In the Name of Earth

Chapter 2: When You Wish Upon a Star

11 years earlier.

“What’s that one called, dad?” Marvin Grant Junior, who had just turned fourteen pointed one of the infinite stars painting the deep blue background of the nightly sky. His father and him had been laying on a grassy hill a few miles off New York for several hours now, and they still had plenty of stars to cover.

“That’s called Altair! Put it together with that, that, and that one, plus those over there, and you have the Aquila constellation!” Marvin’s father connected the dots with his finger, holding his son close to him so he could see the mental drawing himself.

“And that one is Okab!” little Marvin indicated one of the nearby stars.

“Very good! You’ve been studying! But it’s getting late, champ. We should get back.”

“Do we have to?” Marvin made no motion of getting up.

“Yeah, Marv. Dad’s gotta get up early tomorrow.”

“I don’t want you to go to Haiti, dad. Do you really need to?”

“Marv, don’t be like that. I wish I could stay longer too, but someone has to help those people. Many of them lost everything when that earthquake hit, and it’s our job to look after our fellow human beings in need!” Marvin Senior caressed his son’s hair. “You understand that right?”

“I do, but can’t someone else on the UN go? You just came back from Africa! Can’t I go with you?”

“Oh, Marv… Tell you what. Look up…” father and son glanced up at the stars together, the glimmering sheet of lights reflecting on their brown eyes. “Whenever you miss me, look up at the stars. I’ll be looking too. And one day, when you’re older and a successful diplomat yourself, we’ll go on these missions together. Deal?”

Marvin resisted at first, clinging to his dad’s shirt, but eventually he yielded.

“Deal.”

***

10 years later.

“Mr. Grant, what is your take on the current crisis in Central America, and what do you think is the best humanitarian approach to the issue?” Marvin Grant asked the handsome brown-skinned man on his mirror, his voice forcefully deeper than natural while he shave his head.

“I would fundamentally attribute the current tensions to a gap in communication…” Marvin, now in his normal voice, started answering his own question, but was interrupted by a knock on the open bathroom door.

“Interviewing yourself again, honey?” Marvin’s mother asked with a coy smile to her face.

“Oh, hey, ma! Just a bit nervous is all. Feels like I waited my whole life for this day,” chuckling, Marvin continued to run the razor over his shining scalp.

“That’s because you have, sweety. Since you started speaking, I’m hearing you say you wanna be a big shot diplomat like your dad. I know that’s a lot of pressure, but you’ve been hellbent on it forever. If anyone’s ready for that interview, that’s you!”

Marvin had stopped shaving and tried to find words. She was right. Of course, she was right. Having a position in the United Nations had been his sole driving force for years. He had nailed the written tests and essays, now all he had to do was impress a few more bureaucrats face-to-face, and all would have been resolved. His dream would become a reality. And yet…

“I just wish dad was here, you know?”

“If you wish upon a star…” a familiar deep voice sung from beyond the bath, and from behind a smiling mother, Marvin Grant Senior emerged on an elegant blue suit as sharp as ever. Grinning, the tall man held his arms open for his son, who wasted no time in running for his embrace.

“I’ll go make you boys some sandwiches,” the mother winked at the two men and left. “Don’t take too long, you don’t wanna be late!”

“Dad! What are you doing here?”

“You think I’d miss your first day walking into the UN building all by yourself like a grown ass man?”

“You did miss my high school graduation. And my college graduation. And all my baseball games back in the day…” Marvin broke off the hug and returned to the mirror to give his hair the final touches. “No refugees needed saving today?”

“Come on, Marv, don’t be like that! You know I have a duty with…”

“Humanity? Yeah, I know!” Marvin put the razor away and marched to his room. “Okay, sorry, dad. That wasn’t fair. Are you coming with me to the UN?”

“Of course! By the way, I took a quick look at your written tests. You know, just to see if there was nothing I could do to give’ya a little boost…”

“And?” Marvin corked an eyebrow while selecting a black suit.

“Only one correction, to be honest. Go with the gray suit. As for your tests? Flawless! This interview shouldn’t even happen, if you ask me.”

Marvin repressed a flattered smirk, then proceeded to swap suits.

“I’ll give you some privacy. Meet you downstairs when you’re ready to change your life!”

***

Walking the United Nations building on itself was already a legendary experience for Marvin. Doing so beside his father, a renowned member or of the organization who probably knew the building inside out, was an honor! Marvin Senior led the way through the chick hallways, nodding and greeting every other passerby until they reached their destination.

“Here we are,” the father gestured at a pair of grand doors. “Wanna have the honors, son?”

“This is the interview room? Are you sure, I think we took a wrong turn somewhere…” Marvin scratched his bald head.

“Come on, trust me. Just open the door!”

And open the door Marvin did. What awaited him was not an interview room or a cabinet leading to it. What awaited was the General Assembly Chambers. The one he had seen so many times in movies and videos, the one he had dreamed of standing on for a whole life. It was unmistakable. The endless chairs upon which the most important people on Earth sat; the galleries hanging overhead the round room; the grand stand for the speakers, topped by the UN logo on the wall and, above it all, the circular black ceiling illuminated by two rings of bright lights.

The architecture was humbling, the level of detail astonishing and the silence made it all the more remarkable.

“S-should we be here?” Marvin asked his father, who quietly closes the door behind them.

“In our line of work, you need to be a little adventurous, son. Come’ere!” the father tapped his son’s shoulder and led the way to the very center of the room. “What’s the most fascinating part of this room to you, Marvin?”

“I guess… the seats. They’re empty now, but imagine all the decisions that were made on these chairs? Discussions, whispers exchanged between presidents and diplomats that may have changed the course of human history!”

“Eh,” Grant Senior shrugged. “It’s just leather and cushions. What else?”

“Uh… The symbol over there?” less enthused about his answer, Marvin pointed to the grand logo hanging over the Speakers’ desk. “It represents global unity, which is our goal. Right?”

“Look up, son,” the father ordered, and Marvin looked at the wooden panel above the logo. “Way up!” he redirected his son’s gaze at the very ceiling above them. The domed dark ceiling lit by two concentric rings of lights.

Two rings of lights that grew stronger, pulsating. There was a hum to match every variation on the lamps intensity. It was both nauseating and hypnotizing at the same time.

“What’s going on?”

“Just keep looking, son. Look past the lights, what do you see?”

“It’s just… black,” Marvin squinted. The contrast between the dark background and the luminosity was dizzying, but he was unable to look away. Slowly, as both the lights and the darkness grew stronger and more distinct, his vision started distorting, black and white dots flashing before his eyes.

But those dots were not unfamiliar. They were not the random results of stressed retinas. No. As the dots organized themselves on the dark background beyond the lights, Marvin recognized them. Aries, Scorpio, Ursa Minor… Those dots were stars! Arranging themselves on the ceiling, glowing brighter in a blue hue as the rings of lights faded. As all lights faded, leaving father and son in absolute darkness violated only by the faint blue glimmer of the recreated constellations.

Marvin was speechless, hypnotized as the starlight grew stronger over him and a surreal cone of blue light downed from the domed ceiling around them.

“Forget the United Nations, son,” his father whispered on his ear. “You are now an ambassador to Earth. Just like me.”

In a flash of white, with the descent of a single intense beam of light over the two men, the lights were back on, the blue stars had vanished, and the Grant men were gone from the face of the Earth.