Earlier Heaven
a novel by Alexandra Jefferds
Ronaq Quartz owned several acres of cleared woodland that he rented out to nearby farmers. He was a telephone repairman by profession, an astronomer in his spare time, and a tinkerer during every other waking moment. His house sat among evergreen trees and had blue siding and a small, uncovered porch. A path on the side of the house led back to a shed full of equipment and junk.
"We're here!" Oskar shouted excitedly as they pulled up the dirt driveway. Dao woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"Ronaq's an old friend of mine from The Town," Jamie said as he helped Theresa out of the car. She stood there momentarily, her forearms in Jamie's hands. Jamie recalled that not so many years before, he had needed Gabe's arms to steady him. The fact that he was now able to give the same help to Theresa made him feel truly optimistic about his future.
In the slightly awkward moment when their arms were locked together, Theresa and Jamie noticed the several satellite dishes on the roof. In addition, the yard was filled with unidentifiable gadgets. Theresa's intuition told her that they had something to do with harnessing wind power, but she wasn't sure what they were doing near the house.
After Gabe had pulled Theresa's wheelchair out of the trunk and brought it to her, Jamie went to ring the doorbell. He called from the door, "There's a note here that says Ronaq's out grocery shopping. He says he'll be back around five but that we can come in." He tested the door and found that it was open.
"What was that, love? I can't hear you."
Theresa was closer to Gabe and said, "Ronaq's out shopping. He'll be back at five, but you can go in."
"Ok," answered Gabe as he coaxed Dao out of the car. She was small for seven and still used a booster seat. "With my back, I'm not sure I can help carry Theresa up the steps."
"And you want me to do it, then?" Jamie held the knob of the front door and looked slightly flustered.
"If you wouldn't mind, I'd really appreciate it. We can wait until Ronaq gets here."
"All right."
Theresa went to the base of the stairs and looked up at Jamie. "I could climb up the steps if someone carries my chair."
"You don't have to do that. Ronaq and I can carry you up," replied Jamie as he ambled back down to the yard.
Gabe took the kids inside to go to the bathroom, and Theresa and Jamie stayed outside, examining the contraptions.
"What do you suppose they're for?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"I'll have to ask Ronaq. I've never been here before because he's always visited me in the city. I'm sorry his house isn't accessible. I didn't think of that before. That really dates it."
"It's ok. Most places aren't."
"Not true in Golden Province, but anyway… it's quite a house, isn't it?"
"Why does Ronaq need so many satellite dishes?"
"I suppose he's so far off the beaten path that he can't get any TV without them. I don't know why he needs three, though."
"Maybe he's like Roberta Laramie."
"I'm sorry?"
"Roberta volunteers for SETI and she has all kinds of stuff on her roof."
"I wonder. Ronaq is quite an astronomy buff."
***
Ronaq drove up at a quarter past five, parking behind the Bishop-Donner car. He slammed his truck door hard and marched up the driveway.
"Jamie! Good to see you! Where's the family?" he roared in English. He and Jamie slapped each other on the back a few times as Theresa looked out from behind a tractor-windmill-water pump.
"They're inside. Good to see you again, Ronnie. This is Theresa Towne-Taylor."
"Hey, Theresa. Towne-Taylor, eh? I know where you come from."
"We need to carry her up the stairs."
"Ok. Sorry about that. I have some spare planks around. I'll throw up a ramp tomorrow."
"I don't think that's necessary. We'll only be here a few days."
"No problem, man. It's about time I got up to code. Come on, let's get her inside."
With Jamie on her footrest and Ronaq on her push handles, Theresa was able to join the others. The house was small and very rustic, and it smelled vaguely of cigarette smoke. The main room served as a kitchen and dining room on one end and a living room on the other. There was a ladder at the far end, and from what Theresa could see, it led to a sleeping loft. There was a small bath and laundry room behind the kitchen, and that was the entire house. Skylights and a row of windows above the kitchen area brought sunlight into the room, which was sparsely furnished.
Though the loft and wood-burning stove were intriguing, the kitchen sink was the most unusual thing in the house. It had much more plumbing than was necessary; several coils of pipe snaked along the wall, turned pointless circles, and ended in normal taps. Various valves in the system appeared to direct water through alternate channels at the user's whim.
"You brought sleeping stuff like I said, right?" Ronaq asked.
Jamie nodded. He leaned heavily on the kitchen table and was still out of breath from carrying Theresa.
"We have an air mattress and three sleeping bags," said Gabe. "We also brought some other bedding."
"Good. How about I put you two in my bed, the kids on the air mattress, Theresa on the couch, and I'll sleep on the floor?"
"Are you sure you don't want your bed?" Jamie asked. "We could take the air mattress and put the kids in sleeping bags down here."
"Nah, that's all right. Hey, I'd better get my groceries out of my truck before they rot."
As he packed things into the small refrigerator, Ronaq asked, "So you're fleeing the government?"
"It's…"
"Thanks so much for hosting us," interrupted Gabe. "You didn't have to do this."
"No problem. I don't get enough guests up here. Gets lonely, you know? Say, is it all right if I invite another friend of mine over for dinner tonight? The more, the merrier, you know?"
"It is your house, but since you ask, I'd rather not have too many people knowing we're here," said Jamie.
"Oh, sorry. I already invited him. But trust me, you can trust Phil."
"I don't know..." Jamie shot a glance at Gabe, who was looking equally, if not more, concerned.
"I'm high!" came Dao's shout from the loft.
"You sure are," answered Gabe. Oskar had just disappeared up there as well.
"I think the kids love your house," said Jamie.
***
Jamie, Gabe, Theresa, and Ronaq sat around the kitchen table. Dao and Oskar had their own card table nearby and were jabbering about school in Khaich.
"Hey, does anyone want anything to drink?" Ronaq asked, hopping up.
"What do you have?" Theresa asked.
"I have milk, orange juice, some cola stuff, Fpibizamz Grape Soda…"
"I'd like one of those, please," said Jamie.
"The grape?"
"Yes." Jamie had a big smile on his face as he received the can from Ronaq. He tried to open it, had trouble, and then made an attempt with his teeth. Gabe shook his head. He took the can from Jamie, opened it easily, and handed it back. Jamie sipped at it eagerly and proclaimed, "This is my favorite drink in the world. Theresa, you should try it."
"Ok," she answered. Ronaq handed her a can as well. She opened it and took a sip. "It's ok. I don't know if it's anything special."
"No?" Jamie looked hurt. "I live for this stuff. It makes me so happy. Gabe dear, do you want any?"
Gabe shook his head. Suddenly, there came a knock on the front door. Ronaq answered it.
"Hello, everyone," said the guest as he walked in. Gabe's eyes flashed wide and his mouth opened slightly, a look that he quickly hid behind a blank mask.
"This is my friend Phil," said Ronaq.
The man sat down next to Ronaq at the table.
"This is Jamie, Gabe, and Theresa."
Phil nodded to each of them, his eyes not quite meeting Gabe's. He looked about the same age as Gabe and wore similarly unfashionable glasses.
Jamie asked, "So, Phil, how do you know Ronaq?"
"I run a local radio station. He loves our programming, and therefore I, in my infinite vanity, couldn't help but get to know him."
"Phil's also first clarinet in the Majana Symphony Orchestra."
"You must be quite a musician. We heard Mozart's 85th in the car driving up here. Was that you?"
"Could have been. We went on tour with that about eight years ago."
Jamie nodded abruptly. "It was very nice."
"Yes," agreed Gabe. He seemed focused on serving himself some green beans.
"What do you have on your radio show?" Theresa asked.
"Music and some news, which is mainly me talking about anything I feel like. Hey, sorry, what's your name again?"
"Theresa. I'm…"
"She's a friend from my hometown. We're having a little bit of a reunion here with me, her, and Ronaq." Jamie's fingers trembled slightly as he put down his fork, causing a clatter on the plate. He took a tense breath before adding, "We've been meaning to do this for a long time and we only just got it together."
Night fell more quickly than Theresa would have expected for summer, and Ronaq explained that Hearth's axis was not tilted as Earth's was and seasons were determined solely by the planet's eccentric orbit. For that reason, it was summer in both the northern and southern hemispheres at once.
"How about some stargazing a little later?"
"That sounds fun," said Theresa.
"It does," agreed Jamie. "I don't think the kids have ever seen the sky without light pollution."
"They'll love it," said Ronaq. "I just bought a telescope that can track objects. It'll be great."
They went outside after dinner. Jamie, Dao, Oskar, and Theresa each took turns looking through the telescope that Ronaq had set up on the edge of his farmland. There was something about the sky that Theresa found unnerving, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"There's the horse's tail," Ronaq explained to Dao as he indicated a line of stars just over the tree line. "That's how you find north."
A few minutes later, Theresa realized what was so strange: there were six stars in the sky that were much, much brighter than any that she had ever seen.
"Those are the other sisters," Ronaq explained. "Electra, Merope, Maia, Taygeta, Alcyon, and Atlas. Hearth is orbiting Celaeno. Most constellations you see in the sky are aligned that way just by chance, but the Pleiades are an actual star cluster."
"We're in the Pleiades?"
"You bet. Hey, let me show you something." He programmed some coordinates into his telescope and invited Theresa to come take a look. "Somewhere in the vicinity of Fomalhaut, Vega, and Spica, you have this little spot."
There was nothing there except a few very dim stars.
"What is it?"
"Well, you'd need a much more powerful telescope to really see it, but that's Earth's sun."
"Wow. Could you get back there if you went in a space ship?"
Ronaq didn't answer. Jamie sat down on a small boulder and looked at the sky with wonder, like a boy dreaming of becoming an astronaut.
"Could you?"
"That's a long way, and I don't know if death is as simple as a few hundred light years."
"Earth is there, though, right? If you could travel really fast, couldn't you get back to it?"
"I don't know. They say that a live person coming to Hearth in a ship from Earth would find only a dead world, much too hot for human habitation. You know, another interesting thing about Hearth is that it's smaller than Earth, so it has less gravity. Things are a bit lighter here than they are on Earth."
"I don't feel lighter."
"You're right, in a sense. Things that contain water experience less of a difference, because water is made out of hydrogen and oxygen, and Hearth uses a heavier type of oxygen than Earth. So, the coins in your pocket feel lighter than they would on Earth, but a cup of water feels basically the same. Theoretically, that helps balance out the gravity difference and makes Earth life more at home in Hearth."
"Theoretically," added Jamie.
***
Inside, Gabe and Phil sat on opposite ends of the couch.
"What a surprise," said Phil. "It's good to see you."
"I had no idea Ronaq knew you."
"I had no idea he knew you either. But don't stress about it. So, congratulations! You married that kid after all."
Gabe's pink ears turned a darker shade. "You were invited to the wedding."
"Look, it's been a long time, but let's not be strangers."
"I'm sorry about what happened."
"Ah, but nothing happened, Gabriel. How have you been?"
"I've never been so happy. Jamie is such a sweet and strong man."
"I'm glad things are working out."
"Well, not everything has been perfect. We've gone through a lot with his health."
"Yeah? Is he doing ok now?"
Gabe quailed slightly. "He has severe asthma. It's more trouble than you'd ever think it would be."
"Oh, sorry. I remember that now. He hasn't… grown out of that?" The question fell awkwardly on both Gabe's and Phil's ears.
"Not the kind he has. His lungs can't tolerate the Hearth air."
"That sounds difficult."
"It is. He's got incredible energy coming from somewhere inside of him—dynamism like you've never seen—but it's hard for him to express it with the fatigue he gets."
"You know, he looks familiar."
"Did you ever meet him when we were first together?"
"No. I feel like I've seen him on TV or something."
"You might have, actually. He has a recurring guest role on ‘Forty Thieves.'"
"That's it."
"He has to fly to Daikonopolis every other month or so. God knows why I let him go so far from home by himself, but look at his face—he was essentially born to be an actor." Gabe smiled gently. "I love him so much."
"Then it's good you're making it work. Me? I'm still single." Phil showed his unadorned left hand. "I've been trying to get the second clarinet to go out with me for years, but she's quite a diva." He stretched an arm over his head. "I try, but in reality, I don't have a chance."
"Have you written any music lately?"
"No, and frankly, I don't care anymore. I just don't, and that's ok."
"Nothing?"
"There's nothing I can give Hearth. I wish there were, but I don't know what."
"I suppose that's true. Things aren't looking good..." Gabe thought perhaps he was getting too far into political waters to be safe. "But it's good to see you again," he added.
"I told you it was."
"I never got to thank you for what you did for me in the transition house."
"Me? Did what for you?" Phil smiled angelically. "I did nothing."
"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. I'm serious. I would have faded away and become a ghost, or done myself in a second time just to get it over with."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. You were just miserable and confused. Nothing serious."
A tremble of a smile appeared in Gabe's shy blue eyes.
"But really, I don't know what you're talking about," Phil continued. "I mean, look at yourself. You totally turned your life around after dying. I respect that."
"Thanks."
"You're the poster child for everything Mama Twyla fights for."
"‘Mama Twyla'?"
"Mrs. ‘I'm gonna make them pay for every privilege they ever gave me, because I'm a righteous and repentant Favored One (that's with capital letters) who never asked to die early and it was so cruel of them to treat me better than the rest. I'm like Emma Goldman, spawn of the Kennedy family…'"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Twyla Lawrence, the leader of the Revolutionary Democrats," Phil answered all-knowingly.
"Oh, of course, since Towne was assassinated. That was a shame."
"They always take the best ones. That's how it goes. Do you really think Hearth will ever be anything but an efficient, pleasant, autocracy? People in general, and I don't mean the Revolutionary Democrats, don't care who's making the decisions as long as life doesn't get too rough. I may play the ugly American and complain on my radio show that I don't have the First Amendment here, but remember most of Hearth's population is coming from places far worse. And yes, there are worse places than the Fascist States of America. Many people arrive here and are shocked by the orderliness of the place, the efficiency. Hell, I was shocked at that myself. Until people start feeling the pressure of an insane dictator—not just a dictator, but an insane one—they're not going to revolt en masse."
"I wouldn't say Golden Province is a dictatorship."
"Abalone Bay certainly is."
Gabe frowned and shook his head. "If it were, Alexander would have invaded Río by now."
"Possibly, but Abalone's certainly no democracy. My point is, there's a saying that the best king is one that the people ignore, and Hearth has that down to a science. The governments play behind the scenes, pulling strings so that in general everyone's happy. The system is so powerful and efficient that it's not afraid to let us do what we want. Almost all the governments here follow the same model because it works so damn well."
"So, what exactly are you saying?"
"I honestly believe that, in general, Hearth is a much happier place than Earth. People do not starve here. Children never have to beg in the streets here. I can cuss out the government on the radio and only receive a little slap on the wrist for it."
"I agree with all of that. What are you complaining about?"
"I'm not complaining. I just like to talk."
Gabe said, "I suppose the problem is that Alexander doesn't understand that whole bit about the king people ignore. She wants to be a famed conqueror."
"Therefore, the need for the army."
Gabe shifted on the couch. "Watch it, there. Emile Towne's army, not Twyla Lawrence's army."
"Since when do you follow Revolutionary Democrat politics?"
Gabe swallowed.
"Oh, Gabe, you've been holding out on me. Now I see why you're up here and not down in Río."
Gabe folded his small hands across his stomach.
"Fine," said Phil. "Keep your secrets. But listen, you might not want to go back to Río for a while. I have a radio friend there whose brother works at the dam. He's worried about its integrity."
"Its integrity?"
"Alexander's going to destroy it."
"Phil!"
"Charles—my friend's brother—found explosives planted in it."
"Are you sure? Don't you think the Golden Province government would have already heard about such a serious security threat?"
"Not if their ears are stuffed with Abalone's money."
"Why don't you warn someone?"
"The army now knows Alexander's plans, doesn't it?"
"Phil."
"Don't you?"
Gabe sighed. "I'm not with the army anymore, and Jamie was always more involved with them than me. What exactly did this friend of yours find in the dam?"
Phil shrugged. "Explosives. I'm not sure what kind, or where. I'd have to ask Charles."
"I think you're theorizing from unreliable sources."
"But you believe me."
"No, I don't."
"All right. Don't say I didn't warn you." Phil gave his angelic smile again.
"Oh, please."
Gabe's mind raced. On one hand, he was tempted to write Phil off as a nut, but the thought of his house buried beneath several feet of water made him very nervous.
"Look, would breaking the dam really flood the city? The city was there before the dam was built."
"Well, yes. Eventually, the river would settle back into its natural flow, but Lake Khnonach would empty all of its contents onto the lower districts first."
"I see."
"And it's not so much the flood as the fact that the hydroelectric plant provides eighty-five percent of Río's power. Destroy the dam, and most of the city sits in darkness."
"Jesus, you're a worse conspiracy theorist than me."
"You were the one who used to scream at night about how coming to Hearth stole your right to rest in peace."
Gabe jumped spontaneously. "At least I'm not still scaring people!"
"I think you need a little fright once in a while. It stirs things up, keeps you on your toes."
"No. I don't need to have my life stirred up. I had shit back on Earth. I don't know what happened, but nothing worked out, nothing ever did. I never got a chance to live until I stopped trying, and I'll be perfectly happy if my life continues to be uneventful." Gabe fiddled with his wedding ring. "So, what have you been doing lately?"
"Same old. I'm on a week of vacation right now since the orchestra just got done with the holiday season. Honestly, I wasn't intending to be here at all. I wanted the Storm. But guess what? You can't go back if you've been cremated."
"What a drag."
"I had it all planned out. I was just going to watch movies all day, and catch up on everything I've missed since I died. Picture that. If there's one thing I hate about Hearth, it's that they can't bring Earth movies here, except if someone happens to die with a videotape tucked in their underpants. Everyone raves about Star Wars, and I'll never get to see it."
"Maybe by next Storm they'll have figured out how to resurrect people without their remains. Didn't it say in the bulletin a few months ago that the Indian community is pressuring Link for that?"
"Doesn't do me much good. I'll never live to 2018. I don't live clean enough."
Gabe shrugged as the stargazers returned from outside. Dao and Oskar carried sleeping gear with them. Jamie and Ronaq carried Theresa, and then Ronaq went back outside to bring in more stuff. Jamie gave Phil no more than a passing glance as he slipped off his jacket and dropped onto the couch.
"Daddy, Earth I saw," said Dao.
"You saw Earth? What did it look like?" Gabe took Jamie's hand, and their fingers intertwined expertly.
"Green and blue with clouds."
Gabe thought he saw a smirk from Theresa, who shivered in her sweatshirt. Ronaq returned, throwing sleeping bags on the living room floor. The night had brought a chill to the house, though Jamie looked concerned as Ronaq built a fire in the stove.
"Do you have an electric heater?" he asked.
"No, just this," Ronaq answered.
"All right. Then I'm going to do this just in case." Jamie fished an inhaler out of his pocket, uncapped it, and administered himself a dose.
"I should get going," said Phil. "Nice seeing you all."
Gabe walked him to the door.
"And nice seeing you again, Gabriel."
"You too, Philip."
Phil strolled down the front steps and disappeared into the night. Inside, Ronaq had struck up a song of questionable wholesomeness with the kids. Gabe sat back down on the couch and Jamie caught his attention. Jamie pulled his hair tie out, put it around his wrist, and combed his long black hair with sinewy fingers.
"You seemed to know Ronaq's friend."
"That was Phil from the transition house."
"That Phil. Oh, my." Their eyes fell askance of each other.
"We had a nice chat. Nothing too dramatic."
Ronaq lit a cigarette using the fire and then shut the stove door. "Oskar, Dao? Would either of you like a cigarette?"
"Yuck, no way," Oskar replied.
"Good. Let's hope that's still their answer in five years."
"Ronaq… take…" Jamie wheezed as he yanked out his inhaler again. His eyes glistened with fright as he squeezed the canister and drew a thirsty breath of his rescue medication. Ronaq took the cigarette outside after receiving a menacing glare from Gabe.
"He should know better," said Gabe venomously, stroking his husband's knee.
"He never learns."