This is fiction and the names and places are used fictitiously. The people and events are "real" to the author. Writers reach into the depths of their psyche to speak of a reality by which to communicate an idea. What would the "Church of Christ" look like in a different setting? Say, a Space City of half a million people? People are still people everywhere. Problems and situations occur over and over again. We are hard-wired by our culture and experience. We react to life and act out our faith and hope. Look with me. Rhoderick D. Ice All rights reserved © 1999
SOMEWHERE IN THE FUTURE ON TIBERIAS CYLINDER
Rhoderick D. Ice
VISITORS FROM EARTH chapter 1
People streamed out of the large Church on the edge of Nashville. The morning worship was over and people were going to their cars. One of the church-elders hurried to catch up with a worshiper.
"Carl! Carl Sandor! Wait up! I want to talk with you!"
Carl stopped and turned. "Brother Steadman, what can I do for you?"
"Come into the office a moment." When they were comfortably seated, Everett Steadman spoke.
"Carl, we elders have talked this over, and we think you are the man we need. How would you feel about leading a group to visit Tiberias Cylinder?"
"Tiberias Cylinder? One of those cities out in space?"
"Let me refresh your memory. Back in 1991, a magazine of space exploration, FINAL FRONTIER, ran an article about using abandoned fuel cylinders from the Shuttle Missions as 'homesteads in space.' This idea has now produced a number of Cylinders - huge steel and alloy 'cans' that hold an entire city. Tiberias Cylinder is the equivalent of Manhattan in New York City - it is home to half a million people. Some of our relatives live there. And we have a Church meeting there, with several thousand members. We need personal contact with them and a report on what they are doing. We have helped to fund this work and we are interested in their progress. We want you to choose nine others and go to Tiberias, give them our greetings, stay a month or so, and come back to tell us what good things they are doing. What do you think?"
"Well, this is a surprise. I'll have to talk with my wife. She couldn't go, of course, what with the children in school. But I'll give it some thought. My cousin, Eddie, would jump at such a chance. How soon would you need to know?"
"Take your time. It would be the first of the month."
"Thank you for this opportunity. I will certainly get back to you shortly."
They shook hands and went toward the parking lot.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
ARRIVAL ON TIBERIAS chapter 2
ARRIVAL ON TIBERIAS chapter 2
It seemed only a short time since we had left the spaceport.
The intercom beeped. "This is Captain Stevens speaking. We dock at Tiberias Cylinder at 1000 hours. Prepared to debark. Our stopover will be one solar day."
We hurried to gather our carry-on things. Thanks to disposable paper clothing and personal items, plus the miracle of recycling, we are able to travel very minimally. What baggage we had would be off-loaded by the ship's personnel. We are a group of ten from Earth, going to Tiberias Cylinder, to visit relatives and friends. My name is Carl Sandor. I am writing this report to tell you about Tiberias and our experiences there.
The docking signal sounded. We picked up our carry-on things, stepped into the airlock, and waited for it to cycle. Then we walked through into Customs.
"Look into the opticon eye-identifier."
A senior citizen, very military in appearance, was sitting at the desk. As we each stared into the opticon, he read the view screen to check our names and destination. He gave us temporary resident cards and breathings permits.
"Enjoy your stay," he said, and waved us on.
We stepped through the doorway into Tiberias City. It took our breath away. Green things everywhere! Plants and flowers and potted trees and bushes and vines climbing all over. The artificial sunlight filtered through fresh green masses of vegetation tumbling from huge hanging baskets, tiers and balconies.
"Eddie! Just look at all these green things! These must be air purifiers! It's part of the ecology here!"
"Yeah!' said Eddie. "Ain't this all impressive!"
"Back on Earth we don't even give it a thought. But out here they would have to use every available inch of space to work for the common good. I'll bet everything out here is like that."
"And I can feel currents of air, a steady breeze. That must be from the Recirculators. The green is essential, but Atmospheric Recirculators would have to do their part too. This is a closed system of ecology."
"Yeah!"
We stood at the edge of a broad street that seemed to be the floor of a deep slot. Shops and buildings formed its walls. Some of the angles didn't seem just right. And we could not see very far because of the curvature. There were people everywhere! Just like a shopping mall at Christmas time. I couldn't believe the crowds!
“Look at all the people!” said Eddie. “And what a variety of people! There’s one dressed in an all white Punjab costume.”
I could see a girl with rings in her nose and ears. Some seemed to have their faces painted in some kind of secret code to identify them. We have ethnic minorities in Nashville, but this was amazing for us. We felt out of place in our "suit and tie" clothes.
We were afraid we would get lost in the crowds. So we waited patiently for a short time (I looked at my watch).
"Over there," said Fred. "I think I see a man working his way through the crowd."
An older man, huge, in his late 60's, approached from the right.
"Saluton! You must be the group from Earth. I'm Rod Glacio, one of the Church elders."
He gave each of us a big hug. "Welcome to Tiberias! We praise God for you brothers and sisters in Christ!"
I should explain that we Church people think of each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord's Family. Certainly it was that way in the church of the First Century. I grew up in a very conservative church home. We honored Jesus Christ, and also some of the Pioneers of our Movement. That was our tradition, our life style. We didn't even think about it consciously. When our family moved from State to State or even another Country, we were exposed to other people and other thinking - all within our beloved Church. Each did the same things in the same way - but it all turned out different, somehow. Perhaps you already know that. I was eager to see just how they did things here on Tiberias.
I need to say also that we had heard of Rod’s surgery and we were amazed by his speedy recovery. All of us in Nashville had been praying for him to recover quickly.
We surrounded Rod and all began talking at once. He hugged us all in his huge arms. We each gave him the holy kiss!
"Saluton!" I said. "I am Carl Sandor. I bring you greetings from the Church on Earth in Usono [USA]."
"Please give our greetings to the brothers and sisters in Usono when you return. It's so good to see faces from back home. We don't get enough visitors like you. But you must be tired. Let's get you to your quarters in Spaceport Hotel. We can talk later."
Rod led the way through the crowds to the hotel. It wasn’t that far.
There are no free standing buildings on Tiberias. Everything is built into the Cylinder itself. The hotel fronted the street and was an integral part of the structure.
A young woman sat at a computer terminal in the lobby. She looked up and gave us a bright smile.
"Rod! These must be your friends from Earth! Welcome to Tiberias. Any friend of Rod is a friend of ours!"
"This is Rhoda," Rod said. "She is a sister in Christ. If you need any help, just ask her."
Rhoda came around to hug each of us. I introduced each one. Church people are Family.
"You will need this time to freshen up," Rod said. "I'll come back in about an hour." He walked out to the street and got on a floater.
"Carl Sandor?" Rhoda said. "Are you related to the Sandors in Parkersburg, Usono? I might be your relative. Do you know Fred Sandor?"
"Fred is a distant relative."
"It really is a small universe," she said.
Rhoda assigned us to cubicles (you couldn't call them rooms), small, very compact, efficient. They were about 7 feet by 3 feet (I still can't think in metric). A single bed folded out of the wall, storage space, foldout wash basin, even room for a shower (with everything else folded up). The Videos would have you believe that the Space Stations have lots of wide open areas. But I have not found this to be true. Everything is at a premium out here. Compact is the word.
After freshening up, we felt more "human." We gathered in the lobby where we were to meet Rod.
“Rhoda,” I said, “we’re so happy to see Rod has recovered from his surgery.”
“So are we! It’s been two years now, and he is still cancer free. We thank the Lord for his recovery!”
While we waited we stood and watched a news broadcast on the video wall-screen.
Rod came through the entrance at 1130 hours.
"Let's go eat!" he said. "We can talk better around a table."
He led the way through the ever-present crowds down the street to the Cafeteria. We queued up with the line at the entrance. As we entered, he put his thumb on the scanner and touched the proper keys to record the charges. Then he led the way to the food.
"When I was last on Earth," Rod said, "they called this an 'unlimited food bar.' It's certainly the most efficient way. Take all you want - eat all you take. Plenty for everyone. Lots of variety."
"This is just like back home," Fred said. "Fast Food has been a booming business for years. Many people eat outside their homes these days."
"Everyone here eats in public places," Rod said. "No one cooks at home. What else could they do? We are cramped for space. Notice the paper containers. Paper recycles. Plastic doesn't out here. Being out in space forces us to conserve resources. It you think about it, it is impossible to grow air and water. These must be brought in from Earth or somewhere."
It did make sense. We hadn't thought of such a thing.
Rod spoke again. "Before we fill our trays, let's thank our God. Brother Ed Guthrie, will you lead our prayer of thanks."
We all formed a circle.
"We praise You, O Lord, for this bounty, this feast to nourish our bodies. We thank You for the love we have found here, for the brothers and sisters in Christ on Tiberias, and the fellowship of all whose faith is as precious as our own! We thank You for making it all possible. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
We picked up our trays and followed as Rod led the way. We were amazed by the variety. Fruits and vegetables in abundance, some of which I thought were exotic. Tomatoes, of course, peppers, and other things with short growing periods. We could identify Mexican and Cajun cuisine, plus some other styles we had not seen before. Ham, pork roast, beef, cold cuts, salad greens of all kinds, deserts, pies and cakes and many other goodies.
"All that delicious meat," said Fred Frye, "and I have to watch my cholesterol."
"Not to worry," Rod said. "All the 'meat' you see here comes out of the hydroponics tank. Shipping things in from Earth costs an arm and a leg. It is a blessing, though, because we eat a healthy diet. It is really amazing what you can grow in a hydroponics tank with yeast and whatever else they use!"
The food was excellent! What variety and what flavor, even if a little unusual. But I wondered to myself what "whatever else" included, but was afraid to ask. Rod might tell me and I might not want to know. This was a closed system. It had to be that way.
We followed Rod to a table where we could all sit together.
"What is it like back on Earth these days?" Rod asked. "My children are all live near Cleveland in Usono. They once called that part 'Ohio'. 'Little' Rod writes Westerns - you know, Cowboys and Indians. Did you ever read them?"
"Yes," said Edna. "'Hard Hand,' isn't that the latest?"
"Right" said Rod. "You would be surprised how many preachers read Western Fiction to relax. The good guys always win in the end! Those are morality plays. They hit the problems head on. No matter how impossible things seem to be, there is always hope."
"Just like the Book of Revelation," I said. "God has it under control. Jesus has already won! History is running straight toward the goal of God's Great Plan."
We talked on for some time, then took our trays to put in the disposal chute. People crowded in behind us to take our places.
"Come over into the solarium," Rod said. He led the way through more crowds. I never could get used to all those people! I thought Manhattan was crowded. But half a million people lived here on Tiberias Cylinder. Crowded surely wasn't the word for it.
We followed Rod along the street, turned into a side corridor, and then into a large room.
We could see more of those green growing things. We found them everywhere we went on Tiberias. And there were more people already here. This must be a popular place. Rod led us to a few empty spaces. Some others were just leaving, and so there was room after all.
Fred looked all around, then pointed to the ceiling. "You did say solarium?"
"That's what we call them," said Rod. "No sunlight, of course. Too much UV and things like that out here in Space. But it is a convenient name. These are good places to meet, to relax, and to hold Bible Studies. We will go to one of the Bible Study groups later."
I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up just as a man came furtively into the solarium. He had bushy black hair and was wearing blue coveralls which identified him as a technician. He hid behind a potted tree, and was watching the corridor.
A floater from Peace & Safety stopped at a cubicle across the passageway. Two men went into the cubicle and came out wrestling a woman. Two children followed, biting, kicking and scratching. The Consto calmly dropped her with his stunner. He did the same to the children. The others placed them on the floater, none too gently, and they sped down the corridor.
"Rod, what was that?"
"Unfortunately," Rod said," this is not a perfect society. We have some problem malcontents. Life on Tiberias has to be very structured. Not everyone can deal with this lifestyle. We'll go talk with Ford Morris later. He is a Consto in Peace & Safety. He'll fill us in on the details. Sometimes people must be deported to Earth. It's sad. But it's best for them in the long run."
It seemed only a short time since we had left the spaceport.
The intercom beeped. "This is Captain Stevens speaking. We dock at Tiberias Cylinder at 1000 hours. Prepared to debark. Our stopover will be one solar day."
We hurried to gather our carry-on things. Thanks to disposable paper clothing and personal items, plus the miracle of recycling, we are able to travel very minimally. What baggage we had would be off-loaded by the ship's personnel. We are a group of ten from Earth, going to Tiberias Cylinder, to visit relatives and friends. My name is Carl Sandor. I am writing this report to tell you about Tiberias and our experiences there.
The docking signal sounded. We picked up our carry-on things, stepped into the airlock, and waited for it to cycle. Then we walked through into Customs.
"Look into the opticon eye-identifier."
A senior citizen, very military in appearance, was sitting at the desk. As we each stared into the opticon, he read the view screen to check our names and destination. He gave us temporary resident cards and breathings permits.
"Enjoy your stay," he said, and waved us on.
We stepped through the doorway into Tiberias City. It took our breath away. Green things everywhere! Plants and flowers and potted trees and bushes and vines climbing all over. The artificial sunlight filtered through fresh green masses of vegetation tumbling from huge hanging baskets, tiers and balconies.
"Eddie! Just look at all these green things! These must be air purifiers! It's part of the ecology here!"
"Yeah!' said Eddie. "Ain't this all impressive!"
"Back on Earth we don't even give it a thought. But out here they would have to use every available inch of space to work for the common good. I'll bet everything out here is like that."
"And I can feel currents of air, a steady breeze. That must be from the Recirculators. The green is essential, but Atmospheric Recirculators would have to do their part too. This is a closed system of ecology."
"Yeah!"
We stood at the edge of a broad street that seemed to be the floor of a deep slot. Shops and buildings formed its walls. Some of the angles didn't seem just right. And we could not see very far because of the curvature. There were people everywhere! Just like a shopping mall at Christmas time. I couldn't believe the crowds!
“Look at all the people!” said Eddie. “And what a variety of people! There’s one dressed in an all white Punjab costume.”
I could see a girl with rings in her nose and ears. Some seemed to have their faces painted in some kind of secret code to identify them. We have ethnic minorities in Nashville, but this was amazing for us. We felt out of place in our "suit and tie" clothes.
We were afraid we would get lost in the crowds. So we waited patiently for a short time (I looked at my watch).
"Over there," said Fred. "I think I see a man working his way through the crowd."
An older man, huge, in his late 60's, approached from the right.
"Saluton! You must be the group from Earth. I'm Rod Glacio, one of the Church elders."
He gave each of us a big hug. "Welcome to Tiberias! We praise God for you brothers and sisters in Christ!"
I should explain that we Church people think of each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord's Family. Certainly it was that way in the church of the First Century. I grew up in a very conservative church home. We honored Jesus Christ, and also some of the Pioneers of our Movement. That was our tradition, our life style. We didn't even think about it consciously. When our family moved from State to State or even another Country, we were exposed to other people and other thinking - all within our beloved Church. Each did the same things in the same way - but it all turned out different, somehow. Perhaps you already know that. I was eager to see just how they did things here on Tiberias.
I need to say also that we had heard of Rod’s surgery and we were amazed by his speedy recovery. All of us in Nashville had been praying for him to recover quickly.
We surrounded Rod and all began talking at once. He hugged us all in his huge arms. We each gave him the holy kiss!
"Saluton!" I said. "I am Carl Sandor. I bring you greetings from the Church on Earth in Usono [USA]."
"Please give our greetings to the brothers and sisters in Usono when you return. It's so good to see faces from back home. We don't get enough visitors like you. But you must be tired. Let's get you to your quarters in Spaceport Hotel. We can talk later."
Rod led the way through the crowds to the hotel. It wasn’t that far.
There are no free standing buildings on Tiberias. Everything is built into the Cylinder itself. The hotel fronted the street and was an integral part of the structure.
A young woman sat at a computer terminal in the lobby. She looked up and gave us a bright smile.
"Rod! These must be your friends from Earth! Welcome to Tiberias. Any friend of Rod is a friend of ours!"
"This is Rhoda," Rod said. "She is a sister in Christ. If you need any help, just ask her."
Rhoda came around to hug each of us. I introduced each one. Church people are Family.
"You will need this time to freshen up," Rod said. "I'll come back in about an hour." He walked out to the street and got on a floater.
"Carl Sandor?" Rhoda said. "Are you related to the Sandors in Parkersburg, Usono? I might be your relative. Do you know Fred Sandor?"
"Fred is a distant relative."
"It really is a small universe," she said.
Rhoda assigned us to cubicles (you couldn't call them rooms), small, very compact, efficient. They were about 7 feet by 3 feet (I still can't think in metric). A single bed folded out of the wall, storage space, foldout wash basin, even room for a shower (with everything else folded up). The Videos would have you believe that the Space Stations have lots of wide open areas. But I have not found this to be true. Everything is at a premium out here. Compact is the word.
After freshening up, we felt more "human." We gathered in the lobby where we were to meet Rod.
“Rhoda,” I said, “we’re so happy to see Rod has recovered from his surgery.”
“So are we! It’s been two years now, and he is still cancer free. We thank the Lord for his recovery!”
While we waited we stood and watched a news broadcast on the video wall-screen.
Rod came through the entrance at 1130 hours.
"Let's go eat!" he said. "We can talk better around a table."
He led the way through the ever-present crowds down the street to the Cafeteria. We queued up with the line at the entrance. As we entered, he put his thumb on the scanner and touched the proper keys to record the charges. Then he led the way to the food.
"When I was last on Earth," Rod said, "they called this an 'unlimited food bar.' It's certainly the most efficient way. Take all you want - eat all you take. Plenty for everyone. Lots of variety."
"This is just like back home," Fred said. "Fast Food has been a booming business for years. Many people eat outside their homes these days."
"Everyone here eats in public places," Rod said. "No one cooks at home. What else could they do? We are cramped for space. Notice the paper containers. Paper recycles. Plastic doesn't out here. Being out in space forces us to conserve resources. It you think about it, it is impossible to grow air and water. These must be brought in from Earth or somewhere."
It did make sense. We hadn't thought of such a thing.
Rod spoke again. "Before we fill our trays, let's thank our God. Brother Ed Guthrie, will you lead our prayer of thanks."
We all formed a circle.
"We praise You, O Lord, for this bounty, this feast to nourish our bodies. We thank You for the love we have found here, for the brothers and sisters in Christ on Tiberias, and the fellowship of all whose faith is as precious as our own! We thank You for making it all possible. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
We picked up our trays and followed as Rod led the way. We were amazed by the variety. Fruits and vegetables in abundance, some of which I thought were exotic. Tomatoes, of course, peppers, and other things with short growing periods. We could identify Mexican and Cajun cuisine, plus some other styles we had not seen before. Ham, pork roast, beef, cold cuts, salad greens of all kinds, deserts, pies and cakes and many other goodies.
"All that delicious meat," said Fred Frye, "and I have to watch my cholesterol."
"Not to worry," Rod said. "All the 'meat' you see here comes out of the hydroponics tank. Shipping things in from Earth costs an arm and a leg. It is a blessing, though, because we eat a healthy diet. It is really amazing what you can grow in a hydroponics tank with yeast and whatever else they use!"
The food was excellent! What variety and what flavor, even if a little unusual. But I wondered to myself what "whatever else" included, but was afraid to ask. Rod might tell me and I might not want to know. This was a closed system. It had to be that way.
We followed Rod to a table where we could all sit together.
"What is it like back on Earth these days?" Rod asked. "My children are all live near Cleveland in Usono. They once called that part 'Ohio'. 'Little' Rod writes Westerns - you know, Cowboys and Indians. Did you ever read them?"
"Yes," said Edna. "'Hard Hand,' isn't that the latest?"
"Right" said Rod. "You would be surprised how many preachers read Western Fiction to relax. The good guys always win in the end! Those are morality plays. They hit the problems head on. No matter how impossible things seem to be, there is always hope."
"Just like the Book of Revelation," I said. "God has it under control. Jesus has already won! History is running straight toward the goal of God's Great Plan."
We talked on for some time, then took our trays to put in the disposal chute. People crowded in behind us to take our places.
"Come over into the solarium," Rod said. He led the way through more crowds. I never could get used to all those people! I thought Manhattan was crowded. But half a million people lived here on Tiberias Cylinder. Crowded surely wasn't the word for it.
We followed Rod along the street, turned into a side corridor, and then into a large room.
We could see more of those green growing things. We found them everywhere we went on Tiberias. And there were more people already here. This must be a popular place. Rod led us to a few empty spaces. Some others were just leaving, and so there was room after all.
Fred looked all around, then pointed to the ceiling. "You did say solarium?"
"That's what we call them," said Rod. "No sunlight, of course. Too much UV and things like that out here in Space. But it is a convenient name. These are good places to meet, to relax, and to hold Bible Studies. We will go to one of the Bible Study groups later."
I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up just as a man came furtively into the solarium. He had bushy black hair and was wearing blue coveralls which identified him as a technician. He hid behind a potted tree, and was watching the corridor.
A floater from Peace & Safety stopped at a cubicle across the passageway. Two men went into the cubicle and came out wrestling a woman. Two children followed, biting, kicking and scratching. The Consto calmly dropped her with his stunner. He did the same to the children. The others placed them on the floater, none too gently, and they sped down the corridor.
"Rod, what was that?"
"Unfortunately," Rod said," this is not a perfect society. We have some problem malcontents. Life on Tiberias has to be very structured. Not everyone can deal with this lifestyle. We'll go talk with Ford Morris later. He is a Consto in Peace & Safety. He'll fill us in on the details. Sometimes people must be deported to Earth. It's sad. But it's best for them in the long run."
CHURCH chapter 3
CHURCH chapter 3
It was Sabato (Saturday) when we debarked on Tiberias. The next day would be Dimancho, the Christian day of worship. I was certain Tiberias used the standard Earth week.
"Tomorrow will be Dimancho?"
"Right," said Rod. "The mainday worship service will be at 0600. There will be some 3,000 people there. We meet in Central Square."
"That many!" I said.
"Certainly. You have cities on Earth with much smaller populations than Tiberias. Some of them have Churches with 5,000 members or more."
"You are right," I said. "I have been to the big Madison Church in Tennessee. They have more than 6,000 members."
"You said 'mainday,'" Chet asked. "What did you mean by that?"
"Remember," Rod said, "we are out in space. To be more efficient, Ships have a crew who work mainday, plus another who work alterday, dividing the day into two 12 hour periods. This permits two populations to live in one living space. We have a 24 hour society, dividing up the time."
Edna spoke up. "I see. Then you have a worship on mainday plus another worship on alterday."
"Exactly," said Rod. "I remember when I was a child on Earth, our Church had five services each Sunday. Some worked days and some nights and some early mornings. Because of the economy, people had to work at whatever jobs they could find. Multiple services made worship possible for everyone. Many of the larger Churches arranged their schedules this way."
By now we had come back to the lobby of the hotel.
"Better get some sleep," Rod said. "Tomorrow is Dimancho, the Lord's Day. We meet early! Better be at Central Square by 0530 if you expect to get a good seat. Central Square is one of the few places where large groups of people can meet together. Our worship is at 0600. God bless us all! Adiau! See you in the morning."
The alarm sounded and I jumped out of bed. Wow! Short night! I dressed hurriedly and got down to the lobby just as the others were gathering. After a head count, we started toward Central Square, following Rod’s directions. We saw a 'City Girl Coffee Shop' (cubicle). We munched pastries and sipped coffee or tea as we walked along. We carefully put our cups and trash into a disposal chute.
By now it was 0531. Rod was waiting for us.
I want to describe this worship service in detail for those back home. It is a privilege and a joy to be here on Tiberias to join in with all those who worship here today, Dimancho, Sunday, the Lord's Day.
We are here in Central Square this bright Sunday morning. Crowds are gathering quickly. I am surprised to see so many young people. Perhaps some of the senior citizens have returned to Earth when their tour of duty came to an end. I would ask Rod to introduce some of the people, but there isn't time. The whole congregation has gathered here and is waiting for the service to begin.
It's now 0600. Steve Chin is coming to the podium. On the wall-screen behind him we can see the order of worship appear on the screen. Steve is the song leader today, and in this tradition, the song leader convenes the worship and makes certain each of the worship leaders is present and in place.
Steve lifts up his hands and speaks: "Chi tiun tagon faris la Eternulo; ni goyu kai goyigu en gi."
"That's Basic," whispered Rod. "We all use it in Space. I'll translate. 'This day belongs to the Lord! Let's celebrate and be glad today!"
A word of explanation. Basic is the Esperanto language of Old Earth, which is now the universal language of space. It is neutral, tied to no country, and with no political overtones. It came into wide use with the United Sates of Europe forming early in the 21st Century. You will hear many languages in space: English, Chinese, and others as well. But Basic has become the common language which everyone speaks and understands; precise, unchanging, uncomplicated, logical. I will translate from now on, with just a hint of Basic.
Bud Arledge is now coming to the podium to lead the first prayer.
"'Chipova Dio...' All-powerful God, who permits us to join together our united voices in prayer, and who promises that when two or three are come together in Your Name, You will grant their prayers. Fulfill now the desires and requests of Your servants, in a way that will most bless us. In this world please give us wisdom concerning Your truth, and in the world to come eternal life in Your presence. Through Christ our Lord, Amen."
Now Steve Chin steps back to the podium to lead the first song. It will be an old song from Earth: "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love!" We hear the entire congregation join in with great enthusiasm and joy! Some sit, and some stand. But all join in singing words of praise to God. As we do back home, there are no musical instruments as they are singing "a capella."
The second song will be "Tago Yuga." "Day of Judgment, Day of sadness. World dissolving into vapor, Anciently prophesied hour." Let me remind you that there is a deep sense of "Christ Coming" among Churches such as this. This is tied to Peter's Catharsis (2 Peter 3:7-13), and the "new heavens and new earth" where righteousness will be at home.
The third song will be the Communion Hymn: "Upon The First Day Of The Week." Christ raised from death on the day following the Sabbath - Sunday, the first day of the new week.
A word of explanation. The tradition of this Church is that every Sunday is Communion Sunday. We believe it was so in the early Church. Some of the names applied to this Communion are: Vespermangon; Lord's Supper; Holy Meal; Eucharist. This will be the high point of the worship service. HE has overcome the world! HE has won the victory! We worshipers believe that this Holy Meal ties each one of us to every other Christian in the Universe as each one shares in the bread and wine of the Communion.
We will see the tradition of simultaneous communion. Each communicant has already received an individually sealed portion of the bread and wine (an outgrowth of the AIDS epidemic of the past). The bread is unleavened. The wine is unprocessed grape juice with only enough fermentation to prevent spoilage."
Morris Evans has come to the symbolic table and is the Unifier of this Holy Meal.
Again we inject a note of explanation. This Church makes no sharp distinction between clergy and laity. Steve is an electrician; Morris is a paramedic. Both are church-elders, as is Rod, who is also a Preaching Minister. As brothers and sisters in the Family of God all work together for the common good of all. "He lets us rule as kings and serve God His Father as priests" (Revelation 1:6)
.
Morris lifts up his hands and speaks: "As we join together in this Holy Meal, we remember our Lord who died on Old Earth many centuries ago. Jesus died as God's Sacrificial Lamb, to expiate the sins of the world of humans and to put us right with God. We are here today to praise Him and to show Him our love! We honor Jesus for Who He Is and for What He Did! We take this bread - by faith, His body. We take this wine - by faith, His blood. As the Scripture says: 'For until the Lord comes, you proclaim His death whenever you eat this bread and drink the cup.' And now Stan Chenowitz will lead us in the prayer of thanks."
Stan comes from the right to stand at the podium. He lifts up his hands and speaks.
"We praise You, O Lord our God! While we were estranged from You because of our sins, You reached out to us by sending Jesus! We are so thankful for Your blessings! Touch this bread - to us the body of Christ by our faith. Touch this wine - to us the blood of Christ by our faith. Touch our lives, and make us one in Christ - we are the Body of Christ. We pray in the Name of Jesus, Amen."
Now attention shifts back to Morris Evans at the Table. The entire congregation waits in anticipation, holding in their hands the individual portions of bread and wine. Morris lifts his individual portions as high as he can reach, holding them for a moment. Then he lowers his arms and speaks.
"This is My body, which is for you. Do this in memory of Me."
As Morris puts the individual portion of bread in his mouth, simultaneously so do each of the communicants.
Again Morris speaks.
"The wine which is this cup is God's New Covenant, sealed with My blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me."
Morris puts the individual portion of wine in his mouth and so do the communicants simultaneously."
We remind you that the bread and wine are encapsulated in individual portions. One pops the whole thing into the mouth, bites through the capsule, and swallows the contents. As we said, this began during the AIDS crisis on Earth. Actually, this works quite well in a crowd like this. There is nothing to dispose of. And, it permits us to follow the example of the early Church who celebrated the Holy Meal regularly. This Church emphasizes the memorial /commemorative /celebration purpose of the Lord's Supper.
Now Steve Chin returns to the podium. A song of praise appears on the wall-screen. "Praise be to God, In every time, In every place, From every person." All sing with love and devotion.
Again a word of explanation. Many years ago a collection/offering was taken up following the Holy Meal. Since Tiberias uses electronic money - no coins or paper money - they cannot take up a collection. What Apostle Paul actually said was: "On the first day of every week each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what he has earned, and save it up..." Each worshiper who wishes to do so, then, transfers an amount of credit into the Church's account. And this is part of our worship to Him.
Now another song appears on the screen, in English. "When the Lord of love was here, He watched the joy in human life, And He was pleased..."
Dean Woods comes to the podium. He will introduce the Speaker for this worship service.
"Dear brothers and sisters. We want each one of you to feel part of our worship family. We invite you to become part of our small group Bible Studies. There is one in your area. Just punch up the Library Computer."
Dean continued: "We are so happy today to have with us Don Daugherty, from what used to be called 'West Virginia,' in Usono, Earth. You can find his report about the Church back on Earth in the Library Computer. Exciting things are taking place there. Don is to plant a Church on a new Cylinder being built further out in space. And now here is Brother Don."
Don steps to the podium. His Outline and Bible references appear on the wall screen behind him. As we would expect, Don's sermon stresses Christ on the cross and the power of His resurrection."
Note: The Library Computer loads the entire worship event into its memory bank. Those shut-in can punch it up. In fact, some of the Amazing Grace Bible Class sessions from 20th Century Earth are also available. There is even a reenactment of the Cane Ridge Revival of Earth year 1802.
As is the custom on Earth, Don closes his sermon by giving an invitation. Actually, one who wishes to be "put right with God" may contact one of the brothers or sisters at any time. While baptism is often done by the leadership, each Christian is authorized to perform this act. We will visit a baptizing following this service.
We hear Don speak: "God loves you and believes in you! He proved this by sending Jesus! Take Him as Lord of your life! Believe in Jesus. Turn away from your sins. Be baptized. God will forgive your sins. You will receive the Holy Spirit, God's gift. Won't you come forward as we sing this song. Someone will talk with you and assist you in your obedience."
The song is: "Kristo kun me, Kristo ene..." "Christ be with me, Christ be in me, Let me share God's glory...'" (based on Colossians 1:27).
Some are coming forward to the podium to respond to Don's sermon. One appears to be a man in his eighties. We will try to contact him later.
Now Frank Miller, a church elder, comes to the podium to lead the closing prayer.
"Bless, O Father, these who have come to give their lives to You. Bless them and make them a blessing to others. And now, may the Lord Himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all! In the Name of Jesus, Amen."
Steve Chin comes to the podium.
"There will be baptism at the hydrotherapy unit of Central Hospital at 0930. You can view it on your screen, along with all the church news and announcements. Now we must clear the way for the next group to use this space. God bless you all! Until we meet again!"
It was Sabato (Saturday) when we debarked on Tiberias. The next day would be Dimancho, the Christian day of worship. I was certain Tiberias used the standard Earth week.
"Tomorrow will be Dimancho?"
"Right," said Rod. "The mainday worship service will be at 0600. There will be some 3,000 people there. We meet in Central Square."
"That many!" I said.
"Certainly. You have cities on Earth with much smaller populations than Tiberias. Some of them have Churches with 5,000 members or more."
"You are right," I said. "I have been to the big Madison Church in Tennessee. They have more than 6,000 members."
"You said 'mainday,'" Chet asked. "What did you mean by that?"
"Remember," Rod said, "we are out in space. To be more efficient, Ships have a crew who work mainday, plus another who work alterday, dividing the day into two 12 hour periods. This permits two populations to live in one living space. We have a 24 hour society, dividing up the time."
Edna spoke up. "I see. Then you have a worship on mainday plus another worship on alterday."
"Exactly," said Rod. "I remember when I was a child on Earth, our Church had five services each Sunday. Some worked days and some nights and some early mornings. Because of the economy, people had to work at whatever jobs they could find. Multiple services made worship possible for everyone. Many of the larger Churches arranged their schedules this way."
By now we had come back to the lobby of the hotel.
"Better get some sleep," Rod said. "Tomorrow is Dimancho, the Lord's Day. We meet early! Better be at Central Square by 0530 if you expect to get a good seat. Central Square is one of the few places where large groups of people can meet together. Our worship is at 0600. God bless us all! Adiau! See you in the morning."
The alarm sounded and I jumped out of bed. Wow! Short night! I dressed hurriedly and got down to the lobby just as the others were gathering. After a head count, we started toward Central Square, following Rod’s directions. We saw a 'City Girl Coffee Shop' (cubicle). We munched pastries and sipped coffee or tea as we walked along. We carefully put our cups and trash into a disposal chute.
By now it was 0531. Rod was waiting for us.
I want to describe this worship service in detail for those back home. It is a privilege and a joy to be here on Tiberias to join in with all those who worship here today, Dimancho, Sunday, the Lord's Day.
We are here in Central Square this bright Sunday morning. Crowds are gathering quickly. I am surprised to see so many young people. Perhaps some of the senior citizens have returned to Earth when their tour of duty came to an end. I would ask Rod to introduce some of the people, but there isn't time. The whole congregation has gathered here and is waiting for the service to begin.
It's now 0600. Steve Chin is coming to the podium. On the wall-screen behind him we can see the order of worship appear on the screen. Steve is the song leader today, and in this tradition, the song leader convenes the worship and makes certain each of the worship leaders is present and in place.
Steve lifts up his hands and speaks: "Chi tiun tagon faris la Eternulo; ni goyu kai goyigu en gi."
"That's Basic," whispered Rod. "We all use it in Space. I'll translate. 'This day belongs to the Lord! Let's celebrate and be glad today!"
A word of explanation. Basic is the Esperanto language of Old Earth, which is now the universal language of space. It is neutral, tied to no country, and with no political overtones. It came into wide use with the United Sates of Europe forming early in the 21st Century. You will hear many languages in space: English, Chinese, and others as well. But Basic has become the common language which everyone speaks and understands; precise, unchanging, uncomplicated, logical. I will translate from now on, with just a hint of Basic.
Bud Arledge is now coming to the podium to lead the first prayer.
"'Chipova Dio...' All-powerful God, who permits us to join together our united voices in prayer, and who promises that when two or three are come together in Your Name, You will grant their prayers. Fulfill now the desires and requests of Your servants, in a way that will most bless us. In this world please give us wisdom concerning Your truth, and in the world to come eternal life in Your presence. Through Christ our Lord, Amen."
Now Steve Chin steps back to the podium to lead the first song. It will be an old song from Earth: "They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love!" We hear the entire congregation join in with great enthusiasm and joy! Some sit, and some stand. But all join in singing words of praise to God. As we do back home, there are no musical instruments as they are singing "a capella."
The second song will be "Tago Yuga." "Day of Judgment, Day of sadness. World dissolving into vapor, Anciently prophesied hour." Let me remind you that there is a deep sense of "Christ Coming" among Churches such as this. This is tied to Peter's Catharsis (2 Peter 3:7-13), and the "new heavens and new earth" where righteousness will be at home.
The third song will be the Communion Hymn: "Upon The First Day Of The Week." Christ raised from death on the day following the Sabbath - Sunday, the first day of the new week.
A word of explanation. The tradition of this Church is that every Sunday is Communion Sunday. We believe it was so in the early Church. Some of the names applied to this Communion are: Vespermangon; Lord's Supper; Holy Meal; Eucharist. This will be the high point of the worship service. HE has overcome the world! HE has won the victory! We worshipers believe that this Holy Meal ties each one of us to every other Christian in the Universe as each one shares in the bread and wine of the Communion.
We will see the tradition of simultaneous communion. Each communicant has already received an individually sealed portion of the bread and wine (an outgrowth of the AIDS epidemic of the past). The bread is unleavened. The wine is unprocessed grape juice with only enough fermentation to prevent spoilage."
Morris Evans has come to the symbolic table and is the Unifier of this Holy Meal.
Again we inject a note of explanation. This Church makes no sharp distinction between clergy and laity. Steve is an electrician; Morris is a paramedic. Both are church-elders, as is Rod, who is also a Preaching Minister. As brothers and sisters in the Family of God all work together for the common good of all. "He lets us rule as kings and serve God His Father as priests" (Revelation 1:6)
.
Morris lifts up his hands and speaks: "As we join together in this Holy Meal, we remember our Lord who died on Old Earth many centuries ago. Jesus died as God's Sacrificial Lamb, to expiate the sins of the world of humans and to put us right with God. We are here today to praise Him and to show Him our love! We honor Jesus for Who He Is and for What He Did! We take this bread - by faith, His body. We take this wine - by faith, His blood. As the Scripture says: 'For until the Lord comes, you proclaim His death whenever you eat this bread and drink the cup.' And now Stan Chenowitz will lead us in the prayer of thanks."
Stan comes from the right to stand at the podium. He lifts up his hands and speaks.
"We praise You, O Lord our God! While we were estranged from You because of our sins, You reached out to us by sending Jesus! We are so thankful for Your blessings! Touch this bread - to us the body of Christ by our faith. Touch this wine - to us the blood of Christ by our faith. Touch our lives, and make us one in Christ - we are the Body of Christ. We pray in the Name of Jesus, Amen."
Now attention shifts back to Morris Evans at the Table. The entire congregation waits in anticipation, holding in their hands the individual portions of bread and wine. Morris lifts his individual portions as high as he can reach, holding them for a moment. Then he lowers his arms and speaks.
"This is My body, which is for you. Do this in memory of Me."
As Morris puts the individual portion of bread in his mouth, simultaneously so do each of the communicants.
Again Morris speaks.
"The wine which is this cup is God's New Covenant, sealed with My blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of Me."
Morris puts the individual portion of wine in his mouth and so do the communicants simultaneously."
We remind you that the bread and wine are encapsulated in individual portions. One pops the whole thing into the mouth, bites through the capsule, and swallows the contents. As we said, this began during the AIDS crisis on Earth. Actually, this works quite well in a crowd like this. There is nothing to dispose of. And, it permits us to follow the example of the early Church who celebrated the Holy Meal regularly. This Church emphasizes the memorial /commemorative /celebration purpose of the Lord's Supper.
Now Steve Chin returns to the podium. A song of praise appears on the wall-screen. "Praise be to God, In every time, In every place, From every person." All sing with love and devotion.
Again a word of explanation. Many years ago a collection/offering was taken up following the Holy Meal. Since Tiberias uses electronic money - no coins or paper money - they cannot take up a collection. What Apostle Paul actually said was: "On the first day of every week each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what he has earned, and save it up..." Each worshiper who wishes to do so, then, transfers an amount of credit into the Church's account. And this is part of our worship to Him.
Now another song appears on the screen, in English. "When the Lord of love was here, He watched the joy in human life, And He was pleased..."
Dean Woods comes to the podium. He will introduce the Speaker for this worship service.
"Dear brothers and sisters. We want each one of you to feel part of our worship family. We invite you to become part of our small group Bible Studies. There is one in your area. Just punch up the Library Computer."
Dean continued: "We are so happy today to have with us Don Daugherty, from what used to be called 'West Virginia,' in Usono, Earth. You can find his report about the Church back on Earth in the Library Computer. Exciting things are taking place there. Don is to plant a Church on a new Cylinder being built further out in space. And now here is Brother Don."
Don steps to the podium. His Outline and Bible references appear on the wall screen behind him. As we would expect, Don's sermon stresses Christ on the cross and the power of His resurrection."
Note: The Library Computer loads the entire worship event into its memory bank. Those shut-in can punch it up. In fact, some of the Amazing Grace Bible Class sessions from 20th Century Earth are also available. There is even a reenactment of the Cane Ridge Revival of Earth year 1802.
As is the custom on Earth, Don closes his sermon by giving an invitation. Actually, one who wishes to be "put right with God" may contact one of the brothers or sisters at any time. While baptism is often done by the leadership, each Christian is authorized to perform this act. We will visit a baptizing following this service.
We hear Don speak: "God loves you and believes in you! He proved this by sending Jesus! Take Him as Lord of your life! Believe in Jesus. Turn away from your sins. Be baptized. God will forgive your sins. You will receive the Holy Spirit, God's gift. Won't you come forward as we sing this song. Someone will talk with you and assist you in your obedience."
The song is: "Kristo kun me, Kristo ene..." "Christ be with me, Christ be in me, Let me share God's glory...'" (based on Colossians 1:27).
Some are coming forward to the podium to respond to Don's sermon. One appears to be a man in his eighties. We will try to contact him later.
Now Frank Miller, a church elder, comes to the podium to lead the closing prayer.
"Bless, O Father, these who have come to give their lives to You. Bless them and make them a blessing to others. And now, may the Lord Himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all! In the Name of Jesus, Amen."
Steve Chin comes to the podium.
"There will be baptism at the hydrotherapy unit of Central Hospital at 0930. You can view it on your screen, along with all the church news and announcements. Now we must clear the way for the next group to use this space. God bless you all! Until we meet again!"
CENTRAL HOSPITAL chapter 4
CENTRAL HOSPITAL chapter 4
We gathered around Rod as we were leaving Central Square.
"Where will we go now?" I asked.
"Let's all go to Central Hospital to the baptizing," Rod said. "You'll want to see this. It's just over in the next ring. You'll find the Hospital is much smaller than you might expect. 'Outpatient' and 'home-service' take care of most problems. It's more efficient. Since the hydrotherapy unit is small, not many can squeeze into it. Most will watch this on their video terminals. And you will be able to download a recording later."
He led the way down the street, making a few turns along the way. Central Hospital was also built into the structure.
"Rod," Fred asked, "Does this Hospital front on another corridor also?"
"Yes, it does. Tiberias rotates to provide an artificial gravity. This gives us a sense of up and down. The rings are concentric, with the structures built between the corridors."
We entered and stood with our backs against the wall.
"There is Ned Jones," Rod said. "He will baptize his son, Jerry. And she is Klia Depoy, who will baptize her daughter, Hetta."
Ned and Jerry walked to the hydrotherapy tank, and stood facing each other.
"Jerry, Jesus loves you! I ask you to declare your faith in Him."
"Yes! I do believe that Jesus is God's Messiah, the Son of the Living God! I take Him as Lord of my life!"
"God bless you, Jerry, for your word of faith!"
Now Ned helped Jerry into the tank, while he stood beside it. Ned placed his right hand on Jerry's back and with his left hand held a handkerchief over Jerry's nose. Jerry held to Ned's left arm with both hands. Then he got down on his knees in the water.
Ned looked toward the videocam and spoke. "By the authority of Jesus Christ, I bury you with Christ and into Christ, to receive new life, to have your sins forgiven, and to receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Ned lowered Jerry completely under the water and immediately lifted him up again. All of us began to sing.
"Jesus, I love you! I give myself to You! Send Your wisdom to me, that I may live for You."
Then as we watched, Klia repeated the baptismal ceremony with Hetta. It was beautiful to see a father baptize his son, and a mother, her daughter. We sang our joy and praise for these young people begining their journey of spiritual life. We hugged each one - our new brother and sister in Christ!
"Rod," I asked. "You mentioned a Church that meets mainday and another alterday. How do you do this? That is, how do you organize it all?"
"Carl, you remember how it was on Earth when they began having multiple services. We are Central Church. But there are two Meetings, with different people and different leaders, yet still one Church. Each "Meeting" chooses nine elders. That is, there are nine elders for the mainday Meeting and nine elders for the alterday Meeting. These guide and counsel the members. All the church-elders meet together regularly to coordinate activities. If you think about it, the Jerusalem Church in Acts 2 was structured in this way. They had a Meeting in the Temple plus numerous house-groups meeting all the time. The Jerusalem Church probably had 100,000 members before persecution scattered it. But they were one Church."
Gwen, Rod's wife, joined us at this point.
"Let's take early lunch!" Rod said. "We often do this on Sunday. Just follow me. There is a Cafeteria not far away."
The place was packed. "Will they have room for us?" I asked.
"Sure! Let's fill our trays, and then we will look for an empty table. There always seems to be one. People come and go."
"I'm still amazed," Fred said. "Ham with no meat in it. Yeast derivatives! All these fruits and vegetables. And everything grown right here on Tiberias. "
"I'll take you to meet Hans Yoder sometime," said Rod. "He is the head of hydroponics and a genius in growing things and producing food."
"Over there," Rod said. "There's the group from the baptizing. Let's sit with them."
Rod led the way toward them. "Ned, Jerry, Klia, Hetta, hello! Congratulations! You'll never be sorry you took Jesus as the Lord of your life!"
An old gentleman came over to the table. He was the one who had come forward at the morning service.
"Rod, hello!" he said.
Then he turned to us. "It's a great day in my life! I'm Ford Prefect. I've always roamed around the galaxy, you know. Asteroid miner, isolated, a hermit. I've done most everything, good or bad. I surely wish now that I had made Jesus the Lord of my life when I was young, given my whole life to Him. But thank God, it wasn't too late! Now I'm put right with God and adopted into His Kingdom!"
We each gave him the right hand of fellowship, the kiss of peace, and a big hug. He sat with us and we talked together as others came and went around us.
"Better get a move on!" Rod warned. "It's time for the rush hour to begin."
We hurried to finish. We put the garbage in the disposal chute.
Rod held up his hand. "Let's go to a Bible Study. There is always one meeting somewhere."
A quick check at a terminal showed one meeting in the Solarium on Ring 5 East. We should just make it in time if we walked fast.
As entered we saw the group over in a corner - about twenty people. Tim Butcher was the leader.
"Tim! Kayor!" Rod shouted. "I've brought some brothers and sisters from Earth to see how we do things."
"Good to see you, Rod. You visitors are most welcome!"
"I'm Tim Butcher," he said, holding out his hand. "This is my wife, Amy" He pointed to her. "This is Zack Zakerzewski, and his wife Sharon, their daughter, Triska, and their sons, Enoch and Jared."
"Tim," Rod said. "You can introduce the others later. Explain just how our Bible Studies and Zones work."
"Sure. We base our church life on Proverbs 27:17. 'People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.' We want to have as much interaction between our people as possible. Christians really do need each other."
"There is a Meeting on mainday and another alterday. Each Meeting breaks down into around a hundred Zones. Each zone chooses an expediter every six months who will coordinate activities. Each person is urged to be in contact with at least one other member (not family) during each day, if possible. Family contacts are in addition to this. Everyone is urged to take part in the zone system. Zones visit around so that each member of an Assembly will come in contact with every other member at least once every four months. Now, this is all voluntary, of course. We are careful to avoid authoritarianism. We try to be an extended family."
"Do your Zones meet together, that is, the whole Zone in one gathering?"
"Sometimes. But more often as 'cell groups' in smaller numbers. The Jerusalem Church in Acts met in 'cell groups' in different homes and shared their food together. The 'church' doesn't cease to exist between Sundays. Throughout each week groups are meeting at all times and places. Some meet in the morning, others at noon or night; in homes, more often in solariums. Everybody is somebody! We help preserve this spirit by the 'sharing' in small groups. These core groups are at the heart of our life and ministry."
"How are you able to apply this in problem solving?" Fred asked.
When someone has a problem, he or she would first call upon one of the other members who have the specialty needed to solve the problem. We have a web site in the Library Computer."
"Smaller study groups like this meet all the time, and on different levels of maturity. For example, in one like this we try to involve friends and neighbors, with the idea of introducing them to Christ. We want to share our faith and our life with them. Some groups are for new Christians, some are for more advanced study, and some on the leadership level. Rod teaches many of the more advanced classes."
"What about Bibles?" Chet asked. "What versions do you use?"
"Anyone can punch up a Bible on his or her screen. The Library Computer has Versions in all the Earth languages, and of course, Basic. We can't spare paper for books, tracts, etc. But all these are in the Library Computer. Anyone can view them at any time. All you need is a terminal. There are tapes and programs and even entire worship services from Old Earth. The menu shows it all."
Tim concluded: "When you divide this activity among the membership, it doesn't involve all that much time for each person. We want a 'servant ministry' to be 'user friendly' and to always be there to help in time of need. Compare Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25."
When our study concluded, we walked to a soft drink machine and enjoyed our favorite refreshments.
"You can certainly tell that Tim is a schoolteacher," Rod said. "He can give you more details than you want to know."
"But I really appreciate that," I said. "It will help me report to the people back home about the wonderful things you are doing here on Tiberias."
"But tell me about your Sunday services," I said.
Tim answered: "We have only one 'worship assembly' in each duad. We, the church, come together on Sunday in a worship service of praise and devotion. It's the high point of our week. When we gather at the Lord's Table, it is a celebration of Who He Is and who we are in Him!"
We were reluctant to leave. We each gave Tim and the others a hug and the kiss of peace.
"Let me take you to a leadership class," Rod said. He led the way back to the main corridor, and we all boarded a floater.
Rod's leadership class were all waiting when we arrived. He introduced us and we hugged everyone.
After we found a place to sit, Rod began. "We are studying Revelation chapter 5," he said. "It is God's act in Jesus the Lamb by which God gives the verdict of not guilty in regard to those who are paid for by the bloody-death of Christ. Paul shows us that the whole Universe shared in the benefits of this act, as we see in Romans 8:20-22; Colossians 1:20."
"In interpreting Revelation, we take the general view of Hendriksen in his book, More Than Conquerors, published on Earth around 1940. Some of the views people once held about eschatology were tied to Old Earth and no longer make sense out here in space."
"I remember Hendricksen," I said. "He viewed Revelation as picturing a continuous cycle of events. Wasn't his view called 'The Philosophy of History?' An 'amillennial' point of view, which was unusual at the time."
"Right," said Rod. "Some used to say: 'He is coming, and boy is He mad!' We believe the great Plan is working itself out. God is in control. All this is part of the process. We believe the 'church' in a geographic area goes through a cycle. Christ is preached, people become disciples of Christ, the visible church grows greatly, Satan brings in opposition, the church seems to die out, and then it all repeats again. That is oversimplifying, of course."
"That surely fits in with history," I said. "In the last years of the 20th century, Communism fell, and people in Eastern Europe and the 'Iron Curtain' countries turned to Christ. That was something no one would have predicted. Also in Usono [USA], a 'Christian nation,' people seemed to turn away from Christ and religion fell on hard times.”
"Until the Great Revival," Rod said. "The Holy Spirit 'blew' across the nation and melted hearts. Which is to say," Rod added, "that the Spirit made an opportunity for men and women to decide to believe in Jesus."
"Robert Brinsmead said it," Sam Golden spoke up. "He said to imagine a great arch. Our side says: 'Whoever wishes may come'; and on God's side it says: 'You did not choose Me, I chose you."
"It certainly is a paradox," Rod said. "God's Plan is much more vast than anyone could imagine. Everything relates to Jesus and the Good News!"
"But people are evil," I said. "Even our best obedience is tainted with sin."
"Certainly," said Rod. "That is why we must claim Jesus, His righteousness, the power of His resurrection. We must reach out in faith to seize Him and claim His finished work."
"What a God we serve!" said Ned Jones. "Praise His Name forever! It boggles our minds to think that He loves us!"
Let me insert here: The Church on Tiberias views forgiveness and righteousness taking place in the Mind of God. 'I will treat them with kindness, even though they are wicked. I will surely forget their sins.' [Hebrews 8:12; Romans 4:8] They accept each person who 'names the name of Christ' to the extend they are perceived to be in harmony with the Christ of the Scriptures. The Body of Christ includes every saved person. This Kingdom of His dear Son is a place of safety [Colossians 1:13]. I am finding the Church on Tiberias to be very like the Church I attend in Nashville back on Earth.
Later, we were eating pie and ice cream around a table in the Cafeteria.
"Rod," I said, "I can see now that in the past our thinking has been distorted somewhat by our church-buildings."
"You've got it," Road answered. "Now, I know that back on Earth you use your buildings to advantage. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. A church-building is 'good,' but it may encourage pomp & ceremony, ritual, even entertainment, rather than focusing on praise and worship. Not that such things are 'bad,' but praise and joy and a sense of 'family' are more important."
"Yes," I said. "And I can see that living here on a Cylinder tends to force people to live a 'minimalist' life style."
"Right again. We have been 'liberated' in a sense, being packed into this Cylinder like 'sardines in a can' [whatever that meant]. The first century Church must have been like this. Certainly we think they were close to God and to each other in that early time."
Rod continued: "Don't let that fool you, however. We are all still very 'human' in our weaknesses and problems. The early church had all the problems you find on Earth today, and on Tiberias. It is very difficult to 'disagree without becoming disagreeable.' Someone said that, and it is surely true."
"Are you really able to talk things out?" I asked. "How do you go about solving everyday disagreements?"
"We church-elders are not 'deciders,'" Rod answered. "We are 'older brothers looking out for the other children.' We give 'Body life' a high priority. We all work together and talk things out. We want the togetherness of the communes on Old Earth, but without the limitations. I believe they used to call this form, a 'non-residential household.' That is, not living in the same house, but forming a close knit extended Family."
A note of explanation. These disciples are diverse. From differing cultures and backgrounds, they have very little in common - except Jesus Christ! They are multi-racial and multi-ethnic. The church represents all the colors of God's rainbow. They are united by Christian love and fellowship.
John wrote in Revelation 5:9-10. "Then they sang a new song, 'You are worthy to receive the scroll and open its seals, because You were killed. And with Your own blood You bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race. You let them become kings and serve God as priests, and they will rule on earth.'"
"Rod, are you able to avoid triumphalism?" I asked.
"Triumphalism. You mean the idea that we have God 'in a box' and that we then despise everyone else. I suppose the simplest answer is that we love Christ - and therefore all our brothers and sisters in the Lord's Family. We therefore love non-Christians also. We may not agree with them, but if God so loved the world to send Jesus - we must so love the world of humanity also."
Rod continued: "In the 1960's a man named Suenens wrote a book, 'A New Pentecost.' In it he looked to the future of his religious family. 'We shall have, therefore, a period of greater freedom in the life of the Church and her individual members. It will be a period of fewer legal obligations and fewer interior restraints. Formal discipline will be reduced; all arbitrary intolerance and all absolutism will be abolished. Positive law will be simplified, and the exercise of authority will be moderated. There will be promoted the sense of that Christian freedom which pervaded the first generation of Christians.' I think he was prophetic in this. This is the Church on Tiberias."
"But I hear you stress Jesus: His death, His resurrection, His second coming," I said.
"Yes, this is the way it ought to be. Without Jesus there could be no church, no salvation, no hope, no joy. And the church is a platform from which to proclaim Jesus is Lord!"
"Rod, you are reminding me of an old book I read. 'A World To Win.' The author emphasized that the name, Jesus, means 'God saves.' That along with Paul, we will respect the culture, language, feelings and attitudes of people and key the unchanging truth to that framework. We will build, not destroy, and explain the gospel in terms sure to be understood."
"1 Corinthians 9:19-23. That's what you are talking about"
We gathered around Rod as we were leaving Central Square.
"Where will we go now?" I asked.
"Let's all go to Central Hospital to the baptizing," Rod said. "You'll want to see this. It's just over in the next ring. You'll find the Hospital is much smaller than you might expect. 'Outpatient' and 'home-service' take care of most problems. It's more efficient. Since the hydrotherapy unit is small, not many can squeeze into it. Most will watch this on their video terminals. And you will be able to download a recording later."
He led the way down the street, making a few turns along the way. Central Hospital was also built into the structure.
"Rod," Fred asked, "Does this Hospital front on another corridor also?"
"Yes, it does. Tiberias rotates to provide an artificial gravity. This gives us a sense of up and down. The rings are concentric, with the structures built between the corridors."
We entered and stood with our backs against the wall.
"There is Ned Jones," Rod said. "He will baptize his son, Jerry. And she is Klia Depoy, who will baptize her daughter, Hetta."
Ned and Jerry walked to the hydrotherapy tank, and stood facing each other.
"Jerry, Jesus loves you! I ask you to declare your faith in Him."
"Yes! I do believe that Jesus is God's Messiah, the Son of the Living God! I take Him as Lord of my life!"
"God bless you, Jerry, for your word of faith!"
Now Ned helped Jerry into the tank, while he stood beside it. Ned placed his right hand on Jerry's back and with his left hand held a handkerchief over Jerry's nose. Jerry held to Ned's left arm with both hands. Then he got down on his knees in the water.
Ned looked toward the videocam and spoke. "By the authority of Jesus Christ, I bury you with Christ and into Christ, to receive new life, to have your sins forgiven, and to receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."
Ned lowered Jerry completely under the water and immediately lifted him up again. All of us began to sing.
"Jesus, I love you! I give myself to You! Send Your wisdom to me, that I may live for You."
Then as we watched, Klia repeated the baptismal ceremony with Hetta. It was beautiful to see a father baptize his son, and a mother, her daughter. We sang our joy and praise for these young people begining their journey of spiritual life. We hugged each one - our new brother and sister in Christ!
"Rod," I asked. "You mentioned a Church that meets mainday and another alterday. How do you do this? That is, how do you organize it all?"
"Carl, you remember how it was on Earth when they began having multiple services. We are Central Church. But there are two Meetings, with different people and different leaders, yet still one Church. Each "Meeting" chooses nine elders. That is, there are nine elders for the mainday Meeting and nine elders for the alterday Meeting. These guide and counsel the members. All the church-elders meet together regularly to coordinate activities. If you think about it, the Jerusalem Church in Acts 2 was structured in this way. They had a Meeting in the Temple plus numerous house-groups meeting all the time. The Jerusalem Church probably had 100,000 members before persecution scattered it. But they were one Church."
Gwen, Rod's wife, joined us at this point.
"Let's take early lunch!" Rod said. "We often do this on Sunday. Just follow me. There is a Cafeteria not far away."
The place was packed. "Will they have room for us?" I asked.
"Sure! Let's fill our trays, and then we will look for an empty table. There always seems to be one. People come and go."
"I'm still amazed," Fred said. "Ham with no meat in it. Yeast derivatives! All these fruits and vegetables. And everything grown right here on Tiberias. "
"I'll take you to meet Hans Yoder sometime," said Rod. "He is the head of hydroponics and a genius in growing things and producing food."
"Over there," Rod said. "There's the group from the baptizing. Let's sit with them."
Rod led the way toward them. "Ned, Jerry, Klia, Hetta, hello! Congratulations! You'll never be sorry you took Jesus as the Lord of your life!"
An old gentleman came over to the table. He was the one who had come forward at the morning service.
"Rod, hello!" he said.
Then he turned to us. "It's a great day in my life! I'm Ford Prefect. I've always roamed around the galaxy, you know. Asteroid miner, isolated, a hermit. I've done most everything, good or bad. I surely wish now that I had made Jesus the Lord of my life when I was young, given my whole life to Him. But thank God, it wasn't too late! Now I'm put right with God and adopted into His Kingdom!"
We each gave him the right hand of fellowship, the kiss of peace, and a big hug. He sat with us and we talked together as others came and went around us.
"Better get a move on!" Rod warned. "It's time for the rush hour to begin."
We hurried to finish. We put the garbage in the disposal chute.
Rod held up his hand. "Let's go to a Bible Study. There is always one meeting somewhere."
A quick check at a terminal showed one meeting in the Solarium on Ring 5 East. We should just make it in time if we walked fast.
As entered we saw the group over in a corner - about twenty people. Tim Butcher was the leader.
"Tim! Kayor!" Rod shouted. "I've brought some brothers and sisters from Earth to see how we do things."
"Good to see you, Rod. You visitors are most welcome!"
"I'm Tim Butcher," he said, holding out his hand. "This is my wife, Amy" He pointed to her. "This is Zack Zakerzewski, and his wife Sharon, their daughter, Triska, and their sons, Enoch and Jared."
"Tim," Rod said. "You can introduce the others later. Explain just how our Bible Studies and Zones work."
"Sure. We base our church life on Proverbs 27:17. 'People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.' We want to have as much interaction between our people as possible. Christians really do need each other."
"There is a Meeting on mainday and another alterday. Each Meeting breaks down into around a hundred Zones. Each zone chooses an expediter every six months who will coordinate activities. Each person is urged to be in contact with at least one other member (not family) during each day, if possible. Family contacts are in addition to this. Everyone is urged to take part in the zone system. Zones visit around so that each member of an Assembly will come in contact with every other member at least once every four months. Now, this is all voluntary, of course. We are careful to avoid authoritarianism. We try to be an extended family."
"Do your Zones meet together, that is, the whole Zone in one gathering?"
"Sometimes. But more often as 'cell groups' in smaller numbers. The Jerusalem Church in Acts met in 'cell groups' in different homes and shared their food together. The 'church' doesn't cease to exist between Sundays. Throughout each week groups are meeting at all times and places. Some meet in the morning, others at noon or night; in homes, more often in solariums. Everybody is somebody! We help preserve this spirit by the 'sharing' in small groups. These core groups are at the heart of our life and ministry."
"How are you able to apply this in problem solving?" Fred asked.
When someone has a problem, he or she would first call upon one of the other members who have the specialty needed to solve the problem. We have a web site in the Library Computer."
"Smaller study groups like this meet all the time, and on different levels of maturity. For example, in one like this we try to involve friends and neighbors, with the idea of introducing them to Christ. We want to share our faith and our life with them. Some groups are for new Christians, some are for more advanced study, and some on the leadership level. Rod teaches many of the more advanced classes."
"What about Bibles?" Chet asked. "What versions do you use?"
"Anyone can punch up a Bible on his or her screen. The Library Computer has Versions in all the Earth languages, and of course, Basic. We can't spare paper for books, tracts, etc. But all these are in the Library Computer. Anyone can view them at any time. All you need is a terminal. There are tapes and programs and even entire worship services from Old Earth. The menu shows it all."
Tim concluded: "When you divide this activity among the membership, it doesn't involve all that much time for each person. We want a 'servant ministry' to be 'user friendly' and to always be there to help in time of need. Compare Jesus' teaching in Matthew 25."
When our study concluded, we walked to a soft drink machine and enjoyed our favorite refreshments.
"You can certainly tell that Tim is a schoolteacher," Rod said. "He can give you more details than you want to know."
"But I really appreciate that," I said. "It will help me report to the people back home about the wonderful things you are doing here on Tiberias."
"But tell me about your Sunday services," I said.
Tim answered: "We have only one 'worship assembly' in each duad. We, the church, come together on Sunday in a worship service of praise and devotion. It's the high point of our week. When we gather at the Lord's Table, it is a celebration of Who He Is and who we are in Him!"
We were reluctant to leave. We each gave Tim and the others a hug and the kiss of peace.
"Let me take you to a leadership class," Rod said. He led the way back to the main corridor, and we all boarded a floater.
Rod's leadership class were all waiting when we arrived. He introduced us and we hugged everyone.
After we found a place to sit, Rod began. "We are studying Revelation chapter 5," he said. "It is God's act in Jesus the Lamb by which God gives the verdict of not guilty in regard to those who are paid for by the bloody-death of Christ. Paul shows us that the whole Universe shared in the benefits of this act, as we see in Romans 8:20-22; Colossians 1:20."
"In interpreting Revelation, we take the general view of Hendriksen in his book, More Than Conquerors, published on Earth around 1940. Some of the views people once held about eschatology were tied to Old Earth and no longer make sense out here in space."
"I remember Hendricksen," I said. "He viewed Revelation as picturing a continuous cycle of events. Wasn't his view called 'The Philosophy of History?' An 'amillennial' point of view, which was unusual at the time."
"Right," said Rod. "Some used to say: 'He is coming, and boy is He mad!' We believe the great Plan is working itself out. God is in control. All this is part of the process. We believe the 'church' in a geographic area goes through a cycle. Christ is preached, people become disciples of Christ, the visible church grows greatly, Satan brings in opposition, the church seems to die out, and then it all repeats again. That is oversimplifying, of course."
"That surely fits in with history," I said. "In the last years of the 20th century, Communism fell, and people in Eastern Europe and the 'Iron Curtain' countries turned to Christ. That was something no one would have predicted. Also in Usono [USA], a 'Christian nation,' people seemed to turn away from Christ and religion fell on hard times.”
"Until the Great Revival," Rod said. "The Holy Spirit 'blew' across the nation and melted hearts. Which is to say," Rod added, "that the Spirit made an opportunity for men and women to decide to believe in Jesus."
"Robert Brinsmead said it," Sam Golden spoke up. "He said to imagine a great arch. Our side says: 'Whoever wishes may come'; and on God's side it says: 'You did not choose Me, I chose you."
"It certainly is a paradox," Rod said. "God's Plan is much more vast than anyone could imagine. Everything relates to Jesus and the Good News!"
"But people are evil," I said. "Even our best obedience is tainted with sin."
"Certainly," said Rod. "That is why we must claim Jesus, His righteousness, the power of His resurrection. We must reach out in faith to seize Him and claim His finished work."
"What a God we serve!" said Ned Jones. "Praise His Name forever! It boggles our minds to think that He loves us!"
Let me insert here: The Church on Tiberias views forgiveness and righteousness taking place in the Mind of God. 'I will treat them with kindness, even though they are wicked. I will surely forget their sins.' [Hebrews 8:12; Romans 4:8] They accept each person who 'names the name of Christ' to the extend they are perceived to be in harmony with the Christ of the Scriptures. The Body of Christ includes every saved person. This Kingdom of His dear Son is a place of safety [Colossians 1:13]. I am finding the Church on Tiberias to be very like the Church I attend in Nashville back on Earth.
Later, we were eating pie and ice cream around a table in the Cafeteria.
"Rod," I said, "I can see now that in the past our thinking has been distorted somewhat by our church-buildings."
"You've got it," Road answered. "Now, I know that back on Earth you use your buildings to advantage. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. A church-building is 'good,' but it may encourage pomp & ceremony, ritual, even entertainment, rather than focusing on praise and worship. Not that such things are 'bad,' but praise and joy and a sense of 'family' are more important."
"Yes," I said. "And I can see that living here on a Cylinder tends to force people to live a 'minimalist' life style."
"Right again. We have been 'liberated' in a sense, being packed into this Cylinder like 'sardines in a can' [whatever that meant]. The first century Church must have been like this. Certainly we think they were close to God and to each other in that early time."
Rod continued: "Don't let that fool you, however. We are all still very 'human' in our weaknesses and problems. The early church had all the problems you find on Earth today, and on Tiberias. It is very difficult to 'disagree without becoming disagreeable.' Someone said that, and it is surely true."
"Are you really able to talk things out?" I asked. "How do you go about solving everyday disagreements?"
"We church-elders are not 'deciders,'" Rod answered. "We are 'older brothers looking out for the other children.' We give 'Body life' a high priority. We all work together and talk things out. We want the togetherness of the communes on Old Earth, but without the limitations. I believe they used to call this form, a 'non-residential household.' That is, not living in the same house, but forming a close knit extended Family."
A note of explanation. These disciples are diverse. From differing cultures and backgrounds, they have very little in common - except Jesus Christ! They are multi-racial and multi-ethnic. The church represents all the colors of God's rainbow. They are united by Christian love and fellowship.
John wrote in Revelation 5:9-10. "Then they sang a new song, 'You are worthy to receive the scroll and open its seals, because You were killed. And with Your own blood You bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race. You let them become kings and serve God as priests, and they will rule on earth.'"
"Rod, are you able to avoid triumphalism?" I asked.
"Triumphalism. You mean the idea that we have God 'in a box' and that we then despise everyone else. I suppose the simplest answer is that we love Christ - and therefore all our brothers and sisters in the Lord's Family. We therefore love non-Christians also. We may not agree with them, but if God so loved the world to send Jesus - we must so love the world of humanity also."
Rod continued: "In the 1960's a man named Suenens wrote a book, 'A New Pentecost.' In it he looked to the future of his religious family. 'We shall have, therefore, a period of greater freedom in the life of the Church and her individual members. It will be a period of fewer legal obligations and fewer interior restraints. Formal discipline will be reduced; all arbitrary intolerance and all absolutism will be abolished. Positive law will be simplified, and the exercise of authority will be moderated. There will be promoted the sense of that Christian freedom which pervaded the first generation of Christians.' I think he was prophetic in this. This is the Church on Tiberias."
"But I hear you stress Jesus: His death, His resurrection, His second coming," I said.
"Yes, this is the way it ought to be. Without Jesus there could be no church, no salvation, no hope, no joy. And the church is a platform from which to proclaim Jesus is Lord!"
"Rod, you are reminding me of an old book I read. 'A World To Win.' The author emphasized that the name, Jesus, means 'God saves.' That along with Paul, we will respect the culture, language, feelings and attitudes of people and key the unchanging truth to that framework. We will build, not destroy, and explain the gospel in terms sure to be understood."
"1 Corinthians 9:19-23. That's what you are talking about"
CHRISTMAS ON TIBERIAS chapter 5
CHRISTMAS ON TIBERIAS chapter 5
Away from home at Christmas time! And even away from Earth??? This would certainly be a new experience for all of us. We are a group of ten from Tennessee in Usono, Earth, visiting Tiberias Cylinder, a city of half a million out in space.
I rode the lift down to the hotel lobby and walked out on the street. Music from a great many Christmas traditions hit my ears. Some I could recognize. Much was foreign to me. Decorations of red, silver and gold were mixed in with the ever present green foliage. I had looked in some of the shops along the street. I was amazed at the variety of items for sale. People from the many nations of Earth were all intermingled into the Canister City that was Tiberias. They brought along the cultures that were close to them.
As I stood looking around, I saw Rod coming through the crowds.
"Rod! Saluton! What an exciting new experience this all is! Christmas time and out here in space!"
"Kayor, Carl! Christmas is a happy time here on Tiberias. We honor Christ Jesus in many ways and traditions. Today I want you to go with the McWhorters and see something of how we celebrate Christmas. I am sure God uses the excitement of Christmas and also Easter to bring Jesus to the attention of people. After all, God is Boss of the Universe. His will & purpose is being carried out."
"I do want to see everything that I can, Rod. Sound like fun and perhaps I can pick up something new. But all these crowds! I still can't get used to so many people! Doesn't this ever bother you?"
"I'm used to it. Did you ever see a video of life on a submarine? Talk about being crowded!"
A wave of motion in the crowd caught my eye. A man and woman were working their way toward us.
"Here they are." Rod reached out to touch the hand of the man.
"Carl, this is Doug and Mina. They are both librarians. If you want to know it, they can tell it to you or help you find it."
They both gave me a hug.
"Kayor, brother! We're your hosts for the next few days. I'm sure you were cramped up in that hotel cubicle! We'll show you some hospitality."
We all hugged Rod. Doug led the way across the street. We got on a floater, rode a while, then got off at an intersection.
"This is 'Cubic City,'" Doug said. "We live just down here." I followed Doug and Mina to a door leading into a solid wall. No windows at all.
Mina punched a code into the lock and the door slid open.
"Welcome to our home," she said.
I stepped through the doorway into a large room. It still looked much like the tiny cubicle in the hotel. As I looked around I could see this was much larger.
The furniture had the look of aged wood, but I knew it was plastic. Wood was much too expensive, being shipped in from Earth. It all looked much as the log cabins in the videos. I could see the walls were decorated with streamers of red and green. Line drawings of the Nativity scene were scattered here and there. It all seemed "right," somehow.
Doug touched a keypad near the door. The walls changed to show a tropical scene with lots of sand, palm trees and tropical birds. It seemed so real!
Then they changed again to show snow high in the mountains. Brrr. I cold feel the chill.
"Cubic City?" I said.
"Think about it," said Doug. "Cleveland back on Earth is made up of many little villages. It's a location pattern. Cleveland: Mayfield; Stedley Drive; 911; Apartment 2-C. We do the same thing on Tiberias. It's a convenient way to identify a location. There are 150 such 'cities' which make up Tiberias Cylinder."
"Can you believe it," said Mina. "Christmas is just days away."
"Christmas takes me back to my childhood," I said. "But how do you celebrate with no snow? I see lots of green everywhere on Tiberias, but I see that in summer in Usono. What about a winter scene? How do you put up a tree?"
"Carl," said Doug. "The southern half of Earth celebrates Christmas in the middle of their summer. Usono is not the only culture on Earth. Only a few of them put up a tree."
"And," said Mina, "Earth has an endless variety of customs."
She touched the keypad to show Christmas being celebrated with firecrackers and mariachi musicians.
"This is a fiesta in Mexico," she said.
The people surrounded something like a clay pot hanging from the ceiling. They kept hitting at with a stick. It broke and all sorts of colorful gifts and favors fell out.
"That's a piñata they hit," said Doug.
I recognized the name.
Next the walls showed a nativity scene in mountains. I could recognize this as being near my home in West Virginia, Usono.
Then a scene from Australia, in the desert in the midst of a blazing sun.
"Wow! You surely are hi-tech!"
"Things change more rapidly than we have language to express it. We have thousands of TV channels with much more from the Library Computer. Millions of videos: movies, travel, scenic areas, you name it. We can even show your house back on Earth. You can buy anything you want or need through the Internet and have it delivered direct to your cubicle."
Let's see the news," said Doug. The walls showed a meeting of the UN on Earth. They were trying to deal with problems in the middle eastern part of Earth, Bosnia, and the Island of Crete. The Arab nations were protesting vehemently.
Doug touched the keypad and the red and green streamers were back. And the line drawings of the Nativity.
"You know," I said, "back on Earth Christmas is so commercialized. People just go wild buying things. The whole economy depends upon the Christmas season."
"Tiberias is not all that different," said Doug. "We are like Manhattan in New York City back on Earth. We could not live without the business function to create jobs. We have an intense import-export trade, with ships docking at all times. For example we can manufacture pharmaceuticals here that would be impossible on Earth,. And electronics and other things. We have a very controlled environment. But we need so many things which must be imported from Earth."
"Yes," said Mina. "We cannot grow air and water. It must be brought in from somewhere. We do our best."
"But," she continued, "Christ is still the center of things. Listen to the Carols. 'Born the King of Israel.' Everyone is very much aware of Christ at Christmas and Easter. These are important holidays here. In church, of course, we honor Jesus continually. Especially, as you know, in the Holy Meal, the Lord's Supper."
"Bread and wine," I said, "and the One Spiritual Body of Christ."
"That's it," Doug said. "We take very seriously our relationship to every other Christian believer in the Universe. Didn't someone say, 'the more things change, the more they stay the same'? People are people wherever they live. Christianity is about people and God, and about people problems and human needs and especially hope! We experience and we learn. Earth, Tiberias, wherever."
"Communication," Mina said. "We need lines of communication between each of us. We're so happy you came from Earth. We want to know all that is happening there."
"And I am here to learn from you," I said.
"But how do you do things when you are cramped up in little cubicles? How do you get together in groups to celebrate?"
"In two ways," said Mina. "We get together in small groups in the solariums. And we get together through networking."
"Networking? I thought that had to do with computers."
"Watch that wall." She touched a control.
"Yes? Rod here."
"Viewing?" Mina asked.
"You got it." Rod appeared on the wall screen.
"We're just showing our guest how we network. We wanted him to see one of the ways we get together at times."
On the screen we could see Rod touch a control. People began appearing on the wall screens around the room. Soon we had a crowd gathered, but only we were actually in the cubicle.
"Kayor!" said Rod. "Let's show Carl some good old-fashioned koinonia! Carl, koinonia is the kind of close fellowship they had in Bible times. It is a close, loving relationship. Reba and her children (they waved) are back on Earth. The others are here on Tiberias. Yet we are 'here' in this network."
"Carl," said Doug, "this is a convenient way to get together. Families, especially children, can meet anytime on the network. Even though we are not actually present in the same cubicle, we are together is a very special way."
"I can see that," I said. "Reminds me of the book, 'Caves of Steel' Asimov wrote in the 20th century. But he envisioned some being so radical they couldn't bear to actually be present with another person."
"We'll see that never happens!" said Rod. "We insure that there is much face to face interaction between all of us. We really love each other as family."
Some children began playing games in a corner. None of them were actually there. They were networked in virtual reality.
Away from home at Christmas time! And even away from Earth??? This would certainly be a new experience for all of us. We are a group of ten from Tennessee in Usono, Earth, visiting Tiberias Cylinder, a city of half a million out in space.
I rode the lift down to the hotel lobby and walked out on the street. Music from a great many Christmas traditions hit my ears. Some I could recognize. Much was foreign to me. Decorations of red, silver and gold were mixed in with the ever present green foliage. I had looked in some of the shops along the street. I was amazed at the variety of items for sale. People from the many nations of Earth were all intermingled into the Canister City that was Tiberias. They brought along the cultures that were close to them.
As I stood looking around, I saw Rod coming through the crowds.
"Rod! Saluton! What an exciting new experience this all is! Christmas time and out here in space!"
"Kayor, Carl! Christmas is a happy time here on Tiberias. We honor Christ Jesus in many ways and traditions. Today I want you to go with the McWhorters and see something of how we celebrate Christmas. I am sure God uses the excitement of Christmas and also Easter to bring Jesus to the attention of people. After all, God is Boss of the Universe. His will & purpose is being carried out."
"I do want to see everything that I can, Rod. Sound like fun and perhaps I can pick up something new. But all these crowds! I still can't get used to so many people! Doesn't this ever bother you?"
"I'm used to it. Did you ever see a video of life on a submarine? Talk about being crowded!"
A wave of motion in the crowd caught my eye. A man and woman were working their way toward us.
"Here they are." Rod reached out to touch the hand of the man.
"Carl, this is Doug and Mina. They are both librarians. If you want to know it, they can tell it to you or help you find it."
They both gave me a hug.
"Kayor, brother! We're your hosts for the next few days. I'm sure you were cramped up in that hotel cubicle! We'll show you some hospitality."
We all hugged Rod. Doug led the way across the street. We got on a floater, rode a while, then got off at an intersection.
"This is 'Cubic City,'" Doug said. "We live just down here." I followed Doug and Mina to a door leading into a solid wall. No windows at all.
Mina punched a code into the lock and the door slid open.
"Welcome to our home," she said.
I stepped through the doorway into a large room. It still looked much like the tiny cubicle in the hotel. As I looked around I could see this was much larger.
The furniture had the look of aged wood, but I knew it was plastic. Wood was much too expensive, being shipped in from Earth. It all looked much as the log cabins in the videos. I could see the walls were decorated with streamers of red and green. Line drawings of the Nativity scene were scattered here and there. It all seemed "right," somehow.
Doug touched a keypad near the door. The walls changed to show a tropical scene with lots of sand, palm trees and tropical birds. It seemed so real!
Then they changed again to show snow high in the mountains. Brrr. I cold feel the chill.
"Cubic City?" I said.
"Think about it," said Doug. "Cleveland back on Earth is made up of many little villages. It's a location pattern. Cleveland: Mayfield; Stedley Drive; 911; Apartment 2-C. We do the same thing on Tiberias. It's a convenient way to identify a location. There are 150 such 'cities' which make up Tiberias Cylinder."
"Can you believe it," said Mina. "Christmas is just days away."
"Christmas takes me back to my childhood," I said. "But how do you celebrate with no snow? I see lots of green everywhere on Tiberias, but I see that in summer in Usono. What about a winter scene? How do you put up a tree?"
"Carl," said Doug. "The southern half of Earth celebrates Christmas in the middle of their summer. Usono is not the only culture on Earth. Only a few of them put up a tree."
"And," said Mina, "Earth has an endless variety of customs."
She touched the keypad to show Christmas being celebrated with firecrackers and mariachi musicians.
"This is a fiesta in Mexico," she said.
The people surrounded something like a clay pot hanging from the ceiling. They kept hitting at with a stick. It broke and all sorts of colorful gifts and favors fell out.
"That's a piñata they hit," said Doug.
I recognized the name.
Next the walls showed a nativity scene in mountains. I could recognize this as being near my home in West Virginia, Usono.
Then a scene from Australia, in the desert in the midst of a blazing sun.
"Wow! You surely are hi-tech!"
"Things change more rapidly than we have language to express it. We have thousands of TV channels with much more from the Library Computer. Millions of videos: movies, travel, scenic areas, you name it. We can even show your house back on Earth. You can buy anything you want or need through the Internet and have it delivered direct to your cubicle."
Let's see the news," said Doug. The walls showed a meeting of the UN on Earth. They were trying to deal with problems in the middle eastern part of Earth, Bosnia, and the Island of Crete. The Arab nations were protesting vehemently.
Doug touched the keypad and the red and green streamers were back. And the line drawings of the Nativity.
"You know," I said, "back on Earth Christmas is so commercialized. People just go wild buying things. The whole economy depends upon the Christmas season."
"Tiberias is not all that different," said Doug. "We are like Manhattan in New York City back on Earth. We could not live without the business function to create jobs. We have an intense import-export trade, with ships docking at all times. For example we can manufacture pharmaceuticals here that would be impossible on Earth,. And electronics and other things. We have a very controlled environment. But we need so many things which must be imported from Earth."
"Yes," said Mina. "We cannot grow air and water. It must be brought in from somewhere. We do our best."
"But," she continued, "Christ is still the center of things. Listen to the Carols. 'Born the King of Israel.' Everyone is very much aware of Christ at Christmas and Easter. These are important holidays here. In church, of course, we honor Jesus continually. Especially, as you know, in the Holy Meal, the Lord's Supper."
"Bread and wine," I said, "and the One Spiritual Body of Christ."
"That's it," Doug said. "We take very seriously our relationship to every other Christian believer in the Universe. Didn't someone say, 'the more things change, the more they stay the same'? People are people wherever they live. Christianity is about people and God, and about people problems and human needs and especially hope! We experience and we learn. Earth, Tiberias, wherever."
"Communication," Mina said. "We need lines of communication between each of us. We're so happy you came from Earth. We want to know all that is happening there."
"And I am here to learn from you," I said.
"But how do you do things when you are cramped up in little cubicles? How do you get together in groups to celebrate?"
"In two ways," said Mina. "We get together in small groups in the solariums. And we get together through networking."
"Networking? I thought that had to do with computers."
"Watch that wall." She touched a control.
"Yes? Rod here."
"Viewing?" Mina asked.
"You got it." Rod appeared on the wall screen.
"We're just showing our guest how we network. We wanted him to see one of the ways we get together at times."
On the screen we could see Rod touch a control. People began appearing on the wall screens around the room. Soon we had a crowd gathered, but only we were actually in the cubicle.
"Kayor!" said Rod. "Let's show Carl some good old-fashioned koinonia! Carl, koinonia is the kind of close fellowship they had in Bible times. It is a close, loving relationship. Reba and her children (they waved) are back on Earth. The others are here on Tiberias. Yet we are 'here' in this network."
"Carl," said Doug, "this is a convenient way to get together. Families, especially children, can meet anytime on the network. Even though we are not actually present in the same cubicle, we are together is a very special way."
"I can see that," I said. "Reminds me of the book, 'Caves of Steel' Asimov wrote in the 20th century. But he envisioned some being so radical they couldn't bear to actually be present with another person."
"We'll see that never happens!" said Rod. "We insure that there is much face to face interaction between all of us. We really love each other as family."
Some children began playing games in a corner. None of them were actually there. They were networked in virtual reality.
LONG JOHN THE PIRATE chapter 6
LONG JOHN THE PIRATE chapter 6
The Blue Star Lounge is in the shopping district known as the Holodeck. The name Holodeck comes from the Star Trek video series, still popular after all these years. A series of businesses in this shopping district duplicate scenes shown in the Star Trek video.
The Blue Star was decorated in Old Earth style to look like a sailing ship in the videos. Lengths of heavy rope were draped around the walls. Chairs and tables were made of imitation wood. Light came from lanterns which appeared to be made of polished brass. Even scents and aromas of the sea filled the air.
The barkeeper was an android woman dressed in the style of Old Earth. She kept up a steady chatter as she polished the imitation wood bar and served the customers. She had a computer memory; therefore she knew each of the usual customers, remembered their favorite drinks, and could immediately punch the code into the synthesizer to produce the exotic drinks of a thousand Cylinder Cities and a million cultures.
But just now the synthesizer wasn't working. Which made for unhappy customers.
The doorway into the Blue Star was shielded by a simple force field. No sliding door to wear out. Yet the force field kept the scents and aromas in and the odors of the masses out.
Annie looked up to see Big Al come into the Blue Star.
"Al Mowrer, where have you been! I can't get this blasted synthesizer to work! I have to mix drinks by hand and we don't keep anything but a few bottles back here. I've got a lot of unhappy customers!"
"Keep your microchips cool, Annie. I'm doing the best I can. Everything needs repair and everybody wants it done yesterday. I can't work 24 hours a day like you do."
"Al," said a heckler, "you're just playing around. Aren't you always screwing things up just to annoy the Captain? I bet you screwed up the synthesizer on purpose just to annoy everyone."
"Chauncey, get off my back! I'm likely to do something drastic to you that a microchip won't fix."
Chauncey snickered.
Al removed a panel at the base of the synthesizer. He took his test probe and searched among the junctions. He sent a microjolt of power into the right place. "There! It's working again!" He replaced the panel, and stood up.
Al punched in the code for an Earth style beer. He picked up the container and took a big swig. "Ah," he said, "this is what my Granddad used to tell me about. Real Polish beer from Old Earth."
"Thanks, Al," said Annie. "I'm back in business again!"
A figure came through the doorway, medium height, dressed in the style of the Video Pirates. His hair stood up in spikes. He had a patch over one eye (made of one-way plastic so he could see), a silver shirt with a leather vest, black trousers and black boots. A cutlass swung at his side.
"Ahoy Mateys, you're a sight for sore eyes! I been sailing the spaceways and I just docked my ship on Tiberias. I'm wild and woolly and full of fleas. I'm a ring-tailed roarer and ready for shore leave!"
"Long John, you old fake," said Al. "You wouldn't know a sailing ship if it bit you."
"Now Al, ain't I entitled to a little fun? I like to strut around and impress the tourists. It really blows my mind when some kid says, 'Wow! Are you a real pirate!"'
"And your getup," said Al. "Don't those earrings hurt your ears? Those bangles on your earrings have got to be heavy. How do you stand it, going around like that?"
Long John sighed. "Al, don't give me any trouble. I have to relax somehow. I work with the computers and everything is crisis, nothing but crisis all day long! When I turn into Long John the Pirate, everything changes. I'm free! I roam the streets and impress people. It's wonderful! I'm happy! But these blasted boots hurt my feet and you wouldn't believe how these earrings pinch and pull." He reached up to take off the earrings. "That's a relief. I read that real pirates punched holes in their ear lobes and hung bangles and things from them. I had these made up to look the real thing, but they have clamps that snap on and hold tight. They hurt my ears something fierce. It's a relief to take them off."
"Long John, step up to the bar," said Annie. "I'll fix you something now that Al has my synthesizer running again. What'll you have?"
"Rum, Matey! Gim'me some of that Old Earth rum. That's what real pirates drink in the videos."
Annie punched in the code, then handed the rum to Long John.
He took a big swig. He coughed and choked and wheezed and tried to get his breath. Al pounded him on the back. Finally he could breathe again. "My, that was good," said Long John. "When I finish this I want another!"
"Al," said Long John, "tell me something. I hear you have taken up with those Bible thumpers."
"Nah. But I do work with some of them and Rod invited me to one of their Bible studies. I went a time or two and may go again. They do seem to have a peace that I would like to have. What they said seemed to make a lot of sense."
"I didn't figure you for a religious kind of person?"
"But I'm not irreligious either. Granddad Mowrer held to the same religious views that Rod holds. He said that this Jesus really did live and that He rose to life again. Granddad certainly had the peace and trust to look into the future."
"Well, I don't know. But maybe I ought to look them up and hear what they have to say? I'll think about it."
"They do help one another. That's something in their favor. Give Rod a call."
Long John had decided one rum was enough. He put his earrings on, then stood up, drew his cutlass (plastic, of course), flourished it, then put it back in the sheath. He went out the doorway and got on a floater.
The Blue Star Lounge is in the shopping district known as the Holodeck. The name Holodeck comes from the Star Trek video series, still popular after all these years. A series of businesses in this shopping district duplicate scenes shown in the Star Trek video.
The Blue Star was decorated in Old Earth style to look like a sailing ship in the videos. Lengths of heavy rope were draped around the walls. Chairs and tables were made of imitation wood. Light came from lanterns which appeared to be made of polished brass. Even scents and aromas of the sea filled the air.
The barkeeper was an android woman dressed in the style of Old Earth. She kept up a steady chatter as she polished the imitation wood bar and served the customers. She had a computer memory; therefore she knew each of the usual customers, remembered their favorite drinks, and could immediately punch the code into the synthesizer to produce the exotic drinks of a thousand Cylinder Cities and a million cultures.
But just now the synthesizer wasn't working. Which made for unhappy customers.
The doorway into the Blue Star was shielded by a simple force field. No sliding door to wear out. Yet the force field kept the scents and aromas in and the odors of the masses out.
Annie looked up to see Big Al come into the Blue Star.
"Al Mowrer, where have you been! I can't get this blasted synthesizer to work! I have to mix drinks by hand and we don't keep anything but a few bottles back here. I've got a lot of unhappy customers!"
"Keep your microchips cool, Annie. I'm doing the best I can. Everything needs repair and everybody wants it done yesterday. I can't work 24 hours a day like you do."
"Al," said a heckler, "you're just playing around. Aren't you always screwing things up just to annoy the Captain? I bet you screwed up the synthesizer on purpose just to annoy everyone."
"Chauncey, get off my back! I'm likely to do something drastic to you that a microchip won't fix."
Chauncey snickered.
Al removed a panel at the base of the synthesizer. He took his test probe and searched among the junctions. He sent a microjolt of power into the right place. "There! It's working again!" He replaced the panel, and stood up.
Al punched in the code for an Earth style beer. He picked up the container and took a big swig. "Ah," he said, "this is what my Granddad used to tell me about. Real Polish beer from Old Earth."
"Thanks, Al," said Annie. "I'm back in business again!"
A figure came through the doorway, medium height, dressed in the style of the Video Pirates. His hair stood up in spikes. He had a patch over one eye (made of one-way plastic so he could see), a silver shirt with a leather vest, black trousers and black boots. A cutlass swung at his side.
"Ahoy Mateys, you're a sight for sore eyes! I been sailing the spaceways and I just docked my ship on Tiberias. I'm wild and woolly and full of fleas. I'm a ring-tailed roarer and ready for shore leave!"
"Long John, you old fake," said Al. "You wouldn't know a sailing ship if it bit you."
"Now Al, ain't I entitled to a little fun? I like to strut around and impress the tourists. It really blows my mind when some kid says, 'Wow! Are you a real pirate!"'
"And your getup," said Al. "Don't those earrings hurt your ears? Those bangles on your earrings have got to be heavy. How do you stand it, going around like that?"
Long John sighed. "Al, don't give me any trouble. I have to relax somehow. I work with the computers and everything is crisis, nothing but crisis all day long! When I turn into Long John the Pirate, everything changes. I'm free! I roam the streets and impress people. It's wonderful! I'm happy! But these blasted boots hurt my feet and you wouldn't believe how these earrings pinch and pull." He reached up to take off the earrings. "That's a relief. I read that real pirates punched holes in their ear lobes and hung bangles and things from them. I had these made up to look the real thing, but they have clamps that snap on and hold tight. They hurt my ears something fierce. It's a relief to take them off."
"Long John, step up to the bar," said Annie. "I'll fix you something now that Al has my synthesizer running again. What'll you have?"
"Rum, Matey! Gim'me some of that Old Earth rum. That's what real pirates drink in the videos."
Annie punched in the code, then handed the rum to Long John.
He took a big swig. He coughed and choked and wheezed and tried to get his breath. Al pounded him on the back. Finally he could breathe again. "My, that was good," said Long John. "When I finish this I want another!"
"Al," said Long John, "tell me something. I hear you have taken up with those Bible thumpers."
"Nah. But I do work with some of them and Rod invited me to one of their Bible studies. I went a time or two and may go again. They do seem to have a peace that I would like to have. What they said seemed to make a lot of sense."
"I didn't figure you for a religious kind of person?"
"But I'm not irreligious either. Granddad Mowrer held to the same religious views that Rod holds. He said that this Jesus really did live and that He rose to life again. Granddad certainly had the peace and trust to look into the future."
"Well, I don't know. But maybe I ought to look them up and hear what they have to say? I'll think about it."
"They do help one another. That's something in their favor. Give Rod a call."
Long John had decided one rum was enough. He put his earrings on, then stood up, drew his cutlass (plastic, of course), flourished it, then put it back in the sheath. He went out the doorway and got on a floater.
HYDROPONICS chapter 7
HYDROPONICS chapter 7
I am Carl Sandor, leader of the group from Earth. We are visiting Tiberias Cylinder, a city in space, home to half-a-million people. Rod is a church-elder in one of the Churches of Christ in Tiberias, who is showing us around. We have come here to experience and to learn about life as it is lived out here in space.
We had enjoyed a delicious meal at the cafeteria. Rod then mentioned that the food was grown right here on Tiberias from "yeast and whatever else they use." What was "whatever else???" We wanted to know. At least, we thought we did. Now we were not so sure.
"Rod, you said all this variety we see in the cafeteria is raised in hydroponics."
"That's right. Tiberias is a closed ecology. When you think about it, can you really throw anything away? Besides, on earth everything is eventually recycled. Animal waste is carefully composted by the farmer and put back into the soil. Waste extraction makes perfect sense. We call the whole process 'hydroponics.'"
"Gross!" said Edna. "Double gross! Waste extraction! What about germs!"
"Edna, think about it. You know there's good bacteria as well as bad bacteria. In composting, the good bacteria destroys the bad in the whole process. God set it up that way. We drink the same water and breath the same air that's been around forever. It's part of nature. We couldn't live otherwise."
"It still grosses me out!" said Edna. "I don't know if I will ever be able to eat here again! Waste extraction!"
"Tell you what," said Rod, "let's go take a look at things. You'll learn a lot about nature and about yourself by taking a good look at the hydroponics farms and what goes on there."
Rod hailed a floater and we started toward the outer rings.
We soon arrived at a huge portal closed by huge doors.
"Now you remember," Rod said, "that Tiberias is a 'canister city.' It is a canister, a metal can, large enough to enclose a city of half-a-million people. It is air tight, and the only air lost is a tiny amount when ships dock. Since it is impossible to grow air and water, these have to be brought in from Earth. Tiberias spins on its axis to create a sense of gravity, and that gravity is highest out here at the outer ring. That is why waste extraction and hydroponics have been located in this outer ring."
Rod led us through a small door at the side of the portal, into a gigantic room that seemed to go on and on into the distance. The lights were blinding. A wave of very hot steamy air hit us, along with an overpowering odor. From my childhood on the farm, I knew it as "barn-yardy." It was of course the aroma of yeast and fermentation and growing things.
"That smell," I said to Rod. "It reminds me of the farm back home."
"Certainly so," said Rod. "This is a farm here. It's just that some things about it are different. But food has to be grown. This is nature in action."
"I don't like it," said Edna. "Why couldn't we eat chemicals or something, or plastic? Why does the food have to come from such smelly sources?"
"Edna, you must take nature as it is. On Earth everyone lives in cities, and they are cut off from what really goes on to produce the food supplies. You never knew what you were eating or where it came from. But it certainly did come from natural growing things. I'll call Hans, our head farmer. He'll show us around and tell us how things work out here."
Rod touched a keypad.
Somewhere I could hear a door open and close. In the distance I could see a man coming toward us. As he got closer, I could see he appeared to be dressed all in black in an antique style.
By now the man had reached us. He had on heavy shoes, black denim trousers, which were held up by suspenders, and a black denim shirt. He had a bushy beard of reddish color, and was wearing an old style earth straw hat.
"Rod," I gasped, "what is this? He looks just like an Amishman back home in northern Usono."
"This is Hans Yoder," Rod said. "Hans, this is a group from Earth, visiting our Churches of Christ here on Tiberias."
Rod proceeded to introduce us all around.
"But I don't understand," said Fred. "I thought the Amish were tied to farmland and seventeenth century ways. What is an Amishman doing out here in space on Tiberias Cylinder?"
"Hans is as you say, an Amishman," Rod said. "He and all his commune are our food experts. They are geniuses when it comes to growing things. None of your great earth chefs can give yeast protein the exquisite tastes to equal what they can do."
"But, an Amishman, out here in space?" I said.
"Hans, tell him," Rod said.
"Well, we got to make a living. It's as simple as that. Back on Earth there was never enough farm land to go around. It costs money to feed and raise a family. Some of us had to work at other things, even in the 1900's. My great-grandfather worked in a furniture factory. My father looked out into space. No machine can do what a human can do. It was an easy step to go from working with our hands on the land to working with our hands out here in space. We Amish can work together in close cooperation. Not everyone can do that. We are a community. We understand each other."
"But you can't have horses out here?" asked Edna. "You don't have horses, do you?"
"No horses. Too expensive. But, being Amish is a way of life. We had to think that out in my grandfather's time. We love horses. But we don't need them. Horses are tools to use. We have other tools. But family is family. We stick together and work together. We are giving the gift of life to the people of Tiberias. We grow things, produce food, just like the old farms, even though conditions and things are very different out here in space. We Amish are a community and we work for the good of our community."
"But it certainly seems strange," I said. "Doesn't this conflict with everything the Amish stood for in the past? At least, what I thought they stood for."
"You got to look at it the right way. We were never against using tools. But we were against allowing tools to use us. Our fathers made the choice to be plain people. We worked wonderfully hard, but it was a celebration of life. We are a church-community, a commune if you will, who practice austere living and a family-oriented economic system. We just have different conclusions about how to live life and enjoy it."
"Hans, you surely make it sound good about plain people and hard work and celebration," said Molly. "But I don't know about your celebration of life. I read about my great-grandfather on a hillside farm in West Virginia. He called it 'hard scrabble farming,' not any celebration. He wrote that he had to work from 'it ain't light yet' to 'I can't see anymore' just to starve on the farm. It seemed to be more desperation than celebration."
"Circumstances alters cases," Hans said. "Some talked like your great-grandfather. But, 'many hands make light work' as the old saying goes, and we Amish work together. That made it easier to get along. Let me show you around. That is the best answer I can give - to show you how things work here on Tiberias."
Hans touched a keypad and a small floater came out from between two huge tanks.
"Let's go see the farm," he said.
We climbed aboard. Hans sat at the controls.
"As you know, Tiberias spins to give it gravity. We make use of this gravity to get the liquids out here to process. Tiberias Cylinder is a canister city, sealed in metal from the airlessness of space. Space is cold, but the sun is always shining on some part of Tiberias as it rotates, and the outer shell is warm. Hydroponics is the outer ring of Tiberias. We need heat for the growing process. You notice how warm it is here. The artificial light mimics the sun, but doesn't have the destructive elements that unfiltered sunlight would have. There are thousands of acres of growing things in this outer ring."
The floater began moving forward slowly. Hans pointed things out to us as we moved along.
"That row of tanks hold effluent. Over there is a reverse osmosis filtering unit. It separates pure sterile water from the effluent. The sludge left behind goes into that composter."
The floater stopped at huge doors. A fierce current of air blew into our faces as they opened, bearing the smell of vegetation. We could see a tangled forest of gigantic green and yellow vines. They reminded me of giant Morning Glories gone wild, with leaves the size of garbage-can lids, and enormous purple and blue flowers. The strong currents of air were whipping the leaves and flowers up and down.
"We call these our 'Air Plants,'" said Hans. "We developed these vines from some weeds back on Earth. They were practically indestructible."
The floater moved forward into a tunnel cut through the tangled green mass.
"Tiberias is a 'biosphere,' and the Air Plants help make life possible. You feel the strong currents of air blowing through here. These vines do an amazing job of recycling and purifying the air. Parts of them can be used for food. And they grow fast, very fast. We must work to keep them cut back."
The floater took us some distance to get through the forest of Air Plants. We came to another doorway, which opened into an area of more tanks, and vats (long tables with raised edges to hold the liquids) in which we could see growing things. Some were gray lumpy looking things, and some seemed to be green leafy things. We could also recognize garden vegetables such as grew back home.
Hans went on talking about filters and processing and all the things they were able to grow here. He showed us more of the huge vats and tanks. We were impressed by the size and complexity of things. But it didn't mean much to us. We didn't really understand.
"Hans, can you make it simple for us. We don't understand," I said.
"Waste extraction," he said, "means to purify and recycle all the water and liquids. Water from a spring on Earth wouldn't be as pure as we make this. The solids are composted. Most are used to grow yeast protein along with carbohydrates and fats. Some we use to grow plants - all the fresh vegetables you eat in the cafeterias. We also cultivate certain insects from Earth, such as termites. They are very efficient in converting compost into useful protein. You've eaten termite protein cake in the cafeteria. It's all really the same thing that goes on back on Earth. It is nature in action. We couldn't live without it."
"Gross!" said Edna. "That's really gross! And to think I ate that!"
"Edna, just listen," said Rod. "Wait until you see everything. Then you can put it all together."
Hans just shook his head.
"But you do all this by hand?" I asked.
"We do as much by hand as seems reasonable. But we must use tools - machines - to make it possible to produce what we need. Tiberias must have huge quantities of food each day. It would be impossible to do very much by hand. We use robot harvesters and smart machines. And we call on the 'English' technicians and specialists when we need them. I should explain that our ancestors called everyone who wasn't Amish, the 'English.'"
"But on Earth, no one knows about what goes on to produce food," said Edna.
"Who knows it here?" said Hans. "No one comes out here to watch. And we are 'waste extraction.' We are isolated from life on Tiberias."
"I hadn't thought about that," I said. "You are isolated? Doesn't that bother you?"
"Not at all. We don't need other people. We have our community. We have each other. We are family. It is not all that different from what our ancestors experienced on Earth. We have made the choice to be separated people."
"You say 'isolated,'" Fred said. "Does that mean you are shunned because you are 'waste extraction'?"
"Sometimes that is true," said Hans. "But few are even aware that we are here. Rod, of course, knows us well. He is our friend."
"Hans, I hear you talking 'community'," said Molly, "but back on Earth you Amish sometimes had conflict within the group and certain people were shunned because of this. Not everyone would pay the price to be Amish."
"Yes. But you have conflict within the 'English' also. It isn't all that different. Some individual rights must be sacrificed for the good of the community. But this choice is voluntary. Those who will not conform must go elsewhere. It is vital that we work together and we must preserve the community. It cannot be otherwise. It is a choice we make."
"I suppose that's really the basis of civilization," I said. "Either cooperate, or be a hermit."
"You got it," said Hans, "cooperate. But let's go meet the families."
Hans stopped the floater at another portal. We stepped off, then followed him through a small door into the next ring.
"Our families live here," he said. "It is more pleasant and we are shielded from the noise and smells of the farms."
As we looked ahead down the street, we could see the standard pattern we had seen everywhere on Tiberias. Cubicles, only these seemed larger.
He led us to a door, touched the keypad, and led us into a huge room.
As we entered, we could see wall-screens which were showing rural scenes of mountains and trees and running streams of water."
"Sit down," he said, "and make yourself comfortable."
Then he beckoned toward the rear of the room. A woman and three small children came to meet us.
"This is Gerta, my wife, and these are Herman, Carol, and Frederick. Children are a treasure to the Amish, and we tend to large families. There are a few hundred of us here on Tiberias."
"Kayor, Gerta!" Rod said. He hugged Gerta and each of the children.
Then he introduced us all around.
"I act as a contact for the Amish," Rod said. "They are very special people."
"I'm puzzled," said Molly. "How is it that you have wall-screens and TV images? Isn't that against your 'plain' creed?"
"Tools, remember," said Hans. "You may call it rationalizing. We want to keep our link with the past. We want our children to feel close to nature as our ancestors knew it."
He touched a keypad. The wall-screens changed to show a harvest scene: horses, shocks of wheat in the old fashioned style, Amish people dressed in their distinctive clothing, working in the fields to harvest the crops, children laughing and playing and helping in their own way.
Then they changed to show a dinner scene in a large house. Many people sat at long tables and were helping themselves from the huge dishes of food. They seemed to be happy and laughing and enjoying this good time of fellowship.
They changed to show a winter scene. Snow was drifted deeply around a large house. A horse was pulling a sleigh with happy people in it. Cows were in the field, huddled together. A man was throwing hay over the fence to them.
They changed to show springtime, with women and children working in the garden, with bare feet, skirts pulled up slightly, pants legs rolled up to the knees, raking, planting seeds.
"Do you watch the TV and news programs?" asked Molly.
"Never! We have historical videos of Amish farming and people. We receive videos from our people on Earth. And from those on other Cylinders out in space. Our people will hire someone to use a video cam to make the videos for them. These videos help preserve our sense of community and our heritage, and they keep us in touch with the extended Amish community. But TV programs and the news - never! We value our isolation too much!"
"You say 'isolation' and 'sense of community.' I said. "How do you balance these two things?"
"We want to stand separate and apart from the 'English,' as our forefathers tried to do. But, we want to have intense 'community' between each of us. In fact, some of our leaders have considered a radio link between each of us Amish to allow continuous contact."
"A radio link? How would you fit that into your beliefs?"
"A tool, once again. We have heard of a radio microchip which can be implanted under the skin and spliced into nerve fibers. This would allow us to join our minds together in a way never before possible. Our Bishops on Earth would need to confer about that and approve such a radical step. But think of the possibilities! What would be the IQ of a group mind? What new concepts might open up? What new possibilities in growing things? What new biology? It boggles our minds!"
"It scares me," said Molly.
"Hans, tell us about your Church," said Rod.
"Well, we Amish trace back to the Anabaptist Movement in ancient history. You 'English' probably never heard of this. Our Church is a communal life which we live according to Christ's teaching in the New Testament portion of the Bible. He spoke of brotherly love and love of enemies; mutual service to each other; nonviolence and the refusal to bear arms. Purity and faithfulness in marriage, and children as treasure to be cherished. Each one of us gives his or her talents, time, and efforts to the good of the whole group."
"I know just what you are saying," I said. "Back on Earth I am a Historian who specializes in the Anabaptist Movement. In fact, the Churches of Christ have a lot in common with your group."
Rod spoke up. "Carl Sandor is a well known name in the study of History. He has written books, and translated some of the ancient German language documents. Carl, tell us why you think the Churches of Christ could be considered 'Anabaptist.'"
"Well, if you adjust for the difference in language, both are saying essentially the same thing. There is the minimalist approach to life and material things. Both 'lay up treasures in heaven,' so to speak. Great emphasis is placed on truth and purity."
"But you 'English' don't have the sense of community which we Amish do."
"When we are at our best we do. We often fall short, as you point out. Perhaps you have the same problem among your people also."
"That's true. We put a lot of effort into Bible study and close relationships. We are conscious of our shortcomings and failings. But we are certain that we can live as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Love and freedom and truth - not only on Sundays but from day to day."
"Again you are saying the same things which we say in the Churches of Christ. We offer our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing, a sensible way to serve God."
I am Carl Sandor, leader of the group from Earth. We are visiting Tiberias Cylinder, a city in space, home to half-a-million people. Rod is a church-elder in one of the Churches of Christ in Tiberias, who is showing us around. We have come here to experience and to learn about life as it is lived out here in space.
We had enjoyed a delicious meal at the cafeteria. Rod then mentioned that the food was grown right here on Tiberias from "yeast and whatever else they use." What was "whatever else???" We wanted to know. At least, we thought we did. Now we were not so sure.
"Rod, you said all this variety we see in the cafeteria is raised in hydroponics."
"That's right. Tiberias is a closed ecology. When you think about it, can you really throw anything away? Besides, on earth everything is eventually recycled. Animal waste is carefully composted by the farmer and put back into the soil. Waste extraction makes perfect sense. We call the whole process 'hydroponics.'"
"Gross!" said Edna. "Double gross! Waste extraction! What about germs!"
"Edna, think about it. You know there's good bacteria as well as bad bacteria. In composting, the good bacteria destroys the bad in the whole process. God set it up that way. We drink the same water and breath the same air that's been around forever. It's part of nature. We couldn't live otherwise."
"It still grosses me out!" said Edna. "I don't know if I will ever be able to eat here again! Waste extraction!"
"Tell you what," said Rod, "let's go take a look at things. You'll learn a lot about nature and about yourself by taking a good look at the hydroponics farms and what goes on there."
Rod hailed a floater and we started toward the outer rings.
We soon arrived at a huge portal closed by huge doors.
"Now you remember," Rod said, "that Tiberias is a 'canister city.' It is a canister, a metal can, large enough to enclose a city of half-a-million people. It is air tight, and the only air lost is a tiny amount when ships dock. Since it is impossible to grow air and water, these have to be brought in from Earth. Tiberias spins on its axis to create a sense of gravity, and that gravity is highest out here at the outer ring. That is why waste extraction and hydroponics have been located in this outer ring."
Rod led us through a small door at the side of the portal, into a gigantic room that seemed to go on and on into the distance. The lights were blinding. A wave of very hot steamy air hit us, along with an overpowering odor. From my childhood on the farm, I knew it as "barn-yardy." It was of course the aroma of yeast and fermentation and growing things.
"That smell," I said to Rod. "It reminds me of the farm back home."
"Certainly so," said Rod. "This is a farm here. It's just that some things about it are different. But food has to be grown. This is nature in action."
"I don't like it," said Edna. "Why couldn't we eat chemicals or something, or plastic? Why does the food have to come from such smelly sources?"
"Edna, you must take nature as it is. On Earth everyone lives in cities, and they are cut off from what really goes on to produce the food supplies. You never knew what you were eating or where it came from. But it certainly did come from natural growing things. I'll call Hans, our head farmer. He'll show us around and tell us how things work out here."
Rod touched a keypad.
Somewhere I could hear a door open and close. In the distance I could see a man coming toward us. As he got closer, I could see he appeared to be dressed all in black in an antique style.
By now the man had reached us. He had on heavy shoes, black denim trousers, which were held up by suspenders, and a black denim shirt. He had a bushy beard of reddish color, and was wearing an old style earth straw hat.
"Rod," I gasped, "what is this? He looks just like an Amishman back home in northern Usono."
"This is Hans Yoder," Rod said. "Hans, this is a group from Earth, visiting our Churches of Christ here on Tiberias."
Rod proceeded to introduce us all around.
"But I don't understand," said Fred. "I thought the Amish were tied to farmland and seventeenth century ways. What is an Amishman doing out here in space on Tiberias Cylinder?"
"Hans is as you say, an Amishman," Rod said. "He and all his commune are our food experts. They are geniuses when it comes to growing things. None of your great earth chefs can give yeast protein the exquisite tastes to equal what they can do."
"But, an Amishman, out here in space?" I said.
"Hans, tell him," Rod said.
"Well, we got to make a living. It's as simple as that. Back on Earth there was never enough farm land to go around. It costs money to feed and raise a family. Some of us had to work at other things, even in the 1900's. My great-grandfather worked in a furniture factory. My father looked out into space. No machine can do what a human can do. It was an easy step to go from working with our hands on the land to working with our hands out here in space. We Amish can work together in close cooperation. Not everyone can do that. We are a community. We understand each other."
"But you can't have horses out here?" asked Edna. "You don't have horses, do you?"
"No horses. Too expensive. But, being Amish is a way of life. We had to think that out in my grandfather's time. We love horses. But we don't need them. Horses are tools to use. We have other tools. But family is family. We stick together and work together. We are giving the gift of life to the people of Tiberias. We grow things, produce food, just like the old farms, even though conditions and things are very different out here in space. We Amish are a community and we work for the good of our community."
"But it certainly seems strange," I said. "Doesn't this conflict with everything the Amish stood for in the past? At least, what I thought they stood for."
"You got to look at it the right way. We were never against using tools. But we were against allowing tools to use us. Our fathers made the choice to be plain people. We worked wonderfully hard, but it was a celebration of life. We are a church-community, a commune if you will, who practice austere living and a family-oriented economic system. We just have different conclusions about how to live life and enjoy it."
"Hans, you surely make it sound good about plain people and hard work and celebration," said Molly. "But I don't know about your celebration of life. I read about my great-grandfather on a hillside farm in West Virginia. He called it 'hard scrabble farming,' not any celebration. He wrote that he had to work from 'it ain't light yet' to 'I can't see anymore' just to starve on the farm. It seemed to be more desperation than celebration."
"Circumstances alters cases," Hans said. "Some talked like your great-grandfather. But, 'many hands make light work' as the old saying goes, and we Amish work together. That made it easier to get along. Let me show you around. That is the best answer I can give - to show you how things work here on Tiberias."
Hans touched a keypad and a small floater came out from between two huge tanks.
"Let's go see the farm," he said.
We climbed aboard. Hans sat at the controls.
"As you know, Tiberias spins to give it gravity. We make use of this gravity to get the liquids out here to process. Tiberias Cylinder is a canister city, sealed in metal from the airlessness of space. Space is cold, but the sun is always shining on some part of Tiberias as it rotates, and the outer shell is warm. Hydroponics is the outer ring of Tiberias. We need heat for the growing process. You notice how warm it is here. The artificial light mimics the sun, but doesn't have the destructive elements that unfiltered sunlight would have. There are thousands of acres of growing things in this outer ring."
The floater began moving forward slowly. Hans pointed things out to us as we moved along.
"That row of tanks hold effluent. Over there is a reverse osmosis filtering unit. It separates pure sterile water from the effluent. The sludge left behind goes into that composter."
The floater stopped at huge doors. A fierce current of air blew into our faces as they opened, bearing the smell of vegetation. We could see a tangled forest of gigantic green and yellow vines. They reminded me of giant Morning Glories gone wild, with leaves the size of garbage-can lids, and enormous purple and blue flowers. The strong currents of air were whipping the leaves and flowers up and down.
"We call these our 'Air Plants,'" said Hans. "We developed these vines from some weeds back on Earth. They were practically indestructible."
The floater moved forward into a tunnel cut through the tangled green mass.
"Tiberias is a 'biosphere,' and the Air Plants help make life possible. You feel the strong currents of air blowing through here. These vines do an amazing job of recycling and purifying the air. Parts of them can be used for food. And they grow fast, very fast. We must work to keep them cut back."
The floater took us some distance to get through the forest of Air Plants. We came to another doorway, which opened into an area of more tanks, and vats (long tables with raised edges to hold the liquids) in which we could see growing things. Some were gray lumpy looking things, and some seemed to be green leafy things. We could also recognize garden vegetables such as grew back home.
Hans went on talking about filters and processing and all the things they were able to grow here. He showed us more of the huge vats and tanks. We were impressed by the size and complexity of things. But it didn't mean much to us. We didn't really understand.
"Hans, can you make it simple for us. We don't understand," I said.
"Waste extraction," he said, "means to purify and recycle all the water and liquids. Water from a spring on Earth wouldn't be as pure as we make this. The solids are composted. Most are used to grow yeast protein along with carbohydrates and fats. Some we use to grow plants - all the fresh vegetables you eat in the cafeterias. We also cultivate certain insects from Earth, such as termites. They are very efficient in converting compost into useful protein. You've eaten termite protein cake in the cafeteria. It's all really the same thing that goes on back on Earth. It is nature in action. We couldn't live without it."
"Gross!" said Edna. "That's really gross! And to think I ate that!"
"Edna, just listen," said Rod. "Wait until you see everything. Then you can put it all together."
Hans just shook his head.
"But you do all this by hand?" I asked.
"We do as much by hand as seems reasonable. But we must use tools - machines - to make it possible to produce what we need. Tiberias must have huge quantities of food each day. It would be impossible to do very much by hand. We use robot harvesters and smart machines. And we call on the 'English' technicians and specialists when we need them. I should explain that our ancestors called everyone who wasn't Amish, the 'English.'"
"But on Earth, no one knows about what goes on to produce food," said Edna.
"Who knows it here?" said Hans. "No one comes out here to watch. And we are 'waste extraction.' We are isolated from life on Tiberias."
"I hadn't thought about that," I said. "You are isolated? Doesn't that bother you?"
"Not at all. We don't need other people. We have our community. We have each other. We are family. It is not all that different from what our ancestors experienced on Earth. We have made the choice to be separated people."
"You say 'isolated,'" Fred said. "Does that mean you are shunned because you are 'waste extraction'?"
"Sometimes that is true," said Hans. "But few are even aware that we are here. Rod, of course, knows us well. He is our friend."
"Hans, I hear you talking 'community'," said Molly, "but back on Earth you Amish sometimes had conflict within the group and certain people were shunned because of this. Not everyone would pay the price to be Amish."
"Yes. But you have conflict within the 'English' also. It isn't all that different. Some individual rights must be sacrificed for the good of the community. But this choice is voluntary. Those who will not conform must go elsewhere. It is vital that we work together and we must preserve the community. It cannot be otherwise. It is a choice we make."
"I suppose that's really the basis of civilization," I said. "Either cooperate, or be a hermit."
"You got it," said Hans, "cooperate. But let's go meet the families."
Hans stopped the floater at another portal. We stepped off, then followed him through a small door into the next ring.
"Our families live here," he said. "It is more pleasant and we are shielded from the noise and smells of the farms."
As we looked ahead down the street, we could see the standard pattern we had seen everywhere on Tiberias. Cubicles, only these seemed larger.
He led us to a door, touched the keypad, and led us into a huge room.
As we entered, we could see wall-screens which were showing rural scenes of mountains and trees and running streams of water."
"Sit down," he said, "and make yourself comfortable."
Then he beckoned toward the rear of the room. A woman and three small children came to meet us.
"This is Gerta, my wife, and these are Herman, Carol, and Frederick. Children are a treasure to the Amish, and we tend to large families. There are a few hundred of us here on Tiberias."
"Kayor, Gerta!" Rod said. He hugged Gerta and each of the children.
Then he introduced us all around.
"I act as a contact for the Amish," Rod said. "They are very special people."
"I'm puzzled," said Molly. "How is it that you have wall-screens and TV images? Isn't that against your 'plain' creed?"
"Tools, remember," said Hans. "You may call it rationalizing. We want to keep our link with the past. We want our children to feel close to nature as our ancestors knew it."
He touched a keypad. The wall-screens changed to show a harvest scene: horses, shocks of wheat in the old fashioned style, Amish people dressed in their distinctive clothing, working in the fields to harvest the crops, children laughing and playing and helping in their own way.
Then they changed to show a dinner scene in a large house. Many people sat at long tables and were helping themselves from the huge dishes of food. They seemed to be happy and laughing and enjoying this good time of fellowship.
They changed to show a winter scene. Snow was drifted deeply around a large house. A horse was pulling a sleigh with happy people in it. Cows were in the field, huddled together. A man was throwing hay over the fence to them.
They changed to show springtime, with women and children working in the garden, with bare feet, skirts pulled up slightly, pants legs rolled up to the knees, raking, planting seeds.
"Do you watch the TV and news programs?" asked Molly.
"Never! We have historical videos of Amish farming and people. We receive videos from our people on Earth. And from those on other Cylinders out in space. Our people will hire someone to use a video cam to make the videos for them. These videos help preserve our sense of community and our heritage, and they keep us in touch with the extended Amish community. But TV programs and the news - never! We value our isolation too much!"
"You say 'isolation' and 'sense of community.' I said. "How do you balance these two things?"
"We want to stand separate and apart from the 'English,' as our forefathers tried to do. But, we want to have intense 'community' between each of us. In fact, some of our leaders have considered a radio link between each of us Amish to allow continuous contact."
"A radio link? How would you fit that into your beliefs?"
"A tool, once again. We have heard of a radio microchip which can be implanted under the skin and spliced into nerve fibers. This would allow us to join our minds together in a way never before possible. Our Bishops on Earth would need to confer about that and approve such a radical step. But think of the possibilities! What would be the IQ of a group mind? What new concepts might open up? What new possibilities in growing things? What new biology? It boggles our minds!"
"It scares me," said Molly.
"Hans, tell us about your Church," said Rod.
"Well, we Amish trace back to the Anabaptist Movement in ancient history. You 'English' probably never heard of this. Our Church is a communal life which we live according to Christ's teaching in the New Testament portion of the Bible. He spoke of brotherly love and love of enemies; mutual service to each other; nonviolence and the refusal to bear arms. Purity and faithfulness in marriage, and children as treasure to be cherished. Each one of us gives his or her talents, time, and efforts to the good of the whole group."
"I know just what you are saying," I said. "Back on Earth I am a Historian who specializes in the Anabaptist Movement. In fact, the Churches of Christ have a lot in common with your group."
Rod spoke up. "Carl Sandor is a well known name in the study of History. He has written books, and translated some of the ancient German language documents. Carl, tell us why you think the Churches of Christ could be considered 'Anabaptist.'"
"Well, if you adjust for the difference in language, both are saying essentially the same thing. There is the minimalist approach to life and material things. Both 'lay up treasures in heaven,' so to speak. Great emphasis is placed on truth and purity."
"But you 'English' don't have the sense of community which we Amish do."
"When we are at our best we do. We often fall short, as you point out. Perhaps you have the same problem among your people also."
"That's true. We put a lot of effort into Bible study and close relationships. We are conscious of our shortcomings and failings. But we are certain that we can live as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Love and freedom and truth - not only on Sundays but from day to day."
"Again you are saying the same things which we say in the Churches of Christ. We offer our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing, a sensible way to serve God."
Big Al Mowrer chapter 8
BIG AL MOWRER chapter 8
It was 0630 on Monday. A siren screamed its warning. The tractor beam seized a battered ore-freighter and maneuvered it out into space, away from Tiberias Cylinder. When it was at a safe distance, the Onboard Computer blasted the jets and the ship was in a trajectory to Old Earth. In something as slow as the ore-freighter, it would take some time to complete the trip.
A few days earlier, Carl Sandor had seen a man slip furtively into the solarium. He seemed to be watching events across the corridor. A squad from Peace & Safety had stopped their floater in front of his cubicle.
Big Al Mowrer watched helplessly. The Consto was standing in front of the cubicle. Two others came out struggling with Big Al's wife Linda, who was putting up a good fight. The two children, Cleo and Dee, were kicking and biting and trying to get their mother free. The Consto coldly dropped Linda with his stunner. She collapsed on the street surface. He did the same to the children. The squad picked them up and dumped them on the floater. They sped away down the corridor.
Big Al ground his teeth in agony. He banged his head against the wall. What could he do? What could anyone do? No one broke out of detention. Not on Tiberias. Back on Earth, a man could run and hide and run some more - if you could believe those old tales. "Chevalachoy!" swore Big Al [in Basic, of course, something to do with horses]. On Tiberias there was no place to run and hide. Oh, there were "bolt holes" to be found. But with the yobs who hid out there, you might as well cut your own throat and be done with it.
After a few minutes, he went across to his cubicle. He punched in his code but the lock would not respond. "Oy!" he swore. He took out his knife, flipped out the screwdriver blade, and carefully unscrewed the panel. He searched for a pair of red and black wires, and shorted them with the knife blade. The door slid open. He reached out to touch the light control. Nothing happened. He went into the Necessary and touched the water control. Nothing. Dry. The air was silent and becoming stale.
He slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. Then he put his bruised knuckles in his mouth. With great care he slipped out into the corridor, looking right and left. Then started off to Tiny's cubicle.
Big Al and those like him are misfits on Tiberias. Not really happy in the present circumstances of a strictly ordered society such as this. Somewhat irreligious, even anti-religous at times. He is much like a Viking or a cowboy such as the videos portray. He loves his family with a passion. And he is loyal to his clan. He is highly intelligent, even brilliant. He can analyze a situation quickly. But for most of his short life, he and his clan have been fighting a war with the Establishment. He has worked at his job with particular skill. But, at the same time, made attacks, retreats, strategic maneuverings, all according to a strict set of rules which he followed without being consciously aware of this. Not willing to be told what to do, he and the clan had to use the last ounce of their energy to oppose what they viewed as oppression.
Big Al punched in the code and the door to Tiny's cubicle slid open. As he went in, he could see two others there.
"Where's Tiny?"
"They took him to detention," Wild Bill answered. "They took Wanda and the rug rats too."
"They've picked up everyone but us three," added Screwball.
"I knew about Cherokee and Peg Leg," Big Al said. [Peg Leg had refused a prosthetic, and wore an actual wooden peg leg, just as was done on Old Earth in the videos.] "They have our families! What can we do now? Anyone have an idea?"
They sat in silence for a time.
Finally Big Al stood up. "We might as well go in and give ourselves up."
"Yeah," said Wild Bill. "Maybe if we give them that 'bad little boy' routine, we can get off. It would be worth a try."
But deep down each had the feeling that this time would be different. What choice did they have? Not on Tiberias. Old Earth was just a fairy tale to tell the children. This was reality.
"Carl, I mentioned Ford Morris, who is a Consto in Peace & Safety. He is a brother in Christ. How would all of you like to go to the Hall of Justice and see where he works?"
We jumped at the chance. This would show us more about Tiberias.
Rod hailed a floater. We traveled some distance, then came to a building labeled simply: "Justice." Rod led us into the building, down a hallway, into a large room. We found a seat at the side, near the wall.
I looked around. It was a typical courtroom. There were some old fashioned touches, and a few that reminded me of the sailing ships in the videos.
"Carl, do you remember that man you saw in the solarium the first day, the one dressed as a technician?"
"Yes, Rod," I said.
"He and his Clan are to be deported to Earth. The trial is just about to begin. It is a sad case, but it has reached the point of no return."
"You said something about him being a misfit, of not being willing to adapt" Fred said.
"Yes. Tiberias has to function in a somewhat severe way. It's is like Hong Kong back on Earth in the 20th century. With such a dense population, everyone must cooperate. Some 'rights' must be given up for the good of all."
"I suppose that's 'civilization,'" I said.
"Yes," said Rod. "It allows us to coexist in a peaceful way."
Meanwhile, the other Clan members were seated in front, facing the judge. A court appointed attorney sat with them.
Wild Bill came in, along with Big Al and Screwball. The Hall of Justice was a place they knew well. They had been in Detention many times. They went up front to sit with the clan.
They saw "His honor," the Commissioner behind his desk. Big Al thought to himself they would get no respect or leniency from that "brass bound Achulo!"
Big Al's glance swung to the other chair. It was that dratted "head shrinker" who had interviewed him last week.. She really blew their chances.
The Provo rang his ship's bell [a real antique from Earth] to call this court into session. On the wall behind the Commissioner, a read-out appeared on the wall-screen listing past misdeeds by Big Al and the Clan.
"Atentu!" barked the Provo. "Ekstaru!" ["Attention!" Stand up!"]
Big Al and the Clan sprang to their feet. They waited. The hammer was about to fall.
"This court is in session," the Provo said. "The City of Tiberias Cylinder versus Al Mowrer and his cohorts. We are here to assign penalties. This matter has already been thoroughly studied and a just decision rendered. This comes as the climax of more than a year of careful investigation. Stand forth and hear your sentence."
"Al Mowrer," said the Commissioner, "you and your bunch of one-percenters [an old Earth term, meaning a severe troublemaker] are hereby terminated and deported. Tiberias will not deal with your kind screwing things up. Therefore, we have attached all your credit accounts. These will just pay for an ore-freighter we happen to have on hand; plus outfitting it for a one-way trip to Old Earth. You won't like the accommodations. If you and your bunch are lucky, Earth Control just might land you in a wilderness area. That's the chance you get. It's better than you deserve, considering all the trouble you have caused the City of Tiberias. We have programmed the ship's Onboard Computer to take you to Earth. We have locked the controls so you can't change any of the settings. You cannot alter your course. May God have mercy on your souls! Take them away."
"Wow!" said Big Al. "Maybe this is good. It might be the break we all wanted. Old Earth! My great-grandfather came from there. Maybe we are going home!"
"Move! Out the door!" Pain stabbed through his arm as the guard applied his "come along."
Big Al led the way as usual. They were marched to the shuttle in the corridor. The Clan was some thirty in all. The guards followed. When they were loaded, the shuttle moved off down the corridor, along the main passageway, straight to the Spaceport.
The guards jumped off and herded them through the Spaceport, through a doorway, past a bulkhead. And there, in the viewing window, was the ore-freighter.
They stood speechless! Finally Wild Bill spoke. "We are going to Earth in that? Why didn't we just cut our throats?"
"Rod," I said. "I don't understand. What's this about an ore-freighter? And I don't understand about them being deported to Earth, of all places. What will Earth do with them?"
"Carl, there are still wilderness areas on Earth. A few people wish to find happiness in a primitive living situation, such as the videos glorify. But the reality of this would be brutal. Think of facing the raw wilderness without any of the help we have grown accustomed to. No facilities, no power, no food synthisizers, nothing bur nature in the very raw."
"And the ore-freighter?" Fred asked.
"Well," Rod said, "remember that out here in Space metal is priceless. A ship is used until it just isn't cost effective to keep it in service. At this point it to goes to salvage to be scrapped. But we cannot waste anything. Salvage cuts up the scrapped ships, finds some good pieces and welds them together to create a hull that can be used. Now, find an engine that can be coaxed into life, and a guidance system that will work at least well enough to do the job. And the ship doesn't need to be airtight, except for the cabin in which the crew will live. This is the ore-freighter that Ford Prefect has been using for some years. Tiberias took it from him as payment to settle back taxes."
This is what Wild Bill and the others saw. Blasted, dented, patched, peeling plates, the cabin section made airtight with dumdum [a kind of metallic putty]. Even an ore-freighter must someday come to the end of the line.
Big Al banged his head against the wall. "Chevalachoy!" he swore. "Tell me this piece of junk is going to be coaxed to fly at all! And to Earth?"
They all stood in stunned silence.
"All right. Get on board. Let's go." The guards shoved them through the airlock, down the umbilical tunnel and into the crew compartment. This was the only part of the freighter that would hold air.
Ford Morris, the Consto, had followed them. Now he spoke. "Your personal things have all been packed aboard. There is air and water. If you are careful, these supplies should just about get you to Earth. You understand that we cannot do more. You wanted freedom and now you have it. Who knows what you will find on Earth? For whatever it is worth, we wish you well."
The Consto and the guards left. The door clanged shut and sealed. The die was cast.
The women and children were screaming and crying and holding each other. Big Al raised his fists to the heavens and shouted! "Jesus! God! If You are there! If there is any justice! Get us to Earth! Safely! Please!"
And perhaps God heard this.
Was this a prayer? Big All was not very religious. Yet, is there any person at all who never thinks of death and future life and 'God' and how all this fits into the big picture?
But was Big Al a believer? He had some contact with the Church of Christ on Tiberias. He worked with others who were believers. Down deep in his subconscious we would find the names of Jesus, God, etc. It would not be unbelievable, then, that in this extreme crisis in his life, facing danger to all he holds dear - to whatever degree he is capable - he would cry out to God.
As Rod would say: "Certainly God is aware of all that happens in His Universe."
The tractor beam seized the ore-freighter and moved it out a safe distance from Tiberias. The Consto touched a button. An electronic pulse went out. The Onboard Computer set about its duties. The jets blasted. The ship and its passengers were on their way to Earth.
The ship's engines were in bad repair. They emitted a low-pitched grinding squeal that set all their teeth on edge. Worse, there was a subsonic rumble that rose to a peak once each hour. It produced a queasy feeling in their bowels. Some of the children soon developed a diarrhea. There was one Necessary, enough for a normal crew of six to just get by. But not the thirty who were crowded into the small space.
As the numbness wore off, tempers became shorter. None of these were noted for their patience. On Tiberias, some of them would have just gotten drunk. Nothing stronger than water here. Nothing to dull the pain and to keep them from thinking and feeling.
Big Al took charge, as he usually did. Something had to be done.
"Hey, Linda! Break out those rations. Let's see what they left us. We got to get organized."
Two large boxes turned up. One was filled with cartons of water and small boxes of food concentrates. This would keep them alive for a few days.
The second box was filled with fresh fruit from hydroponics. A note enclosed said, "Greetings! We wanted to help. With Christian love - The Church of Christ."
Big Al shook his head. "Those Bible-thumpers! They are everywhere!" But he certainly looked happy. All that fruit tipped the balance. No one would go hungry.
"All right!" shouted Big Al. "Let's get it together! No use crying over spilled suds."
"Hey, Screwball," he said. "What can you do about those engines?"
"Sorry, Al. No air back there. And the housings around the engines are probably welded shut anyway. There's nothing we can do. Just got to live with it."
"Oy! Some choice!" said Big Al. "Okay. Like I said, we've got to get organized. That's the only way."
"Al, can't you do something?" said Wanda. "We're getting in each other's way."
"All right. This is how it's got to be. We will sleep in shifts. That way, while some are sleeping, the rest of us will try not to kill each other. Then it will be our turn in the sack.
"Screwball, flip a coin."
Big Al won the toss. He chose some others to make fifteen, including his own family. They squeezed into the bunks in the sleeping area as well as they could. Some had to sleep on the floor. The engines continued to make their hideous din.
Lois and Waneeta went into the galley area and began rationing out the food and water. The others tried to find some sort of comfortable place. No radio. No TV. Not even anything to read. Time hung heavy on their hands.
Screwball worked his way to the control panel.
"Al, there isn't much fuel left! It'll be a tricky landing with the Computer doing its best."
"Well, it's out of our hands. Big Al raised his hands to God and shouted: "God! Give us a landing we can walk away from! Put us in a wilderness area near where Greatgrandad came from!"
Everybody shouted: "Amen!"
The com screen lit up. The face of a young woman looked out.
"Approaching ship. This is Earth Control. Identify yourself."
Big Al ran to the com screen and touched the control pad. He stood where the camera could pick him up.
"Earth Control. This is an ore-freighter out of Tiberias. I am Big Al Mowrer, with my family and friends."
"Okay. That agrees with our information. Now hear this. I am taking control of your Onboard Computer. I have orders to land you as smoothly as possible, notice I said, as possible, in a remote area of what they once called West Virginia, in Usono. I understand you want freedom and a primitive life. You got it. I will try to land you in a treeless area that is mostly flat. There are a few big rocks that will damage your ship. But since it will never fly again, that's no problem. Better strap in and hold on tight!"
"Wow!" said Big Al. "My great-grandfather lived in West Virginia. Maybe we'll get lucky!"
Strap in," shouted Al! "It's going to be a rough ride!"
Mothers grabbed their children. Everyone strapped in and tied themselves in place as best they could to protect against the shock of crashing when they landed.
"I wonder where we are?" said Waneeta.
"I can't see the instruments. It will take us a few minutes to get down," said Big Al. "You can't hurry these things."
The retro jets fired a burst, slamming them against the restraints. A pot from the galley smashed against the bulkhead.
The retro jets fired again, and they were in Earth's atmosphere.
"Al," shouted Screwball, "I can smell hot metal! The ship's skin is heating up from the friction of the air!"
Then the steering jets fired, sluing the ore-freighter violently.
Suddenly the retro jets came on full! The ore-freighter reacted as though it had run into a stone wall. Then the engines died. The fuel was gone.
The ship dropped in a steep dive. It tore through the trees on the top of a high mountain. Then striking a hilltop, it bounced along before crashing down the slope into the meadow. It skidded along, throwing up clouds of dust and debris, rocks tearing at the metal hull. Finally as the ship smashed against the hillside, it rolled on its side.
It took a few minutes for everyone to realize what had happened and where they were. The floor was sideways and they could smell smoke and fumes. As they untied themselves and loosed the restraints, they fell against what had been the wall.
"Wow!" said Screwball. "I never want to do that again!"
Big Al took charge. He helped the others to find some sort of order. It took some time to get everyone settled down again. This had been a terrifying experience.
Big Al pushed his way through and tried to open the airlock.
"Tiny! Somebody! Help me get this door open!"
Tiny and Screwball rushed to help. They struggled and strained but the door would not budge.
"It's no use," said Tiny. "The ship must be laying on the door. We can't get it open."
Al, moved back, stood up, then banged his fist against the ship. "Screwball, this blasted ship is laying on the airlock. What can we do?"
"Let me see what I can find."
Screwball worked his way to the control panel. He braced himself so he could read the screen, then began touching keys. He was searching for some sort of schematic which might show a possible way of escape. A diagram filed the screen. He muttered and touched delete. Then a new diagram filled the screen. He continued searching for some time.
"Al, look here! There should be a service door beneath this floor panel."
Al looked closely at the screen, then began counting the floor panels. He took his knife and began taking out the fasteners which held it. It was sealed with dumdum and he peeled this away. He pried up the panel, then lifted it aside.
Screwball hunched down in the cavity and began peeling off the dumdum which sealed the service door. He unlocked the door, but he could not move it. Then he began kicking it with his feet. Finally he braced himself and pushed against it as hard as he could.
Nothing happened at first. Then slowly the door came open.
"Al! We're home free!"
"Well crawl on out and see what we've got," Al said.
Screwball stuck his head through the door. He could see the hillside. So he crawled across the side of the ship to the ground.
"Come on," he shouted. "Come out and see our new home!"
"Blowout!" Edna screamed. "I can feel the air!"
"Edna," said Big Al, "that's the wind just like I read about. There is nothing here to blow out. We're not on Tiberias. This is out in the wild wet woods of West Virginia as Granddad called it."
"Al, we've got to find shelter. We're out in the open. We can't live in the ship anymore. What'll we do?"
"Screwball, we just have to look around. There's an old house or barn or something around here. Maybe even a cave. We just have to find it."
"Hey everybody! Spread out and begin looking for some sort of shelter. We got to find a place where we can live."
(to be continued.)
It was 0630 on Monday. A siren screamed its warning. The tractor beam seized a battered ore-freighter and maneuvered it out into space, away from Tiberias Cylinder. When it was at a safe distance, the Onboard Computer blasted the jets and the ship was in a trajectory to Old Earth. In something as slow as the ore-freighter, it would take some time to complete the trip.
A few days earlier, Carl Sandor had seen a man slip furtively into the solarium. He seemed to be watching events across the corridor. A squad from Peace & Safety had stopped their floater in front of his cubicle.
Big Al Mowrer watched helplessly. The Consto was standing in front of the cubicle. Two others came out struggling with Big Al's wife Linda, who was putting up a good fight. The two children, Cleo and Dee, were kicking and biting and trying to get their mother free. The Consto coldly dropped Linda with his stunner. She collapsed on the street surface. He did the same to the children. The squad picked them up and dumped them on the floater. They sped away down the corridor.
Big Al ground his teeth in agony. He banged his head against the wall. What could he do? What could anyone do? No one broke out of detention. Not on Tiberias. Back on Earth, a man could run and hide and run some more - if you could believe those old tales. "Chevalachoy!" swore Big Al [in Basic, of course, something to do with horses]. On Tiberias there was no place to run and hide. Oh, there were "bolt holes" to be found. But with the yobs who hid out there, you might as well cut your own throat and be done with it.
After a few minutes, he went across to his cubicle. He punched in his code but the lock would not respond. "Oy!" he swore. He took out his knife, flipped out the screwdriver blade, and carefully unscrewed the panel. He searched for a pair of red and black wires, and shorted them with the knife blade. The door slid open. He reached out to touch the light control. Nothing happened. He went into the Necessary and touched the water control. Nothing. Dry. The air was silent and becoming stale.
He slammed his fist against the wall in frustration. Then he put his bruised knuckles in his mouth. With great care he slipped out into the corridor, looking right and left. Then started off to Tiny's cubicle.
Big Al and those like him are misfits on Tiberias. Not really happy in the present circumstances of a strictly ordered society such as this. Somewhat irreligious, even anti-religous at times. He is much like a Viking or a cowboy such as the videos portray. He loves his family with a passion. And he is loyal to his clan. He is highly intelligent, even brilliant. He can analyze a situation quickly. But for most of his short life, he and his clan have been fighting a war with the Establishment. He has worked at his job with particular skill. But, at the same time, made attacks, retreats, strategic maneuverings, all according to a strict set of rules which he followed without being consciously aware of this. Not willing to be told what to do, he and the clan had to use the last ounce of their energy to oppose what they viewed as oppression.
Big Al punched in the code and the door to Tiny's cubicle slid open. As he went in, he could see two others there.
"Where's Tiny?"
"They took him to detention," Wild Bill answered. "They took Wanda and the rug rats too."
"They've picked up everyone but us three," added Screwball.
"I knew about Cherokee and Peg Leg," Big Al said. [Peg Leg had refused a prosthetic, and wore an actual wooden peg leg, just as was done on Old Earth in the videos.] "They have our families! What can we do now? Anyone have an idea?"
They sat in silence for a time.
Finally Big Al stood up. "We might as well go in and give ourselves up."
"Yeah," said Wild Bill. "Maybe if we give them that 'bad little boy' routine, we can get off. It would be worth a try."
But deep down each had the feeling that this time would be different. What choice did they have? Not on Tiberias. Old Earth was just a fairy tale to tell the children. This was reality.
"Carl, I mentioned Ford Morris, who is a Consto in Peace & Safety. He is a brother in Christ. How would all of you like to go to the Hall of Justice and see where he works?"
We jumped at the chance. This would show us more about Tiberias.
Rod hailed a floater. We traveled some distance, then came to a building labeled simply: "Justice." Rod led us into the building, down a hallway, into a large room. We found a seat at the side, near the wall.
I looked around. It was a typical courtroom. There were some old fashioned touches, and a few that reminded me of the sailing ships in the videos.
"Carl, do you remember that man you saw in the solarium the first day, the one dressed as a technician?"
"Yes, Rod," I said.
"He and his Clan are to be deported to Earth. The trial is just about to begin. It is a sad case, but it has reached the point of no return."
"You said something about him being a misfit, of not being willing to adapt" Fred said.
"Yes. Tiberias has to function in a somewhat severe way. It's is like Hong Kong back on Earth in the 20th century. With such a dense population, everyone must cooperate. Some 'rights' must be given up for the good of all."
"I suppose that's 'civilization,'" I said.
"Yes," said Rod. "It allows us to coexist in a peaceful way."
Meanwhile, the other Clan members were seated in front, facing the judge. A court appointed attorney sat with them.
Wild Bill came in, along with Big Al and Screwball. The Hall of Justice was a place they knew well. They had been in Detention many times. They went up front to sit with the clan.
They saw "His honor," the Commissioner behind his desk. Big Al thought to himself they would get no respect or leniency from that "brass bound Achulo!"
Big Al's glance swung to the other chair. It was that dratted "head shrinker" who had interviewed him last week.. She really blew their chances.
The Provo rang his ship's bell [a real antique from Earth] to call this court into session. On the wall behind the Commissioner, a read-out appeared on the wall-screen listing past misdeeds by Big Al and the Clan.
"Atentu!" barked the Provo. "Ekstaru!" ["Attention!" Stand up!"]
Big Al and the Clan sprang to their feet. They waited. The hammer was about to fall.
"This court is in session," the Provo said. "The City of Tiberias Cylinder versus Al Mowrer and his cohorts. We are here to assign penalties. This matter has already been thoroughly studied and a just decision rendered. This comes as the climax of more than a year of careful investigation. Stand forth and hear your sentence."
"Al Mowrer," said the Commissioner, "you and your bunch of one-percenters [an old Earth term, meaning a severe troublemaker] are hereby terminated and deported. Tiberias will not deal with your kind screwing things up. Therefore, we have attached all your credit accounts. These will just pay for an ore-freighter we happen to have on hand; plus outfitting it for a one-way trip to Old Earth. You won't like the accommodations. If you and your bunch are lucky, Earth Control just might land you in a wilderness area. That's the chance you get. It's better than you deserve, considering all the trouble you have caused the City of Tiberias. We have programmed the ship's Onboard Computer to take you to Earth. We have locked the controls so you can't change any of the settings. You cannot alter your course. May God have mercy on your souls! Take them away."
"Wow!" said Big Al. "Maybe this is good. It might be the break we all wanted. Old Earth! My great-grandfather came from there. Maybe we are going home!"
"Move! Out the door!" Pain stabbed through his arm as the guard applied his "come along."
Big Al led the way as usual. They were marched to the shuttle in the corridor. The Clan was some thirty in all. The guards followed. When they were loaded, the shuttle moved off down the corridor, along the main passageway, straight to the Spaceport.
The guards jumped off and herded them through the Spaceport, through a doorway, past a bulkhead. And there, in the viewing window, was the ore-freighter.
They stood speechless! Finally Wild Bill spoke. "We are going to Earth in that? Why didn't we just cut our throats?"
"Rod," I said. "I don't understand. What's this about an ore-freighter? And I don't understand about them being deported to Earth, of all places. What will Earth do with them?"
"Carl, there are still wilderness areas on Earth. A few people wish to find happiness in a primitive living situation, such as the videos glorify. But the reality of this would be brutal. Think of facing the raw wilderness without any of the help we have grown accustomed to. No facilities, no power, no food synthisizers, nothing bur nature in the very raw."
"And the ore-freighter?" Fred asked.
"Well," Rod said, "remember that out here in Space metal is priceless. A ship is used until it just isn't cost effective to keep it in service. At this point it to goes to salvage to be scrapped. But we cannot waste anything. Salvage cuts up the scrapped ships, finds some good pieces and welds them together to create a hull that can be used. Now, find an engine that can be coaxed into life, and a guidance system that will work at least well enough to do the job. And the ship doesn't need to be airtight, except for the cabin in which the crew will live. This is the ore-freighter that Ford Prefect has been using for some years. Tiberias took it from him as payment to settle back taxes."
This is what Wild Bill and the others saw. Blasted, dented, patched, peeling plates, the cabin section made airtight with dumdum [a kind of metallic putty]. Even an ore-freighter must someday come to the end of the line.
Big Al banged his head against the wall. "Chevalachoy!" he swore. "Tell me this piece of junk is going to be coaxed to fly at all! And to Earth?"
They all stood in stunned silence.
"All right. Get on board. Let's go." The guards shoved them through the airlock, down the umbilical tunnel and into the crew compartment. This was the only part of the freighter that would hold air.
Ford Morris, the Consto, had followed them. Now he spoke. "Your personal things have all been packed aboard. There is air and water. If you are careful, these supplies should just about get you to Earth. You understand that we cannot do more. You wanted freedom and now you have it. Who knows what you will find on Earth? For whatever it is worth, we wish you well."
The Consto and the guards left. The door clanged shut and sealed. The die was cast.
The women and children were screaming and crying and holding each other. Big Al raised his fists to the heavens and shouted! "Jesus! God! If You are there! If there is any justice! Get us to Earth! Safely! Please!"
And perhaps God heard this.
Was this a prayer? Big All was not very religious. Yet, is there any person at all who never thinks of death and future life and 'God' and how all this fits into the big picture?
But was Big Al a believer? He had some contact with the Church of Christ on Tiberias. He worked with others who were believers. Down deep in his subconscious we would find the names of Jesus, God, etc. It would not be unbelievable, then, that in this extreme crisis in his life, facing danger to all he holds dear - to whatever degree he is capable - he would cry out to God.
As Rod would say: "Certainly God is aware of all that happens in His Universe."
The tractor beam seized the ore-freighter and moved it out a safe distance from Tiberias. The Consto touched a button. An electronic pulse went out. The Onboard Computer set about its duties. The jets blasted. The ship and its passengers were on their way to Earth.
The ship's engines were in bad repair. They emitted a low-pitched grinding squeal that set all their teeth on edge. Worse, there was a subsonic rumble that rose to a peak once each hour. It produced a queasy feeling in their bowels. Some of the children soon developed a diarrhea. There was one Necessary, enough for a normal crew of six to just get by. But not the thirty who were crowded into the small space.
As the numbness wore off, tempers became shorter. None of these were noted for their patience. On Tiberias, some of them would have just gotten drunk. Nothing stronger than water here. Nothing to dull the pain and to keep them from thinking and feeling.
Big Al took charge, as he usually did. Something had to be done.
"Hey, Linda! Break out those rations. Let's see what they left us. We got to get organized."
Two large boxes turned up. One was filled with cartons of water and small boxes of food concentrates. This would keep them alive for a few days.
The second box was filled with fresh fruit from hydroponics. A note enclosed said, "Greetings! We wanted to help. With Christian love - The Church of Christ."
Big Al shook his head. "Those Bible-thumpers! They are everywhere!" But he certainly looked happy. All that fruit tipped the balance. No one would go hungry.
"All right!" shouted Big Al. "Let's get it together! No use crying over spilled suds."
"Hey, Screwball," he said. "What can you do about those engines?"
"Sorry, Al. No air back there. And the housings around the engines are probably welded shut anyway. There's nothing we can do. Just got to live with it."
"Oy! Some choice!" said Big Al. "Okay. Like I said, we've got to get organized. That's the only way."
"Al, can't you do something?" said Wanda. "We're getting in each other's way."
"All right. This is how it's got to be. We will sleep in shifts. That way, while some are sleeping, the rest of us will try not to kill each other. Then it will be our turn in the sack.
"Screwball, flip a coin."
Big Al won the toss. He chose some others to make fifteen, including his own family. They squeezed into the bunks in the sleeping area as well as they could. Some had to sleep on the floor. The engines continued to make their hideous din.
Lois and Waneeta went into the galley area and began rationing out the food and water. The others tried to find some sort of comfortable place. No radio. No TV. Not even anything to read. Time hung heavy on their hands.
Screwball worked his way to the control panel.
"Al, there isn't much fuel left! It'll be a tricky landing with the Computer doing its best."
"Well, it's out of our hands. Big Al raised his hands to God and shouted: "God! Give us a landing we can walk away from! Put us in a wilderness area near where Greatgrandad came from!"
Everybody shouted: "Amen!"
The com screen lit up. The face of a young woman looked out.
"Approaching ship. This is Earth Control. Identify yourself."
Big Al ran to the com screen and touched the control pad. He stood where the camera could pick him up.
"Earth Control. This is an ore-freighter out of Tiberias. I am Big Al Mowrer, with my family and friends."
"Okay. That agrees with our information. Now hear this. I am taking control of your Onboard Computer. I have orders to land you as smoothly as possible, notice I said, as possible, in a remote area of what they once called West Virginia, in Usono. I understand you want freedom and a primitive life. You got it. I will try to land you in a treeless area that is mostly flat. There are a few big rocks that will damage your ship. But since it will never fly again, that's no problem. Better strap in and hold on tight!"
"Wow!" said Big Al. "My great-grandfather lived in West Virginia. Maybe we'll get lucky!"
Strap in," shouted Al! "It's going to be a rough ride!"
Mothers grabbed their children. Everyone strapped in and tied themselves in place as best they could to protect against the shock of crashing when they landed.
"I wonder where we are?" said Waneeta.
"I can't see the instruments. It will take us a few minutes to get down," said Big Al. "You can't hurry these things."
The retro jets fired a burst, slamming them against the restraints. A pot from the galley smashed against the bulkhead.
The retro jets fired again, and they were in Earth's atmosphere.
"Al," shouted Screwball, "I can smell hot metal! The ship's skin is heating up from the friction of the air!"
Then the steering jets fired, sluing the ore-freighter violently.
Suddenly the retro jets came on full! The ore-freighter reacted as though it had run into a stone wall. Then the engines died. The fuel was gone.
The ship dropped in a steep dive. It tore through the trees on the top of a high mountain. Then striking a hilltop, it bounced along before crashing down the slope into the meadow. It skidded along, throwing up clouds of dust and debris, rocks tearing at the metal hull. Finally as the ship smashed against the hillside, it rolled on its side.
It took a few minutes for everyone to realize what had happened and where they were. The floor was sideways and they could smell smoke and fumes. As they untied themselves and loosed the restraints, they fell against what had been the wall.
"Wow!" said Screwball. "I never want to do that again!"
Big Al took charge. He helped the others to find some sort of order. It took some time to get everyone settled down again. This had been a terrifying experience.
Big Al pushed his way through and tried to open the airlock.
"Tiny! Somebody! Help me get this door open!"
Tiny and Screwball rushed to help. They struggled and strained but the door would not budge.
"It's no use," said Tiny. "The ship must be laying on the door. We can't get it open."
Al, moved back, stood up, then banged his fist against the ship. "Screwball, this blasted ship is laying on the airlock. What can we do?"
"Let me see what I can find."
Screwball worked his way to the control panel. He braced himself so he could read the screen, then began touching keys. He was searching for some sort of schematic which might show a possible way of escape. A diagram filed the screen. He muttered and touched delete. Then a new diagram filled the screen. He continued searching for some time.
"Al, look here! There should be a service door beneath this floor panel."
Al looked closely at the screen, then began counting the floor panels. He took his knife and began taking out the fasteners which held it. It was sealed with dumdum and he peeled this away. He pried up the panel, then lifted it aside.
Screwball hunched down in the cavity and began peeling off the dumdum which sealed the service door. He unlocked the door, but he could not move it. Then he began kicking it with his feet. Finally he braced himself and pushed against it as hard as he could.
Nothing happened at first. Then slowly the door came open.
"Al! We're home free!"
"Well crawl on out and see what we've got," Al said.
Screwball stuck his head through the door. He could see the hillside. So he crawled across the side of the ship to the ground.
"Come on," he shouted. "Come out and see our new home!"
"Blowout!" Edna screamed. "I can feel the air!"
"Edna," said Big Al, "that's the wind just like I read about. There is nothing here to blow out. We're not on Tiberias. This is out in the wild wet woods of West Virginia as Granddad called it."
"Al, we've got to find shelter. We're out in the open. We can't live in the ship anymore. What'll we do?"
"Screwball, we just have to look around. There's an old house or barn or something around here. Maybe even a cave. We just have to find it."
"Hey everybody! Spread out and begin looking for some sort of shelter. We got to find a place where we can live."
(to be continued.)
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