Space Gaze

Bowen stared at the luminous starscape, pondering its mysteries. Would he ever visit those far away stars? Would he ever escape his plain boredom of a life? He had tried everything from relaxation to vacation to drugs. He wasn't depressed, unhappy or insane. He had no friends, never bothered to marry, and the thought of spending time with his family made him sick. Things are going to change, he thought, ignoring the fact that the only way to alter his future was to do it himself.

Bowen peered through the window of his apartment just waiting for the heavens to give him a sign. Often he had thought of ending his life, but he feared death. What good am I? If I were to disappear, no one would notice. As a child, his parents always told him he was special. Had he believed this, his life might have turned around. Instead, the direction he chose was as far from the right path as the very stars he stared at from the Earth.

At last he moved his eyes away from the sky and onto his apartment itself. He scanned the darkness of his bedroom looking for an object on which he could lay his vision. His sight rested on the clock near his bed. It was six already! Bowen leaped from his bed in the direction of his clothes neatly laid upon his dresser. With a few quick tugs, he had his pants on and was out the door. There was no time for breakfast; he was already late as it was. He rushed out the door and to his car, stumbling as he put his shoes on.

Driving was difficult while he was buttoning his shirt, but Bowen managed. This early in the morning not many drove the streets. Bowen took a quick glance back at the stars he had found so interesting. Something caught his attention. On a bench near the sidewalk sat an odd dark-looking man wearing long black garb. He seemed to be fumbling with a shiny device, turning it in his hand with frustration. Suddenly Bowen heard the roar of another car's horn! He swerved just in time to miss an oncoming truck. He maneuvered his vehicle back into his own lane and looked in his window to see if he could spot the man. He caught sight of the bench, but the occupier was gone!

First Encounter

The day went by slowly, and sitting and dreaming did not help Bowen concentrate on his job. He worked for a respectable scientific agency. They studied the effects of energy that seemed to float around as atoms collided. Had he been one of the whitecoat-wearing lab workers, he would have found his job more interesting. Instead, he was a paper pusher. A mere secretary to a giant force of people made up of scientists, professors and philosophers. Bowen had to admit his job was simple; the very thought of having worked the same job for seven years made him groan. How had he lasted this long? He would need ten years of service to the company before they would ever move him to the special unit working on the experiments.

Just as he began to drift into sleep, the phone next to his elbow rang. Startled, Bowen jumped, knocking the ringing madness to the ground. He bent over and grabbed the receiver of the phone, answering in a tone of anger for disrupting his nap time. A strange voice poured in his ear. "Is this Bowen Jenson?" asked the voice.

"Yes it is. Can I help you?" replied Bowen.

"No, but you can help yourself, Bowen," came the voice again.

"Excuse me?" Bowen interjected as if the stranger on the phone had not made sense.

"I said, you can help yourself," the stranger said in a slower, clearer tone of voice.

"Just what are you trying to get at?" Bowen protested.

"If I told you, it would no longer be something worth getting at," answered the voice.

Bowen sank into his chair, worrying that he was probably talking to a serial murderer out to get him.

Cautiously, as if the phone would explode, he placed it gently back on the receiver. Knowing that he was safe in the walls of this building, he sighed. The moment this comfort had flooded his mind, the phone rang again. Knowing it was probably the same ranting madman that had called before, he refused to answer.

Dr. Moore entered the cubicle where Bowen was stationed, carrying with him a bundle of files.

"Bowen, I am expecting a call from one of the supervisors at our second research center. I need you to take the call and use these files to answer any of the questions they need. Now I know they are having problems there, so I'm heading down now, that's why I need you to take this call." Bowen grudgingly accepted the files and his boss left. Guilt ran down his expression as he pondered the notion that the person on the phone had been a troubled worker at the other center.

No! he thought to himself. The voice on the phone was of some lunatic looking for attention. He shuddered as he recalled not answering the second call. Most likely that was the madman again. Bowen added up the facts. His boss, Dr. Moore, did mention there were technical difficulties with the second research center, and that was why he left Bowen in charge of answering an important call. Bowen knew for sure that the strange person on the phone was no other than a crazed maniac.

Bowen was definitely in a fix. Maybe he was exaggerating the problem. Again the phone rang. This time Bowen answered it without hesitation.

"You know, Bowen, you should have answered your phone. It could have been a worker from the other center to warn you about something," accused the voice that had caused Bowen to lose his cool. Bowen knew in that instant that this maniac seemed to know everything that he was doing.

"Who are you? How do you know this?" Bowen shot back, ready to call security.

"First of all, it doesn't matter who I am, what matters is who you are," replied the voice.

Bowen stayed silent.

"Look out the window," the voice commanded.

Bowen eased himself out of the office chair and moved to the window across the room. A man dressed in a flowing black coat stared back at Bowen from the parking lot. Bowen edged away from the window and back to his desk in time to hear the person on the other end of the phone hang up. Bowen scrambled back to the window and peered out into the night. The man was gone! Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of light that faded behind a tree...