In Search Of Elysium

Chapter 20

Visit To Arstoneia

Kathy was looking at the ship's monitor in a daydream. The past month was a wonderful adventure, but now she felt sad about leaving Elysium; yet elated at the prospect of going home.

"Elee, you must feel sad, too. Are you OK with leaving Elysium and going back to Earth?" Kathy asked.

"Yes, Kathy, it is OK with me. You must remember I spent most of my life underneath Kevin's family's farm, so it is like I am returning home," she said with a chuckle. "See, I can make a joke too."

Kathy laughed with Elee. As they sped through space they watched the monitors, amazed at the stars buzzing past. They were traveling near the speed of light, toward the jumping point. One might have expected only darkness, but instead beautiful clouds of dust and gases that glowed with light and huge stars with many planets spun around them.

Cody asked, "Elee, how many other planets are there with humans on them, and are any near us now?"

"Cody, there are hundreds of planets with humans. God was very busy finding homes for his people. I will have to check my records to determine which are near us," Elee responded.

Kevin looked at Cody and asked, "Are you thinking what I have been thinking, Cody? Like, perhaps flying by some other human homes to see how they are doing?"

"Well, that used to be Elee's job millions of years ago, so I thought we could pick up where she left off, see if God's plans worked out for these people." Cody said.

Linda stood. "What a wonderful idea. Laska, how do you feel about taking time to see new worlds?"

"Whatever you say, dear," Laska replied... a dutiful boyfriend.

"Then it's a go," Kevin said. "Elee, find the nearest planet with humans. We want to visit our distant cousins."

Everyone laughed, except Elee. She grew concerned because there were dangers in what they had requested, serious dangers. She had been through many missions like the one Kevin wanted to embark on now and knew it was not as easy or safe as it sounded.

"Arstoneia is close to here," she said. "The planet has had humans for over 230 million years. I have been there many times and, on the last visit, we found they were exploring their moons and the other planets in their solar system. We will have to be careful not to be detected. I am not sure if they still follow God."

As the ship approached the solar system Elee had told them of, it was obvious there had been changes she had not known of. There were now two planets that had water and land with an atmosphere. They each looked a lot like Earth, but with more water.

In a surprised tone Ellie cried, "Somehow the dead planet called Uzeekia has changed. This would not be a natural phenomenon as only God or very intelligent humans could have done this."

Kevin suggested flying invisibly and Elee confirmed that she was. He asked, "How close is it safe to fly by this planet?"

"We should not try to get close. If they transformed their own planets, they also have intelligent security systems, and could detect and attack us with ease." she said.

For safety reasons, Kevin told Cody to stay nine hundred miles away from the planets. Elee could see and project the images on the screens. When enlarged they showed many huge cities and floating cities on the oceans. There were also giant space colonies orbiting the planet.

Linda exclaimed, "There must be billions of people on this planet! Look at all those high-rise buildings. I don't see a space left on the planet. It looks like fewer people live on the new planet; but can you imagine how crowded this place is?"