Seeking . . .

By gloria hanson

Seeking new horizons was the goal of this intrepid band of mostly seniors, recruited for space travel by a NASA scientist, they explored extraterrestrial living for the benefit of the people on Planet Earth. This predictive allegory explores their findings. Will they find new ways or just more of the same? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: gloria hanson
• Release date: Mar 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393040767

gloria hanson

Gloria Hanson has been writing poetry and essays since she was in grade school. As a bookworm and curious teenager, she would indulge in flights of fancy during those long after-school hours without television or computer. Following a career in biology and a long job as wife and mother, she returned to graduate school. During her professional life she devoted herself to writing articles in her field of clinical social work. With the departure of children for their own lives, Gloria returned to her early love affair with writing. Now the passion consumes most of her days, resulting in the publication of eight books.

Book preview

PART 1

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Chapter 1 The Arrival of the Space Travelers

It was nighttime, and the sky was sparkling from stars easily discerned in the dark space, unencumbered by city lights. The arrivals looked in awe as they stepped out of the vehicle and onto the snow-covered ground. In the distance, they could see a dome shaped structure made of ice or what looked like ice. Narrow slits in the building let thin rays of light illuminate the darkness. Nicholas, their guide, interrupted their silent wonder and urged them to trudge towards their new home away from home. As they came closer to the structure, they began to mumble and complain. They gaped in horror as they approached the door that opened into an elevator. Piling into the narrow cab lined with imported furs from earth, they saw that the labels were still hanging from each piece; and the riders read about the origin and the previous owner of the covering.

As the elevator began to move they realized that they were going down, not up as they had expected. They huddled close to each other or as close as they could get with the heavy space suits and headgear, and they searched for answers in their neighbors’ faces. No information was forthcoming from their fellow travelers or their guide, a towering figure of a man accustomed to taking charge amid a group filled with apprehension and fear.

At the right time, he would speak through the microphone zipped into his plastic helmet and clarify their location in the structure and in the cosmos. Until then, he guided his sheep gently but firmly as they descended into the depths. The silence was frozen fear, and their passivity borne of knowing that there was no exit, no change of mind, no turning back.

The travelers, all retirees had embarked on an adventure to discover the effects of space travel and space residency on their health, – both physical and mental – and their social behavior. In their dream-like state, they envisioned a new version of an apartment building with ten suites, a patio, and a moon-like landscape. Now each one practiced the breathing and meditating exercises they had learned during their training.

Sometimes one could hear the rapid breathing and low moaning when their practice failed. It was difficult to continue breathing – it was easier to hold your breath and challenge your brain to tell you that this was not happening. You were dreaming this whole thing, and soon you would wake up and see the reality you had been led to believe. A few of them suspected that they had been given a hallucinogen, since they felt as if they were re-experiencing an LSD trip.

Where are we going, Commander Nicholas? one courageous traveler blurted out before realizing that his words were not going to register to the guide or to his fellow travelers.

You will soon see. Don’t worry. Stay calm –  nothing to worry about – you will be okay.

That was the only sound heard for the next half hour or so. No one had any sense of time or distance now. It was as if they had passed into a space where time was unnecessary. Why bother?

Time on earth meant something, a phenomenon by which humans sense and record changes in their environment or in their perceptions of the universe. Of course, there was no absolute time, but they had anticipated being able to synchronize events and make sense of their reality. There was no more certainty on this cold planet where they were descending to escape time and mass. They had hurtled through space to get here, and now were spiraling down into the unknown. They had assumed that their new location would be on the surface of a planet. No one had bothered to ask when they signed on, and now the descent unraveled their sense of place. Were they going to Hades?

The landing had been a soft one as landings go. It was not like the bumpy, scary descent on this planet where the ground appeared to want to come up through the space craft. This elevator landing was quiet and smooth, but it elicited a different kind of fear because they knew they were not on terra firma but below it. How far? Probably several hundred miles below the permafrost. It was a while before the large metal doors opened and revealed the site of their new home.

Looming above them was a tall building made of what looked like bricks with doors and windows resembling any apartment complex constructed in the 1920’s by immigrant laborers on Planet Earth. The front door was made of some translucent material and wood or, at least, what looked like wood. Windows graced the front, sides and back of the building, and grass lawns and flower beds surrounded the lower level. The crowd stood in awe as Nicholas directed them to exit the elevator. They were frozen in space and could not move. It was as if they were back on planet earth, back to their home and in their community. The light resembled sunshine, and clouds dotted the skyscape. There were roads leading to where? Sidewalks ending where? They looked around and worried and wondered about this destination.

Nicholas moved slowly and removed his bulky space suit, helmet and boots. He now looked like a regular earth guy with khaki trousers, a black tee and sneakers. He spoke with authority on high since he was a six foot three brown haired, brown eyed former Air Force pilot who had left the military to pursue a doctorate in psychology.

They all looked at him as he breathed the air, smelled the flowers and strolled around the perimeter of the building. What were they to do? Obviously, he wanted them to do what he had done so effortlessly. He was not going to issue orders because he did not have to show his authority. All he had to do is behave as if he were back home, and he knew that his people would ultimately follow his lead. What else could they do?  Stand in frozen terror forever?

Slowly and deliberately, one figure came forward from the crowd and began to disrobe. She piled her space suit, helmet and boots on top of Nicholas’ apparel.

Her name tag spelled out her last name – Henderson. Then she began to look at herself and examine her clothing; and as she checked herself, she recognized the jeans and blue blouse she had worn upon arrival at the space center. The gray hoodie covered her arms and shoulders but lay open revealing an eyeglass chain around her neck. The sneakers matched her sweater in color and looked brand new. Her ears were pierced with small round gold earrings, and her watch stood out with a face too big for her delicate wrist. On her left hand, she wore a gold wedding ring and a gold, diamond-studded band that stood out on the long fingers of the heavily veined hand. Her hair was light ash brown, her eyes a stunning blue, and her facial skin was peachy and wrinkled. Her age, you ask. She was hovering around eighty years. She did not speak but began to move, following Nicholas as he walked around the structure.

One by one, the others followed her lead by shedding their space gear and piling it on top of the small mound. Silently, they wondered where the pile would end up – burned, discarded in space or maybe stored for their return flight to Planet Earth? Hoping for the latter, they added those thoughts to