Regenesis

The plane hit with a hard thump.  It wasn’t one of those smooth landings that commercial pilots brag about, but then this wasn’t a commercial carrier either.  It was a military transport. No stewardesses, no movies, nothing but just hours of bare bones flying.  Joe knew he was lucky to find comfortable reclining seats in which he could nap, because the military types weren’t much on comfort, they believed it made them soft.  If it’s not practical, it’s a waste, that’s the military way, he thought.  The flight had been long and uneventful, and he was indeed glad to be on the ground.  Flying was not something Joe enjoyed.  It always seemed to unnerve him. With no windows from which to view, he had no idea where he was, and he knew that no one cared that he felt like a prisoner.  There had been one other passenger in the transport during the flight.  She was a young pretty petite girl half his age.  He was sure they sent her along to calm him.  He understood the psychology.  After all, how could he perceive her as a threat?  She was just a baby though, barely 18.  She couldn’t possibly understand what he was going through.  During the flight, she had tried several times to make conversation and convince him this was an important mission, but when she finally realized that he was going to do nothing but ignore her, she spent the rest of the flight in the cockpit with the pilots.  There was no way he was going to be good company, because all he could think about was his family. The U.S. Military had done something unforgivable.  They had threatened him, his wife, and his whole family, but why?  It wasn’t like he was someone important or he had invented some new type of weapon.  He was just a middle-aged electrician.  What could they possibly want with him?  What could be so important?  The only reason he was given was that he was here to meet a relative. A relative he did not even know existed.