Sacred Silence

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Boaz had thought once or twice he could hear a shout or a gasp from his friends when they played outside the City domes and tripped or slipped between the boulders. As an adult he had no such illusions, only random tricks of the mind when he remembered his younger days.

Even through the static of the suit-radios he could still hear his Aunt Kaliope with the same clarity as if they were in the same air. "Bo, you slacking behind?"

Deep in thought, he shook himself back into the present. "Ah, sorry Auntie."

"Don't get lost out here! The shrine is still about two thousand feet over there." She said with her pointer finger extended toward a small boxy shape on the western horizon, bathed in the yellow-white light of Sol.

"Respectfully Auntie Kalie, how can anyone get lost all the way out on the Tranquil Sea."

"You'd be surprised." She chuckled, "I lost a boyfriend out here once. We were hiding from your grandpa."

"Ew," Boaz said "T.M.I., Auntie."

She simply laughed and bade him to keep on stepping. They had to tread with care. Usually lunar hikers would take most of the trip on an all terrain rover. But this was ritual. To take in the sacred silence of the airless void on foot was part of the experience. Kaliope and Boaz Alderon had to perform the rite correctly.

After another thirty minutes of silent walking they approached the First Shrine. This was the oldest structure placed by mankind on the surface of the Moon, now encased in a protective glasswork. The Aunt and Nephew opened the pressurized doors and crawled in with their flexible suits inside the capsule. It was tight, no larger than a ground car's cabin. Boaz shifted uncomfortably around his Aunt to find his appropriate seat. She took the old captain's chair and he took the lieutenant's, as was tradition for the senior and junior Priests of the Lunar Rite.

The two checked the controls, atmospheric pressure systems were online. The lander's life supports and communication devices were operational. After a hiss and a soft chime, the first outside noises he had heard in hours, Boaz was instructed to take off his helmet. His ears popped as he shook his head and rustled his curly hair out of it's helmet disheveling. He looked toward Auntie Kaliope and heard her whistle as she quaffed her close cut afro out. "Boy..." she exclaimed. "This place is always dusty as dirt and smelling like burnt steak. Old ozone processors is what that is!"

Boaz sniffed the air. "You're right, it does smell kind of toasty in here."

"Mhm" Kaliope nodded. "Lets get this underway then Bo, the sooner we get it done the sooner the folks back home will calm down and we can take a bath."

"Right" Boaz said as he uncoupled the small container he had attached to his suit's thigh and opened it between them. She did likewise with her own container. They contained a chalice made of gold pressed titanium, a small flask of mimosa, two crème colored wafers, and a small copy of the First Lunar Book of Proverbs.

Together they set up the table between them, complete with communication buttons to broadcast from the shrine. Boaz as the Junior Priest would introduce the reading, and his Aunt, the Senior Priest, would read and give her short homily.

Boaz recited the opener when he pressed the radio broadcast button, using the traditional sing song voice: "A Message of the Word, given as thanksgiving for the peace of Humankind.”

Auntie Kaliope opened the Book of Proverbs and pressed her button when Boaz shut his off. "Beautiful, Beautiful, Magnificent Desolation. Those are some choice words of our immortal ancestor Buzz Alderon when he first stepped onto the world we call our home and described it in his Gospel to Houston. Here, in the framework of his ancient vessel, I shall read from the Book of Proverbs and break the fast of Voyagetide with the Sacramental Meal.”

She continued: “A Reading from Niel and Buzz to the Houstonians, Chapter 4 Verse 12: And Low the Eagle touched the soil of the Moon, at about five degrees angled to the Earth, and Niel with Arms Strong announced the call to the homeworld of man: the Eagle hath landed…”

Auntie Kaliope could make the most duldrum words of the sacred texts sound riveting with her inflections. Boaz appreciated her oratory, especially when she made it to their ancient Patriarch’s description of the surface. “"This is very interesting," he saith. "It's a very soft surface, but here and there, I hath run into a very hard surface, but it appeareth to be very cohesive material of the same sorts. It hath a stark beauty all its own. It be like much of the high desert.”

“This” she concluded her reading to proselytize “reflects the mystery of the Holy Spirit. For those among the ignorant and who lack vision, they may see but formless matter. We who seek the mysteries of the universe see the infinite patterns of possibility. Do not heed the lies and wickedness of those without eyes to see, ears to hear, and tongues to speak of the Universal Wisdom. Those who pledge to defend the sentient and protect the meek will be the inheritors of the righteous path. As we take these sacraments and break our fast let us say together: One small step for a man, is one giant leap for mankind.”

As the Aunt and Nephew raised their wafers and said the words, they took comfort in knowing that a majority of the five hundred million residents of the Moon said the prayer of the path with them. None of them could hear it though, for the silence of space separated the priests from their massive flock.

As Boaz took the second drink from the chalice and finished the sacramental meal, his Aunt got his attention. “Yes Ma’am?” He replied.

With a sigh she said: “you understood the subtext of my homily, yes Bo?”

“I believe so Auntie, I helped you choose it.”

“Hmph” she said with a smirk. “I’m talking about what’s coming in the next few years. That’s why I needed you here, apart from confirming you as the next Cardinal of Luna when I die.”

“Surely that is years away” Boaz said.

“Perhaps but it’s good to have my affairs in order. I’m sure you’ve noticed how the families of Luna and the Priesthood have all been breathing down our necks. We’ve become very popular thanks to your father in the Navy and all of us keeping our House together as one corporate entity. It makes us an inviting rival to the other Houses.”

“You’re talking about House Zeon of course” Boaz said leaning a little in his seat and absorbing his Auntie’s words.

“They most of all” she agreed. “Your father is doing a lot to keep the peace between us and Zeon. Our houses and the First Families of the Moon have agreed to a settlement of territories here, and the Lagrange Point Cities have declared their allegiances. The High Sages and College of Clerics have put a ban on the “Gentlemen’s Wars” so there can be no open conflict.”

“But,” Boaz said “that doesn’t mean we can’t still compete.”

“Precisely.” Nodded Kaliope. “I believe Lord Leo has a son who is becoming a theologian, Richard I think is his name. When you next go to the Capital, or even go to Almanzo to the Zeon family gatherings, get to know him. Befriend him, but always seek to be greater. You two are positioned to not only enter the Priesthood, but even ascend to the Sage Council itself. The Old Triumvirate cannot live forever.”

“Quite so” Boaz said. “And just maybe a friendship between us will prevent a conflict entirely. We could, just maybe, work together for the good of mankind.”

“You may,” she smiled. “Your father and Lord Leo are soldiers and they think with soldiers minds. Men of the book are often men of peace, and there is nothing wrong with being men of peace. But speaking of peace, we must also find you a suitable marriage.”

“Oh no not this again.”

“Bo, you’re getting too old to stay a bachelor. And your marriage means more than settling down to have kids though I expect you to do that too. We need to find a house to make an alliance with.”

“Maybe House Zeon?” Boaz shrugged.

“No” Kaliope said with a mix of humor and stern coldness. “There is only one daughter of Lord Leo and I don’t think you’d like her. Any of the cousin branches might do but they don’t have enough influence. It would also be impolitic of us to ask for the hand of anyone in the Imperial Family, they’re the ones who ask and besides they are our cousins.”

“Well I don’t know who I should pick Auntie, but I’ll think about it.”

“Do so” she said patting his left cheek, “you’re not getting any younger Bo.”

“Is this you saying you want more priests? Or my dad saying he wants more soldiers?”

“Whichever makes you choose faster” Kaliope chuckled. “Remember, be friends with Richard, and pick any House of good standing that’s not Zeon or the Imperial family. Am I understood?”

“Certainly” Boaz said. “What will my mother say though?”

“Bo, she’s the one who told me to tell you to get married!”

Boaz simply groaned and shook his hair up to ready himself for donning the helmet once again. As he re-sealed his suit he sighed. Back out into the sacred silence of space again. No sounds could be heard in the open vacuum of his home rock. Not a scream, not a whisper, not even a booming, jolly, laugh like the one his father was surely giving back home thinking about Kaliope telling him to get married. Luna, the Moon, was silent outside. The only gravel or sand he could hear was that which touched his feet and that too was muffled by his shoes. It gave him plenty of peace and quiet to reflect on his Auntie’s words and his plans for the future. They walked together out of the Apollo Memorial Park in the Tranquil Sea. Earth in its blue white glory rose half full in the distance, encircled by silvery specks shining in the sun. Those were the Cylinders and Spheres of the cities of man which now surrounded their primordial home. Boaz saw it and paused for a moment. Kaliope turned and spoke through the radio: “it’s pretty, but you’ll get a better view back at the City Gate.”

Boaz gave his Auntie a silent thumbs up. She returned the gesture and continued to walk ahead. There would be no more words between the too for the next hour, only thoughts and the quiet solitude of the Universe.