Can You Keep A Secret?

Posted on Dec 14, 2014 in Fiction | 0 comments

I noticed it first that spring day when I was out early working in my garden.  The air was soft and the garden almost called me for some attention, so this was a perfect day to get back into the habit of tending to my rose garden.  Little shoots were beginning to appear on the winter pruned bushes, so I was clearing weeds and making space for some low, early blooming, annuals to bring color to the borders.

My Calico Cat, as she often did, was sitting just above me on the brick wall, not to watch me work, but to gather in some sun and doze as I worked.  I often wished I could teach her to yank out weeds and help me a little, but that was not going to happen, so I began to mentally choose between my many choices of low, summer, flowers to plant into my almost ready soft soil.

I was deep in thought and didn’t notice when the large white Bird landed next to the Cat and they sat side by side seeming to be deep in conversation.  When I looked up surprised, they didn’t even notice my sudden attention, but continued the quiet conversation as though my presence didn’t matter at all.

There was no reason for it to, of course, except that it was to me a very strange event.   In the past, if a Bird of any size landed in view of my Cat, Cali, she took on a pouncing position and made ready to at least scare it away, but this looked like two nice elderly ladies having a tete-a-tete over… in this case, on, the back fence.

Curious, I moved a little closer as I worked.   I don’t know what I thought I might hear, but something!   The Bird and the Cat faced each other so intently serious that they didn’t even notice as I edged near.

I was sure I heard the Bird almost whisper close to the Cat’s ear,

“Are you quite sure that you can keep a secret from “The Others?”

It made me look up, certain that my real neighbor, who lived beyond that wall, had  arrived and was speaking to me.  But it was really the Bird, and I looked it over carefully.  Like I said, it was quite large and white, but what kind?   I was not sure.  It was large enough to be an Eagle, but had a gentler look, like a very large Sea Gull or a Goose, but with claws.

I took notice of its thick strong legs with grasping hooked feet and its large wings folded down gracefully and try to remember what its beak and head looked like, so I could recognize them in my Bird picture book.

The Cat looked down and right at me, not bothered by my gaze as she told the Bird  that quite honestly, she was very good at keeping secrets.

That was very nice to know about my Cat.  I wasn’t at all sure that I could have said that about myself.  I know that I have a tendency to only consider the importance of something interesting and love to tell anything new to certain friends and a couple of relatives.

I had to wonder what a big Bird had to tell my Cat that was so secret.  That’s another thing about secrets!  If something is so secret, why was the Bird about to tell my Cat?  Why wasn’t it keeping the thing secret itself?  But then my curiosity won out.  Now I wanted in on the secret.  I tried to hear what was said next and I did, but was too late.  The Bird simply said,

“Good.  Then you have been informed, so I will be on my way now.  I have far to go and many to tell.”  Then it opened up very large wings and took off gracefully and flew fast and high without making a sound.

The Secret had been told.  What kind of secret needed to be spread far and related to so many in advance?  I looked back at the Cat.  Cali had already settled down in her sunny spot and closed her eyes.  It was obvious that she had not planned to tell that secret to me.

I wished I had not over heard her promise to keep it secret,  for I was now interested in what it might be and why it was a secret that needed to be spread to some and not to others?   Especially as I was obviously one of “The Others.”

“The Cat knows… next tell the Squirrel.” The Bird said to himself as he flew on to find a Squirrel

Sally was jogging through the Park early one morning when she stopped in her tracks to watch as a large white Bird circled low then settled on a tree branch near a Squirrel,  The Squirrel paused at the entrance to his home hole to wait for the Bird to settle his oversize wings.

Sally’s first thought had been to fear for the little Squirrel as the Bird was very large and she was sure that with those claws and strong legs that it was a raptor of some sort.  She didn’t know her birds very well, but something that big drew attention.

To be ready to throw something at the Bird, if it attacked the tiny Squirrel, she picked up a stone.  Not big enough to hurt the Bird, just large enough to chase it away.  In a few steps she was under the tree and waiting to see what would happen.

Sally stood quietly and that was why she happened to hear the Bird speak softly to the Squirrel.

“Can you keep a secret from the others?”   How strange that Sally could almost swear that Bird said, “Can you keep a secret?  Then… Something, something… “  Of course not… it just sounded like that, Sally assured herself.  It could not have spoken those words, but it certainly sounded as if it did.  Then as if Squirrels did so all the time, the Squirrel answered with,

“No one can keep a secret better than I!  Especially from “The Others”. So tell me.”

Sally leaned close to try to hear them speak… if he had a secret, would he tell it now?   but the Squirrel hopped a branch  or two away from his home entrance hole, as he told the white Bird that his family was resting inside of the tree home, and he didn’t want them to hear the secret…  “as they could never in a million years be able to keep  a secret!  Heavens No!”

“A good warning! Thanks.”   The Bird said, as he circled up high to get himself facing the right way to speak to that cautious Squirrel alone, then settled close by him on the same branch,  so he might now whisper the secret.

Sally arrived closer just as the Bird took to the air again.  Squirrel hopped back to his entrance and leaned down to get inside of his home and Sally had missed the whole thing.

A disappointed Sally continued her run without learning what the pair of animals were discussing.   That they were even talking was odd enough, but that they were telling a secret was far too intriguing to have missed.  For days she ran the Park looking for the big white Bird,  in case he was still telling secrets.  She spent the rest of today’s run and the runs for the next few days, trying to get over the disappointment, always watching for the Bird just in case…. but not finding him.

But the Cow did.  She was eating grass in her field and minding her own Calf, when the big white Bird flew down and ask her the same question she had all of the others,

“Can you keep a secret?”  The Cow raised her white head with the brown spots and two fine horns and responded with,

“What kind of secret?”   So the Bird told her,

“A very important secret that many of us are traveling out and telling all the animals everywhere,  but not the, “Others?”

“What others?”  the Cow asked, still chomping off bunches of grass.

“What Others are there?”  The annoyed Bird replied.  “The only Others there are.”

“Like who?”  The Cow asked again

“Like the People!  Don’t you know anything?”  The Bird stamped her big feet crossly.

“Oh those.   A secret about what?”   The Cow needed to know.

“About something very important that you may be glad you know.”  The Bird informed the Cow.  “It has been decided that all of the animals needed to know this to be ready when the time comes.”

“Then tell them all at once…. The Others and all !  Don’t just keep your secret to yourself!   Put it on the Bill boards!  Do everything you can to tell all animals and all the People. Wouldn’t that be much better?”   The Cow asked lazily.

“It is not MY secret.  It belongs to everyone on Earth.”

“How can it be a secret, if everyone on the whole Earth owns it?”  The Cow asked as she stood still when the Calf came running up to nurse.

So they both waited patiently for the calf to fill up and leave.

The Cow now free of the baby and with her last question quite forgotten, went toward a cool hillside to look out over the farmland as she worked on the first of her full stomachs.

Cows have more than one stomach, so they can fill them, then sit quietly and chew their cud, as re-chewing and digesting the accumulated grass is called.

The Cows wear such a peaceful contented look as they do this that other animals envy the ability.

The Bird had been slowly following her by wading through and stepping over the high grass and now they stopped.  So when the Cow sat down to chew her cud and rest to think about it, the Bird did the same sinking into a nest of green.

No one had questioned him before about their ability or reason to keep a secret.  Every animal he had spoken with had proudly announce his own ability to do so, with “I’m the world’s best!”  or “All secrets are safe with me!”   Now the Cow not only will not commit to being able to keep a secret, but she wants to know what it is in advance and why she should be willing to trouble herself with it at all.  In fact, probably she thought no one should bother.

The Cow yawned and tucked her legs tighter beneath her large brown and white body.

“Did you tell me when?”  she asked quietly.

“I haven’t told you anything, as you have not agreed to keeping it a secret..”

“And you have not given me a single reason why anyone should.”  The Cow replied the same as in the beginning.  They had come full circle, so the Bird rose up to go.

“I see a Bull under that tree with the flowers around him.  I’ll go talk to him.”   The Bird told the Cow.

“He won’t either.  He’s the World’s most single minded Bull.  You must have heard of him.  “Ferdinand the Bull with the Delicate ego?’  All he cares about is smelling the flowers.”

“Then I won’t bother him.”  The Bird said, as he lifted his body from the grass and disappeared into the blue sky.  There were more interested animals to spread the secret to and these just didn’t care.   He looked below and wondered what would become of the Calf romping and playing so carefree, the Bull smelling the flowers and the contented Cow when the time came.

His next animal was soon in sight and he dropped down to ask him,

“Can you keep a secret?”

“I am probably the World’s most secretive being,” The Ostrich said at once.  And the great white Bird knew this would be a very short visit, indeed.   He would get a lot of new recruits very quickly.

John and Kira were hiking in the mountains and noticed a very large white Bird land out among the Bears and Deer.  Then another sitting very close to an Owl.

“What is going on? “  Kira asked her husband.  “I do not remember ever seeing so many what kind of Bird is that?  A  Giant Sea Gull?  In the forest?  Three so far.”

“ I was wondering the same thing.”  John replied, “They don’t seem to be searching for food or mates.  They are out making friends with every animal that lives here.  Look! Over there…  a great white Bird is standing on the rock, seeming to talk to that Mountain Lion.”

“Can we get close enough to hear if they are talking?  That might be interesting.”  Kira  decided.  So they crept closer to the Owl and the Bird because… well you can guess why they chose it over the Mountain Lion, or a Bear.

But they were a little too late.  All they heard, or thought they heard was the Bird say,

“Don’t forget!  It’s a secret from “The Others!”  As it lifted off of the branch and worked its way up by hopping branch to branch between the dense trees to the open air and flew off.

“Did you hear that?”   John asked Kira.

“I heard,  “Don’t forget! Something, secret and something, others.”   Kira explained,  “But it was words for sure.  They are talking.  Let’s get close to another and try to find out if both talk or only that Bird.”

They moved quietly off trail to get closer to some Bears.   Soon they gave that up because there were too many and they could not keep their eyes out for them all.  If one disappeared they got nervous and decided on tracking the deer instead.  They were getting closer to the Deer and yet saw none talking to a white Bird.

A human scream pierced the silent forest and the deer all froze for several seconds then began to scatter.

Kira and John looked at each other in surprise.   Who had screamed and why?  They had not seen any other hikers all day.  When they arrived they were the only car in the lot.

It was very difficult to agree on the direction the scream came from as the surrounding mountains and trees sent the echoes abounding.

Like the Deer, they froze to listen.  All was quiet.  Finally John asked in a whisper,

“Was that the scream of a fall or fright?”   Kira could only shrug her uncertainty.

At the sound of fluttering they both looked up into the tree tops.  A large white Bird was brushing his way up to the sky.  It was not built to fly in a forest with its wide, soft, wings.  There was not enough air between the trees for them.  They watched it work hard to get free and disappear and wondered why it came into the forest in the first place.

“We won’t be following that Bird.”  Kira remarked.  With no other screams to try to understand, they began their search for both any animal talking to or with a white Bird, or any person lying injured from a fall or cowering in fright from a wild animal.

John and Kira were both trained in search and rescue and knew what they were doing…usually.  Today was very different.  They were basically just out for a pleasant hike.  But that would change quickly if they found someone in trouble.  And they would like to find out what those three large white Gulls were doing talking in the woods, out of their easy elements. Wings like that were built for oceanic travel in long open spaces,  So the hike could change if they saw any more talking animals of any kind.

Kira turned toward the Ranger planned path.

“I think we should go back to the Parking lot and see if they have something going on that we left too early to see.  The scream might be important if there is a lost kid.”

John didn’t have to be asked, he had stepped back toward the path even as Kira spoke.  They could almost read each other’s minds.

When they arrived at their car it was still alone and there were no other searchers.  Everything was as quiet as earlier.  The bustle of whistles and sounds from searchers                                        contacting one another was missing.

John and Kira were both relieved and disappointed.  Relieved that no one was missing.  Disappointed to not get an answer for the scream they had both heard.  But it was always a strain searching for any missing person.  The danger that you would come upon a terrible tragedy any second was beyond unpleasant.

They sat for several minutes at the lot picnic tables sipping from their canteens.  Then refilling them.  Both kept an eye on the sky for a descending white Bird.  If they could catch one coming in, they could go in that direction and hopefully hear two animals talking.

“I wonder what sort of secrets the animals tell each other?”  Kira asked.  “We both heard that word… secret.”

“That they talk at all is news to me.”  John admitted.  We are around all kinds of animals most of the time.  They don’t talk when we are near anyway.”  Bonnie has cameras in her barns for security.  Surely if she ever heard any speaking one to the other she would have mentioned it.”

“It is unheard of.”  Kira agreed.  “For them to begin it now, may mean there is some kind of Emergency involved.  You know, like the, joke that the baby had never said a word and the parents were worried.

Then one day the baby yelled out, “ I’m Hungry! Feed me!” and the parents were so happy and surprised that they said.

“We didn’t know you could talk!”   And the baby replied,

“Well up to now, I didn’t need anything.  But today was an Emergency.  You forgot to feed me!”

John smiled.  “You may be correct.  But what have we forgotten to do for all of the animals to set them to talking?”

“Let’s go listen and try to find out.”  So they walked slowly and softly back off trail into the animal world.  Two set of eyes and two sets of trained ears were watching and listening for… they knew not what.

Then they saw the child lying on the soft needle bed at the foot of the Pine.  He had fallen from quite high up and was unconscious.

John opened his Cell and found the Ranger number.  While Kira warmed the boy in her jacket.  The child soon responded and Kira gave him some sips of water.  He didn’t cry but sat stunned by the fall.  Looking upward,  he said, “Airplane.”

So Kira looked up and saw the little balsa wood glider he had flown up there and tried to climb up and retrieve.

John soon had it down with a short climb and a long stick.  Help arrived as the Ranger and two very happy parents came together for the child.

Kira and John began to search for animals again once the accidental rescue was completed.  Even though finding the boy was the most important, they knew that  if they had  not been off the Trail looking for animals, they would not have seen him at all. They moved back off the well followed trail and into the more difficult to transverse dense brush  and pine needles..

Through the tight bushes they came upon a small clearing with a circle of Bears sitting patiently in a circle..  That in itself was odd.  They seemed to be listening,  not to a large white Bird, but another Bear and it was the one who had been talking to the white Bird.  John recognized it by the collar that had a big number 6 on it.

It had been put there by the Ranger to identify that Bear as having been transferred away from the People camp recently.  The 6 stood for June the start of summer…. a couple of months ago.

Luckily they were facing that lead Bear, 6.  The other seven had their backs turned to them.  So they could understand the words coming from Bear 6.   John and Kira each took out a pen and pad to write down the words they clearly understood.

They both had different words from time to time but they would go over them together later and see it they had enough to make sense out of them.  John whispered one extra time,

“Be aware of any bears leaving or arriving late.  We don’t want to get caught from behind because we got careless.”  Kira nodded agreement.

The first word they both wrote first was oddly, “No!”   The sentences were filled with groans and growls as if English was the Bear’s poorly understood second language.  So okay, why not? .  They put dashes where there was a word, not understood..  Kira had “Opera — No!”  To John’s “-– No!”   Then John heard, “ two moons” and kira wrote, “new moons”   they both had “Secret”  several times  and John wrote “hiding place” and Kira had “riding space’

They couldn’t get as much as they wanted to, as neither felt they had any understanding of what was written down.  It felt like code.  “Operation No! –“   Kira had, ” – No a-”    Both heard” white Bird “  But they already knew that, so it sounded very clear.  “others” and “brothers”  were on both lists. “High tide”  was on both lists and “ meteor shower”  Followed by the very distinctive word, “dinosaurs”.  John heard “Rocket”  but Kira wrote “pocket”  then more about “the brothers” on both.  “Secret” ended the list for them both.  Then the Bears began to wander off, so very quickly John and Kira did the same.

Home safely they couldn’t wait to compare lists of words and put them together to make sense.

But they did not in any way make sense.

They both agreed that the animals were definitely hearing the message the big white Birds were spreading.  But what the urgent message was, was missed by the couple who had been listening and writing.

Did the animals use the same term we do for a military plan calling it,

“ Operation No a “ and did the moon and the tides enter into the message.  It might if “two moons” was used instead of “new moons”.  And a “hiding place” not a “riding space” could be an Emergency  “hiding place.”  No one heard, Emergency.  It was part of Kira’s guess as to the reason for the meetings..

Both knew the Dinosaurs were made extinct by a meteorite nearly as big as the moon, so that worked.  John was getting something like a disaster here, with a meteor crash that the animals were planning to hide from.

He was stopped by his reasoning that something like that was far beyond his own ability to even think that the animals had that much.

But even if it was true,  how the heck would the animals know about it, if the people did not?

Kira smiled,  “Remember how it is always said that the dogs and cats sensed an earthquake before the people  felt it.  Some ran to hide.  Others, just got nervous and ran in circles.  Perhaps the animals are sensing a disaster.”

“Do you think it is possible to feel a meteor that is millions of miles away? “  John asked.

“I now believe anything is possible.  The animals are communicating.  Did I think that was possible? No.”    No… wait a minute.”  Kira was on to something. “No-a,  That Operation no- a,  might be referring to Noah…  and the Ark.”  Kira’s smile grew.  “You know, the boat that saved the animals from the biblical flood.”   Getting serious she explained, “Listen, they have “Operation Noah”  to save the animals… save themselves.”  Kira looked up with a proud smile,  “What do you think of that?”

“Wow!”  John exclaimed, “Now you have the animals taking over the Bible and the Earth like The Planet of the Apes!   Isn’t that a pretty far reach?”

“I’m just putting the words we heard together.  What do you think they mean?”

“I’m only considering what I hear and know for sure…. for certain!  Which is actually nothing.  You could become a top Science Fiction writer with your reasoning, and perhaps the movies or T.V.  would buy it.”

“That is exactly what Science Fiction means.  Real Science and real Fiction put together.  And how often in our life time has the Fiction and the Science come true.  Flash Gordon traveled in a Rocket ship, so do our Astronauts.  Dick Tracy had a watch-phone, so does Apple!  Everything is going to be possible one day.  Now just might be that day!”  John’s response was a yawn and a suggestion.

“Let’s go out and get some Sushi, I’m hungry.”  So they did.

On the east coast, three thousand miles away, a great big white bird was spotted by a little boy named, Kelly.  He was watching it fly down and visit a Dog, then a Cat.  It even stopped to visit a Rabbit in the middle of the street.  He had never seen a Bird be so friendly before.  He sat on his own front porch bottom step for all of that.  He intended to go play soccer,  but the Bird was so big and friendly.  He thought it might stop and visit with him if he sat quietly long enough.

Then it did.  He pretended to be a puppy and barked softly at the Bird as it sat

on the step above him and looked him over.

“What kind of animal are you?”  The Bird asked.  Right now I am a Puppy.  That is why I barked at you,  but I can be a Cat too.  “Meow, meow.  See?”   Kelly said.

“What else?”  the Bird asked.  “Can you be a People?”  The white Bird wanted to know.  Kelly sighed a big five year old sigh, “If I have to I can be anything, but mostly I am Kelly.”

The Bird was not sure what kind of an animal a Kelly was but he had seen so many lately, he was getting confused.  So he asked,

“Can you keep a secret?”  Now Kelly was stuck.  Mommy and Daddy didn’t like him to keep secrets from them, but he could keep some little secrets from his sister like her birthday presents and stuff like that. He gave a wish- washy answer,

“Most of the time, but not always.”

“You only have to keep this secret from the “Others.”  The Bird explained.

“I don’t know any others.”  Kelly admitted sadly.  ‘Maybe soon, when I start  to school.  I just moved here.’

That is fine.”   the Bird said, “So I will give you the Secret message.”  Kelly clapped his hands together.  “Oh goody.”

“Watch at night for the “Second Moon”,  then go with your friends to your special hiding place.”   Just then Kelly’s Mom came out to bring him along with her to the Soccer game.   She had just learned that they had a five year old learning team and had signed him into it.

Looking down she was stunned by the very large white Bird sitting next to Kelly.  The Bird was just as stunned at the tall worried looking Person.  No wonder part of the message was to keep it from those people.  He took off at once, calling back at Kelly, as he flew.

“Remember the Secret!”

“What did you just yell at the Bird, Kelly, “  Mom asked .  Kelly laughed and explained,

“No Mommy,  that was the Bird yelling at me to remember the Secret he just told me.”  Mommy just smiled,

“Yes dear and were you tweeting to him?”

“No, Mommy,  I was barking at him.”  Kelly admitted.  They walked to the soccer park as Kelly tried and tried to remember the secret message, something to do with a moon at night.  But soon he was busy trying to remember the new soccer rules.

Four large white Birds landed on an iceberg to look around.  Did anything living here need to be told the secret?  Was anything even living here?  It was down right cold.  Down under sea, animals were not in danger of anything except a direct hit.

Then they saw the Penguins standing as a group on the ice.

The Penguins were almost too well dressed to not be little people.  So they held back,  but it soon became clear that they were not handy enough to be “The Others.”  Without hands it was not possible.  So they flew to the group and asked

“Can you keep a secret from “The Others?”

“What are they?”

“People.”

“No People here.”

“Good.”   So they began their message.  By noon they had warned seven thousand little black and white dressed animals.   Who all jumped and clapped as they thought it all sounded very exciting.

As they flew north the first Bird told the second Bird,

“Those little people like animals, lead a very dull life.  They sounded as if they thought we were telling them that Disneyland was on its way South.”

They flew off to the central Islands of the Pacific with their message.  If China needed help they would go there next.

The Islands had more people than animals, so the words of the message were brief just a few million Birds, who sat in a group and listened attentively all at once almost as quiet as the Penguins.

China needed help indeed.  They had a vast amount of land to cover. But with millions of Others to ignore and off into the wild they spoke to Yaks and Wolves, Bears and Panda’s that were not Bears, but looked like them.  Northern Wild Cats of all sorts and cute little furry animals that wore long warm fur,  However so many of those lived underground or in caves, which put them into the naturally safe category, with the under water critters.  Thus in-spite of the huge size, they were soon finished there also.

THE NEW NOAHS

The leaders of the large white Birds returned with the word that Operation Animal Noah was completed all around the Earth.  They had flown into areas populated with animals of all kinds and informed them about what is coming.

That is, all except the ones known as “The Others”  they ignored the enormous                                               number of Human People, mainly just because they were the animals who had more ability than any other animal .

Most of the Land animals lived simple lives without the science made available to “The Others” who had developed long ago with thumbed hands that made their brains more functional and gave them more ability than any animals ever known to exist.

Once before the God of everything had chosen one of “The Others”, a man named, Noah, to gather as many of the Land animals as he could into a large Ark he must first build for the purpose of saving the animals from the coming flood.  No other animal could have been given that task.

Now another possible Planet devastation was on its way.  “The Others” had detected it and already thought they were in the process of trying to save the Planet from the approaching problem.

The trouble was someone had gotten off on the incorrect reason and called the coming disaster, “Global Warming” so they were incorrectly blaming themselves for the noticeable changes to the Earth.  They were wrong.  and if they continued too long to work on the wrong reason, they might be too late to fix the real reason.

The Land animals with the help of the Sea Animals had detected the change in the tides which was the first signal of what was coming.  Thus they have made a plan called, “Operation Animal Noah” to save and protect the Land animals as much as possible.

It was decided to keep this plan a secret so they could acquire as many New Noah’s as needed to take care of the Land animals and count on “The Others,” also known as the People to sooner or later realize their mistake and then they may have the ability to save the Earth…  if it is even possible.  Perhaps not and the animals must be ready to save themselves in case the Others did not find out how in time.

The large white Birds carried the Secret out to as many New Noah’s as they might need and each was told to find a place that is high above the rising tide and if possible a large natural cave to hold the animals, like the Ark did once before in history, except this time they did not need a boat.  This was not just a flood, even though there would surely be plenty of flooding.

As these simple leaders saw it,  the problem was not the result of  People caused warming, as The mistaken Others”  believed, but was actually a huge Meteor the size of our one Moon.

It was still so far away that it had almost no impact on the tides yet.  That is unless you lived in that water that rises and falls by the pull of the Moon as it circles the Earth.  To the creatures living in it, a tiny bit different is very noticeable.

The tiny star in the sky that is an Earth Moon size Meteor is rocketing on its way toward Earth and coming closer each day.  It will one day be the real problem.  There will be no doubt then.  Even those who thought the Global warming was wrong from the beginning would agree about this.

As soon as the Others discover its track, they will put their heads and sciences together and do something about it, just as some think they are doing now, but have missed the true problem so far.

The Land animals see two serious effects it will have on the Earth.  As the Sea animals explain it, the effect it will have on the tides is one they can adjust themselves to slowly as it occurs and so they will all be fine.

The Land animals will need shelter from the rise of the water.  The secret they spread far and wide was this.

“Watch the night sky for the second Moon.  As it grows and brings high tide water into your area…  move higher. Eventually it will even out for good.”

The second Moon when it is the same size as the first Moon will pull on the water and the tides, both high and low, will be at least double what they are with one Moon we have.

Where it orbits, if it is caught by our gravity like the first Moon, either close to the present Moon or opposite the Earth from it, will make a huge difference over which we will have no control and will need to adapt.

If it is captured, one way or another by Earth and continues to circle as the present Moon does, the change will be permanent.  But that fast flying and spinning meteor could be going so fast that it will fly right on by Earth and head for the Sun… that could happen,

even if it ricochets off of the Earth’s gravity as it passes.  However that may not happen at all.

“The Others” may see it and try to destroy it long before it gets even close to Earth.  And they may be able to do it with one of their huge rockets.

This could result in enormous Meteor showers and many crashes of meteorites into the Earth and the other planets.

Jupiter will get the most because it is the largest.  Our Moon will gather more pits which will probably change the Man in the Moon’s expression.

The careening hot meteorites hitting our land would be hazardous to the Land animals, so their area Noah’s may have to lead them to the preplanned safety caves.

It could even result in a ring of Moons much like some of the Planets have now, with some pulling the water up and dragging it down in odd tides, according to their size.

We Earth animal inhabitants can only stand by and watch those Humans,  “The Others” try to figure out what to do about them and hope for the best.

So the word is out for our Noah’s to watch the night sky.  That one star will seem to grow, but not glow, bright like a star, as it will only reflect the sun’s light, just as our one Moon does now.

If  Earth captures a fairly large new Moon, or two, from some of the debris,  future generations will learn to love them with lovely romantic songs like “Moons over Miami” and  “ Blue Moons”.

Yes, we will all deal with the change it brings.  Life will continue.

On the other hand when the last very large meteor arrived millions of years before “The Others”  had  yet even evolved, it wiped out all of the huge Dinosaurs and  most of the life on this planet.

Only the caves that  sheltered some small mammals and the  underwater life survived.

“The Others”, yes the Humans,  are here this time, due to those of the mammal animals who developed them ever so slowly into what they are today.

So we Land animals believe we can rely on them to do something and we eagerly await what that might be.  Meanwhile Operation Animal Noah is standing by and watching.

THE OTHERS

THE SCIENTICTS FROM CALIF. UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND N.A.S.A., WITH JET PROPUSION LABORATORY

The humans from all Universities and Colleges and the original N.A.S.A. were working together this time on the new threat to Planet Earth.  They had never all agreed on that Global Warming story, but now this was different.  The second Moon heading full speed toward Earth could not be denied by anyone.

Past damage and the loss of the Dinosaurs was all that was needed get them working together before it was too late.  They worked on Computer choices of the different methods of preventing the enormous rock from colliding with us or even staying too near by as a second Moon.

So working in full agreement,  they each did what they did best and designed a first rocket to go ahead and  to take some samples from that huge meteor and lots of high quality photographs,  then fly around the Planet Jupiter taking more photos and finally head back to Earth with the samples and photos.

The second, more powerful, Rocket would then be sent to destroy the Meteor before it reached Earth.  The computer proved to them that trying to nudge it away on a different path would very likely sent it out into a huge elliptical orbit that would result in it returning right back in the end.   They voted to, at least, if nothing else,  to break it up far away and hope the pieces fell into or on more distant Planets.

These experienced folks were watching on the Cal Tech equipment when the camera showed the rocket touch the Earth Moon size meteor for sample taking, then with  both the Space Station camera and the orbiting Sky Search Satellite Camera also trained on it, the camera took photographs of the Orbiting  Sky Searcher as it took the samples and continued to photograph the journey of the meteor

Out beyond the New Moon, Ganymede could be seen in its distant orbit around Jupiter.  Almost three quarters the size of Mars, it is considered a candidate for supporting life… perhaps our life one day.  It has a thin oxygen atmosphere and an icy surface, which means water.

“There’s Callisto approaching…”  One of the N.A.S.A. men pointed out.  “No problem to us.  It’s so far out and not expected back until this Meteor has gone by.  I might worry a bit about Io, though.   It’s going to pass by while the New Earth Moon size Meteor is close to Jupiter and it is even a little larger.”

“What thought has been given to naming the New Earth Moon.”  One of the Cal Tech Students asked.

“None.”  Was a curt answer from someone.  So many students and scientists were crowded into the room to watch this event, that it was impossible to keep the speakers straight one from the other.

Someone laughed as he supplied an answer.

‘If you were a Farm boy you’d know that one does not name the chicken you plan to eat for dinner.”

“We have been planning to destroy this new Moon before it becomes a Moon or worse, an Earth shattering Meteorite.”  One of the Seniors reminded the students.

“There is, Io, now.”   A young lady Cal Tech Astromomer, reached to point the tiny dot out to her companion.

“Right, but it won’t be any trouble.  It is in the calculations to pass on the inside of the Meteor, which is traveling slightly too far away to be pulled into Jupiter’s gravity.    Io,  will soon be on the other side again.  It’s very interesting though.  It is more volcanically active than any other body in our solar system. We have photographs of an eruption sending hot molten sulfur and steam 200 hundred miles above the surface.  Jupiter’s size creates a tide of 330 feet.  This Meteor of almost slightly larger size would sail into Jupiter and be no problem to us if it was only slightly smaller.  But it appears to have too much size and momentum to get pulled in.”

“Too bad!”

‘We will try to explode it as soon as it is a little closer and hope most of the larger pieces will fall safely into the gases of Jupiter…  if all goes well.”

“Is our Rocket on its way?”  A student asked,

“It better be or we are in trouble.”  Came a reply from one who seemed to know.

All eyes were glued to the dot known as, Io, as it grew in size.  Most were watching for signs of a volcano.  Some were still observing the Meteor and thinking what a lovely second Moon it would be, if left to find its place in an orbit around the Earth.

Others couldn’t help but worry that it could eliminate the life that had so miraculously developed on our Earth and hoped that our unseen Rocket could prevent that… and wondered helplessly, what will they do if it misses?

The smaller Rocket that trailed the Meteor to photograph it was said to carry enough fuel to, if the right scientist pushed the right button, go around the huge planet Jupiter and then leave its strong gravity and head back to Earth to bring the samples it had just collected of the meteor, along with the camera and the hopefully revealing new pictures of the far side of Jupiter.

That Rocket continued to trail the meteor, but was too small to see on the computer screen.  The operator put it on the magnifier for a few seconds to prove its existence.  Even so, no volcanoes were seen spewing.   Then fifteen minutes later someone spoke up to say,

“I think I can see a volcano on Io.”  A student said, though not fully convinced.

“You do.”  A Professor confirmed.  “At least that plume you see is coming from the volcano below it.”

It took an hour for the Moon Io to grow as large as the meteor, but it was worth the wait.  No one left for any reason.  This was the kind of thing one was very lucky to be invited to see and why most of the students worked so hard to be part of it.

The professor was correct .  Io passed on the Jupiter side of the meteor and was almost eclipsed by that large, soon to be gone, meteor

Then, as so often happens, something unpredictable changed everything.  A very large eruption occurred on the Moon, Io.  The mouton rocks and dark gases rose toward the camera and the on lookers were treated to a very rare sight.

It changed again, instantly when the heat and flames reached the trailing camera  Rocket and set the fuel reserve tank on fire.  The still unseen Rocket careened around as if trying to shake off the unwanted flames and left a smoky trail of its own. Then it blew up as it hit the meteor.

The new Moon broke instantly into seven pieces which flew into a straight line falling toward the huge planet.

“There it goes…” Someone started counting,  “The first one just disappeared into  Jupiter’s gaseous shield.”

The largest odd sized sections sailed the longest before disappearing,  the smaller pieces just dropped straight down and were gone as they appeared to quietly slip into the gas of Jupiter’s surface.

“There go our photographs.”  Someone complain,  “Too bad.’

“But just look at what we got instead.”  He looked around for an answer,

“Isn’t everything we are seeing being recorded?”

“Yes indeed.  And this is priceless.  Unpredictable and amazing.”  No one was seated, everyone had jumped to their feet at the surprise scene.

“Our problem is solved.  Does everyone realize that?”  The Professor said quietly.  “Earth was just saved by, Io.”

“And what happens to the Rocket sent to do that?”

“That is up to the ones who launched it.  It will either fly into Jupiter also or they may turn it around and bring it home.”

“What are you going to tell the World about what just happened?”

“These same scenes were playing in the White House with the President and Guests watching with the Head of N.A.S.A.   I imagine someone is writing the words for the President to speak to the Television public, right now,  along with the demise of the meteor pictures we just saw.”

He looked around at the lucky students still standing in amazement.  “Aren’t you glad we didn’t glamorize that meteor with a lovely name that folks would feel they must now lower the flags to half staff and mourn ?”

“I am happy that the Earth will live for another few billion years.” The student replied.

“I’ll never forget watching those seven pieces falling into Jupiter. “ Another said sadly.  “ That beautiful new Moon had such potential.”

“Potential to eliminate us as fast as Io eliminated it.”  Another added.

So many people came forward from everywhere, with so many different ideas about how to protect our Earth from that meteor, but they all went unused and unneeded after Io took care of it.

The work if the ones who fought to save the land animals went mostly unnoticed.  Only a few folks watched and wondered about The Fleet of white Birds who carried the message for hundreds of miles to the next much needed Noah’s .  Their contribution was soon forgotten.

That the Animals were capable of trying to save themselves became a legend passed from animal parents to the children of the animal world.  Like a cute Fairy Tale to add to their old favorite, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

It was named,” The Animal Noah’s and the Great White Birds.”  Some animal children bragged that their Granddad was once a Noah.

The Children of the Cal Tech watchers loved to say that their Grandparent actually saw the Jupiter, Moon, Io, when it saved the Earth.

THE END OF THE SECRET STORY BY YOU KNOW WHO WHILE ON TIME OUT