Reprieve

     Whidbey Island, Washington, a 40 mile by 10 mile stretch of
land in the bay north of Seattle.  It is beautiful, fruitful, and
scenic.  All pests and predators on the island are food, deer,
rabbits, nettles, and blackberries.
     There were two types of people on Whidbey Island, the rich
and those who serve the rich.  This creates a ghetto, of sorts,
people who were destitute, living from day to day, begging from
food banks and relief organizations.  The silent starving masses,
mostly made up of laid-off Boeing workers, or construction
workers who only work during the summer months.  There is a
saying, on Whidbey Island, it's a beautiful place to be
destitute.
     Due to a few yearly activities, the population of the island
can double, at times, calling for several large police forces,
policing a very small population.  There are three ways to leave
the island, using the bridge at one end, or a ferry at the other. 
You could also leave by use of a private boat.  There was no such
thing as a fast getaway on Whidbey Island, since any exit could
be easily blocked.  In addition, the population of Whidbey Island
mostly consists of retired military.  Some retired military men
have more weapons, and more knowledge in their use than the
combined resources of many police forces.  A retired Army Ranger
may rub elbows with a retired Navy CB or Seal.
     What is the purpose of this discourse?  Imagine a piranha-
infested stream in the amazon, then imagine tossing in a leg of
lamb.  This is much like the reaction to a crime on any given
day, on Whidbey Island.  White cars, green cars, unmarked cars,
and armed neighbors will show up at the drop of a hat.  This
makes for a very low crime rate, and the resurgence of an old
custom called... walking at night.  
     Walking at night may seem foolhardy to city folks, but to
the residents of Whidbey Island, it's a right.  On any given
night you can drive down a road and see six or seven couples out
walking at night, enjoying the crystal clear air, the stars, or
the moonlight.  Many children think nothing of camping on the
beach, or simply walking the beach at night to see the
phosphorescent water or passage of whales.

     Bobby Johnson was one of these destitute people.  His family
was poor, living in a trailer on a hillside, with a million
dollar view of the ocean, the Olympic Mountains, and Mount Baker,
rising high above it's mountain range behind Everett.  At night
the bay is lit by a thousand lights.  
     Bobby liked it best at night.  The wind sighed in the pines
over his head.  Bat's filled the skies, devouring bugs which were
attracted to his flickering light.  Using an old railroad lantern
which his father bought for him one Christmas, Bobby hummed
happily to himself as he wandered down the smooth paved back road
behind his house.  His attention was diverted to the skies by a
shooting star.  He saw the flash of light from the corner of his
eye, but it was gone when he looked up.  
     The warm breeze blew from the west, gently ruffling the
leaves in the trees overhead.  An owl hooted nearby.  Bobby tried
to imitate the hoot of the owl, but he was out of practice.  The
owl ignored him.  He saw the lighted windows in the Lopez house
as he passed.  Mrs. Lopez worked at his school.  She was a nice
lady, but rarely spoke to people who passed.  He heard her
speaking to someone in Spanish.  Suddenly he heard the scuff of
shoes ahead of him in the darkness.
     "Who's there?" he called nervously.
     "Pweway?" a voice responded.  He relaxed when he found it to
be another boy, possibly around his own age.
     "There's no freeway here," Bobby said with a laugh.
     "I'm sorry, can you understand me now?"
     "Sure.  Who are you?  I don't recognize your voice," Bobby
said, lifting the lantern.  Even with the dim light he couldn't
see much.
     "Ridge."
     "Ridge?  You don't live around here.  Where are you from?"
     "A long way's away.  I just flew in."
     "Oh.  You want to walk with me?"
     "Sure," Ridge said, joining Bobby.
     "I have to get back soon, my parents will miss me," Bobby
explained.
     "Not me, I'm on a field trip," Ridge said.  "What's it like,
living here?"
     "Great.  I like it.  What about you?"
     "Not so great.  I live in the top of a tower, in a big city. 
The air stinks and it's too crowded."
     "Yeah, I've seen pictures of those cities.  I like it here,
I just wish there was more to do.  Do you like flying?"
     "Oh sure," Ridge said enthusiastically, "it's the greatest. 
This is the first year that my dad let me fly alone."
     "You fly alone?  Where's your plane?" Bobby gasped.
     "Well... down on the beach.  Do you like to fly?" Ridge
asked.
     "Hell yes.  Let's go," Bobby gasped.
     "What about your parents?"
     "To heck with that, I want to fly."
     Ridge laughed, being pulled along by Bobby.  He finally
stopped Bobby and turned him in the right direction.  It wasn't
long until they reached the beach, and stood next to a huge
golden apple seed.  Bobby gasped and held the lantern near
Ridge's face.  It was obvious now that Ridge wasn't human, and
his ship was not a plane.  Still, Bobby felt at ease around Ridge
and they were nearly the same age.  It was too late for fear and
regret.  Alien kids were still kids.
     "Wow," Bobby finally gasped.
     "Do you like it?" Ridge asked enthusiastically.
     "Sure, it's great.  Can I see inside?"
     "Ok.  Here's the key," Ridge said, handing Bobby something
that looked like a small glass door knob.  Bobby admired it's
sparkle, even in the comparative darkness of the lantern light. 
Bobby handed the lantern to Ridge and put the metal peg in the
key hole.  The ship opened like a clam.  The ship consisted of an
engine pod and a large seat.  
     "Yeah.  There's not much room, it's only big enough for one
adult, but maybe we could both fit in the seat.  Bobby, don't
lose that key, I have another but they are very valuable.  They
are complicated.  The circuitry is in the metal peg, the crystal
powers it."
     "Is it a dilithium crystal?" Bobby laughed.
     "No, I've never heard of that.  It's just a diamond."
     "I'll be careful," Bobby said.  Bobby slid into the seat,
then moved over to make room for Ridge.  The inside smelled nice,
like flowers.
     "How... how can I fly?" Bobby asked nervously.
     "You won't, the ship will.  I'll program it for a short
flight, maybe a five minute flight to the moon and back.  How's
that?"
     "Great.  What about Saturn?"
     "The first ringed planet?"
     "I guess.  I thought we only had one."
     "You have more.  Sure, I guess I could do that.  But you
don't understand the time differential.  To us time passes
quickly, but on Earth it passes infinitely slower.
     "I understand," Bobby lied.  He wanted to get underway.
     "Very well, I will program our flight, you control it with
that key," Ridge said, turning to a knob on the arm of the chair
and speaking in a foreign language.  
     "Ok, Ridge said, nodding at the indentation in Bobby's chair
arm.  Bobby slid the peg into the hole.  Nothing happened until
he turned the knob.  The ship turned transparent and shot into
the air with no feeling of movement.  They were hundreds of feet
above the ocean now, looking down at the lights of Everett.
     "It's like a movie," Bobby gasped in excitement.  "Hey, how
do I know we're really moving?  I didn't feel anything."
     Ridge spoke out loud and the hatch above their heads
suddenly opened.  Bobby leaned forward and looked down at
Everett.  He gasped at the great height.
     "C... c... close it," he whispered.  Ridge laughed and spoke
again.  The hatch closed and turned transparent again.
     "Wow," Bobby gasped.
     "Ready?" Ridge asked.
     "Sure.  Let's go," Bobby said, squirming in the seat.
     "Guaga riet uwa," Ridge said.  The ship shot into the air,
leaving Earth at a steady distance-eating pace.  Within a few
minutes they were circling the moon.  In a few more minutes they
were speeding away from it.
     "It won't be long," Ridge said, reaching to his left and
handing Bobby a drink.  They each took a drink from their own
glasses, watching as Saturn, and several bright moons, grew
brighter.
     "Hey, that didn't take long," Bobby said in excitement.
     "Longer than most trips.  I usually fly through other
dimensions and reappear instantly, otherwise my planet would be
dead before I returned home.  But by flying through other
dimensions at light speed, no time passes for me and I get there
instantly in my own dimension."
     "Can I try?"
     "I don't know.  Spending time in other dimensions can change
you.  A short trip would change you for minutes, a longer one
could change you forever."
     "How?" Bobby asked, only half listening as the passed over a
frozen white moon.
     "I can't explain, you just have to experience it for
yourself.  God lives in there," Ridge said in a small, frightened
voice.  "I suppose a short trip wouldn't hurt though."
     "Ok, but let's look at Saturn first.  I have pictures of it
in my room."
     "But... Ok," Ridge said nervously.
     "Oh my God, look how shiny the rings are," Bobby gasped as
they neared Saturn.  I can see the reflection of your ship in
them."
     "There is a lot of ice in the rings," Ridge explained. 
"Bobby, I really have to get you back home," he said nervously. 
"You're going to get me into trouble."
     "Are we going through a different dimension?" Bobby asked in
excitement.
     "It's the fastest way, but there's not much to see.  Mostly
it looks like this.  All the dimensions are slightly different
until they get to exact opposites, or the old dimensions like
dimension number one, where God lives."
     "You believe in God?"
     "Believe?  I don't understand.  Do you believe in trees?"
Ridge asked while mumbling to the computer.
     "Well I believe in God the same way, God is a fact, not a
belief.  You'll... you'll see in a second.  If you're normal, you
will know everything."
     "What..." Bobby was stopped as the universe blinked off,
then reappeared.  In the moment between dimensions, he was
changed, as Ridge had warned.  He grew mentally.  He was smarter,
all-knowing and all-seeing.  For that moment Bobby knew
everything that was to be known, felt everything that could be
felt.  He stiffened under the mental assault, while Ridge placed
a hand on his arm to anchor him to their reality.  
     It wasn't until this transfer that Bobby realized there were
many realities.  Truly crazy people were not crazy, they were
lost.  True geniuses were no different from anyone else, they had
nearly the same amount of brain cells, which worked at the same
speed, and in the same way.  But they were more in tuned with the
universe.  The only thing Einstein discovered, was a new way to
explain to other's, what he could already see.  He wasn't looking
for new discoveries, he was looking for a better explanation.
     Bobby gasped as he realized what Ridge had been trying to
tell him.  No time passes for a person traveling at light speed,
but much time had passed back on Earth, where time was a
constant.  He was days late.
     "My God, Ridge, get me home," he gasped.
     "I'm sorry, I tried to tell you," Ridge said nervously.
     "Can you take me back in time?" Bobby asked hopefully.
     "My parents don't allow it.  It's too easy to get lost."
     "I understand," Bobby nodded.  "Oh, they are going to go
crazy," Bobby said nervously.
     "I'm sorry, Bobby.  Do you want me to go in with you?" 
     "No," Bobby said, knowing that such an action would get
Ridge in deeper trouble.  All his actions were being watched by
his parents.  It would be easier for Bobby if he could say,
"look, I was on a UFO and here is the alien," but he would just
have to manage on his own.  Ridge touched down on the street near
Bobby's house.  It was night time again, and the Lopez house was
just out of sight.
     "Good luck," Ridge said, clapping Bobby on the shoulder.
     "Thanks," Bobby said, pulling the key from the slot.  The
ship turned dark, making it impossible to see the ship without a
light source.
     "I'm glad we took that trip, even if I do get into trouble,"
Bobby whispered in the darkness.  With the hatch open the gentle
rustle of the leaves overhead was a whisper of normalcy, in a
world which had been turned upside down.
     "I'd better go," Bobby whispered.  "Can you come back?" he
asked Ridge, unable to see him but knowing where he was by touch.
     "No, I don't think so.  This was my field trip, my separate
vacation, I guess you would call it.  When I get home I need to
choose a career.  I'm not due for a vacation for... about fifteen
of your years.  By then neither of us will care," Ridge said in a
whisper.
     "I understand," Bobby agreed, climbing from the front of the
clam shell shaped ship.  He watched the dark form of the ship for
a moment, then turned and hurried toward his home.  If he
hurried, he may be able to tell his father how to become rich. 
For the moment, Bobby was the smartest man on Earth.  He knew
everything.  But the heightened intelligence would wear off soon,
he could feel it.
     Bobby thought he heard a yell behind him, but he was in a
hurry to get home now.  Time was critical.  In a moment the
yellow flash of the departing ship lit his back yard for him.  He
ran to the back door, slid it aside, and hurried in.  The room
was filled with people.
     "Dad?"
     "Bobby," his father and mother both screamed at once.  They
ran over and hugged him, then held him at arm's length and
glared.
     "Where have you been?" his father demanded.
     "With a friend.  We lost track of time."
     "Lost track..." his father sputtered impotently.
     "You've been gone for seven days," his mother cried.
     "Seven days," Bobby stared from one to the other in
disbelief.
     "Seven days," his mother repeated.  "Didn't you know?"
     "No," Bobby said, hanging his head.  "Dad, I have to tell
you something, quickly before I forget.
     "First I have a few questions for you, young man," a severe
looking woman advanced, glaring down at him. 
     "Who are you?" Bobby demanded.
     "I'm from child welfare," she said it as if it were a death
sentence.
     "They tried to pin your murder on us," his father said
resentfully.  "It's easier than looking for a real criminal."
     "Mister Craft, that will not get you..."
     "Get out," Bobby's father ushered her and several uniformed
policemen toward the door.
     "Take your hands off..." the woman demanded.
     "GET OUT! Bobby's father roared, startling everyone in the
room.  "He's back and you have no case.  Now get out before I get
violent.  You are no longer welcome here and you have no legal
right to trespass.  OUT!" he screamed again until they all piled
out of the door.  The woman tried to push her card through the
crack in the screen door, but he slammed the door in her face.
     "Now, what happened?" Bobby's father demanded.
     "I went joyriding with a friend and lost track of time, dad. 
But I have to tell you something," Bobby said, then he suddenly
felt the heightened intelligence slipping away.  Once again he
was only a ten year old boy.  
     "Well?" his father stood waiting, tapping his foot in
impatience.
     Bobby stood fingering the object in his pocket for several
moments, before he realized what it was.  He took the alien
spacecraft key from his pocket and marveled at the sparkle of the
egg sized diamond in the light.
     "Is this diamond worth much?," he asked innocently, handing
it to his father.