Keppelberg

by Stan Mason

  ‘Is there anything we can do?’ I asked hopeful that he might come up with an answer but he buried his head in his hands muttering the Lord’s prayer.

  Without any proper direction, I realised that it was the death knell for the village and its population... it was the end of the line! There was now no option but to wait and see how long it would take for the effect of the tablets to wear off. No doubt many of the villagers had some stock of them but they would soon run out. There was also the possibility that the physical systems of the villagers had become immune to P13 and that they would continue to look the same and not age. No precedent existed and there was no information to help anyone. Then I recalled that Richard McBain had died because he had failed to take his tablets. I hadn’t been there at the time to see his body so I couldn’t speculate if others would suffer the same fate. It stood to reason that they would.

  That night, I went down to one of the cells and lay down on the thin straw mattress. It was a far cry from the comfortable bed in the McBain house but, for once, I was my own man able to do anything I wished. Although I got off to sleep quite quickly, I was extremely troubled for the life of every person in the village. Many of them had become my friends in the short term even though they still called me ‘the stranger’. The spiteful children had gone too far this time. They had ruined everything and started the death knell ringing for the whole village.

  * * *

  The following morning, Bridget came to visit me at the police station. She was in a terrible emotional state, with tears running down her cheeks as she saw me.

  ‘I am so sorry, Sam,’ she pleaded. ‘I’m such a fool! I didn’t realise what I was doing when Morgana came to me in despair. She was my dearest friend and I just wanted to help her. Losing you was the last thing I wanted to do.’

  ‘It was a crazy thing to do,’ I chided curtly.

  ‘I know,’ she cried sadly. ‘It was idiotic. She caught me at a weak moment and I understood how she felt.’

  ‘I don’t like being passed around like a toy,’ I told her in no uncertain terms. ‘I’m a man with a mind of my own. I don’t really know why I went along with the idea in the first place. I suppose it’s because you’re both two such beautiful fascinating women.

  Her need to get me back caused her to ignore my comment.

  ‘Will you come back?’ Her eyes pleaded her case so well that I felt my resolve begin to weaken.

  ‘Give me a good reason why I should,’ I teased, knowing that I was not going to agree to her wishes.

  ‘If you do,’ she forwarded to my surprise, ‘I’ll tell you a secret of this village that you don’t know about. Something quite different to what you’ve learned already. Something far more important.’

  If I had been a dog, my ears would have pricked up at her remark. As a man, it fuelled my interest more than anything I could imagine. Another secret of the village! What could be more important than the P13 element that helped the villagers to stay young and virile in their old age?

  ‘Are you sure this secret is not just a figment of your imagination to get me to come back to you?’ I challenged, believing that she was only trying to entrench me back into her bed. ‘How do I know that this isn’t just another ruse?’

  She placed her hand on her heart. ‘It’s true. I swear it, There’s an important secret that you know nothing about. Come back to me and I’ll tell you.’

  I thought about her comment for a while, pursing my lips in deep thought. Although the Secretary was my preference with regard to intimate relations, there was no future with her because she was married. Consequently, I came to an alternative decision. ‘If I come back to you, I don’t want to sleep with Morgana any more. Is that a deal?’

  She nodded vigorously, unable to speak with emotion, and she placed her hand on mine nervously hoping that I would not withdraw it. ‘It’s a deal,’ she said eventually. ‘Just come back.’

  ‘Okay,’ I responded with an element of reluctance. The last thing I wanted was to be lured back by a secret that wasn’t worth its weight in gold. She told me that it was something more important than anything I had learned so far so I considered that it was worth taking the chance. If she failed to live up to expectations by failing to reveal something stupendous, I could always leave her and return to the police station. As Townsend had portrayed me earlier... I was an adventurer!

  We continued our relationship in the McBain home. I didn’t press her immediately to reveal what she intended to tell me. On the first night of my return, we went up to the bedroom where I made love to her passionately. We were back to where we started, touching each other in those parts of the body which I knew would arouse her. I had learned one or two extra tricks from the Secretary by pausing during foreplay which tended to make Bridget wait for my next move and anticipate the future pleasure she would enjoy to an even greater scale.

  ‘You never did it like that before,’ she uttered with every fibre in her body pulsating with ecstasy.

  ‘I learned it from your friend,’ I responded, kissing her body in the area just below the point between her legs.

  ‘Well that’s something we gained from her,’ she went on sighing with exhilaration as her passion erupted like a volcano overflowing with lava. Just before we continued to the main part of sexual activity, I posed the question that was uppermost in my mind.

  ‘You were going to reveal the secret you promised to tell me.’

  She moaned and I took it to be her assent before I buried myself into her soft moist body. Her back arched as I thrust myself in and out and she moved in harmony to compensate. For some reason, the orgasm she normally experienced was delayed and I found myself practically exhausted by the time she was satisfied.

  ‘Hm... that was superb,’ she told me, her eyes lighting up with desire. ‘I can’t afford to lose you, Sam. You have to stay with me.’

  ‘What about the secret you promised to tell me,’ I advanced, becoming frustrated at having to wait to be told.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ she uttered, kissing me on the shoulder and chest. ‘I’ll tell you tomorrow... I promise. Now, can we do all that again?’

  I took her in my arms and cuddled her, running my index finger down over one of he nipples. She had intrigued me about another secret but I had to wait patiently until the following day. However, tonight was tonight and there was more work to be done. I pulled her down on the bed and began to make love to her once more. Whether I stayed with her after learning the secret remained in abeyance. I would make the decision later.

  We lay on our backs together after we had finished making love, both feeling exhausted and satisfied. She took my left hand and placed it between her legs which seemed to comfort her.

  ‘Do you know what really bugs me about this village,’ I muttered as I laid my head on the pillow. ‘No one in this place ever has any fun. They don’t tell jokes... they never even smile.’

  She turned her head towards me, moving my hand between her crutch slowly, enjoying the sensation. ‘We’re all very serious,’ she responded.

  ‘I don’t suppose you know the names of any comedians or any jokes, seeing that you don’t have radio or television,’ I continued.

  ‘All right,’ she said. ‘Let’s have some fun. Tell me a joke... make me smile.’

  I pondered her request for a moment and then sallied forth. ‘All right,’ I began steadily, trying not to laugh as I thought of a funny joke. ‘An old woman of eight-seven walked erratically along the road one day until she came to an electrical shop. She went inside and walked even more erratically up to the counter. ‘Can I help you?’ asked the salesman. ‘Do you sell Olympic 120X vibrators?’ she requested. The salesman nodded. ‘Yes we do, madam,’ he told her. The woman stared at him still moving erratically and said: ‘Can you tell me how to turn the bloody thing off?’

  I turned to stare at Bridg
et’s face but there was no sign of a response of any kind whatsoever.

  ‘What’s a vibrator?’ she asked naively.

  I reflected that I had committed the most unholy gaffe on two counts. Firstly, the village existed in Victorian times so no one had any idea about the existence of sexual vibrators. Secondly, I had started the joke by talking about an old eighty-seven year old woman... exactly the same age as Bridget. She didn’t seem to mind the second error as age was hardly relative to her and I sighed with relief as I explained the object of a vibrator. She became very interested in trying to get one although I knew that if she did, it would be useless after a while because she would not be able to replace the batteries when they wore out. Knowing how much she like to have sex, I had no doubt that she would use it to the death day after day if she could ever get one.

  The next day, after breakfast, Bridget moved towards me and kissed me fully on the lips. I stared at her beautiful face and held her slender body in my arms. How could I possibly have left such an attractive woman to live a celibate life in the police station. What was I thinking of? It was nonsensical!

  ‘I’m going to show you the secret that you would never have found,’ she told me bluntly. ‘Come with me!’

  There is always a moment in a person’s life when it is interrupted by someone or something insignificant. An analogy is when someone is watching a popular television programme where a critical situation is about to unfold and then the telephone rings with a salesman offering a product they want you to purchase. On this occasion, I was about to learn the secret when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to stare at a face I had never seen before.

  ‘My name’s Macdonald,’ he said introducing himself. ‘I’m here on a very important mission.’

  I stared at his face with a doleful expression, hoping that he wouldn’t take up much of my time. ‘What do you want, Mr. Macdonald?’ I asked tiredly. ‘What’s your mission?’

  ‘I’m a chemist,’ he declared flatly. ‘I never worked in the pharmacy although I studied Obadiah Keppelberg’s formula and advanced it. I developed P13 to enhance it to a much better qualification which I call P14. It means that people only need to take one tablet each day. It’s much more advanced.’

  I welcomed him inside and led him into the lounge offering him an armchair.

  ‘You actually developed P13,’ I repeated with interest. If the village fell into serious decline, there was an opportunity to offer hope of eternal youth to the rest of the world through this man.

  ‘That’s right,’ he went on. ‘I take the potion myself so I’m certain it works. I’ve been doing so for many years.’

  ‘Why didn’t you tell the Chairman about the discovery... or the head chemist?’

  ‘Don’t think I didn’t try,’ he muttered with a sad expression on his face. ‘I went to them umpteen times begging them to accept my findings. They said it contravened Keppelberg’s research and that it wasn’t part of the constitution. They turned me away each time, even though I could save them time and money as well as improving the quality of the tablets.’

  ‘So what do you want from me?’ I enquired, wondering how I could assist the man.

  ‘When I heard that the pharmacy had been burned down and was completely destroyed, I went to see Mr. Townsend. He’s in the church but I think he’s having a nervous breakdown. There’s no point in trying to talk to him, he’s too far gone. I then went to see the Secretary but she can’t stop crying. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She kept mentioning your name. My next step was to see the Treasurer for funding P14. You see, it can be set up very quickly with the minimal amount of money.’

  ‘What did he say?’ I asked, puzzled at the tale the man was telling me.

  ‘That’s just it,’ he groaned. ‘He seems to have disappeared. He left the village of his own accord yesterday taking with him ten years supply of tablets. There’s no doubt he’s absconded, probably with the inheritance left by the Founder. Now that Townsend’s out of his mind and the Treasurer’s gone, no one knows anything about the inheritance. As you’re the man in authority in the village, I come to you for help.’

  I was flattered by his comment at having become the main authority. After all, I was still a stranger in the eyes of the villagers.

  ‘I’m delighted that your efforts to advance P13 were successful’, I congratulated. ‘It’s a credit to your ability as a research chemist.’ Unfortunately I don’t see how I can help you. I’ve only assumed control in the police station because the Desk Sergeant and the constable have been taken to Newcastle by the city police. It’s only a temporary role. I know that Mr. Townsend has always had the interests of the village at heart but, as you say, he’s out of action. He is so close to the constitution that I’m not surprised he turned down your experiment and I’m lost for words regarding the Treasurer. Now that the pharmacy’s been destroyed, your only hope is to apply for a post somewhere outside the village. I’m sure that some of the drug companies would like to hear from an experienced research chemist like yourself.’

  ‘Hm... it seems the only way to proceed,’ he said sadly. ‘My aim was to help the villagers but I think it’s too little too late.’ He stood up slowly, realising that he was on his own. ‘I have a wife and a daughter,’ he revealed unnecessarily. ‘At lest they’ll be able to lead a long life in a youthful way. But, as far as this village is concerned, I don’t think they’ll have long. You see, Obadiah’s tablets are required to be taken regularly twice each day. The element in P13 wears off very quickly if they’re not taken.’

  ‘How long after they stop taking them?‘ I asked with interest, wondering whether my departure from the village was imminent.

  ‘It’ll start within a week but take about a month before it takes its course. The effect will be different with every individual depending on their metabolism but two months will be the maximum in practically ever case.

  I took him to the front door to see him out, feeling a great deal of sympathy for the man. He was dedicated to his work and could have made a fortune for himself in the outside world but he preferred to stay to help the villagers. Yet he was rejected on every occasion. There was sometimes no justice... no fairness... in the world where ignorance and adherents to precedents and past decision-making counteracted serious advance and benefits.

  After he had gone, I turned my attention to Bridget. ‘Okay... let’s go!’ I commanded.

  I followed her out of the house and we walked in a new direction along one of the paths until we came to a relatively small building at the far end of the village... located well away from everywhere else. It was shrouded by trees and bushes and, had Bridget not shown me the location, I would never have found it.

  ‘This is it,’ she told me hesitantly. She opened the door which was unlocked and took my hand to lead me inside.

  The room was infinitely small, relatively bare, and it had timber walls and a wooden ceiling. There were four tables measuring six feet by two feet on which rested boxes that resembled coffins each of which had been fitted with long glass panels across the top. There was a kind of apparatus next to each table similar to a tiny lamp-post with a tube running from the top into each coffin. Three of them were inert but a pump could be heard working the fourth apparatus. It appeared that oxygen was being pumped erratically although each of the coffins had holes in the sides.

  I was puzzled by the sight of the objects in the room and I turned to Bridget for an explanation.

  ‘Look closer,’ she ordered, with an uneven tone in her voice.

  I could see that she was nervous at having brought me, however had she not promised to reveal this secret I would probably not have gone back to live with her. Quite clearly she would sell her soul if it meant that I would stay. I edged forward cautiously to note that three of the coffins were empty but there was a body in the fourth one. An oxygen tube was connected
, entering through a pipe. I could only presume that the body was still alive. I moved forward to look through the glass panel to see a small baby laying there. I took a pace backwards in astonishment as my mind failed to allow me to understand what was happening.

  ‘Whose baby is this?’ I demanded, unable to take my eyes of the glass panel.

  ‘It’s Richard McBain,’ related Bridget, staring at my face to view the response.

  ‘But I thought you only had one son,’ I riposted broodily, thinking that she had been deceiving me for some unknown reason.

  ‘It’s true, I have,’ she said freely. ‘This is Richard... my husband.’

  For a moment I was speechless, trying to fathom the logic in my mind. ‘Your husband!’ I gasped. ‘How can that be? He’s just a baby... a mere child. You told me he had died. That he was buried in the church cemetery.’

  ‘That’s right... he is! He is buried there. This is his clone.’ She turned to me in surprise at my lack of foresight. ‘How do you think we kept the number of villagers at exactly eleven hundred all this time when no strangers were allowed to enter? We use clones. We usually have a number of clones to keep the population at the correct level but I presume it wasn’t necessary with you coming to the village.’

  I struck my forehead with the palm of my hand as I realised what she was telling me. Of course, I thought, how stupid I had been not to realise that the population could not be retained at the same level without some kind of manipulation. No strangers were ever allowed in the village so that if someone died the person had somehow to be replaced. Cloning was the only conclusion and such an advanced method had never occurred to me in this Victorian-styled village. Of all the questions I had asked I do not think I questioned how the population always stayed at eleven hundred. I moved forward to the coffin to look more closely at the baby. It was well-formed and I admired the villagers to have been so well-ahead of their time with this process. Necessity was the mother of invention.

  ‘He’s only eight weeks old,’ stated Bridget, fearful that I might take severe action to end the life of the clone of her late husband. ‘That’s how long ago Richard died. It’ll take about two years before he becomes a fully-grown child. This system develops clones at an accelerated rate.’