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westudentflower · 5 years ago

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Thoughts on relationships, careers, and life as a young adult in 2020

Sunday, February 2, 2020 (aka Super Bowl Sunday)

During service this morning, the pastor made the analogy that unlike the Super Bowl, everyone is playing on the field. No one is a spectator. We are all part of God’s world and his community. He also made the point that God doesn’t need our help to fulfill his will. Some of you are “helping God find you a spouse,” he joked. The congregation laughed. But instead of laughing, I thought to myself—is he implying that we shouldn’t go on Tinder? Yes, we trust God and that his Will be done—but that doesn’t mean we sit around waiting for the perfect guy to show up at our doorstep, right?

I’ve been thinking a lot about guys—or I guess I should say, the lack of guys in my life. More specifically, the lack of a specific type of guy in my life. Some of my low-key panic about this is probably a cultural/social thing, as I haven’t met many people who are 22 and have never dated before. But I want to share my life and thoughts and feelings with someone. I imagine meeting that special someone, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, but how exactly do you go about doing that? I don’t want to have to go to online dating apps, but it sure seems now that that’s the only place to have a chance of finding interested single men. There should be less stigma around using dating apps just to make friends and meet new people, my friend said. Still, I would much rather meet someone through more “natural”, in-person means, whether through school or work, or a mutual friend, or through volunteer or some other group (I just joined a tennis league), or even randomly on the subway, but today’s culture makes it more and more difficult for that movie magic to happen. I feel like there’s a stigma around talking to strangers nowadays, and flirting and approaching people - it might even be a side effect of the #MeToo movement. The first impression might be the only chance to feel an immediate connection, and if there’s no spark from those few minutes of small talk, then that’s it. And more and more people are going on dating apps and spending more time online and less time in person. At the end of the day, it might not even matter how you first met your partner. Still, I wish our dating culture was different and more accessible. Do I regret going to a women’s college? Sometimes, I have to admit. Especially in down moments like these.

Would I want to have sex before marriage? I don’t think so, though it’ll be a while before I’ll have to deal with that question yet. I feel like I would be very anxious to do it - like how do you actually get to that point? What does it feel like? Isn’t it gross? This isn’t something that’s ever talked about, with friends or family. I feel like a lot of things about relationships are not talked about.

After the tennis match, our team went to a brewery to drink beer. We talked about things from our favorite colors to bipolar disorder to relationships. One guy was seriously trying to convince me to get drunk sometime. Talking unfiltered makes you a more fun person, and it shows the “real you.” You need to live life a little! he would say. I can’t say I disagree with him entirely - I would want to get tipsy at least once in my life because I’m genuinely curious to see what it feels like. I don’t like the taste, and I know drinking is just a temporary high, but I think it would be an interesting, maybe even eye-opening experience to talk without thinking, especially someone like me who restricts myself in outward expression. And I do feel like I’m not “living life”—I didn’t have the typical fun college experience of partying and going out to bars and clubs, but I’m also not fulfilling my idea of living life, which would revolve more around doing crazy things like climbing mountains and exploring the city and zip lining and going backpacking and traveling the world.

I would say there’s a few things missing in my life.

1. Having deep theological conversations, like what does it mean to be saved and who is saved. I like it when the pastor gives philosophical/theoretical type sermons. Even as a Christian I still doubt, and I don’t always find apologetics to be convincing. The pastor gave a really intriguing sermon today on a tough Bible passage in Romans. God chooses which people are made as “vessels of mercy” and which are “vessels of destruction.” Is it unfair that Jacob was favored but Esau hated? Yes it is, yet God is still good and merciful and just. If he was fair, we would all be in hell. The very concept of justice depends on God. We don’t know the math behind his decision making, but we know he is motivated by something deeper than fairness: the justice of his will, the demonstration and exaltation of his nature. So does it even matter what we do? God does things we don’t get to decide. The pastor described that just like diamonds are forged through heat and pressure, virtue is forged through the truth revealed in the tensions present in the Bible. It’s not about having a systematic theology of how God makes decisions, it’s about being virtuous and having humility. If we demand to understand the inner workings of how God runs the universe, then we don’t actually trust him. Faith is not based on my approval of His work, but rather, my experience of His character. To me, it’s a satisfying answer that doesn’t answer the question. If God decides who is saved, and we choose to believe in God and in the Bible, were we then predestined to make this conscious decision? Is Christianity really a religion for ALL people, where ALL people are welcomed into God’s family? How can we blame our friends and family members for their unbelief or convince them to believe the gospel if God may have already molded them into “vessels of destruction”? Part of the journey of faith is struggling with these seemingly paradoxes, and I believe we are made stronger through these tensions, and these tensions can be used for a good purpose. But a lot of things we just don’t understand, and we have to trust that God is a good and a just God.

2. Intellectually stimulating work. I do like my current job - the firm does good work, even if I’m not super close to my colleagues and my job is more literature review aka google searching and basic excel stuff. But I think I could be doing more exciting things. I want to live in a different culture, get out of my comfort zone, try new things, and work in the government and in policy (which gave me more doubt as to whether law school was necessary to do what I want to do, which is also in doubt—my determination to do well on the LSAT and get into a top law school is being overshadowed by yet another existential crisis over what I would want to do with a law degree—I don’t see myself going the corporate or tax law route, and my imaginations about saving the planet through environmental law don’t seem that realistic or rewarding anymore…I could also make just as much meaningful impact working in the sustainability team at a large company, or doing policy analysis in a government agency, but those don’t seem as exciting either. So then what does??). Another regret I have is not interviewing for the Peace Corps my senior year of college. My roommate’s friend met her boyfriend, who did the Peace Corps in Peru, through a friend who also did Peace Corps—they met at a reunion event and now have an adorable 6-month old. Maybe I would be better off and happier if I lived and worked in a different country, rather than Boston? Not necessarily relationship-wise, but just doing something that’s more rewarding.

3. And the gap that hurts the most: A serious, romantic relationship. My generation grew up being told that as women, we can now put career over family. We can now have both. People are marrying, having kids later, more and more women are entering the workforce and having successful careers, we’re making good progress in terms of gender equality in the workplace. But I rarely hear anything about family being more important than career. Your career can change any minute, but your family is who you live for, your family is what sticks by you for the rest of your life - your family is who you go home to at the end of the day, it’s who you spend the holidays with, it’s who you spend your most treasured moments with. Our legacy lives on in our children; we were biologically made to reproduce. I would put family over career in a heartbeat — assuming I find someone I can know intimately, and who really understands me. I feel like nothing else—where we live, what we do—really matters, as long as we’re doing it with someone we mutually love and care about. Even long-distance wouldn’t be a problem—there are so many ways to stay connected, especially in today’s age of technological progress. There’s always a way to work things out, as long as that foundational commitment is there. I don’t know anyone who wants to live their whole life single, or not have any children. What is life without romance? Is there any meaning and happiness in a life without love?

What I can be thankful for in my life:

1. Wonderful friends and roommates. Last night I met up with a few college friends over hotpot to celebrate a friend’s birthday - I got to not only catch up with friends but also talk deeper over things I wouldn’t talk about with coworkers or other friends, including relationships. Which can be liberating. At church I also met a new friend from Shanghai, with whom we had an almost immediate connection.

2. Money to buy the food I want and the things I want (mainly food) and do the things I want to do (a lot of work events are coming up like a Bruins game and ski trip and cooking class!)

3. Dreams and aspirations, and free time to reflect and pursue them

Being in a temporary stage of my life means that my life is unstable and uncertain, which is unsettling, worrisome, and scary. Sure, my life is fine. It could definitely be a lot worse—I could be burning in the Australian wildfires, dying from the coronavirus which has now killed over 200 in China, or being wrapped up in the Trump impeachment trials. Yet it’s not as great or exciting as it could be either. I don’t think I’m happy. Life is just—okay. And that’s partly what makes it unsatisfying and uneventful—nothing’s really happening. And I’m the only one who can change that.

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ericbarkman · 8 years ago

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Chrono Hustle #35 I’m With Her

Harkon Smith sat down in his chair at the end of the meeting room table. He looked around at his top people. “Okay, so someone claiming to be Rupert Teleros wants to have a meeting with us. Apparently he is the head of the TDD, which is quite surprising to me.” “Who exactly is Rupert Teleros?” Jack Masterson asked as he leaned back in his chair, and used another chair as a footrest. “I assume he’s related to the other Teleros’ we’ve met.” “He’s a descendent of them,” Melinda Summers said, as she brought up information about him on her computer. “He was a great general, but also one that truly cared for the people under his command. He had a strong moral compass, and I find it hard to believe he’d be willing to alter the timeline.” “So, we’re thinking this isn’t really him?” the ghost of the temporal duplicate of Jack asked. He was floating off to the side. “I don’t know,” Harkon said. “With what we’ve now learned about the Palore, it could be that the reason the TDD is working to alter the timeline is to figure out how to stop the Palore from doing that.” “We’re going to go to this meeting regardless though, aren’t we?” Mary Bishop asked. “I mean, just to figure out what’s going on?” “Probably,” Harkon said. “But the more we can figure out, the better prepared we can be. Do the Palore we have in custody know anything about the TDD?” “Not that I’ve learned so far,” Jack said. “But I didn’t really have much time to question them what with Merlin attacking. And we’re sure he’s stuck in that coma?” “Sesla and Imhotep have been stuck for months,” Melinda said. “We also need to figure out what to do about our missing agent.” “Yes, Calvin Nichols is on my mind,” Harkon said. “I’m going to send Tesla and ERK-147 to try and investigate that. Jack, I want you to continue questioning the Palore. And we still have some time until the meeting with Rupert Teleros, assuming it is him. So in the meantime Melinda, you and Mary see what you can find out about him.” “Understood, sir,” Melinda said. “I would also like to bring Abigail with. She has an interest in investigations, and I would like to see how she does.” “That seems prudent,” Harkon said. “I’ll be interested to hear about that as well.” Doctor Jeri Quill was going through her daily rounds. Imhotep, Sesla, and Merlin were all still in comas, luckily in Merlin’s case, less so in the case of the other two. All three were otherwise in good health though. Next up she checked through her supply inventory. She was a bit low on a few medicines, but not out of stock on any of the ones she tried to keep a supply of. She made a note to restock when she next visited a time period where they were available. Mary found Abigail Esau in the cafeteria, eating a stack of pancakes while reading a tablet. “Hello Abigail,” Mary said. “Oh, hi Mary.” Abigail looked up from her tablet. “What’s up?” “You’ll be joining me and Melinda on a mission.” “Oh yeah? What kind of mission?” “We’re going to be doing an investigation of Rupert Teleros.” “Teleros? Any relation to Jon Teleros?” “You know Jon Teleros?” Mary asked. “My friend’s dad used to work with him. And he helped save the lives of me and some friends of mine a while back…” “But?” “But not my friend’s dad. He was killed.” “I’m so sorry.” “It’s my fault,” Abigail said. “The only reason we were targeted was because I wasn’t as careful as I should have been, and I was looking into things that made that dangerous.” “You shouldn’t blame yourself for what someone else did. My father was killed, and the only person I blame is the man who did it, Tom Eastwood.” “He’s one of the people down in the holding cells downstairs, right?” “Yes, it’s better than he deserves, but it’s the best justice I can have.” Jack passed by the various holding cells towards the ones where the Palore prisoners were. Most of the prisoners ignored him, except for one. “Hello Jack,” Aphrodite said. “Mother,” Jack said. “Has my message been passed on yet? I did make a deal for that intel I gave.” “Yes, your message has been sent out.” “That’s excellent news.” “I’m sure it is. How much are we going to regret it?” “I guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.” “So, what’s our first move?” Abigail asked after she had followed Mary and Melinda through the time door. “The first step is fairly easy,” Melinda said. “We’ll have to talk with whoever would have most recently seen Rupert.” “And that would be?” Mary asked. “Don’t know for certain,” Melinda said. “But his wife would probably be a decent choice. Call Sandra Rodriguez, and see if she’s willing to fly us out to Maltork Four.” “Does she have a new ship?” Mary asked. “Not that I’m aware of,” Melinda said. “Which is why we’ll be paying her by purchasing a new ship for her.” “Set up the equipment over there,” Nikola Tesla told the agents as they unloaded it from the hovercar. “Yes, sir,” one of them said. “Is the building still invisible to your sensors?” Nikola asked ERK-147. “It is,” the little bot said. “Excellent, that means things are consistent, if nothing else,” Nikola said. “To work!” “Captain Rodriguez has agreed,” Mary said. “She was rather excited after I told her how expensive of a ship we’d be getting for her.” “Good to hear,” Melinda said. “Did she say what kind of model she’d like?” “Yeah, she sent me the info on it, so we can put in an order for it.” “How long will that take for the order to come in?” Abigail asked. Melinda looked over the tablet that Mary handed her. “It should be ready within a few hours,” she said. “Which is good, because I’d prefer to be on our way as soon as possible.” Jack sat down outside the cell with the Palore in it. “{Good day,}” Jack said in their language. “{How are the accommodations?}” “{They are the same as every other time you’ve asked,}” one of them said. Her name was Arlos, and she seemed to be the leader. “{What do you want?}” “{Just to talk,}” Jack said. “{I’d also be fine with talking to your associate over there, if he ever wants to speak up.}” “{I have commanded him to be quiet, and he will not disobey me.}” “{No problem then,}” Jack said. “{I’ll just ask you questions. What was your mission here?}” “{That is none of your concern.}” “{Considering you captured and locked me up, it kind of is.}” “{And now we are the ones who have been captured and locked up. But our reversal in fortune does not mean you have the upper hand.}” “{Maybe not, but maybe.}” “Thanks again for you’re help,” Melinda said as she sat in the second seat of the cockpit of Sandra Rodriquez’s new ship. “In exchange for this ship?” Sandra asked. “I feel like I’m getting the better end of the deal, even after I lost my old ship because of one of your people.” “Even still, Maltork Four isn’t exactly the safest place to visit.” “Eh, I’ve been there a few times, it’s not really a big deal. I know how to handle myself in tough situations.” “Yeah, I gather as much,” Melinda said. “You’ve been a big help to us.” “Well, I suppose protecting the timeline is pretty important. Anyway, I have the course laid in and we are on our way. Care to play a game of Jakut with me?” “I’m not familiar with that game.” “No worries, I’ll teach you.” Abigail was looking through the food pantry, when she heard someone else come in. She turned and saw it was Mary. “You’re hungry too?” Abigail asked. “A bit,” Mary said. “This ship came fully loaded with food?” “Apparently. Probably an incentive that they do, like when you get free oil changes or whatever when you buy a car.” “Okay?” “Right, I sometimes forget you’re from the 1870s,” Abigail said. “You’re so much more familiar with all this time travel stuff than I am.” “Give it a bit of time, pardon the pun. You’ll get used to it. Goodness knows I’ve gotten used to a lot of things.” “It’s definitely a learning experience.” “So I can’t move the Tikal piece over to that spot?” Melinda asked. “That’s right,” Sandra said. “Because then it would be next to the Lakit piece, and they can’t be adjacent to each other.” “Okay, I’ll move it over here instead, which I believe gets me five points.” “Only if you can keep it their until the end of my turn, which it looks like you might be able to do, as it’s worth more to me to do other stuff than block it.” “Happy to be back at base?” Jack asked Philip Wilson as he sat down across from him in the cafeteria. “Yeah, just watching an empty building was getting kind of boring,” Philip said. “Glad to leave that to the scientists now. And I hear you’re interrogating those aliens in custody?” “Yeah, just taking a lunch break at the moment.” “Any progress?” “I’m definitely learning stuff, but I’m not sure how much yet.” “Uh huh. So, I did get one bit of break while I was watching that building.” “Oh yeah?” “We hadn’t heard from base in a while, so I went to go look into it. I wasn’t allowed back here, because of the Merlin situation I have since learned.” “Yeah, that was an interesting series of events.” “So, I visited the outpost in the 1940s, and I met your friend Abigail.” “Oh yeah?” “Yes.” “She’s a nice girl, and pretty smart too,” Jack said. “Should make a valuable addition to our group.” “Does she get along with Deanna?” Philip asked. “Mostly,” Jack said. “I mean, she doesn’t trust Deanna, but then not many do.” “Do you?” “It’s complicated.” “Maltork Four,” Melinda said as she stepped out of the ship with Mary and Abigail. “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy,” Abigail said. “We must be cautious.” “Accurate,” Melinda said. “How do we get in contact with Kathryn Teleros?” Mary asked. “I’ve already scheduled a meeting with her,” Melinda said. “And the walk there should give us enough time to fill you in on what you need to know.” “Like what?” Abigail asked. “She’s the leader of one of the three major criminal organizations on this planet, for starters,” Melinda said. “She’s a criminal?” Mary asked. “I mean, it’s a crime planet,” Melinda said. “Most people are. The criminal organizations essentially run everything, the actual government is mostly ineffective. Kathryn is mostly a good person, but she does what she has to.” “A lot of people use that as an excuse for a lot of things,” Mary said. “Yeah, us included,” Melinda said. Jack entered the gym, where Ohm was hitting away at a punching bag. “Hey buddy,” Jack said. “How is it going?” “It is going good,” Ohm said. “I feeling a bit useless lately though.” “Your English is improving quite a bit though.” “I have a lot of time to study and work on it.” “Ah yeah. I’m doing some studying myself, of a sort.” “Oh?” “I’ve been spending the past while questioning some of our prisoners. This is my first break since lunch which was a while ago.” Jack looked at his watch. “A long while ago.” Abigail and Mary followed Melinda into the building where they were meeting Kathryn Teleros. Security patted them down, and took their weapons, before leading them into a meeting room. Kathryn was already sitting at the head of the table. Abigail, Mary and Melinda sat down, and all but one of the security guards left the room. “So, you’ve got the meeting you wanted,” Kathryn said. “Now who are you and what do you want?” “My name is Melinda Cathars, and these are my assistants,” Melinda said. “We are looking for your husband.” “Yes, you told me your name when you set this up, along with a whole host of information on me that I have no idea how you learned. That’s the only reason we are sitting here. But your name tells me nothing about who you are, or why you are looking for my husband.” “As you have no doubt determined, we are agents of a government organization,” Melinda said. “You certainly carry yourself as such,” Kathryn said. “Your assistants less so.” “They’re new,” Melinda said. “In the course of our work, we have been contacted by someone claiming to be your husband, but it seems unlikely, for a few reasons. We are simply trying to determine whether or not we are being lied to, before we walk into a trap.” Kathryn studied Melinda’s face, before looking at Mary and Abigail next. “How long have you been working with Agent Cathars?” she asked Abigail. “Not long,” Abigail said. “Less than a month. “And how old are you?” Kathryn asked. “You look to be in your twenties, but the way you carry yourself, I’d guess you are a bit older.” “I guess I’ve just experienced a lot,” Abigail said. “No doubt,” Kathryn said, before turning back to Melinda. “I haven’t seen my husband in over a year. We’ve been going through some…marital troubles ever since I went to war with Bob Alverado.” “He’s one of the other major crimelords on this planet?” Mary asked. “Yes,” Kathryn said. “He is also Rupert’s best friend. Bob was the best man at our wedding, and our daughter is married to one of his sons.” “Why are you at war with him?” Mary asked. “The connections between our families are a matter of public record, but the reasons behind the war between Bob and myself is not, nor do I have any intention of making it so. This meeting is over.” “Any progress on the building?” Harkon asked as he stepped into the outpost that Nikola had set up. “Yes, no, maybe, not really,” Nikola said. “It’s been a few days since you set up here now,” Harkon said. “Yes and no. Technically we’re still setting things up. Every sensor we set up tells us one of two things. Either they are like ERK-147’s sensors, and detect nothing where the building should be, or they are like our senses, and pick up a building that is perfectly normal in every way. So we are setting up more and more sensors, and looking at the differences between the ones we have set up, and are trying to determine what makes the difference, but so far there is nothing that makes any sense.” “Well, keep at it. We have a missing agent, and we are not going to just leave him,” Harkon said. “Not like that agent that was taken by the TRD?” Nikola asked. “What was her name again?” “So, what next?” Abigail asked. “We meet with this Bob Alverado?” “I’ll be meeting with Alverado on my own,” Melinda said. “I don’t expect much to come from it, but it’s worth a shot.” “And us?” Mary asked. “Samantha Alverado is the daughter that Kathryn mentioned. Her husband, Rick Alverado, is the captain of a starship in the Tarkatan Space Fleet, and she is the chief science officer on that same ship. That will be our next stop, so you two should go back to the ship and see if you can figure out where to find it.” “Right,” Abigail said. “{And that’s the point where I regretted asking Debbie to prom,}” Jack said. “{Did that story have a point?}” Arlos asked. “{You refuse to tell me anything, so I figured I’d start sharing,}” Jack said. “{Open up a dialogue, as it were.}” “{If you think that will get me to start talking, you are sorely mistaken.}” “{You’re talking right now.}” “{Just to inform you that you are wasting your time.}” “{Maybe, but it’s my time to waste. I mean, sort of. Technically I’m following orders from the boss man, so you know how it is.}” “Yes, thank you,” Abigail said as she closed the comm channel. “Any luck?” Mary asked as she came into the room. “Yeah, I found out what sector the ship is in. I just made up a story about having a cousin on the ship, and luckily it’s current location isn’t classified so they were fine with letting me know.” “Well, if we’ve already completed our task, and Melinda isn’t back yet, it seems we have a bit of free time again.” “I suppose so.” “Can we talk?” Mary asked. “Sure, about what?” “When we met, you told me about my friend, Rosalie, and how she cared about me as more than a friend.” “Yeah, I didn’t mean to upset you with that though.” “No, it’s…in the time period I’m from those sorts of relationships are considered very sinful. Women with women, men with men.” “Ah yeah, in my time they are…more accepted depending on where you’re from. My hometown isn’t super accepting of them though.” “Oh, are you a…a…” “A lesbian? No, I like guys. I used to have a big crush on this friend of mine, Drake, but that…that didn’t exactly work out.” “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” “No worries, it’s in the past.” “I’ve never really had those sort of feelings,” Mary said. “At least not for a man. There were plenty of men interested in me, but even with the nice ones I was never really interested in being anything more than friends with them.” “Oh?” “I don’t know, I’m almost starting to wonder if my feelings for Rosalie might have been similar to her feelings for me. That’s why I panicked when you told me about them.” “Oh, yeah, I suppose that makes sense. Well, I’m not exactly an expert, but if you ever want any advice, feel free to ask me, and maybe I’ll even be able to help.” Melinda sat down in front of the booth in the restaurant. “Hello, Bob,” she said. “Melinda,” Bob Alverado said. “I heard you had a meeting with Kathryn earlier today, Melinda Cathars. Last time we talked you were Melinda Larkin.” “That identity got burned,” Melinda said. “I’m sure.” “How’s Riley doing?” “My son is doing fine,” Bob said. “So is his daughter, Chantelle.” “That’s good.” “But I don’t imagine that’s why you’re here, especially if you went to see Kathryn first.” “I’m looking for Rupert Teleros.” “I can’t help you. I haven’t seen him since Kathryn and I have been at war. Far as I know he just up and left. I’d recommend you ask his one of his kids.” “Samantha is the next person were going to check with.” “His other kid, Jake, would probably have a better idea,” Bob said. “I’ll keep that in mind.” “I’m not just doing this out of the goodness of my heart.” “I thought there might be a cost,” Melinda said. “Stay away from Riley and Chantelle.” “Of course.” Dorian Winters was on duty in the time door room, when the time door activated. He checked the computer display, and saw that they were receiving Joshua Teleros’ signal code, so he lowered the barrier, and sent a return signal through. Shortly afterwards, Joshua Teleros came through. “Sir,” Dorian said. “Welcome to the base, but what are you doing here?” “I’m here to see Agent Wilson,” Joshua said. “He had asked me to look into something recently, and I’m here to let him know.” “Of course,” Dorian said. “I’ll let him know to meet you in the briefing room.” “Do we have a location on the starship that Rick Alverado captains?” Melinda asked as she returned to the ship. “We have the sector they are currently operating in,” Abigail said. “Captain Rodriguez already has a course laid in, and we were just waiting on you.” “Let’s go then,” Melinda said. “You didn’t get anything from Bob Alverado?” Abigail asked. “He suggested that Rupert’s other kid, Jake, might know more than Samantha about where their father is. But we’ll still check with Samantha first, since we have a better idea where she is.” “It’s good to see you, sir,” Philip said as he entered the briefing room where Joshua was sitting at the table, waiting. “You too, Agent Wilson,” Joshua said. “I take it you have something?” “I’ve had my people keeping an eye on Deanna. The one that you asked me to, I mean, since there’s technically two of her out there in my time. All this time travel is pretty weird.” “You get used to it, well, some of it. What did your people find?” “She’s been gathering up a number of artifacts from museums, I have a list written up for you.” “Gathering up how?” “As far as we’ve seen so far, it’s been legitimately, by purchasing them. She’s fairly wealthy, which I suppose is not that hard when you’re thousands of years old.” “Thanks for the help,” Philip said. “I’m sure this will be useful.” Melinda moved a game piece, and then a second one. “Your turn.” “I take it your meetings didn’t go well,” Sandra said as she moved a piece. “Why do you say that?” “You left yourself open for an attack.” Sandra moved another piece. “You’re new to the game, but you were doing much better earlier.” “The meetings went fine, as far as what we’re after. We didn’t get much, but I wasn’t sure how much we would get anyway. But it did drudge up some old memories.” “Bad memories?” “Some good, some bad.” “Ah yeah, I have a few of those situations myself. Being constantly on the move can make it difficult to keep up relationships.” “Yeah,” Melinda said. “Time travel adds in even more complications. That’s why I mostly try to avoid anything serious these days.” “I’ll drink to that,” Sandra said. “And that’s when Curtis’ dad was killed,” Abigail said. “You can’t blame yourself for that,” Mary said. “You didn’t even know what the documents were about until Jack helped you decode them. And at the point you had to do something with them. You couldn’t know that this shadowy organization would find out.” “That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.” “You’re a smart girl, and inquisitive,” Mary said. “Those are great qualities, and it’s not your fault that this group fears people gaining knowledge.” “Thanks, I know that, but emotions aren’t always so easily swayed by logic.” “Well then, I’ll just have to keep complimenting you until you are swayed,” Mary said. “You’re smart, you’re interesting, you’re kind, you’re fun, you’re beautiful.” “I’m fun and beautiful? Now you’re just making things up.” “Oh come on, we’ve barely met, and already I’ve had more fun with you than anyone since…” “Since?” “Since Rosalie…” “Oh?” Abigail asked. “Oh!” “I mean, I don’t know if…I mean, I, umm…” “No, no, that’s fine,” Abigail said. “And I’m flattered, and umm…” Abigail leaned over and kissed Mary. Mary leaned into it, but only for a few seconds, before pulling back. “That was…that was really nice, but I thought…I thought you liked guys.” “I mean…I do, but I don’t know. Maybe I like girls too? At the very least, I do like you.” “Yeah, I like you too.” They kissed again. Meanwhile in another part of the ship, Sandra got out of her bed to answer a beeping on the communicator. “What’s that?” Melinda asked from bed. “We just dropped out of superspace, and someone is hailing us,” Sandra said as she put on a bathrobe. “Probably, the starship we’re looking for. You should get dressed while I answer.” “Wait, keep those settings exactly as they are,” Nikola said as he hurried over to one of the sensor technicians. “Let me put those settings on another sensor.” “Why, they seem normal?” the technician said. “You don’t see that blip?” Nikola asked. “It’s within normal parameters.” “Excellent, the blip is on these sensors too. Keep them on your sensor, while I magnify them here. Hmm, I’m not sure what this means, but there is something happening here.” “Hello Captain Alverado,” Melinda said over the comm. “Melinda Larkin?” Rick Alverado asked. “My father sent me a message saying you’d be coming.” “Can I come aboard?” Melinda asked. “I need to talk to your wife about her father.” “She’s leading a scientific expedition on a nearby planet, but I have talked with her,” Rick said. “She hasn’t seen Rupert since the war between her mother and my father began. Neither have I.” “Would you happen to know where your brother-in-law is?” “Jake is the captain of a small cargo ship. He’s currently on his way to Trantor, I believe. Probably a day or so out from there.” “Thanks,” Melinda said, as she closed the comm channel. “I take it we’re going to Trantor next?” Sandra asked. “I’ll go set a course.” “You found something?” Harkon asked as he looked up from his desk. Nikola had just entered his office. “Yes, I believe so,” Nikola said. “I finally got some readings that were anomalous, so I’ve been looking into them, and they are like nothing I’ve ever seen. Well, no, that’s not entirely true, they bear some superficial resemblance to temporal readings, but only superficial. After looking into them some more, I believe I have a theory.” “Yes?” “I believe they lead to another universe.” “Another universe?” “I believe there is a micro-wormhole in the building, but with an area of effect that’s causing some of our sensors to not detect the building at all. I also believe it can occasionally grow into a larger wormhole, big enough for a person to fit.” “How occasionally?” “Assuming the I’m right about the readings, it seems to be approximately every fifty-two hours and seven minutes. It then stays open for only two minutes and three seconds.” “Hmm, good to know.” “Have you seen Mary and Abigail?” Melinda asked as she entered the cockpit. “I haven’t seen them in a while.” “Probably just in their quarters,” Sandra said. “We should be dropping out of superspace soon. I’ll contact the port authorities when we arrive and find out if Jake Teleros’ ship has arrived yet.” “So,” Abigail said. “Making out is fun and all, but there’s other things we could do as well.” “Oh, umm, I’m not sure if I’m ready to take things farther than that,” Mary said. “I mean, I was brought up to save myself for marriage.” “Oh, okay, yeah, no worries. I don’t want to pressure you into going further than you feel comfortable with. We can definitely wait.” “I mean, I don’t know if we’ll be needing to wait for marriage, or whatever. I mean, I never really considered getting married to a woman.” “My neither. I mean, to be perfectly honest I never really thought about getting married. I mean, I was okay with getting married if I was with someone that wanted to, but it’s not like it’s a big deal to me.” “I mean, I never really gave it too much thought either. Like I said before, I’ve never been interested in men, and never realized that being interested in women was an option, until I started time travelling.” “Yeah, time travel certainly changes your perspective on things,” Abigail said. “What kind of things has your perspective changed on?” “Well, for one it’s nice to know that Human civilization is still around in the year three thousand. I was kind of worried after the clusterfuck that was 2016. Celebrities dying left and right, an alien invasion, and Donald Trump almost became President of the United States. I mean, I would have preferred Hillary Clinton over Jargos Gordon, but better him than Trump.” “I don’t know who any of those people are.” “Sorry, don’t worry about it. Let’s just get back to making out.” “I like that plan.” “Good news,” Sandra said. “Jake’s ship is currently on the planet. I’ve set up a meeting with him.” “That’s great,” Melinda said. “When is it?” “In an hour.” “Any luck so far?” Harkon asked as Jack entered his office. “I’m slowly getting the Palore to talk more, but nothing really relevant yet,” Jack said. “They don’t seem familiar with the name Rupert Teleros though, although they seem at least somewhat aware of the TDD.” “Well, that’s something, I suppose.” “You must be Jake Teleros,” Melinda said as she and Sandra sat down with him at the cafe. “That would be me,” he said. “Which of you is Captain Rodriguez?” “That would be me,” Sandra said. “This is my friend, Melinda. She’s the one that wants to talk with you.” “Oh yeah, what about?” Jake asked. “Your father, Rupert,” Melinda said. “The organization I’m a part of recently got a message claiming to be from him, and we’re trying to figure out if it’s really from him.” “It seems unlikely,” Jake said. “Why’s that?” Melinda asked. “Do you know where he is?” “I do, but I’m not going to tell you where that is,” Jake said. “Or when that is?” Melinda asked. “When that is?” Jake asked. “Maybe the message you got is from him, if that’s a question you’d know to ask.” “So, he is involved in time travel then,” Melinda said. “When did you last speak to him?” “A while back,” Jake said. “There were regular message for a while, and then they just stopped. You know, I’ve heard about you before, Captain Rodriguez.” “Oh yeah?” Sandra asked. “Yeah, you had been missing for a while, and I had managed to pick up a few new clients that usually went with you,” Jake said. “That was around the time I lost contact with my dad.” “Huh, weird coincidence,” Sandra said. “So, how goes things?” Ghost Jack asked as he floated down into a chair across from Jack in the cafeteria. “Oh, you know, keeping on keeping on,” Jack said. “What’ve you been up to for the last while?” “Keeping Sesla up to date on things, mostly,” Ghost Jack said. “I’ve also been continuing to try and find Imhotep within his dreams, but that’s still turned up nothing.” “That’s weird, right?” “Very weird. I’ve done some experimenting with other people’s dreams, with their permission of course, and no problems there. It’s just Imhotep that I can’t find.” “But he’s having dreams, which means there’s still someone there to dream.” “Yeah, that would be my understanding of the situation.” “How’d the meeting go?” Mary asked as Melinda and Sandra returned to the ship. “Good, it went good,” Melinda said. “Where have you girls been?” “We were…” Abigail started saying. “Around, just talking and such,” Mary interrupted. “Did you learn anything?” “We still can’t say anything is guaranteed, but it seems likely that Rupert Teleros may be the one who actually contacted us,” Melinda said. “And if not, we’ve likely learned as much as we can without taking the meeting.” “So that’s what we’re going to do?” Abigail asked. “It’s up to Harkon, but I’d imagine so,” Melinda said. “I’d imagine so.” To be continued…

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