The early summer days brought gentle sunshine, light rain, or a mixture of the two, as the crew of the Manessa Kwi got more and more comfortable with the location of their assignment. Somewhat to their surprise, knowledge of the golden ship in the hanger of Pad Three did not go beyond the six Lyceum members who had greeted them.
Sata taught the other crew members a hundred or so words to help them get around, and Kibi bought some clothes from the gift shop to help them fit in. Beyond that, their only task was to keep their eyes and ears open, looking for the only person or thing that was of great value to the universe, and which, in some way, needed their help.
As evening approached on a pleasant early summer day, Brother Randy, a slender man of about forty, hovered near the door to a conference room, greeting the potential new members with handshakes and gestures to the books and papers on one table, and the platter of cookies and bowl of fruit on another. After sharing a few words with a new arrival, he glanced over at the tall black-haired teenage girl who had come early. She was still browsing through the shelf of books about Lyceum, reading the jackets and peering at the tables of contents.
Just then a short, small girl, even younger, dashed in.
“Welcome!” he said.
“Hi,” she said with a little hesitation. “I’m . . . Ashley.”
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“Come in, Ashley. Take one from each stack on that table, and help yourself to a snack if you’d like.”
She smiled, already feeling comfortable with the Lyceum evaluation process.
Brother Randy had to turn his attention to a new arrival, so Ashley got herself the books, papers, and an apple. As she sat down in an empty seat near the back, she noticed a boy coming in. He looked about seventeen and fairly cute. She overheard him tell someone his name was Shawn. After a minute, she tore her eyes away and opened a book to see what was inside.
A few minutes later, Brother Randy closed the door and stood in front of the assembled group. “Good evening, everyone, and welcome to this place called Lyceum. My helper for this session is Sister Joan . . .”
The curly-haired blond girl of about sixteen, sitting near him, rose and acted a bit embarrassed. Shawn smiled at her, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Ashley’s hand went up.
“Yes?” Randy asked.
“Is Sister Claudia okay? She was my contact person, but I can’t find her anywhere.”
“As far as I know, she’s in good health, but she’s on another continent right now helping with a political crisis that’s threatening to become a civil war.
You’ve probably seen it in the news.”
Ashley nodded. “Thanks.”
“Well, well,” Randy said, looking at his list. “I have a whopping nine people in my group, which I think is a record. Sometimes we have only two or three. And all but one of you are here on time.”
At that moment, a girl of about nine years, with straight blond hair, slipped in the door and handed a note to Joan.
“Thanks, Sarah,” the sixteen-year-old said. “Randy, I think we just found our missing person. “She was on an airplane that had engine trouble and had to land east of the mountains, and she can’t get a bus until tomorrow.”
“Hmm,” Randy considered. “Sounds like something you can handle, Sister Joan.”
The girl’s eyes opened wide, but were sparkling. “She’d miss orientation tonight, and the service tomorrow. That’s too much. Do you think it’s worth a
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flight?”
“You decide, but there are several groups on campus tonight, and I bet you could fill the extra seats with people who’d love to see the mountains at sunset.”
Joan looked at the note again. All of the candidates watched and listened with interest. “She did make a very good effort to get here. I think we should do it.”
“You have as much authority to make that decision as I do,” Randy said.
Liberty’s mouth fell open.
“I’ll go set it up,” the teenage member said.
As soon as she left the room, Randy addressed the group. “The situation you just witnessed illustrates one of Lyceum’s unique qualities. You will study and discuss that quality in more detail on . . . let me see . . . day after tomorrow. But since it happened before your eyes, I’m sure you’re curious how a sixteen-year-old could make a decision that will cost us thousands, utilizing a vehicle worth millions. It’s simple — she used her intelligence to realize that a good member is worth far more than one little helicopter flight, and if we don’t stand beside that person now, in her moment of need, we’ll probably lose her.”
One lady in the room seemed offended by what had happened, and began to argue, saying something about standard operating procedures and accounting controls. Liberty wasn’t really listening. She was remembering things she had discussed with Sister Nancy in letters, and now, seeing an example, it was all starting to make sense.
“Even though Lyceum is changing all the time,” Brother Randy said in an attempt to conclude the argument, “you are going to have to make your decision based on Lyceum as it is today.”
“Well, that’s the most un-democratic attitude I’ve ever heard!” the lady said, and quickly walked out of the room.
Randy let the silence linger for a minute, then spoke slowly and solemnly.
“The only valid reason for becoming a member of Lyceum is to be of service to humanity, in the many ways that Lyceum does that. If your purpose is to impose your will upon Lyceum, then you have come to the wrong place.”
The situation was striking a very personal nerve for Shawn. He suddenly
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realized that his father, the famous Reverend Tommy Mitchell, imposed his will on everything and everyone. Shawn swallowed hard, and hoped that for him, at least, the will of God would come first.
Soon Sister Joan returned to the conference room and shared with Randy that the flight had been nearly filled by a group of executives, and would be lifting off in a few minutes. The stranded person had made arrangements to get to the nearest heliport. A murmur of compliments came from the evaluation group. Joan blushed.
Next, Randy went over the schedule for the week, then sat down.
Joan rose nervously. “Now it’s time to share a little about yourselves,” she said, “including your first name, your favorite hobby, and something you like about Lyceum.”
After a minute of silence, a clean-cut man of about thirty stood.
“I’m Dario, and I love sailing, so if I become a member, you’ll find me on the river on my days off. The thing I like about Lyceum . . . if you’re willing and able to contribute, you can, without getting caught up in petty political stuff.”
Everyone
clapped.
“Hi, everyone! I’m Ashley. My life is all about gymnastics, and I’m the national champion right now. I like Lyceum because it’ll let you do things that sometimes you can’t do in other places.”
Again,
applause.
“I am Ilika. I was the . . . captain of a small . . . ship, and so my hobby was keeping her in good . . . condition. I like Lyceum’s quality of . . . honoring higher values, instead of just . . . human values. The . . . situation earlier was a good . . . example.”
The quiet young man, who spoke the language slowly and carefully, received a hearty applause, and a very friendly smile from Liberty.
“I’m Shawn. I like volunteering at rescue missions, and reading the Good Book. I like Lyceum because its people are there when you need them. They had to shuttle me all the way across the country!”
He received applause and sounds of surprise.
Liberty frowned slightly at Shawn’s hobbies. After another person had taken his turn, she gathered her courage.
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“Hello, I’m Liberty. I’ve done lots of things, but most recently I’ve been caring for horses. I like Lyceum because it doesn’t pay much attention to what you’ve done in the past, or who the other members of your family might be.”
A hearty applause, and some noises of agreement, filled the room.
After the remaining candidates had introduced themselves, the session leader stood. “My name is Randy, and I dearly love singing in the choir. One thing I like about Lyceum is how it manages to surprise anyone who comes here with assumptions.”
Everyone
clapped.
“Now it’s my turn, I guess,” the sixteen-year-old said nervously, standing back up. “I’m Joan. Um . . . oh yeah . . . my favorite hobby is fantasy role-playing games. And I like Lyceum because it lets me use my brains.
Sixteen-year-olds don’t get to do that many other places. Whew!”
Everyone applauded and several chuckled at her nervousness.
Liberty was grinning from ear to ear.
After a break and a long question-and-answer session, the nine-year-old entered with a lady at her side. The session leaders greeted her.
“I’m Sapphire, and I was so touched when this sweet little girl stepped out of the helicopter, looked over all the people at the heliport, and walked right up to me.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I’ve already told her most of the stuff she missed.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” Randy said.
The orientation session continued, and both leaders took turns going over the remaining topics, from meals to health care, lodging to recreation.
With the formal talks over, everyone mingled and chatted. Several borrowed a book from the book shelf. Liberty took three, and wandered out of the room, already reading.
Two teenage girls in leotards appeared at the door, and Ashley was quickly whisked away to the gymnasium.
Shawn entered into a deep conversation with Dario on some religious topic, and they left together, anxious to see the shrines and chapels, even if they couldn’t get into the Lyceum Temple until the following day.
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Brother Randy and Sister Joan made sure Sapphire was fully briefed on all the topics they had covered before she arrived.
Ilika lingered and entered into several short, light conversations, but kept his eyes and ears open for any hint about the reason he and his crew were there.