deck looked the same, except for the planet seen through the convex, transparent bulkhead. Instead of the dark craters of Earth's familiar moon, the crew now gazed upon the soft, blue and orange light of a celestial body covered with thick, sulfurous clouds.
"Just like that, I can really fly this thing?" He stared at Venus with wonder.
"You can do anything your mind can conceive, Son. If you do not restrict yourself, you can do anything at all."
"I understand I have different genes, but could anyone else do it?"
"They would have to work harder and may not achieve the same level, but yes, anyone on your planet has this potential. I included it in the genetic blueprint. Unfortunately, unused skills tend to wither over the millennia."
*****
On Amrah’s ship, time flowed at a different pace. Never needing sleep there, Michael studied for what seemed like days on end while, in his world, mere hours had passed. Often, he thought of Veronica. He missed her. She had filled his life in subtle ways, unobtrusive, efficient, omnipresent. With only the ever-roaming cat, the house felt empty. Sometimes he missed her companionship and sound advice, other times her wholesome cooking. Most of all, he ached for the womanly ways and the comfort of her slender body.
For the first time in his life, Michael had a deep sense of worthiness that enabled him to face the truth at any given time. Not that anyone would believe the story if he told it. Nevertheless, a newly discovered self-esteem along with new powers transformed his view on life. Michael trained for a job he scarcely believed he could do, never losing sight of his double goal to avenge Veronica's death and protect Jennifer.
The psychic part of his training easily completed, Michael could now effortlessly read simple, open minds, but still struggled with closed or hostile characters. He excelled at mind-speaking, however, and could hear or be heard almost without restriction, even across a great distance.
Michael had never liked philosophy or history, but Amrah’s version wasn’t taught in any public school.
"This planet was visited many times by different intergalactic species, “ Amrah declared during a lesson. “The various races on Earth did not result from climatic conditions or obscure laws of evolution over millions of years on this planet alone. Beings came from far galaxies, other universes."
"What do you mean?"
"At one time, a dark-skinned race from Sirius, a planet of Alpha Centauri, colonized and ruled the continent you know as Africa. Later, when their culture dwindled, other visitors with yellow skin colonized the Asian continent. A blue race had already almost disappeared from the Middle East at the time of Christ."
"Hot damn! I never heard that before.” Michael exclaimed in awe.
"Some white galactic colonists grew in number and evolved separately to high levels of technology on a continent now under the ice of the Antarctic. The Greek mythology recounts the exploits of the crew of an intergalactic vessel marooned on a Mediterranean island. The red skin of the Aztecs, Incas, and American Indians bears witness to a race that landed on the ancient continent of Lemuria, now lying under the Pacific Ocean."
"So, when did you come for the first time?"
"We established our first headquarters in Assyria, where we gave life to Adam and Eve."
“ You created man?”
“ Not exactly. We adapted the species.”
"Fascinating! So what's their real story?"
"They were our first experiment. We brought a human specimen especially engineered for life on this planet. Since we only had a male, we cloned a female from one of his ribs, modifying the genetic pattern to accommodate the female organs. They were destined to mix with the other existing races, blending and widening the genetic pool of Earth's particular species. At first, except for the fact that they had no past, no racial memories and no knowledge, just an intelligence, things looked very good."
"But
Melody Carlson
Fiona McGier
Lisa G. Brown
S. A. Archer, S. Ravynheart
Jonathan Moeller
Viola Rivard
Joanna Wilson
Dar Tomlinson
Kitty Hunter
Elana Johnson