Enceladus

by Walt Garlington (September 2025)

–

Commander John Maury:
Log for John Maury, in command
Of the Starship Timothy Leary.
International Reformed Calendar date
Twenty-one twenty-five point six point 3.
Almost twenty-four hours ago Earth’s Sun,
Without warning, went completely dark.
With so many of Earth’s systems operating
On solar power, the lives of billions
Of people are in mortal danger.
The U.N. Space Command ordered the nearest
Space ship to the Sun to investigate.
The science vessel Timothy Leary,
With Lieutenant-Commander Nathan Boone
As our science officer and engineer,
Lieutenant Julia Graves at the helm,
And myself, responded. U.N.S.C.
Replied, ordering us to the Sun
Without any delay.  Graves and Boone
Opened a wormhole, we have made the jump,
And now we are making our approach to the Sun.
–
[On the bridge.  Maury and Graves]
=
Graves:
Five minutes until we’re in visual range, Sir.
=
Maury [A concerned grimace across his face]:
Steady as she goes, Lieutenant.
Keep us at maximum speed till then.
=
Graves:
Aye Sir.
=
[A commotion is heard. Boone enters the bridge from the rear, forcing a squalid, elderly man onto the bridge with him.]
=
Boone:
————–Commander!  A stowaway!
–
Maury:
Lieutenant, keep her steady.  Boone, who is this?!
–
Boone [With his arms still wrapped tightly around the unknown man]:
Don’t know Sir. Just found him in one
Of the supply rooms, muttering with his arms
Stretched out.
=
Maury:
—————————-Who are you, and what are you doing here?
–
Stowaway [Laughing, carefree]:
I was baptized Mosaker
Though you may call me Little Tater
As I’m not enough to fill a gator!
–
Maury:
Okay, Mosaker. Why have you decided
To hitch a ride in the back of my ship?
=-
Mosaker:
I needed to find a throne.
=
Maury:
————–You’re a king?
Mosaker:
Not a king,
But every man has a need,
At some time, to pee!
Hee, hee, hee!
–
Graves:
Sir, he’s insane!
–
Mosaker:
Yes, yes, no understanding,
But neither am I hiding
Any anatomy by clever tucking-
Jonathan Graves, dead-naming!
=
Maury [With a fatherly, good-natured smile; he is starting to find humor in Mosaker’s behavior]:
An impressive façade, Lieutenant.
We’ll discuss this later, assuming for the moment,
That we live over the deadly peril.
=
Graves [Sheepishly]:
Yes Sir.
=
[Looks at panel]
————–Commander!  We’re in visual range.
–
Maury:
All stop.  Image on screen.
0
[Hordes of black objects are seen circling the Sun, blocking its light.]
=
—————————-Boone … what is this?
=
Boone [Lets go of Mosaker, looks at instruments]:
I’m not sure.  Readings are all over the place.
Sir, four of the objects approaching.
–
Maury:
—————————-Shields up!
–
Boone:
No effect! They’re coming through the ship’s hull.
=
[The four shades enter the bridge through the front bulkhead and take the shape of fearsome creatures.  Their cries knock Maury, Boone, and Graves off their feet.  Mosaker, still standing, makes the sign of the Holy Cross over them while singing the first two verses of Psalm 68 in a forceful, sober voice.]
=
Mosaker:
“Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,
And let those who hate Him flee from before Him.
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish before God.”
=
[The creatures cry out as if wounded and disappear.]
=
Maury [Slowly getting back on his feet]:
What just happened here?
=
Mosaker:
________________The vanquishing of demons.
—
[He removes the Cross hanging from his neck and beneath his monastic garments and holds it in his hand.]
–
As long as this is visible, they’ll stay away.
=
Boone:
You’re not a random stowaway, are you?
=
Mosaker:
God knows.
=
Graves:
————–Crosses? God? Aren’t these things for imbeciles
And fanatics?
=
Maury:
—————————-My ancestors didn’t think so.
Thought the world didn’t make much sense without ‘em.
I’m starting to thing they were right.  Mosaker,
Do you know why these entities, these demons,
Are swarming around the Sun?
–
Mosaker:
——————————————It is a law
Of the spiritual world:  When man acts wickedly,
He drives away God’s love and protection,
And calls forth the demons.
–
Graves [Pointing at the blackened Sun on the screen]:
_____________What have we done
That is bad enough to cause this to happen?
=
Mosaker:
Look honestly in your heart, and you will see;
You will see the destructive pride, rewriting
Genetics of plants and animals;
Designer babies, incineration
Of the failed attempts; artificial wombs;
Marriage with artificial intelligence;
Must I go on?  It only gets more disturbing.
–
Maury:
I think we’ve got the general idea.
We have to blow up the pattern of life
We’re used to – is that about right, Mosaker?
–
Mosaker:
If you show humility to Christ Jesus,
He will welcome you back and heal you.
–
Boone:
Sir, if we take this message back to Earth,
The people will tear us apart.
=
Maury:
——————————————I agree.
It’s pointless for all of us to die that way.
Mosaker, didn’t someone once say that
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church?
–
Mosaker:
Yes, Tertullian, many centuries ago.
–
Maury:
Would a willing martyr turn things around
On the Earth?  Would his death save it from this horde?
=
Mosaker:
With repentance, new life is possible.
=
Maury:
That clarifies things. Boone, is there a place
Where you three can hide out till this is resolved?
=
Mosaker:
Forgive me, Commander, but I know of such a place:
Saturn’s moon, Enceladus.
=
Boone:
——————————————Sir, that moon
Is nothing but a frozen, dead wasteland.
–
Mosaker:
It is not so. By God’s Grace, there is a small
Monastic colony there even now.
–
Boone:
You really aren’t a random stowaway, are you?
–
Mosaker:
God knows, my son.
–
Maury:
——————————————Right, then. Open a wormhole
Back to Earth. I will take one of the escape shuttles
And give the message to the people there.
After I leave, open another wormhole
And take a second shuttle to Enceladus.
Direct the autopilot to drive the ship
Into the Sun. Hopefully the explosion
Will make it impossible to track you all.
Understood?
=
Boone and Graves:
————————–Yes Sir!
=
[They remain standing, facing Cmdr. Maury.]
=
Maury:
——————————————Something else, men?
=
Graves:
——————————————————————————Sir, it’s just…
It’s been an honor, Sir.
=
[Boone and Graves salute Maury. He returns it with his own to them, beaming at them.]
=
Maury:
——————————————Likewise. Mosaker,
If you’re so inclined, pray for me that I won’t
Mess this one up.|
=
Mosaker [Makes the sign of the Cross over Maury]:
————————–The blessing of God,
The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Be with you, always, now and forever,
And to the ages of ages. Amen.
=
Maury [Kisses Mosaker’s right hand]:
Thank you.  May we meet again in a good place.
=
[Maury departs.  Boone and Graves prepare to leave also.  Before they do, they christen the ship the St. John Maury, in honor of the New Martyr for Christ, a more fitting patron for the ship than the psychonaut it had honored before.]
–
***
–
[Exiting the event horizon, Graves steered the shuttle to the location indicated by Mosaker—through the rocks and ice and dust of Saturn’s rings, through the misty spray of the liquid jets shooting up into the sky, onto the shining white surface of Enceladus in the middle of a glowing ring. Graves, Mosaker, and Boone exit the shuttle and are greeted by a middle-aged monk.]
=
Father Ethelwald:
Father Mosaker, Christ is in our midst!
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Fr. Mosaker:
He is and ever shall be, Father Ethelwald!
=
[They exchange the customary greeting of Orthodox monks, with crossings, kisses, and bows.]
=
Fr. Ethelwald:
You have come in an unusual manner.
Is it related to the darkness we see?
=
Fr. Mosaker:
The Mother of God foresees difficulties
And tells those whom it is proper about them.
=
Fr. Ethelwald:
Praise God!  And who has come along with you?
=
Fr. Mosaker:
Nathan Boone and Jonathan Graves.
=
[They bow awkwardly to Fr. Ethelwald.]
=
Fr. Ethelwald:
——————————————–God bless you,
Dear ones.
=
[Makes the sign of the Cross over them. They bow again.]
————————–Will you be staying with us long?
=
Boone:
Until the darkness lifts, at least.
=
Fr. Ethelwald:
——————————————Very well, then.
But do not expect an easy time here.
The monastic life is not effortless,
Especially for the inexperienced
[Looks at young Boone]
And for the proud.
[Looks at Graves]
=
Graves [Sighs]:
————————–We … I think I understand.
Maybe I can learn more about myself
While I’m here.  I welcome the opportunity.
But can you tell us, how is any of this
Possible?
=
Fr. Mosaker:
————–With God, nothing is impossible.
=
Fr. Ethelwald:
Indeed! Where God so wills, the laws of nature
Are overturned. With the increasingly hectic,
Industrial and technological
Way of life upon the Earth, the stillness
And silence necessary for monastic life
Were becoming more difficult to obtain.
So God in His mercy began to bring
Some monks here, to Enceladus. An angel
Would greet one of us, and miraculously
We would be here. The Love of the Trinity
And the fire of the seraphim whom you see
Off in the distance encircling our camp
Provide us warmth. The bowl on the short pillar
Supplies us water that never runs out,
And ev’ry evening an angel brings us
Bread to eat. The willow, oak, and other trees
That God planted here we use as fuel for light
And to make handcrafts to help us focus
As we pray – crosses, icons, or simple shoes.
We have carved our cells out of the icy hills;
The arches and domes that formed from frozen plumes
Serve as our church.  And even though most of us
Come from different lands – Father Melchizedek
Hails from Optina, others come from Mount Athos,
West Virginia, and so on – well can we
Understand one another’s speech by the Grace
Of the Holy Ghost.
=
Graves:
————–It’s everything the U.N.
Has been trying to achieve on Earth for decades.
=
[A light suddenly begins to glimmer. The Sun is shining normally again.]
=
Boone:
He did it. He got through to them.
=
Fr. Mosaker:
——————————————Will you leave, then?
=
[Boone and Graves look at one another, then at the two monks.]
=
Boone:
I think we’re only at the beginning
Of our time here.
=
Fr. Ethelwald [Smiling widely]:
————————————–Very well, then! Follow me.
We will join the others for Evening Prayers,
And then we will dig two new cells for you.
=
[Sings together with Fr. Mosaker]
=
Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal!
Have mercy on us!
=
[Boone and Graves walk along after them. They say together softly in a low voice]
=
—————————-Have mercy on us,
Through the prayers of the New Martyr, John Maury.
–
***
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The End and Glory to God!
=

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Walt Garlington was born and raised in that part of Dixieland called Louisiana. A chemical engineer by training, he has spent the last several years writing full-time. He has written essays and poems for The Hayride, New English Review, The Tenth Amendment Center, The Abbeville Institute, Reckonin’, Katehon, Geopolitica, and USA Really. He writes regularly at his own web site, Confiteri: A Southern Perspective.

Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast