Chapter 7
Shelby’s Story
Although a navigator, Shelby’s interests in sociology compels her to notice the interactions of others. As the crew separated to their associated Transport Pods, she absorbed one last look at them, as they entered their transport vehicles, just in case they didn‘t return. Chip was more focused on his notes than the escort, Tom was very orderly and aloof, Tammy was hanging on her escort like they were old friends—Dale tagging along, and she saw me greeting my escort with the proper head nod and handshake.
As Shelby lifted off, she made polite conversation with the escort, asking questions of the family and origin. Her escort was an older woman with a soft, pleasant face. Surprising, since most Vlancos had such youthful appearances. Shelby was astounded to find out the woman was 350 years old. Although and age and race difference, the two quickly developed an intimate friendship.
Shelby thought she would start her investigations by examining the Vlaco spiritual ideology first, then later their living conditions. Within a half-hour they were at the destination. She had found herself in what would be equivalent to Earth’s worshiping meeting places. And although Earth has so many varieties of religions, and denominations within religions, the Vlancos have only one.
Shelby turned to the crew members and started to explain her most exciting experience first.
“I was escorted into a large entrance area with hundreds of other persons who were talking, laughing, and some very serious, but all enjoying each other’s company. Their attire was clean, pastel colored robes. If you stood back and squinted they all seem to fit together like a tapestry. My escort introduced me to others as we strolled along. They took turns asking me probing questions about my background and other interests…not in an analytical way, but rather with genuine concern for me. Let me tell you the parts that affected me the most.”
“The older woman brought me to a tall dark Vlanco man. ‘Shelby,’ said my escort, ‘I would like you to meet Joron.’”
“‘Greetings Shelby,’ said Joron, with a deep and regal voice. ‘Have you had time to assess our culture?’”
“‘No,’ I said politely, ‘I still need to gather more technical data.’”
“He laughed, a deep hearty laugh. ‘You sound like your examining us as in a research project, Shelby,’ he said with a big grin.”
“‘Tell me Shelby, do you worship the Messenger like we do?’”
“‘Messenger? Who is that?’ I said, with interest.”
Joron paused. “‘You may know Him by another name. We believe all sentient beings know of Him.’”
“‘May...be,’ I said, slowly nodding pensively. Even those on Earth seem to have the same God by different names.”
“‘Shelby, tell me, did you have a song you enjoyed singing as a young human child, in your worship arena?’”
“‘How did you know I went to church, er I mean worship.’”
“‘You are here. I assumed you must have done this previously,’ he said, in a self-assured manner.”
“‘I see. Well, I don’t know. I guess How Great Thou Art?’ I really was caught off guard so I said the first song that came to me.”
Joran leaned in and tilted his head. “‘Shelby, how does that song proceed?’ I noticed several Vlancos turning with anticipation of an audio performance from me. It made me even more self conscious than I already was. Trying to be a good ambassador from Earth, I did the best I could, given the circumstances, with a simple form of the song. I like to sing, but felt awkward, with strangers from another part of the galaxy watching me. ‘Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder…’. I rushed through the verses the best I could, and they seemed pleased.”
“Joron nodded in approval. ‘Shelby, you sang your song very well, in spite of your shyness. It was not our intention to embarrass you. Your words sang true and it would seem universal to any culture. Would you like to meet some of my friends?’”
“‘Yes.’ I was thankful we got off me and my mediocre singing. Joron introduced me to many others who also seemed genuinely interested in me and laughed at the simplest things I would say. They really were sooo sweet.”
“For the next half hour or so, I was met and greeted by what seemed liked everyone in the building. But eventually the crowd slowly and casually moved toward a large opening into what I assumed was the worship arena. As we moved throughout the archway, my escort told me that they have smaller meetings on a daily basis and that this is a monthly gathering with the local community. The arena was like a shallow bowl with what seemed to be soft pillow-like furniture all around the arena, with the exception of the center. As the arena filled up, the buzzing of conversation evolved into more of a hum. I looked to the left and right of me to see the aliens nonchalantly humming, as they were situating themselves into their seats. I followed suit. They were all smiling and humming, when, at some point, they eventually quieted down. A central figure was down at the center of the area by this time and raised his hands. I could hardly make out the person’s features at this distance. There must have been more than 10,000 people in the place. It was completely quiet now, and everyone's attention was on him.”
“He spoke with dignity, power, and gentleness. ‘It is pleasing to have all of you here again. It seems like such a long time since we gathered. We have a special guest with us, who has traveled quite a distance to be here. I do not think it was our wonderful gathering that drew her to us.’ Scattered chuckles were heard. ‘If you meet her, please make her feel at home.’”
“He raised his hands up and looked toward the ceiling, which was beautiful to look at. It was a transparent roof. A turquoise sky was the backdrop of the three suns in a triangular pattern. The stars were little, big, and biggest, all peering in on us. As we were looking upward, he reminded the crowd of the five covenants, the gift of the Messenger, and the Creators great love. It was very hard to follow, with virtually no knowledge of what he was referencing. Eventually, I would find out what he was referring to, but at the moment, I didn’t matter, because there seemed to be a very strong peace in the arena that impressed me greatly.”
“While he was speaking, the rest of the crowd commenced that humming again. As his voice grew fainter, the crowd’s grew louder. At the same time this was happening, everyone gradually stood up with their arms and hands sliding outward to the persons on each side, until they touched the tips of each others fingers. All the while, the music was changing from humming to soft singing. It was a lovely melody that moved up and down in scale like a boat riding gently rolling waves. Then cam a transition with a complex harmony and incredible rhythm. The music had changed ever so slightly into another song in such a way that I hadn’t noticed the shift.”
“All people—and even me for goodness sake—were in perfect harmony and the voices of some people were unbelievable. There were women with voices so high, it sounded like birds singing, and men with voices so low, it was as though an earthquake was upon us. Acappella voices had the ability to impressively mimic a variety of instruments. The music seemed to trail through and around the arena like an undecided warm breeze. It was breathtaking. Then the unmistakable moment occurred.”
“The song changed into a song I was very familiar How Great Thou Art! Yes, the little tune I had sang when I first entered. They sang this:
‘Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
consider all - the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Chorus
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art.
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee,
How great thou art, how great thou art.’
When through the woods and...’”
“The song continued with the singing more powerful after each stanza. While I sang, I tried to understand how they knew my song, my voice started cracking with emotion, and tears streamed down my cheeks. Like the song said, it was truly an awesome wonder! Even now I can’t help noticing how this spur-of-the-moment song was so appropriate for being in this foreign place. I found out later that they make a special effort to blend concerns and interests of those attending. And in that short time they had memorized the verses for the gathering. They were not concerned with only their own but with all those attending. In that way all will have a connection to the community as a whole.”
Shelby’s voice started wavering.
“The physical and spiritual connection to one another was something I have never felt before. There was a freedom and lifting of my spirit that was unmatched to any of my experiences on Earth. It was really impressive.”
She stopped to look down at her folded hands in her lap and then looked up at the rest of us with tears welling up in her eyes.
“I guess you can see I approved of the gathering,” she said, as she dabbed her eyes and cheeks, with the back of her wrists.
I shifted in my chair uncomfortably, glancing around to see if anyone else was getting chocked up. There were.
She gathered herself and continued. “There was also teaching intertwined with the music but it was done by different persons at different times. It seems disorganized at first, and yet it made perfect sense. It was like they were telling stories of their life, yet explaining deep philosophical truths within the story. It was rather poetic in a way. But that singing was what really spoke to me. I was so used to having a choir in my church at home, but it was fascinating to be apart of this worship meeting, where all the people were the choir. It was lovely, just lovely....”
“Oh, the five covenants! I didn’t mention it, did I?” All of us shook our heads sideways, like puppets, still mesmerized by the last episode of Shelby’s story. “After the worshiping time ended, we ambled our way back out to the entrance without a care in the universe. On our way, my escort was explaining some of the basics of their faith to me. The five covenants was an agreement between them and God—sort of like the Ten Commandments. The first is Humility, second—Purity, third—Joy, fourth—Oneness, and five—Communion.”
“Oh yea,” said Tom, “they mentioned those covenants when I was visiting the military complex. I wondered what they were talking about.”
Shelby leaned forward and counted them out on her hand as she instructed. “The short version, is that they incorporate these five covenants into their lives. Humility keeps selfish intentions at bay, Purity refers to a pure heart, Joy should be experienced in all circumstances, Oneness is more or less empathizing with others, and I believe Communion means to intently pray to the Creator regularly. There are sub-parts to each of the five covenants, but I’ll have to refer back to the data on that for a precise breakdown. One of the most intriguing parts to their faith is that it seems a lot like my own. For example, you know the Messenger they keep talking about?”
We nodded in agreement.
“Well, about 3,200 years ago, a Vlanco like the others was born. He claimed to be a Messenger to the people. It just so happens that this Messenger brought a message of good hope to the people and was killed for his teachings. And get this, he disappeared from the grave site that was sealed up. Sounds a lot like Christianity on Earth, doesn’t it? Additionally, about 400 years ago, the Messenger returned, from who knows where, and rid the world and the neighboring planets of those that didn’t follow his teachings. And remember our unwelcomed acquaintances the Negritee?”
We nodded again.
“They were the people who didn’t accept the teachings of the Messenger, and were cast out to the planetary system we entered during the disturbance. So now, it is told that there will be 1000 years of spiritual unity, until some sort of final conflict.”
Shelby explained how she spent the next few days living with and talking to the people about their daily lives, learning metaphysical concepts, and anything else that seemed to be relevant to her research. At one point, she told us about a young boy that was with his father at a Pod transit center, several days earlier.
“The father was an operator for the transmitting beam. It was his job to monitor and direct the power beam for the Pods. While he was going through the standard schedules of the vehicles, he was instructing the little boy on the launching procedures. At one point, the boy wandered off and was playing in a landing circle. The father was experiencing some power fluctuations from the launching grid, due to magnetic interference from the local stars. Reluctantly, he realized his only choice was to return the pod back to the landing pad or risk the lives of all those inside.”
“As he was making alterations to bring a large pod back down, he noticed his boy playing in the landing spot. He only had two options, push the pod onward, which would certainly caused it to crash with all 48 people aboard, or let it land where his son was playing. His son had tied his little belt around the locking ring in the center, leaning back, arms outstretched, while swinging himself around in a circle. The father called to his son, but when the boy responded to his call, his father noticed the belt tied to the locking ring. The decision had to be made in a split second. The only way to land the vessel was to send a high energy beam up from the landing spot where the boy stood, and he had to do it soon. He knew what he had to do, but wanted to leave his boy with joy in his soul and no fear. So just before the pod could come crashing down, he called out to his son, that he loved him. The boy smiled and waved, and he smiled back. The father fired the bright beam up into the air, barely catching the pod safely and bringing all inside to a safe and secure landing...at the expense of a child.”
The air went out of the room, and I felt sick.
“On Earth, making a difficult choice like this, would have had all sorts of endings, most likely different than this one. The Vlancos, however, seldom have doubts about their obligations, when confronted with hard decisions like that. They have taught one another, from a very early age, the issues of ethics, community, and the role they play in the community. They rarely hesitate to do what they know to be true.”
This story was truly heart wrenching; however, not all Shelby’s stories were serious and solemn experiences, some were humorous as well. One episode that had us splitting our sides was when she was invited to have a meal with a family she had met at the worshiping arena. The father of the family of four, a wife, and a young male and female child, wanted to make a good impression on the visitor from Earth.
As her escort brought her to their habitat, the family was walking outside to greet them. They looked a little hurried and a bit nervous when they approached. The father had a big wet spot in the crotch area of his clothing, and Shelby, although dubious, tried to ignore it. He angled himself and put one of the children in front, so as to conceal it. They went back to the front access panel, for the meal, and realized the front door was locked. He left his key inside. Being resourceful, he found an open window, to which he proceeded to climb in. However, as he climbed in he caught his clothing on a latch above him, which ripped his backside like a run in a nylon stocking.
Shelby saw him awkwardly disappear into the room, and heard some clanging and painful “ouches” as he stumbled, through furniture, to the door. The good impression he was trying to make, was wearing thin. The lever was stuck and from behind the door we could hear him excuse himself, while he obtained some tools. After a series of poundings, the access panel opened and he was there to show us in. Unfortunately as he did, the rip in his clothing showed his buttock as he reached down to pick up a toy in his path. Everyone was trying to hold back their laughter, when he turned and stepped on another squishy, flexible toy, which caused him to slip and fall backward with his legs completely leaving the floor. They all lurched forward to catch him, but it was too late. He landed on his butt, surprised and embarrassed. The whole event looked like an old vaudeville act.
Shelby tried to keep her emotions in check as she glanced to the rest of the family for the proper response, but her and everyone else finally burst out in laughter, not being able to hold it back any longer. This had to be his most clumsy day in his life. So much for his good impressions. Shelby could hardly tell the story without cracking up, which was contagious to the rest of us. Fortunately, the evening meal was a success, and she enjoyed the time the family spent together, telling stories, playing games, and just appreciating one another’s company.
We all listened intently, as Shelby described the differing social aspects of the Vlanco people. We could see how she was intrigued with the kindness and honesty of the people, and yet we too noticed it as well. But while things were wonderful for Shelby, it wasn’t such a splendid week for Dale.
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