Flight of Fancy

Chapter XXXVI: TIME TO GO

David still continued wandering the ship and all its, rooms, halls and spaces. It was absolutely massive and there were still areas that were blocked off.

“Those areas are still under construction,” Wolf had explained before he disappeared yet again. David thought about Wolf as ‘he’, even though he was pretty convinced it was much more complicated than that.

They probably don’t have genders.

Or perhaps they saw genders in a completely different way.

They could have many more genders than us.

Anything was possible. But that was not important. Those kinds of questions could wait or even go unanswered. David’s curiosity didn’t need to be appeased.

Another thing David was wondering about were the other residents of the ship. There was still no sign of them. Even though he was a known loner, there were still moments when human contact was desirable. He was already feeling the effects of loneliness. In any case, Wolf had made it quite clear that they would soon pay a visit to Ana and they would be reunited on board the ship.

That is, if she wants to come.

David was still thinking about the argument they had had before his arrest. It was stupid and silly and all down to his unwillingness to share his secret. But that proved to be the right way to go, as Wolf had confirmed.

Ana will have to understand.

There were still doubts in his mind if his parents would join them on the ship. He certainly wished they would. It would be difficult to adjust for them to a very different type of life, but eventually they would settle into a routine and might even enjoy it.

If I manage to convince them.

As huge as the ship was and as much as it had to offer, David hadn’t noticed anything resembling a hospital or an infirmary, as they liked to call it on science fiction shows. It was true, he hadn’t seen the entire ship, but most of the ship was habitat units and he believed he’d seen most of the communal areas.

“Hello David,” came a familiar voice.

“Nice of you to join me,” was David’s sarcastic reply.

“Oh, I’ve been here the whole time,” said Wolf. “And other places as well.”

It came as no surprise that Wolf could be at more places at the same time. His species was obviously way more advanced than mankind.

“So you just left me to it?” asked David.

“I thought I’d let you get acquainted with the ship,” explained Wolf.

“I’ve been walking around quite a bit,” said David. “It’s a huge place. But it seems to me there are still things missing.”

“Oh yes?” Wolf was curious. “Like what?”

David had a feeling Wolf was teasing him because he could read his mind if he wanted to, however lately he appeared to be enjoying talking normally to David, without resorting to mind reading.

“I haven’t noticed anything resembling a hospital,” replied David. “Usually, you’d expect a ship of this size and with so many potential people on board to have some sort of medical facility. And also, will there be any doctors coming on board? Otherwise...”

“David,” interrupted Wolf. “Let me stop you there and put your mind at ease. There will be no need for medical personnel. Firstly, the food and drink you will be consuming will not be contaminated, therefore that will already greatly decrease disease. Secondly, our computer is equipped with state of the art medical procedures and treatments and can implement these in unobtrusive manners. You’re still thinking in antiquated ways. This ship will keep you safe and healthy, I promise.”

That was certainly good to know, thought David.

“What about if and when we settle on a planet?” inquired David. “How will disease be treated then?”

“I think you already know the answer to that,” was Wolf’s teasing reply.

“I suppose the technology will come with us,” replied David.

“That is right,” said Wolf. “We wouldn’t just leave you on a planet, completely unprepared and unprotected. You are important. You need to start being aware of that. It’s not only about the people with special abilities, it’s also about people like you, who realise how important the evolution of humanity is. Everyone needs to be nurtured and cherished.”

“So I suppose that the same thing that goes for doctors applies to all other professions as well, like firemen, garbage men?” asked David.

“Classical professions are outdated,” responded Wolf. “I think you know that. They’re only good for a society intended to stagnate. If technology went hand in hand with morality and spirituality, humanity would already be far more advanced than it is. Technology would go in the direction of helping mankind instead of trying to control it and harm it.”

“Many people have said that without wars we wouldn’t have nearly as many inventions and breakthroughs in technology,” said David.

“That is just a bad excuse,” explained Wolf and David felt the same. “The human desire for knowledge and improvement goes far beyond the need to defeat an enemy. The human mind is thirsty for knowledge and wants to learn. However, throughout history, evil men have taken charge of the paths of technological progress and they have always decided on paths of destruction, in order to keep humanity in check. There were great inventions that had absolutely nothing to do with war, however a lot of them were stifled. Many scientists were killed, or their work debunked as nonsense. In essence, the powers that rule on your planet have done everything in their powers to keep these things hidden.”

“I had a feeling that was the case,” said David. Either Wolf was just telling him what he wanted to hear or he was actually aware this had happened. “How do you know all this?”

“Like I said,” replied Wolf. “We have been keeping an eye on humanity for a very long time, several millennia even. Closed doors aren’t an obstacle to us. We can hear things even if we aren’t there in the traditional physical sense.”

“I thought so,” said David.

“I understand that you’re still suspicious, David,” said Wolf. “But I do hope that eventually you’ll learn to trust me.”

David remained silent. He didn’t know how to reply to that. There was something else on his mind, though.

“I know I keep asking you this, but when will we be able to go see my wife?” inquired David.

“The time is nearly upon us,” replied Wolf. “The agents of the shadows have started implementing their hideous plans. We must act and stop their plans.”

“What do we need to do?” asked David. “I’m no superhero, mind you. I can’t exactly swoop down and karate chop all of them.”

“No, no,” laughed Wolf. “It won’t be anything like that. We will merely need to go down to Earth on one of the ship’s shuttles and pick up your wife and family.”

“Oh, just that,” was David’s sarcastic response. “Won’t we be a bit conspicuous?”

“Don’t worry about that,” comforted Wolf and David thought he felt a bit of condescension in his voice. “The shuttle is invisible to sensors. We will be undetected.”

“Well, that’s all right then,” said David. “When do we leave?”

“I’ll let you know when the time is right,” replied Wolf. “But soon. Very soon.”

“Is there anything I can do to prepare?” asked David.

“No,” was the prompt reply. “Just do whatever you usually do and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

The thought of seeing Ana was enough to get David excited, however he didn’t know if he could remain relaxed for however long it took to wait.