Deborah beamed down to the road near Ramah. It was hard to believe that it had been a year since she was last here. Nothing had changed. She walked past the fields, past wheat, barley, grapes, and olive trees. Eventually, she came to the village square in Ramah.
“Deborah”, she heard somebody call.
“Who are you?”, she asked.
“You don’t remember? I’m Lamelech!”
“Lamelech! Amech’s father!”
“Yes, yes. You have made me so very happy”
“Arbach gave you your money back?”
“No, I am a grandfather. Alisa gave Amech a strong, healthy, baby boy! A grandson”
“Let’s go see”, Deborah grinned.
They walked quickly to Lamelech’s house.
“Alisa, Alisa, look who is here! It’s Deborah, the Judge.”
Alisa was sitting in a corner of the room, on the floor, nursing a baby. Deborah came closer. Alisa pulled the baby away from her breast, held him up.
“Alisa, he’s beautiful. What’s his name?”
“Lapidot”
Jackpot!
Deborah was in an olive tree with Amech. "Why did you name Lapidot Lapidot, which means 'flame' or 'fire'?"
"Because Alisa is hot"?
“Amech, Alisa, I want to talk to you, privately.” Deborah’s voice was low.
“I am here”, Amech said.
“I want to marry Lapidot”
Amech and Alisa laughed. “He’s just a baby - he’s just a month old. Why do you want to marry him?”
“I will tell you something, but you must keep it a secret. Nobody must know, not your parents, not your children, not Lapidot.”
“What’s that?”
“I am a messenger from God, and a prophetess. Lapidot’s name will live on for thousands of years. He will be forever known as my husband.”
“He’s just a baby”
“I will come back once a year until he is ready for marriage.”
“Will you still be alive in 15 years? How old are you now?”
I will be 66 when I return to my apartment. But I am going to judge Israel for 40 years after I win this war. Do I marry Lapidot before or after the war?
“I am 26 years old. I will live to be at least 66 years old.”
“What will be your bride price?”
“Nothing. I am an orphan”
“Do you have a dowry?”
“I am a woman from God! What more of a dowry do you need?”
“You say you are a woman from God. Show us a sign.”
“Okay”
Deborah reached down, and detached a laser pistol from her ankle. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” She forgot that Arthur C. Clarke had written that. She aimed the laser pistol at the wood pile, pulled the trigger. A piece of wood immediately burst into flame. She blew on the muzzle of the pistol (for dramatic effect only, it would be 3000 years before the first American Western movie would be made with that gesture) and then attached the pistol back to her ankle.
“You truly are a woman from God”
“Don’t tell anybody about that”
“Why?”
“Because, I don’t want to be known as somebody with great power. It is enough that I be known as a prophetess and a judge. Now, will you give me Lapidot as my husband?”
“This is very strange”, Alisa said.
“If you are truly a woman from God, then you must know that Lapidot will grow to be a man”, Amech said.
“Yes”
“We will give you Lapidot in marriage when he is ready”, Amech said.
“Thank you. Now, I have something for you, Alisa.”
Deborah put down her backpack, opened it up, and began to rummage around inside it. She found what she was looking for, a medallion similar to her own. She held it up for both Alisa and Amech to see. Then she put it around Alisa’s neck, and tucked it into her clothing so it was effectively invisible.
“Wear that all the time. Do not take it off. If you or Amech or Lapidot are in any danger, if hurt, or sick, then push the red spot on the medallion. I will come immediately and protect you. Do you have any questions?”
“No”.
“Good. I would like to take Lapidot for a little walk. I will take good care of him. May I?”
Alisa asked, “May I come with you?”
“No, I’d like to be alone with Lapidot. I will take good care of him. I will return in a little while, and then I will not return for a year unless you press the red spot.”
Alisa thought about it, said “Yes”. She wrapped Lapidot in some cloth, gave him to Deborah. “You are just the most beautiful baby boy”, she gushed. “You are so beautiful. Uh, take him for a moment, please.”
Deborah had to put on her backpack, and should couldn’t do that while holding the baby. Clearly motherhood has challenges both big and small.
“Please give him back to me”, Deborah said. Alisa handed Lapidot back to Deborah. Deborah turned and walked out the door into the sunshine. Then she walked back to the road and started walking out of town. She had gone a few hundred meters, when she turned around, checked that she was alone. Very carefully (it just wouldn’t do to drop her future husband), she pulled out her medallion, pushed the button.
“Adelle”
“Yes”
“I have a baby with me. Beam us up”
And they were gone.
“Walter, I’d like you to meet my future husband, Lapidot. Lapidot, I’d like you to meet my crew, Walter Brown”
“I thought I was your prisoner”
“I have some pull with the commanding officer and got you promoted”
“Why did you bring him here?”
“Well baby care. He needs an examination, and shots”
“Shots?”
“Vaccinations”
They walked to the autodoc, opened the door.
“How can I help you?”, the autodoc said.
“I have a one month old baby boy. I want a well baby checkup, and all necessary vaccinations”
“Lay him down, and I will take care of it”
“How long will it take?”
“About 30 minutes”
She laid Lapidot in the autodoc. Lapidot began to cry, then stopped crying. The door closed.
Walter said, “Why don’t you tell me what you did down there?”
Deborah gave a detailed synopsis.
30 minutes later, the door of the autodoc opened. Lapidot was there, fast asleep. The only difference was a little bandaid on his right upper arm.
The autodoc started speaking.
“Lapidot is a healthy baby boy. He weighs 3.92 kilograms, is 55.9 centimeters from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. He has type B+ blood. His red blood cell count is 4.7 million per microliter and his white blood cell count is 6600 per cubic millimeter, both are in the normal range. His hemoglobin level at 12.2 grams per deciliter. H1C is 4.9. His albumin is 4.1 grams/deciLiter, normal. Ultrasonic inspection of the heart and lungs is normal. Protein to creatinine ratio is 103 mg/gm, so kidney function is normal. Reflexes are normal. Vision is normal. His lymphatic system is normal, but he has the usual vulnerabilities that young children have. I examined his central nervous system electroenchephalographically and I found no indications of any sort of neuropathy. He has several thousand known genetic abnormalities, none of which will affect his life, some of which will allow us to trace his descendants for thousands of years. By the way, you are his descendent, which means he will live long enough to feather children. However, I recommend that he receive genetic counseling before he decides to have children. He will have dark brown hair, and he will tend to be skinny.
“Lapidot received all the vaccinations given to young children, except I didn’t give him an AIDs vaccine because the disease doesn’t exist yet, and I did give him a vaccine against smallpox, which in this time is still a prevalent disease. He will need booster vaccinations in about 5 years. I would like to see him again in a year”
Deborah picked up Lapidot. “Why is he asleep?”, she asked.
“It is easier to examine a small child when he is sleeping, so I gave him a mild, fast acting sedative, Propofol, 8 milligrams. It will wear off in about an hour”
“Thank you”, Deborah said, not really thinking that she was addressing a machine
“You’re welcome”, the autodoc said.
Deborah and Lapidot, followed by Walter, walked into the corridor and went to the transporter room.
“You realize that you could do a better job of raising him if you kept him here”
“Walter, I want you to think about our mission, and perhaps why that is such a bad idea”
Walter thought.
“If we did that, it might affect history”
“Yes. We make minimal changes to history”
“But you are going around being a judge and becoming famous”
“Well, that’s what history says I do. So I am doing it. Would you hold Lapidot, please?”
She gave the baby to Walter.
“Put your arm under his head, like so. You’ve never carried a baby, have you”
“Not in a long time”
“This mission is going to be a learning experience for you”
Deborah turned to the control panel of the transporter.
“We’re out of transporter range until another 7 minutes”
“Then let’s talk”
“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
“I want to talk about me, and my role in this mission”
“Okay”
“I want to be more than a prisoner up here. I want to go down to the surface, walk around the place, meet people. I could gather intelligence for you.”
“Well, that’s an interesting idea. The question I am thinking about is do I trust you?”
“Deborah, you and I have been working together for how many years now? Have I ever given you a reason to mistrust me?”
“You are a very intelligent man, and you might be scheming for just such a moment. My mission orders include marooning you in history somewhere. You might not like that.”
“On the contrary, it might be very rewarding. I could be a general of some army.”
“Well, that’s an option. You could even give yourself a stage name, such as Sisera”
“I missed the reference”
“Sisera is the enemy general who gets killed after his army is defeated”
“What is the name of the general who wins the war?”
“Barak”
“I could be Barak. What becomes of him?”
“History doesn’t say. He may have married, fathered children, played with grandchildren, and died of old age”
“That wouldn’t be so bad. I could do a lot worse”
“I’ll think about it”
Deborah turned to the control panel. She liked the spot on the road where she had put down, but there was somebody with some large animals there. She was debating if 100 meters away was enough distance to avoid being seen.
“You know, after the war, I could buy a vineyard and make wine.”
“Do you know how to make wine?”
“No, but Adelle knows”
Deborah noted that the person with the large animal was moving away from town, so she decided that if she put down 100 meters away and behind that person, then that would be okay. She indicated a spot on the screen. She walked on the platform. “I like wine. Figure out how to replicate some for us. Adelle?”
“Yes”
“Beam us down”
And they were gone.
Deborah walked back to Amech and Alisa’s house. “Hello?”, she called out.
“I am here”, Alisa said.
“I am back. Lapidot remained asleep. “I think he likes me”
“I like you”
“Good. I will come back in a year and see Lapidot again”
“Why don’t you stay with us?”
“I have to travel around the country making judgements. It’s what I do. Remember about the medallion.”
Alisa felt her chest.
“Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?”
“Yes, woman of God, I want you to bless us”
“May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe. May God bless you and watch over you. May God shine his face toward you and show you favor. May God be favorably disposed toward you, and may he grant you peace, ”
“That’s very beautiful”
I wonder how old that blessing is?
“Alisa, take good care of my husband”
“I will”
“Peace”
“Peace”
Deborah turned and walked out. The day was actually rather pleasant, so she decided to wander around the town, and reflect on the past few hours. She liked the juxtaposition of this ancient place with the technology of the future. She was also very impressed with the autodoc, which suggested to her that a lot of human skill was now obsolete. Maybe the high level of automation would really allow a luxurious life style, because so much labor would be automated. Of course, there would have to be some means of distributing the wealth to people who didn’t actually work. And there would have to be activities for them to do. The arts, perhaps. Or research of some sort. She had made a serious mistake, when she was in the future: she should have spent more time studying society and less time preparing for the mission.
Oh shit. Lapidot still has a bandaid on his arm. How is Alisa going to react to that when she sees that? I can’t very well sneak in there and pull it off. Idiot. Well, it can’t be helped now. Maybe Alisa will take the bandaid as a sign from heaven.