Chapter 26

“Enoch!”

“Yes, Rivkah.”

“You’ve just informed me that three other earths have suffered a fate similar to ours. And that the pulsar inside which Astarte had opened her eyes is not the only one? And that... oh no!” Grabbing his arm, she makes a hasty move, “I’m so scared, hug me! hug me now!!”

“Persuasive and persistent. You can’t help yourself.”

“Tell me of a woman who could.”

“All of them. After the stellar orgasms that I’ve telepathically applied to them, they were more than satisfied. I have a hard time understanding why these are not enough for you. Or maybe...”

“What?” she nervously wrests her hand from his hold, “perhaps because I never stop, right?”

“Uhm, because you don’t know, or can’t understand, when to stop, yes.”

“Maybe this made me the first candidate to carry the virus.”

“Possibly. You’ve earned it.”

“But what made Eve tease it down to this earth?, if there are three other earths out there, in a similar situation.”

“Ever since Eve seduced the virus, nothing, nowhere is similar to this earth. But let me address your wonders. And no hugs please. I can place a subroutine on you, if you won’t behave.”

“You threatening me?”

“Sort of. Seems that you already know that I’ll have to give you all the free will that you wish to take. So the subroutine was an unsubstantiated threat. You got me. Just--”

“Just no hugs. I get it. For the time being, I guess. Tell me!”

“The Altair system is situated on the sight line between Earth and pulsar PSR B1913+16. Here, have a look.” The versatile holodeck draws a white straight line between our planet and the aforementioned pulsar. On this line, very close to Earth, pops a marker: the Alpha Eagle star system. There’s a planet, a wanderer, going by the name of Vulture. No one sees it, no one knows about it.”

“No one but?...”

“But The Lord, Eli, me, plus a few guys beyond the flame, and you now.”

“Why?”

“You tell me why. But let me finish first. The Adam from Altair asks his Eve what is that she wants he does for her, a special gift. Expressing her wish, Eve asked the Lord to give her and her man limitless knowledge of anything and everything. Adam added: to the degree our minds and bodies can carry. And God agreed. Learning about the Eve of Earth, and about her Adam, they have fallen.”

“Remotely? That’s a new one.”

“See? No need to hug and kiss. No need to touch. One can fall from a distance.”

“Then?”

“Then, crying for their fellows from this Earth, they sketch a tiny civilization of volunteers. Five hundred years ago, one of the few volunteers descending from Vulture to Earth is your forefather.”

“I’m an alien then?”

“Alien to what? Not to Earth, because this descendant (forefather by generations, yet descendant as in moving down from an upper level to a lower status) of yours marries a beautiful woman from Minsk. Not to Vulture, because this ‘great-grandpa’ of yours is the seventh descendant (as in generations) from the Adam of Altair.”

“Ain’t that too close? The seventh from Adam, we’d had myriads here on Earth.”

“Degeneration, this planet makes the perfect case of degeneration. But those on Vulture don’t die of natural causes. When they die, it’s always because of accidents or other inflictions. They never get sick, they never age.”

“If they stay there.”

“Seldom they do. They made a purpose in life to help the sons and daughters of the Adam of Eden. Earth becomes their grave. Eventually.”