The Summoning Stars

Chapter 2 - The Glimpse

A hexagon glowed nearby, and he floated over to it. As he looked the hexagon became a screen to a moment in the past, and he immersed himself in memory.

~~~

It had been a wonderful day. He and Helena had finished a long day in the virtual classroom, filling board after board with formulae and theorem. At the end, much to his amusement, the answer had boiled down to the number forty-two. At first Helena hadn't got the reference, but once he'd explained that a writer hundreds of years before had suggested that the number forty-two was the ultimate answer to the ultimate question, she'd joined in the giggling. There had obviously been a mistake somewhere in the calculations, but after that neither of them had been able to concentrate, and so Dr Takei suggested they take the afternoon off to visit The Falls.

A picnic, a walk, and an afternoon of friendship followed, and after many hours of discussion and happy wandering, Helena and Cal found themselves perched at the very top of the Falls. The spot overlooked the valley below, the churning waterfall as it arced over the cliffs, and the shining Dome above them with its artificial sky and carefully controlled climate.

"It's a shame none of it's real," Helena stated after the two of them had sat in happy silence for a while.

"It's as real as you or I," replied Cal after a confused moment.

"Yes, it's solid. I understand that, but it's built by man as a false reminder of what we used to have outside the Domes and Cities and Towers." She waved an encompassing arm. "All this is constructed to try and emulate the glory of nature, a nature we destroyed."

"We didn't destroy it Helena, we simply live within the mistakes of our past."

"I know, but it just makes me sad."

"There's not much I can say to that really, is there?"

"No, there's never a simple answer."

"Unless it's forty-two."

Cal kept a straight face for a few seconds and then giggled as Helena grinned at him.

"Numpty," she whispered.

"Always."

She grinned again but carried on in a serious tone." But wouldn't it be wonderful to spread our wings beyond this, get away from Earth and visit the stars."

"It would be interesting," replied Cal carefully. "But we have everything we need right here."

"We do, but what of exploring? We could've easily plugged into Mind and visited The Falls virtually, but we chose to walk, to touch, to feel, smell, and taste. To see, to really see. Would you rather walk with the virtual me than the actual?"

She leaned over and hugged him.

"Of course not," he replied, hugging her back. "But wandering around a park is a little different to throwing yourself into the void between the stars."

"Sometimes you just have to take a risk..."

~~~

Cal came back to himself, still sitting cross-legged on his bed. Abruptly, he stood, grabbed the watch and mentally commanded Travel Pod.

The moulded door of the metallic, spherical pod slid aside as he approached, responding wirelessly to the chip buried deep in his cortex.

- Where would you like to go Cal?

The Falls please.

As he sat, the pod tilted back slightly. The seat instantaneously moulded around his body, holding him gently cocooned for the journey. His head settled into the jelly-like headrest, and the pod's automatic systems connected to his synaptic port.