Dark as Daylight Ch. 19

"I love these little shakedown cruises. It keeps us on our toes."

"Helm, turn right heading 027°, declination 15°."

"Ship is responding Captain, turning to heading 027°, declination 15°."

"Thank you."

"Captain, may ask the reason for the turn?"

"You will see it in a moment."

"Captain, range safety, asteroid bearing 345°, angle of ascension 20°. Speed 85,000 miles per hour, closest approach in nine seconds. It will pass clear or our port bow by 500 miles."

"That was the reason for our return."

"Yes Captain, I just figured that out, but how did you know?"

"My father told me."

"Oh."

***********************

"Your dad has a way with you, doesn't he?"

"I guess you could say that.

Truman shouted, "Mom, you never told us the answer to the question."

"Why would I give you the answer to the question, without showing you the process to get there?"

"We will go to class tomorrow with you, and let you beat it into our heads, if you will tell us the answer now."

"Is that before, or after your 30-mile run?"

"Mom, you are going senile. It's 20 miles, and it's a walk."

"I guess I'm going to have to check the written record of my talk this evening. I'm sure I said 30 miles, and it was going to be a run, 'only for my defiant children,' of course."

Gray whispered, "Honey, if you make it 30 miles, and a run, you will be a widow tomorrow evening, because I have announced that I am going with them."

"Dammit Gray, your ruining all my fun."

"Honey, victory is sweet enough. You don't have to add anything to it to make it better. A 20 walk is punishment enough. Their asses will be dragging by the time they get back, and then you will hit them with your math lesson. Won't that be fun?"

"You make me love you more every day, Gray."

"I fell in love with you the moment I saw you. I have loved you that much every day of my life."

"Listen you, you can't do any more damage than you've already done. I'm already pregnant, you can't impregnate me again, and I'm not having any more children."

"Nobody says we have to stop practicing."

"I love practicing with you."

"Same here, dear."

She turned and looked her children in the eye. "Having consulted my written record, it is a 20-mile walk. Now here is the answer to the question, and you will be at study hall tomorrow afternoon when you return from your little outing, showered, and in clean clothes, ready to learn how to get there, from here.

Apparently, the light bulbs went on in some heads, when she said that, because there were screams.

"Dammit, how stupid can I be. That's what I forgot."

After that, there were many 'me too's' that followed.

Question 1. The mileage from 'Q' to 'B' is 657,798,857.673333 million miles. The reverse answer, what is the distance from 'A' to 'Q' is 342,201,143.34666 miles.

Question 2. Who will get to 'B' First, the even, or the odd numbers? The answer is, 'No one knows.'

Her kids screamed at her, and so did many others:

"That's not an answer. Anyone could say that and be right."

Delicious smiled. "That's correct. However, I said it, and I can prove it. It is a scientific answer I will give you the proof of that answer tomorrow, during our extended study hall hours, which will be devoted to math and science. It will take us well past the dinner hour, so bring snacks with you. Class dismissed."

Gray put his arms around her and squeezed.

Delicious had a smile on her face, the likes of which he had seen on her face in years.

There was a groan among many of the adults, but all the children shook their heads in dismay. They knew there was going to be more than eight hours of school tomorrow. Math and science were going to be intense with Delicious teaching it. They remembered her statement to Gordon at the beginning of their session, "Ever since I learned how to go from one end of this universe to the other, in less than one year." She wouldn't tell her brother something she could not backup, so they were in for some serious learning. Many of them would go to sleep early this evening. Some of them looked forward to learning what Captain Delicious would teach them. Others dreaded it.

"Gray, do you want to come with me to see what those 13 children did in study hall, or do you want to berate your children for what they did to their mother."

"I think I'll come with you. I have 20 miles tomorrow to berate my children. I'll have the best of both worlds."

"I told you that you were a genius."

"Don't hit me, because I'm going to give you an answer from the past."

"I'm feeling so good now, nothing would upset me."

"Okay repeat your statement about me being a genius."

"I told you that you were a genius."

"I know."

She swung at him, but he was out of harm's way.

"How could you possibly say that to me? Gordon said that to me every day, from age of three until the day I moved out of the house. What's worse, was that he was always right when he said it."

With a big smile on his face, Gray said, "I know." He immediately started running towards the ship, and safety.

Delicious yelled, as she took off, running after him "Grayson Thyme, you are a dead man."

He yelled over his shoulder, "I know."

Delicious screamed at the top of her lungs and increased her speed.

Gray entered the ship first, turned around in the darkness, stopped, and turned to face her when she entered.

He heard her climbing the ramp. He bent his knees and braced for the impact. She came flying through the door screaming,

"Grayson Thyme..." Her words stopped as she collided with him.

Gray had his arms around her, and her legs in the air. More importantly, his lips were against hers, smothering her rampage.

Initially, she was kicking her legs, and pounding her arms against his shoulders, but it didn't take long for those actions to cease, and for her to return his kisses.

After a moment or two, the agent regarding the door told them, "You two have to stop this now. This is a high traffic area, and you are impeding the traffic flow. There are also impressionable teenagers that pass this way, and they are taking notes. Go to your room Doctor Thyme."

Delicious pulled her head away from her husband's. "Billie, he's going to need a different kind of doctor when I get through with him."

"In that case, can I be of any assistance, or at least watch. My boyfriend and I are having problems, and if I think what you're going to do to Doctor Thyme is correct, I may learn something."

"Billie, if you were in the room with us, she killed me. If you want to learn more about sex, speak to Hannah."

"Hannah; Hannah is almost 75 years old. She probably stopped having sex 15 years ago."

Delicious got down from her perch, and took Billie aside to speak to her privately.

"Billie, you are approaching 30 years old, and you are not in your prime yet. You won't reach it, until you are in your 40s. Hannah and Jack Daniels are one of the most sexually active married couples on our voyage. The only thing that won't happen is children, because Hannah is beyond that age. You can ask either of them about sex, and they will talk to you openly about it. They are one of the most joyous couples you will ever meet. The reason you haven't associated with them is your age, and you run with a different group."

"Mr. Daniels has to be in his 80s, and he is still able to function sexually?"

"Yes, and he does not have to take pills to do it."

"Wow, that is awesome. I think you two should retire to your bedroom, and carry on. I do mean really carry on."

Gray said, "I'm not in the mood anymore."

He waited for Delicious to hit him, but she didn't. She kicked him in the thigh instead.

"You weren't going to get away with that one, Gray."

"I know." He was off and running towards their room, as he heard Delicious scream behind him.

Running after him she yelled, "After this child is born, I'm going to work you to death."

Again, he yelled back, "I know."

"Gordon put you up to this, didn't he? I'm going to kill him too."

Gray yelled, "No he didn't, but I knew you would think of it sooner or later."

He was standing in the hall, holding their door open for her, when there was an announcement over the public-address system.

"Delicious Thyme, please call the study hall. Delicious, please call the study hall, immediately."

"Oh Shit, I forgot about the 13 children, who are doing the math problem. They must have finished. I must see their work to see how advanced they are."

She walked through the door to see Teddy, Lynn, and Lane sitting at the kitchen table playing a game.

Teddy said, "Mom, do you see what I mean about bad language? They heard you, and you can't take it back. I'm not going to punish you this time, you should punish yourself for speaking like that in front of the babies."

Lane said, "We are not babies anymore. We are children now."

Teddy said, "You will always be my little babies. I helped you grow up since the day you were born. I watched you come out of mommy's belly. You had gunk all over your face and body. You were not as pretty then, as you are now."

"It is Teddy telling the truth, mommy? Did we have ugly stuff all over us, when we came out of your belly?"

"Yes, you did. It was from all the ice cream I ate while I was pregnant with you. They washed you off, and gave them to your father to hold, while they sewed my belly back together. You two have been gorgeous ever since. You must remember one thing about your sister, she never lies. She will tell you the truth, even if it hurts her."

Gray handed Delicious his communicator.

"It's Gordon, he really thinks you should come down and look at these kids work. Some of them are so wrong, but they got the answer right on the money. He still trying to figure out how they did it. Others worked the problem out correctly. They all seemed to be advanced in math."

"All 13 of them, Gordon?"

"You're correct, every one of them. Come on down, we need to talk to these youngsters and put them in classes separate from the others. You should teach them along with Gray. I'll pitch in, if you want me to."

"You bet your ass, you'll pitch in. The two of us will be down in five minutes."

"Teddy, have you decided what to do with your life? I know you're devoted to God, and everyone here loves you. However, there are many things here on the ship that need to be done, and only a certain amount of people to do them. You are 15 years old, and in seven months you will be 16. Most of the children have already decided on a career path. Francine is studying molecular biology. Your brothers and sisters are heavy into the sciences. You tell me that the one in my belly is going to be the smartest of all of them. I must assume that this one is going to be a scientist, also. Your father and I just want you to think along the lines of helping the ship, to be a real crewmate. You've already started your first lesson at being a captain. You're not supposed to start at the top and work your way down. If that's the way it's going to be, it's fine with us. Have you read, and understood everything that it entails to be a captain?"

"Yes mother, I have. Since I was eight years old grandpa has been tutoring me to become a captain. He made me study the electrical system that you designed, and then tested me until I knew it perfectly. I know the star charts, the nuclear engine, the magnetic engines, and the 6 Ion/H2 engines backward and forward. I know the safety systems, and engineering. I went into Callie, and she taught me about the computer systems. I memorized all the recipes in the kitchens manuals, and many other recipes that Callie gave me, which were more interesting, and tasty.

I went to Mr. Daniels to asked him about me going outside the ship in a spacesuit. He said he would let me go outside, 'when 'Hell' freezes over'."

I told him, "There was no 'Hell'. God returns everyone to life in some way. What type of life you return to is up to is what you achieved in the life you just lived. If you've lived a good life, and been a benefit to the people around you, you can come back at the same level, but as a different person completely, or move up to a higher level. If you were a bad person, you move to a lower level. Everything is based on what you do during your life. The better you are the higher you move. The worse you are, the lower you go. Mr. Daniels looked at me, with his mouth hanging open. He didn't say anything else to me. I think he was stunned."

She looked at her mother and father, and saw the same looks on their faces as were on Jack Daniels. This must have been news to them, also."

"Mom are you in there?"

Delicious blinked. "Yes, I'm here. What you just told us is brand-new news. I don't think anyone on this ship, or anywhere else, for that matter, has ever heard anything like that. Do you want to announce it to everyone on the ship, because that is very important for people of every religion, and walk of life? It will affect the way they work, and the way they live their lives?"

"I will do it, if you think it is that important. Wait, maybe I should check with God first. Maybe she told me this in confidence, and I'm not supposed to tell anyone else. Please don't say anything, until I am sure."

"Absolutely, Teddy, we will not say a word. That goes for you two monsters, also. If you say anything, I'll have Doctor Daniels sew your lips together."

"Mom, Teddy would make it worse than that for us than that. She would make us pray for two hours, staring at a wall, with fake flowers painted on it. There are only so many things we can do wrong at our age."

"Okay, I'll tell you what you can do. When you're finished praying for yourselves, and the things you did wrong, pray for me, because the list of things I've done wrong, during my life is very long. Just the things I have done to your father would take up both of your lifetimes. You will never run out of time to pray for me."

Teddy said, "Mommy that is not true. You have been much better then you think you've been."

"Really Teddy?"

"I never lie, Mom."

"I know honey."

"We will still pray for you mom."

"Thank you, kids."

"Honey, Gordon is waiting for us."

"Dammit, I forgot about him. Let's run."

"No, let's walk and get there safely."

"Later kids."

They stepped into the hallway and Delicious stopped short.

Gray asked her, "What's the matter baby?"

"My mother moved up the ladder with her big mouth? With what she told my baby, she should have had her asshole pulled out through her nasal cavity."

"Honey, your mom saved your life. How much more could you possibly ask from her?"

"Damn you, Gray, I'm pissed off at her. Why can't you just let me be angry for a while?"

"Because, when you are wrong, you are dead wrong."

He embraced her and felt the tension leave her body.

"Do you see what I mean about you, Gray? This is what you do to keep me sane. I'll get even with you later."

"I'll look forward to it."

*********************

As they entered the converted auditorium; now a study area, Delicious saw Gordon trying to explain the right way to solve her equation. Some of the students were still telling him he was doing it wrong.

She entered the conversation by saying, "Lily are you telling the man who invented Nuclear Fusion that he does not know how to do math?"

"But Mrs. Thyme, he is doing it all wrong. He told me I got the right answer, so how could my method be wrong?"

"Let's try it this way, Lily. You're going to make a cake. The cake's recipe calls for four eggs. Two eggs go into the powder mix immediately. Then it calls for two egg yolks to be put in at the halfway point during the mixing and just prior to the end it calls for two egg whites. Would you do it that way, or would you let Gordon come around, look at the recipe, and say, 'This recipe calls for four eggs. I'll collect the four eggs, and put them in the mix at one time. No one will know the difference.'

"Will anybody know the difference, Lily?"

"Yes, Mrs. Thyme, Gordon's cake will be flat as a pancake, because he put all the eggs in at one time."

"Why? The mix required all four eggs, didn't it?"

"Yes, but when the first two eggs, air, flower, yeast, salt, water and other ingredients start to mix, a chemical reaction is created that forms linear bonds between these ingredients. You can see that as you pull the spatula up out of the bowl. Instead of having a powdery mix, you now have a globular mixture. When you add the next two yolks, the glob starts to break down, and is easier to work with. Finally, when the mix is done, and you add the last two egg whites, they make the dough glisten. The finished product, whether it be a cake, or cupcakes, will have a shiny top to it."

"Kids were we talking about cooking or chemistry?"

"Both," they yelled.

"You are absolutely correct. Cooking is an art, and a science. The best cooks, are the best scientists."

"Now, back to you Lily. Who was right, Gordon and his cooking, or you and your cooking?"

"Okay, I get the message. But why can't there be an alternate way to get to the same point in space."

"Gray, put Lily's name down first in my new math class. I don't want her to be frozen out."

"Do all of you remember my second answer, 'No One Knows!"

Jordan yelled, "If I could answer all my tests like that, I'd be a whiz kid."

Gray walked behind him, put the pad on Jordan's desk, and handed him his pen.

"Put your name under Lily's."

Jordan did as he was told to do. Then he asked,

"Why did I do that?"

"Because you are a whiz kid." Then Gray smacked the back of his head, and told him,

"Pay attention, because your teacher is 1 billion miles ahead of you."

Gordon throughout this question. "Why is my sister's answer to 'Question 2' correct? You can give me a dissertation, or a one or two-word answer."

Gray laughed. "Gordon, you are mean."

"You live with my sister, and you are calling me mean?"

"Boys, keep me out of this, or I'll take you both apart."

The kids in the class laughed as both men became silent.

Gordon said, "I'm going to give you one minute, then I'm going around the room and ask you for an answer. I don't know is not an answer. One more thing, I'm starting with the kids that did the equation correctly, from the beginning, all the way to the bitter end."

4 kids groaned.

Grady shouted, "Boys and girls, your time is up. We are ready for your magnificent answers. Gordon, this is your show, hop to it."

"And the winner is Rachel. What is your answer to the question 'No One Knows?'

"I was asleep that night when Santa Claus came, and he didn't leave the answer in my stocking."

"Very original, but incorrect.

"Peter, by the look in your eyes, I think you'd rather be any place else right now."

"Not at all Captain Luck. Being incorrect here is just as good as being incorrect outside."

"Okay, give me your incorrect answer."

"The space time continuum fluxes and were not sure where it's going to bend as we travel through space?"

"Delicious, a C- on that answer?"

"You are a tough grader. I would give him a C."

"Do you see Peter, instead of missing Santa Claus, you got a passing grade. You have a lot of studying to do, but unlike Rachel, you're not starting out at the bottom of the well."

"Meredith, you heard part of the answer, did it help you any?"

"I don't believe it's fair, because I have the complete answer."

"In that case, we will skip over you, and go to Beatrice."

"It's okay with me, Captain Luck, you can let Meredith answer the question."