Flash felt comforted in the realization that these stories were true and relevant to his life. In some ways the book truly represented his life. The older historical chapters never changed. They were carved in stone… or rather indelible ink on the page. The current chapter unfolded and could be manipulated by a change in his actions. The future chapters, yet to be written were without bounds.
This planet felt so familiar that Flash thought of just staying here forever.
He could build a home and feed himself. The only problem was that he was alone.
What good was a tropical climate and plenty of food if there was no one to share it with? The K.D. head had been his only companion, and in this capacity, he had outgrown her. While she resembled a human face to some extent, her flashing sequence of expression had become predictable and unsatisfying. Her memory banks were filled with the accumulated library of human knowledge, yet contained no original thought or insight. No surprise. No reaction.
Here, outside the pod, was a living world of growth and transformation. The plants nourished themselves from the soil and competed with each other for light.
The plants provided oxygen, food and shade, but it dawned on Flash that he had seen no evidence of animal life. No bird or flying reptile patrolled the surf. Had there been shells? He returned to the water’s edge and scoured the beach for a crab or jellyfish… Any aquatic animal that may have washed ashore. He saw none. Suddenly, Flash Meridian was overcome with a feeling of loneliness greater than he had ever experienced.
Traveling through space, he did not expect to meet anyone, and so being alone was tolerable. Here, in a living world, the thought of solitude was suffocating.
Flash realized that what he wanted more than anything else was love.
Faced with the solitude of this seemingly uninhabited planet, Flash was faced with the reality of his own thoughts and his situation. What chance was there for him to find companionship, let alone love? Until this lonely beach, Flash had reveled in the solitude of his journey. The beauty of this earthlike planet made him long for someone to share it with. All the wondrous surprises he had observed fell a bit flat without a companion at his side.
Flash laid down on the warm, sun-soaked sand and closed his eyes. The light beat down on his skin, and he listened to the sound of the foaming surf.
In his mind, he traveled back to when he was a child, laying the beach near his parents’ home. The sand supported him and contoured to fit the curves of his back. The light glowed red through his eyelids. Mingling with the crashing of the surf and the gentle lapping of the tide, he could almost hear again the sounds of sea birds and the laughter of children. A dog barking in the distance. He embraced this memory of a time when he felt safe and happy. It was an innocent time when big dreams were mixed with a kind of irresponsibility. The world seemed so big, and his for the taking.
An hour passed, maybe two, and Flash didn’t budge. Even when the sea’s bubbly fingers touched his feet, he stayed still. The waves crept slowly closer, and eroded the sand beneath his heels. He felt the cool water dislodging the beach beneath his feet.
When, at last, Flash sat up and gazed over the water, the sun was almost ready to set, and he knew it was time to leave.
Rising from the sand, Flash Meridian took off his clothes and threw himself headlong into the sea. It had been so very long since he had been immersed in water, and the feel of it was intoxicating. The surf churned around him, massaging his body. He immediately felt refreshed as he dove and swam through the breaking waves. He swam out further, protected from the currents by the reef. Out here, he bobbed in the heaving saltwater, now in a valley, and then at the top of a wave. The “sun” beat down on him as he basked in the moment, forgetting everything else.
Flash Meridian swam back to the shore, and emerged from the water feeling renewed. His swim had been like a baptism in that he rose from the water feeling like a new man. His head was clear. He dressed, and climbed the winding sandy pathway to the rock crest where the TNI2 awaited his return.
Part of him longed for Earth. There were many things he missed about terrestrial life. But this planet could not offer the thing he longed for the most… Those he had left behind.
Living here would be living out a prison sentence, in solitary confinement. And so he boarded the pod and sealed the hatch.
His visit to this planet was like a vacation, but Flash had always felt that the best part of any trip was the return home. That is how the TNI2 felt to him now. Like coming home.
Up, up the craft ascended, and Flash looked down on the lonely planet. As he sped above the landscape, the forest canopy gave way to grassy plains and then to rugged mountains. Beyond the mountains, there stretched a sand desert. As he soared above the varied terrain, he flew gradually higher and higher until, at last, the blue sky gave way to black, and the stars shone brightly.
Even before Flash Meridian departed Pangaea, the TNI2 had relayed a signal to the mothership causing it to wake up and welcome him home.
It glowed and blinked as it fell in orbit around the swirling blue and green planet. The TNI 2 fell into the ship’s orbital path and chased it through low space while the landscape sped by below him. From Flash’s perspective, it seemed that the pod was very slowly approaching an object that was standing still. It felt like a slow-motion homecoming, and this allowed to Flash to savor it. He was especially relieved to return to the ship after considering staying on the planet below. He shuddered to think of it now, and viewed the planet below him as a trap.
The beautiful vistas and favorable conditions had been the bait. It was not nearly enough.