Chapter 7 pgs. 42-43
LYN THOUGHT, PEACE ON EARTH. She believed that one day all women and men would sit under the same roof and share food, drink, and life as equals. They had raised their glasses to celebrate that momentous day. Lyn said, “Let us drink in honor of women, past and present, who triumphed over oppression and know the joy that freedom brings. Let their courage show 21st century women the way to a bold new world.”
Afterwards, Jill raised her glass: “To Max.” Lyn’s eyes misted over, thinking of times lost and times that would never be.
Later Lyn lay curled like a calico kitten on her lumpy sofa, feeling the comfort of her small bungalow hidden between Malibu’s seashore mansions. The sound of waves lapping the shoreline and an occasional cry of a gull soothed her heart and soul as she thumbed through articles about Max’s life and Earth-shattering discovery. God, I miss you, she thought, as she spotted a major science journal with a picture of Max on its cover. The caption read:
Person of the Year
Ethiopian Paleoanthropologist Solves Mystery of Human Origins
She stared at its cover. Max was smiling, despite the ravages of his illness. Desta, Azmera, Kidira, and Sabir were huddled around him, bravely smiling while moments earlier they had fought back tears. She was grateful her love comforted Max during his last days and proud that Desta found fossil evidence for the creation of human life.
Max had described the find as beyond astounding, because it was a small family of bipedal creatures from the late Miocene epoch; and preliminary radiometric dating suggested eight to ten million years old. The skeletons revealed the parents were not apes, yet their divergent offspring had unique characteristics of chimpanzees, apes, and humans. The evolutionary family mosaic suggested they were the “Last Common Ancestor” between primates and humans—the legendary missing link.
Max believed Desta’s discovery would rival those that launched previous scientific revolutions that defined our humanity, even greater than splitting the atom or harnessing the power of antimatter energy.
However, what he secretly told her was more fantastic. “Lyn, this was the “Aha!” moment when Desta found another astonishing skeleton. Remarkably, it appeared utterly human but existed before humans walked the Earth. Clutched in its hand a small sphere attached to an elaborate gold necklace. The sphere was not like any material on Earth.
“Remember when I told you our origins might lie in the stars? Well, I think we found the answer in the Afar desert. I think our family tree originated from the mysterious being. I put a security bubble around its unearthing until we have some answers.” Max’s revelation left Lyn breathless. His words ignited her imagination.
She regained her composure. “What’s next?”
“I arranged for Desta and Azmera to continue research on the remains of the unidentified being and object. I named the project ICE— Intelligent Cellular Earth-life.
Lyn grabbed Max. “You’re a damn genius.”
Max blushed. “More important to me is the love we have shared.
C’est la vie, mon chéri.”
Shortly before his death Max confided, “I was wrong—it’s not just about a transitional fossil, it’s about DNA, the stuff of stars, and the basis of its creation. I think the skeleton holds answers that go beyond Earth.
Lyn smiled at how Max secret life has lived beyond his death. How the past year had been one of anguish and triumph. She only wished Max were here to share in the fulfillment of his dream.
The loneliness she felt seemed intolerable until she remembered Max’s last words. “Lyn, I love you and love is stronger than death. Seek your dreams; the world needs you.”
Bittersweet memories . . . she cherished them as soul-cleansing sobs of joy and sadness shook her. Lyn pressed his picture to her heart thinking of what might have been.
Max’s death was wake-up call. She remembered what he had said, holding her in the North Tower in Geneva. “You know, Lyn, life is too short not to enjoy.” Hot tears spilled down her cheeks. She wished she had known how short.