Worlds Without Number (9) THE END!

Lyda told Tom about the discussion that she had about the church. Tom listened with much interest. This church seemed to teach the same basic principles that that his church did on earth. It seemed to have the same organization. It also had a slight variation of the same name. All of these things worked to strengthen the beliefs of both Tom and Lyda. They spoke of how ironic it was that Tom had to travel all this distance to get his religious beliefs stirring again, and to be part of the conversion of Lyda.

Worlds Without Number (8)

Lyda would not come in this morning. After a long talk with Tom last night she had decided to talk with her friend about the church she belonged to. Tom was very interested to find out about this church. He had instructed Lyda to ask about a prophet, and twelve apostles. He wanted to know their beliefs about God, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost. He wanted to find out what they taught about faith, repentance, and baptism. He told her about many things to look for that would be similar to the beliefs and practices of his church on earth. Lyda had agreed to find out. The previous evening had been very interesting and enlightening to her. The idea that a religion on one planet would be nearly identical to a religion on another was curious. What would that mean? She agreed with Tom, that if a religion were ‘true’ on one planet, it ought to be essentially the same on another.

Worlds Without Number (7)

Tom sat nervously in his usual chair. He was very eager to see what the scriptures on this planet would be like. What if they were significantly different? What if they were nearly the same? Either result would be fascinating. He mentally kicked himself once again for not bringing any scriptures with him. He had not read the scriptures regularly for several years, and the ‘powers that be’ on earth apparently had not thought this information was important. For most people on the earth at the time Tom left, religion was thought of as a superstition at best. But that was not much excuse for Tom. He could have brought the content of the scriptures with him without adding anything to the payload of the ship. He just had not thought it was important enough to bring along. What a fool he had been.

Worlds Without Number (6)

The next two weeks brought a near continuous and intense language training. Lyda was an expert teacher, and Tom a gifted student. They were now able to have simple conversations with each other. Now that Tom knew the basic structure of the language he progressed rapidly.

Worlds Without Number (5)

Morning came with a bit of a surprise. There was a light knock on the door, which then swung slowly opened, and in walked a woman. She was the first woman he had seen since his arrival on the planet. Her look and dress gave the impression of intelligence. Her facial expression and body language showed enthusiasm and confidence. Tom also couldn’t help but notice that she was young and quite pretty. She carried a few books, and placed them on the small table along the far wall of the room. She then walked up to Tom and shook his hand. She smiled at him very pleasantly and said a few words slowly and clearly. Tom had no idea what she said but listened closely. She pointed to herself and said ‘Lyda’. She paused for a while and said ‘Lyda’ again.

Worlds Without Number (4)

Tom was escorted to a small room which resembled an examination room at a doctor’s office. The group that escorted him immediately began removing his protective clothing, and placing it into a large container. They did not stop until Tom was completely naked. Tom did not resist. The container was sealed after all of Tom’s clothing was placed inside. The leader took the 3D holographic display, and the group left him alone. The room had a glass window in it, and as Tom looked through it he saw the faces of the planet’s inhabitants for the first time. They appeared perfectly and completely human!

Worlds Without Number (3)

The hibernation chamber automatically began bringing Tom back to a conscious state. The painful tingling in his arms, legs, hands and feet would continue for hours. His muscles would take longer than that to regain most of their strength. Tom would not return to full strength until after he spent some time at full gravity, or better yet, full gravity in a gym. Waking from hibernation was often the worst part of any trip. He told himself that this would be the last trip he would take. He was getting to old for this. He should settle down and get his life back. Maybe get married, and raise a family. Maybe go back to church. He had contemplated retirement after his previous mission, but this trip was to good to refuse.

Worlds Without Number (2)

The countdown had begun. In several minutes the ship would launch on the first journey to what was assumed to be an inhabited planet. A trip that would take a few decades to complete. All systems had been checked thoroughly several times, and all Tom could do was wait and think.

Worlds Without Number (1)

Tom was excited to go again. He was now accustomed to traveling to distant planets. The speed that the ships were able to go made what used to be impossible, just a few years out of your life. The unfortunate part was that life on earth proceeded at the usual rate, and when one returned from the first mission, friends and family were a generation older – or long dead. That sacrifice had been made long ago. There was now little to keep him from making another trip. Why not? There was little else for him to do.