The darkness hugged the road on either side, but farther ahead---beyond the crest---shone a soft, blue glow...As the transport continued its descent, the blue light slowly faded until they were once again surrounded by the dense darkness...[The travelers drove deeper into the forbidden Outlands. After many treacherous switchbacks, they crossed a rushing stream and soon found a narrow gate.]

The gate opened just wide enough, and they passed through to the other side. Immediately a brilliant blue light surrounded them, so bright they had to shield their eyes...The gravel road turned briefly to the right before making a wide circle...At the bottom of the loop, stood a stone and wood canopy. Nothing else. **

Since The Company's release, I've been asked about the mysteries in the book. Being an allegory, the story is filled with them, hopefully encouraging readers to dig a little deeper for the hidden messages. One concerns the blue light. I won't reveal everything here, but I'll give you a clue as to why the light is blue.

In 1842, a fellow by the name of Christian Doppler explained an interesting phenomenon. Suppose you hear the whistle of an approaching train. The sound has an increasingly higher pitch, but as soon as the train passes, it dramatically changes to an increasingly lower pitch. Why? Is the train evil? Are the engineers possessed? Possibly, but that has nothing to do with the explanation.

The whistle we hear is the result of sound waves streaming from the train to our ears. The pitch depends on the wave length. The longer the length, the deeper the pitch. The shorter the length, the higher the pitch. As the train rushes toward you, the sound waves get bunched up and their length is shortened. So the whistle seems to have a higher pitch. But as the train rushes away, the wave lengths are stretched, making the whistle appear to have a lower pitch.

A similar effect occurs with light. Each color of light has a different wave length. If a light source moves away from you, the light waves are stretched and there's a shift in color toward red, which has longer wave lengths. The result is more intense if the source and you are both moving away. Now you're probably wondering, "This is all fascinating, but what's the deal with the blue light?"

If you and a source of light draw toward each other, the compressed light appears as a color with a shorter wave length. This is known as the blue shift. The faster you come together, the more intense the color.

In the world of The Company, six men and women leave the safety of their village and venture into the ominous darkness of the Outlands. Nearing their destination, they begin to see a faint blue glow. But when they arrive, the blue light has become brilliant, almost blinding, and engulfs them.

In our world, there is also a Light that shines in the darkness (John 1:5), one that gives us a better hope, through which we draw near to God (Hebrews 7:19). So each day, draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). And as you draw near to His Light, may you find it brilliant and blue.

By the way, this March 18 Beverly and I will have been married for thirty-five wonderful years. I dedicate this Note to her---the one I rush to in good times and bad---the true blue love of my life.