Chapter 6

Two-Legged Creatures without a Soul

Autumn and winter had passed by, and again came the spring. Jay’s self driving car drove out from the Lincoln Tunnel which connects New Jersey and Manhattan. Jay glanced outside the window while reading a paperback book titled . The spring was in the air and out in the streets. People at the bus terminal were dressed in colorful pastel tone clothes, as light as the spring breeze.

Last year’s spring and summer was alike 1960’s when the Apollo Project took a big step forward to reach out its dream to the moon. Space Odyssey’s Mars One Project had made everyone dream. It was a dream that the red planet, Mars will become the land of humankind. The grand prelude of the space invasion myth. That is why the trauma of the rocket explosion was as massive as the puffed up dream. Jay’s continuous investigative articles tracking the cause of the explosion has aroused a huge stir. The Falcon series from Space X was well known for its minimal and economical engineering. Nevertheless, the Space Odyssey’s Stumpalos took out the essential parts in order to reduce weight. Many professionals have testified that it’s remarkable how the launch vehicle was standing upright and not fall apart. However, the poorly modified vehicle helplessly failed to endure the strong Merlin Engine’s lift-off thrust.

Jay had left and moved on to New York Post. He had been offered a journalist position by New York Post. Jay’s Mars One Project special articles had attracted their attention. He was noticed for sure, but not applauded. Actually it was the opposite. Due to pouring protest messages, Jay had to change his mobile phone number several times. Same applied to social media. When one is with a more famous press company, the easier it is to get access to news source. A journalist is like a merchant trading facts using his name, he thought. There were more investigations he needed to do. The most crucial secret was not solved yet.

At the end of the corridor, someone was looking at him. Red curly hair with robust body. It was Kelly in charge of editorial for space industry. Jay did not expect a warm welcome at this company since he was a newcomer. Still, people here were acting rather infantile towards him constantly keeping him in check.

“Hey, you. You become famous and you get high and mighty, huh?” Kelly teased Jay, as if he had been waiting for Jay to come. He was about to pick a fight. “Have you ever thought about how the space industry companies, its stakeholders and workers would have been affected by your article? Well, I guess that’s something you didn’t learn at the lousy magazine company,” said Kelly.

Jay went on his way as if he heard nothing. The pouring sunlight in the corridor made Jay narrow his eyes, which made them look more piercing. Kelly said in a loud voice, “Hey, you chinky eyes! Do you hear me?”

To Jay, his article was not written to fulfill a refine value such as “in pursuit of truth”. He wrote them to follow the command of his inner self. The investigative articles, to Jay, was an utterly personal revenge.

Jay changed his walking direction. He put his face right in front of Kelly’s, so near that his blast of nostrils could be felt. “Maybe some people lost their jobs because of my articles, yes. But there were so many lives sacrificed,” Jay’s voice was low but icy cold. Kelly falteringly moved back.

Jay remembered making love to Tina; but he knew that wasn’t the point. When Jay first laid eyes on Tina, he felt a kind of an invisible link existing between them. Somewhat like the quantum entanglement - although one is divided and separated far apart in space, one part can feel the other part’s change and reflects it – Tina had visited New York once and they had jogged together at the Bryant Park in West 42nd Street. Jay had never imagined he would meet Tina in front of the Space Dot building since she had been rejecting Jay’s numerous requests for an interview.

Tina’s voice was still lingering in Jay’s ears. He needed to find out the truth, that the explosion was not a mere accident.

Jay came back to his desk and had a cup of strong coffee. Unlike other journalists’ desk where there are piles of reports, references and books, Jay’s desk was clean, Jay believed that the truth does not lie in papers that most people quote from.

He remembered the message he received this morning, a message from an unknown source. What Kelly had said to Jay, unlike its intention, triggered a thought which hovered in Jay’s head. Jay took out his phone from his pocket.

Scutum Fidei

It was a short message consisting of two words. They were latin words. It indicated the shield which represents “Trinity” of Christianity: Shield of the Trinity.

Jay thought that these words may refer to a specific ‘place’. Perhaps the New York Trinity Church. During his years at Space Dot, he once did an anonymous interview at the church. Perhaps it’s just a prank message. However, since the messaging system is based on block chain, it’s near to impossible to hide the sender information. As for Jay, the opportunity cost was not so big since the place was just a few block away from where he was sitting. Worth the investment..he thought. Timing was strange. The government had started their investigation but things were fizzling out because the subject and the object of investigation were in close relationship, not to mention also the journalists of the field.

What Kelly had said was not true. Surprisingly, Space Odyssey did not lose out due to the explosion of Stumpalos, since they had joined several insurances here and there. Moreover, there were not much people who lost their jobs. In fact, at the Wall Street, there were rumours that some undertaking fund was prepared for the Space Odyssey. Only the sacrificed victims were pitiful.

“Tina didn’t even have a single family member...”

One’s death is remembered by those who live on. Jay touched the little coin with a hole in it. This was the only trace left of Tina. An aluminium coin; the front was decorated with flower patterns and on the backside were Korean writings. Before the inauguration of the federal government, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) had printed the coin.

Tina had tied a string to the coin and hung it like a necklace. Tina said to Jay, as she took off the coin necklace and handed it to him.

“The reason I kept this coin till now is out of revenge. I had to survive. Living a great life would be a revenge to those who abandoned me”

The word ‘coin’ comes from a latin word ‘divide’(cuneus). Jay thought it was an outrageous irony. Of course, parents who abandoned their baby would not have thought of such profound meaning.

When Tina stared at the coin on Jay's hand, she had tears welled up in her eyes. She said, “I don’t need to think about it anymore.”

Jay got off at the Fulton Street subway station. He thought it may be a good idea to walk a few blocks. New York is no longer called the ‘economic center of the world’, but it seems that the city had recovered its old fame as one of the most touristic city. At afar, the Trinity church showed up. The light reddish brown building boasted its lean body among the skyscrapers, matching well with the blue sky behind it.

What is the boundary between life and death? Even during the 9/11 attacks, the church building remained unharmed. People who were sheltered in the church at the time were all safe. However, the apple tree which stood in the church yard for over a century had fallen. A large cement part of another bombed building flew right at the tree and made it fall. “If people had not taken shelter in the church....would the tree still be alive?” It was a useless thought without any correlation.

Jay arrived at the church yard, but he had no idea whom he will be meeting, what he will be seeing. The person who had sent him the message, would have prepared the next clue, he thought. Jay glanced at the old tombstones in the church yard. At that moment, the bell of the Trinity church rang. A flock of doves flew off.

“Be around nearby. Don’t go too far away,” An old man said to a boy he was looking after. He then turned to Jay and said, “You seem to be looking for someone.” The old man was wearing a wide pair of jeans and a tattered checked jacket. His backbone was well curved. Jay did not think that the message was sent by this old man. “No,” Jay answered.

The old man said with a whimsical smile on his face, “Jay Robinson. I was waiting for you.” The old man stood up from the bench with a help of his cane and held onto Jay’s sleeves to ask him in, “Let’s get inside.”

Inside the church, there were people praying here and there. Even though it was a weekday daytime, there were quite a lot of young people. The old man sat on the right side, first row. He asked Jay to sit across him. It was difficult for Jay to understand what was happening, but decided to listen to what the old man had to say. “How do you know...” asked Jay. The old man just smiled and said, “It wasn’t an accident. Everything went on exactly as planned.” Jay said with an absurd look on his face, “What...” The old man continued, “You must have suspected it..since there’s something fishy.” It wasn’t a conversation, it was a monologue. He said, “You’re going to Boston Mechanics, right? You’re gonna see a new picture there.”

Jay had met numerous informants in the past but with the old man’s way of communicating, it was impossible to proceed a meaningful interview and gather new information. The old man said, “A two feet creature without a soul lands on the red planet...” Jay interrupted the conversation, “I don’t think I can listen to you further...If you’d excuse me...”

As Jay was about to stand up, the old man laughed out loud. Jay was bewildered by his sudden laughter in the pious environment. Jay looked around but the other people did not careless as if they were all wearing an earplug. It was strange. Nobody even raised their heads and looked towards their direction. The old man said, “Let’s say I am X.” The old man tapped on Jay’s foot with his cane. “You lack patience. Belief as well,” he said as if he were scolding a little child. The old man stood up. He spine was no longer curved. He was taller than Jay. He looked down at Jay as if saying that he was pitiful. “Tina is alive.”

The old man walked on. Everyone who were sitting at the church stood up altogether. They were like a troop of army. The old man walked real fast out of the church corridor. Other people surrounded the old man like a curtain. They left the church in a flash of a second. Jay followed the old man to the doorway. There were nobody outside the door. They were all gone.

Jay repeated what the strange old man had said with a stunned look, “Tina is alive.” Jay thought that perhaps he had heard the voice before from somewhere else.