A sphere of a kind. She guessed it slightly larger than a basketball. The surface appeared made of a clear membrane that fluttered as if containing liquid. The light came not from that surface, but from an object inside.
Nina narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to the ball hovering above the open trunk.
"Not too close. It can be overpowering."
"What is this? What is inside of it?"
Here eyes separated light from substance until the object inside the sphere took shape in her mind. She recognized the twisting parallel lines and ladder-like rungs between. She recognized them from science class, the Discovery Channel, and posters at the FBI crime lab.
A double helix. DNA.
Trevor confessed, "How can I fly an Apache helicopter? How can I shoot so well? How come I know tactical hand signals? I mean, c’mon, I sold cars, remember?"
Nina concluded, "So this is where you get it all from? This is how you ‘pick it up’?"
"That’s right. I have to come down once and a while and recharge. It’s sort of like a library. I can only read so much at any one time. It’s not complete. There’s a lot of shit not in there. I can’t do much more than basic first aid; could never be a surgeon or anything like that. It was a gift to me. But a gift with limits."
"It’s human DNA."
"The genetic memories of humanity. Like I said, not all the memories. Just a shit load of em’. I could fly that Apache because there are memories in here from a pilot from the Gulf War. Memories are also in there from engineers and scientists and generals who won great victories."
She stared at the beautiful ball.
"Amazing."
"One thing that I don’t get, though," he scratched his chin. "This is how I know how to fly Eagles. I shouldn’t know that. There shouldn’t be non-human memories, right? But the flight controls and all of it came to me from here."
"This is…this is beautiful."
His voice grew deeper, softer. She thought she heard regret in his tone but soon realized that she really heard embarrassment.
"And that’s how I know that memories are what make us who we are. I know because Richard Stone would not have survived in this world without this gift. The memories of great victories or how to rig generators or hunt game; all of that gave me confidence and strength."
She turned and faced him, her face slightly askew, puzzled by his words.
He made a finer point: "I’m a cheat. Without this, I’m nothing but a car salesman, and not a very good one, either. All the memories this thing has given me…and the skills; that’s why I’m a leader. Not because I’m brave or smart, because other people were brave and smart and now I’m standing on their shoulders. I’m a fraud, Nina."
Nina grabbed his face with both hands and pushed her lips against his. When she finished, she pulled away and spoke her mind.
"Information, Trevor. That’s all. How to do things, what worked in the past…that’s all this is. What you do with that, that’s what makes you special."
"Don’t you get it? With this, anyone can be a hero."
"Not just anyone, Trevor. You. You got this gift for some reason. Not me, not the others. You. Did all those memories give you the resolve to charge down that hill? Did these memories make you reach out to me? To show me who I could be?"
He opened his mouth but no words came out, so he shut it again.
Nina lectured, "Sure, you’ve got some pretty fancy tools. But you have to use those tools, Trevor. Being a leader isn’t just about what you know or what skills you have, it’s about what you do with all that. Some men would take these gifts and use them for their own gain. You use all this to save your people. I’ve watched you listen to advice when you needed it, or block everything else out when you knew you needed to be decisive. I saw you kneel before me in the rain, Trevor, just so I’d stay. You put aside your ego for the good of the cause. You’d do anything. You’re no fraud, Trevor."
"I never wanted this. It’s no gift. It’s a curse."
"That’s why you make such a damn good leader."
He shook his head; "I’m not the man you think I am. I’m…less."
"Now you listen to me, because I don’t know what you’re saying. I love you. I don’t love you because you fly alien ships or can shoot good. I love you because you care about people and you cared about me. You brought feelings out in me that I never had before. You believed in me. None of that came from memories," she pointed toward the mystical object. "I would love you if you weren’t the great leader. I would love you if you were still just selling Chevrolets. And I’ll tell you what…if I could have any wish at all, I would wish that you and I could live in that dream world where we didn’t have to be something; we just lived."
He hugged her and said, "I’d like that, too."
– It would be their last night of being in love.
They lay together in bed and whispered as he massaged her with gentle caresses, as he felt the magnificent strength and warmth of her body. She purred softly at his touch.
He studied her and wondered; he wondered what path the future held for her. He wondered if she would find someone else. If she did, would he be happy for her, or jealous?
They explored one another a last time. A desperate time. They could feel the ticking of the clock; the certainty that dawn marched toward them, that a new day would come and steal away all the days that had come before.
Tears flowed even amidst the sighs of satisfaction. The embraces became frantic clutches.
When finally their love had been fully satiated, they lay together and dared not sleep because then the next moment would be morning. So they whispered more. They whispered as long as they could.
Slowly their tired eyes wavered, their exhausted bodies begged for rest; they slipped stubbornly into sleep.
Time ran out.
35. Sunset
The June sun rose over the mountains to the east. Its glittering beams reflected across the gentle waters of the lake and shined on the balcony of the mansion.
Trevor Stone stood at the glass doors watching the sunrise. How he hated to see it.
Nina Forest emerged from the bedroom and glided to him with a blanket wrapped around her body. It draped to the floor as if a gown.
She shared the view and said, "You’re up early."
Trevor, dressed in khaki cargo pants and a black shirt, kept his eyes on that dreadful sunrise.
"It’s going to be a long day."
When he said no more she walked away mumbling, "I suppose I had better get ready."
He finally faced her.
"Nina…"
She paused to listen, but what more could be said? They had said it. Whispered it. Cried it all last night.
She flashed a soft, sad smile then continued on to the bedroom. Trevor returned his gaze to the view.
Jon Brewer knocked at the half-open hallway door then walked across the room and stood by Trevor’s side.
"Everything is set."
Trevor did not even blink.
Jon stepped closer.
"Are you okay?"
Trevor considered.
What a question. What was the answer?
He told a transparent lie in a monotone voice without pulling his eyes from the glow on the horizon: "Sure I’m okay. Just another day of walking the path. Another day of doing what I’m supposed to do; of being a link in the chain. Just another day."
Jon swallowed, glanced around, then returned from whence he had come. His footfalls echoed on the wooden floor.
Duty called. Trevor followed Jon toward the hall. Half way across the room, he stopped and turned to view the rising sun one more time…
…The captured alien shuttle now named "Eagle One" flew lead with two more of the magnificent crafts on its flanks, all three flying south through the rays of morning. The nose cone pushed through banks of misty white clouds drifting beneath a blue sky.