by Jack L Knapp
“No. I suspect he’s a descendant of my time. Can’t be sure, of course, not unless that new development....”
“What new development?”
“I shouldn’t mention it, but it doesn’t matter. You can’t use the information. There may, and I emphasize may, be a way around that energy requirement I mentioned, the one that keeps us from traveling into the future. One solution to the equations implies that it can be done, though it’s not accepted by the scientific mainstream. The main proponent of the theory is considered a crackpot.
“Anyway, if we can do that, we might just go visit the people who transplanted you. They’ve got a few things we could use. Research slowed during the Bad Times and nearly stopped during the Final War, except for weaponry. And we could solve their problem, the one he told you about. All the transplants apparently got the same story, so it might be true. Anyway, our birth rate is fairly high and our people are still quite ambitious. It wouldn’t take much for us to take over that future civilization. It’s what they want anyway, right?”
“Maybe. What happens to us?”
“You have a world that we really don’t need. I suspect you’ll be left here to make of it what you will. This dimension might even be quarantined; it’s happened before. And you’ve got no place to go back to anyway.
“That manager I mentioned only put the mine here rather than on another timeline because he thought he could use cheap transplant labor. The new management is using people from my time. We ship our own food here and don’t interact with locals.”
“What about the animals? Do they bother you?”
“They don’t bother us,” Chief said. Matt glanced at the heavy rifle over Chief’s shoulder. A closer look revealed several small holes on each side of the barrel’s end.
Muzzle brakes, he thought. I wonder what caliber that thing is?
Matt stood aside with Chief and let Colin and Margrette butcher the carcass. This one was a young male buffalo, heavy with muscle, and with a thick layer of fat over the spine. Margrette trimmed most of the fat from the animal and laid it aside; it would be boiled down later for making soap. Some would be given to Sal for making into axle grease by adding dissolved beeswax.
“Any cuts of meat you prefer?”
“Why don’t you pick one for me?”
“Sure. I prefer the backstraps, but I try not to always insist on it. I take a turn with the other people that like it. The backstraps are big enough to feed half a dozen people so you can have a cut. Some prefer roasts anyway, and Margrette’s good at making those. A couple of people insist that the tongue is best, and there’s a school of thought that insists that nothing’s better than a T-bone steak. And as soon as the arguments die down, we’ll have a llama or a camel for supper next time and then it starts again. Personally, I think the sheep are the best eating, but we don’t bag many of those. Rabbit and squirrel are good, turkey too, but most of the time we don’t bother. They’re too small and take too much time and work when you’ve got a whole tribe of people to feed.”
“There was a woman named Margrette who worked at the mine before I got there. Her name was in the records. Is this the same one?”
“She worked there, yes. I wouldn’t ask her about it if I were you. It would be best if no one knew you had anything to do with the mine. All they know so far is that you’re from the future.”
“I can do that. Just tell people I came to recover the rifle and leave it at that. We never knew exactly what happened, except that all the people on duty were killed. The manager wasn’t there, of course. He stayed on Prime and sent someone cross-dimension to oversee the work.”
“The management recruited a bunch of people, and the ones that wouldn’t work, troublemakers mostly, they kept them around and gave them busywork so they wouldn’t cause even more trouble by raiding. Anyway, some of them began making alcohol and they got drunk. I don’t know all the particulars, but Colin forted up in the kitchen with Sal and their families. Robert brought them back and they joined us, been here ever since except for Colin’s daughter. She’s with a man named Tex. He’s starting a ranch south of here. We expect to have more horses by next spring if everything works out.”
“You have any trouble from people living south of here, across that arm of the Gulf?”
“Some. Not in the past month though.”
Chief looked speculatively at Matt. “We found where someone had chopped heads off after a battle. Would you know anything about that?”
Matt looked at him and remained silent.
“OK, good enough. It wouldn’t matter, but if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll understand. Is this your whole tribe?”
“Most of us, but we’ve got people out scouting and keeping watch. This is no country to wander around in, thinking you’re safe. We always have guards out and there’s an exploring party that went on ahead. We’re looking for a better place to build, someplace we can defend. Mammoths came stampeding through camp a while back and pretty-much wrecked everything.”
“I can imagine.”
The two men fell silent and watched the cooks work. Just as the men all took part in hunting and security duties, the women took their turn helping with this essential task.
Only Colin and Margrette were always present at the fire during mealtimes. A natural division of labor had taken place, with no need for planning.
Thick steaks were broiling over the coals. A mug of Margrette’s tea, boiled in one of the metal pots they’d brought from the mine, was soon ready for Matt and his guest. Chief saw the metal pot but said nothing.
“Do you expect to come this way again, Chief?”
“I doubt it. Fuel’s expensive and there’s no reason to come all the way out here. I’ll be busy around the mine for another year, and then someone else will take over my job.”
“We won’t be here. We’re moving on. We’ll find someplace soon where we can settle down.”
“Luck to you. I can’t help you, of course.”
“I understand. Looks like the food’s about ready. There’s an extra plate, but you’ll need to use your own knife.”
Lee rode into camp with Laz as they were finishing the simple meal.
“Chief, Lee’s our chief of scouts. Laz is his assistant.”
“Glad to meet you.”
“Likewise. You the one in that plane?”
“I was. We were due to make a survey next month, but I had a reason for looking this way. Matt had something that belonged to us.”
“They wanted the rifle, Lee. But you and I can talk after I see Chief back to his aircraft.”
“OK, Matt. We came back a little early.”
“I noticed. But we can talk later. Horses do all right?”
“They did fine. We picketed them near your horse. I figured that was all right and they like the company.”
“It’s fine, Lee. You can rest and we’ll talk when I get back. You ready to go, Chief?”
“Sure am. The jet’s not far, maybe a kilometer. We should go now if you want to get back before dark.”
“I’d just as soon. I’ve been out before after it got dark, but none of us like it. We do it when we must but it gives too much advantage to predators. Some of the cats hunt at night.”
“Let’s go, then.” Chief looked at a device on his wrist and pointed northwest. “The plane’s eight hundred ninety six meters away.”
Matt nodded and trotted away in the direction Chief had indicated. He set a fast pace and waited to see whether the other man could keep up. He could; he was breathing hard, but managed to still be on Matt’s heels when they came to a small clearing. The smell of burned fuel indicated the aircraft’s presence, but the mottled color pattern made it difficult to see.
“Good camouflage.”
“I suspect active camo was developed after your time. We use it, but people have lost their planes for a while if the wrist trackers get damaged. We’ve recovered all of the planes, so don’t look so hopeful!”
; “I doubt I could fly one anyway. Might be fun to try, though.”
“Matt, I can’t leave you a rifle but give me a second to talk to my flight crew. I might have a gift. That steak was tasty.”
Matt waited. Chief soon returned with a wrapped packet.
“All we could spare, Matt. Thanks for everything.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice flight back.”
“You take care, Matt. I probably won’t see you again, but...well, take care.”
Matt nodded and backed away to the side of the clearing.
Huge nozzles swung down beneath the craft and a loud whine grew into a muffled scream. A puff of smoke and then a burst of bright flame appeared before the craft rose into the air. High above, the nozzles pivoted to the craft’s rear and it accelerated eastward. Moments later it disappeared.
Matt heard the telltale sonic boom a minute later. Chief was on his way; Matt needed to be in camp himself. As he’d told Chief, this world was dangerous.
Lee and Laz materialized from cover after he’d gone about a hundred yards.
“Figured we might tag along. Just in case, you know. That fellow seemed friendly, but there was no reason to take chances.”
“Glad to see you. What say we hurry back to camp?”
The three set off, Lee leading, Matt behind him, Laz bringing up the rear. Whatever was in the packet rattled, a metallic sound. Matt wondered what Chief had given him, but he could wait. They’d be back at camp in a few minutes.
Chapter 37
Matt laid the package on the cart that held his few belongings and went back to the kitchen fire. The tribespeople had remained apart, but now they looked at Matt.
“You’ve probably figured out that he came from our future. He wanted the rifle and I gave it to him. It’s useless to us. The only reason I didn’t dump it was to keep it away from someone who might have ammunition. Anyway, it’s gone now and good riddance.”
Several people around the fire nodded. They gradually dispersed and went about their business.
Lee and Laz added meat to slabs of bread and sat down with Matt. Scouts, for that matter all of the tribe ate a lot of food. The work they did required the calories.
“I wanted to tell you what we found, Matt; I think it’s just what you’re looking for. We can get there in a week or so pulling the carts, and the only real problem will come after we get to the canyon.”
“Canyon, Lee?”
“Canyon or valley, Matt. There’s a river at the bottom of it like a valley, but the sides are fairly steep like a canyon. Anyway, we found a way down. Buffalo or maybe mammoths have worn a track down the side. It’s not as bad, following the animal trail as it would be if you tried to take the carts down somewhere else. There’s a good ford at the bottom too, where the big animals cross the river.
“The canyon walls are rocky, that limestone stuff you showed me. We went south after we crossed the river and the valley just kept getting wider. There’s a place south of the crossing that’s a mile wide and the western wall is undercut. We found another big place half a day’s ride further down the canyon. If you decide to build on the flats, there’s room enough to house everyone. Or you could build small homes under the overhang, at least for now. There’s a floor maybe thirty feet above the canyon bottom. It’s not level, but we could probably level it off with work.
“No mammoths are gonna stampede through there, and the high-water mark from the river is only about three feet up the canyon’s walls. That’s probably because the canyon keeps getting wider as you go south.
“There are springs coming out of the canyon walls and waterfalls too. It’s good water. Best of all, the canyon floor has game but not as much as we saw up on the surface. It’s flat up there and we saw big herds of buffalo. There are horses too and plenty of grass and water. We didn’t see any of the big predators, but I’m sure they’re there. There are mammoths and something else, a ground sloth or maybe that mastodon thing. It was too far away to tell for sure and we didn’t try to get closer.
“The canyon doesn’t run directly south. It’s more northeast to southwest and it bends around in several places.”
“You think it would be a good spot to settle?”
“It’s got food, shelter, water. I don’t know if lions or saber-tooths could climb up where we did, but some of the smaller cats could. The jaguars and mountain lions, the cougars, they can climb better than we can.
“We’d have to haul stone up to the cave, but there’s plenty of it on the ground. I’m guessing part of the limestone layers on that cliff just collapsed and fell down.
“If you want to see it for yourself, we can get there and back in about four days.”
“No, I’ll take your word for it. I’ll bring the tribe on. Leave Laz to serve as guide and you could take Sal and his crew on ahead with you. Let me talk to him first, but if he thinks the carts are good for that distance, we can do without him. You’ll move slower than you did last trip, but you’ll still get there before the rest of us. You could set up a place for us to camp while we’re building quarters.
“The only drawback I see is that we’re going to want to trade with other towns at some point. Right now we need a place we can defend and feed our people, but if the canyon walls are that steep people won’t be willing to come to us. The only way we could trade is if we send traders to them.
“The canyon probably keeps going and drains into the seaway. How far away is the sea?”
Lee thought for a moment and looked at Laz, who shrugged.
“I’m going to guess it’s about twenty miles away. It might be less, but you told me once that the river that was here before bent more northward toward the mountains. Maybe the seaway does too. So the sea might be twenty miles away, maybe a little less. That might not be a good thing, Matt.”
“You’re thinking about the slavers? They were sending people across the seaway, so it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for them to start raiding us?”
“That’s it. We’ve got almost everything we need except mineral deposits, but we’re going to be in the slavers’ back yard.”
“Let’s look at the canyon when we get there. Did you go north too, or only south from the crossing?”
“We only went south. The land looked better down that way, and up north, where it narrowed a little, the high-water mark was farther up the slopes. Flash floods could be a problem. Water falling in the mountains drains into the canyon and it could wipe out anything we build or plant on the canyon floor.”
“Let’s think of it as a winter camp for now, then. If it’s as good as you say, we might stay there next year. How wide is the river at that point?”
“Maybe three hundred yards. There are some small islands that break up the water and the channels between are deep enough that the horses had to swim.”
“If it’s deep enough, we can use the river to trade. We can build boats, and they can carry a lot of cargo. If the river’s not too fast, we can move goods upstream too. The original cliff dwellers remained hidden in their caves, and eventually they either died out or were overwhelmed by others; I don’t think we can afford to remain isolated. We’ll need to produce things we can trade for what we can’t make for ourselves.”
“We’re too few to do more than make it expensive for the slavers to raid north of the seaway. If we want to stay in this country, we’ve got to become too strong for them., and that means we need to contact others. There are still villages, towns back east and north of here. Probably there are others further to the west. But wherever they are, we need to make peaceful contact if we can, and all of us band together to stop the raiding. Of course, they may not want to be peaceful, so we’ll need to stay ready. The next time we fight, our enemies may have bows too. Sooner or later someone will.”
“Will they have horses too, Matt?”
“Sooner or later. Bows and horses are a technological advantage, so as soon as one group has an advantage the others will copy it. We may not be able to keep
ahead of them. The only thing we can do to protect ourselves is train more and organize better.
“We know where the others are located in a general sense. That’s an advantage for now, and it might last for a year or two before the slaveholders find us. But we can’t exist with people who depend on capturing people to do their work. They’re always going to look north and envy us, so we’ll have to fight. Whether the ones south of the seaway are keeping slaves or serfs doesn’t matter. We’ll have to always be ready.”
Lee looked at Laz and nodded.
“Can’t we go on, Matt? Just stay away from them?”
“We could, and that might work for a while. But if the slavers can keep on growing without opposition, they’ll just keep getting stronger every year. And if they capture our youngsters, we’ll get weaker every year. Someday we won’t be able to defend ourselves.
“I think our best bet is to keep out of sight for now and make sure that when they do find us we’re too tough a nut for them to crack. I want them to fear us for as long as possible, that’s why I had the heads cut off. It won’t work forever, of course. Sooner or later there will be a brave one, but if we can hold them south of the seaway for ten or twenty years, we can be well on our way to developing a real civilization. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway. Sandra is going to have a baby this winter...Matt paused; he’d almost revealed a secret that wasn’t his to tell...and there will probably be others too. We have to think about the children.”
Both men nodded soberly.
“Well, I’m going to get some sleep. Let me know if Sal’s able to go with me. Anyone else?”
“I’ll see. Those two engineers might go. I need to talk to them. I know what I want to build, but whether they can help, I don’t know.”
#
Colin and Matt watched Lee lead his little cavalcade southwest the next morning. Sal and his helpers followed Lee and the two engineers walked behind, pulling a cart loaded with tools. Others would take a turn at noon and they would in turn be relieved during the afternoon.
