Impossible Journey, A Tale of Times and Truth

The problem with the fuel system takes longer to fix than they anticipate, and, before they realize it, two days have passed. Again, Walt is outside, checking the tiles, when he hears voices. Two men and a woman are talking:

"Are you sure it was him--I mean you were nervous and--"

"I know the master, when I see him. And it wasn’t only his appearance but also his voice and expression when he said to me 'Mary!' Who else could have known my name? And who else could have spoken it with such feeling and insight? It was as if he was looking right into my very soul."

By now, Walt has managed to be able to peer out through the trees. He notices that one of the men is the same one who had denied Jesus earlier in the courtyard. It is he whom the other man addresses: "Well Peter, why don’t we go to the tomb and see for ourselves?"

Walt reports this conversation to the other two, who are working hard inside the capsule. "Didn’t seem to me like the words of people hatching a plot to deceive. It really seemed as if those men didn’t know what to believe. And the woman sounded so sincere--as if she’d really seen him."

"Probably, they were rehearsing their lines for the big deception. Now, let’s get on with the work, shall we?!"

************

Fortunately, while they are working, Kerry remembers about the alcohol. "Hey, guys! We’ve been forgetting that we still have to look for the alcohol."

"Yeah, we’ve been so wrapped up in what’s happening out there, plus trying to fix this stupid ship--"

Walt volunteers. "Why don’t I go and try to find some, while you two keep on working?"

"Well O.K.," agrees Daniel "but try not to get sidetracked by anything eh?"

"Say, do you think they have anything stronger than wine in this time?" ponders Kerry.

"Seems like I remember the Old Testament mentioning strong drink." answers Daniel.

Kerry disconnects the microphone again and hands it to Walt. "Better carry this under your tunic in case. We never know."

"Be careful, Walt."

************

Walt walks out onto the dusty road and asks the first passerby he sees where he might buy a container of spirits. The man smiles and points to a small side-road with a sign reading: "Emmaus".

"Just a short walk down that road."

Walt thanks the man and starts walking down the narrow road, which is shaded with trees on either side. He notices that, a short distance ahead of him, there are two men, walking and talking as they walk. He can barely make out the conversation, but he realizes that they seem to be talking about Jesus and his recent death. He tries to get closer in order to hear better without being detected. But, suddenly, a third man appears, as if by magic, and joins the two in their conversation. Perhaps came from out of the trees.     Perhaps he had taken a short cut. But it was amazing how he emerged so close to the other two. This third man is dressed all in white and his face seems to have a strange glow about it. As far as Walt can hear, the conversation continues along the same line, with the third man adding bits of information from the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. Walt edges closer and stretches his neck in order to get a better look at the men. He manages to get enough of a glimpse of the third man to notice that he looks remarkably like the man Jesus, who was crucified on Friday. It couldn’t be, thinks Walt to himself, and yet the resemblance is really striking.

He soon finds the store, buys an animal-skin container of liquor, and carries it back to the ship, where he relates his experience to the others.

"Ah, come on! Next you’ll be telling us that you saw someone walking on water or through walls or something! Jesus is dead! We saw him die, and that’s that!"

"Alright, maybe it was just another person who looked like him. I guess there are a lot of people who look like each other, even back in this time, but it sure was a close resemblance."