Clare looked on the memory of that man with great respect and affection. They had only met briefly all those years ago, but when he saluted her for her part in his dream, she had taken him to her heart, and there he would stay for all time.
Her affection had spilled over onto John and Lisa too; John Hammond was very like his father in many ways. Clare had often wondered how John had coped with the loss of his father in such tragic and unnecessary circumstances.
How the futility of life on Earth stood out in marked contrast to that of Eden. Here, there was no pressure, everyone did what they knew to be right, and nothing was too much trouble if anyone had need. There was no money, no weapons, and no malice. Eden truly was paradise, and the old guard had taken great pains to make sure it stayed that way. Those who were now growing up as the first generation born on the Moon, had no knowledge of such things. What they did know was life as it was always meant to be: peaceful, and family based, with each having respect for the other. How Earth would have benefited from such a way of life, but the people of Earth had rejected God and His ways, in favour of their own pale imitation; the arrogance of man taking precedence over the wisdom of God. This was not going to happen here in Eden, God was revered here, and His ways respected; this, after all, is the key to true happiness.
❧
Jake and Martha had wasted no time since their wedding, Martha was pregnant and loving it. Jake was proving to be every bit as good as husband as she thought he would be. He had taken to married life like a fish to swimming, he thrived on it, and he doted on his new bride, she was now his life.
Jake had already started to extend his somewhat modest home. He hadn't needed much space as a bachelor, but that was rapidly changing. The idea of a family was such a thrill to him that he intended to have a lot more children, though he hadn't run that by Martha yet, but he had every intention of doing so. She looked so radiant, there were times when he embarrassed her by staring.
"You're doing it again," she would tease him.
"But you're so lovely," he would counter.
How could she fight that? Martha was indeed a handsome woman, and had had her share of attention from the opposite sex, but the flow of love from her husband had almost overwhelmed her. How could one person be so happy?
Zeek had taken pity on Betty and not asked her to move into his house with him. Instead, he had gone to live with her at her house, which was very much better than his bachelor pad. Together they were planning a new home, somewhere away from the main settlement. Eden was slowly spreading out as more space was needed, but it was still essentially a small, village-like community. Zeek and Betty had other ideas. The country life appealed to them, with animals and crops growing nearby. Somewhere by the lake was their preferred choice, but thus far, they had not had chance to make a start.
Zeek was still involved in the mining of Kerasite with Jake, it was a necessary job, and they had both gone back to it after their return from Earth. Keracraft were still being manufactured, but the modifications to the main ship had slowed the process down quite a bit. Not having transport to hand was not a real problem, as there was nowhere in Eden that could not be reached on foot within a few minutes, and even the lake was within easy walking distance. Moving the materials to build a house would take a little organisation, but the Thomases' house had been built in a matter of days once everyone had begun to help. Zeek and Betty felt it would be the same for them when the time came to make the move, but right now, they were just enjoying being together as man and wife, and making plans.
Sam and Kay were known as, 'The young lovers.' It's not that they were particularly young, but when Sam told Jimmy he had a date with a twenty year old, it had kind of stuck. Jimmy had a way with words, and his sayings usually caught on as part of the language of Eden.
Kay had taken over from Steve as head of research, she had been his assistant ever since their Star Lab days, and was more familiar with his work than anyone else could ever be.
Since she had been healed of cancer, she had taken hold of life, 'by the throat,' as Jimmy said; be that as it may, she was every bit a housewife too.
Sam had been correct when he said he might be out of a job as Eden's doctor. There was no sickness in Eden and no sign of any ever coming, so his taking up chemistry had been a smart move. He could work with Kay in her department, where his knowledge of medicine was quite useful in unexpected ways. Together they were working on several projects that showed great promise, but there was no rush. That's part of the beauty of Paradise, there's lots of time to do things, but no pressure to get them done.
❧
It was his last official duty. Steve was to preside over the election of a new leader -- in truth, he was quite excited by it all. So far there had been no nominations put forward, but they would be arriving before too long. He was personally going to nominate Jimmy. Steve and Jimmy went back a long way, and Steve had the utmost respect for the younger man, plus, he was married to his daughter, so he was probably somewhat biased. As to the other candidates, there could be any number of them, there were plenty of good people in Eden, the trick would be to pick the right one.
Clare was plumping for Chris, "I know he's my son," she said, "but he's a good man, and takes after his father. He would make a good leader."
Steve knew she was right, their son, Chris, had grown into a fine young man, who, though he had been in the background, was none the less very well liked by all. He stood a very good chance of winning the election.
The only disappointment was that Dave Thomas would not stand. He had made it clear that he didn't consider himself eligible for the position, having not been there from the start, so to speak. Both Steve and John had tried to persuade him otherwise, but he was adamant, and would not be moved. A part of Dave's thinking had been that he couldn't be both a spiritual and physical leader at the same time. Often, decisions needed both stand points, even if they were opposed. No, it made more sense for him to stay within the realms of his calling, and continue as spiritual guide to Eden's growing population.
A date had been set for the election, though it was still some way off, and a general sense of excitement was brewing. Steve was surprised that no one had come forward as a candidate. The closing date for nominations to be in was drawing near, perhaps there would be a last minute rush. It didn't happen. The day arrived for nominations to close, and there were none in. Steve got together with John and Dave to discus the situation.
"It seems we have no takers," Steve said, with more than a little sadness in his voice. "I thought there would have been a certain amount of eagerness to commit to the community, perhaps I'm being unrealistic."
"Don't be too hard on yourself Steve," Dave reassured him, "It's a big job...Your shoes are going to be hard to fill. In a way, I think it's better that they are not too eager. I'd rather have a hesitant, but level headed leader, than a flashy sort of chap, not that there are too many of those around here."
Everyone laughed at Dave's hole digging. There was a pause, and then John spoke.
"I'm going to nominate Kay."
This set the other two aback, but just for a moment. Steve's face lit up as though the last five minutes had never happened. He looked at John with a look that said, 'thank you' far better than the word ever could. John smiled at their surprise.
"How about you Steve, got anyone in mind?"
"I thought of Jimmy," Steve said, he's a good man.
"I agree," John answered, "I'd be more than happy with either one of them."
"Well, that's two in the hat, I wonder if there'll be any more." Steve grinned.
It had been arranged that everyone who could, would meet for the nomination meeting. As it happened, everybody turned up. Steve noticed and was pleased that there was such interest in the proceedings. He took the platform with a broad grin on his face.
"OK, everybody, let's come to order."
A hush fell.
"We are here to hear the nominations for leadership candidates; do I hear any nominations."
There was a short silence, and then Clare called out Chris' name. There was a small round of applause.
"Wonderful," Steve said, "that's one. Are there any others?"
Again there was silence. Steve waited patiently for a few moments, but there were no more nominations from the floor.
"I nominate Jimmy Peebles," Steve said, raising a hand. Again there was applause and a few cheers. Jimmy went very red.
"And I nominate Kay Davis," John called out from behind Steve on the platform.
There was a very short silence, and then the place erupted. Sam was jumping up and down with delight, whilst Kay just looked and listened in disbelief. Steve allowed the exuberance to die down, which took several minutes, and stood to speak.
"First, I must ask those nominated if they wish to accept their nominations."
Chris stood up immediately and declined.
"Thank you," Steve said, "Jimmy, how about you?"
Jimmy looked to Shelley for advice, but she mouthed silently, 'It's up to you Jims.' Jimmy looked at Kay, whose face was a picture. She was clearly stunned, and yet glowing. Jimmy thought for a moment and then swallowed hard.
"I believe Kay would make the better leader," he said, "I decline."
There were a few gasps. Jimmy was very popular, and many wanted him to lead, but everything was screaming Kay, and they couldn't ignore it. Steve looked at Jimmy as he sat down again,
"You're a big man Jimmy," he tried to say, but had difficulty getting it out.
Shelley looked up at her father and mouthed, 'I love you daddy.' Steve replied to it out loud, "and I love you too squeak."
He hadn't called her that since they'd left Earth. Both Chris and Clare went over to her and hugged her and Jimmy.
"Well," Steve said, at last, "this has been an interesting day. As we are all here, is there anyone who doesn't want Kay to be our next leader?"
There were no dissenters, so Steve said, "That's it then folks, I declare Kay Davis, the new leader of Eden. Kay, come up would you."
There was tumultuous applause, mixed with many shouts and a few tears. Somehow, everyone knew it was right that Kay should lead, and many went to Jimmy to thank him for being so gracious. Kay came to the platform and Steve and John both hugged her.
"Thank you," she whispered privately to John.
He just smiled back at her, enjoying the moment.
When he was again able to speak, Steve calmed everyone down and they took their seats.
"This is positively the last speech I'm going to make."
"Hurray," Jimmy called out, to everyone's amusement.
"It doesn't happen very often," Steve went on, "but I had a real encounter with God before this meeting. I was talking to Dave and John about the nominations, when John mentioned Kay. I was so utterly stunned, that God was able to get through to me! He just said...'Do it!' I knew instantly that Kay had to be the new leader. It was...Well, just so right. I'm so glad that Jimmy hears God too. Jimmy, that was a big thing you just did, I thank you for it."
Jimmy blushed again, and Shelley grabbed him and kissed him on the cheek.
"It only remains for me to bid you all farewell, and hand you over to God's chosen Leader, Kay Davis. They're all yours now." He said to her, as she came forward. Steve stepped off the platform and joined in with everyone else as they clapped and cheered for Kay. At first she looked embarrassed, but as the applause went on, she visibly changed before them, and took on the authority that God had just given her. She stood taller, and her face became more confident. She broke out into a smile, a big beaming smile that lit up the room. This just encouraged the Edenites to break out into more shouting, some at the back began a conga line, but fortunately for Kay, it didn't catch on, if it had, she'd have been there all day.
"Well," she began, "what a start! I hope you're all this enthusiastic next month..."
It was obvious to all that she was just coming alive, even as she spoke she was changing in front of them.
"I want you all to know that Jimmy and I go back a long way, we were involved in the Moon Base Alpha project before Steve was. In fact, it was only Steve's arrival that kept me from quitting Star Labs, it was that bad back then. I'm sure Jimmy felt the same, but when Steve arrived, a new atmosphere came with him. He was every bit the leader then as he has been all these years. Steve, I want to thank you for what you did back at Star Labs, both for me and for Jimmy, bless you."