A Day in the Life of Marine Captain Cross before the Zoastra Affair Part Fourty One
He expected to leave a message. But a sleepy Jeannie answered. “Alain, it’s good to see you again.”
He cleared his throat and spoke in his home language, French, again. “I have a storage locker in Syracuse.”
“That’s on the American side.”
Facing this gave him closure. “There are no more countries, Jeannie. Locker seven, three-five seven is everything I own from when I was married. I hope you find whatever it is you seek.”
“Lucas needs a father.”
Cross refused to get sucked into this topic. It was too deep. “He had one. We all had a life before the carnage. I’ve helped you all I could.”
“I suppose he did.” She nodded. “Thank you, Alain. We’ll keep you in our prayers and thoughts.”
For one second Jeannie’s voice froze him. She had a lilt in her voice, like Daphne. But his wife was dead. On this mission, his crew needed every ounce of his energy, and he called to relieve the guilt.
But he felt empty still. Finding the aliens who populated the Earth, Rewa and any other outlying planets they might discover suddenly seemed like a bad idea. What if instead of searching for something good, they were searching for the worst? Perhaps not knowing meant keeping the part of humanity, that called for them to better themselves, completely human and not the work of some alien life form.
Either way, his idealistic shipmates needed him. Someone had to keep an eye them. Someone had to keep it real.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does Captain Cross deal with guilt and emotional closure in the Zoastra Affair?
Captain Cross attempts to find closure by calling Jeannie and relinquishing a storage locker in Syracuse containing everything he owned from his marriage. Though he calls to relieve guilt, he still feels empty afterward. His deceased wife Daphne remains a source of grief, but he redirects his energy toward his crew, believing they need his full attention and grounded leadership.
What is Captain Cross’s internal conflict about searching for alien life in the Zoastra Affair?
Captain Cross questions whether searching for alien life is truly worthwhile. He fears that discovering aliens who populated Earth and other planets might reveal something terrible rather than something good. He wonders if not knowing preserves the part of humanity that strives to better itself — keeping human progress purely human rather than the result of alien influence.
Is Captain Cross in the Zoastra Affair more of an idealist or a realist compared to his crewmates?
Captain Cross is clearly the realist among his crew. While he describes his shipmates as idealistic, Cross sees himself as the one who must ‘keep it real’ and watch over them. He is pragmatic about loss, grief, and the dangers of their mission, contrasting with crewmates who appear more hopeful or optimistic about their search for alien life.
