Trinity

A small piece I wrote for an Astronomy independent project, "Trinity" turned out to be quite a source of entertainment for me. :) It is choppy, and has a rather abrupt ending, but I was restricted to a certain amount of words and had to restrain myself. I apologize once again for the corrupted formatting. It's starting to get on my nerves. Haha.

Well then, here it is!

Trinity

The slender woman burst out of the doors, clutching a folder dripping with papers, post-it notes, and a spiral notebook to her chest. With a groan, she yanked the notebook out of the folder, and shoved a hand into the fluff of curly red hair covering her ear. Grimacing, she carefully untangled a pen from the mass of curls and, walking crookedly to her car, scribbled a note to herself to remind her to do next week’s assignment.
“Three years in college and I’m still just as disorganized as I was when I started,” She muttered to herself as she unlocked the trunk. She paused and frowned when she saw that the trunk was crammed full with a random assortment of items. “If not even more so.”
She scoffed and slammed it closed. “I seriously need a secretary…”
With a sigh, she climbed into the small Lancer and tossed her folder and its contents into the floor behind her seat. I’m a sorry excuse for a woman. Aren’t we supposed to be clean and tidy and always have everything together? She shook her head at herself. I wonder if I was like this before.
She pulled out of the parking lot and turned onto the interstate. She ran her hand through her hair. “Has it only been four years?” She sifted through her memories; her rude awakening to life that one day when she opened her eyes to find a world she didn’t recognize, people she didn’t know. That next gut-wrenching moment when she realized that she didn’t even know what her name was or even what she looked like. It felt like yesterday.
The woman was found lying in the middle of the street three years ago, having sustained a massive head wound. She was rushed to the hospital, treated, and predicted to come out just fine, but she wasn’t able to tell the doctors what her name was or where she was born and raised. She couldn’t even remember her age or what year it was. It was like she had just been born, except for the fact that she spoke perfect English and was a full grown woman. They waited for several months, but she never regained her memory. The state gave her an identity so she could live life like a normal person.
Beth Henderson, age 35. Enrolled in Huntington University as a Physics/Astronomy major. Employed by Pollard’s National Bank working as a teller/clerk. A resident of Pelican Cove apartments on the edge of town. The woman remembered having to constantly repeat all of her “personal” information over and over to herself when she first was released from the hospital. It was like trying to live someone else’s life and wear their oversized clothes; it just didn’t fit.
As she pulled into a parking spot at Pollard’s National Bank, Beth glanced at the noon sky and spotted the Moon just above the horizon. She adored the Astronomy courses she was currently taking. She had fairly little trouble with the classwork, and enjoyed studying the subject extensively. If there were any part of her life that she was comfortable in, it was in her love and knowledge of Astronomy and Physics. She could study the planets and stars for weeks on end and never get bored. It was almost as if she’d done it before. With a sigh, she pushed open the doors and clambered into the bank. Her boss, Angela, stood by the front, drumming her fingertips on the countertop.
Beth nodded and flashed a brief smile at her, then went to her station in the extended line of counter. She had too much to get done for her to chat right now…
“Beth.”
Beth blinked for a split second, expecting there to be someone else in the room, but then realized that Angela was speaking to her. She shook her head at herself. Four years, and you still haven’t gotten used to it. What’s wrong with you?
She nonchalantly looked up from her desk space. “Yes, Angela?”
Angela crossed her arms and turned on her piercing stare. “You’re early again.”
“Mmm…yeah,” Beth mumbled as she flipped through some files that had been thrown in her area. “Got out of class early today, so I figured I’d just head on over here.”
“Your shift doesn’t even start until 3:00. It’s noon.”
Beth glanced at Angela over her reading glasses. “Yeah, so? I just thought I’d put in a few hours overtime.”
Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, Angela seemed to withhold a groan. “Every day, you’ve been doing this. Every day for the past two weeks. It’s like you’re trying to get away from something. I mean, really Beth. Get a boyfriend or something...a dog, yes, get a dog! You’re about to drive me insane!”
“Well, now that you bring it up…”
Angela threw her hands in the air dramatically. “Oh my word, did she really consider doing something I suggested?”
Beth chuckled. “I have a date after my shift. But, don’t get excited, it’s not going to go any further than that.”
“Oh, why not? You need a guy in your life, honey.”
“It’s just,” Beth shook her head. “I don’t know. I just can’t commit to anything serious right now. But, that’s okay.” She smacked her palms on the stack of paperwork. “I’ve got plenty to keep me occupied.”



The corner of Beth’s mouth twitched as she read the comical text message from Josh Powell, the adorable guy she’d met in her Astronomy 111 class her first year at HU. She locked her car and straightened her shirt as she stepped on to the sidewalk. Gently cradling her phone, the brand new Samsung Solstice, in one hand, she fiddled with the parking meter fare with the other.
“Of course I’m coming, don’t worry. I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. And yes, I would love a table next to the fire. That sounds nice.” She hit send and slipped her phone into her purse. Josh was a unique guy; he texted her frequently, and thought of highly of her opinion. She smiled and shyly looked down the concrete walkway that led to the restaurant. He was nice to be around.
“Trinity!”
Beth glanced around in surprise at the loud exclamation. A man clambered through the bustling crowd, clawing his way forward; he must have spotted someone they knew. The man looked and sounded desperate, almost crazed.
“Trinity! Wait!”
She grimaced as the man’s voice grew closer and higher-pitched. Why couldn’t he respect the simple eloquence of the area they were in and keep his tone down? Some people were just so inconsiderate of the people around them…
“Trinity!”
The frantic guy was suddenly right behind her, his hand gripping her shoulder firmly. Just as Beth considered screaming at the top of her lungs, the young man clamped his hand over her mouth and shook his head furiously. His green eyes were wide and crazed as he gasped for breath.
“No, don’t – don’t scream. Please. I can explain. I – I,” He gulped in air and tilted his head slightly as he looked at her face. “Wow. I can’t bel – I mean, you’re…” He sighed. “You’re alive.”
Fear and confusion boiled over in Beth’s mind. She slapped his hand off of her mouth. “Of course I’m alive, you idiot! Do I look dead to you?” She stammered at the hurt expression in his eyes. “I don’t know who you are, buddy, but you better get away from me right this minute or I swear I’ll scream so loud that you’ll be under a dog pile of courteous pedestrians in less than ten seconds.”
The man, he couldn’t have been older than twenty-five years, held his hands up in defense and spoke with an unsteady voice. “I need to explain things to you; maybe then you’ll understand how desperate the situation is.”
Beth gritted her teeth. “Look here, kid…-”
He held up a hand. “Your name, as you know it, is Beth Henderson. You’re thirty-five years old according to the physicians who treated you at Saint Peter’s. You’re in your third year at Huntington University in your studies as an Astronomy/Physics major. You’ve excelled in every class you’ve taken. You’re disorganized beyond all reason, can’t seem to find last night’s homework that’s sitting under the stack of dirty dishes in your room, yet you can almost quote word for word in an organized format the Astronomy textbook that you’ve never really flipped through.”
He took a deep breath. “Your life has only been four years long, to your current knowledge. You were found in the middle of the street with an enormous gash on your head, and no ID. There weren’t even any records of your fingerprints in any database. You are a woman without an identity.”
Beth was rooted to the spot. She couldn’t comprehend how this…boy had found out her information. She was a part of a program that ensured that your past, how ever little it consisted of, was erased.
The young man nodded slowly. “I can help you. I knew you before you lost your memory. I can tell you everything.” He hesitated. “But I also need your help.”
She frowned. “Okay then. Explain.”
“We should really move to a safer spot…”
“Whatever you need to say can be said right here, out in the open.” She crossed her arms defiantly.
He frowned for a moment, then nodded in resignation. “Alright. My name is Cade Lamson. I was your assistant. Your name is Dr. Trinity Alden, a scientist worthy of world renown. You discovered and invented the impossible. You proved that many of the scientific bases that our society stands firmly on today are false, and are totally beyond our current grasp of understanding.”
Beth shook her head. “Okay, you’re talking, but you’re not really saying anything. Get to the point.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, but you’re not just going to accept what I say to be gospel, okay? It’s going to conflict with everything you know about science now.”
“Then why are we doing this again?”
Cade’s face grew hard. “Because of the countless lives that only you have the knowledge to save. There are people being hunted down as we speak, Trinity, and half of them don’t even know why.”
She felt her heart drop. Partially from the news that there were people being hurt, and partially from being called Trinity. It actually fit pretty well, she felt. She took a breath and looked him in the eye. “Okay. Tell me more. Maybe I can help.”
Without warning, an explosion racked the square, sending fire and debris flying in all directions. The crowd of previously browsing people were now screaming and crying out in fear. Cade grabbed Beth’s arm and yanked her away from the chaos. They tore off down the street, pushing and slamming into people who were mesmerized by the fires that were spreading fast.
Beth (or Trinity, she didn’t know how to refer to herself now) clung to Cade’s arm as he maneuvered them through the mass of people. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized the seriousness of the situation. People’s lives were in grave danger. If Cade was telling the truth, and she was the only one with the knowledge to help, then she was responsible for every moment that passed that she didn’t do anything to help. She furiously fought the urge to cry.
Cade suddenly halted. In front of them were three men holding small guns close to their bodies. He grunted as he whirled around to find more men with guns heading toward them. Beth whimpered slightly.
Cade released his grip on her arm and turned to face her. “Do you trust me?”
Beth nodded vigorously, almost cringing in fear at the danger surrounding them.
“Okay. Hold on.” He threw his arm around her shoulders and turned around in place sharply.
She had no idea what was happening; all she could feel was the lack of air, the vibrations pulsing throughout her being, and the terrifying sensation of falling. Where she had been standing on solid ground, there was nothing but endless black. Then, she was suddenly dropped back onto the cool, soft earth.
Her head spinning, she clambered to her feet. “What…” She sputtered, gasping for air. “What was that?” She glanced around, noticing that the city had disappeared and wild plant life surrounded them. “And where on Earth are we?”
Cade peered up at her from where he lay sprawled on the ground. He sat up and kneaded his forehead wit h his fingers. “That’s what I need to tell you. See that building over there?” He pointed to his left.
Beth blinked and nodded, unimpressed at the sight of the primitive structure.
“That’s our station. Where you would do research and give treatments.”
“Treatments?” Beth turned slowly. “What do you mean by that?”
Cade hoisted himself up off of the ground and sighed. “Trinity, I don’t know where to start. Just give me a chance to get my thoughts together, okay?” He looked over at her and shook his head. “You really don’t remember anything, do you? It’s all gone.”
She shrugged and ran a hand through her hair in embarrassment. “I don’t recall anything.”
Cade tensed. “Okay. Well, like I said, you were an amazing scientist. When you were in the Air Force, I think you were about twenty-two at the time, you discovered a strain of, well, I don’t really remember what you called them, but you discovered something that made you consider something like instantaneous transportation possible. I remember you telling me that you first believed instantaneous transportation to be getting from point A to point B anywhere on the Earth in less than a second by means of inter-dimensional travel. Are you following?”
Beth blinked. “Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
“Good. Well, the strain of whatever it was that you discovered made you realize that it just might be possible to achieve inter-dimensional travel by changing a certain factor in the makeup of the human DNA. That strain, or gene, as you called it, was the key. So you set out to perfect it.”
“I thought I was an astronomer, not a geneticist.” Beth frowned.
Cade smiled for the first time. “You had help from a good friend of yours that was a geneticist. You two worked well together. Anyways, once you were sure that you had perfected the formula, you tested the first injection on yourself. You attempted a jump, planning your destination to be in Cairo, Egypt. You already had another scientist on the other end at a specified place, ready to assist you if needed. But you never made it to Cairo.”
He scratched his head for a second and looked around. “Instead you discovered something much greater. You wound up on a planet orbiting a star outside of our solar system.” He yanked a crumpled paper out of his pocket. “Look at this. I found this on some Astronomy website. ‘The HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) team has reported that 32 new planets have been discovered outside the Solar System…this new discovery places it as the world's first in exoplanet findings. HARPS has spotted over 75 of the 400 or so known exoplanets so far.’ You see this? I found this article online on October 20th of this year. You were on one of these planets before HARPS, the spectrograph these people used, even found traces of it. You returned to Earth shortly after, and started telling everyone who would listen. But no one would hear. It’s not factual, just science fiction, they said. They weren’t ready to hear that you’d actually cracked something that was way beyond their realm of understanding.”
“Wow.” Was all she could manage.
“After you disappeared, we named the planet Trinity, in honor of you. The name also fit quite well because it was a super-Earth with three Earth-sized moons. We haven’t really named those yet.”
“Who’s ‘we’?” Beth inquired.
“Those of us with the gene. I was the first one you injected, then after you were gone, I used the remaining amount of the strain and injected people with desires to help our cause. There aren’t many, but the ones we’ve found have contributed a lot. We’ve set up observatories here, and have seen the universe from a totally new standpoint. We have new constellations, some objects we can see better, and other objects, like the Orion Nebula, is just a tad bit smaller from our view than from Earth’s. But with spectrographs and other light – measuring tools, we are able to calculate just how far away Earth is. But, just think of it. If we can one day configure your formula with coordinates for other planets, we can make the galaxy our observatory!”
Beth’s eyes blurred. “That’s wonderful. But why are people trying to stop this?”
Cade shrugged. “They want control. And as of now, they have no control over what we do.”
Trinity smiled. “Maybe that’s the best way to have it.”

New Blogs!

Aloha everyone, and welcome to the new blogs of Sarah Halbrook! :0
If you are formerly familiar to the blog "A Writer's Tale", then you are in for some good news! Everything is in working order now, and is not as crushed and disorganized and smooshed together as it used to be. I have created two other blogs and moved my poetry and random documentations of my life to them, respectively. On each of my blogs, you will find a section on the left hand side that supplies two links to the other blogs. Please become a follower of them! I would love to have readers. :) Here is a small breakdown of the new set-up.

A Writer's Tale - Writings: stories or random blurbs
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