Isle of Woman (Geodyssey)

by Piers Anthony

  * * *

  ISLE OF WOMAN

  * * *

  Geodyssey: Volume 1

  PIERS

  ANTHONY

  Premier Digital Publishing - Los Angeles

  Also By Piers Anthony

  Alien Plot

  Dream A Little Dream

  Kiai!

  Mistress of Death

  Shame of Man

  Spider Legs

  The Gutbucket Quest

  The Secret of Spring

  The Willing Spirit

  OddExam

  ISLE OF WOMAN

  COPYRIGHT © 1993 by Piers Anthony Jacob

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.

  ISBN 0-312-85564-8 (hardcover)

  ISBN-10: 1938582470

  eISBN: 978-1-938582-47-9

  Published by Premier Digital Publishing

  www.PremierDigitalPublishing.com

  Follow us on Twitter @PDigitalPub

  Follow us on Facebook: Premier Digital Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Anthony, Piers.

  Isle of Woman / Piers Anthony.

  p. cm.

  “A Tom Doherty Associates book.”

  I. Title.

  PS3551.N73I83 1993

  813′.54—dc20 93-25511

  CIP

  0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  CONTENTS

  * * *

  Introduction

  1.Footprints

  2.Tools

  3.Fire

  4.Isle

  5.Art

  6.Voyage

  7.eandertal

  8.Cave

  9.Cat

  10.Town

  11.City

  12.Kingdom

  13.Empire

  14.Iron

  15.Silk

  16.T’ang

  17.Lithuania

  18.Kuba

  19.India

  20.Malthus

  Author’s Note

  INTRODUCTION

  * * *

  THIS is a work of fiction, based on research on the derivation and nature of the human kind. For this purpose, the words “human” and “mankind” mean the species, male and female, while the word “man” will generally refer to the male alone. The validity of the theory of evolution is assumed. Those who believe in creationism may take this volume as what it is: a work of fiction based on certain assumptions.

  Opinions differ about when mankind evolved from the primates—in crude terms, apes—but a case can be made that the first human being was the one who walked habitually on his hind feet. The several primates developed differing life-styles while in the trees, with some walking on all fours above branches, while others swung below branches. The faces of the ones above faced forward while they were on all fours, while the faces of the ones below faced forward while they were vertical. This made it easy for the hanging apes to drop occasionally to the ground and walk on their two hind feet for a few steps, though they usually put down their long and powerful forearms to brace themselves on their knuckles.

  As the environment changed, and the forests diminished, one species of hanging primate came to range more widely on the ground between trees, finally giving up knuckle-walking in favor of full bipedalism. This had the coincidental advantage of freeing the powerful forelimbs for carrying, something other creatures did not readily do. The hind limbs grew stronger and the back straightened, making it easier to stride efficiently for increasing time and distance. One signal of the human capacity for long-range striding is the bulging buttock: a massive mound of muscle used to propel a human forward or up, and to assist in turning and balance.

  Evidence from assorted disciplines suggests that mankind diverged from the pygmy chimpanzee about five million years ago. These two species have a number of things in common, such as their association in groups, bands or tribes, their high intelligence compared to most other species, and their extreme sexuality. Both differ from other creatures in having females who come into heat only partially if at all, and whose time of fertility is concealed, making them constantly available for sexual activity. But the special rigors of the ground brought many changes leading eventually to our present condition. This book will sample that history, touching on aspects throughout the timeline.

  Obviously there was no single man or woman experiencing the whole of human development and history. But there were individuals, similar to others of their kind. We shall, as it were, follow one man and one woman and their families from the dawn of history through to the near future. Their appearance and situations will change as they go, but their identity will always be clear. They are much like us, and their development in life parallels that of our species.

  Fair warning: though this is an extended story, a number of its assumptions are controversial, and in some cases more recent discoveries may disprove those assumptions. The object is not just entertainment; this is also a “message” novel, and the message is not pleasant. Each chapter is preceded by a map of the world, with the general location of the setting marked. There are also introductory and concluding discussions for each setting. Those who prefer to stick to entertainment may skip the maps and discussions as well as the Author’s Note. The volume will then resemble a collection of stories featuring two widely ranging families.

  CHAPTER 1

  * * *

  FOOTPRINTS

  The earliest clear evidence of our kind’s upright stance was found in the hardened ash of a volcano in east Africa dating a bit over three and a half million years ago. Three sets of footprints extended about seventy-five feet, going north, before being eradicated by erosion. The shape of the prints and pattern of pressures are typically human. These folk walked like men. The largest may have been male, about five feet tall, weighing perhaps a hundred pounds. The next may have been female, a little over three feet tall, perhaps fifty pounds. The third was a small child.

  These were made by folk called Australopithecus afarensis—never mind the pronunciation, which is changing from right to wrong—one of whom the anthropologists called Lucy. They have no names and no real language, just a collection of a few useful words. They may seem more like apes than men, at this stage, but that may be deceptive.

  THEY came near the fierce mountain and saw the mountain’s breath spread across the plain, turning it gray. It was safe to cross, because the mountain was not roaring today, but it was nevertheless a marvel.

  The man walked straight ahead, intent on his mission: to find something to eat. He was big and strong, and his fur was thick and even, showing his health. The woman followed just behind, keeping a wary eye on the child. Though she was much smaller than the man, her fur too was sleek and her body lithe. Her chest was flat, signaling her fertility, for she had weaned her son a year ago. She also gazed around, fascinated by the changed scene.

  It was just at the end of the dry season. The creatures of the plain had grazed the grass down to the roots and moved on. Soon the big rains would come; already there were light showers. Meanwhile the mountain sent out its breath, which resembled the smoke of a great fire when it emerged, and the ash of that fire when it settled to the ground. She saw the tracks of animals in it: birds, rabbits, antelopes and even giraffes. A recent shower had made little holes in the powder wherever the drops struck. Some tracks had already been covered, and also some beetles. She saw a deserted bird’s egg, and the outline of animal dung dusted with gray.

  The child took to the powder immediately. He stretched forth
his little legs and stepped in the new prints made by the adults. Sometimes he went to the side, making his own little prints, then returned to the safety of his father’s tracks. He chortled. The woman smiled, taking pleasure in his pleasure.

  She heard something. She turned to her left and paused, listening and looking. It was only guinea fowl, spooked by their approach.

  The man grunted peremptorily, and the woman resumed her motion. They passed on beyond the ash-covered region, and the ground resumed its normal colors.

  They were in luck: some distance farther along they found a patch of ripe gourds. The plant had been withered by the mountain’s breath, but the fruits remained firm. The man cried out, and others of their band came to gather the food. The man picked up several, and the woman took two more, and the child one. They carried these back to the band’s camp.

  The woman and the child began to tire, so the woman employed a familiar device: she made a grunt of sexual suggestion. The man reacted as expected: he set down his burden, allowing her and the child to do the same, and drew her into him for a bout of copulation. The other members of the tribe paused, considering; then several others paired off, liking the notion. Sex was always a satisfactory interlude.

  The woman relaxed, letting the man support her. He held her upright, facing him, her feet off the ground. He sniffed her genital region, excited by the odors there. Then he let her slide down to make contact with his erect penis. Most creatures approached their females from the rear, but the upright posture enabled these ones to be frontal if they wished, and often they did wish it, liking variety. The woman was like a doll in his embrace, allowing him any liberty he chose to take. It had been several hours since their last coupling, so he was quite amenable to her suggestion. He bounced her around, squeezed her, and kissed her fur as his member drove deep into her. This might have seemed like rough play, but she was tough and he was vigorous rather than violent.

  By the time he was done, both the woman and the child were rested. They picked up their burdens and resumed their trek. The other couples were also breaking up, satisfied. Sex had no significance beyond the pleasure of the moment and the continuing association it signaled.

  They came to the tree where the woman’s sister labored, watched by other women of the band. They reached her as the great brightness of the sun settled behind a distant hill, setting the clouds ablaze. The sister was of similar size, with smooth light fur, but differed in two respects. Her breasts were prominent, their nipples poking out through the fur of her chest. And she was sexually nonreceptive, because she had already been fertilized. This was why the other woman was kept busier now: it was, in part, her job to protect the security of the family by making sure their man had no reason to respond to any outside woman. Had the family lived apart from others of their kind there would have been little problem, but in a band with several receptive females fidelity could be strained. Two women were enough, in this case, because their cycles of availability were complementary: while one was pregnant, birthing and nursing, the other was receptive. By the time her sister got a baby started, the original woman was ready again. In that manner the two kept the man to themselves, and benefited from his superior ability to forage and to protect them from both outsiders and other men in the tribe. They shared food, when necessary, with others, but not sex or child caring.

  They were part of a band that traveled as a unit, but when children grew up the males went out to join other bands and mate with their women. A man was entitled to as many women as he could succeed in taking and keeping from other men. The women in turn preferred to have as much of a man to themselves as they could, and sisters or close friends cooperated in that design. It was almost impossible for a single woman to hold a single man, because of her infertile periods while nursing her small children, but two or three cooperating women could manage it.

  Half the babies were lost in their first year, and some fell prey to accidents or illness thereafter, so it was necessary to sire several to be sure one would survive. On average, a woman was sexually receptive about half the time. She was less fertile than other female creatures, so that it could take her a year to conceive. That was what made it possible for only two women to keep one male, if they were correctly phased. If both conceived at the same time, they would lose him, because neither would be able to entice him with sex. Neither the man nor the woman thought of it exactly this way, but this was the mode that enabled the fledgling species to survive.

  Indeed, the sister’s labor was complete: she held a furry baby boy. There was a red mark on his little forehead, but it did not matter, for he was healthy. Now the man had two sons, by two sister women. It was good.

  In this manner the tracks leading toward the full human species proceeded. Yes, they are our ancestors. Normally when the male is considerably larger than the female, he has more than one mate, so their social conventions were probably not the same as ours. Three million years can change things, however. Because he was born as the blazing sun set, and had a birthmark sharing this color, we shall call the new baby Blaze.

  CHAPTER 2

  * * *

  TOOLS

  Two million years before the present, Australopithecus had given way to Homo habilis (HO-mo HAB-i-lis), “handy man,” larger and with a bigger brain. He lived in the Great Rift Valley of east Africa. He was, as far as we know, the first of our kind to use tools regularly and effectively. But of the four kinds of tools this sequence shows, only one is what we normally think of as such. And—he wasn’t the only descendant of Australopithecus extant.

  EMBER was four years old. She was bold for a girl, and liked to use her hands. She was always grabbing onto interesting sticks and colored stones and trying to form them into fun patterns. But most of all she was intrigued with fire. Her mother had to watch her constantly when they were near a recent burn, to stop her from trying to take hold of an ember and scorch her fur. Thus her name. She had in time learned caution, but not enough; she still wanted to pick up bright embers, trying to wrap them in leaves to protect her fingers. She also had a small liability: there was a slight tremor or tic of her left cheek that appeared in times of stress or concentration. It was hardly evident ordinarily, but her mother was aware of it when the child nursed, and at other times. She hoped that Ember would grow out of it before others noticed. Fortunately the child was so active, moving her head so frequently to focus on things, that she seldom stayed still long enough for it to be obvious.

  Yesterday there had been a burn on the land. It had crossed the prairie and the near valley, destroying their shelter and driving them into the water of the lake for safety. It had burned itself out during the night, but it had not been a comfortable time. Now the women of the band were out foraging for roasted mice while the men were out searching for a new place to make a safe retreat. This was, in a sense, a reversal of the normal order, for now the women were hunting meat while the men sought a homesite. It happened when it made sense.

  Ember and her mother walked along the lake shore. It was safe here, because if a dangerous animal came they could wade into the water and the creature would not chase them. The fire had burned right up to the water and stopped. Now the land was covered in black ash, and pockets were still crackling. Ember was eager to go to them, to satisfy her fascination, but her mother stopped her with a terse reminder each time she started to stray. “No!” Ember had learned that word early, as well as her name.

  They reached a section the fire had missed. Here the grass remained green and the trees retained their foliage, though some at the edge had been wilted by the heat. Right at the edge, hemmed in by a channel leading from the lake, was a large crackle-section. Oh, wonderful!

  But they waded into the lake to avoid this, disappointing Ember. She hung back, staring at the puffs of smoke drifting up, wishing she could go and grab at them. What wonderful stuff fire must be, if she could only get close to it!

  However, she did spy a pretty little stone with bright veins making pat
terns through it. She quickly picked it up and put it in her mouth for safekeeping. It tasted stony.

  Then they spied something alarming. A big cat was crouching in the brush. But it wasn’t after them. It had brought down a giraffe and was chewing on it.

  They quickly retreated, keeping quiet. Ember knew that silence was essential in the presence of danger. She was frightened. She felt her cheek quivering. She almost swallowed her stone, so she poked it into her cheek for safekeeping.

  They returned to the shore beyond, casting wary glances behind, then ran back to the place where others were gathering. This was beside a cache of stones they had gathered and deposited here before the fire. They had similar caches scattered strategically around the lake, so that there was always a source of tools or weapons near where they might be needed.

  “Cat! Cat!” Ember’s mother cried, pointing. Then: “Giraffe.” She made a gesture as of something lying on the ground.

  That was clear enough. Several men picked up stones, carrying them in their crooked arms, and moved toward the place. Ember’s mother went along to show them the way, so Ember went too, staying close.

  They entered the water by the crackling place and made themselves as quiet as possible. They came to the cat. It was a single one, not a pride. It looked up at them, blood on its monstrous fangs. It growled warningly.

  But they were several, and it was one. They had the protection of the water, which the cat would not enter by choice. They could attack it with impunity, and they were hungry.

  The first man flung a stone. His aim was good, and the missile struck the cat on the flank. The cat jumped up, snarling. It made as if to charge them, but stopped at the water’s edge.

  Reassured by this, the others flung their stones. Ember wondered whether she should throw her pretty pebble. She hoped not, because she wanted to keep it. Two stones missed, but two more struck. The cat screeched and turned, snapping at the stones, but getting nowhere. Then, as the men advanced toward the shore, throwing their last rocks, the cat realized it was overmatched and retreated, reluctantly. One more stone caught it near the tail, and it bounded away.