Dream Me(38)

“Corporealism?”

“The transition to having a material state, like you. Instead of existing solely in your dreams.”

“What kind of vague signals? Who do you think sent them?”

“The man who innovated time travel was given our greatest honor. He was known as Pioneer One. He was also the first one to travel like this, and those of us who followed him did it only on faith and hope. We trusted his vision and his science but we had no idea what to expect when we got there. If we got there.”

“You mean he was the first to travel back in time?”

“That’s right. Some people think he sent signals forward to let everyone know he’d made the journey safely and successfully. To encourage others to follow him and save themselves.”

Zat looks at me almost apologetically. Of course I know this life isn’t a real life in any sense of the word. I also know he struggles to convey his gratitude to me while at the same time expressing his fears and frustrations. I am, after all, his host.

“Anyway, he was willing to try—willing to die if it came to that.” I can tell by the strong emotion in Zat’s voice that Pioneer One is a man he places above all others. “His example gave me the courage to leave my family. But a lot of people called it fairy tale stuff, something to give us false hope. To avoid mass panic. They didn’t believe that signals had been received from Pioneer One after he left. They didn’t even believe that traveling back was possible. Even I didn’t completely believe it myself until the first time I saw you. Only those who left Earth were given the title of Pioneer. The ones who stayed . . . they have the honor of being the last of the Earthlings.”

“Do you believe Pioneer One made it?” I ask. “To corporealism?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” Zat says. “But he was right about time travel. I know that now. I just wish there was a way for me to let my family know I made it.” He pauses. “There’s something else. Another reason I came to this place.”

“And what’s that?”

“The signals which were received—if they were really signals and not just a lie the government spread to placate us—they came from here.”

“From here?”

“From what you call Sugar Dunes, Florida.”

“I’ve only been here less than a month. How did you know I’d be at the same place where the signals originated?”

But I already know the answer.

“I knew everything that happened. I knew you’d be coming here, Babe, long before you knew it yourself. Now do you understand why I said I chose you, but you didn’t choose me?”

Comments:

Sweetness: wow, just wow. if ur making this up u have one helluva imagination.

Babe: I’ve finally come to the conclusion I’m not crazy and all this stuff is real.

Mai: hi Babe. I got caught up on the blog and yes, you have my permission to use my real name and this is totally the most interesting thing to happen in Sugar Dunes in my lifetime, although I’m obviously not as convinced as you are.

Babe: ?

DreamMe: If Pioneer One died transitioning to corporealism, he wouldn’t have been able to send signals to the future.

Babe: Good question.

DreamMe: That was a statement, not a question.





Zat


This was it. This was his life. Had he chosen wisely?

Would he have been better off at this moment with Sahra and her family, or his own family, traveling to new worlds—maybe better worlds, better than Earth? But no, how could there be anything better than the blue and green orb with all of its faults? He had chosen wisely for himself, there wasn’t any doubt. And nothing he’d ever experienced with Sahra had equaled the connection and admiration he already felt for Babe. The passion that stirred in him just from the sight of her. Who knew he could be moved this way by someone with her physical appearance?

And yet. And yet. With only the taste that he’d had, he wanted so much more. He longed to feel what she felt in the true world. He longed to make her his, really his. To swim in a real ocean with her, with real water. To know the people in her life in such a way that they also knew him.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

He had chosen, and he had chosen wisely. But had he come with the expectation of corporealism? Had he been greedy? Pioneer One made the transition, Zat believed that with all his heart. But how did he achieve it? Pioneer One was a man above all others in intellect. And for his destination, he had chosen another brilliant man, an academic rewarded with the highest honor of his time—the Nobel Prize. Did Pioneer One have help from his host? Of course not . . . he knew so much more than an academic from long ago. But how could Zat ever know enough to make the transition?

He couldn’t.

This was his life as long as Babe allowed it.

He mustn’t be greedy. He must be satisfied with whatever she permitted him to share.

He’d given her what she said she wanted, which was the truth. Now it was up to her to decide if she could handle that truth. In the meantime, he’d give her what she most needed. Time to decide.

This was the single most important moment of Zat’s life. Perhaps even leading to the end of his life. He’d soon know where they would go from here. Maybe Babe would go it alone or maybe she’d invite him to continue on with her. Be part of her life. Be part of her dreams.