There were several relaxing days for Philbert after he and Cassie got home. They had spent the rest of her vacation time together, which was good for both of them. Except for courteous greetings, Passant remained quiet. They had waited in anticipation for the 11th of July.
Philbert went to Da Baa to watch the live broadcast. He wanted to see how people reacted to the whole thing.
It was a hot day and many of the patrons were new or had not been in for a long time. Lucy put all of the TVs in the bar on channels with the "whale show". She let him play one last song on the juke box before turning it off.
It was "1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" by Jimi Hexdrix.
The conversations were loud and wide-ranging until the show started. When the host, Bill Tinkcraft came on, the room fell silent. It was weird since so many people were crowded around focused on the TVs.
Laughter broke out when the young whale said "Humans are boring."
Lucy shushed the crowd.
When Seneca answered the question "What do the Fen think of humans?" The jokes broke out.
"Humans make the water smell." was followed with "They are talking about you, Gary".
Lucy again shushed the crowd.
When Seneca finished however with the observation that humans kill and dig up the Earth, the only comments from the crowd were:
"True!"
"Well, that was something."
"May we go play and see now, Lucy?"
The crowd went back to the pool tables and dart boards. Lucy turned the juke box back on. The ballgames were returned to the TVs.
Philbert could tell that everyone was shocked. Some sat, staring off into space. Some were focused on their smartphones. Several small groups formed and talked uncharacteristically at low volume. There was a complete absence of commentary about the ballgames. No one left Da Baa.
Lucy was running her ass off filling drink orders. It seemed that everyone needed a stiff drink.
Philbert, Timmay, Manny, Jed and Rowdy went to the patio.
Timmay, of course splutted out his normal drunk talk with "We need to get these whales buzzed."
Rowdy grumbled that "They sound like communists to me."
But what Manny said threw Philbert for a loop. "These simple creatures summarized the ugliness of human behavior in just a single sentence. I wonder if they are the real apex species on this planet."
As the alcohol took effect the conversations returned to almost normal. They still seemed to reference the whales often with comments like "you are a fluke of nature." "I’m doing whale." in response to "How ya doin."
Various conversations contained impressions of the whale clicks.
Every corner of the media was focused on the whale conversation just as Passant had predicted. It was interesting to Philbert that such a short and simple dialog could cause such an uproar.
He spent the day clicking between news sources and surfing the web. He found insightful comments about the event. He also saw hateful and ignorant memes. The President issued a statement praising the researchers for the astounding revelation that other intelligent life exists on Earth.
A cable news channel ran a video of the event that had been recorded on the research vessel. There was Jay!
There was zero mention of CEOs and politicians resigning. Passant had done his part well.
Over the next several days Philbert kept a close watch on the media releases looking for any mention of the provenance of the C-TRAN software. Nothing was found except some comments about language differentials and the possibility of misunderstandings. So far so good. He was beginning to feel safe.
That all changed when Passant spoke up in the shop. "Put the earbud in."
He did as he was told.
"There are two suits coming up the drive and there are two black unmarked SUVs parked on the street with four more men inside. Go down to the house. Do not invite them in. I will advise you about what to say," Passant said tersely.
"Hello, are you Philbert Williamson?"
"I am, who are you?" They ignored his query.
"Please remove the earbud."
"I have hearing problems. It is an assistive device."
"That’s fine. Do you know a person by the name of Jay Ensign?"
"I do, but this conversation is over without your ID."
"I am officer Ganard and this is officer Planer from the US Office of Homeland Security."
"So what is this about?"
"You recently visited Mr. Ensign in Florida, correct?"
"Well yes, he is an old friend with terminal cancer. We spent a week together. Why would Homeland Security care about that?"
Again they ignored his question. "Did he talk about the WETI project?"
"Yes, of course. Jay was an oceanographer for most of his career. He was focused like a laser on the subject and knows some of the team members."
"Did he talk about the C-TRAN software?"
"It was mentioned, but only in the context of the press releases. Look guys, Jay is one of the finest people that I have ever known. I will not participate in some government fishing expedition without some explanation of what you are getting at."
The two agents muttered between themselves for a minute.
"When the software was released to the public an analysis showed that it was very, very advanced, using functions unheard of previously. We need that kind of experience in the national security field."
"Why me then? Go ask the WETI team. I have no idea where the program came from," Philbert replied with feigned exasperation.
"We are simply exploring all avenues to find the developer. Thanks for your time Mr. Williamson. Have a good day."
As soon as the vehicles drove off Passant said "Damn, you are smarter than you look, and one clever SOB. I didn’t need to prompt you once."
"Thanks Passant but it still makes me nervous that they tracked me down that fast and seemed to know everything about the trip."
"Don’t worry too much my boy. Their body language did not indicate that they know more than what they said," Passant said in a comforting voice.
Philbert was encouraged by how the world was dealing with the extraordinary event. In particular was the explosion of marketing. Tee-shirts, bumper sticker and yard signs had words like "humility" and phrases like "harmony with nature" and "stinky humans" and "I want the simple life too." Could we really be taking an important step?
There was the expected slop on social media, but for the most part people were interested in the interviews with social scientists, linguists and biologists.
Viral videos appeared of various conversations with the whales. One in particular was an edit of an early encounter. When the whales had asked the humans to play, the director, Malcomb said to the engine room:
"Rev the engine a couple of times playfully to mimic breaching,"
"Stinky, noisy humans. That’s not nice," a young one said.
"Sorry," Malcomb said.
"It’s OK, we are used to stinky, noisy humans," he replied with laughter from the others.
The video had tens of million views.
The whales had stimulated humans to self-reflect. In all of the interviews the whales were playful and joyous. They were happy and engaged in life. The Earth provided them with everything they needed. They had food, they had comfortable shelter in the waters, they had companionship, they had the great oceans and the life within it to explore.
People were envious and wondered if the complicated trappings of modern life were worth it. People thought "I want to play too. We want the time to see the magnificent beauty of Earth too."
The whales did not have countries or governments. They had nothing that functioned like money. They spent no time or resources building great structures and devices. Police and justice systems were not required.
They did not have a plethora of competing religions. But they did have faith as a later conversation revealed.
The researchers contacted religious leaders in an attempt to find a universally accepted definition of God to add to the C-TRAN translator. They decided on this:
God is an entity that created all things. God created and loves all life. God sees all things. God implores us to be virtuous. God implores us to respect all of creation. God gave us free-will to choose our path in life.
The whales seemed bored with this concept a first. That all changed with a conversation conducted by the WETI team on the 21st of August:
MALCOMB: Seneca, is there anything on your minds today?
SENECA: Yes Malcomb, we have thought about this word "God". Your definition is a good one except for one thing. You humans are funny when you give names to things as if they were living things. You name your cars "Alfred" or "Jane" as if they were people. You have given human names to the word God. Why is this?
MALCOMB: Good question! I am not the person to answer that question. We will consider it. Please tell us what you think about it.
SENECA: To us, God is simply what is real. The more that we understand reality, the more we understand God. The rules of reality are not that complicated. God does not tell us to be nice, we are nice because we are happier when nice. Happiness is better than sadness, thriving is better than suffering, life is better than death, health is better than illness, cleanliness is better than filth, friends are better than enemies.
We think of God as a system that has existed from the beginning of time. We do not understand why this is so confusing to humans.
MALCOMB: You have seemed to view the Fen as God. Is this true?
C-TRAN: ERROR 42: Too many voices. Much laughter.
SENECA: No! The Fen create many things, but not reality. The Fen help us to understand but the Fen do not tell us what to do or how to be. The Fen are not Gods. You humans seem to think that God is made in your image. God is not flawed. Humans are flawed. Whales are flawed. Even the Fen are flawed but we are trying to be less so.
Humans know everything that you need to know to live without suffering. You have all of the resources needed to live without suffering.
But most of you have no time to play and explore. Many of you suffer hunger and oppression. You admire the things that humans make but are oblivious to the beauty, eloquence and the Magnificent Perfection of the world outside of your doorsteps."
Malcomb remarked, "Well, that was interesting," vastly understating the reaction.
Philbert asked Passant," Did you or other Fen get involved in the conversation with the whales about God?"
"You bet bubby, but not as much as you might think. The whale lexicon does not include words that make the concepts clear for human beings to understand. We advised them to use the words ‘God System’ and ‘Magnificent Perfection’. The rest of the dialog was all from them. They are trying to understand you humans but they have evolved past the Old Wiring and cannot relate to much of human behavior. They see the world through the eyes of a child. There are no deceptions or ulterior motives by their nature.
What humans do not understand is that the whales have not suffered for a million years. Their basic needs were provided for by the environment. The drive to be selfish and suspicious was not needed for the species to thrive. Humans have a ways to go in this respect," was Passant’s closing remark.
The response to the interview in the press, politicians and theologians was fractious but most people heard the ring-of-truth in what the whales had said.
The most profound change was in how preachers of faith responded. It should not have been surprising however. Most spiritual leaders were in it to comfort their flocks. Most wanted to give hope and a meaning to life. Sermons and teachings began to focus on the underlying messages rather than the dogma and the stories from individual religions. A commonality was increasingly found.
The worship of the wealthy and powerful was replaced with disrespect. The rape of the earth was talked about more. Honesty, trust and cooperation was demanded of governments. Nationalism was being disassembled slowly in preference to an appreciation of the value of all life. There was a general feeling of humility generated across all cultures.
Philbert was impressed with how Passant dealt with the Perps.
"Yes Mr. Philbert, even despicable people like the Perps deserve compassion, understanding and an opportunity to show contrition. These poor souls were raised to be entitled and superior to others. Most were brought up by cold and demanding parents. They were taught from an early age that they were part of a superior class and as such deserved more from life that the lower classes. It should come as no surprise that they turned to corruption to justify their means.
Hopefully, given the opportunity to live a good life after being exposed will break the cycle of dominance and submission."
Since Philbert had been so focused on the media response to the whale conversation he had not been to Da Baa for several days. It was past time for a little R&R.
He could tell right away that something was wrong.
Lucy spoke up first. "Did you hear about Manny?"
"No, what’s up?
"His wife found him unresponsive and he was pronounced dead soon after."
"Oh no, that’s terrible."
"His sister told me that they found him slumped in his office chair. They suspect that it was a massive heart attack or a stroke," Lou added.
"Damn," and then silence from Philbert.
There were comments from other patrons but Philbert was too shocked to hear.
He did hear this. "Tough titty, he was an asshole, the world is better without him," Rowdy blurted.
The world went red for Philbert.
"Ah fuck you, god dammit. He was one of us and a good man despite his racism. You are not perfect either, fucker. Kiss my ass Rowdy" as he stormed off to the patio.
The room fell quiet. No one had ever seen Philbert angry.
After a few moments Rowdy stood up and headed to the patio.
Lucy cautioned him "If you start trouble your ass is out of here."
"Understood"
Philbert was seated at the far table. No one else was there.
Rowdy said "Christ man, I’m sorry. I was stupid and not thinking. I guess that it proves your point that I’m not perfect either."
"It’s OK bud, it just caught me wrong since I’d not heard."
Rowdy went to his table and sat down.
"He was just here and now he is gone. I had told him a while back that his anger would shorten his life. I wonder if it did," Philbert said quietly.
"Yes, but he made us laugh so many times with his quirky jokes and puns that it was not hard to ignore his rants. You never really know what demons someone hides," said Rowdy.
"You’re right. I need a beer, let’s go back in."
They shook hands, had a little man-hug and returned to the bar.
He could not help but wonder how Manny’s life could have been different. What if some friend, mentor or grief counselor had helped Manny put the deaths of his parents in context. Instead, his hate grew and it consumed him.
Philbert felt some responsibility as well. When he asked Manny about his racism he said that "They did plenty". Why didn’t Philbert ask him what that meant?
Back in the shop Passant spoke up. "Sorry to hear about Manny, dude."
"It’s sad on many levels. How can you judge a person like Manny? He was a good guy for the most part. He was a loving husband and father. He was an accomplished and ethical businessman. He was responsible and law-abiding.
Despite his racist rants to us, he treated everyone with the same respect. He was on the same dart team as Carl and Ricky. They got together for the World Series and the Super Bowl at Manny’s house every year. You would never suspect that he had any racist tendencies seeing them together.
This is why I don’t believe in God. How could a loving God let this man pass in the prime of his life. His death leaves a hole in the lives of his family, friends and associates. It’s not right," Philbert said sadly.
"Your grief at the loss of Manny reflects how you will remember him. This memory is his legacy. You and others keep him alive in this timeline because of those memories. They are real.
Humans have asked that same question since the first conscious thought. Change is coming Dear Boy, and you should know this better than most.
You know that infinite timelines, Many Worlds, is the only solution to the wave-particle duality problem. But it is untestable by definition, it requires a faith that you as humans are not able to accept yet. But you will soon.
Manny still lives in perhaps an infinite number of timelines. In some, he is not yet born, in others he is long dead. In some timelines he never had the experiences that turned him bitter and a racist. In other timelines he got help dealing with the loss of his parents.
Knowing this will not assuage your grief and longing, but these feelings show that you have love, understand and forgiveness. These are higher human values these are The Graces.
Manny’s funeral at the church was packed. Pretty much everyone from Da Baa was there with their families. Carl and Ricky were there along with every other color and class of human being.
Several people got up and spoke of how Manny had affected their lives with his humor and his goofiness. Some of the stories were a bit tawdry for a church setting but definitely got a lot of laughs and lightened the mood.
What struck Philbert though was the sermon. Passant was right, change was coming.
The sermon started with a typical expression of recognition of the man and his life. He spoke of love, hope and faith, and of these to let love abide.
But then came the kicker.
"Around this world we have all been confronted with the need for humility. The Magnificent Perfection of God’s creation has been shown to us by these simple creatures from the oceans. We humans are no longer at the center of the universe. We have been shown a different path.
They have their basic needs provided for them. Their food is free and abundant. Their environment is free and comfortable except when we humans make it stinky," which brought a chuckle from the audience.
He went on. "Because of this they have the time to play and explore the beauty and wonder of this earth. They are joyous and satisfied in life. They share this joy and the abundance of the waters equally.
We humans work our lives away and suffer the consequences. We feel lucky when we get our two weeks of vacation every year. Our sustenance is no longer free despite its abundance. Our lands no longer free, owned and by most. Even our play is costly and competitive.
Our human culture has been formed around corrupt and destructive motives. Greed, domination and self-interest has led us to the brink of extinction. We have become 21st century schizoids, nothing that we have we really need.
In our hearts we all know the way. Compassion and empathy must be extended to all life on Earth. Honesty and humility must be our guide. Our prayers should be for others and not ourselves. We should give more than we take. We must see that every man walks a different path and suffers in different ways. Understanding and forgiveness will lead us to end that suffering.
This epiphany starts here in this place of worship today. It is Three Kings Day, the celebration of the Three Wise Men who brought the gifts of wisdom to Jesus. Those gifts were compassion, edification, modesty, humility and honesty wrapped in a single word - Love. Love for each other and Love for God.
God. The word, to be honest, that means something different to every religion and every person. We have struggled to define the word for all of human history. Mark Twain said ‘God created man in His own image and man, being a gentleman, returned the favor.’
Then came the whales. They did not understand our confusion. God is very simply the miracle of existence to them. God IS reality.
So do we have the humility to accept that God is not a construct of man, but is only the eloquence and beauty of all of creation from the beginning to the end?
Given this, can we not have the faith to accept that Manny is in the embrace of everlasting life, even though we cannot now understand how it works?
May peace be with you."
The church was quiet for some time.
As Philbert was walking to his car Manny’s sister Gale approached him.
"I’m happy that you made it today Philbert, Manny spoke of you often," she said.
"I had to Gale, He was a good friend and a fine man. I do have to say that I feel terrible because my last words to him were in anger. He made an awful racist comment and I went off on him. We never got a chance to talk about it and make amends. It bothers me now," Philbert lamented.
"He was never like that as a kid but the circumstances of Mom and Dad’s death changed him. Dad was murdered on a business trip to the Middle East by Islamic radicals. Manny worshiped his father and it hit him hard. Then just a year later Mom died as the result of a medical mistake by an East Indian doctor. I was too young for these thing to affect me but Manny could never get past it.
I’m sure that he would have forgiven you for the outburst Philbert."
They parted with a hug. When he got to his car the tears came in convulsive waves. The words God, humility and forgiveness roiled in his head like a carousel.
A simple expression of support or a word of encouragement can cause a profound change in our lives. The memory of something said by a parent, teacher or friend may be recalled years later with great effect. The best sermon will do this. Waking with clarity can happen in the daylight hours.