Gift from the Heavens

[DOHC46]

It had been another busy day at Dison Computing.  Jack Dison closed the store and began restocking the shelves while Leia rang up the last customer of the night.

“Hey, count up,” Jack says.  “Vanessa probably made dinner, so I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
Leia answers, not missing a beat, “Way ahead of ya, boss.  I’m almost done.”
Leia looks up, her blue eyes, contrasting from her dark skin, showing concern, “You OK, Jack?  You look like something’s bothering you.”  Leia brushes a lock of her blonde hair aside, “You want to talk?”
Jack steps out the front door, Leia following him.  Jack slowly locks up the store, Leia watching in concern.  Jack paused, turning and looking up for a moment.

“It was a night just like tonight; quiet, still, clear…” Jack mumbles.
“What?” Leia asked, confused.  “You mean, the night of…?”
Jack shakes his head slowly, “And I just keep having this nagging feeling something is going to happen tonight.”  Jack looks at Leia, “I’ll drop you off at home.”
“But Desiderata Valley is in the other direction!”  Leia exclaims, “You’ll be late getting home!”
Jack smiles, “But you have a big test tomorrow.  Besides, I’m worried about you.”
“You worry too much.”  Leia says, laughing.  “I’m ready for the test.”
“The test isn’t what I’m worried about.  You’re not just an employee, you’re my friend.  I don’t want to lose a friend, any more than I'd want to lose my daughter.” Lack answers firmly.  “Please, I insist.”
Leia says, “Well, if it’ll make you feel better, I can’t really say no, can I?”
They walk over to Jack’s car, and Jack unlocks the driver’s door and gets in.  He unlocks the passenger’s door so Leia can get in, also.  Leia gets in as Jack starts up the antique Chevy, the old big-block engine’s rough bark shattering the silence of the still night.  Jack swings the old Corvette up Main Street.  A few blocks later, Jack hangs a left, onto Woodland Drive and pulls into Leia’s driveway.  Leia gets out, turns and leans on the door.
“Thanks for the lift.  Be careful driving home,” Leia says. “Good night.”
“Good night, Leia.” Jack answers.  As Leia heads towards the house, Jack backs the Stingray to the street and turns back out onto Main Street, heading south.  As he passes the store, and rounds the bend, he notes the “You are now leaving Pleasantview” sign alongside the road.  As Jack looks forward to a 22-mile drive to Desiderata Valley, his mind begins to recall the events of that fateful night, 14 years ago…


The last box had been unpacked, and the last of his belongings were finally put away.  Jack felt that he was at home for the very first time, since moving out of his parents’ house.  This small mansion was far nicer that the dingy SimCity apartments Jack had been used to.  Jack stepped out the side door onto the veranda above the garage.  He turned and looked out over the ocean and pondered the beauty he found right here, in his brand new home in Desiderata Valley.  The waves crashed softly against the beach, as a shooting star streaked across the sky.  Yet, Jack felt on this still, clear night that something was missing.  He needed something, but he didn’t know what.  The feeling that something was missing is something Jack has pondered to this very day, but it was in this moment, that he first noticed that feeling.

Seeing the shooting star, Jack made a wish: to find what was missing in his life.  He had it all, after all, money, a growing business, friends…  What more could such a fortunate man need?  Spying more shooting stars, had Jack approached his telescope.  He cautiously peered into the lens.  He saw a beautiful spectacle of the small meteor shower through the telescope, but just as he was about to look away, something else caught his eye.  A strange light was heading directly towards him!  Jack couldn’t believe his eyes!   Before he knew what was happening, a strange, saucer-like object descended from the sky, and turned a beam of light on Jack.  Jack was both terrified and curious at the same time.  In the beam, Jack was beginning to lift off the ground.  That was when the fear took over.  Jack grabbed at anything he could to avoid what was about to happen, but his fingers slipped right off the telescope’s smooth metal body, as he was drawn up into the spacecraft.

Jack only could assume he was sedated by the strange green men, because he could not remember much of what happened after that.  He remembered drifting in, and out of consciousness for a few hours as the aliens performed some sort of tests on him.  The tests didn’t seem too bad; none caused more than mild discomfort as far as Jack could remember.  When, as suddenly as this event began, it ended.  Jack was rather unceremoniously dumped on the street not more than a few feet away from his own house.  He felt strange, but unharmed.  Not knowing what else to do, Jack had gone to bed.
The following morning, Jack felt quite ill, as he recalled.  He had found himself hunched over the porcelain pot, jettisoning the previous night’s dinner.  He had been running late opening the store that day, and had felt under the weather for several days, until he went to see a doctor.  He remembers the doctor’s diagnosis, all too well.  As impossible as it seemed, Jack was pregnant!  Jack hired more help around the store, so he could take some time for himself.  He found this situation to be more than strange, it was downright freaky.  As the months passed, Jack knew the doctor wasn’t wrong…

The big day finally arrived, and Jack didn’t know what to expect from this cosmic blessing.  Jack had heard stories about such alien abductions, and the babies resulting from them were always green alien-looking people.  Jack was rather surprised when the baby he bore looked totally human.  In fact, other than being a girl, the baby looked exactly like he did in his own newborn pictures that he found in an old family photo album.  Jack remembered thinking, “I don’t know for sure if this is normal, or just plain bizarre.”  Regardless, Jack had named the baby Vanessa, and took it upon himself to raise her as best he could.





These old memories still weighed heavily on Jack’s mind as he pulled into the garage of his mansion.  Jack headed upstairs by one of the elevators on the house, to find Vanessa in the kitchen.
“Hey, I’m home!” Jack announced.
Vanessa looks over and answers, “Hi Dad.  You’re running late, again.  I just finished eating.”
“Couldn’t wait, huh?” Jack asks.
“Sorry, Dad.” Vanessa responds, “I couldn’t wait any longer.  I was too hungry.  Hey, there’s a movie on TV tonight I wanted to watch.  It’s on a little late, but my homework is done.  Is it OK? ”
Jack contemplates for a moment, “Yeah.  Just make sure to get to bed as soon as it’s over.”
“OK, Dad.  Thanks!” Vanessa says happily.

Jack grabbed the leftovers from the refrigerator and Vanessa went to watch her movie.

The final credits were rolling, and Vanessa was about to head off to bed, as Jack had already gone up.  Vanessa thought she heard a strange noise outside, and she steps cautiously towards the veranda.  She saw the streak in the sky.
“What was that?” Vanessa wonders aloud as she heads to the telescope for a closer look.
As Vanessa peers into the telescope, a large glowing object descends from the sky.  A beam of light shines down on her very suddenly.  Jack hears the sounds of the UFO outside and wakes in a panic.  He bolts to the veranda just in time to see Vanessa being drawn into the spacecraft!

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Jack screams.  “VAAAANNEEEEESSSSSAAAAAAA!”
Jack feels helpless as the alien craft speeds away.  He now, finally begins to understand what that feeling of missing was.  And now, he stood powerless to stop his daughter from being taken away as he came to the realization that she was the most important person in his life.  He only now realizes that she is more important to him that all of his money, and his business, and any other material thing else he has ever acquired.  Now, Jack could only hope that the aliens see fit return her.  And hours pass, and nothing…  Two days pass, as Jack goes through his routine robotically.
At the store, business booms, but Jack doesn’t seem to care.  Leia has noticed this, and has heard the story.  With the number of witnesses, as almost everyone in Desiderata Valley saw something, have given enough statements to keep the local authorities from arresting Jack.  Leia wishes for something she can do to help.  That’s when Josh Westings walks in.  A resident of Strangetown, Josh is known to be a local expert on aliens.  Leia rounds the counter and approaches him.

“Ummmmm…  Excuse me, Mr. Westings...?” She stammers.
Josh smiles and says, “Just Josh, please.  Calling me ‘mister’ makes me feel old.  How can I help young lady?”
Leia, relived asks, “Can you help Jack?  My boss?  He’s been really down since his daughter, Vanessa got taken away by the UFO the other night.  I’ve heard you know a lot about aliens.”
“Well, I did want to ask him about what happened.  It’s kind of a hobby of mine, aliens and such…” Josh answered.
“Can you find a way to help him?” Leia asks eagerly.
Josh considers for a moment, and answers, “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?”
Josh approaches Jack, and introduces himself, “Good afternoon, I’m Josh Westings.  Can I ask you about your recent ‘encounter’ with extraterrestrial beings?”
Jack looks calmly at Josh, and asks, “Why?  What good will talking do?”
“Well, I’m working on a project right now, which could be of interest to you, Mr. Dison.” Josh answers confidently.
“Interest?  Like what?”  Jack responds indifferently.
Josh answers the question very seriously, “I believe you’ll be interested to know that I’ve invented a device that will allow me to send a message to the aliens.  You could try to ask them to bring your daughter back.”
“WHAT?” Jack asks, in anger.  “If this is your idea of a joke, I’m not laughing.”
“I’m dead serious, Mr. Dison. Dead serious.” Josh puts emphasis on his words, without wavering.  “My device will allow me to send a message through deep space using a tachyon carrier beam.  I know it will work.  I know losing a family member can be devastating, and this is as good a reason as any to put the finishing touches on my invention.  I have studied everything there is about extraterrestrial all my life, so I’m thinking my machine is your best hope of appealing to the aliens.  If they haven’t returned her by now, then I’m thinking that they have no intention of returning her at all.  I’d like to help, if you’ll let me.”
“You have my attention,” Jack says.  “What do you need to put these finishing touches on this thing?”
Josh answers, “I need two things: a 30 millimeter by 5 millimeter iridium superconductor disc, and five pellets of reactor-grade plutonium.”
Jack’s jaw dropped, “Plutonium?!?  You can’t just walk into a store and buy plutonium!  And an iridium superconductor?  I don’t think anyone carries those, either!  Some hope you’re offering…”
Josh smiles, “Don’t worry about the plutonium.  You just contact your suppliers.  I’m sure one of them can get you the superconductor.  It might be expensive, being an experimental technology.”
“If it exists, I’ll get one, no matter the price.  And how do you propose getting the plutonium?” Jack asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“I work in a research lab, and I am certified to work with radioactive isotopes, so it’s just a matter of ‘procuring’ the materials from my supervisor.  I’ll try to convince him that it’s in the name of science.” Josh assures.
Jack wonders, “And if he says no?”
“I have a Plan B.” Josh says calmly.
“Is Plan B legal?” Jack asks.
“No,” comes the answer.

Josh gives Jack his phone number, and starts to head out.
“Call me when you have a superconductor.  Remember: iridium superconductor disc, 30 by 5 millimeters.  I can adapt to make a larger one work, but it can’t be any smaller.  Just get that, and I’ll take care of the rest.” Josh says.
“I’ll see what I can come up with.” Jack responds, “Just don’t do anything illegal on my account.”
Josh just smiles as he turns and heads out the door.  Jack ponders where in the world he could find the iridium superconductor that Josh needs to finish his device.  Jack figures he’ll start with his regular suppliers.  He picks up the phone and hits a speed dial.
“Hello, Moneywell Corp?  This is Jack Dison, at Dison Computing.  Account number 344-5944-182-D.  I’d like to order a 30 by 5 millimeter iridium superconductor.  What?...  No… I’m very serious!  NO!  I’m not on drugs! …  Yes. I’m of sound mind.  If you don’t have it, you could just say so.”  Jack hangs up the phone, dejected.  “This won’t be easy to find…” Jack muses.  He dials another supplier.  And another…   And still no luck.  Jack was running out of suppliers, and he reached the end of the list, with no luck.  There was only one company left.  “Hello, Alienware?...”
Josh’s phone rang later that night.  “Hello?” Josh answers the phone.
Jack says, “Josh Westings?  I’ve got a superconductor on its way.  It will be at the store tomorrow, by noon.”

“OK, then I’ll stop by tomorrow after I leave the lab.  I’ll see what I can do for the fuel cells,” Josh says confidently.
“Just don’t call me from SimCity jail tomorrow.” Jack intones.  “See you tomorrow.”
“See you then.”  Josh hangs up the phone, contemplating how he was going to get the plutonium.  He knew his boss wouldn’t just offer to let him take it…
The following afternoon, at SimCity Labs, Josh found himself in the isotope storage room.  He was assigned to catalogue the radioactive elements.  He saw the perfect opportunity, just change the electronic records, and nobody would be the wiser…

“I’ve only got a few more calibrations left, and we’re ready to transmit, Jack.  Have you composed a message?” Josh asked, that night, after bringing his invention to Jack’s house, and setting it up on the veranda.
“I’ve got it on my computer.” Jack answered.  “Can we transfer it?”
Josh answers, “Sure.  I’ll hook up a USB cable,” Josh answers confidently.  “We’ll only get about 20 seconds’ worth of signal, so let’s make it count.”
Jack reviews his letter on the computer, and announces, “It’s definitely ready.  Are you ready to hook up the cable?”
Josh fiddles with the transmitter a moment longer and says, “Yup.  I think it’s as ready as it’s ever going to be.”  With that, Josh hooks Jacks PC to the transmitter to download the message.

They both head to the veranda, and Josh fires up the home-made Galactic Hyperspace Transmitter.  Josh sets the message to transmit in a simple binary code repeatedly, and throws the switch for the transmitter dish deployment.  The clunky dish unfolds itself, and sends a beam of light and energy into the sky.
“The tachyon beam will carry the message for a great distance, hundreds, if not thousands of light-years.  They’ll have to receive it.  I know it,” Josh assures Jack as he watches, nervously, wondering if the aliens will hear his message, and choose to return Vanessa.  Josh watches the plutonium charge meters begin to drop…

The machine shuts down as the isotope charges runs out.  The night is quiet and still.  Jack and Josh look towards one-another.  Minutes pass.  Nothing seems to happen.
Josh looks at the machine, and looks back at Jack.  “I’m sorry.  I’m out of ideas…”
“It’s OK, Josh… You tried,” Jack says, barely above a whisper.
“I’ll get more plutonium, and we’ll try again!” Josh exclaims.  “I’m not going to give up.”
“You’ve already done too much…  Maybe you should get some rest,” Jack answers.  “I still don’t want to know how you got this plutonium… you’ll wind up in prison if you get caught taking more.  I can’t, I won’t, let you go to jail for a lost hope…”
Crestfallen, Josh says, “I’ll take down the transmitter and bring it home.  I shouldn’t leave it here.”
The next day came, and went.  Jack, more depressed than ever, finally accepted that Vanessa was never coming back.  He trudged through the day at the store, asking himself, “Why would the aliens go through the trouble of creating this life, only to take it away from home?  It doesn’t seem right.”
Jack arrived home after dark, as usual.  After cooking up some Mac ‘n’ Cheese, he was ready to call it a night.  Jack wondered if there was even a point to tomorrow.  He considered not going to the store tomorrow, not opening it up at all, even going so far as to consider selling the store outright.  But, Jack knew he couldn’t just stop living, he had to carry on.  That’s what Vanessa would want.  He told himself that as he took a shower.  He had just finished showering and was ready for bed, when he heard a familiar sound in front of the house.  Jack ran outside, and saw the UFO had returned.  A hatch opened, and a humanoid form was ejected from it.  As the spacecraft flew away and Jack’s eyes adjusted for the low light, he realized the person ejected from the ship was none other than Vanessa!

“Vanessa?  Oh my…!  Vanessa!!”  Jack ran to her, as she stood up.
“Dad!  Dad, I was so scared!” Vanessa cries out.
“I know, baby, but you’re home now.  You’re safe,” Jack said softly, as he gave her a big hug.  “I was so worried I’d never see you again.”
Vanessa just cried in his arms…

After a long moment, Vanessa looks up at Jack and says, “Dad?  One of the aliens told me they didn’t think it was a good idea to bring me back.  Said something about my ‘psychokinetic potential’ or something like that, being too high for a human, whatever that means…  But they got a message from you asking them to bring me back.”
“I sent a message with some help from a friend, Josh Westings, the alien expert.  I’ll have to thank him, again, now,” Jack answers, softly.  “I was afraid I’d never see you again…  I never knew how much I’d miss you.”
Vanessa says, “The alien said I could potentially save our world, or destroy it.  What did he mean by that?”
Jack answers happily, “I don’t know, but I think things will work out for the best.  We’ll always be family, and I’ll always be there for you, Vanessa.”

[DRO0KiiE2003]

Inceredible story have been written!

[thesimsrule2]

fanntastic story!!!!

[Bammie]

Hey thesimsrule, could you delete your second post? That's double posting. And btw amazing story DOHC!

[Viperman]

DOHC, finally finished the story today, and it was great! Do you plan any more stories with these characters, to build on what Vanessa said at the end about saving or destroying the planet?

[THUG LIFE]

Hey thesimsrule, could you delete your second post? That's double posting. And btw amazing story DOHC!

Yeah Bammie is right. Please delete the second post. I always do that, when I make double post by mistake. BTW exciting story, DOHC

[th3cudaguy]

dude you could be a writer for a living mazin story

[bbg8793]

th3cudaguy can you delete your second post?

[sh0tst0ppa]

dude you could be a writer for a living mazin story

Good point, think DOHC should be a writer. Lets just hope DOHC makes another story of the Dison family.