FIRST CAUSE, Book One of the Terranaut Trilogy

FIRST CAUSE, Book One of the Terranaut Trilogy: Chapter Two

It requires a very unusual mind to undertake an analysis of the obvious.

-Alfred North Whitehead 

April 26th 2008

                Adam had been waiting for the crosstown bus for nearly fifteen minutes, but it felt like twenty-five; he was about ready to give up and begin walking. He didn’t have any assignments or interviews scheduled for the day, and he had made up his mind to take care of some grocery shopping and maybe check out a bookstore; he wasn’t in a particular hurry to get anywhere, but standing around at a bus stop wasn’t how he wanted to start his afternoon. Leaning against the glass of the bus shelter, he meandered through a magazine article whose subject matter he found interesting but whose writing style he found tiresome; wishing he’d brought a better choice of reading material, he glanced upward in hopes of seeing an approaching bus. Instead, he saw Angela.

                She was casually dressed, wearing a slightly billowing flowered skirt and carrying a small black bag slung over her right shoulder. She wore relatively flat shoes, yet seemed to be nearly six feet tall; her legs were long, but she didn’t seem lanky or unwieldy as she stepped through the milling crowd with smooth, lengthy strides. One arm swayed casually alongside her, but her eyes were neither distant nor unaware of her surroundings. Her statuesque frame supported itself effortlessly and confidently.

                She stopped at the bus stop…within feet of him. Adam quietly cleared his throat and buried his gaze in his magazine, hoping he hadn’t been caught staring.

                Angela pulled her bus map from her bag; through the corner of her eye she examined this man, who seemed so intent on appearing to read his magazine. He stood at about her height; he wore slightly faded blue jeans and a loosely fitting button down shirt; he looked fit but not particularly muscular. Though they hadn’t yet directly interacted, she’d noticed him from several paces; he seemed to project a pleasant and approachable manner, and she found herself wanting to speak with him. Given that it was part of her mission to interact with terrestrials wherever convenient, she decided to. “Excuse me, which bus are you waiting for?”

                Adam looked up from his magazine a bit too quickly. “Whichever one comes along is fine with me--I’m only going to Sixth Avenue. How far do you have to go?”

                “Not far.” She smiled. Now that they stood face to face, Angela realized he was actually slightly taller than her, with eyes that were sharper than his easygoing manner first implied. Still smiling, she angled her head toward the midday sun, which shone brightly from a cloudless blue backdrop that, to her, seemed to suggest the infinity that lay beyond it. “It’s quite a nice day, isn’t it?”

                Adam glanced toward the sky, following Angela’s gaze. He dimly regretted not choosing a snappier outfit--but more importantly, he wondered incredulously if this woman was actually trying to make conversation with him. She spoke with no discernible accent, she seemed around his age…and he probably looked like a deer in headlights. A stupid deer was more like it. He made himself grin, now feeling especially silly and almost wishing she’d never interrupted his fine and ordinary morning with the pressure of being accosted by walking beauty. “It’s beautiful…spring is finally here. Where are you headed on such a nice day?”

                She looked to the side, glancing at the jockeying and honking traffic along Fourteenth Street. “Not anywhere in particular, just enjoying the day. And you?”

                Adam folded his magazine and tucked it under his arm, stuffing his hands into his pockets and peering over Angela’s shoulder to see if a bus was coming. “Just the supermarket, really…maybe a bookstore.” Adam suddenly felt about five degrees hotter; the sun was steadily intensifying, but he didn’t think the two facts were related.