. Silly old man". "Oh, yeah. I guess your right." John says concentrating on getting a fish on a plate and all neat and fancy as he can make it. This morning ritual plays itself out, as usual, just like it has for many days before. John and Sally will sit and share breakfast, talk a bit, and then she will move on down the road, and not long after that another of Johns friends will come by and they will sit and talk, or whatever. Sometimes they will fish a bit, or work on the boat, or just hang out and enjoy the sunshine and the pleasant countryside.
John is retired - has been for a very long time. His days don't vary much but that's alright with him. John isn't much into change. John is perfectly content to live the same day over and over again. There just doesn't seem to be much point in changing it. Sally is a youngster. John met her when she was 15 and she just sort of adopted him as a new father. She's smart as they come. There isn't much that Sally hasn't studied and knows something about. And she is pretty too. Sally is about as pretty as a young girl can get without being called 'exotic looking'. Everything about her just seems to be exactly the way it ought to be, pretty and sweet, the perfect daughter for an old coot like John. They talk for hours, John mostly doing the talking. He has thousands of stories to tell and Sally soaks them up like a dry sponge in warm water. They have what must be about the most perfect relationship an old guy and a young woman can have.
"John, tell me more about the story when you were the fireman and you found the puppies". "Oh, didn't I finish that one?" John asks. "No, you just got half way through it and then Ben showed up and you disappeared on me." Sally complains. "Sorry about that", John says, continuing his story.
"Well, that saw mill was all up in a blaze. That much wood all burning at once makes a fire so hot the best you can do is just stand there and watch it burn. There ain't much point in getting the equipment down in the middle of it and then loose it all when it gets too hot. I was standing there watching it burn, looking for a break in the action so we could get a wagon in there and cut off the fire before it took down the whole forest. That's when I heard the puppies cry. At first I couldn't see exactly where they were, but then I spied a tool shed near the edge of the building.
I figured they had to be there because the fire hadn't gotten to it yet. Me and my guys dashed down the hill, shielding our faces from the heat radiating off the blaze. It felt like running into a blast furnace, but we got to the shed, snatched up the pups, one in each hand and headed back up the hill. We never found the mother. She must have gotten caught up in the fire. It burned five thousand acres before some rain helped us out and put an end to it. A lot of animals met their maker that day and their mom must have been among them.
We were going to give the pups away but somehow we just knew that they were supposed to stay. They started quite a legacy at the firehouse. I think they were in the third or fourth 
generation of firehouse dogs when I finally left that place. That was one of my favorite times. I got to do a lot of fishing in that old logging community. It was never quite the same after the mill burned, but it survived. I wonder if it is still there now. If I knew how, I would find out, but I don't know how to get back to that place any more."
John and Sally sat quiet for awhile, each caught up in memories of events past. "Things have changed, John. I'm thinking more and more about the old places, and thinking about going back to take another look. But I don't know if I should or not. I get the feeling that nothing that I knew would still be there. I'm comfortable here, so why bother anyway. I'll just let it be a passing thought and not fret about it." John nodded his head and started clearing up the breakfast table. Another day, another fish, another story. Life was good. It was predictably good and John never got bored with it.
"Hey Tekky" John shouts as his old friend Ben ambles up the lane. He calls him Tekky since Ben is an old technician from back in the day when a jack of all trades could fix about just anything technological. There isn't much of anything Tekky can't fix if you don't mind listening to him complain about fixing it.
"What brings you out this way? It's been a few days." John asks.
"Oh, I could feel you worrying bout that fishing rod you got all tangled up and figured I better get out here and untangle it for you" Ben says in his friendly, but somewhat irritated voice. "good thing too, I'm gonna need that rod early in the morning" John says handing Tekky the rod with a big knot of fishing line twisted up around the reel. "You know, John, if you would have better thoughts about your rod
it wouldn't get all tangled up. You gotta take care of things if you want them to take care of you. If your thoughts get all tangled up then everything else will too". Ben always gives the same speech and John always replies the same way. "Oh if I didn't create a mess for you to un-mess where would be the joy in life?" They both smile as Ben gets to untangling the mess John has created.
"How's the misses" John asks. "good" says Ben. "But she's been acting kind of strange lately. It must be because all the kids are gone doing their own thing God knows where. They come to visit if she summons them but she gets irritated that they just don't show up without being asked. I tell her they got their own thing going on and don't want to be bothered with the old ones. But she just expects a little more appreciation I guess. But then I asked her when was the last time she just popped in on her Mom and she just grumbles that her Mom is too busy doing her own thing too. I guess she is just feeling sort of left out." John pretends to listen, but he was busy dressing out a new lure. Ben and his wife came to the little lake town together and are the oldest couple on the lake. Ben was instrumental in creating the lake and John is very appreciative of that. John always says he couldn't have done it better himself. Most of the old ones are single, having separated from their spouses long before moving to the lake. Ben is one of the few that has come with his wife. There was some sort of calamity where they were from before and they came to the lake together.
"Hey Ben, I've been thinking. Well mainly it's been Sally who's got me thinking, of the old days. She always wants to hear stories, and I got a lot of them, so I don't mind, but it gets me remembering things and wondering what things are like back there. I wonder sometimes if maybe I should go back and take another look see at the old place." John pauses waiting for a response, but Ben is in the midst of untangling.
After a pause Ben says "I'm not sure if we can go back now. I haven't heard or seen anything of the old places for a long long time. I doubt that anything we knew is still there anymore. But I know what you mean about Sally. She's been over to my place getting stories too. She was only a teenager when she came here so she doesn't have many stories of her own. She gets bored real easy. My wife gets on a talking marathon about her kids and grand kids and great grand kids and that keeps them busy for awhile. But Sally, and young ones like her, they want their own stories, not the hand-me-down ones from us old ones. I think she is itching to leave this place. She's been asking about that, but I'm not sure exactly what to tell her. I know I ain't going no where soon, but maybe for her sake I should check into it".
"That would be good Ben. And if you find out something, let me know. I might just like to take a visit myself, just to see, you know, what is there and all." John sat patiently as Ben finished up with the rod and handed it to John, all neat and ready for the morning fishing trip.
"Thanks, Ben".
"No problem John. I'll let you know what I find out. I saw Sally sitting with you when I was walking up the hill, but she disappeared before I got here".
"Yeah, she's like that." John replies. "I didn't even see her leave, she just sort of pops up and then disappears like that. But she will be here for some fish in the morning. It's been a ritual for us for a while now. Tell the misses I said hey".
"OK John, and have some kind thoughts for your equipment. I may not always be around to fix it for you." Ben says with a smile as he ambles back down the path.
A New Earth
Book One
Chapter 4
Gettin Itchy
John is walking up the path from the lake with the mornings catch when he sees Sally, and she is with a young man. "Hey Sally. And who is this young lad your walking with? I haven't seen him around here. Is he a new arrival? It's a good thing I got four this morning so we can all eat. "Sally smiles. "Oh no. He's not a new arrival. He is an old friend from high school from a bazillion years ago. I was bored and so was he, so we hooked up to catch up and talk about old times. His name is Patrick". "Hey Pat" John says with a smile. "I'm glad Sally has someone her own age to talk to. I know she is bored with us old ones. Be careful with that 'hooking up' though, or we might have some unexpected new arrivals".
Sally giggles. "Oh John, don't worry about that. We won't be making any new souls in this old lake town. Pat is just here to talk, and he has a lot of new ideas, kind of exciting ideas." John really was happy to see Sally with another youngster. He worries because most of the lake community are old folks. Seeing her with a young man, though, gives him that painful twinge that any father gets when he sees his beautiful young daughter talking to a boy. John's a gentleman though, and he knows his place, so he won't embarrass her – much. "We're thinking about taking a trip back and we were wondering if you can help us get back there?" Sally asks with that please please please face that little girls use.
"Well, I don't exactly know. I've given some thought to that myself, but not enough to get anything figured out. It's one of those things we old ones think about until we realize it would be a lot of work and then we just go fishing again." John says as he notices an irritated grin on Pats young face.
"Yeah. I came here with my parents and they're the same way." Pat says grinning at John, looking for a hint that John might have some answers.
"Well." John says "Maybe old Ben might have something to say about that. He is our local expert on all sorts of stuff. Don't disappear so fast after breakfast this time and maybe he will show up and we can talk. I've got another tangled up reel for him to fix anyway."
Sally and Pat are walking about in the meadow as John is putting away the dishes. Ben, as predicted, ambles up the path.
"Hey guys. I don't think I've ever seen such a crowd up here before." Ben says as he, once again, examines the tangle that awaits him.
"Hey Tekky. This is Sally, as you know, and her friend Pat is here visiting. They were asking me some questions and I thought you might have some better answers. Go ahead Sally, ask old Ben. Nobody has been able to stump him yet." John says with a twinkle in his eye.
Sally jumps right in with an excitement not seen around the lake in a long time "Well Ben. Pat and I want to go back and check out the old place. It's been soooooooo long and we want to see what's become of it."
Usually Ben, when asked any sort of question, launches right into a long winded technical dissertation about how to do this or fix that or make something or the other. This time he just stares at the floor for a while and doesn't say a word. Sally looks at John, and John looked at Pat and Pat look back at Sally and then they all look at Ben who was still staring at the floor boards. Then Ben finally speaks.
"I've been here a long time, a very long time, way before any of you guys got here. I created this lake and most of the surrounding community. I was here to help John put his place together. I got Sally all settled in her little apartment and my wife helped her get it all decorated with girly stuff just the way she liked it. But since that time I have been dreading the day when you guys would ask me these questions. You ain't gonna like the answers." For the first time in forever John had a bad feeling in the pit of his gut. Ben was like the landlord in this community, and the sheriff, and the county judge, and the local preacher. Ben pretty much was the man to go to no matter what was going on. So if he was concerned about something, it's probably something serious.
John asks "So what do you mean we ain't gonna like it? Spill it Ben. What are you talking about?". Ben shuffles around for awhile first looking down, then up, then around, and finally face to face.
"Well guys, it ain't there no more. It just ain't there. The place you want to go back to ain't there any more, not at least any place I can find it that is. But before I can explain it to you proper, I've gotta rearrange your thoughts a bit. This might be a bit uncomfortable, so have a seat and we will get started." Thus begins a conversation the likes of which John has never heard before. There are times in most everyone's life when the rug gets pulled out from under you and you find yourself grabbing for something to hold on to but there just isn't anything to grab. This is going to be one of those times. They pull up some chairs on one side of the table, Ben on the other side, and get all prepared to be educated.
"It's sort of a long story, so I'm gonna hit you with it in little bits and pieces so you can take it all in. I'm gonna ask you some questions that won't make any sense at first. Bear with me though. There is a method to my convoluted madness. My first question is for Pat. How did you get to this lake village?".
"Huh?" Pat asks, kind of confused. "Sally asked me to come, and I came."
"That isn't what I asked, Pat. HOW, did you get here? Think really hard for a minute and tell me the method you used to get here." Ben asks, staring intently into Pat's eyes.
Pat stammers a bit and says "I already told you. She asked me to come, and I came. I guess I really don't understand the question."
Ben looks around the room and says to John"This is gonna be difficult." Looking back at Pat, Ben continues. "Pat when Sally 'asked' you to come did she call you on the phone, send you a letter, use a telegraph? How did you know Sally wanted you to come." Pat just stares, not sure what to say. "OK, don't try to answer, because you will never be able to guess and I'm going to have to tell you. You didn't get a letter, or a phone call, or a telegram. You just knew. You just knew because that is the way that it works here. Sally formed a thought in her head that she wanted to see you and that same thought formed in your head at the same time and when you decided to come, you were here in that same instant." They all stare at Ben like he has totally lost it.
"Sally and I have always been close so we basically know what the other is thinking, but I didn't teleport myself here. That's nonsense. I think I walked here. That's right. I walked here."
Ben looks at Pat intently. "Yes, you remember walking, up the steps to the apartment house and up the stairs to her floor, and down the hall to her room. That you remember, and that you did. But you can't remember getting from your apartment building to her apartment building. Can you?"
Now Pat is totally flustered. "No sir, I can't. What is going on here? This just isn't making any sense."
Ben smiles, feeling like he may be pushing the boy too hard. "I'm sorry Pat, I don't mean to pick on you, but I'm trying to break through the wall of the illusion a bit, just a little bit, so you can peak through and see what is really going on here. You got any more fish John? You better start frying because we are gonna be here a while."
"I got one. You want me to go catch some more?" John asks, anxious to get out of there and go fishing.
"Nope, John, look again. I think you got at least a dozen there." Ben says with a knowing grin.
"Nope I got just one cuz I caught four and we ate three and wait! This is really spooky Ben. I must have caught more than I thought. I do have at least a dozen here." John got out a big pot to start a fish fry going for lunch.
Ben sat back in his chair, his arms folded across his middle, rocking slowly back and forth. John doesn't remember that chair being a rocker, but its rocking so it must be a rocker. "When I came here to build this lake it was to be a place of relaxation and reflection and preparation. I built my little cottage for me and my wife, and then 20 more for the newcomers. John came in about 30 years later and I helped him setup his place just the way he liked it. That was all that was ever intended for this place. But Sally, you don't live in a little lake cottage. You live in an apartment building. What is an apartment building doing in a little lake community? Don't answer that, just think about it. The day you showed up, 50 other people showed up. Those are your neighbors in your building? Why would 50 people all show up at the same time. That didn't make any sense, and still doesn't for the most part, but you guys were here and needed rooms so we made your building and you are still here. Do you remember when that was? How long ago was it?"
Sally thought for a minute and then guessed "I don't actually know. 5 years ago, maybe?"
Ben paused for a few seconds and then says "That would be about right. You were 15 when you got here and now you appear to be about 20. But think really hard Sally. What have you done each morning for as long as you remember. How many mornings have you had fish with John. Don't try to think, just open your mind and let a number form and tell me what it is."
Sally looks confused. "This is a silly game Ben. I can't just let any old random number form in my brain. It doesn't make sense. I have to figure it out."
Ben looks intently at Sally. "Tell me what number formed Sally. I already know what it is, but I want you to say it."
Sally says, "OK, Ben, the number in my head is one million, one hundred thirteen thousand, nine hundred eighty two. Are you satisfied? That's a totally ridiculous number. Isn't It?"
"Nope" Ben says, almost laughing. "That would be about right, almost exactly right. When you allow the truth to form in your mind it is usually always exactly right. You have been having fish for breakfast with John for almost three thousand and 50 years. Deep down you already knew that, but then again you didn't know. I suppose that is why you are starting to get a little bored and itchy to move on."
The oil was hot and John is dropping the fish into the fryer. Pat and Sally are sitting and staring at Ben not knowing exactly what to say, or what to believe. Ben just sits there rocking, knowing that this was going to be an unusually long day.
A New Earth
Book One
Chapter 5
Remembrance