The Other Side of Creation

The Other Side of Creation

By C. D. Tuttle

Copyright 2019

Smashwords Edition

Visit my Website at http//www.cdtuttle.com

Smashwords Edition, License notes

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Chapter 1

Will Caylen awoke with a start. He had dozed and drifted off into a dream floating among the stars, when suddenly there was a bright light that seemed to beckon to him. Looking around the room he was in, he shook his head to clear it. At first, it was a strange room that he did not recognize, but as his head cleared, he knew he was in a room in the Hospice wing of a hospital.

With a sinking feeling, he thought to himself, here I am, in the room I will die in.

Will was 92 years old and had led an incredible life of scientific exploration, ‘the great adventure’, as he called it. Even though his mind was as sharp as ever the ravages of age and time had caught up with him physically. His heart, as was his kidneys, were failing him. His wife had died years earlier. Life had been lonely since her passing, but he had managed to keep his mind active writing papers on his life’s work. He was a paleo-anthropologists and had worked dig-sites all over Africa, Europe, Asia and South America. He had been a prodigious publisher of his work, but still had reams of notes that had never made it into publication. After all these years of working on mankind’s origins he was no closer to figuring it out than he was as a green college graduate. Lots of finds had been made over time, but none nailed down the one important question, what did we evolve from? Somewhere in those reams of notes he had many times postulated some interesting theories. Theories that could have cost him his reputation and professional standing in the world of paleo-anthropology if they should have come to light.

Will’s life-long past time had been astronomy and when he dreamed, he often dreamed of the stars and far off places within the universe. In the many remote areas that he had worked the night-skies were void of light pollution. They were incredibly clear and provided some of the best star-gazing from anywhere on earth. His wonderment of the universe and its origins seemed to tie into his search for the origins of mankind. He had always thought that perhaps discovering the origins of one would lead to the discovery of the origins of the other. Either way, his enthusiasm and drive for his work was always a point of amazement to his colleagues and friends.

Will and his wife, Anne, had raised two children, Will junior, or William as they called him and Marie. Both had grown up in far off and remote places. Surprisingly, both ended up in what Will thought, was fairly mundane professions. William was in insurance and Marie was in real estate. Both were very successful by any standard and had raised families of their own, which by now had produced great grandchildren for Will and Anne. William never showed much interest in what his dad did, but Marie, now that was another story. As a little girl she was quite a tomboy and was always right by his side at the digs. As she was growing up Will thought she would surely follow in his footsteps but it never happened. She grew into a beautiful young woman and when she went off to college, she was immensely popular with the young men.

Will was startled from his musings by Liz, his nurse, when she quietly entered his room. How are we doing today Mr. C? she asked cheerily.

Oh, as good as can be expected I guess, Will said with a slight groan while trying to raise up on his pillow.

Here, let me help you with that, Liz said with a smile as she leaned over him saying, put your arms around my neck and hang on.

It was an uncomfortable effort to hang on, but everything that required physical effort was uncomfortable these days. With his arms around her neck she lifted him with her own body back up on the pillow. She was good at what she did.

Will liked Liz, she was a very caring young lady in her mid-40s. She was tall and slender with an oval face and slender nose framed by short wavy salt and pepper hair. Her complexion was somewhat pale from always being indoors, but her pretty and unusual green eyes smiled from deep within showing her genuine concern for her patients. Liz’s direct manner, upright posture and secure attitude reminded him of his daughter, Marie. She was attractive due to her loving personality although her face often showed the sadness that she had experienced from being around so much death. She had performed hospice work for years and genuinely loved her work and her patients. Will had carried on many a long conversation with her about family and life in general. She showed real interest in all the things he had accomplished, always asking thoughtful questions. Liz was a pleasure to have around.

Out of breath, Will thanked her for her help. For a dying man, he was a polite and thoughtful person and the nursing staff liked him very much.

Liz checked his IV and took his temperature with the digital thermometer. You’re looking good Mr. C.

All the nurses called him ‘Mr. C’ out of respect for his dignity and politeness.

Liz reached into his bed stand drawer and took out a comb and began to tidy up his crop of thick white hair. My you have beautiful hair Mr. C, she said as she looked at it admiringly. Many a young man would be envious of your hair and those gorgeous blue eyes, she added putting the comb back in the drawer.

Will smiled and patted her delicate, slender hand. His face was still strong and vibrant looking and his smile was reassuring to anyone who met him. He had been a stout man for most of his life standing over six feet and having weighed around 200 pounds, but now he had lost most of that bulk and frailty had taken over.

Is there anything I can get you before lunch? she asked.

Yes, there is Liz. Could you hand me that briefcase sitting on the floor in my closet?

I sure can Mr. C, she said crossing the room and opening the door to the closet.

She brought the briefcase over and set it on the bed beside him as he pressed the button on the remote to raise his bed into more of a sitting position.

Pulling the brief case onto his lap he thanked her.

As she patted him on the arm she said with a wink, give me a call if you need anything, and she slipped out the door leaving it slightly ajar behind her.

Will looked up at the ceiling of his room and smiled thinking how dependent he had become on everyone around him when not long ago there were so many dependent on him. That was life, he thought, and I’m at the end of my great adventure. He closed his eyes for a moment trying to recall what had happened that woke him up earlier. He was slipping into a dream floating in space among millions of bright stars when all of a sudden, a bright fluctuating light appeared. The light was so bright that it blocked out all other light. It floated in front of him pulsating, seeming to look at him and then it pulled away. It seemed to be waiting for him to follow, then it would once more come close to him and then pull away. It startled him and he did not want to follow, so he woke up. He could always control his dreams letting them go on if they were pleasant or stopping them when they got unbearable or out of control. There was just something about the light in this dream that alarmed him. Maybe he should have pursued it, he thought.

The rest of the morning Will sorted through copious notes that he had his daughter Marie bring to him in the hospital. He was still composing papers and attempting to explain some of his findings. Mankind’s search, in its entirety, for the real origins of man had still not produced a solid answer. Relationships with chimpanzees and other lower primates had been discovered through DNA, but this had not led to any conclusion on the origin of man. It appeared to Will that somewhere in the far past the human element had produced deviations in its evolution. These gave rise to other primate forms as well as its own modern form, but where did it begin? The evolutionary lines of many prehistoric creatures had been discovered back to their dim beginnings, but mans’ had not. With all the effort that had been put into discovering where man came from, we still were at a loss. It is as if early man just suddenly appeared, which led Will at times to think about extra-terrestrial origins. He never discussed these ideas with anyone, but he did think about it often.

As Will was pondering these thoughts Liz came in with his lunch tray cheerily announcing, lunch time Mr. C.

Looking at the clock on the wall Will nodded his head in agreement. Yes. Yes, it is. Too bad I don’t have an appetite.

Pulling his bed table over she placed the tray on it saying, it looks pretty good Mr. C, but as you know, it is hospital food. Winking she added, I could run out and get you a good ol’ hamburger and fries.

Smiling, Will said ruefully, that sounds good, but I don’t even have an appetite for that anymore.

Heading for the door she looked back with a reassuring look. Well, if you change your mind you just say so and I’ll get that hamburger for you so quick it’ll make your head swim.

Will smiled waving his hand at her. You’re okay Liz. You’re okay.

She smiled a wink back at him and closed the door behind her.

Will looked at the tray of food. It did look good, but he knew by experience that it would have very little flavor and no salt, which he could no longer have. He loved salt.

He took the plastic fork and tried a bit of the smashed potatoes. They had absolutely no flavor and must have been straight out of a box. The green beans were equally disappointing and he didn’t even try the blob of brown stuff that was supposed to be some sort of meat. He pulled the dish of green Jell-O close and slowly ate it. At least it did have some flavor.

When he finished the Jell-O, he felt tired and he laid back and quickly fell asleep.

Once again, he drifted among the stars as though he was a human spaceship. He felt he was seeing things as clearly as the Hubble Telescope. It was beautiful and he felt strangely at home. There was no pain or discomfort, only a warm and comforting feeling.

Suddenly, the bright light appeared that he had seen in previous dreams. It approached him quite closely as if it was peering at him very intently. Will looked back trying to make something out of it. The light pulsated in brightness and shape then it became very still. The brightness subsided as if it was thinking. That was