To The Stars

In the bathroom Jan pulled the flexible disguise over his head and the effect was astonishing. When he looked in the mirror a stranger stared back. If he didn’t recognize himself then he would never be able to identify the man called John. If he wore one of these as well.

Sara was talking to a short, stocky man when he returned. Though he had taken off his overcoat he was still wearing his hat and gloves. Hair and hands invisible. Sara was undisguised which meant that her identity was known to them both. “John,” she said. “This is Bill. The man who wants to ask you some questions.”

“Happy to be of service, Bill.” His voice was mellow, educated. “What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know where to begin, what to ask. I know some things about Israel that differ from texts I have — and I suppose that is the extent of my knowledge. Other than what I was taught in school.”

“Well that’s a good beginning. You have doubts and you have seen that the world is not as you always suspected. So I shan’t waste time trying to convince you to open your mind. May we sit down?”

John settled into his chair and crossed his legs comfortably. When he talked he tended to lecture, to tick off the points made on his fingers. It was obvious he was an academic of some kind, probably an historian.

“Let us go back to the close of the twentieth century and look closely at events since that date. Let your mind be a tabula rasa and try not to interrupt with questions. There’ll be time enough later for those. The world of the year 2000 was very much as depicted in the historical texts you have studied, physically that is, although the governments of the world were definitely not what you have been told. At that time there were varying degrees of personal freedom throughout the world, with forms of government ranging from the liberal to the most oppressive. All of that has changed in the intervening years. The Wreckers were to blame for it all, just as you have learned. That much at least is true.” He coughed. “My dear, might I have a glass of water?”

Sara brought it to him and he went on.

“None of the world leaders or governments, the Wreckers, took any real notice of the depletion of natural resources until it was too late. Populations expanded past the limit of natural resources, while the supplies of fossil fuels quickly ran out. There was much fear of an atomic war that would devastate the world, but apparently the fear was mutually felt among the world powers because the big bang never came. Of course there were some atomic incidents in Africa, using what were quaintly referred to as homemade atomic bombs, but these petered out quickly enough. The world did not end with the bang, as had been feared, but with a whimper. I quote the poet.”

He sipped daintily from his glass and went on.

“With no energy, factory after factory closed. With no fuel vehicles could not run and the economies of the world spiraled downward into depression and massive unemployment. The weaker and more unstable nations went by the board, torn apart by starvation and dissent. The stronger nations had enough worries at home without attempting to cope with the troubles of others. The surviving citizens of what used to be called the third world eventually stabilized with small populations and basic agrarian economies.