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It was strangely silent, here among the stars. Not that he expected anything else, John always knew that Musica Universalis was just a philosophical concept not a real thing. He also proved this theory on Sagitta. But the silence on Nautilus was nearly deafening and when Dakkar wasn´t playing his organ John tried to make as much sound as possible. Passing the time hoping that at one point, far away from the Earth, the stars would start to sing. He longed to hear the universe vibrate in harmony, then he would have something to think about other than this situation. Then he would believe that there is something like a harmony and not just constant change and lost. Then he would confirm what Pythagoras and Kepler believed in, because saying it frankly he lost all of his own believes that all proved wrong.
The music Dakkar played today was hauntingly beautiful and John wandered who he had to lose to write such a piece. He didn´t noticed that he started try to figure out the notes, moving his fingers along with Dakkar´s music the way his father thought him. Or at least tried because John and art never went along. Smile crept on his face when he noticed, first one since Samuel´s death. Music and death, that could bring him to only one thought – what become of my father? William Herschel was left behind without his son, without answers, waiting for their reunion in death. Did he as John, look up towards Sagitta hoping he is talking to the one he lost? Did he ever return to music because astronomy suddenly didn´t feel enough to deal with reality? Did he ever write a composition in his memory? If he did it would be in D minor as was custom, and it would be repurposed requiem his father wrote for himself, for sure. Would he then write a new one for himself or tried to cling to the idea of his son and just add new motive? Like that they would be interweave together, connected by music for eternity. Or was he too absorbed in his work to notice John´s absence? With no possible disappointment from his son, it would be no longer needed to pretend that he cared.
Questions always lead to other questions and soon John was left thinking about what become of him. Well, more accurately what become of his memory, his legacy. He stopped being John Hershel when they skipped forward in time. Or was he John Herschel but a different one? Either way John Herschel that Earth knew, died when the Sagitta was launched to the space, that was a fact. He died young without being able to show the world who he really was. With all of his books he managed to say so little.
He will be remembered as great professor, for sure… hopefully. His pupils always liked him; especially when he left for his expeditions to the other side of the world. Maybe at least one of them will remember how kind he was, that he cared about them and wished them the best. One of them could remember the proud smile that crept on his face when his students did something right. Or perhaps not, because after all he was just one of the professors and your name alone can´t make students care about you. For most of them he was another boring person, talking to them from up high trying to make them feel stupid. How he hoped that the last part was not true. How he wished he did more for his students.
Navy could remember his name. It would be the most impersonal legacy one would carry, but still, someone would use his methods. His article in A Manual Of Scientific Enquiry on meteorology was definitely not meant to be something remarkable, but it was practical and what is better legacy then something that can bring use to others? By that logic John Herschel would be remembered as monument to scientific method. Was that what he wanted? He was definitely proud of Preliminary discourse, and that book was slowly turning to model of modern scientific method. Yet, the thought of his “dispute” with Charles Darwin over its use made him more thrilled than the theory itself. He was not a monument - he liked to move, he loved to discuss, he liked to push the limits of the knowledge – that is what should be his legacy. This need to know, to share. He never got enough time to prove it to the word and slowly his name will be covered with moss of academia. Same way he forgot names of old academics, people will forget his.
All of these aspects will be lost in the biggest legacy of all. No one will ever talk about his miscommunication with Charles Dickens, because everyone will talk about Great Astronomical Discoveries. Until they will be disproven, of course. After some time, the only thing people will talk about will be the Sagitta. Sagitta on which he died. He will be the men who travelled to space to create new satellite. The problem with that, is that he is still alive and far away from Sagitta. Back on Ellen Austin Morgan told him what story people created around the whole incident. It was filled with adventure, danger and wonder. All of that was true but not enough. It made John understand that one should not live long enough to know his legacy. Thinking back to Epic of Gilgamesh, he spent some time pondering the concept of the legacy itself. Were the people in the story really who we know them to be now? Would we recognize them if we met them? Is legacy similar to the Ship of Theseus – do the same parts equate to same object?
At the end he did not recognize himself in either of the options he thought of. It filed him with sorrow over himself; in a way he truly died and there was nothing he could do about how he will be remembered. But why should he be sad about it? Nicolaus Copernicus had his legacy ruined by a priest who decided to edit his masterpiece. For many years people believed that great Copernicus thought about his work as theories not facts. His legacy had to wait for Johannes Kepler to be restored and since then no one would ever doubt the position of Copernicus in the history of Astronomy. Well, these feelings of sadness were probably there because John didn´t published masterpiece and there will be no one who would be able to tell his real story. Who on Earth would believe that John Herschel travelled in time and in Space.
There will be not a single soul who will know how much he loves Rose, that he got to travel with her among the stars. That made him even more sad, again being remembered for great deeds was amazing; being remembered as person who loved, who cared was better. Caroline will be remembered for her loyalty to his father, how he envied her. He would give all of academical credit and legacy to have this kind of story to his name.
It was strangely silent, here among the stars. John Herschel cried as Dakkar played last notes of his composition. He hoped the stars will start to sing now, playing the requiem for John Herschel.