Return to Earth

Epilogue

Kierst made his home at Sheep Head well into his old age. He found contentment in life surrounded by family. It wasn't the kind of family that had arisen at the Nostos, but something more. He could never find the right words for what he found among the villagers and their simple lives that had become his.

The adjustment to living without all he took for granted hadn't been an easy transition. The villagers had helped him, and he helped the handful of those from Mars who joined him after they arrived. It had been harder for them than it was for Kierst, since he was there by choice.

He spent much of the first decade trying his hand at various jobs, but none he had any talent for. The people of Sheep Head never gave up on him, no matter how bad he was at everything he tried his hand at. All he wanted was to earn his keep, but couldn't so much as work a plow, let alone sheer a sheep.

What he lacked in ability was made up with time to read the only book he had. The Bible brought comfort for some reason he couldn't explain. He remained drawn to both Judaism and Christianity. His fellow villagers never pressured him to become a Christian, not even when he started attending the only church in Sheep Head without missing a Sunday.

It was by chance, at least that's what he told himself in the beginning, when he found what he was meant to for the people who'd become his family. Kierst had his head down reading the Bible without being able to recall the exact book or passage, when he bumped into someone who claimed to speak directly for God and Jesus who didn't speak kindly of the Jews.

Rather than give into an inclination to physically fight the arrogant man, he started to debate every point from a Biblical perspective. When the preacher accused the Jews of crucifying Jesus, Kierst pointed out that the Jews method of execution was stoning and the Romans who did the crucifying.

A crowd started to gather as they watched Kierst challenge every lie with Biblical truth. The false preacher grew in anger, but Kierst never let that part of himself enter the debate. Red faced and mocked by the people, he left without winning anything other than his own humiliation.

The debate told him he'd chosen Christianity over Judaism without giving up on what he was drawn to. As Dune had told him all those years before, Jews and Christians were waiting for the same Messiah. It didn't matter that the majority of the Jews had never believed the Lamb had come, since they were both waiting for the Lion.

Kierst was surprised to be asked to give a sermon the following Sunday and even more surprised to find he'd accepted. Being behind a pulpit with no prepared speech felt comfortable as he spoke about God and Jesus.

From that moment on, Kierst had become a minister. He continued to do what he could to help with the jobs that needed doing, but could never get the hang of any of them. The villagers were always grateful for his help, but even more grateful when he was needed elsewhere.

He never lost his temper and never prepared a sermon. God was always with him whenever he spoke. Kierst was happy and content with the family he'd been given without ever marrying and having children of his own. Despite the many offers of women to become his wife from within Sheep Head and without that never ended, he was content. The children of the village were his children and their parents were his brothers and sisters.