“Now, the Neanderthal all broke out into some kind of song, and appeared to be very impressed. We had no idea what they were doing, but we remained respectful as we tried to figure it out. Soon the singing ended, and the elder woman, seeing our confusion, explained to us that long ago Earth Mother used to literally walk among their people. This was many generations ago. Then, after some time had passed, she spoke only to a few chosen ones, in their heads, just like she had to me. Since before anyone living could remember, she had been silent. The reason that they sang, she said, was because Earth Mother had again shown favor upon people, by speaking to one of us.”
‘Oh, she speaks to him all the time,’ Seli offered. ‘We all used to think he was crazy or something, hearing a voice that no one else could hear, but she told him good things. Where to find the best food. What plants to use to cure sickness, and prevent wounds from becoming infected. Things like that.’
“The elder woman’s eyes lit up again, and they all began singing again. This time, our people attempted to join in, though we didn’t really know what we were doing. A large group of their elders crowded around me for a closer look. I must admit, for a moment, they made me very nervous. I had no idea what their intentions were! They whispered to one another, reaching out to touch me, every one. Then they looked at one another, eyes wide, nodding their heads in agreement of something.
‘We must celebrate the return of Earth Mother among us,’ the elder woman shouted. Turning to where our comparatively tiny tribe stood, she announced, ‘You must all be our guests and feast with us this night!’
“Feast we did. The immediate family members of the elders who were slain returned to collect their bodies, along with a small guard of Neanderthal warriors to assist them, and buried them in our burial cave. The rest of us sat around a large bonfire as you would call it now, eating, singing, dancing, and talking late into the night. This was something totally new to our tribe, but it was fun!
“We were eager to learn all that we could about this Earth Mother, as we had never heard of her. The Neanderthals were a little surprised by that, so they took their time in the telling. They explained that she appeared here at the same time as the Earth was created. That all of the other gods sprang from her loins. That all of the plants, birds, and animals sprang from her mind. That she made people differ from the other animals by teaching them. That her children, being lesser than she, were put in charge of looking after the sun, the moon, the sky, the water and the creatures within it. She herself looked after the dry land and everything that lived upon it.
“It was really quite a lot to absorb all at one time, but we were in awe! This, was most certainly, the first glimpse in our people’s minds of the concepts of history and religion. Our fathers and mothers had many questions. The Neanderthal were very patient, and answered every one, as best as our language differences allowed for. While we talked, we roasted the venison and the rabbits that our hunters had killed that morning, and our hosts added many things to the feast that we had never before seen. Hard, chewy smoked meat was the one of most interest.
“One of our elders, who had lost most of his teeth already asked, ‘What is the reason for overcooking this meat? It tastes good, and it is very different than we are accustomed to, but it is too hard to chew like this!’
‘Ah my friend,’ one of the elder Neanderthal men answered, ‘the reason is so that it does not rot, and make our bellies sick. When our hunters slay a great beast, there is much more meat than can be eaten before it spoils. Long ago, Earth Mother explained this to our people. The meat lasts for a full moon’s time when cooked like this. It does not taste as good as fresh meat, but we are happy for it in times when we have nothing else.’
“That gave me ideas in my head, and I’m sure in the others as well, though strangely, none of them mentioned it. The first thing I thought of was winter, when our people sometimes died for lack of food, or from attempting to go get meat during the worst of days. For the rest of that evening, and for many more to come, my mind stayed busy on that topic. Earth Mother had at some point in time, been trying to teach the Neanderthals to prepare ahead, for lean times!
“When we got back to our camp the next day, the life of our tribe went back to normal. Life in my family group however, did not. As our fathers and brothers prepared to hunt for meat, they asked me if I would go with them. After I declined, my brothers teased me as usual for being a weakling. This time though, Seli jumped to my defense.”
‘You boys leave him alone! It is no thanks to any of you that our tribe was saved yesterday; only to Na. Had he not heard Earth Mother’s warning, there would be no camp to return to, and no family to hunt for. Think about that while you go chase your deer and rabbits today!’
‘Seli is right!’ said our older father Dai. ‘Leave your brother to seek what this means for him, and for our people. It is no small thing that should be made fun of. What the big people told us last night sounds very important. Perhaps this Earth Mother will explain it all to him one day.’
“With that, my brothers fell silent and looked down at their toes. I think that that was the last time they ever teased me; about anything.
“Soon after our fathers and brothers left, as our mothers and sisters prepared to go foraging for the day, the mother of the baby I’d snatched appeared with the baby, to our tent. When she saw me, she gave me a big smile, and then rushed over and kissed my face again. She stepped back and reached her hand into the pouch in her garment and removed the most beautiful flint blade I had ever seen.”
‘This is the best blade that my husbands possess. They told me to bring it to you, to let you know how much our family appreciates what you did for us. All of us!’
“She blushed slightly, kissed my face again, and hurried back out of our tent. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, or what to think at that point. I held the blade in my hand and just looked at it. This was something that I had dreamed of having, but had not been allowed. When I looked at our mothers, with a question mark on my face, I guess you could say, they all nodded their heads that it was alright.
“Seli came carefully to me and gave me a big hug. ‘Will you come with us to forage today Na?’ she asked.
‘I will go to the winter camp alone for a while, to do as our father Dai has said, and seek what this means for our people from Earth Mother. That is what I think I should do,’ I told her.
“Seli hugged me again, with a huge smile. ‘Then you must be careful Na, that you do not find danger. Come back to us, when your mind is satisfied.’
“And that, is exactly what I did. I have to be honest with you now, and tell you Thia, that your taste and your scent remind me greatly of my Gaia. I feel the need to tell you that.”
The young woman rolled towards me slightly with a tiny moan, as if to say, ‘Tell me more,’ but her eyes did not open. I noticed for the first time how beautiful she was. She even resembled Gaia, but with long, wavy, straw colored hair like my own, and pimples. She didn’t have Gaia’s perfect skin, and though small, she exuded strength. The legs now curled beneath her slim form were muscled, and seemed made of steel. Her torn and bloody Spandex running pants did nothing to hide that. She was missing one white running shoe, so I removed the other. Her little feet were not injured at all.
CHAPTER 3: NICHOLAS
“As the women of my family headed towards the place where the lake met the marsh to forage, I alone turned towards the steep path that led up the mountain to our winter camp, seeking answers from Earth Mother. I was prepared to spend the night up there if necessary. I took my waterskin, filled with clear water from the lake, and I knew that the path upwards passed within sight of at least two different streams where I could refill it. One thing we could pretty much always count on, was enough clean water to drink.
“Not yet being familiar with carrying a blade, I simply held it in my hand. It didn’t seem safe to just cram it in the bag I wore over my right shoulder, containing dry wood shavings as kindling to start t
he entrance fire to the cave, or to wear it around my neck on a thin leather cord, like the hollowed out bison horn that contained a tiny red hot coal from our camp fire to start a new one with, wrapped in moss and capped in green plant leaves. What if I stumbled and fell on it? There must be a safer way, I just hadn’t been taught yet. I brought my sleeping skin, which I rolled up and draped over my left shoulder, and then crossed over both my chest and back beyond my right hip, where it was tied with a thin leather cord to hold it tight. That way, it stayed put, hands-free.
“I knew that there would be food all along the path this time of the year, so I didn’t carry any. Knowing that it would take me half of the day to climb to the caves, I took a slow pace, nibbling on berries and greens that I recognized along the way. When our people traveled any distance, we simply grazed our way from here to there. That was just our way.
“As I was picking a handful of blueberries from some low bushes beside the trail, only a little ways away from the tent, she spoke to me, ‘So, you go to the caves to be alone. You wish to learn what it means for you and your people, that I speak to you in your head. Fair enough. What would you like to know?’
‘What? How does she know my thoughts? And, she asked me a question! How am I supposed to answer? Say it outloud?’
‘Out loud, Na. Yes. One day you will learn to speak telepathically with me, that means inside my head, but for now, just talk to me when we are alone.’
‘The big people saved us, like you told me they would. Thank you for warning me. We stayed the whole night at their camp, feasting and talking. They told us many things about you. Could you hear what they said too?’
‘Yes. I was there. I heard every word, and I saw everything that happened.’
‘They told us that you are Earth Mother. Is that true?’
‘Yes, Na. The Neanderthal, or the big people as you call them, began calling me that long ago, when I walked among them, teaching them things like I am with you now. I allowed them to call me that. It felt good to me.’
‘Well, isn’t that your name then?’
‘No. My true name is Gaia. I am the goddess of the Earth.’
‘The… Neanderthal, said that you have been here as long as the Earth. Is that also true?’
‘We can talk while you walk, Na. You have a long way yet to go. Yes. That is also true. I have been here since before there were animals or trees even. I have been here for a long time.’
‘The Neanderthal told us that the plants and the animals all sprang from your mind. Is that true?’
‘That is a very simple way of grasping what I taught them. I mean, no they didn’t actually jump out of my head, but I did ‘conceive’ each kind in my mind first, and then did what it took to make each one happen. There was a purpose for each and every kind of plant and animal. I tired after a time, of attempting to help the Neanderthal understand the details. They look, and see a field of grass. That is good enough for them. They don’t think about why that grass needs to be there. It just is, and that’s good enough for them. They aren’t very teachable. They are creatures of habit, satisfied with the simplest form of understanding. Most of your people are the same way.
‘I became interested in you, because you seem to have a continuous flow of logical questions and thoughts. I’ll explain it more to you later, but your mind seems to work more like mine than any other human I’ve found. I will go along with you to your cave, to find out just how true that is.’
“I thought about all that had been said so far, understanding that she would know what I was thinking. I was positive in my mind that the grass was there in order to feed animals that ate plants, who in turn were there to feed other animals that ate meat, including people. I was unsure if there were any more reasons for the grass than that, so I kept quiet about that.
‘That’s the best answer I’ve ever got from a human, Na. Very good! And yes, there are many more reasons for each of those. I’m very excited that you can grasp that. Now I feel better about the idea of humans, after-all!’
‘You mean you ‘conceived’ people in your mind, and had a purpose for us existing, and then you did whatever it took to make us happen?’
‘That is exactly right, Na.’
‘What is our purpose then?’
‘Just as with the grass, there are many purposes for humans to exist, Na. The most obvious one, for this conversation, is that I saw the need for a superior animal to have dominion over, or to care of and make use of all of the plants, birds and other animals. I’ve been working on perfecting humans for a very long time now.’
‘And do you mean that I am perfected then?’
“She laughed a little, letting me know the answer even before she said the words, ‘No, Na! You are not perfect, but you are a huge step in the right direction. You, seem to be teachable!’
“I felt pretty good about that, I thought.”
***
“Halfway to the cave, as I walked and we talked, a great cave bear unexpectedly reared up from some berry bushes just in front of me with a furious roar! I was not even half as tall as the beast. It was so close to me that I could smell its odor, and its foul breath! All I could think to do was to throw myself into some other bushes, curl into a ball, and await what might happen. My people knew that we could not fight, nor outrun such a beast, and our only hope in this situation was to appear submissive to it. I had been consumed with asking questions of the goddess Gaia, and had not been paying attention to my surroundings as I should have. I remember cursing myself for getting myself killed like this.
“As I prepared to throw myself, the beast suddenly flew into the air, higher than the trees, faster than if I had thrown a rock! Other than the ‘woof’ of breath being knocked out of it, it never made a sound on the way up, and it never made a sound as it fell back to the ground, save when it hit the dirt with a loud thump. I stood perfectly still, shaking and unable to breathe properly. The bear suddenly disappeared, right while I looked at it! My mind could not comprehend what was happening, so I stayed as still as I could, waiting for what might happen next.”
‘I’m sorry about that,’ the goddess said in my mind. ‘I was caught up in my conversation with you, and didn’t notice him far enough in advance to compel him to move away. My failure to do so, cost him his life.’
‘What... Just happened to it?’ I asked, my voice so shaky it was hard to understand.
‘I had to kill it to protect you, and not wishing for the creature to go to waste, I moved it up to just outside of your cave, gutted it, and skinned it. Then I moved the carcass deep within your cave, laid out on the rock next to the crack that the tiny cold stream runs through, to keep the meat cool. Human eyes are not capable of seeing as fast as I moved to do these things, so to you, it looked like the bear just flew into the air, fell to the ground, and then disappeared. Right?’
‘Right.’
‘What really happened was that I ran to it, punched it in the chest hard enough to kill it and send it flying into the air. Then I picked it up, transported it to your cave, and came back.’
‘But... How?’
‘Don’t be afraid now, I am going to transport you there as well. Close your eyes, and when you open them, you will be there, and I will be with you.’
“I thought I would piss myself, but I closed my eyes as told. I felt only a slight wobbling sensation, and when I opened them, I found myself standing in the entrance to the winter camp cave.”
‘See? You are unharmed Na. Sit down and relax.’
“I think she meant to sit somewhere comfortable, thinking back, but I simply collapsed where I stood, and sat in the dirt. She laughed at that.”
‘Over here, in the shade Na,’ came her voice from under a rock overhang.
“That was the first time I’d heard her voice with my ears, and not in my head. I didn’t even realize it at the time. I just got up and moved, as told.”
‘Believe me when I say that I had intended to take it a little easier on you than
this, Na. I planned to test your mind, to see how well it could follow along. I think we can skip that part now. Though harboring a normal amount of fear, your mind is not overwhelmed at all. You are exactly what I have been looking for in a human.’
‘How is it that you know what is in my mind, but were unaware of the bear?’ I asked.
‘That is a good and fair question. I actually can be aware of every plant on this mountain, and can know the thoughts of every creature that moves on it all at once if I want to Na. The thing is; that gets incredibly annoying and stressful after a while. Instead, I do that only occasionally, and focus my attention most of the time on my immediate surroundings. When this happened, I was lending every bit of my attention to you. That is something that I rarely do, just so you know.’
‘Because I am a step in the right direction,’ I said with a smile.
‘Yes.’
‘Where are you? Before, you were inside my head, now I can hear your voice with my ears, as if you are standing beside me. Or near to me. It’s like you’re really here.’
‘I am really here Na. It will take time for you to learn about this, but this place where we are, no, all places, have many dimensions. Like layers of the onion root. When you peel away the outer one, there is another beneath. All of the layers are in the same place in the soil, but you can only see the one on the outside. It doesn’t mean the others are not there.’
‘I understand. But why do you not wish for me to see you?’
‘It is for the protection of all humans for now, Na. I feel fairly sure that you will be able to see me soon enough. Be patient.’
‘I am eager to. Your voice is prettier than any I have heard.’
And I am sure that your face will be too. I can’t wait to see it!
GENESIS (Tales of the Lesser Gods Book 1) Page 2
