Pa'an

“You’re going to be the first to cross over, Elexi. How do you feel about it?” Galena Lockwood was back in full force, big white-toothed smile, a new hair color in some shade of blonde, and the totally unnecessary microphone to thrust in someone’s face. That someone was wearing a light winter coat in the mild sunshine. Her hair was tied back in a practical bun and she was looking very much like an executive secretary. But her eyes were hard to read.

“It’s sort of like jumping into the ocean with scuba gear the first time. I know everything will be different, but I can’t imagine it right now.”

“Were you a scuba diver?”

“Once. I went once when I was just out of college.”

“Except that on a scuba dive you eventually come back to the surface. I’m told that this is a one-way trip.”

“It’s sort of a leap of faith, that’s true. I have a lot of faith in my good friend, Aura, who was like a sister to me, and in Mr. Kunstler, and Dr. Advani, and Sara Rothman, and all the others who contributed to get me here.” Elexi wished, for the hundredth time, that she could have said goodbye to Sara. She had barely found out that Aura had a clone in some country called Andorra, wherever that was, and her last “girl talk” was brief and unsatisfactory. She still believed that “her” Aura was murdered in the explosion.

“Is it true that Aura and Ambassador Zovoarcnor of the Pa’an financed this, um, reflector?” The camera panned around the football stadium. It zoomed in on the pair of parabolic reflector dishes, each about ten feet in diameter, flanking the end of the field near the goalposts. They stood on opposite ends of a dais a few steps off the grass, along with a generator. Cables from the reflectors plugged into sockets on a white van.

“Yes, they paid for this one and they set up financing so that others can build reflectors. This is a medium sized one, I’m told. Some will be much bigger.”

“You have a great deal of courage, Elexi, and the world is watching to see you off.”

“Thank you, Galena. We all know what you went through, being in prison and all. And that was just for talking to Zovo! This must be a great moment for you, as well.”

Galena nodded and showed another gleaming smile. “You’re very right. This is a sort of redemption for me, and to be here with you today is an honor. All I can say at this time is…Bon Voyage!”

As millions watched, Elexi walked down the field to the reflectors. Her mind raced. There were so many loose ends, regrets, things that should have been said, things that still needed to be done. It was overwhelming, too much for now. She put it all way. She had to concentrate on each step, “Don’t trip. Please don’t trip.”

She didn’t trip. She mounted the two steps to the dais, walked to the red circle between the reflectors. There was a low hum as the generator picked up the load. The automatic mechanism in the reflectors detected her in their focus. A slight glimmer formed, hardly visible in the daylight, and Elexi disappeared from this universe.

The camera panned to a small bronze plaque attached to the stage, “First human to Exit using the Pa’an gateway,” with her name and date.

Millions of hearts went with her.

Back in his closed office at Ultradata, Jag sat glued to a display screen, thinking of all that Elexi had gone through, her torture at the hands of a megalomaniac, and her obsequious service to her “Master”. Finally he muttered to himself, “May she be in a better place.” It occurred to him that he had said the same thing about Sara.