I glanced at a drawer of my desk and debated about opening it and looking through the worn Bible the drawer contained. I hadn't opened the drawer in a long time. Three years to be exact.
I left the drawer handle untouched and turned back to my computer. It would be quicker to find the verse I wanted with an online search than to comb through page after page on my own through a physical copy of the Bible and there was no need to relive old experiences.
I typed in the phrase from the captain's message, 'they are dead and shall not rise'. A verse match came up instantly in response to my query. It was a verse from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah.
I read the full verse and the verses before and after as I searched for the context of the meaning of the phrase within the Captain's note. Who was the verse talking about? It was unclear from the translation of the Bible I was reading so I changed the translation to one of the oldest available sources of the Old Testament, the Septuagint.
The verse came back up slightly different and I stared at the screen in shock. What a change one word could make!
I set the old brittle paper of the note down on the desk, as if it was burning my hand. I swallowed as I glanced over at the bag on the floor and then back to the verse on the screen. I knew too much to ignore the warning I saw before me.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt I now believed the genuineness of the Captain's note, but what could I do about it?
Better yet what should I do with the pieces of the Orlanis Star?
I pressed my hands to my suddenly throbbing temples. I needed a second opinion.
I lowered my hands as the thought came to me of who I could enlist to help. It would mean an extra stop up the coast a ways, but a visit to an old friend might clear up all the uncertainty and perhaps provide some meaningful clarity to the situation.
As it stood at the present I didn't even want to speak as to what was going on in my mind. Instead I much rather wanted someone to tell me so I didn't think I was going insane. I was close enough to the brink of insanity as it was.
It was getting light outside and so I got dressed and started to head topside. I was on my way, when my gaze fell on the pack still resting on the floor. I went to it and drug it to the ship's safe a short distance away and began to spin the dial a few times. I cranked the safe open and shoved the pack inside. I locked the safe back up and stepped back from it.