Life, Liberty, & Pursuit of Justice

The walls between Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank disappeared. As the portals continued to bifurcate, all the unattended guns, bullets, tanks, barbed wire, jet fighters and suicide-belts were suddenly crushed in the singularity at the center of the galaxy.

In Mecca, the entire mosque area of Masjid al-Haram was engulfed by a tremendous rainstorm, and when the waters cleared, there remained a simple plain of granite over the site, with a single word doubly carved across its huge expanse of acres. In Arabic and Hebrew, the word was LOVE.

One week later...

"Well, that's the end of it, Kathy. The last of the revelers are leaving the parks, and the readings here say that all the portals have shut down. Everything is back under human control."

"I'm so glad. I never liked us taking on the responsibility of porting sick people into the Egyptian hospitals. I'm glad they were so gracious about it."

"Well, if Allah makes a sick person appear at your hospital, it's hard to say no... We did a good job of keeping the small children with their parents. There aren't that many missing person issues left."

"What was the final tally on the double-ports?"

"Just under 300,000. Mostly Jewish settlers. The population of Hamas diehards was surprisingly small. They're in internment camps now. The interim Israeli-Palestinian government is debating whether to re-admit them. They seem to be leaning to giving them a second chance. That was the most brilliant part of your idea, Kathy, having the portals on standby, and taking any violent person at Galilee straight to Mecca."

"Seeing all the dances of reconciliation that first night at Galilee! It made all the work worthwhile. All the naked adults joining in each other's dances, not caring about the old nationalities... YES!"

"The latest talks by the interim government suggest they're heading into a loose confederation, one Arabic, one Jewish, keeping Jerusalem a shared garden, no rebuilding at all. It's all that we could have hoped for."

"Matt, I have one more duty to perform. As soon as I jump into P2, could you take the entire pocket to interface mode, and then work these portal mappings I've laid out here? Thanks!" Kathy worked the console to bring the air pressure of P2 gently down a bit, and then jumped.

"Hello, Mr. Ata, may I take you to Mecca now?"

"Already? It has only been five minutes since you've left. Thank you angel, for being so prompt!"

"Mr. Ata, I have something to suggest. I'd like to show you three places, Mecca, the Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem. Then I'll put you in the one you like best. I will carry you. We'll be about 1,000 feet above each one. I will be holding you. Don't be afraid."

"Angel, I could never fear while being held in your arms."

Kathy picked up Mr. Ata. He felt feather light to her, barely a 100 lb. Carrying him in comfort, she calmly differential teleported through a waiting portal.

"This is Mecca!?" Mr. Ata exclaimed. "Yes! I see the city that I remember from my hajj! But the mosque is gone! What are all those people doing behind the wire fences?"

"Waiting to be forgiven for not letting go of their hatred."

"Next is the Sea of Galilee."

"I once saw this during an infiltration mission, in my youth. It was so ugly then, this is beautiful!"

"And this is Jerusalem."

Mr. Ata said nothing for a long time. Kathy waited patiently... "It's a garden. A garden..." Mr. Ata whispered. "Take me to the garden."

A few moments later, Kathy and Mr. Ata were sitting on a quiet bench in the middle of the Jerusalem garden. Mr. Ata was overwhelmed by the beauty around him. He prayed for forgiveness. Kathy often joined him, the two saying the prayers together in Arabic throughout the afternoon. It was the last day of September, and as the sun set, the cool of the evening began to form.

"Angel, what happens next?"

"Mr. Ata, I prayed with you for forgiveness. I have taken Allah's role with your life. Not by imprisoning you, but by having you live past your 85th birthday. Your heart had become super weak. In your prison room, I had the power to keep it from failing. I kept you alive for an extra 15 years, to let you have your choice one more time..."

"Am I about to die?"

"Yes."

"Will you stay with me until I do?"

"Oh yes, if you want me."

Mr. Ata wept. "Oh, thank you, thank you, angel of my mother, for giving me the choice one more time!" Mr. Ata rested his head against Kathy's breast, and continued to weep in gratitude. Kathy held him in her arms, with her own tears falling into his snow-white hair. Mr. Ata fell asleep in Kathy's arms, cradled by her warmth in the cool of the evening, and a short time later he sighed as his heart rested in peace.

Epilog

1 year later...

"Oh, Thank God! Thank God!"

The voice woke Kathy from a profoundly restful and deep sleep. She dimly realized the source of her profound peace. Michelle was sleeping at her right breast, and Eric at her left. She drifted to being awake, and saw the head floor nurse speaking into an intercom.

"Security. This is Rachael, in maternity. The twins have been found! They are with their mother. Call off the search."

Rachael approached the bed slowly. "I'm so sorry for disturbing you, Kathy. Should I leave?"

"No, I'm awake now, Rachael. It's okay. What's going on?"

"We were afraid your children had been kidnapped. They were in the maternity ward one moment, and they just vanished the next! The floor was in a panic. It's all our fault. Somehow, nobody noticed you taking them."

"Oh, my! My husband Matt is picking me up early this morning. It's only a few hours from now. Can my children just sleep with me here?"

"I guess... It's a bit unusual to let them lie like that, but your children are so advanced! Their eye focusing and head turning abilities are unheard of for newborns. If you ever change your mind about letting our staff track them, you'll make a lot of doctors here very happy!"

"We appreciate the offer. If we change our minds, we'll call."

Rachael walked to the window and stared at the pre-dawn day. "Look! What a reminder of the Transformation a year ago! I heard you were in the Middle East then. Is that true?"

"Yes, we just got back two months ago."

"Wow, to have been there, right there in the Middle East during the Transformation..."

"They were exciting times."

"It was just news here in Chicago, Kathy. But actually being there in the Middle East when it happened, wow! Do you feel you were a part of it, a part of what happened?"

Kathy smiled. "Yes, I guess I do."

"Our grocery finally got its first shipment of some of the new foods. I managed to get a few Jerusalem berries. They're fantastic! Like a raspberry and a peach, only better! Have you ever tasted one?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. Yes, they're very good."

Rachael gazed out the window in awe for a moment. "Well, I have rounds to make. Sincere apologies for disturbing you. Thanks for the chat!"

"Take care," said Kathy, as Rachael left the room.

Kathy gazed at her infant son and daughter lying at her breasts. They had both suckled Kathy while she slept. She thought, "You guys got the late night munchies, huh? Lord, Lord, we didn't guess you'd be jumping so soon. That was close... But worth the risk! This way you're U.S. citizens, you now have an identity in our society... Matt and I will be getting you to the no-jump tesseract in just a few hours. Until then you should stay with me, okay?" In reflex, Kathy also chirped "Stay with me?" with echo gravitons.

Both Michelle and Eric chirped a sleepy "Stay with you" back. Kathy was stunned. They had even used the correct grammar, and taken away the question inflection...

"You never told us, creature," Kathy thought slowly. "Never told us how gifted and beautiful our children would be. Matt and I must reconsider the issue of no-jump tesseracts, it would stop their ability to communicate ... I can't wait till Matt hears about this, that Michelle and Eric can chirp! Beautiful Michelle, beautiful Eric, Matt was so sweet to suggest naming you after both my parents..."

Kathy gazed out the window, admiring the shining blue sapphire of Mars prominent in the pre-dawn sky. "Nice job, Matt! If there was ever a better symbol for world peace, I don't know what it is. Gifting a whole new planet to humanity... Though I must say, you really snuck one by me with that big island just south of the equator. Thank God it's isolated! You and your boyish fantasies and desires for joking around... I should have been paying more attention to all the bio-details... It is fun, though, even when you're pregnant, petting and playing tag with all the critters on dinosaur beach! A game for teleports only, though!"

Kathy gently stroked her two children at her breasts, drifting back to sleep. "I love you both so dearly. I will be the best mother to you that I know how to be. I will teach you how to explore, and I will teach you how to love..." In the last of her conscious thoughts, Kathy chirped "I love you..."

"Love" chirped both infants in sleepy response.