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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 247

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 247

…And though he will never admit it, Ekcello inwardly welcomes the challenge of hosting two more of those wacky Earthlings…

The whole planet, a planet that is a moon of another planet which is a dwarf sister star, is singing with uncharacteristic giddiness.

For Ekcello, the perennial leader of the High Counsel, this widespread behavior is disconcerting. He hearkens back to a time, way back, to the times when the mother planet was a thriving world. Things were simple and carefree, more of a stoic-free zone, where logic was not the defining methodology. But when they were forced to flee that global geophysical tumult and move their collective to the Moon Eridanus, did the present inhabitants of Eridanus lose their thirst for space travel and abandon memories of unfettered joy.

Upon their arrival, Sampson, Celeste, and Deimostra tickled the baser instincts of the average planetary citizen to get the everlasting fog a’swirling. The approach of the brothers McKinney has induced the 3 I’s of quantifiable excitement, without them having yet set foot in the Central Tower.

TowersInstinct

Klingon Prison Planet V1 by imaximus

And though he will never admit it, Ekcello inwardly welcomes the challenge of hosting two more of those wacky Earthlings. They had come such a long way from the sun-god worshiping, pyramid building, sphinx-ters that the orbiters of Epsilon Eridani had encountered in a millennia long past.

Similarly his relationship with that Sammy Mac guy, something like finding out you fathered a child with a Klingon Prison Planet guard, has blossomed into genuine affection. Just don’t tell that to Sampson… that Ekcello admitted to anything of the sort.

An example of the growing bond between EarthMan and Eridanian surfaces when the latter relinquishes control of the Spaceship Expository to the former. He may not understand the need to keep busy {not just ponder the meaning of life}, like a parent handing the reigns of the family business, so has he to Sam, a trusted child.

THE RETURN TRIP

Family Business by Peter E Malbrough

Episode 247

page 290

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 245

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 245

…The Eridanian Solution that ultimately saved two lives of Earth was not news for Earth to share in…

The irony of death, as it concerns the space program, is that the numbers are bloated. Four people are killed every seven minutes by such ordinary things like ground transportation and only immediate family and friends bother to notice. Should you lose four lives in space, the detractors of exploration cry “foul” and the world mourns.

All able hands are on deck at Lovell Space Center, tethered together by the hope that Stellar Explorer would begin to come-about, to make the wide sweeping turn necessary to return to Earth.

That torturous fifteen minutes proves to be the longest q~u~a~r~t~e~r h~o~u~r on record. If those with the most dogs in the fight, namely Roy, Francine, and Mindy McDonald, if they could possibly hold their breath the entire time, they may have.

The perceived passing of the next few digital ticks eclipses the previous ones.

But in this poignant moment, the loved ones of Deke & Gus McKinney, as well as awaiting world, exhale; emptied of any remaining dioxides and positivity. They draw another bated breath when the Stellar Explorer blasts through the heliopause and continues on without slowing down.

If those on Earth could only be comforted by the truth; that this perceived disaster had actually been averted… the Eridanian solution that ultimately saved two lives of Earth was not news for Earth to share in and neither will they see the benefits from it, at least until that miracle can be properly sew into the fabric of the current timestem.

If that withheld truth be known, their flagging souls would have been buoyed by the fact that in thirty months, 2 1/2 years, The Space Family McKinney will be reunited once again!

Until and when that truth is revealed to them, scar tissue will form around a wound that is permanently deep and painful beyond belief.

THE RETURN TRIP

Episode 245

page 288 (end ch. 10)

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 239

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 239

…That would be “Sammy Mac” not MacSammy and he is feeling a bit left out, quite literally in-the-dark and in-adequate…

… In the quiet locale, as dark and empty as space itself, three Eridanians stand silently, fingertips touching to complete a triangular circle. With no outside influences to affect the intent psychic aura, no stray thoughts to disturb times’ continual flow, the trio bends the temporal fabric, reaching out across fifty trillion miles without so much as a blink.

Cerella, heiress to the High Counsel of Eridanus and two time/space travel historian experts are poised to place a very different form of humanoid aboard the Stellar Voyager.

Ekcello attaches himself to this aggressive undertaking, before they depart minds from bodies, #Celeste McKinney has convinced me that she is capable of contributing to this effort. She can comfort her offspring, when they become disoriented by our intent and discouraged by the failure to complete their mission#

In a rare emotional reflective moment, he admits, #We can only wonder what was going through the minds on our own Explorer at the point of their perishing in Earth’s Solar System#

So without fanfare, Celeste joins the group..

Sampson, who was not about to let Ekcello out of his sight at this critical juncture, expresses distress over the decision to allow Celeste to “go” along, “Are you positive that she will be able to do this… and survive with her wits?”

#Your mate is most persuasive MacSammy, but she is also worthy of our trust and we consider her as a peer. You need not fear for her life, it is only her spirit that makes the journey#

That would be Sammy Mac and he is feeling a bit left out, quite literally in-the-dark and in-adequate.

Once Sampson is calmed, Ekcello’s aura makes five among his mental emissaries, for the duration of this unprecedented enterprise. The only Earthling that has not mastered some sort of psychic dexterity {if you do not count still-teenage Deimostra} will have to wait until the hyperphysical transmigration is complete.

THE RETURN TRIP

Transmigration by eReSaW  on deviantart.com

Episode 239

page 281

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 230

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 230

…Given their druthers, Ekcello and his like may well have dismissed Earth as a lost cause…

The Lost Cause, a.k.a “T-L-C”, started as a graffiti writer and consistently built up a body of work transitioning into characters, stickers and technicolor murals

— Cerella, the most familiarly physical of these “people” and heiress to the High Counsel of Eridanus, has taken it upon herself to make the new resident aliens her personal project; the three+ on site and the not-so uncomplicated task concerning the fate and ultimate destiny of the other two McKinneys, one Deke and one Gus. A truer friend or advocate they could never find on this or any other distant world.

As constant companion to Deimostra Samantha McKinney, child of space and stellar student, Cerella has immersed herself into the Eridanian experience, from the visitors’ point of view.  “XO”, as Sampson refers to him, has assigned his daughter to assimilate the McKinneys to the ways of their new life. And now the stage is set for two additional contacts. She has displayed the knack for learned, deep compassion, a singular ability among her peers. She will require every ounce of that very soon.

For all the superiority and refinement on Eridanus, a tendency has rooted itself over the millennium. The auras of love and friendship have been supplanted by pragmatic substitutes, ones that infer oneness and shared ideals, a collective mentality if you will. Whether this switch to emotional temperance was coincidental or contrived, the task of not losing touch with those fleeting human qualities has fallen to Cerella. There is a worthiness factor to emotion that will benefit Eridanus, particularly because their current Earth-induced interaction is not going to end.

And that this prominent heiress has taken such interest is truly a stroke of luck for the McKinneys specifically and Earth in general. Given their druthers, Ekcello and his like may well have dismissed Earth as a lost cause. Without the “love” Cerella has shown, even Celeste would not have been able to comfortably call Eridanus “home” —

THE RETURN TRIP

Neo-humanity

Episode 230

page 271

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 222

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 222

…The physical appeal of these Eridanians is an acquired taste… much like oysters on the half-shell or a shot of MALÖRT liquor is for the uneducated palate..

An Acquired Taste by Johan Potma

There is a meeting of two worlds, 9 light-years apart in The Milky Way and a light-century apart in societal progress…

Light-Years-Away-feat-DBX1

…From the tiptop of this whimsical Eridanian structure to the place where the NEWFOUNDLANDER has come home to roost, whatever lay beneath is marginally visible. Intermittent banks of mist-laden clouds do not help visibility, although the cool condensed water vapor is oddly refreshing to their weary spirits.

About the time when Sampson’s headache minimally abates, Ekcello breaks the silence. He knows that Sampson McKinney is the head of this Earthly family, but is frustrated by not having an acceptable method of two-way communicating. With each successive go ‘round it gets better, but an apt comparison would be, having a productive conversation with a pet or coffeemaker.

#We have decided to extract your background information from your mate. How long she is needed depends on her ability to recover from our sessions.#

#You and your offspring will be given our best accommodations, to meet the requirements of your human form. We endeavor that you acquire the skills needed for prompt communication. Please feel free to ask for your maximum needs#

On a similar wavelength as Ekcello, Deimostra takes her father by the hand. He is not exactly feeling like his confident “Sammy Mac” self.

Another robed figure, an overtly feminine specimen unlike preceding procession of “male” figures, appears out of nowhere when they step off that drastic elevator experience. The physical appeal of these Eridanians is an acquired taste… much like oysters on the half-shell or a shot of MALÖRT liquor is for the uneducated palate, but this “woman” has a look of elegance and grace, an Eridanian version of beauty.

Ekcello’s parting statement to them accounts for this observation, #As Deimostra is to Sampson, Cerella is to me. She is heiress to the High Counsel. She will assist you in getting you settled for now and when the time is correct, she will take you on a tour of the planet that will forever be your home#

THE RETURN TRIP

Episode 222

page 263

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 221

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 221

…Ekcello is trying to find a way to communicate with the least accessible of the three off-worlders…

“She is sleeping Sammy, just sleeping,” Father Sam explains to his daughter.

It was a torturous five-some-odd minutes, during which the Eridanians had re-closed their eyes and seemed to concentrate on Celeste. At the conclusion of this quietness, she momentarily returns to her family.

“They want us to follow them Sam. Please trust them.” Celeste collapses into his apprehensive arms.

He makes intense eye contact with them as if to say, “If you hurt either of my girls, you will regret it.”

Ekcello must have got the crude message and determined it as anxiety. For the first time, Sampson finds out what it is like to “Talk” with these haunting humanoids.

#Sampson McKinney, we are the people you know as NEWFOUNDLIANS. Please excuse our seeming disarray, but as you may sense, we were not prepared for your presence on NEWFOUNDLANDER/Explorer. That simple mode of transportation was our ancient attempt at understanding your species#

The strain on Sampson’s mind overwhelms him, mostly because Ekcello is trying to find a way to communicate with the least accessible of the three off-worlders. Even the youngest McKinney seems to have had her fears alleviated. But Dad’s mental resistance results in a headache of migraine-ic proportions, all because he just not on their prevailing wavelength.

Not far from the outer edge of the tower Eupepsia, the lofty structure that Explorer Eridanus2 - Copyhad brought them to, and an elevator of sorts await. To be accurate, it was only an open-air platform; not a conveyance for the faint of heart. It makes nary a noise, barely jostling a hair on their heads or having a sense of motion whatsoever.

For all his astronautical achievements Sampson begins to squirm when the one mile mark of the vertical climb is gained. He sits down next to his mentally drained spouse and uses his spare arm to clutch Deimostra, who at this point of her young life has no fear… none. He wishes that she would take a nap at this critical time in the meeting of two worlds; 9 light-years apart in The Milky Way and a light-century apart in societal progress.

THE RETURN TRIP

The Meeting of Two Worlds

Episode 221

page 262

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 219

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THE RETURN TRIP – Episode 219

…back 7 years, to that first day, the initial encounter when the McKinneys stepped off NEWFOUNDLANDER, will not be forgotten by Earthling or Eridanian alike…

First Contact

… that first day, the initial encounter will not be forgotten by McKinney or Eridanian alike. Imagine what was going through Ekcello’s formidable mind, when he and their manner of historical society expect to inspect a spacecraft, which has been gone for thousands of years, only to find alien Earthlings aboard.

They feel the accompanying gall of being taken by surprise. That they could not focus their telepathic powers on one of their own products clipping along at twice the speed-of-light, sticks in their craw, if they have one. Or did they simply forget to check? They are not a mindless bunch.

And by any stretch of their boundless imagination could they have guessed that anything other than an automated system, not {Celeste} a live female Earthling, was behind the curiously engrossing music they had been interacting with for a month leading up to this day.

A grouping of four male and one female Eridanians (not NEWFOUNDLIANS – the McKinney label), clad in long, whiter than white, robes of varying design, moving in such a flowing manner that one cannot detect the action of bodily motion, have come upon this historical treasure. Their mouths were not moving, but there was obvious interaction among them; positive and negative head movements, extended arms and pointing fingers were all signs of Eridanian back & forth.

A scientific team, marked by the unique instruments they were carrying, preceded Ekcello’s group and their hectic-hands-on approach.

Now the Eridanians are nobody’s fool, well aware of their ship’s (Explorer not NEWFOUNDLANDER – the McKinney naming) hardship and AWOL status, though they were not versed as to why the crew had perished instantaneously, back in the day of cumbersome space travel. Virtual immortality has since been achieved in the intervening four millennia, and that outside influences can disrupt life, is foreign to them.

THE RETURN TRIP

Episode 219

page 260

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