Voyage
to New Atlantis |
The all that "Is." A tiny word encompassing everything.
When partitioned, the "Is" yields the spiritual and the physical.
This story is concerned with both and I start with the physical. |
| On the outer edge of a rotating pool of stars, a sphere of nuclear
fire spun. And around that heat spun other spheres. One cool, and
blue, the blue a reflection of seas that dominated its surface. Daily,
half the planet bathed in its own shadow, although, periodically, a
moon intruded and paled the darkness with reflected light. |
In a shadow-cast sea, deep and beyond the penetration of the moon's rays, swam a leviathan. In body and brain it is the largest creature on the blue planet. Oddly, its ancestors once walked the dry earth, though the species found that situation unsuitable. This aged male, earth's last whale, suffered the ill health of time.
The whale rose toward the surface through a blackened sea. Tiny phosphorescent creatures flashed with the intrusion, illuminating the whale as if a comet in a starless sky. Above, in limpid air, a bright moon gleamed, and the sea's surface loomed as black marble. Nothing indicated the approaching comet.
The whale shattered the tranquility with surging water and expelling breath. Shimmering black waves moved toward sea and shore, while the whale maneuvered to observe a nearby land of low hills that in the light of the day were green with jungle growth.
Near the shore, the sailing craft Cristine, illuminated white by the moon, tugged smoothly at her anchor line. The whale had accompanied the Cristine, unknown to its inhabitants, since the start of its voyage, a long voyage that originated far to the north in a colder sea.
Motionless, the whale pondered the human's thoughts. His intrusion, nearly imperceptible, swirled in soft colors, and charming the leviathan. Satisfied with the situation, the whale submerged. |
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A small wave nudged the craft, and its anchor line groaned. The vessel, fifty feet in length, had a broad beam. Although this girth slowed her speed, it compensated with stability. Within her heavy fiberglass skin, large cabins fore and aft and a cockpit amidship comprised her basic accommodations. Once a pleasure craft, once a pretty lady, time and circumstance had dulled her brilliance. A shortened main mast made her squatty. Patchwork sails, when hoisted, gave her a tattered appearance. Large aluminum chests, lashed to her forward deck, comprised the primary burden under which she labored. Below, more aluminum containers consumed the forward cabin space. Aft of that cabin, a small galley contained a table, two sitting benches and a few storage cabinets, all constructed of roughcut wood. Asmall, homemade wood-burning stove sat to port, and a supply of firewood to starboard. Two steps from the stove, a small ladder led topside to the cockpit. Here a bench, again of rough-cut wood, spanned the width of the command space. A stainless steel helm glittered in the moonlight.
At the stern a large cabin served as a stateroom, its interior was broad and had a high overhead. A large, crudely constructed berth, centered beneath an open hatch, allowed moonlight to illuminate the reclining forms of two humans. One, a man, his name Justin, strong of body and nearly fifty years of age, slept on his stomach. In deep sleep his breathing was barely perceptible. Next to him lay a woman, Nicole. Awake, her mind murmured with the soothing energy of recent lovemaking, while the moon appeared blue through her half-closed eyes.
Nicole mused on the moments before sundown when she and her lover swam in the warm sea as the sun hovered, huge and red on the blue-gray horizon. |
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Nicole and Justin stood naked at the stern of the Cristine and scanned the calm sea. With spontaneous synchronicity, they dove into the sumptuous waters and were enveloped with tender pressure and absolute smoothness. Nicole swept her arms backward and arched toward the surface leaving a trail of tiny bubbles escaping from her long, black hair. She saw Justin dive beneath her, roll to his side and then to his back. She watched him watching her.
When Nicole surfaced, she ignored Justin, finding interest below. She swam toward land in a series of dives with the relaxed motions of someone having fun. Justin followed, floating on his back when she dove, and spinning onto his chest when she surfaced.
Soon Nicole and Justin were close enough to shore to touch the sandy bottom with their feet. Their swim became a walk while the steep slope of the beach produced ebbing waves that tugged vigorously at their legs. Both grinned with inner contentment.
Nicole took Justin's hand as they turned to walk the path of wet sand at the sea's edge toward the half circle of the setting sun.
"I love this part of the day." She turned to face Justin, and walked a few steps backwards looking past him into the eastern sky. "The count log indicates the moon will be at its fullest." She wheeled back to his side.
Justin pulled her close. "When we get back to New Atlantis, what say we organize a moon festival." He squeezed her hand. "Moon-time parties. There's a need for more celebration times."
Nicole smiled. "I like that." She paused in thought. "We could do it on every blue moon." She yanked the back of his hand to her lips and sucked a kiss.
Justin glanced at the Cristine before turning to Nicole. "Dancing to the blue moon."
Nicole's eyes squinted. "We'll give it a female name, of course." She looked down as a tiny wave washed across her feet. "The moon's female and so is the night." She turned to Justin. "Diana's Moon."
Justin tugged her hand. "You're not going to exclude men, are you?"
Nicole's eyes twinkled. "Of course not. We'll need a sacrificial something."
Justin chuckled. "Eons from now, a new civilization will celebrate the blue moon ceremony." He raised their clasped hands and pointed his thumb in her direction. "And all because of you."
Justin abruptly stopped. "Damn. We'll carve the story on a stone and bury it at the cavern."
Nicole continued. "And thousands of years from now, they'll dig it up." She mockingly lowered her voice into a deep tone. "We have found conclusive evidence to the origin of The Blue Moon Celebrations in a place once known as New Atlantis."
Justin smiled. "The ancient moon ceremony." He bowed toward Nicole. "Brought to you by Nicole, high priestess and Justin, the sacrificial something."
Nicole elbowed Justin in the ribs. "It'll be quite the honor to be the first sacrificial something." She paused. "And you'll be listed at the top of the credits, of course." She smiled. "To make it more civilized, we'll just mess you up a little."
Justin squeezed her hand. "A bunch of naked women knocking me about."
She squeezed his hand. "The old, rejected women will be doing the knocking about."
Justin looked up into the sky. "Perhaps we should rethink this whole thing?" |
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