The Invitation(35)
Time itself seems to stop as his extended hand, now only inches from the objects surface, begins to tremble. Then, with his eyes closed, like a sky diver plunging for the first time, he commits himself. Opening his eyes, he feels a surface that is neither cold nor hot to his touch, but more surprisingly seems not to have a hard, solid surface. Touching it with some pressure, it yields, reacting similarly to tightly stretched cellophane, or an inflated balloon. Pulling back, he sees the imprint of his hand for a few seconds before the surface resumes its original shape. Then he touches again with the same result. More emboldened, he taps with his knuckles, and sees the surface shimmer slightly like Jell-O. He taps a little harder. It shimmers again. The surface appears to be extremely thin. Now, he touches it again, and with his open hand pushes harder, and harder, with all his strength, but the surface yields only very slightly. Then with no warning, it begins to change shape. Part of it seems to melt and reform, acting like a liquid, shaping itself at will, while at the same time having the structural rigidity of solid matter. It begins to form a frame-like structure looking like a large, square aquarium tank. This strange object resembles a large cube, around eight feet in height, width, and length. Connected to the craft by a thin beam of energy it rests on the ground, completely transparent. Then a strange clear liquid begins to fill the receptacle from the bottom, rising to a height of about five feet before it stops.
People witnessing these incredible events are so preoccupied, they stop looking at the enormous object still parked stupendously above them. Those who glanced upward are surprised to see that the dramatic scene transpiring on the ground before them is now visible in vivid detail stretched across one quarter of the night sky. What people see unfolding on the ground in Olympic Stadium in Miami, is also being seen by uncounted multitudes throughout the world. All are spellbound as they watch the fantastic scene unfold before them, all except one.
The President of the United States seems serenely detached through all of this. His wife, Carol, is not looking at the incredible events taking place no more than a hundred feet away. She is looking at her husband, and in a hushed, apprehensive tone asks him, “How did you know this was going to happen? Tell me Ken. I deserve to know.”
“I will tell you, Carol. I promise you. But first, I need to do something.”
“Tell me what’s happening.”
“Don’t worry, love, everything will be all right. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Seeing Congressman Kearns and his wife, the President walks over to them, and asks the triple amputee a question.
“Steve?”
“Yes, Sir?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Uh, yes, Sir, of course.”
Then turning to Steve’s wife, he asks, “Rebecca, will you trust me?”
“Yes, I trust you.”
“I want both of you to come with me. I want to show you something. It won’t take long.”
“Whatever you say Mr. President,” Steve says.
Pushing Steve’s wheelchair from behind, and with Rebecca following, Ken Myers starts walking toward the odd-looking structure, and the peculiar liquid it contains. Having cowed his Secret Service agents, the President calmly walks the distance to the strange, transparent receptacle, coming within a few feet from it, and turns to Congressman Kearns.
“You’re not afraid are you, Steve?”
“No, I’m not afraid.”
“Good, I want you to watch this.”
Steve does watch. Rebecca watches as well, and also over two thousand million human beings seeing these events unfold on what is in effect a ten thousand mile wide movie screen several thousand miles above the Earth relaying images as vivid, and clear as the living reality it mirrors. The President moves in front of Steve, only inches away from the mysterious liquid, and extends his arm unhesitatingly into the breach, and then walks in, and out of the receptacle, and the liquid it holds with no ill effects, not even getting his garments wet. Getting behind the wheelchair, the President pushes Steve to the very edge of the enclosed liquid, and at that point Rebecca’s protective instinct pierces through her straining outward reserve.
“Wait! Steve, don’t do it. Please don’t do it,” she says.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. I love you, Rebecca.”
“I love you.”
As the President gently rolls the wheelchair into the enclosed liquid, the expression on Steve Kearns’ face moves from trepidation to tranquility. Within the liquid, a strange, iridescent light appears, resembling the ghostly phosphorescence of tiny bioluminescent sea creatures. Submerged up to his shoulders, Steve sees the liquid becoming active, and seem to focus on the stump of his missing left arm. Driven to see why his left arm feels so peculiar, he peels away his shirt sleeve to see what no human has ever seen. The liquid is now roiling with activity at the tip of his severed arm. A bizarre, scintillating dance of some form of radiant light energy reaches a frenetic intensity as Steve looks down, and sees something impossible. Slowly, he sees emerging from the stump of his left arm, a bone, growing in length by the second as he watches. In a matter of seconds all the bones of his arm, wrist, and hand reform until they look like any normal skeletal appendage. He watches in astonishment as he sees in slow motion the complex tissue formation of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Staggered in muted amazement he sees in detail the incredible growth of nerves, and blood vessels.