Paul and Gretchen walked after her following the gravel trail. The path led to where there was a crowd of people gathered around several colorful tents.
“Brinley, what is this place? I know you called it Oasis, and there is all that water. But I want to learn more,” Gretchen stated.
“Sure, but we stop talking when the minstrels start,” Brinley said. She glanced around to be sure no one was very close. “A Habitat, Oasis, is mostly water. The sea covers most of the habitat. There is about a kilometer of land all around the outside edge of the habitat. That is where the two towns are located: Murom, and Kimry. I have never been to either of those towns. The Governor is in one, the Constable in the other. I try to avoid CPO officers when I can. Unless, I am rescuing someone!” Brinley gave them each a knowing smile. “This is Inaccessible Island. Free Rangers use it as our port for bringing commodities in and out of Oasis. There are something like a dozen other islands scattered about the sea.”
“If it is inaccessible, how are we here? How do you get the smuggled goods in and out?” Paul asked.
“Smuggling is such a nasty term,” Brinley remarked in all seriousness. “Please do not use it around Free Rangers; they will not be as understanding of your naivety as I am. We bring things in through the freight lift. To get off the island, there is a winding path down from the plateau behind the waterfall. There is a bridge there which leads down to the beach. A few people of Oasis, friends of ours, use airboats to come and go across the sea. Our friends bring things here, we take them back, and our friends take the commodities away. But we also use Inaccessible Island as a place for community interactions. Like the minstrel show! From up here on the plateau, we can see for a long way and watch for any signs of CPO troops.”
They had reached the crowds and the large tents. The tents were on the bank of a small stream which led away across the plateau. There was a group of four people playing some kind of musical instruments on a stage at the center of the largest tent. The music was nothing like Paul and Gretchen had ever heard before.
A small girl with bright brown eyes and long braided hair ran up to Gretchen, “Put your hands like this!” The girl had her fingers interlaced in front of her with her thumbs pointing down.
Gretchen mimicked her pose.
The girl grabbed Gretchen’s thumbs and made pulling downward motions. “Now I am milking the cow!” Then she released Gretchen and giggling heartily, the child ran off.
“I do not understand,” Gretchen said in puzzlement as she opened her hands. “Cow? There are children here, of various and close ages and sizes.” She could not resist staring at several children as they ran by.
“Of course there are children here. Jodie’s Minstrel show is part of all children’s education. They travel from safe zone to safe zone,” Brinley answered. “To be Free Rangers, a child must be educated not only in mechanics, mathematics, and engineering. A proper Free Ranger will have an intimate knowledge of art, music, literature and entertainment. But why are you staring at those children? They are just brothers and sisters.”
Three small children ran by. They were holding each other’s hands, and they easily moved through the crowd heading toward the stage. A woman was following them and she was carrying a baby in her arms.
“They are not five years apart. Why?” Paul asked. Gretchen just continued to observe the children as they ran and frolicked around them. The children all seemed to be moving forward to surround the stage.
“Why should they be five years apart? The moms and dads can have children as they desire. That mom is a busy woman” Brinley said as she gestured toward the woman carrying the baby and following the three children.
“Paul, they are reproducing by biological means,” Gretchen said. “The primitive way. What about radiation? Toxins? Mutations?”
Paul too wondered and was about to ask Brinley about it.
“Enough talking, the show is continuing. We are just in time for Malloy and Reed’s History of the World. You two will learn from this.”
A woman stepped up on the stage as the musicians were finishing. She applauded them as they took bows to the crowd, gathered their instruments, and stepped away.
“Come and gather, children of all ages!” the woman called out. She had a beautiful voice, straight black hair which hung down to her chin, and piercing blue eyes. She was dressed in sweeping and shimmering robes. “Yes, now is the time for a history lesson!”
The children began cheering. There were about thirty-five children all seated around the stage. Adults also turned and gave the woman their attention.
“It will take just a few moments for the puppeteers to be ready, so let me ask you a few questions first, shall I?” she asked. “Who here enjoys music?”
All the children raised their hands and called out positive replies. There were many, “I do Jodie!” and “I love music Jodie!”
“Who here can read this sign?” Jodie asked. She held up a large sign which had a bright yellow symbol on it.
“That means radiation danger!” several children called out.
“Yes, it does! But what about this sign?” Jodie flipped the sign over and there was another symbol on it.
“That means vacuum or no air,” some other children yelled out.
“What safe zone are you from?”
One little girl began to answer, but her sister sitting next to her hushed her quickly.
“Jodie? What safe zone are you from?” A boy asked. He was a bit older than the two sisters.
“Bravo!” Jodie answered. “A correct answer! Give that young man a treat!”
A person from the stage area threw out a small sack, which the boy caught deftly.
Jodie spun about and opened her arms wide. “Free Rangers cannot share where our safe zones are. But why?”
“Because the CPO could find us!” The children called out in unison.
Before Brinley could stop him, Paul called out, “But how then do Free Rangers trade with others?”
Brinley put her face in her hands and shook her head.
Jodie looked over at Paul in surprise. But that was only momentarily. “A question from an adult. Friend, please come right up here for your answer!” Jodie gestured for Paul to come forward.
Paul looked to Brinley who just shook her head again and sort of waved him on.
“Come right up my friend. Your question is burning in my ears and we must get you your answer!” Jodie called.
Paul stepped forward and stood before the stage.
“All the way up here!” Jodie reached down and gave him a hand as he stepped up the three stairs to the stage.
As he stood next to her, Paul noted that Jodie had a calming presence about her. She was fit and trim and had a twinkle in her eyes.
“You asked a good question. Every question is a good question, right children?” Jodie asked the crowd.
“Yes!” The children happily hollered in unison.
“Friend, what is your name?” Jodie asked.
Brinley called out in her loudest voice, “He is Paulie the Comedian. He tells wilds tales, and riddles, and stories!” She tried to sound convincing, but there was a waver in her voice.
Jodie pondered what Brinley said for a moment, then spoke, “Please let me see your arms.”
Paul held out his sleeveless arms. Jodie looked at them carefully. There were no tattoos. “I see no marks from a habitat. So Paulie, what was your question?”
“I asked, how do Free Rangers trade with others?” Paul replied.
“Hum… How would Free Rangers trade with each other?” Jodie had a mock puzzled look on her face. “I would say Free Rangers trade with each other honestly!”
The crowd laughed and laughed.
“Paulie, I sense that I have not answered your question. Can you tell me how you learned to trade with other Free Rangers?”
Brinley leaped forward, “Paulie is learning from me. He and Gretchen have just been in support services, and now they have wanted to
experience real trading. So this is their first experience away from our save zone.”
Jodie looked at Brinley, then to Gretchen, and back to Paul. “Well, well well. Now children, this is a rare event. Most of you will take training flights when you are thirteen. However, every safe zone needs support service people. We applaud them!”
The crowds gave a moderate level of applause.
Then Jodie continued, “But even though support service people are needed and valuable, they do stay in our safe zones. Those people do essential work, but sometimes even those people will want to be traders. Paulie tell us more about what you used to do.” Jodie gave him a warm and friendly smile.
Paul had had enough. He was frustrated, and irritated. He blurted out, “Gretchen and I came here from Earth. Earth is a dried up wasteland. Nothing but dust, radiation, and death. We lived in Dome 17, but the systems were failing. We flew here in a faster-than-light scout ship. We cut our way into the Vanguard, fought some Roe, and tried to set up a teleportation pad to bring our people here. But we failed. We nearly froze to death.”
The eyes of the children grew wide, but some giggled softly. A moment later, the giggling rippled around the crowd, and all began laughing.
Paul looked about and felt trapped.
Gretchen looked up at him with compassion and sympathy. Brinley tried to pull him off the stage. But he stood looking at the children all around with the adults behind them. The children’s faces were happy and innocent.
Jodie stepped right next to Paul and whispered in his ear, “I am not sure what is happening here. But I believe you, even though your tale is outlandish. For the children’s sake, I will make this all part of the show. We must talk later. Seriously, I believe you. Now is not the time to get into details. We will talk privately.”
Jodie stepped back and put on a look of mocked surprise. She then applauded her hands. “What an amazing story!” She looked to the children, “Boys and girls, I present to you, Paulie the Comedian and his tales of adventure! Thank you Paulie!” She turned away, and Brinley led Paul down the stairs.
“Children and adults, the stage is all prepared. Everything is ready! Are you all ready for Malloy and Reed to give us a history lesson?”
“Yes!” cheered the children.
“So here is Malloy and Reed’s History of the World!” Jodie stated with flare and bowed to the large curtain which had been set up behind her.
The curtain parted and behind that was a painted set of props. Down from the top dropped a flat disk with blue, green, and white swirls on it. The disk was about a meter wide.
A deep male voice came from behind the curtain.
“This is the Earth. It is the planet where our ancestors came from.”
The children sat enraptured while the voice described the beauty and wonder of the Earth. Then two male voices sang a duet about the Earth getting sick and about the tragedy of millions of people dying.
A few of the smaller children cried from the sadness and emotiveness of the song.
“Yes, the Earth got sick, and our ancestors chose to leave.” The disk representing the Earth was lifted up and away. Dropping down was a model colony ship. It had six long cylinders surrounding a central drive ship. To Gretchen and Paul it looked very much like what they had seen as they flew to the Vanguard.
“The Vanguard was built!” the male voice called out.
The crowds, young and old, cheered.
The model of the Colony Ship Vanguard ‘flew’ away to the side of the stage, while another song was sung. This one was sung not only by the two men, Malloy and Reed, but also by nearly everyone in the crowd. Gretchen and Paul did not know the words, but they listened intently as the song had several verses speaking of the hopes and dreams of those first people on the Vanguard. The song also spoke of one hundred thousand people sleeping for the journey.
The curtain shut.
The deep bass voice then said, “Then came the troubles…” There followed some kind of instrument being played somewhere. The music was disturbing and somewhat creepy, but the children all were watching the curtains intently.
When the curtain parted, there stood a figure attached to strings.
“That is a rat,” Gretchen said. “A statue of a rat.”
The eyes of the rat abruptly lit up in a bright orange glow. The statue’s limbs were articulated, and when the fine wires were pulled from above, the rat moved about the stage.
The children shrieked in pretend terror.
“Yes, the Outbreak happened!”
Another moveable statue came from the side. This one was of a man in a green set of coveralls and a straw hat. It appeared to be walking as its wires were pulled.
“Those are puppets?” Paul asked. “They are nearly life size?”
“Just watch the show!” Brinley admonished.
The rat puppet leaped up and attacked the man puppet. They struggled for a moment. The man fell to the floor, and the rat puppet scurried away.
“Yes, the Outbreak happened. Many people died.”
“Too many!” Some of the adults cried out.
Another human modeled puppet came on the stage. This one had a white coat on with the number 731 on its back. “I will save him!” a falsetto voice cried from behind the curtain. This was clearly meant to be the voice of the puppet itself, and all in the audience recognized that fact.
The older children in the audience started yelling out things deriding that 731 puppet. “Liar!” and “Danger!” and “Go away!” were the most common things the children yelled.
The 731 puppet, in its white clothing, walked over to the puppet that was lying down on the floor. The puppet did some things with its wire guided hands, and then it backed away.
The puppet lying on the floor began to shake violently. It then turned its head and looked at the crowd. Its eyes were glowing bright orange. The 731 puppet ran away screaming in its shrill voice.
“The Roe were born!” The narrator said.
“Bad!” The children cried out. “Nasty! Horrible!”
Another sad song was sung as the Roe puppet now stumbled around the stage. The children’s eyes were bright with excitement and a bit of anxiety and fear. Paul heard one child say to a smaller one, “It is not a real Roe.”
The final verse of that song said, “And the Roe still roam the ship today. And the Roe still roam the ship today.” The curtain closed as the song ended. But no one in the audience moved. All eyes were on the curtain.
A few moments later the curtain opened. Standing there was another puppet. This one was in a very fancy uniform, with a bright white hat which was rimmed in gold. The uniform had red and green stripes down its legs, and a set of fancy shoes were on its feet.
The children laughed at that puppet as it pranced about the stage. They called out, “That is the Captain!” while mocking the puppet’s movements.
Then another puppet in a flight uniform came out onto the stage. There were realistic looking, tools on the puppet’s belt and on its back.
“Baldwin is here!” The narrator said. “The hero who saved our world!”
Everyone cheered and applauded.
The Baldwin puppet approached the Captain puppet and they pushed and shoved each other. After a long and drawn out tug-of-war between the two puppets, the Captain puppet fell onto its butt abruptly with no grace at all.
The children squealed in laughter.
The Baldwin puppet stood lifting its hands over its head and bowing to the audience. A curtain fell behind it, blocking it away from the still fallen Captain puppet. This curtain was painted to look very much like a bulkhead door.
“And so the Free Rangers came to be!” the narrator said.
Everyone in the crowd applauded wildly. Even Gretchen and Paul, applauded so they would fit in. Gretchen looked at Paul and the glance they shared told each of them that the other was unsure what this was all about.
Brinley was cheering loudly with both hands way over her head.
> Another song was song. This one included the audience and was sung in parts by different groups. The men sang one part, the women another, and the children a third. The song was hauntingly beautiful.
Finally, the curtain fell in front of the Baldwin puppet and the show ended.
Jodie climbed back onto the stage and she led the crowd in another round of applause for Malloy and Reed. The two puppeteers briefly struck their heads out between the curtains, and nodded to the crowds.
“Thank you everyone! Thank you very much. There will be a common meal shortly. After that we will have the classic play about Feegin the Thief, do not miss that! Yes, please stay around as there will be much more entertainment, education, and fun at Jodie’s Minstrel Show!”
The Colony Ship Vanguard: The entire eight book series in one bundle Page 36
