Your Old Men Shall Dream Dreams And Your Young Men Shall Have Visions Or Vice Verse

EARTH 2: SEASON TWO
by charles mento

EARTH 2-THE CONTINUING JOURNEY--SEASON TWO (OR AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE SEASON TWO)
******************

The little rodent creature nearly fell out of the back pack, hanging between the pulling hands of Morgan Martin and the young girl, True Danziger. That monster Gaal was watching the whole thing, probably set up the whole thing. He was laughing loudly now, hands on his hips, not even trying to hide it. The koba fell out of the pack and Morgan moved at it. The thing retracted its arm and flung one of its spiny needles off its hand at Morgan. It hit Morgan in the hand and Morgan could see himself fall.

His head hit the hard ground and his eyes closed. Voices of the living faded from his ears. A darkness, unequaled by any other, followed. At first, Morgan Martin, skinny, dark haired government liason, thought he was only temparily stunned and was about to wake up. Lightness fluttered past his eyes or what he thought was his eyelids. He felt his eyelids moving as if he were in a REM sleep. He opened them but there was no response--everything within his view stayed the same.

Martin picked himself up but he was in that darkness as lights zipped past him. He moved onward and felt himself being dragged suddenly. Forced into a magnetic-like tunnel which ended who knew where. Once within the tunnel, his essence was suctioned through it---up and up, until finally he was ejected out.

He saw more lights and a brilliant, glowing green forest. He moved toward it, feeling the best sensations he had ever felt in his life. Now he could relate to what Bess, his diminutive wife, had experienced when she was infected by the alien flower on this planet. This planet?

What was before him was no G889, the only planet he was accostumed to---if accostumed was the correct word. The world was an enigma to him: both beautiful and horrible at the same time. The planet could be cold and cruel while also giving second chances--chances they would not get on other planets, chances that the ever present Council government would ban on the Space Stations they had all, save Bess, lived on for years before coming to G889.

Morgan forgot G889 now. He ran for the rapidly clearing landscape which formated among the darkness, getting as solidly real for him as G889 had ever been. Morgan ran and ran, a happy grin on his face, and ran....into a greenish, glowing, and hazy gate. Grabbing the gate bars which looked like metal but felt like cotton, Morgan steadied himself to give someone a good talking to. A bright light shone at his face from the other side of the gate. It so brightened his face, that he couldn't bear to stare at it for long. Someone was in that light but as he tried to see who, he only managed to stumble off the gate onto his back.

The figure on the other side cleared and more than just the silohette could be seen now. It was the raven haired, fair skinned leader of their expedition, the ill fated (or was it ill fated?) Eden Advance Project. Devon Adaire, a woman who at both could exude frailty and strength, all in one package, stood staring at him. Her face looked calm but soon turned worried. She held out her hands to him and motioned to the gate exit-entrance. She lead the now standing Morgan to the opening at the gate but it was locked, sealed. Devon pointed at him and then shook the bars to the door. Morgan reached for the door to break open the lock. Devon was still wearing the same clothes they had left her in. Left her, in a suspended cryo state in the old Jupiter class spacecraft.

Morgan awoke in his bed in their new camp. Bess, his curly haired wife was beside him, startled in wakefulness by his movement. "Morgan, honey, what is it?"

"It's her, Bess. She won't leave me alone."

"Who? Who is it? Devon again?"

"Yes!" He started to get up, to sit on the side of the makeshift bed, "Who else? She and that damned Koba have been invading my dreams for the last three nights."

Bess put her hand on his shoulder from her other side of the bed. "And I still think it means something, dear."

Morgan ran his hands through his long and now wild, uncombed hair, "But what? What?!" He stopped and slowly lowered his hands. "Bess! Bess, I know."

"Know what?" Bess asked, almost afraid to. Morgan could have some outlandish ideas when revelations hit him.

"It IS Devon. She wants me to go and let her out."

**************

"Morgan Martin, personal look book. Day 163 on this planet of contradictions. It was in an extravagant area of this second Earth that we finally settled, well, maybe finally wasn't the right word.... roses grew here, wild flowers blew seeds over the tents, and grass covered the usually barren rocks and soil. For all we knew, this could have been New Pacifica.

Only it wasn't good enough for them. They, my companions, still had to move a long way to get there. Without Devon Adare, the backbone of the group wasn't as solid in that pursuit. We weren't making good ground. John Danziger, now leader, was doing a good job of keeping the others in line if I must say so myself---and with my expertise in diplomatic skills of course. I must admit, getting to New Pacifica was one of my priorities---or so I thought.

Here, it was easy to lose oneself in the idle dailies of just living and surviving.

But these dreams were not going to let me do that, even if I wanted to."

=30=