WHILE SHE LAY DYING - EPILOGUE
HOPE
THE JOURNEY COUNTINED SAGA (PART 1)
By
Paula Sanders
Timeline: Trying to cure Devon
Author's E-Mail: paula.sanders@shawnee.org
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Author's Note: This vignette just kinda jumped out from it's hiding place on my hard drive, the other day. I had completely forgotten I even wrote it. It is kind of filler, something I needed to write to answer some questions of my own, between the first and second segments of the Journey Continued Saga. I decided to share it with ya'll. I had always intended to but just lost track of it. Sorry. But, better late than never, eh. ;-) Enjoy!Standard Disclaimer:
This story is a work of amateur fiction not meant to infringe on the copyrights held by anyone involved in the making of _Earth2_.
The Journey Continued Saga
Epilogue to "While She Lay Dying"Hope
by Paula Sanders
(c) December 1995
Devon Adair sat on an outcrop, overhanging the valley below. The strong wind whipped her dark hair about her face and the sun, at her back, warmed her. The TransRover and busy Eden Crew were her backdrop, and the lush valley she gazed out over held her future expectantly for her.
They were living on the horizon, again - as Morgan liked to say - leaving the long hard winter and so much death and pain behind them. Still, would they ever really be able to forget? Devon heard Elizabeth's final words reverberating through her mind.
"Still, you have no chance here. This planet will reject you. All dying. Devon, millions of lives on their way. Look into your heart. You know what I'm asking."
"...All dying... will reject you...millions of lives... All dying...millions of lives...all dying...You know what I'm asking."
"You know what I'm asking."
Devon shut her eyes tightly trying to pushing the voice out of her head and hugged herself tightly against the chill which was coming from within rather than without."No, Elizabeth. I don't know what you're asking," Devon whispered, the wind pushing at her words.
"Look into your heart." The voice lingered viciously. "This planet will reject you."
Devon Adair - Gearlog entry day 143
A few days ago, I knew there would be no future for me, and I feared that there would be no future for the Eden Crew.
My own need to find a cure for my son and the sick children of the stations blinded me to the realities of planet life, of this planet's life. I took it for granted that there would be no indigenous, intelligent life forms, here. That was foolish and arrogant. And a few days ago, I was paying the price for that arrogance. The Terrians saved my son but at a price. I told them I would do anything, 'My life for my son's'. I never expected them to take it quite so literally. But, I had sacrificed so much already to bring Uly here; what was one more sacrifice. I was willing to die if it was necessary to save the planet. But I am more willing to fight for its survival.
I just wish I had known, before. Twenty-two years ago, back on the stations, where I was raised, all appeared to be perfect and ordered and safe. But I knew that was not true. Children, innocent children, denied a normal healthy life were left to die by a system which had forsaken them. I could not let that happen since my son was one of those children. So I fought, for six year, since my son was diagnosed with the Syndrome, to find a cure, fought against thick-headed bureaucrats and miles of red tape.
I cried myself to sleep nearly every night, listening to my son's ragged breathing and the electronic hum of his immunosuit. Then, dreams told me of a place where the air and water were clean, of a vastness that seemed unreal, and where the sky was clear and bright. The voice of my dreams assured me my son would be healthy in that place. It would heal him completely. That voice filled the empty void of my soul with love and understanding.
I gambled everything on what that voice told me, on the slim chance that a dream held the key to humanities survival. I left the Adair family business in the care of a few of my father's most trusted colleagues. The bulk of my fortune was used to assure the ships, crew and supplies. By the time I reached New Pacifica I would be little more than a pauper.
That gentle, caring voice vanished once I arrived and I was left alone, again. Wondering if I had imagined it all. Had I made a terrible mistake, dragging all these people, here. We crashed on this planet thousands of miles from where we were to land, with little more than the basic necessities to survive. Still, my primary goal was met. My son had been healed by this planet. We are surviving this journey, relying on our natural instincts for survival and by learning to work together. This planet has been hard and we have lost so much, but the one thing we will never lose is our faith in the value of human life.
If I had known, before I set out for this planet, that there was intelligent life here and what our presence would do, would I have come? That's a question I'm not sure I can answer. If I had not come Uly would be dead, by now. But because we did come I have endangered this planet and all its inhabitants.
Elizabeth said to look into my heart. So, I turn my thoughts inward and ask the question, again. Yes, I would have come. I had to come. It was more than just my son who was dying. The whole of the human race is dying. The question is: who must be sacrificed, one or the other. I say neither. When I look into my heart I see that we can all live together on this planet. We need this planet just as much as the Terrians do. And I have to believe that we can learn from our mistakes so that they will not happen, again. If we cannot learn then there was never any hope for us, in the first place. I must always have hope because to lose hope and faith is to lose your strength. Elizabeth had lost hope. ***
"You can not live here."
*Why were you so afraid of this planet, Elizabeth?* Devon would get no answer back."So, this is where you've been hiding," Julia Heller said, her voice full of false humor.
"I just needed to think," Devon told her, not turning from the view.
"About what?" Julia dropped down beside her. "About what Elizabeth said," Devon answered freely. "What did she see here?"
"I only know what I have read in her logs," Julia offered. "When they arrived the Terrians were curious about them. They even dreamed to one of the crew, a man named Thomas. It seems that their first few years here were peaceful. Elizabeth seemed to be very happy, though I think she was happier than Bennett was. She like the pioneer life. But Bennett was better suited to the stations." Both women laughed, nodding their agreement.
"So, what happened?" Devon prompted. "Once they got Eve up and running they started to pick up transmissions from the stations. All the news reports and data of what was happening there, though decades old was available to them. The Council had begun making plans to settle out world. They knew that we would not survive the stations. Through Thomas the Terrians learned of the plans to settle G889. They also learned about how we ravaged our own planet and were afraid of us doing the same to their's. They made it clear that they would kill anyone who tried to settle, here. After that the crew started to die and they knew the only way they could all survive, Terrians and humans, would be to go into coldsleep and leave the planet in peace."
"So," Devon began. "Elizabeth and Bennett thought they were protecting us from ourselves by letting Eve die. She knew that the Council would never give up on this planet so she and Bennett took matters into their own hands."
"I think that Bennett and Elizabeth didn't want to see anymore people die. The thought of millions of people arriving and planning on making this their new home, only to be killed by the planet, was unthinkable. They felt that they would somehow be responsible. So, they were willing to let us all die to save the rest of humanity from itself." Julia halted, turning from the view and capturing Devon's gaze. "Would you have acted any differently?" Julia asked.
"I don't know. I honestly don't know," Devon admitted, pulling herself tighter into her jacket. "What I don't understand is the penal colonists and other humans on this planet. Why didn't the Terrians kill them?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Julia shrugged. "I think the Terrians might have decided to try living with those people, and came to some sort of understanding or agreement with them. And the humans we have seen, for the most part, do live in harmony with the Terrians."
"That's true," Devon said, with a sharp pain of remembrance for Sheppard and his group. "So, do we leave Eve up in orbit?"
Julia shook her head, troubled. Then, with a touch more decisiveness bobbed her head. "I think we have to," the doctor answered.
"At least, for now."
There was no question about Devon not having an implant. Julia seemed to be avoiding it. And Devon let it hang between them, unvoiced."Come on, ladies," John Danziger's voiced carried to them on the wind. "Time to get movin', again." Devon turned to see him approach. He smiled down at her and gallantly offered her his hand.
**As I take John's hand and rejoin the group I am reminded of how much this planet has given to me; my son's life, as well as my own, friendship, love, hope for the future, and the awe-inspiring beauty of nature to wake to every morning. And I want to give back to it as much as it has given to me. As we resume our journey to New Pacifica, I realize that the journey is always beginning and that it was never meant to have an end. And that there is always hope.**
Devon Adair-The End-
comments and feedback welcomed and greatly appreciated at: paula.sanders@shawnee.org
This text file was ran through PERL script made by Andy. Original text file is available in Andy's Earth 2 Fan Fiction Archive.