The Colony Ship Eschaton: The entire ten book series, page 43
“Roxanne?” Michael said. “What is your location?” There was a long pause. The image of Dome 17 faded on the screen. A dull flat gray illumination replaced it. “Theta Four, please identify the last artificial intelligence,” Michael said. There was no response. Michael repeated his order, this time venting the building frustration he felt.
Jamie sat down. “I guess we are alone for the ride.”
They rode in silence for a while, watching the green on the display screen. Michael considered kicking the side of the vehicle, but then recalled how very hard permalloy was and restrained himself. He then imagined cutting into the display screen with the molecular saw to get at Theta Four. Then the vehicle came to a stop, and reversed.
“Looks like we are here,” Regina said.
Michael withdrew his knife, and Jamie already had the Willie Wacker projectile weapon in her hand. Both Jamie and Michael were recalling their last adventures and did not want to be ambushed yet again. The door opened. There was a sudden blast of air which blew into the transport. Lights, smells and sounds also entered the vehicle.
Jamie pushed the green button on the automacube but kept the Willie Wacker aimed at the door. The yellow automacube rolled ahead of the people and out of the transport. Michael stepped out. He was standing on a permalloy landing which led out to an amazing site. Jamie joined him, carefully keeping watch from side to side while aiming the Willie Wacker. Regina followed. Just after she stepped from the transport, the portal door slammed shut. She whirled around and looked at the closed door and the frame around it.
“Theta Four?” Regina asked, her brown ponytail blowing in the moving air. She looked at the portal set into the permalloy wall. There was only one door, and the display screen next to it was backlit but in a weak greenish hue. “Theta Four?” Regina asked again. She felt the wall looking for some mechanism or control. There was no response. There did not seem to be any controls, but Regina knew that controls were not always obvious here on the Eschaton. Often the controls were of unknown design.
“I think we have a problem...” Regina said as she turned around to see what Michael and Jamie were looking toward. She did not complete her thought, for they had been suddenly altered by what she saw.
The three of them looked out at a huge area covered over by water. The landing they stood on only went a few dozen paces out away from the portal and then was stopped by the body of water. The water was moving, bouncing up and down in pointy ways. Some of the tops of the watery points seemed to turn whitish color. The water was clear near the permalloy landing, and they could see that the landing just went on downward into the water at an angle.
“I can’t believe there is this much water anywhere,” Michael said.
“John’s going to have to come and see this thing,” Jamie added.
“I think that is, what is it called, a 'sea’ or something. It is so big... so much water,” Regina said.
After a few minutes of just staring at the water with its bouncing pointy waves, they looked around a bit more. On either side of the portal door, there were bridges built from permalloy that went along the wall to both sides. At the end of those bridges, there was land, but it was no more than fifty paces from wall to water. The other side was the same.
The sky tube here shone straight away from where they were standing. Its light was reflected back up off the water. It was a long straight line of light receding into the far distance. But the light was dimming.
“It reminds me of the cataract. I think we are standing at the end of this habitat,” Jamie observed.
“Yes, that is the way it looks. But I cannot see anything except water straight ahead. It is hard to believe this much water is here.” Michael said the awe still in his voice.
“It is called Secondary Aquatic. Is the Primary Aquatic even bigger?” Regina asked.
While they stood gaping at the sight before them, the automacube had turned to the right and crossed the bridge to the land. It stood on its six wheels just past the bridge. The people finally saw where it had gone and followed. The land was covered in knee high grasses which were soft and pliable. The grass ran from the wall and almost to the edge of the water. There was rocky, bare soil along the edge. Not the sand like in tropical but more of a dirt covered by thumb sized rocks of various colors. The water lapped at the rocks. Along the edge of the grass was, what had once been a roadway of some kind. There were weeds poking up from its hard packed dirt and rocks, but clearly at one time this had been used as some kind of avenue for travel.
The sky tube was fading quickly now as Michael turned to the others. “I think we better sleep here for the night. I have no idea if it is safe or not, so we will need to stand watch. I will take the first watch.” Michael walked to the automacube. The green ‘PROCEED’ button was flashing. He pushed the red ‘HALT’ button, and the light in both buttons dimmed to a dull glow.
They opened their backpacks and ate a food ration, mostly of foods which came from the habitat. All the people from the dome were running low on the food ration bars which they had eaten their entire lives. But the dried meats, fruits and breads prepared by the people of Antioch were the substitute they were using.
As it became dark in Habitat Eight, Secondary Aquatic, a remarkable thing happened. Behind where the sky light hung in the top of the habitat was a section of transparent permalloy. When the sky tube was completely extinguished, they could see out of the ship and into the real sky. Regina had never seen real stars before. She had only seen them in data stick presentations. Michael and Jamie had seen them for a bit from the FTL scout ship but seeing them here was very different.
The stars cast a glow down from the top of the habitat, which lit up the area with a silvery glow. After their eyes adjusted, they could see night birds flying above the waters. And the air was still moving like the dust filled winds outside of Dome 17. Both Jamie and Michael knew what that was like, but again, the wind was new to Regina. And this wind carried moistness, not dust or deadly radiation.
Michael sat cross legged, watched, listened, and wondered. “What kind of wonderful place is this?” he murmured.
13 Enter the Gath
Joel and Jacob were jabbering along as they walked. They were thrilled to be on an adventure, and even though they did not know Brink well, they looked up to him. After all, he was a good friend to Rectora Lydia, and he was friends with Michael and Jamie. They had just entered the forested area beyond the farm fields.
“So, why are you going to the edge of the world?" Joel asked.
“I need to discover something. I need to find an answer, and it can only be known where we are going,” Brink replied. "I need to answer an unknown."
“But what can you find out at the edge of the world?” Joel persisted. “We have been there lots of times and ran along it all the way to the springs and back.”
“Did you know that that place called the knobs was a door?” Brink asked.
“Are we going to the knobs?” Jacob asked. “That is a ways farther than the edge of the world.”
“Actually, we need to go to another place. That is, if you are brave enough to take me there,” Brink said. “Otherwise I can go back and ask an adult to take me there.”
“We took Jamie and Michael to lots of places; we are not afraid of going to the edge of the world,” Joel said. Jacob on the other had was beginning to suspect something was going on. He watched Brink out of the corner of his eye.
“Well, I need to go to the edge of the world where Michael and Jamie first came here. The place where they cut the bottom part of that door off. They were there twice, if I remember correctly. Do you know that place?”
Both Joel and Jacob looked at each other. They were quiet as they walked along.
“Well boys, I guess I will just go back and find a brave adult to take me there. Maybe Conner knows the way,” Brink stopped and started to turn back.
“Conner?” Joel started to laugh. “Conner does not know how to get anywhere.”
“Yeah, none of the Domers can find that place - well, maybe Jamie and Michael could - but no one else,” Jacob said. “But I am pretty sure I know where it is.” Jacob hesitated and thought deeply. He had heard the bigger RCs talking about how they had gone there, and some even claimed to have walked in the tunnels down inside. They told scary stories.
“We can find that place with you,” Joel added. His eagerness was infectious, as he skipped ahead.
“That place will take a while to get to,” Jacob said. “It is a long way away, and we can’t get there before dark.”
“Well, if you are afraid of the dark, then I better go back and get an adult,” Brink started heading back out of the forest. “I’m sorry. I thought you could do this, especially after how much Michael and Jamie praised your bravery. I guess they were wrong.”
“Hey! I’m not afraid!” Jacob yelled at Brink. “I just wanted you to know we won’t get there right away. Of course, we can show you that place. Come on, Joel, let’s run out to the creek! We will wait for you there.”
The two boys ran ahead and stopped at the banks of the creek which emerged from the forest. Brink walked briskly along following them. He knew he had them convinced, and they had not even considered running back to inform their father. The equation worked out, so this step was calculated. Brink joined the boys at the bank of the creek. There were some colorful birds floating on the top of the creeks water. Their webbed feet were paddling them around. “So do we go back into the forest here, or what?” Brink asked.
“Naw, we need to follow this creek down to where the fish farms are, and then head to the other forest,” Jacob said.
“So, we go by Gath and can see all the dead bodies,” Joel said with a mixture of eagerness and trepidation.
“There are no dead bodies in Gath,” Jacob argued. “Rectora Lydia said so. Those bandits were banished... But Gath is on the way to that place you want to go.” Jacob looked to Brink. Jacob felt guilty at talking about Gath. That was forbidden, but the Domers did not do things the regular way.
“Lead on,” Brink said.
They continued to walk along next to the perfectly straight stream. The ducks flew off as they walked by. The boys explained how the ducks were not as good to eat as chickens but were tasty if you could catch one. The walking was easy, for the grass alongside the stream was fairly uniform. The boys told Brink all about each of the animals they would see. They caught sight of a couple of hares which ran off very quickly and some muskrats in the stream. And at one point far off several bison were seen grazing on the prairie grasses.
“You can’t get too close to them,” Jacob said, recalling his father’s words of warning. “The bison are protective of their calves. You get too close and they will charge and trample you. Unless you are on a hunt, stay away from them.” Jacob had changed his voice to imitate his father.
Brink was impressed and surprised with the amount of knowledge the boys had about all the wildlife. They seemed to know all the names for every animal, and they knew the animal’s habits and behaviors. The boys also seemed to just openly share the same kind of information about the plants and other things as well. At one point, the boys stopped and showed Brink a small bush, which was growing along the edge of the stream. They picked the mulberries off the bush and ate them. Brink would have preferred to have them tested and analyzed, but he trusted the boy’s knowledge. The berries were strong but good tasting. Like all the foods in this habitat, this was another new sensation for Brink. He had trouble wrapping his mind around the idea that food could just be plucked up and eaten.
When they reached Abigail’s fish farm, Brink looked at the pools and the ponds and was impressed. John had described them to him, but he had not ever walked out to see them. He imagined that John and Abigail were about to arrive back at their home at any minute, and he did not want those adults to question where he was going. That was not part of this equation.
“Boys, how do we get to Gath from here?” Brink asked.
The boys had never been to Gath and had only heard where it was from the whispered conversations with the other RCs, for no one was supposed to talk about the cleansing of Gath which the legionnaires had done in order to address the problem of the bandits. “It is this way. But it will be dark when we get there,” Jacob said.
“Let’s wait here instead,” Joel added. His eagerness was a bit shaken now that the idea of being at Gath in the darkness was in front of him.
“I have a light, and we can stay in a place in Gath. You know the lights I set up in the town square, well this light is not as big as those, but it will still be enough light,” Brink said.
“But the dead bodies and the stories...” Joel said with a quiver in his voice.
“I tell you what, if there are any dead bodies in Gath, we will turn right around and walk back home, even if I have to carry you both all the way,” Brink said. He opened his backpack and took out the fusion pack. “I will even carry this in my hands and turn on the light right away whenever you tell me to. Is it a deal?” In Brink’s mind this was just a slight variable in the series of equations, and was not at all a problem.
“Okay, but...” Joel began. He was interrupted by his older brother.
“The stories are just to frighten little RCs anyways. You know that right?” Jacob was trying to sound older and less frightened than he was. He was looking at Brink’s fusion pack and did not want to show fear in front of Brink. “So come on, let's race to those trees down that way.” Jacob ran off at his fastest run.
“No fair, you got a head start...” Joel ran after him.
Brink walked along, holding the fusion pack and looking ahead toward the village of Gath. As he walked, he recalled that Jamie and Michael had spent a night in Gath, not long after coming onboard the Eschaton. They did not speak much about that night, but Lydia, in her private moments had spoken about Gath with him. How the Rector, Robert, had pushed for the cleansing and banishment of the bandits. Lydia’s mother, Rectora Hazel, had gone along with it but was insistent that minimal force be used. From what Lydia had said, Brodie and the other bandits had already frightened off most of the actual villagers of Gath. Then, when those bandits were confronted by the superior force of the legionnaires, they had submitted to the banishment without much fight.
The sky tube light dimmed, and it was becoming dusk when they entered Gath. The boys were tired and less than enthusiastic. By now they were realizing just how far from home they really were. The silence and coming darkness and staying in Gath were foreboding. Gath had about a dozen buildings, all situated around the streams which flowed into the village.
“I do not see any dead bodies,” Brink announced, and the boys nodded their heads. Joel let out a long breath in relief.
“This place does not have the hard metal for cabins, like in Antioch,” Jacob said. He seemed to get less nervous when he was explaining what he knew. He pointed to the long straight beams of wood which were laid horizontally to build the small building. “Those are from the poplar trees. The poplars grow fast and straight, and the wood is good for building. They have big wide leaves.”
“I have woven thatch out of straw,” Joel said as he pointed to the roofs. “Sometimes Papa makes a lean-to for the animals to shelter in during birthing times."
Indeed, Brink saw that the roofs of the few buildings in Gath were made from some kind of fibrous stalk that was woven together into sections which overlapped each other. Occasionally, there was a doorway with a stoutly made door, or window space, with closing shutters. But Gath was far more primitive than Antioch. Brink wondered how anyone could ever live in such a backward place.
“Let’s use this one,” Brink said pointing at a small building which had a stone chimney. It was the only one he saw that had such stonework. He assumed that would be for some kind of fireplace. He turned on the fusion pack's light as they entered the small house.
“I will start a fire for us. Joel, you gather some wood,” Jacob said and pointed at the side of the building where there was a small stack of logs. Jacob went to the fireplace and arranged the materials he needed. There was a small pot filled with dried bark which he crushed and used to make a kindling nest. Then taking out his fire-starter he struck a spark into the kindling, and it grew into a small flame. Joel brought a couple logs in, and together they carefully made the small flame into a fire. The firelight danced its orange and yellow glow around the small room.
“See boys, this is not bad at all,” Brink said and sat on the floor.
The fire did make the room seem more comfortable, and Brink and the boys ate their food while sitting on the dirt floor. The boys, while excited and anxious, were tired from the long journey and soon fell asleep.
Brink stared into the firelight and did mental mathematical calculations as he drifted off to sleep.
14 Moving the hearts of men.
Something awoke Brink, and he swung his legs down from his bed. It was dark, so he walked over and entered the small bathroom off his apartment. The lights came up, and he shook his head to clear the fog of his mind. He toileted, and then used the sanitary foam to cleanse himself.
