Age of Men Read online

Actually, I do. Just like all of you, I’m fascinated by celebrities and when bad things happen to celebrities the world can’t get enough. In December of 1910, Dorothy Arnold disappeared without a trace.”

  “Who?” The boy asked again.

  “Dorothy Arnold.” Jack reiterated, “She was one of the most famous socialites of that decade. Yes, socialites have been around much longer than Paris Hilton or the Kardashians and Dorothy Arnold was one of the first ones.”

  “What happened to her?” Another boy asked.

  “Well,” Jack said as he organized his tale into chronological order, “On the morning of December 12th, 1910, Dorothy left her home on 79th Street, New York City to go shopping for a dress for her sister’s debutante party later that week. While out shopping, she went to various stores from Park & Tilford and Brentano’s Bookstore. It was while leaving the bookstore that Dorothy ran into an old friend and started chatting before walking home through Central Park, but never arrived home.”

  “She was raped and killed.” Someone said.

  “Two in the afternoon? In Central Park?” Jack dismissed the boy, “I highly doubt it. Various people reported seeing her walk through the park. One person even reported seeing Dorothy Arnold walking along the footpath of the pond only to disappear behind a tree. Dorothy Arnold’s disappearance became headline news that week – a headline disappearance that had the authorities baffled.”

  “Why is that your favourite disappearance?” Another girl asked.

  “For the same reason you care what dress Kim Kardashian wears…” Jack said, “Because she was famous.”

  Jack took a sip of water from the bottle on his podium and continued, “The most peculiar case is probably the one of the reappearing astronaut… another famous story.”

  “I think I’ve heard about that one.” Someone said.

  “In 1971 a group of astronauts set out on a routine mission to the moon.” Jack said, “Marshall Muller was one of the astronauts and it was while collecting samples from the moon’s surface that he disappeared… only to reappear in 1985. Astronaut Jim Jameson claimed that he found Marshall Muller walking around on the surface of the moon dazed and confused. Back at NASA they discovered that Muller was the astronaut presumed to have died back in 1971… but he was alive and well despite not having aged a day.”

  “What happened to him?” Someone asked from the back.

  “Muller was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.” Jack said, “He claimed that he somehow stepped into a black hole on the surface of the moon – a black hole that seemed to consume nothing around it, but only drew him in. He claimed that he fell into the so-called black hole and struggled to get out of it for more than two minutes and when he finally got out, it was 14 years later.”

  “Maybe it was aliens?” Someone asked.

  “Who knows?” Jack said, “He never claimed to have seen aliens.”

  Jack saw the Dean of admissions, Sarah Alexander, standing at the door of the lecture hall; she had her arms folded across her chest and seemed unhappy about something. Jack tried not to smile upon seeing her distress. Her contorted face reminded him what it was like when they were married years earlier – she always stressed about every little thing imaginable. She was in her fifties and was still a beautiful woman with her short red hair and striking green eyes – eyes that could pierce a hole right through you when she got angry.

  She motioned for Jack to wrap up his lecture.

  “In closing,” Jack said, “We might never know what happened to people who disappeared into thin air as the media likes to call it. There are hundreds of theories – unproven theories which we will get into on Monday. Class dismissed.

  The students all grabbed their bags and left the lecture hall. Once they were alone, Sarah came down the stairs to the front of the lecture hall; she had her arms folded across her chest all the way.

  “Interesting lecture.” Sarah said, “I only heard the last bit, but interesting nonetheless. You’re a great storyteller. I especially liked the one about the astronaut.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But how do you account for him not aging a day in 14 years again?” She asked.

  “The gravitational pull of the black hole. The bigger the object, the slower time moves in comparison to the space around it, and could be explained with a tennis ball and a bowling ball being dropped into the sand. The bowling ball would leave a deeper crater due to its size – almost the same thing happens to time when it comes to the gravitational pull of objects.”

  “I’ve heard the lecture before.” She remembered fondly.

  Jack looked at her as he picked up his sling bag and threw the sling across his shoulder. Her expression of reminiscence was replaced with one of annoyance.

  “I know that look.” Jack said.

  “What look?”

  “That look.” He pointed at her contorted face; making her frown even more.

  “I don’t have a look.” She said assertive.

  “You gave me that look a lot when we were together. It either means I did something wrong or that you stumbled upon something I did wrong a while ago. Which one is it?”

  “Neither.” Sarah said.

  “Well, you’re still giving me that look.”

  Sarah unfolded her arms and relaxed her face a bit. She hated it when he wanted to argue with her about nonsense. She wasn’t as uptight as he made her out to be – It was his immature lifestyle that made her uptight and ultimately led to their divorce. She needed someone who was reliable and mature while he was neither.

  “This isn’t about us for once.” Sarah said, “I’m not talking to you as your ex-wife. I’m talking to you as your Dean. I need you to come with me.”

  “Sounds serious.” Jack said.

  They left the lecture hall and went into the corridor and almost drowned in the sea of students. The students in the hallways never paid attention to lecturers that passed them and didn’t really care much what they talked about either.

  “It is serious.” Sarah said.

  Some students glanced at them as they walked by, but most of them ignored the old people who scurried down the hallway like cockroaches scurrying away from light.

  “You should lighten up.” Jack joked, “Take a vacation somewhere exotic. Have some cocktails. All the stress of work is making you a dull person.”

  They turned into another hallway and walked towards Sarah’s office at the end of the hallway.

  “Can you stop making jokes for one second?” Sarah asked annoyed.

  Jack took a deep breath. Maybe he had to turn it down a notch.

  “Why he wants to see you is beyond me.” Sarah sighed.

  She pushed open her door and motioned for Jack to enter.

  “Who?” Jack asked intrigued.

  Sarah closed her office door when they entered. Jack spotted two Federal Agents sitting at her desk with their backs to them. One of them stood up and held out his hand.

  “Professor White, I presume?” The agent asked.

  “Depends on who is presuming.” Jack said concerned.

  Were his lectures that bad that the Federal government was investigating him? Who would stoop that low to make a Federal case against him for a boring lecture? Jack chuckled at his amusing thought, but composed himself when he saw the baffled face before him.

  “Agent Peter Smith.” The agent introduced himself and flashed a badge.

  Jack shook the man’s hand, but was still confused as to what was happening.

  “What agency? FBI? NSA? Homeland?” Jack asked.

  “All of them.” Agent Smith said blunt.

  Jack glanced at Sarah and then back at the agent, “Sarah was right. This is serious.”

  “Professor, I’m here because you are deemed the best in your field.” Agent Smith said.

  “The best in my field?” Jack asked, still a bit confused.

  “Your field of expertise… The unexplained.”

  “Better than Fox Mulder?” Jack asked
with a smile.

  “Who?”

  “Fox Mulder.” Jack teased, “Only the greatest FBI agent to ever live…”

  After a few seconds, he realized that the Agent might not be the biggest fan of old TV shows that one might only see as reruns on cable TV. He was the same age as Jack so it was safe to presume that the agent would’ve been old enough to remember such a great TV show.

  “The X-files.” Jack said, “One of the best TV series of all time? It’s quite accurate if you think about it, except the one episode that was written by Stephen King – you know; the one about the monkey toy that killed people? That’s obviously fiction stretched to its limits.”

  Agent Smith looked at him with a blank face and then turned to Sarah. She raised her shoulders and sighed out of frustration. She was at a loss for words for her ex-husband’s nerdish behavior.

  “Does he always joke around like this?” Agent Smith asked annoyed.

  “Oh, he’s just warming up.” Sarah assured the agent.

  Agent Smith turned back to Jack – his blank expression lingered and Jack was unable to read the agent nor could he tell how much trouble he was in.

  “I need you to come with us.” Agent Smith said.

  “Go where?” Jack asked.

  “It’s a matter of national security. For your own safety I can’t reveal the location.”

  “For my own safety?” Jack asked confused, “Are you going to whack me? You’re going to off me, right? Did I stumble upon something I shouldn’t have while giving one of my lectures?”

  Agent Smith didn’t respond.

  “Are you taking me to Guantanamo Bay?” Jack asked.

  “Professor, please.” Agent Smith said and motioned towards the