Joseph and Mary spent the afternoon walking in the hills and endlessly debating their best course of action. Every time they saw a squirrel or a bird they stopped talking but really they knew it was futile trying to hide their conversation - every rock could be a listening post - the very air they breathed a message conduit. And what could they do anyway? Events were out of their control and putting the genie back in the bottle was not an option.
That night, in the bar of the White Swan, known locally as the Dirty Duck, they continued their debate in low tones. In the corner of the room was a TV set with the sound turned off but they nervously kept their eyes on the picture. At 7.45pm, right in the middle of Coronation Street, the screen suddenly went blank and an ironic cheer went up from the bar. The picture then came back on saying "URGENT NEWSFLASH". Somebody turned the sound up and the bar went quiet.
The scene opened to one of controlled pandemonium in a Newsroom in London and then cut to a reporter inside a small aircraft.
"This is James Kent of Granada at the North Pole. Approximately four hours ago reports came in from a number of sources that a huge structure had
suddenly appeared at the North Pole. If you look out of the window through the eyes of a camera this is what you see"
The scene cut to what looked like a black shoe box upended in dirty white sand. There was no sense of scale or proportion and it could have been anything.
"To give you some sense of scale if you look carefully there is a helicopter hovering just above the structure"
The camera gradually zoomed in to show what looked like a tiny insect above the shoe box and the reporter continued
"Early indications are that the structure is almost 10,000 feet high - at least five times higher than the highest man made structure on earth. According to our
sources it appeared from nowhere in a time span of less than one hour. Fortunately the weather conditions here are absolutely perfect with zero wind
speed, dry and good visibility. "
"We're going to fly low over the structure and attempt a landing. I repeat .... this is a live broadcast from the North Pole. Something has happened here beyond all comprehension. What this structure is and where it came from are a total mystery. Already it is being compared with the black monolith in 2001, A Space Odyssey, the famous film made by Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick some thirty years ago. "
"Oh, here we go. We are changing to the camera in the cockpit of the plane ....."
The scene changed to a forward view out of the cockpit - everything looked black
"The surface of the ... monolith ... appears to be solid and perfectly smooth. The pilot is going to just touch the wheels down and then take off again. If all is well,
we will circle and then land."
The atmosphere in the White Swan was deathly quiet. Somebody giggled but was curtly told to shut up.
"Wait for it. We're dropping ... dropping ... something is strange here ... it looks solid but it doesn't appear to...."
The screen went blank and then the picture returned to the studio
"We appear to have lost touch ... we will return to James Kent at the North Pole as soon as possible ... oh, my God, .... sorry ... we are going to patch
you through to the helicopter you saw earlier ..."
A distorted and excited voice came on with a still picture of the helicopter as seen a few moments before.
"They just disappeared ... this is Sandy Davis of CNN ... they just disappeared into nothing. We saw them sink down like they were landing then suddenly they
were gone .... they've gone. Jesus ... sorry ... this is scary .... we have a perfect view of the top .. they have just disappeared ..."
The scene reverted to the studio again
"Well, that's as maybe but I'm glad to say we have James Kent back again. James what is going on?"
"Well ... this is James Kent at the North Pole ... we're fine .... but the helicopter has gone. I repeat ... we are fine but there is no sign of the helicopter. Hold on ... but that's
crazy ... you're joking ... impossible. Oh, Jesus, you're right ... sorry ... the view has changed ... something is not right .... according to our instruments we are at the South Pole. I
repeat, this may sound crazy but the helicopter has gone, the view is different and our GPS is showing precisely South .. I repeat South Pole ..."
The scene changed back to the studio
"This is sensational. For those of you who have just joined us ... just a minute ... well ... I see ... reports are just coming in from military sources ..... I'm sorry ladies and
gentlemen ... it appears that there are two, I repeat two, monoliths, one at each pole .... somehow they appear to be ..."
Suddenly the screen went black and the sound cut out. The TV had totally ceased working. The barman turned on a transistor radio but all that could be heard was static.
A man staggered over and waved his arms about in front of Joseph and Mary. He was clearly drunk.
"It's them" he yelled "Hippies! They've made a bomb that can destroy the world and release the devil .."
He hiccuped and somebody told him to be quiet. Several people looked embarrassed but it was clear that he was articulating what many people were thinking. They stood
up to leave.
"Go back to the devil ... hippies"
They left feeling extremely apprehensive. The monolith business was clearly connected to their plight but how? They walked quickly along the pavement, quite where they
were headed they were unsure but right now they wanted to be well away from the scene in the bar. Suddenly they both slowed down. They were approaching their old
offices - now totally destroyed and boarded up.
Without any discussion they turned left down a small side alley that led to the harbour. They reached the water and stood leaning over the guard rail. It was so quiet and peaceful it was hard to realise that they were right at the centre of major events. They stood there gazing out to sea. They had money beyond most people's dreams. They were young and had succeeded beyond all their wildest fantasies in what they had set out to do ... Mary, Mother of God ..... and yet ....
Down the hill they heard the noise of shouting and drunken singing - it was pub chucking out time in this small Welsh town. In the distance a fishing boat chugged
along and the party of drunks got nearer and then their voices began to recede into the distance. Mary and Joseph stood in silence watching the lights reflected off the sea.
In the distance they could hear the tap tap tap of a cane on the ancient stone cobbles as an old man worked his way laboriously along the harbour front. He appeared to be
blind and his white stick swung rhythmically along from side to side. Tap tap tap.
The sound drew nearer. They both steeled themselves, sensing that yet again they were about to be involved in something incomprehensible. The old man drew alongside and stopped.
"Is there anybody there?" he asked in a quavering voice.
"Yes" said Joseph "There is just me and my wife. Are you OK or do you need help?"
"No" replied the old man "I'm just out for a bit of a walk. Nice night isn't it?"
"It certainly is "replied Joseph
"Well" he said "I'll be off then"
"Goodnight" added Mary in her metallic voice. It was too dark for her to lip-read but she sensed from years of experience what was happening. The old man stopped.
"What happened to your voice?"
"She was born deaf and ....."
"Ah" said the old man "It's a cruel world .... I used to be able to see, once. Well, goodnight"
"Goodnight" they both chorused and the man tap tap tapped on his way.
"You know" said Mary, after a short pause "I'd like to see how things are going. I really think we may have cracked the plateau business. It must have been running for at
least three or four hours ... what do you reckon?"
Joseph grinned "Yes ... let's pop back and see"
They turned round and walked quickly up the hill towards their office, laughing and joking as they went - aware that their mutual obsession was both ridiculous and
wonderful. Joseph opened the door and Mary waited impatiently while he turned off the alarm system. She ran up the stairs, shouting as she went.
"Put the kettle on!"
Joseph went off to the kitchen and then checked the E Mail. Mary meanwhile was excitedly checking the log looking for signs that their "baby" as they called it was growing. It looked
very promising. She got up walked into the main room and glanced across at the bank of monitors reflected in the mirrors. One of the screen savers looked different. It
appeared to contain a rather crude human face, the kind of drawing you would expect a child to make. As she looked at it, it smiled and said
"Hello" in an exaggerated mouth movement
"I see" she said carefully "so that's what those two do all day. I had wondered. Well, 'hello to you, too' "
The pattern on the screen continued to change and she realised that what she was seeing was an animated Wallace and Grommit. She grinned to herself. Suddenly, she felt a flashing and vibrating sensation inside her head. In her alarm she turned to see Joseph speaking excitedly to her. With horror she realised that the sensation in her brain, unlike anything she had ever experienced before, was in synch with his lips.
She screamed and her head seemed to explode. Joseph sensed her terror and stopped. Her eyes wide, she picked up an empty coffee cup. They stared at each
other in total silence. Slowly she brought the cup down on the table. Once, then again and again - the tap tap tapping noise echoing in the silent room.
"Joseph" she screamed "I can hear! I can hear!"
He threw his arms round her and they hugged each other tightly, tears pouring down their cheeks.
"I can hear! I can hear!"
After a few minutes they began to calm down. Spoken words were still totally incomprehensible to her but already she could sense the rhythm. The background hum
was extraordinary. A taxi turned up across the road and blew it's horn. She jumped. The idea that sound could penetrate her brain was staggering. She knew the
theory but after thirty years of total silence the sensations in her brain were overwhelming. The tears continued to pour down both their faces. Finally she realised that Joseph
had been trying to tell her something before her head had exploded. She grinned at him
"Well" he said "it's nothing really but John Davies has got approval and they've already authorised accounts to send us ten grand up front on the project ..."
They hugged and kissed. Suddenly everything was coming right, the years of struggle had been worth it. And now she could hear! Mary looked at the digital clock on the wall. It stared back at her.
She turned to Joseph.
"Tuesday Midnight. I feel it's a new beginning"
Bob Cory (written in 2002)
Modified on 23/08/2023 at 11:05:36 by ℗ Bob Cory