Chapter Nineteen
Maeve
Loncey is not what I expected. They are shorter than I thought they were. They also seem more fragile or delicate, even though their physique is broad and muscular. And then there’s the way they speak – a soft, deep voice that teeters on being almost too quiet, like I have to really concentrate to listen to what they’re saying. It’s something I didn’t pick up on during our phone conversation and it feels nice to be surprised in this way. And it’s not a problem, having to concentrate to hear what they’re saying, because most of what they have to say is really, really interesting.
“What do you mean, you can see the Strip from space?” I ask them.
“To a certain extent, it’s true. I mean, maybe not outer space, but certainly from the very edges of the Earth’s atmosphere, which if you take that to be the Karman line, that’s like, about ten kilometers out. There’s nowhere else like it on Earth. Nowhere else has as many lights concentrated in a relativelysmall space, so yes, it’s generally considered the brightest place on Earth.”
“The Karman line. You really do know stuff about space, don’t you?”
“Not space, more the stars.”
“But wait,” I say, recalling a very distant memory from my childhood. “Aren’t a lot of the stars we see in the sky actually planets?”
Loncey nods. “Some are, yes. And of course, you know that our sun is a star too.”
“Or maybe all the stars are really suns,” I say contrarily.
“I guess that’s exactly what they are. Each and every one.” They agree despite my attitude.
“But aren’t there like a gazillion stars in the universe?”
“No, there’s way more than that.”
I pull a face at Loncey. “Gazillion is a made-up number,” I point out.
“I know, but it’s probably still not as many as there are stars. They estimate that there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way alone and so if you apply that estimate to all the other galaxies they believe exist in the universe, you’re looking at hundreds of billions of trillions of stars.”
“Yeah, that sounds like more than a gazillion,” I concede. We walk on in silence for a few steps before I speak again. “But we’ll never know exactly how many there are?”
“No, Maeve, we’ll never know exactly. There are just too many to count.”
I let silence fall again and I don’t hate it. I almost like it as we walk slowly, navigating the many other people busying the pavement we’re on.
“I don’t know why but I find that strangely comforting. I like the idea of not knowing just what is out there,” I say finally.
“And that’s why I love the stars,” they say, so softly I almost miss it over the roar of the slow-moving traffic and the chattering people we weave around.
“But how can that,” I point upwards, “relate to the other kind of stars you like so much? You know star signs.”
“Astrology? They all come from the same place. They have the same roots, and the same purpose. It’s all about trying to make sense of the universe we live in and our place in it.”
“But they’re so different. One is science, mathematics, physics, based on trial and error and exploration and experiments and decades of research and investigations. The other is just… made-up nonsense.”
They are quiet for a while, long enough that I turn to look at them and I’m surprised to see a small smile on their face. “One could argue that plenty of research goes into astrology. Its origins date back three millennia, and indeed the very first astrologers were those who tracked the stars’ movements and the world around them for long periods of time in order to come up with various theories that form the basis of modern astrology. They were, by today’s definition, scientists. And then there are those that have gone to great lengths to back it up with empirical evidence, and that’s not even mentioning all the millions of people who testify their lives have been guided by their star charts, who have felt the impact of planets in retrograde, of lunar and solar eclipses, and the phases of the moon. It may not be an exact science, but I was raised not to dismiss people’s feelings or experiences.”
It takes me some time to digest that little speech. There’s a lot in it I don’t know much about, and I don’t like arguing with someone who knows more about something than I do. Truth be told, I don’t really like arguing at all.
“But does it apply to everyone?” I ask, curious now for their answer. “Do you believe it really is accurate for every single person on the planet?”
“I have never asked myself that question so I don’t have an answer for you. What I will say is, I think it’s possible for one person to believe and for another not to. That’s true of everything in life. And it kind of has to be in order for us to all co-exist in some kind of harmony.”
“And yet you slid into my DMs telling me that I was wrong to call it bollocks!” I point out eagerly. Okay, maybe I do like to argue a bit.
“You remember that?” they ask and I don’t know why but the question makes me wonder if I’ve revealed something I shouldn’t have although I can’t place what exactly it is. “Yeah, I was probably just looking for an excuse to talk to you again.”
Their words stun me.
