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Order this writing in the collection book Unlocking the Mysteries available for only $1795 |
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This appears in a pre-2010 issue
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SOUL TRAVELER
Eric J. Krause
Joshua walked down the dark, deserted stretch of beach, muttering to himself.
How could he miss such a glorious opportunity?
Cindy told him flat out she wasn’t seeing anyone.
She also made sure to hint that she loved Italian food.
And what did he do?
He agreed with her that Italian food was indeed excellent.
And that was all he said.
He took a swipe at the sand with his foot.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Joshua plopped down in the slightly damp sand.
At least he could watch the waves crash in the moonlight.
He loved the beach during the day, but at night, with no one around, it became magical.
If only he could enjoy it more tonight.
Damn.
The waves pounded into the shore and the stars twinkled above.
As crummy as he felt, Joshua had to admit it was all so beautiful.
He even witnessed a shooting star.
And then another.
But this one wouldn’t end.
It started near the horizon over the ocean and kept coming towards him.
Only when it was directly above him did it wink out.
Joshua smiled at such a wondrous sight, by far the longest shooting star he’d ever seen.
His smile, though, faded.
Above him, at about the same point where the shooting star had vanished, something was falling towards him.
Whatever it was, he could hear a whistling sound accompanying it.
He stumbled to his feet, not wanting to be under it when it landed.
He didn’t have to wait long to find out what it was.
The object crashed down ten feet to his left.
Sand sprayed all over him, and he had to spit out practically a whole mouthful.
He tiptoed over to the newly formed crater and looked down.
It was only a few feet deep, but whatever had hit now lay buried beneath a layer of sand.
Joshua didn’t know whether he should dig it out or run away.
Before he could decide, a hissing sound issued forth from the hole, and a metallic form pushed through the sand.
It floated up and out onto the ground next to him.
It was a shiny, black sphere, about a foot in diameter, smooth except for a small ridge that ran around its center.
Joshua held his breath, waiting for it to explode or something.
It didn’t.
In fact, it didn’t do anything.
Joshua knelt next to it, careful not to touch.
He still couldn’t see what it was.
He took a deep breath and poked it with his finger.
As soon as his skin made contact, the top of the sphere, from the ridge above, disappeared.
Joshua let out a gasp and jumped back.
“Greetings,” a computerized voice from the half-sphere said.
Joshua stepped closer to see if anything alive was in there.
It looked empty.
“Hello?” Joshua said.
“Who said that?”
“I am a traveler from a far off galaxy.
I have been traveling eons to reach your planet.”
It had to be a trick of some sort.
It just had to be.
“Earthman?
Can you respond?”
Joshua had to catch his breath before he could say anything.
“What is this?”
“This, Earthman, is my traveling device, what you would call a spaceship.
In Earth terms, it might be called a soulship.”
“Soulship?”
“When I left my planet, my body remained behind.
A trip this long would have rendered my body useless, no matter what care had been given to preserve it.
This device allows only my soul to travel.
In essence, I can live forever.
Or you can.
Or anyone who chooses to travel like this.”
Joshua again glanced into the sphere.
It still looked empty.
“Earthman, would you like to travel in my soulship?
You can see places others of your species will never see.
You will live forever.
Would you not like that, Earthman?”
“Why are you offering this to me?”
“I would like to explore your world.
I can not do that unless I have a host body.
My sensors directed my ship to you, and your body looks able enough.”
Joshua’s breath came in sharp, ragged bursts.
How could this be happening?
He must have fallen asleep watching the waves.
That was the only explanation.
But the longer Joshua stared at the shiny half-sphere, the more reality sunk in.
An extra-terrestrial being really was offering him the chance to travel through space.
And to top it off, it was throwing in eternal life.
“Earthman, I need your decision.”
This couldn’t be all perfect.
“What’s the catch?”
“Isolation.
Pure and complete isolation.
You will have access to all the information the universe has to offer, but it will grant no companionship.
You will also never see your home again.
If you choose to come back sometime in your future, so much time will have passed that the planet you left will no longer exist as you remember it.
Decide.”
Joshua froze.
A million thoughts ran through his mind, but none were coherent.
He tried to speak, tried to say yes, but couldn’t.
“Decide.”
Space travel.
Everlasting life.
Infinite knowledge.
What more could he want?
He tried to speak, tried to say yes, but couldn’t.
“Decide.”
Cindy.
What if she was the one for him?
He could ask her to dinner on Monday.
He just had to wait out the weekend.
“Last chance, Earthman.
Decide now.”
Of course, he couldn’t give up this chance for her.
They hadn’t even gone on a single date.
She wasn’t worth it.
He tried to speak, tried to say yes, but couldn’t.
The being inside said nothing more.
The top of the sphere reappeared, and the soulship hovered off the ground.
Five seconds later, it blasted high into the night.
“Wait!
Come back!
I’ll go!”
Joshua fell to his knees.
“Take my body.
I want to live forever.
I want to see other galaxies.
Please, just come back.”
It never did.
