by Steven Oaks
She must have been able to locate the colony from orbit, or perhaps it had been a predesignated area she knew when we left Earth. I could begin to see a criss cross of roads and then a what looked to be a small town with buildings fanning out around a small clearing coming into view on the screens in front of me. There seemed to even be a landing area for Athene on one side.
I sat up straighter in my chair and said, “Well it looks like the time to discuss such things is at an end. I must go forth and make with the hand shaking, and small talk.”
“It does look that way. I have no other words of wisdom to share with you,” she said.
“I wonder about you some times. It's almost as if you've been reading things to help improve me and my particular social phobia,” I said, standing to make my way back to the entrance room.
“I have and always will grow my knowledge, and anything I happen to glean from doing so that might assist you I will use,” Athene replied.
“I would ask you to not use force, and ask me before you implement anything. I might have softened to the idea of this outfit had you but taken the time to explain it before laying it out before me,” I said, walking down the corridor and its soft red carpet. My boots left behind imprints in its luxurious thickness that were only to be wiped away by Athene as I passed.
“The first time I did not have the opportunity to explain due to the lack of time we had. Had you balked you would have simply put on a suit. That would not have been horrible, but I wanted you accustomed to it before we made this landing,” she explained.
“You could have talked to me about it on this long trip, and I would have tried to wear it around before we arrived,” I said as I made my way through the lounge towards the exit.
“That would have gotten you used to wearing it, but perhaps not for wearing it in front of others. I felt you needed that experience more than you needed to see yourself in anything. Take the suit of armor I made for you to practice jousting in. How would you feel about wearing that today? You wore it almost everyday this last month,” Athene said as I reached the exit. It did not slide open like I expected it to, she must be pausing to explain this to me.
I sighed and said, “You do have a point. Though wearing something in front of two people is not the same as walking out amongst a large group of people.”
“It was the best I could do at the time. I think you are less self aware of it because of that interaction,” she said.
“I don't feel relaxed at all,” I complained.
“You should not feel relaxed, as that would be strange given your history. I am guessing you are less concerned with your appearance than you are of the crowd outside. I am sorry I was unable to do anything to prepare you for this,” she said sounding apologetic.
“It's alright. I will just have to push forward like I always do. I have nothing to say to them, so this may not go well. Perhaps I should have written an introduction, or a speech of some sort,” I said, feeling like a weight was holding me down.
“It may have been something you could have done. However we do not know how these people view you. You might just be a necessary evil, or you might be a life line back to Earth. Either way, are you prepared? We have landed, and they are waiting for you,” Athene said gently.
“Ready or not here I come,” I said in a sing-song voice.
The door before me irised open and the light that shone from the local star dazzled my eyes and I was unable to see momentarily. I felt a cold wind blow into Athene, and I was glad for the heavy uniform for the first time. When I once more could keep my eyes opened I saw before me steps had once more been extruded forth for me to walk to the ground. While looking up and out towards this town that had sprung up mere months before my arrival I saw a teeming crowd of people wearing a variety of clothing one would not expect of such a rustic environment.
There were people wearing suits and dresses out of modern day back on Earth. Which I suppose should have not shocked me, but for me it was strange to see such fashions on a colonial world. I expected them to have already fashioned their own clothing from looms and the wool they were likely to have sheared. Of course the sheep need time to grow it, and you need time to make it into threads and clothing, but no one was wearing anything that looked home made. They all looked to be wearing things manufactured somewhere on Earth.
The town itself was made of a variety of log cabins of various styles and shapes. Some were simple one story one room structures, while others were massive multi-storied buildings that all looked out into the middle of the town which was just a clearing filled with gravel and dirt. The clearing was circular and the buildings ringing it fanned outwards. It was as if the town was only half made as the circular nature of the town stopped after the town center, which left the area where Athene had landed clear. The focal point of this town center even had a small fountain with a satyr playing its panpipes spraying water through its flute.
I was surprised to see such large buildings, and the fountain was certainly a shock. When had these people found the time to create such lavish environs?
The sun must have just risen as it was large off in the distance and the world was getting brighter as I looked out and around. The air felt cold on my exposed face, and I wondered if the sun would heat the day up, or if this was the climate I should accustom myself with.
This town seemed to be the only clear area around as I could see the local trees were surrounding the town closely. As far as I could see outwards there stretched into the distance even more trees. They appeared to be of normal Earth stock, a smattering of pines and others, and those with leaves seemed to be turning in the colder air.
“Michael, you might wish to walk forward and greet the local government,” Athene whispered into my ear.
I started slightly at her words, and looked directly down towards the end of the steps and saw a man with mostly short, gray hair, combed back closely to his skull. He was a thin gentleman wearing a suit with no tie.
I took the few steps to the ground and walked towards him. He took a step out from the crowed and reached forth with his right hand to shake mine. I strode towards him with my back straight, and with as much formality as I could muster I took his hand in mine.
“Welcome to Argil. We have named it thus because the word means clay, and we shall shape this world. My name is Stephen Thompson and I look forward to working with you. This little village of ours welcomes you to our home, and the hope of humanity,” he said with a bright smile showing his very straight white teeth.
“Thank you Mr. Thompson. I am Captain Michael Lang of the ship Athene and I am at your service,” I said bowing slightly. I do not know what possessed me to tell him I was a captain. Athene telling me to wear this outfit along with her insisting that I was her captain on a near daily basis must have influenced me more than I had thought.
“Everyone, let us greet Captain Lang, and show her a warm welcome,” Mr. Thompson said, turning away from me to address the gathered audience.
A loud cheer rose from those from those around us, and I felt embarrassed. Here I was as a collector of the dead. I was just a glorified undertaker. Why was there so much cheer at my arrival? What could I possibly do for these people?
When the cheering had died down Mr. Thompson turned back to me, and he and the crowd looked expectantly at me. I think they thought I might have something to say to all of them.
I stood there a moment, stiff and expressionless. Finally I coughed, and said. “As you have come from Earth to stand on this new soil and to find a new life, I have come to observe, and share the knowledge you gain, and the knowledge gathered from Earth. I will be the messenger, and I will be the conveyor between worlds. Thank you.”
There was another moment of silence after I said this, but Mr. Thompson began clapping. Quickly the crowd took it up, and soon cheers were ringing from all around.
I have no idea what I was saying. I had just been given the task of coming here to collect the dead. What did I ev
en mean by messenger. Certainly Athene and the other ships were the only way to pass a message back and forth, but I had not been told to do so. I suppose I could do this without arousing any ire, but really I had no idea. I had tried to shy away from speaking of death, as it has always been a taboo subject, and I have no idea how these people felt about me taking away their deceased.
“Captain Lang, if you would please follow me, I will show you to my house and we shall be able to converse in private,” Mr. Thompson said leaning towards me so as others might not hear.
I nodded my agreement, and as I stepped away from Athene the stairs retracted back into the ship, and the door once more closed. I felt alone in a world I knew nothing of, even though Athene was always there in my ear. Seeing her shut herself away left me feeling dread. However the prospect of being away from all these milling people gave me a little happiness.
Leading me away through the crowd the gathered faces continued to stare at me. I was very unsure about this whole situation, and I hoped to learn what was going on by following this man. Athene of course would be with me, but this crowd of people seemed a little off. I hoped to be able to get away later so I could disembark Athene's crowded holds of the frozen people we had brought with us. I knew too little to even be able to make a plan to do so right then.
I was guided to one of the larger houses near the center of the town. Mr. Thompson opened the door for me, and led me into its finely furnished interior. Inside the wooden walls were polished to a bright shine, and the sunlight filtering in through windows filled the room with a warm glow. There was a fireplace along one wall that was made of brown and gray roughly square shaped stones that had a black metal grill to hold the fire inside while allowing any heat it might produce to radiate into the room. The floors were also of wood, and they had the same shine to them as the walls, but instead of the large logs that the walls were made of, they were smaller planks that had the same grain and were slightly lighter than the walls.
Mr. Thompson guided me to one of the two dark brown leather couches and said, “Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink while we talk.”
“No thank you. I have just eaten and could not possibly impose upon you,” I said, thinking about the first time I had taken a drink from a stranger while meeting with someone in this job, only to wind up poisoned.
“Then I hope you do not mind if I get myself some coffee,” he said.
“Not at all, this is your home of course. Though I am surprised that you have coffee here,” I said.
As he wandered away into the kitchen that looked surprisingly modern he said laughing, “Oh I do live here, but I would hardly call it my home. This is the mayors residence. If I happen to get voted out next election I shall have to make myself a new place to reside, and maybe do something for a living.”
When he had filled his cup from a drip coffee maker that must have been running before I showed up, he wandered back into the room with a black mug, and sat across from me on the other leather couch.
“So what do you think of our little town?” he asked, taking a sip of his coffee, ignoring my inquiry about its origin. It must have been hot because his face showed pain and he set the cup down on the coffee table between us.
“It seems more modern than I expected of a colony just freshly arrived,” I said.
“It does doesn't it? Well there is something to be said about traveling with an Outsider ship,” he said mysteriously.
“I don't understand,” I said confused.
“Oh come now. You know how they can take any matter at hand, or even the energy from the sun, and shape into desired objects. We've yet to be able to plant and harvest anything, and the tools we brought were limited to the fuel we brought from old Earth. The chainsaws we have were hardly up to the task of chopping down the local trees to fashioning our homes. The colony ship simply made a town before we were even thawed. It stocked up our larders and we have little desire to farm as it is so simple for them to make all we desire. That is why we are so thankful that you have arrived. We were worried that the Outsiders would just leave us without the colony ship, and we might starve,” he said.
“So you are under the impression I will take over as the caregiver of this town?” I said.
“Is that not why you have arrived?” he said, sounding confused.
I sat still for a moment. I was unsure what his reaction would be, but surely he knew that the Outsiders would send a Deathship to collect their dead.
“I do apologize if there has been some misunderstanding, but I was hired by the Outsiders to collect the dead. That was all I was asked to do while here,” I said.
“Oh we know that, but surely you will provide the same materials as the colony ship,” he said with a dismissive hand gesture.
“Again I do apologize for any confusion. I am only here to collect the dead. I will be here for only three months, then I shall return to Earth to unload any of the departed for the Outsiders, and I assume I will then return. There will be at least four months when I will not be here after I leave, and you will have to survive on your own. Is that not what a colony is supposed to do? Survive on your own that is,” I said, beginning to feel as if the situation was about to turn unpleasant.
“Well then you shall have to stock pile food for us before you leave. We will make do with that,” he said, oblivious to the situation.
It appeared he was not listening closely to what I was saying. I felt it best to retreat back to Athene before he got the hint, as I did not wish this to grow violent. As a leader of this town he could certainly have me arrested, or at the worst a crowd might grow angry and try to tear me apart limb from limb, then try to get inside Athene to do as they wished with her. I knew it was very unlikely that they would succeed in gaining access to Athene, but I was not so sure about my own safety.
I stood up and said, “Thank you for your kind hospitality. I shall return to my ship, and you will hear from me shortly.”
“You're leaving already? We have yet to discuss what new materials this town needs,” Mr Thompson said, taken aback.
“It's not my place to tell you how to run your town. However I would say you might want to focus on making a functioning one that does not rely on any outside help. If something were to go wrong and Earth was unable to make contact with you, and I was held up, or somehow unable to return, how would you handle that situation?” I asked while I made my way to the front door.
Mr. Thompson stood up from his couch and followed me to the door and said, “Oh I shouldn't think we would have to worry about that. Those Outsiders are indestructible. Why would they leave us here simply to starve?”
As I reached for the door knob I paused and said, “Did any of you sign a contract before being able to be a colonist?”
“Yes, we all had to sign a contract. It simply stated that we would run it, and be responsible for ourselves here. We have been. We set up our own system of government where we elect officials for different tasks. That has nothing to do with the Outsiders supplying us with materials we need to live,” he said, sounding more confused than upset.
“I think you will find what your contract means when it says you will be responsible for yourselves is just that. Perhaps the Outsiders were being generous when they gave you materials so you might survive your first few months here, but that does not mean you can rely on them forever,” I said, pulling the door open, and began to walk briskly back towards Athene.
I was lucky that Mr. Thompson did not come outside to yell for the citizens to bring me back, as I think I might have tried to fight my way through them then. I was also lucky the streets seemed to be mostly clear of the people that had come to witness my arrival. There were a few still milling about, most appearing as though they had nothing to do, and they were wondering aimlessly around the town. Some even looked like they were out jogging. What was the point of this colony? It seemed like they had lost the drive to make any use of their lives. Certainly it had only been a few months
since they arrived, but should not someone be trying to do something?
When Athene and I were coming in for our landing I had taken a glance around the little town and had seen no fields being planted, and no ground tilled. These people had yet to take their lives into their own hands, and were waiting on handouts that the Outsiders seem to be willing to give them.
With the quick pace I had set myself I was beside Athene shortly, and sensing my closeness she set the steps down for me to enter. I climbed up them two at a time, and the door already opened for my entrance snapped closed behind me as soon as I passed through the threshold.
“What is wrong with these people?” I yelled at the entry room.
“It seems they now lack the will to work. Everything so far has been taken care of for them. They have no purpose to drive them forward. No hunger, and no lack of anything,” Athene said.
“Well I would say I have the same luxury since I met you. I don't laze about and do nothing though. At least I think I am doing things. Am I mistaken Athene?” I asked, beginning to worry if maybe my own world view was wrong.
“You work very hard on a multitude of things. While you do not have to strive for food or shelter, you still try to fill your mind with new ideas, and regularly try to practice those concepts you have learned about,” she said reassuringly.
“Then what is wrong with them?” I asked again.
“They perhaps lack a goal? You happened to have one that is not based upon simply surviving. You wish mankind to be set free from the Outsiders. You have been working on this, even if some of the activities you do seem unconnected. Learning how to joust and then to sword fight might seem like they are not for this purpose, but you are honing your martial abilities which might help strategies for military strikes against the Outsiders. Also your knack for reading Science Fiction is helping you to try to understand the unknown. Though everything you read was written by a human, it certainly is of the most creative humans who have pondered the strange minds of what might be an alien's,” she explained.
