Science Fiction Vignettes # 3
A Short SF
Vignette
Enceladus’ Dilemma
((The Account) (Year: 2035 A.D.))
I glanced through the new telescope, the
largest in the world, I was told. Far did I see in the depths of space; for
hours I searched our solar system, focused
toward Pluto, and beyond, some five billion-km. The telescope was
incredible, connected to another telescope some 200-miles above earth. Somehow
I found myself fixed on Enceladus, Saturn’s moon. (—First
let me say this before I continue, point of fact: physics alone cannot explain
reality, if it could it would explain
God, and since it can’t and can’t take God out of the equation, without having
it collapse, they have to conclude there are alternate realities—with this in
mind, I proceed with ‘the account’)
So what did see exactly with this newfangled telescope?
A man in a boat, or on some kind of platform, on ice or stilled water. I
glanced at him swift, surprised. He was the size of a sparrow. At second
glance, I adjusted to enlarge in size, a typical sort of thought came--:
nothing in the astronomy books on what to do on delusions verse reality; hence,
was this a delusion, or reality? I was
over tired, several hours had passed by; surely the psychologist would adhere
to this, delusional syndrome before reality. At third glace the item was
sharper with more magnified details. Now he looked more like a giant size bird,
let’s say vulture, with shark details sort of! A man with a head and wings, and legs, or
could they be some kind of wing looking oxygen tanks? I asked myself: how does
one rationalize this, then I looked for the camera equipment, and could not
find the panel, which comes under: lack of instructions.
Enceladus I knew was a rich moon, being an amateur astrologer, my dear
friend Hkanat a dear friend, whom name is not Hkanat, —I shall leave out his
real name for better or worse—who allowed me into his astronomical temple, had
only expected me to observe, like one would at a museum, or a fish aquarium,
and had to leave me on my own, pending other duties. But as I was about to say,
Enceladus is a most promised place to find life, if life is to be found
anyplace in our solar system, in particular beneath its icy crust. Should this moon, warm up, it would be one
large ocean I have confidence in.
Consequently what was I seeing? I mean, really seeing? I knew in advance
there was found years ago, molecular hydrogen, also hot vents on the rocky
ocean floor, this all proved habitability; perhaps like Earth’s deep-sea beds. Thus, Enceladus like Earth—was
both like to like—in this manner. In all speculation, until now, now one could
prove this moon could support life. Not knowing all that much about the Saturnine
system, I could see in the wink of an eye, this underwater wrinkled terrain,
picks of mountains above its atmosphere, my indeed had done just that, and
seeing this extraterrestrial being, or otherworldly being, as not being a
delusion, mentally my puzzle was being put together rapidly. Perhaps a portion
of this moon had been, was in a process known as serpentinization. With more adjustments I could see rocks rich
in iron; my awareness of Earth’s micro-organisms—through which this same
process was a source to drive its Earth’s metabolism, like protein drives a
man’s metabolism, why not here on Enceladus, like the sun does for a reptile?
And then it happened, at my next glance, I felt helpless, dread, which
in the years yet to come would I dwell upon. Did I depict an overlapping of
time? In other words, did I survey time past as in a second print. A silhouette
in the ripple of time past? That was still outlined, definitely in the mind of
the universe? The question begs to be answered: why did not anyone else see
what I saw, especially my amigo? Disregarding the present. As if in death, man
is said to be able to reflect all his past events, how is this possible? Again
I must say, like to like, God’s universe has preserved it somehow. In any case,
when I explained this to my colleague, he said:
“Different realities are possible, in cosmic time,” and he left it at
that. I took his statement to mean: what
is fretfully unexplainable doesn’t mean there’s not a reality to fit it.
Written: 11-22-2015 (#4922) reedited,
12-24-2015
Copyright © Dennis L. Siluk, Dr. H.c.
