At the beginning of every meal, he insisted all bow their heads while he went into a very loud, and boring blessing, lasting more than ten minutes. The hungry family, not giving one whit about his sermon, salivating from hunger, eager to begin eating. It was bad enough that he derailed the family with his senseless talk from sitting down and enjoying a delightful dinner. He ate the largest, most desired portions of chicken. Drinking copious glasses of sweet, iced tea. Leaving little for family members to enjoy.
Baffled by this unusual conduct from a man of the cloth, Allison vowed that she would not go through such an ordeal again. Well, out of respect for her earth mother, Peggy whom she dearly loved; might suffer through another agonizing sermon for her sake. Agonizing sermons were the only type of sermon the honorable pastor, Cleghorn knew how to serve up. Not recalling ever seeing a church of any kind on planet Zorbus, Allison assumed there were none within the eighty-three countries of planet Zorbus. To her mind: not a single church existed. But, having lived there for only four years, she could not be certain.
Allison decided to conduct her own study of the origins and history of early religious organizations. Through her religious studies, Allison was amazed at the number of religious sects there were. For a religion, no matter its denomination, to survive amongst a hostile, heathen, pagan environment took a lot of courage and guts—not to mention bloodshed.
It was through her studies of religion that Allison learned that religious organizations throughout the world have their own believers who practice their own brand of religion, separate from what others might believe. Once these religious zealots gained supremacy in an area, instead of advancing love and peace to the masses, they built up a total intolerance of the nonbelievers in their brand of religion, often bringing about corrosive violence in the name of their religion.
A lot of smaller religious organizations are based on the charismatic appeal and persuasion of just one person. It is not unusual to find preachers who are not professionally trained or schooled. like Pastor Cleghorn. It is simply amazing how easy it is for imposters like Cleghorn to attract those with limited education among our society who worship and support people like Cleghorn with financial aid and total obedience.
Allison, coming from an alien planet, was uniquely qualified as an observer and critic of all she surveyed and studied. She was amazed at the seeming cornucopia of faith when just one should suffice; like one size fits all? Competition among makers of products is healthy and leads to a better quality of life. Whereas competition among faiths makes no sense at all. Were they not all worshiping the same God?
The faithless planet Zorbus, if you want to call it that, has little or no crime, and no standing army of any measurable size. Police are there when help is needed by a private citizen. They are there to serve and protect. If a pedestrian is lost and needs direction, he can request the assistance of a police officer. Rarely do police officers issue traffic citations. Just carrying on daily mundane matters. —no real need for jails. Hospitals treat the elderly, and accident victims. No gunshot wounds, stabbings, or drug overdose. As there are none. No known practitioners of any type of an ‘unknown’ deity. Life on Zorbus goes about its daily, unassuming pattern. That is, until the apparent take-over attempts by hostile A-I robots which we will soon learn about.
Allison did not consider herself an atheist. But from what she had observed in her studies of religion, saw no reason to embrace any religious faith. She saw flaws in all of them.
12
12 Return of the Prodigal Father
Peggy made an entry into her diary noting that the family Patriarch, Robert Dawkins, also known as the ‘absentee’ father, shameless, perennial drunk, was back in town—presumably, to visit his family. Discovering the news that their daughter Allison, the youngest sibling, was considered by the national news media a celebrity, convinced that she must be missing her dear old dad, terribly.
With that piece of information in store, he decided a visit home was past due. The real reason for his visit, as Peggy suspected, was that he smelled money. Celebrities like Allison, he knew, usually do not freely share their celebrity status without a certain number of rewards, normally the monetary type. Robert’s favorite medium of exchange.
Robert was convinced in his own mind; that his family, especially Allison, needed him more than ever. Someone with his worldly experience and worldview. One who could manage all the money usually showered on a rising star—to keep him up in the lifestyle he was accustomed to, although that lifestyle was all in his mind, never a reality. So off he went to save the day! His poor family members must have missed him enormously.
After seven years of not hearing one word from her worthless husband, Peggy decided it was time to throw in the towel and get a divorce. Peggy’s divorce attorney advised her that to obtain a divorce from an absentee husband, she must first notify, in public places, her intent to seek divorce. First by publishing in the local newspaper for three consecutive weeks her intent to divorce Robert. Plus, post bulletins in the local post office and other prominent structures around town. Making the same declaration. If, after three weeks, receiving no word from her deadbeat, absentee husband, she could continue with the divorce proceedings. ****
Peggy, now a divorced and free woman, glanced down from her upstairs window, not believing what she was seeing. Robert must have talked with someone, divulging that in addition to buying the farm next door, the family had chosen to move into the new home that stood on their new property as it was much bigger and nicer than the old one.
Picking up the phone, Peggy called the sheriff’s department, reporting a stranger was at her door uninvited. In a veiled way, office staff at the sheriff’s department knew of Peggy’s divorce. Never liking her husband, expected she was referring to that no-good scoundrel, Robert! In just minutes they arrived, finding an irate Robert banging on the front door, demanding to be let in. The deputies approached the culprit and enquired about the nature of his business.
Robert responded, alleging that this was his home. Claiming that his wife would not open the locked door. “I live here and have the right to enter my own home!” he yelled. Informed she was no longer his wife; at least not anymore. And he should leave before he was arrested. A dejected Robert left and was never heard from again.
Peggy sent a big thank-you gift package to the sheriff’s department at Christmas.
13
13 Amateur Sleuth
Randy Purvis was considered a recluse by all those who knew him. Randy’s mother walked out when he was three. His father died two years after Randy dropped out of high school, leaving him with a sizable income. Randy lived in O’Brien County near the Floyd River in an old house trailer which suited him fine. His passion: the study of the stars and the planets. Randy spent most of his time stargazing. Devoting most of his inheritance on fancy telescopes and recording equipment to support his stargazing.
For most waking hours of the day, Randy slept. Studying the stars at night. He had no friends and when not gazing at the stars, or sleeping, Randy hung out at the local dive which excelled in the sale of cheap beer. His appearance discouraged anyone from trying to get to know him. Standing five feet ten inches and weighing about 230 pounds, with a huge protruding gut, and rangy hair partially covered by a greasy baseball cap. His complexion, ruddy, always looked like he needed a shave.
Randy, the intrepid sleuth's appearance was so disturbing, that the local Sheriff, aware, as far as he knew, Randy was a law-abiding citizen, absent of any prior arrests, suggested Randy stay several blocks away from any school district. The Sheriff is afraid Randy’s appearance might frighten young children living in the area. To be politically correct, and proactive, the sheriff wanted to avoid being attacked by a bunch of angry mothers, demanding he lock up Randy. If Randy had broken any laws up to this point, there were no records on file to corroborate it.
Restricting Randy’s movements. was something the Sheriff was not proud of. But he had a career in law enforcement he must protect. Even if it meant taking away from Randy his right to free association.
It was one of those dark, and dreary nights when it seemed the constant drizzle of rain would never end. Randy, not concerned about the weather, observed a strange-looking obstacle, barreling through the atmospheres. Seemingly, on a collision course to where he lived. Randy carefully noted the longitude and latitude of the obstacle’s entry location. Making a mental note to triangulate its exact landing spot on earth whenever the weather improved. This could be the moment he had waited his entire life for. A major piece of space history landing practically in his own backyard.
While attending high school, before he dropped out, Randy joined an organization called Science Olympiad. The organization is hugely popular among today’s youth across the nation. With its membership growing larger each passing year, especially with today’s youth suddenly taken a deep interest in space exploration—following the United States successful attempt at landing its first astronaut on the moon. And the organization got even more attention when the United States space program began its lab research of the outer atmosphere.
On a trip to the national observatory lab in Washington, D.C. at a science fair sponsored by Science Olympiad, Randy met a fair sponsor who seemed genuinely interested in sharing his information on space exploration. Aware Randy was an avid student of space exploration, the gentleman gave Randy and a select number of students his business card with his name and phone number affixed, assuming he did not have to worry that any of these bright-eyed youths would ever call. But that was before he met Randy.
Randy called frequently asking for confirmation of different objects that he had observed to the annoyance of the agency. The agency, responding to Randy’s calls, never found any valid reason to justify his frequent calling. His frequent calls had reached the point where each time he called, the staff recognizing his number automatically sidetracked his call by saying: “all our lines are tied up, please leave a message.”
Frustrated, Randy desperately hoped to get validation of what he had seen. “If they refuse to answer my calls, I will do my own research and locate that object,” he theorized. And he almost did. Well, not right away as he came down with a serious illness, delaying his quest to locate the unknown for an extended time. Several years passed before Randy remembered. Truly fortunate for Allison. The delay quite possibly avoided her being discovered as to who she really was.
2
Five Years Later
14
The Beginnings of a New Life
The high school Allison attended embraced the best in education. Small in comparison to other area schools, all the pettiness, disruption, and mayhem experienced in larger high schools being absent. Tall for her age, Allison was a natural when it came to sports. Especially basketball and soccer. With her and her teammates’ combined efforts, earning the right to go to State where they played senior-level basketball, coming in third against some very large state schools. Pretty awesome for a school of their size!
Allison excelled in soccer. Allison was passionate about Soccer. A relatively new sport to her school with little opportunity to play intermural soccer with other high schools around the state. Besides soccer, Allison enjoyed running track—another favorite, often winning the school’s greatest number of awards in track.
Allison was also a natural-born thespian. Asked to play the female leading part in every play sponsored by the school’s Drama class. The Debate Club, winter sports, and much more brought out the best in Allison. Preparing her for an unknown future.
*****
But the moment she had been dreading arrived. It was time to move on. With tears in her eyes, Allison bade farewell to all her friends whom she loved and spent many happy hours. After only two years in high school, and at the age of sixteen, she had learned all they could teach her, setting scholastic standards to stand for many years.
Then came the scholarship offers. All the famous schools, Harvard, Columbia, and others, plus foreign schools in places like Paris and London offered lucrative scholarships. Allison had always wanted to be a professor, preferably in history and science. Nothing had changed her mind.
With heavy heart, she turned down all the offers except one: she chose the University of Iowa. It is like fate placed her in the care of her adopted, loving family, the Dawkins. Then fate must want her to stay in Iowa. So, Iowa is where she chose to stay. In no time at all, Allison with her incredible intelligence, looks and poise, and at the age of twenty, became a full professor of history and astronomy at the University of Iowa.
