Fertile Thoughts

[Cmdr JFarrington 0]

Personal Log, Earth Date 01.02.07

Cmdr J Farrington, MD

USS Manticore, NCC 5852

 

As Jami wandered between rows of carrots, peas, and squash, pulling an occasional weed and working her way slowly towards Claire in the tomato patch, it seemed strange to her that they were 5,000 years into their future. A sense of timelessness had settled in after the first week of land duty, yet she had felt the need to mark their time planetside, to use a reckoning besides a stardate. As she scratched her daily notes onto thin bich strips, she had begun to date them "day seven, day twelve, day fifteen," until she finally decided that a proper date was needed. Drawing on the chronological practices of ancient monarchs, she began to write "01.01.18," meaning the first year, the first month, the eighteenth day of their arrival, which made today's date 01.02.07: the first year, the second month, and the seventh day of their arrival on future planet Earth.

 

For the most part, Earth seemed the same to her except for the lack of people. Thoughts of their solitude would invariably bring to mind fragments of an old story: a man asked a genie to grant his wish for peace on earth, whereupon the genie removed all people from the planet, leaving the man entirely alone and very peaceful indeed. This story would in turn remind her of her father's favorite phrase, which he often used to end unwanted political debate: the only thing wrong with the world is the people. With that thought she came full circle, and would look around, thankful that she was not entirely alone on this planet. Conflict and resolution was the basis of learning and the lifeblood of any civilization. It led to change. What was beneficial in the change led to growth, and then prosperity.

 

Jami stood for a few minutes' stretch, letting the sun warm her back, which, after many years of pallor, had turned a healthy tan from working in the fields. Her hair, a curly gold in youth, had become dark after years of starship duty. In the past month, however, the sun had lightened it considerably and brought out some reddish highlights that she hadn't seen since she was a child.

 

She felt good. In fact, she felt better than she had in years, and, what's more, many of the crew had remarked how much better they felt being planetside, "roughing it." It made Jami wonder if their efforts to return to their own time were worth while. Here, at least, there was a naturel life rhythm rather than the artificial rhythm of the starship. Here fertile ground produced sweet fruits, and the air even sweeter memories of what once was her home on the western Scandinavian peninsula. Each breath came clean and fresh, unpolluted by man's meddling manipulations. The universe from which they had come had been caught in a vicious cycle: progress led to pollution, which brought the need for cleaning and disposal processes, which brought more pollution, which brought the need for cleaning, ad infinitum . . . .

 

What if they had been brought here by some higher power to start anew? Was this a future Eden? Several times a day these thoughts toyed with Jami as she went about her daily routine. But no matter how many times they came to mind, the end was always the same: she had lived long enough and had experienced life enough to be content no matter where she was. So long as she had her friends and A9, she could endure almost anything.

 

Doin' the best she can with what she has.

J Farrington

Edited February 24, 2004 by Cmdr JFarrington

[STSF_BluRox 0]

Personal Log, Earth Date 01.02.07

Cmdr J Farrington, MD

USS Manticore, NCC 5852

Makes an appointment to get some new glasses, so she can read Jami's font size.....yikes. Turn 40, and kaput!~

 

Blu

[Tovan 0]

:) me, eye, hurt.