Continuum - Part Three

Wading through the surf toward the beach as we stand there And strolling up to face us with a most alluring air Though different in their looks; their hair; their build and in their grace How beautiful… as version three and we come face to face In front of me a beauty queen, so human yet much more I dare not look but guess that everybody on this shore Is also face to face and partnered with a perfect mate Back in the here and now, I ponder how to get a date And when she speaks, my ardour peaks and suddenly I find That every word she says is fed directly to my mind, “We must make our successors, in a race of humans, mild And we must grow in numbers, so I need to be with child.” Aware that every two-point-four now has a partner each I contemplate the privacy that’s lacking on this beach Then haziness inside my head; a fog I cannot fight I sense her words, “You’ll be alright,” and then out goes my light. I wake to find a risen sun but no Miss Version Three And somehow there’s a feeling of uneasiness in me Just offshore I see the silver craft has reappeared Approaching, Adam Adams says, “It is as I had feared.” And as I clamber to my feet the future man is there “I need to tell you something of which you are unaware. Yours is the version of our race with independent thought And in our new world, that is something that cannot be taught.” “The product of liaisons as conducted overnight—” (Of which I recall nothing… though I try with all my might) “— with latent ingenuity shall build our fledgling home And find a way to live in lands where dinosaurs do roam.” Adam Adams, contemplative, keeps his question brief It’s like he’s figured something out… that beggars all belief, “To take man to his next progression, you come here today Why then, would you take this ‘version three’ of us away?” The future human says, “There isn’t much else we can do, There may not be another chance for us to access you. A rock from space, just like before, is heading for your Earth You cannot run; you cannot hide; just pray for all you’re worth.” Adam Adams snaps, “You needed our genetic lines, Do not underestimate our ‘independent’ minds. Just be sure, that ‘two-point-four’ is destined to prevail And we shall grow and we shall show that asteroid will fail. “For all our sins, when humans face that existential threat We’ll put our heads together and I’m quite prepared to bet We’ll hit that asteroid with every weapon that we’ve got And when we send the nukes in then that rock has had its lot.” The man from our own future gasps (his chin nigh hits the floor) “But humans don’t go nuclear till version Three-point-four.” Adams says, “It seems your past is not so firmly set So neither is our future, as it hasn’t happened yet.” Future human ponders that, then, “Nukes perhaps could do it, They can’t destroy that rock but they could check its path… and skew it But you would need to get real close to let those missiles rip.” Adams grins. “Where might we find an interstellar ship?” * This spaceman… from the future… seemingly a Sci Fi reader Says, “Might this be the moment I say, ‘Take me to your leader’?” Adams says, “You know they’ll try to commandeer your craft?” … … … I’d never really wondered whether future humans laughed!