Chapter 2: Entertainment, A Beginning...

Proverbs 2: 1–5

“My son, if you receive my Words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

Moose spreads himself out across the commissary table — papers, Bibles, and half-finished notes scattered like a theologian’s toolkit mid-flight.  Willing and able, Art-bot and Q-bot had helped him jury-rig a workstation for a working lunch.  Now the three of them sit bunched close around the table, coffee in hand, the ship humming softly beneath their feet.  Four Bibles are stacked neatly to his right — one open, one marked, two waiting their turn.  The holo-terminal for CS01 rises from the center of the table, its blue light casting soft reflections off steel and Scripture alike.

Moose squints across the commissary at the corner, where Ms. Coffee stands quiet — stoic, watchful, like a small monument to caffeine and patience.  “Art-bot,” Moose says, eyeing the machine with suspicion, “see if Ms. Coffee would mind another pot.”

Art-bot’s head tilts slightly, cyan seams flickering.  “Request acknowledged, Captain,” she says, her tone warm and amused.

Q-bot hums from her perch beside the terminal.  “Prrrrrish. Reiportaliszz hariumsle it it,” she chirps, optics blinking. “Cooooooor.”

Moose leans back and pulls the brim of his red cap low.  “She’s tougher than she looks,” he mutters.  He pauses, eyes drifting back to the open Bible, pages fluttering under the steady pulse of recycled air.  “I want to talk to everyone about entertainment.”  He flips to a new page, the thin paper catching the light.  “But first, I want to start with the definition of entertainment. Q-bot, if you will… Art-bot, ready?”

Ms. Coffee sputters to life, the first groans of percolation filling the quiet.  The smell of brewing cuts through the ship’s sterile air, warm and grounding.  Q-bot’s optics flare as the holo-display flickers to life, light painting across her metallic face.

Entertainment: (noun)

- Amusement or diversion provided especially by performers; something diverting or engaging such as a public performance, usually a light comic or adventure novel

- The act of entertaining

Entertain: (verb)

- To show hospitality to

- To provide entertainment for

- To keep, hold, or maintain the mind, to receive and take into consideration

- To play against (an opposing team) on one’s home field or court

“The question for the day,” Moose says as he pours himself some coffee and gently replaces the carafe, “the question for the day is: what is it that we entertain ourselves with?”  He takes a sip and winces.  “Phew! Hot coffee.”

He pulls his hat brim low and takes his seat again, pulling the open Bible closer.  “Q-bot and Art-bot have been kind enough to put together a graphic and some definitions for us.  Entertainment is defined as amusement or diversion — something diverting.”  He glances toward the display, the blue light gleaming against his tired features.

“The question is: diversion from what?”

Matthew 22: 37–40

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

“So,” Moose says, sipping. “A diversion from what? Because…”

He closes his eyes and recites from memory, his voice slow and sure — the rhythm of an old truth meeting new stars.  Q-bot chirps softly as she logs the verse.  Art-bot stands still, her seams pulsing faintly in rhythm with the ship’s hum.  Ms. Coffee gurgles approval from her corner, steam drifting like incense.

Isaiah 26: 3

“Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace who keeps his mind stayed on Thee for he trusteth in Thee.”

“And Deuteronomy, which Jesus is quoting in our passage above,” Moose continues, “says the same. And let’s not forget Joshua.”

Joshua 1: 1–9

“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying; ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them — the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’”

Moose exhales through his nose, the steam from his coffee curling between the words.  “So. Like I was saying — the question is, what are we entertaining ourselves with?”  A faint chill sweeps through the commissary, whispering through the vents.  Ms. Coffee answers with one last spurt and a hiss of steam, filling the silence.