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Where We Come From, Where We Can Go By Anthony Grooms Jerome Harvey sat in the recreation yurt at the Crater Shackleton solar collection base. The yurt was circular, a six meter diameter, an acrylic dome that allowed him to look out at the gray, rocky plain of the moon, broken here and there by crags highlighted against

the black sky. Six upholstered chairs were arranged in the center, a large video monitor, a small bar, and a gaming table to the sides. The yurt was a gift from the Brazilian government in thanks for his teams work in bringing the solar project to three Brazilian cities; Brasilia, Sao Paulo, and what remained of Rio after the sea rise were now on-line, completely transferred to the solar power collected on the moon and beamed in microwaves to receiving stations outside those cities. The goal, of course, was to bring every Earth city on line, every little town, every village whether in the Amazon forest or the Mongolian plateau. Waiting for the Earth rise? asked Glen Richards, coming into the room. Harvey jerked up and turned quickly. The papers on his lap scattered, and floated, before slowly settling to the floor. Didnt mean to startle you Jerry, Richards said. He was tall, slim, nearly skinny, but possessed an athletic swagger. Its just me, Harvey said, rising to gather his papers. Thinking too much. Thinking about the north pole project. Plans for a second solar collector for the moons north pole were under way. You do think too much, Richards said. Take a bit of time for yourself. Relax. We should have a rule that no one can worknot even think about workwhile you are in the rec yurt. Im too much of a nerd for that. Richards was making a drink from their stock of synthetic alcohol. Gimlet? No. Harvey said slowly. I have a smokeless somewhere around here. I guess I dropped it when you came in.

Grooms/ Where We Come From

Have another, Richards said, offering a cigarette to Harvey. He sat in the chair next to Harveys and put his feet on the ottoman. Damn black sky. Youd think you could see stars with a sky so black. Its daytime. Daytime and a black sky. Too funny. He drank down his drink and went back to the bar and started another. Make one for me, too, Harvey said. A bourbon, neat. Thats the spirit. Before Harvey could sip from the drink, the Earths limn peeked above the horizon. The sun was behind them, low to the horizon and casting shadows from the peaks around the craters rim. It would hug the south polar horizon for several weeks, dim, but still providing enough light to prime the solar collectors. Earth, on the other hand, would shoot up into the sky, making a moon, in a sense, to its own moon. They were joined by Carlos Lopez-Mendoza. Like Richards, he was a solar engineer, responsible for assembling the collector field, now more than 30 square kilometers. I didnt miss it? Carlos asked. Placing his hands on Richards shoulders from the back, he leaned over kissed him on the side of the mouth. Hey Jerry, he said, as if noticing Harvey for the first time. The lovers made Harvey uncomfortable not because they were homosexual, but because they were lovers. They flirted and cuddled and made cooing talk. They seemed to share intimacy that Harvey often imagined for himself, but feared. He stroked his beard, stood up and went to the window. Mendoza made a drink for himself and

Grooms/ Where We Come From

squeezed into the chair with Richards. It seemed an awkward positioning to Harvey, two big men, sitting thigh over thigh, in the same chair. Isnt it romantic? Mendoza said. So much more so than on the Earth. Oh, I dont know, Richards said. I wish there were trees so the light could filter through. Moonlight and magnolias. But this is so much more exciting; its where weve come from. Earthrise was thrilling, Harvey thought and sipped his bourbon. It was more colorful than moonrise, its blue and white patterns, like a blue tiger-eye marble, contrasted strongly with the banal gray of the moonscape. It was a larger object in the lunar sky than the moon was on Earth. And he couldnt help but to echo in his mind what Mendoza had said: Its where we come from. With all of its problems, it is where we come from. Looking at it from space, Earth seemed an island, grand and pacific. But he also knew that it was a place where the sky rained acid and the sea flooded cities; where people lived in slums and fought for food and potable water; and where terrorists massacred whole towns. The progressive political parties were doing what they could thus his mission on the moon to bring solar energy to planetyet, they were warring with the corporations and their greedy and small-minded political minions who wanted to profit from saving the planet. The lovers shifted in their seat, Mendoza now sitting in Richards lap. Inadvertently, Harvey slurped the bourbon. We arent offending you, Jerry? Mendoza asked. Oh, no. Are you sure? Because we can stop.

Grooms/ Where We Come From

Harvey turned to face them. Make yourselves comfortable. You dont offend meanymore than usual. He smiled. But no. I am happy for you. He was, he thought, terribly happy for them. It was he, himself, that he was unhappy for. He who was always the odd man out. The nerd, even among nerds. Now the Earth, three-quarters full, was above the horizon. Harvey looked the other way, past the lovers, to the sun which seemed to have been crouching behind the teeth of the crater rim. Venus shone very faintly. Then, there was a presence in his mind, and abruptly he turned his back to the lovers. It was the Alien, Quetzalcoatl. Behind you, Quetzalcoatls voice said in Harveys mind. Harvey turned to see the small figure, sitting in the large chair he had just abandoned. It was the first time the Alien had visited him when there were other people. Dont worry, Quetzalcoatl said. They cant detect me. Ive come to visit only you. But of course, Harvey thought and turned back to look at the Earthrise. Its not enough that I think Im crazy, now they will think I am crazy, too. You are not insane, the Alien assured. You are just involved with science you dont fully understand. In time, you will travel as we travel. Flying the friendly skies, Harvey said out loud. Pardon? Richards said. Did you say something, Jerry? Just talking to myself. Harvey looked over his shoulder at the three figures. Remember the airline slogan Fly the Friendly Skies? No, said Mendoza. It must have been before I was born. The two men laughed and Harvey snorted, trying to show good humor.

Grooms/ Where We Come From

But the skies, Quetzalcoatl said somberly, are any thing but friendly. No, no, no, Dr. Harvey. They are most unfriendly. Indeed, Harvey thought. He had witnessed an astronaut freeze nearly instantly when his suit tore open while he was on a space walk. But, he said in his mind to Quetzalcoatl, these are problems to be solved. Yes, Quetzalcoatl said, but why bother? What need is there to travel in space? It is cold and radiated. Worse of the problems, it is far. Far? Harvey said aloud and then turned to see that the lovers were involved in a kiss and hadnt heard him. Far. Too far. More than two or three parsecs, it is too far. But you, Harvey thought, you have come from a great distance. Then he thought maybe the Aliens were from very near by, Alpha Centauri or 61 Cygni. We have visited there. Nothing there for us. Dangerous worlds. But we only went there, after coming here. So, where do you come from? We come from nearby--but far away. Not in space, but in dimension. Interdimensional, Dr. Harvey, is the way to go! Dangerous, yes, but so much greater the reward than inter-stellar. In our dimension, we live close to you, within the circumference of your star system. In the many, many dimensions, multitudes live nearby. Most dimensions open on to the deep void, and some onto the thicket of a galactic core; a few into murky nebulae and some into bursting radiationvery dangerous. Many more onto worlds like yours and what mine used to be. We are fortunate that our worlds are cradled in the valleys of galactic armssafe from the

Grooms/ Where We Come From

turbulence of galactic coresyours, I must say, is a grand galaxymagnificent in its size and sweep. Harvey felt a flush of appreciation and wonder that he knew emanated from the telempathic Alien. He wanted to travel, to see the wonders of the universe which were now flashing through his mindsuns and planets of a mottle of colors and great columns and of red, blue, green nebulae, and splatters of novae. Goodbye, Jerry. Harvey turned to see Richards waving to get his attention. He and Mendoza were leaving the yurt. Richards pinched Mendoza on the rump and they both grinned. Quetzalcoatl had moved to the chair the two men had just occupied. He beamed pleasant approval and Harvey felt a warm, secure flush as if someone embraced him. One day, Dr. Harvey, all of your wishes will be fulfilled. Huh? You shall travel. You shall travel far. You shall travel near, too.

The End

Grooms/ Where We Come From