Chapter Text
Epilogue
"My God," was all Captain Norris could bring himself to say.
"Perhaps they were," Neela said. "We don't know."
"Pity I can't remember any of it," Norris said. "And these beings, these aliens...they said we would meet them again?"
"But they didn't say when," Neela said. "We'd like to think Mother and Father are with them now."
"Maybe they are. It's a big galaxy, a big universe out there," Norris pondered.
"It was your signal that sent them to us," John said. "In the end, we have you to thank for all of us being here."
"Do I really deserve that honor? It was Jim's idea to wake me up."
"You both deserve it," John said.
"Either way, we've had a hell of a life," Neela added.
Norris chuckled softly, "You certainly have. I imagine you're going to be quite the celebrities when the passengers wake up."
"We kind of figured we would," John agreed. "Neela and I actually discussed that with our parents more than once. They told us they were just ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances, and my mother tried to emphasize that in her book. She wrote it for all the passengers and hoped they would understand that." John got up from his chair and walked over to the cabin's bookshelf and pulled out a thick hardcover book. He handed it to Norris, saying, "We would like you to be the first one outside of our family to read it, Captain."
Norris gratefully accepted the book, "Thank you very much. I would be honored."
The captain stood up and walked over to the bookshelf. He spent several moments looking at the other books and mementos on it. He noticed Neela's own book, written for the children of the Avalon. A small steel replica of New York City's Chrysler Building. There were numerous family photos, ones of Jim and Aurora at various ages, of John and Neela from childhood to the present and even one of Arthur and Alice together. Norris focused in particular on a picture of Aurora, apparently around ninety years old. Despite her aged face, the captain noticed her vivid blue eyes, the intelligence and beauty behind them which never seemed to lose their sparkle.
"She wrote six books," Norris observed.
"Two on Earth, the rest of them here," Neela said. Besides 'My Voyage,' started in her first year awake, she wrote the other three after we encountered...them. They gave our mother twenty more years with us."
"I'll read them all," Norris said.
"We'd like that," Neela said, smiling at the captain.
Norris nodded at John and Neela and left the cabin. Once more, he was greeted with the beautiful garden scene outside. The Preston's little Eden inside a giant spaceship. He walked over and stood in the shade of the big oak tree with the sparrows chirping above him to see two simple polished stone memorial markers, one for Jim, one for Aurora. Freshly cut flowers had been placed beside them. Norris could not agree with Aurora's and her children's opinion of themselves - they were remarkable people. He stood there for a few moments, then removed his silver captain's wings from his jacket and placed it between Jim's and Aurora's markers.
"Sail on, voyagers," he said.
He turned and slowly headed for the elevator back to his command bridge.
That night, Norris lay asleep in his quarters. His sleep was fitful as many thoughts coursed through his mind. He was suddenly jarred awake by something he could not explain, some unseen force or presence. Memories and thoughts he did not remember until now came flooding back. He rose from his bunk and went to the window, staring for several minutes at all the countless stars before him and the as-yet undiscovered and unimaginable mysteries they contained. He went over to his desk to see Aurora's book lying on it. A simple unadorned dark blue cover and on it the title 'My Voyage' embossed in gold lettering. The captain sat down, opened the book and began reading the first page...
'"My fellow passengers, if you are reading this, then the starship Avalon has reached its destination. A lot happened while you slept..."'