Blue Fire (Edited)

Chapter 11: John and David

After dinner, Sandy and Elaine made their way to their respective living quarters, which turned out to be one hallway down from each other. Elaine quickly realized that Sandy was the classical extrovert. Sandy was meticulous in showing her the ins and outs of the facility, even explaining how to refill her water bottle. Elaine reasoned that she could've figured it out on her own, but she didn't want to offend Sandy. Instead, she let her explain everything in minute detail, smiling and nodding. Elaine was worried that interrupting the other woman would jeopardize their budding friendship. She felt relieved when Sandy started winding down, and they parted ways. Elaine was already looking forward to some alone time so she could gather her thoughts and start going through the books in her room. She got some questions answered but discovered more that needed to be researched.

She entered her room and headed straight for the closet; the jumpsuit was already being a nuisance. Instead, she donned the lounging clothes that they supplied and picked up the first book she saw, "Are We Alone in the Universe?" by some unknown author named John Smith. The name seemed made up, so she reasoned it must have been a pen name. She crawled up on the couch, grabbed the comforter off the bed, and got ready for some light reading.

She swiftly finished the book and sat with it closed in her lap, gazing at the cover, deep in contemplation about its contents. The narrative delved into the existence of planets and argued that statistically, humans couldn't be alone. However, it also delved into various conspiracy theories, discussing their viability, including theories about abductions and extraterrestrial beings. Elaine found the book to be nonsensical. It was no surprise that the author opted for a pseudonym; revealing their true identity would likely have subjected them to ridicule among their colleagues, she concluded.

She returned the book to its previous position on the shelf and headed back out, contemplating if there was something else she could do to pass the time. Hoping to sneak back to the fireplace, she aimed to ponder the bizarre universe she had been thrust into. Did the research have to do with aliens, hence their choice of reading for her? However, as soon as she stepped into the hallway, she noticed that the lights everywhere had dimmed. Peering through the glass, she saw people scurrying about downstairs. They were indeed cleaning everything very diligently, she thought. Suddenly, her cuffs vibrated and began glowing red. Acting like a coward, she ran back to her room. There was no way she wanted to be zapped for simply staring at the cleaning crew. Bored out of her mind, she decided to look through the bookshelf once more, but this time she was going to be selective with her reading material.

Elaine ran her fingers gingerly along all the spines, scanning all the titles. These were not the typical books she ran across in a library; the titles were all science fiction. Then she realized there was a section on the top right shelf where the book spines were all blank brown leather. She grabbed the little ladder, climbed up, and seized the first book. Flipping through it, she realized it was a journal and not a printed book. The title was written on the inside: "Does Blue Fire Exist?" by John Rutherford.

She wondered if Mr. Rutherford's first name was John. Not knowing, but deciding that it must not be a coincidence that the last names were identical, she concluded she would definitely start with that one. Elaine held it close to her chest in an embrace as she descended the steps. Then, she opted to crawl into bed instead of the couch this time, with her treasured book. The mattress was quite comfortable, and again, she immediately realized why someone would trade their life on the street for this. Carefully, she opened the aged book and flipped the pages gingerly, so as not to damage the weathered pages.

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Date: 01/25/1988

The greatest discovery in the history of the scientific community took place today. A good friend of mine confided in me with his deepest secret. He made me promise not to breathe a word to anyone, so in keeping my promise, I cannot speak of this. But the world must know, and thus, I take to writing my journey with him in this journal. If you are reading this, then I am dead, but you, my dear reader, must continue my research or get it into the hands of someone who will.