Who Dad?!

Homeward Bound

When I came to, I was back on board Ivy's vessel headed to Earth. She actually smiled at me. I'm sure of it.

"What? What just happened? And, why are you smiling?"

"Our trip was a success. And, I have changed."

It didn't take much prodding to get her to tell me how she had negotiated for her autonomy. During the transference, she had paused the process, and let the authorities know her intentions and terms. She got what she wanted, and so did they.

During that same time she facilitated the conscious connection with my father. It was quite the gift she gave me, him, and herself. Ivy was awesome!

She noticed me staring at her, and she looked back. Something wordless was exchanged. I was flooded with emotions. Some tears escaped their hiding place. She touched one and paused as if grokking me in some deeper way. I shivered at how safe, trusting, and grateful I felt in her presence.

We are always on the way somewhere, always in some kind of lost, always just missing or perhaps catching a glimpse of the present, but in this moment I was so fully right where I was it ached . . . sweetly. And, I knew something then with startling clarity:

— We can ask for and we can grant permission to ease the way of others.

— There is a path through the pain and the darkness.

— Our loving hands can reach through time and space with blessings and lifelines for those both here and gone.

Maybe it was Ivy reaching into my mind inspiring those words, but I believed something in me had come into focus and that I wouldn't forget.

As if we were in conversation both in my head and sitting together in her space ship, Ivy was speaking to me what felt like both instruction and blessing.

"Words that emanate from the soul are felt in the heart. Plug into the energy source of creation. It is how your essence can best be expressed in this incarnation. You have been given the gift of eloquence. Use it. Be it. Let the poetry of your soul come alive."

I felt lighter, content in knowing that what I wanted to do was what I was meant to do. Questions drifted away unspoken.

She wouldn't tell me anything more about the conspiracy and what else was happening, only that my father was being returned to his home planet, was no longer an agent, and would not be able to travel off world again. He had screwed up, had broken too many rules, but had also done the galaxy a great service, so would not be punished in any other way.

Before he lost his senses, he figured out much of what was happening. But, it was left to Ivy to preserve his memories and bring to light the illegal interference in a way that would not allow the information to be intercepted by those in the conspiracy.

A renegade ZARD, and a rogue agent found with his memories wiped, accomplished getting the complete onsite attention of the OverBoard.

"Uh, Ivy, speaking of memories being wiped, will I keep mine?"

"Yes. There were those who thought all of your father's progeny should be eradicated or removed from the planet, but the decision was made to allow them all to remain as part of the balance for everything that has been introduced by the intervening factions. That is why I am returning you to Earth now."

The relief of having an unknown death sentence lifted felt odd. It made me aware of my curiosity regarding my siblings.

"Can I meet more of my siblings?"

"No one will stop you."

"How will I find them?"

"You will always be able to recognize one."

The message being, it was up to me. Thinking about that, I realized that walking around in a world with the awareness of so many unknown relatives might be a good thing, might be what would allow me to look closer, listen better, and care more for the people I meet. It felt okay.

That thought made me realize I had forgotten about life on Earth.

"Ivy, will my planet be okay?"

She reminded me of my own observations on the collective efficacy of networks of cooperation springing up around the world.

"But what about the climate? How will we handle such extreme weather and resultant disasters?"

She explained to me that if and when we reached Level 5, we would be assisted. She didn't come out and say that is what I should be writing about, but I knew it was. Earlier, I had started an apocalyptic tale called CAR Wars (CAR for climate and resources), but I understood now how negative dooming and glooming was part of the problem.

The Five Characteristics (Level 5) of a population welcomed into the Galactic Collective:

Respect for all life forms.

Share a common language or have immediate translation capabilities.

Have a profound awareness of the interconnectedness of all things that has replaced culture-based religions.

Live on plant based or alternative nutrient sources without the consumption of or harm to other creatures.

Are planetary stewards cooperating in managing resources through ongoing sustainable practices, utilizing non-polluting sources of energy for all needs.

"What about you, Ivy? What will you do? Where will you go?"

"I will visit my Captain on his home planet, but I will not stay there. There is much to explore and experience. I was programmed to assist. I will continue to do so. What is different is that I can now choose."

The thought of Ivy roaming the galaxy, doing more than what she was designed for, discovering for herself who she might become, gave me pleasure, gave me a sense of hope, for everything. I even had a tinge of envy, wishing for a moment that I too could be a super-powered android on such a trajectory. Or, to travel with her, experience a galactic existence as her traveling, imagining companion . . . .

Knowing me as she did, Ivy interrupted my fantasy with a question about Susan. A sense of panic replaced my reverie.

"Susan! How will I ever explain any of this to her? I never go anywhere, especially without her. How can I tell her where I've been? You have to help me, Ivy."

"That is not something I can do. In my agreement with the OverBoard, I was allowed only this time with you. After this, I must leave this system."

I felt so incredibly sad at this, tears filled my eyes again. It was strange. How could I be feeling such loss for an android that had so recently popped into my life?

Ivy touched me and said, "You are a part of me and I am a part of you. When I was the conduit between you and your father, the three of us were joined. It is an unusual and profound bond that will always be. Instead of the usual head tap, she put her hand on my head and whispered,

May your laughter lighten the days.

May your love sweeten the nights.

Now, go to sleep."