Farewell, Sean Tanner returns home!
I'm bringing The Sean Tanner Chronicles to an end with this closing text. If you wish to carry on the Chronicles yourself, then feel free to do so, but I don't want to labour the storyline and wish to introduce new writing exercises, including some that touch on darker themes. I am also hoping to include prompts that parents can use together with their children. I am also hoping to produce new textbooks in the New Year. Sean Tanner and friends on our Earth will continue their missions, and I hope I can keep them grounded, at least for a while!
Farewell.
At Seventy-Years-Old, Sean Tanner was helped into the experimental spacecraft sitting on the launchpad. The head technical assistant asked Tanner one last time if he was sure he wanted to take the risk…
Tanner was tired; yesterday he had said his goodbyes to his alternative Earth friends. Volgier looked lost when Sean bear-hugged him. They had been friends for thirty years, and it was obvious to Sean that the old man was going to miss him dearly. Red was her usual aloof self, but Sean was sure he spotted a tear welling up, she blamed the wind. Bridey, could hardly contain herself; Brandy Taylor’s counterpart was as close a friend as Brandy herself. Sean would miss them all. Steve Minott had passed away over ten years ago, but Sean appreciated the bonus time he had been granted with his old boss. Now it was time to go; even though he’d found Rebecca’s double living in London, and he’d grown fond of her, she wasn’t his Rebecca.
Sean squeezed the technical assistant’s hand and shook it, he welled up and spluttered, “Yes.”
The assistant signalled Sean’s answer, and a flurry of activity commenced. The mobile gangway retreated with the technical assistant atop. The now belted in Tanner looked on as the door slowly closed. He was alone and felt it. It seemed an eternity before the engines erupted and the g-force pinned him down. Now, he was on his way.
The space anomaly was still active; it had been active for thirty years. However, it took almost thirty years for space travel to become a reality on the alternative Earth. Tanner had assisted where he could, with his limited knowledge of the science. It was a long haul to create a reliable space vehicle, and obviously, the government were not just building the craft to help Sean Tanner to return home, they wanted the technology for themselves. Tanner had to weigh up the consequences of accelerating the space program on the alternative Earth. He thought long and hard about it and figured he would only be pushing it forward by about ten years, and he didn’t foresee any pitfalls in doing so.
The anomaly was coming into sight, and Sean Tanner breathed easy. Scientists had developed a piece of equipment to detect and lock-on to it automatically, and it was working. The craft gradually positioned itself for entry, and Sean felt a tear running down his cheek. The Seventy-Year-Old’s heart began to beat faster as the spacecraft entered. He felt a tingling sensation all over his body as his cells changed. He was becoming younger. As he exited the anomaly, he had the body of a Forty-Year-Old. He spotted a space shuttle in the distance and remembered Misha Bardoe. He switched to manual control and gave her a wide birth.
Sean Tanner contacted HQ2 to request permission to land on the waste-ground outside the research and development hanger. An hour later, the spacecraft sat outside the hanger with a crowd of HQ2 trainee technicians looking it over. Sean was looking at them whilst drinking tea from a flask.
The head of research and development was looking at Sean suspiciously. “How come I wasn’t told about this?”
“Need-to-know, old boy, Need-to-know,” said Tanner tapping his nose.