Escape to Canamith

by Richard Friedman

  The Guardian may have been restricted by space, but not in knowledge of the world around him. Books had been exchanged with Orrick when the Elders brought him his meals.

  Rex had remembered Orrick as an average-looking man with dark hair. Now Orrick was gaunt, with the haunted look of a man who had done little exercise and received no direct sunlight. He was hardly the image of a man sworn to protecting the most sacred book in the known world. His life was extraordinarily lonely and Lila had called it “a wasteful excuse of a man’s life” years ago before she left the village.

  Orrick gave Rex a pleasant nod of his head when he entered the room.

  “We have come for the Holy Book of Knowledge. You have performed your duties as instructed and I am instructing you to allow me access to the room.”

  Orrick paced ahead of Rex by a few steps and placed his trembling hands on the edge of the protective coverings and slowly snapped the lid that protected the Holy Book.

  Orrick grasped the edge of the lid and used as little pressure as he could to pry the cover off. Sweat formed on his brow and he heard the steady breathing of Rex behind him.

  Rex whispered softly to him, “Easy does it. Take it slow.”

  Clack.

  The lid was off. Orrick held the lid in his left hand. Rex took the lid and passed it back to the hand of another Elder, who put it safely on the table.

  Rex moved next to Orrick and used hand signals to move the Guardian out of the way. Orrick understood his cue and took several steps backward and one to the left to assume his proper positioning.

  Rex gathered his thoughts for a moment. He wished Sara were at his side to witness this moment.

  The Elders formed a perfect semi-circle around their leader as he began to speak.

  “We are humbled to be in the presence of the Holy Book of Knowledge. Our ancestors gave us a monumental task and we have fulfilled our obligations. Our reward for that hard work is a mixed blessing. It is our duty to survive in these tunnels while Man suffers the consequences of his actions. When the time is right, we will emerge from our home and repopulate the world. Oh, Guardian, please place the book on the tray.”

  Orrick placed his palms face-down on the book. It felt cool to his touch. He picked up the book gently and rested it the tray. Rex lifted the tray and turned around to exit the Dwelling of Honor. The rest of Elders moved behind Rex and strode towards the door.

  The Elders proceeded out of the door and when the last of them had cleared the exit, Rex turned to the Guardian, “You too, Orrick. Join us. It’s time.”

  Orrick nodded. From his front door, he took a last look at his home. A tear formed in the corner of one eye, but he did not speak. He followed tight behind Rex as he exited the room, his room next to Elder Braham waited for him.

  While the Elders marched to the hall, other members of the village lined both sides of the corridors to get a glimpse of the processional. Rex strode past J.J. and Lila. He acknowledged them with a slight nod of his head. Mathis sat next to Buck, watching the events in his wheelchair. Rex saw his sons, but didn’t acknowledge their presence.

  Grown men and women wept openly as Rex passed them by, the pent up emotion of the day overwhelmed them. Rex proceeded up the steps of the altar and placed the book on the podium.

  The audience grew silent in anticipation of what they were about to hear.

  He reached under the podium top for a glass of water that had been placed there thirty minutes ago. He drank slowly from the cup, finished the water, and began to address the gathered crowd.

  “This is a historic evening in our people’s history. We are aware of what is happening outside the confines of these walls. Death and destruction rain down on mankind as we speak.

  “Fires from Sanderell could be seen prior to closing the tunnel doors. Reports from around the globe indicate our efforts were sagacious. It’s not easy to stand here and wonder if there was more we could have done to help. We have heard the annual re-telling of The Great Divide. It is a staple of every childhood here in Canamith.”

  Rex shot Lila a glance when he mentioned this book.

  Rex knew she had tried as much as any human to stop the madness of pollution and wastefulness that she had seen firsthand as a college professor. She had tried to help when she went to the capital and met with leaders from around the world, but none of that mattered now. The world was out of control and headed for disaster. There was nothing one person could have done or said that would have changed the course of history.

  Rex scanned the crowd and made eye contact with as many of the villagers as he could before turning his head downward to read the Holy Book. He continued speaking.

  “Generations have wondered how this place came to be and what secrets are in this book. Our ancestors left detailed instructions for us. We’ve seen the glorious illustrations throughout the tunnels and wondered about the origins of our people. The wait is over.”

  Rex turned his attention to the Holy Book. He placed his right index finger under the top right edge of the gold-bound book. His finger quivered a bit when he did this. Even Rex Templeton, the calm and cool one, Chief Elder of the Village of Canamith, battled his nerves. The angle of the podium prevented anyone in the crowd from seeing his finger hesitate ever so briefly, but Rex was overwhelmed by the moment as were many in the hall. He regained his composure and opened the first page, and began reading aloud.

  “My name is Ellison Grant and I have been given the job of writing this epic tale with the hope that nobody will ever read it. That’s a peculiar way to start a story. But it’s true. It was our fervent goal that you never had been instructed to follow the steps necessary that led you to this day.

  “You must have asked yourself why you spent generations building a series of tunnels in order to protect a few hundred people? Your question will be answered, but first, a short history lesson.

  “Mankind. Who is Man? How did we get here? I live with people who believe that Man was placed here by a higher power, a ‘God’, if you will. The people call out to God for help, and all that has followed is more misery. The religious extremists say that we are on the threshold of ‘Judgment Day’. They believe God will reward them in heaven.

  “There are others here that think believing in a ‘God’ is foolish. Their contention is that Man evolved from other species and became a sentient being after millions of years of evolution. Throughout history, mankind has perpetrated violence against his fellow Man. That doesn’t sound like the ‘intelligent beings’ we claim to be. Man ignored the harm he did to this planet and now we are the hunted and nothing in our vast arsenal of technology can help us.

  “What has happened to us, you ask? Read on, friend.

  Rex stopped reading and took a moment to absorb the first few pages of this ancient book. His pause unintentionally raised the tension in the room. He turned the page.

  “The next page says ‘Chapter Two, The end of our Civilization’.

  “We began our civilization hunting for our food and dwelling in small villages. We evolved to build expansive cities with massive populations. The billions of people in our world squandered the gifts of this planet without any concerns for the long-term health of either themselves or the planet. Waves of death and destruction are afflicting the world and we believe it will not stop until Man is extinct. Our top scientists determined that the only explanation that made any sense was that our world had decided it had taken enough abuse from us.

  “The chaos started in small ways. Ships mysteriously sank in the sea. Vast fields of grain were ruined by pestilence. The water became unfit for consumption and millions died from contamination. The air was filled with pollution. Our scientists couldn’t develop technology fast enough to keep the air clean. Our senior citizens died from lung disease in great numbers. It was as if a plague had been set down upon Man.

  “As these events grew in number and magnitude, it was clear that the planet was fighting back. How else could we explain different species of a
nimals seemed to communicate and coordinate attacks on Man? Or swarms of insects attacking the food chain and causing catastrophic food shortages?

  “Worse than all of what I have described—and deliberately left out—was Man’s abhorrent behavior towards his fellow Man. I refuse to write of the injustices and savagery that is rampant here. My heart is filled with anguish. Perhaps it would have been best if we allowed our species to perish. Yet our instinct for survival outweighed that ideology and it is our hope that Man could learn how to co-exist with Nature and his fellow man.

  “In response to these desperate times, our Government consulted with the leaders from the Arts and Sciences and established a way to preserve what we had accomplished before it was destroyed. This information was put into a series of books and preserved in perpetuity. In addition, we captured the DNA from all animals, insects, seeds, grains, and living creatures in a genetic sequencer. This device preserved millions of species for extraction at a later time.

  “We loaded that genetic material on a space ship, which was part of the greatest space endeavor ever conceived. Hundreds of citizens from across the globe boarded Project Noah. When it blasted off and headed into space, we set our sights on a planet many light years away. Our scientists were confident that our technology would sustain the lives of the passengers during the long voyage.

  “The also ship carried two books: one you are reading now, and the book that was used to teach your ancestors how to build the tunnels.

  “We feared that even with the destruction seen here, Man would continue his hostile and irresponsible ways. Certain members of our space team were assigned the task of monitoring Man’s behavior in this New World and determine if the lessons from our world had been learned. If the answer was no, that group was instructed to build a structure that would allow Man seek refuge on your planet. This structure would be needed if Man faced an ecological disaster similar to ours. Apparently our worst fears have been realized. This structure will permit you to live safely for eight years while your world heals itself and cleanses the damage from Man’s destructiveness.

  “Our efforts to preserve mankind were a valiant, but vain attempt to prolong the human race. Perhaps, given a third chance, mankind will flourish. We didn’t have the wisdom to understand our symbiotic relationship with the planet until it was too late. Without the proper maintenance, our buildings will deteriorate. In a thousand years or so, there won’t be any evidence left of our existence here at all.

  “Have we done anything worth saving? There are books written by magnificent storytellers. I used to take my children to the movies and eat popcorn. My favorite football team used to get fans to bark like dogs. That must sound funny to you. It was. In the future, space travelers from another solar system may find this place and build their own world. I wish them well.

  “May God bless you…

  Signed: March 8, 2123, in New York City, The United States of America. Planet Earth”

  THE END