Chapter 1 Two Brothers

An excerpt from The Starlover Series Book 1: Project Earth

Frederick and David Mueller stood at the pair of open caskets. In one was their mother. In the other was their father. It was a shuttle accident that no one could have foreseen. Here were the results. At least two dead on impact. Now these two young, barely men were orphans.

It was a good thing they were close. Or else they might not have survived the impact of their parents’ deaths.

“Mom? Dad? I hope you’re comfortable. Fred and I are here. We came to say our final goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Mom and Dad. We’re be fine. Just have a little faith in both of us.” Dave nodded to Fred.

They turned away from the coffins and stood around to wait for others to come to the funeral. Many people came and went to give condolences. Some stayed for the funeral service. Fred sighed. It was too long for him to be in a monkey suit. But the service wasn’t over. They still had to go to the graveyard.

The two brothers went together. They stood side by side as they watched the coffins lowered into the same grave plot. By that time, no one was talking. The coffins were at least six feet under and safe from anything causing any problems. The equipment was removed and soon people left the graveyard.

There were no more words. The depth of despair was great for the brothers, but yet they still were looking forward to living their lives.

“Ready to go?” asked Dave.

“Yes,” said Fred.

They turned and left the graveyard. Dave flew their shuttle back to the family home. Along the way Fred took off his tie. The brothers didn’t speak. Fred thought about their shared childhood. He was the younger brother. The second son. Their parents had considered him second best.

It was not a pleasant situation to say the least. Dave was the one who did better in school. Fred wasn’t always interested. Unless he was building things. It didn’t matter if the building materials were legos or electronics. He just wanted to build.

Dave was the intelligent scientific brother who loved to research. He like to come up with hypotheses and test them rigorously as he could. Fred kept building. He had learned how to repair things which would break down around the house. He could even repair the computers. He willingly fixed anything that had broken in the house. It was something he had never grown out of.

But his parents had thought it was beneath his station in life. “Freddie, why can’t you be a scientist like your brother?”

“I’m not interested. I just want to build and fix things.”

“But repair work isn’t a good profession.”

“Why not?”

“Only stupid people do that sort of work.”

“What? Are you sure? Tradespeople can earn decent money even by your standards.”

“But only stupid people do that sort of work. Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

“If tradespeople are so stupid, why is it that electricians have to use trigonometry in their work?”

“What? That can’t be true.”

“It is. I took the classes, so I would know.”

That had kept their parents quiet for several days.

Dave had gone on to college and had studied hard. He had found some work in research at his school and had done well with it. He had graduated with honors. Their parents had been thrilled.

“Freddie, when are you going to go to college?”

“And do what there?”

“Get a degree like your brother has. We are proud that he will become one of the best scientists Earth has ever had.”

“Good for him.”

“Freddie! What are you going to do with your life?”

He had simply shrugged his shoulders. “I’m happy repairing things that break down around here and doing repair work for others. I earn some money that way. What’s the big deal?”

“You’re too much of a dreamer. Someday you will have to grow up.”

Fred had smiled at his parents. At least they had a united front. “Look, I’m not interested in what Dave is interested in enough to do what he does. I like what I do. I’m still building things in my spare time, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. I’m using those scrap parts that no one cares about. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“It’s a terrible hobby. Inventors don’t earn as much as scientists.”

Fred had sighed. “We’re getting nowhere. Clearly you can appreciate the money I’ve saved you over the years. I’d say it’s helped with my upkeep.”

His parents had kept quiet for a few more days. Actually, it was the last time Fred had talked to them. The shuttle accident had happened soon after. Now he was without them.

The brothers were home. They went to the living room and sat down on different chairs. Dave sighed. He leaned back in his chair.

“What are we going to do, Fred?”

“About what?”

“About the house. About their things.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it.”

“Well, we need to do something. I doubt we could afford to maintain this place.”

“I can do the repairs as I have for a long time.”

Dave smiled. “I know that. But there are utilities. And we still need to eat.”

“Oh. Is the house paid off?”

“Yeah, but there are property taxes to pay.”

“Oh, right. You don’t technically have a job right now.”

“No, I don’t. I know you earn some money repairing things for other people. And that’s good. That will help. But we have to deal with the house.”

“Perhaps we should sell it and most of the things here?”

Dave sat up. “What are you thinking?”

“If we can’t afford it, then we shouldn’t try to hang on to everything. Perhaps we need to let go and get a smaller place together.”

“That sounds reasonable. I’m glad you can still think.” He paused. “Are you still upset that they wanted you to be like me?”

“Yeah, but they’re dead now. What can they say to me?”

Dave laughed. “Nothing. At least you’re working. I’m the one who needs to find work.”

Fred laughed with his brother. Later that evening they begun working on selling the house and most of the things in it. It had taken time, but they both had plenty of that now that neither one was in school or had regular jobs.