The Foresight Saga

 

“SOMETHING disturbs your thoughts, I fancy,” prompted Bracegirdle.

 

“Just thinking of the distances we travel, yet how far we still have to sail as men,” replied Hornblower, looking out thoughtfully to the horizon.

 

After the celebratory tot of rum, Horatio Hornblower went up to his cabin and layed down for a hard-earned rest. Whew! What a great couple of years it had been. First, he joined the Navy with all signs of sea-sickness, and on top of that, he was not very welcomed by his fellow shipmates, most of all Simpson. Thank goodness for Clayton and Archie! Except, he didn’t really like thinking about Clayton and Archie anymore, because now they were gone. One definitely dead, and the other most certainly dead.

 

One would think that bullies didn’t exist anymore once one had left school, but that was obviously not the case. Simpson was a bully, and he was the worst kind. Everyone knows that the English and French are enemies, but imagine being unliked by your own kind.

 

Hornblower had managed to totally ruin the capture/voyage of the Marie Galante, but still, at least he had reached the Indefatigable with his head and body still intact. Then he helped out with the capture of the Papillon, in a most heroic manner, in which Simpson made a brutal assassination attempt. Finally, Pellew shot Simpson once and for all, and the horror finally ended.

 

But then, Hornblower had just faced more difficulties. Dealing with a difficult crewman who had a troubled soul and then finding that you’d actually managed to kill him by accident was certainly not the thing one would like to brag about. The Plague, pompous Captains, failing your examination for Lieutenant, and steering a Fire Ship – no wonder they said that the Royal Navy was full of adventures.

 

From a modern-day point of view, people in everyday jobs probably find that it is quite essential to develop people skills and deal with all kinds of personalities. Well, for Horatio Hornblower it was no exception.

 

Hornblower wondered what it would be like to be a lieutenant. No doubt that it would be an even harder task, hence, “Just thinking of the distances we travel, yet how far we still have to sail as men.”

 

Just then, a great big breeze flew over the Indy. It was so great that it made Hornblower sit up. Winds roaring, rain pouring, and hail forming. Thunder cracked and lightning struck. “What the-?” said Horatio in disbelief.

 

Just as he said this, a big smoky cloud appeared in his very cabin in front of him, and out from it emerged a voice.

 

Hornblower blinked his eyes and rubbed ‘em just to make sure he wasn’t delirious.

 

“I have something to tell you, Mr Hornblower!” said the deep, manly voice.

 

Hornblower said nothing, flabbergasted.

 

“You and your friend Archie will meet again. But it will be a most difficult test of friendship! And after all that, you will be made Lieutenant and have to side up with the French royalists. Your female friend will di-  Er, sorry. I really must go.”

 

“What? Archie? Female friend?” queried Hornblower.

 

With that, the cloud disappeared.

 

****

 

The next morning, Hornblower woke up with the sunlight from the cabin window glittering in his face. In a moment, he vaguely recalled certain words that were said in the previous mysterious conversation.

 

‘I must have been dreaming’, thought Hornblower. And with that, having dismissed it, he got up to eat breakfast. Before long, he had completely and utterly forgot all about this strange vision that he had.

 

Over the next few years, Hornblower got stuck in a Spanish prison in Cadiz, (‘Oh well; I was bound to eventually get captured by the enemy at some stage,’ Hornblower managed to find time to think), met up with his ‘little pal’ Archie, coaxed him back to health, made friends with a Duchess, fell in favour with his Captain, was made Lieutenant, had to side up with The French Royalists, and work with the Leader (and Earl) of the British Army, Major Edrington to repel the French Republicans. Total disaster, of course – even Great Pellew knew that it was doomed from the start. And then there was Mariette. (NO! How could this have happened!?) The blow had just seemed too much to bear.

 

Hornblower began to slowly find his feet again and overcome his shattered state, with the help of his best friend Archie Kennedy, whom Edrington had instructed to “just look after him”.

 

****

 

On one particular night, Hornblower was alone in his cabin and it was pouring down rain; another thunderstorm about to erupt. Just then, a big smoky cloud appeared in his very cabin in front of him, and out from it emerged a voice.

 

Hornblower blinked his eyes and rubbed ‘em just to make sure he wasn’t delirious.

 

“I have something to tell you, Mr Hornblower!” said the deep, manly voice.

 

Hornblower said nothing, flabbergasted.

 

“You and your friend Archie will be transferred to another ship in a couple of years’ time, under the command of the great hero of the Nile: Captain James Sawyer!!! But this will not be so lovely as it appears to be. Sawyer will go increasingly, murderously mad, and turn against YOU and ARCHIE, and all who are on your side. Before, it was Simpson who caused you troubles, but at least your superior, Captain Pellew, sorted it out in the end – This time, it will be your SUPERIOR who’s turned against you. It will be a most difficult time, more difficult than any of the others. You will have to face a Court-Marshal for a supposed crime that you did. But most of all your bestest and dearest friend Archie will…will…..”

 

“What?,” asked Hornlower, suddenly inquisitive.

 

“Well, you know…”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

“Well, what is the opposite of ‘live’? ”

 

“Die”.

 

“Well, there you go. Oh, and before I forget - you will also be promoted to Commander of the Retribution in spite of it all.”

 

The voice and cloud disappeared. This time, before Hornblower had a chance to dismiss the vision, blaming it on the draft, his mind got the better of him. In a split second Hornblower’s intellect searched too far, and tried to make some sense of what the voice had said. Hornblower then understood. “Archie will DIE?!!! NO! I SIMPLY CANNOT BELIEVE IT! NO! NEVER! NO! DEAR FRIEND, ARCHIE!!!!” It kept continuing for a little while after that.

 

“……Horatio! Horatio! MR. HORNBLOWER, WAKE UP!!!!! You’re just having a bad dream!”

 

“What? Where –”

 

“It’s all right, I’m here, Horatio!,” said a very calm and soothing and familiar voice.

 

“ARCHIE!! OH ARCHIE!! THANK GOODNESS YOU’RE HERE!!!!” cried Hornblower, and he hugged Archie really tightly.

 

Kennedy was not really sure what to make of Horatio’s state of mind, but he hugged Horatio back. “Yes, I am here, Horatio,” said Kennedy.

 

Hornblower then burst into a big, long story about what he had seen the night before.

 

“…But it was real, Archie!” said Hornblower time and time again.

 

“Look, I’m not going to die, okay?” said Archie after a while. Deep down, he knew he couldn’t really guarantee this, but he got tired of listening to Horatio’s gross apprehensions. He was desperate to calm him down.

 

“But how can you be so sure?” asked Horatio.

 

“I just know. Look at me - I’m as fit as a fiddle,” replied Archie with half a laugh.  Then there was an uneasy silence between them.

 

“Look, I will NOT DIE, ALL RIGHT!!!!” prompted Kennedy, “And anyway, ANYONE of us here in the Navy has a sure chance of dying – you, me, even Captain Pellew - it would be foolish to try and suppose it would be me.” Just after he said this, Kennedy suddenly felt both weird and supreme, because he never knew he could speak such wise words – or at least – give the impression of speaking wise words.

 

Hornblower was obviously convinced, because he calmed down after that, much to the relief of Mr. Kennedy.

 

After a while longer, when they both sat in thoughtful silence, Hornblower said, “Well, I’m glad that this supposed ‘vision’ I had was just a dream.”

 

“Yes, me too,” said Kennedy in an uncaring, mechanical sort of way.

 

“…Although, it did say….that I would be promoted to Commander.”

 

Kennedy looked up. “Oh – I am SO sorry that that part won’t come true!” he said half-sarcastically; half-apologetically. Horatio smiled.

 

“Okay, I can live with that part not coming true – at least, not until I’m a much older man, I suppose,” Hornblower said.

 

Kennedy just peered at him, raising his eyebrows.

 

“All right, all right, I will shut up now,” said Hornblower.

 

And they totally forgot all about the second strange vision that Hornblower mysteriously had.

 

 

THE END