Frontier Friends

1

Alice slowed down her hyper-ship WLT03589. Then she reached for the hyper-com, the advanced communication-device provided by the Central.

“Hello Central, I'm A753 calling from WLT03589, are you receiving me? Over.” She repeated the same message three times as usual and then waited.

After half an hour, the reply came, “ Hello A753, we've received you at Central. Let us check your coordinates and let us know your condition. Over.”

Alice relaxed on a soft sofa, rest time was long, 24 hours, a whole day and night measured in earth time.

Oh, Earth! All of a sudden Alice felt homesick. She stretched herself on the suspended bed near the window and looked out. She saw billions of stars burning out there in ink-black space, millions of galaxies floating out there. Actually all of them are speeding away with a tremendous velocity, but from her viewpoint it was so calm, so peacefully quiet! She felt a deep, smooth touch of love and fell asleep.

About an hour passed quietly and then the stream of events started. Beep beep beep ....shrill, harsh alarms coming from all directions.

Alice jumped out of her bed. What happened? Suddenly had her ship's safety-system gone wild or what? Bright red lights were blinking everywhere, harsh and fearsome beeping sounds were unbearable!

Although too anxious to decide, Alice tried to put together her thoughts. Two way communication would take about half an hour if she tries to contact Central.

Alice looked at the clock and and saw she only slept for an hour! “ What could have happened in this short period of time? Has anything she did harmed the ship? Or any other danger appeared from outside ? ”

Alice tried to sort out things but she was totally clueless.

Suddenly a mechanical voice started, “A753, I'm your ship's safety-system speaking now. Please be prepared to take shelter in life shell. An unknown ship's coming towards WLT03589.”

Alice's heart began to pound faster and faster. An unknown spaceship? Where? Were there any humanlike beings in it? She looked out through the tiny window of the life-shell.

The speeding torus-shaped spaceship was clearly visible to her,the speeding torus was approaching her ship alarmingly fast. Alice knew safety system of her ship was prepared to fight with its all weapons ready, only she was thinking what would have happened if she could contact the torus-ship in some way? Was that impossible? What if there were living beings there? What if they were friends?



2

Alice found herself lying on a strange sea-beach, sand under her back was silky white, it was sunny and the sky was sapphire-blue. She saw coconut trees all around, she got up and walked towards the waves without worry. She somehow knew it was not all real, it was somewhat like a dream, but a sweet dream without horror or danger.

She touched the foamy water, it was lukewarm. She wanted to go into the water and play with the waves, she almost expected a couple of friendly dolphins to come and play with her. But at the last moment she changed her mind and turned towards the coconut trees and walked towards the grove to rest in cool shadow. It was there she met Cynthia.

Cynthia's planet, a little planet named Selena was in danger of getting hit by a planet size space-rock approaching it. The scientists and engineers were ready to launch a rescue project. But little Selena didn't have enough resources. So they asked for help to the capital planet, Edna. Edna was most powerful and resourceful planet of that spiral arm of their galaxy.

That appeal fell to deaf ear, Edna was busy with the war against the planetary terrorist groups. Strong and powerful Edna had no time to listen to little Selena.

As the time went by, some people who had means to go, fled Selena to other planets. But most people were still there, waiting for the complete death and destruction. Cynthia stopped there, her voice broke. Then she wiped her eyes and looked at Alice.

Alice sat like a marble statue, didn't move her eyes from her new friend for a moment. She listened Cynthia with all of her attention.

Cynthia said, “I was just floating around in space, without hope. I was just looking for something, somebody or some means to save my planet. I didn't really believe something would happen. All of a sudden, I found something. My devices detected a strange signal. It was caused by your spaceship. You came from anti-universe, your spaceship was made of anti-particles.

Then I contacted you by this dream spell, otherwise we couldn't talk. We were not allowed to go near each other beyond a certain range. Forgive me for using this dream technique, but I had no choice, I was so desperate to contact you!”

Alice assured her with friendly smile. Then said, “You don't have to apologize. What you did was right, perfectly good. If I were you, I would do the same. Now let me know, is there any way I can help you with?”

Cynthia said, “If you give me a ball of material, a chunk of metal or a dinner plate or anything like that, that can save us. We will only drop it on the approaching space rock, still far enough from Selena, if we drop your antiparticle plate on it, the part of the particle-made space rock will annihilate with it and the released energy will push the remaining rock from its orbit and Selena will be saved from getting hit.”

Alice was relieved. She thought, only this much? A chunk of material? She will do gladly. But how would Cynthia take it? Or would they have to throw it in such a way that it would hit the dangerous space-rock in such a way that it will change its orbit? In that case Alice would have to wake up and start computing and use the firing unit.

If Cynthia now takes off her dream spell, how will they communicate? In dream meeting, there is no language necessary,they're easily talking from mind to mind. In wakefulness, it won't be that easy.

She said, “Cynthia, I'll be glad to help you. Let me wake up and have the clear memory of this dream. So I can use my system to compute the orbit of that space rock. Don't worry, Cynthia, everything will be alright. Let me wake up first.”

Cynthia smiled a reassuringly, she said, “I'm not worried anymore. Alice, you'll remember everything of this dream when you'll wake up. I'm so sorry that we can't talk when you're awake. I don't know why there are so many different languages! We should have been hardwired for a common language. In that case we could communicate without any problem.”

Alice replied with a very soft voice, like the murmuring south breeze among the tender leaves of spring- “Cynthia, we're all hardwired for a common language, the language of love and kindness. You know that, don't you?”

Cynthia smiled but her eyes welled with tears, then the drops started to fall along her cheeks like a stream of tiny, shining pearls. Alice extended her right hand to wipe the tears, the tears of love and kindness.



3

Alice woke up smoothly. It was a dream but not all a dream. She will have to do a series of work now and everything have to be almost perfect otherwise Cynthia's home-planet Selena will not be saved from disaster. First she will have to turn on her probing and computing system and then start gathering information about Selena and the space-rock approaching Selena.

Alice smoothly started her job and tried to keep her nerve straight. A little anxiety or tension might have very bad consequences. She was careful to stay calm and focussed on her job. She succeeded doing that.

Alice's system was efficient, after a few hours of observation,the orbit of the space rock approaching Selena was calculated. The next step was to calculate the mass needed to change that orbit in which the space-rock will recede from Selena from the point where it will meet it's antimatter mass. After several hours, Alice's system prepared the ball from metal and clay. It was almost a perfect sphere with small geometric patterns on it. Alice held it on her palm, it reminded her of a toy globe she held in her childhood days. She wondered how that little and neat object will do a gigantic work, changing the orbit of a huge space-rock!

All the tiny particles she had in her body and around her were all antiparticles to Cynthia! Yet she was so similar to her! Yet she was so friendly! They were two young humans from the two sides of the frontier, the frontier which could never be crossed from either side.

Alice prepared her system to throw the sphere. When it was floating away with the initial velocity given by the system, Alice observed for a while. It was going away with the wings of fire around it, the little angel of fire to save a planet.

Alice felt a sweet tiredness, the tiredness people feel after a successful project. She stretched herself on the sofa by the window and then she fell asleep.

That dream-time seashore came back. There was that coconut grove again. And then, Cynthia. She was calm and quiet. She looked happier than before. Alice got up and shook her hands. Both smiled. Dream had its own advantages. In real life, they would not be able to shake hands.

Cynthia thanked her very heartily. Alice accepted.

“Do you know Cynthie, what do I want? I want to see you in real life. An impossible hope.” Alice tried to hide her sigh but wasn't fully successful.

Cynthia had the same wish, but it was not possible. Their frontier was as solid as death itself. If anyone would cross, will vanish in a flash of light immediately as soon as she touches anything. Still she wanted to hold real Cynthia's hands.

Sometimes human beings become so silly! They hope against all odds, they wait for a miracle to happen. And it happens, sometimes.

***