The Humanarium

by CW Tickner

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but things are difficult up there at the moment. Food for the masses is almost non-existent. I would’ve brought the usual supplies, but even I go hungry nearly every switch.’

  ‘The food is not important,’ Argus said to an astonished look from Cheng. ‘I owe these men a debt. As you do me. Can you get them into the city?’

  Cheng looked as if he wanted nothing more than to run and pretend he’d not seen the dead Callers or frightening strangers, but reluctantly he nodded.

  ‘Possibly‘ he said, then, at a look from Argus, shook his head up and down. ‘Yes, I can get them up there. But only if we meet under the city in two switches time.’

  ‘Two switches?’ Argus said. ‘Why so long?’

  ‘It’s not a matter of walking up the ramp,’ Cheng said. He staggered slightly as the drink took hold, and then steadied himself against the wall. ‘They must get up a different way.’

  ‘Fine,’ Argus said, turning to Harl. ‘I hope that will satisfy you. Sorry we cannot do more.’

  ‘I would prefer to leave sooner,’ Harl said, ‘but it’s more than we’d hoped for.’

  ‘I must go,’ Cheng said, still staring at the bodies. He fished a flask from his jacket, shrugged an apology, and then took a swig.

  ‘Cheng?’ Argus said, raising an eyebrow.

  Cheng looked up, focusing again.

  ‘Two switches,’ he said, ‘under the city, left of the ramp, after dark.’ He opened the door, peered around, and then scurried out into the darkness towards the city.

  ‘I hope that will be enough to repay our thanks,’ Argus said. ‘He’d better be there.’

  ‘Why does he owe you?’ Damen asked, watching Cheng through the window as he stopped halfway up the path to be sick in the ditch before disappearing into the dark.

  ‘When our daughter was taken-’ Argus swallowed hard. ‘-she was with him. When the hand came down, he ran, leaving her in the open. Later, he admitted he was drunk, but by then it was too late. Maybe the God would’ve taken her anyway, but maybe not. He blames himself for it every single switch and brings us food from his job up in the city. Although lately I hear he began drinking hard again at the city tavern after swearing off it for so long.’

  ‘Clearly,’ Damen said.

  ‘We’re going to need him if we’re to get inside the city.’ Harl said

  Argus nodded.

  ‘Why is getting into the city important?’ Oscar asked. ‘We could just cut through to the next place.’

  ‘The more we can spread the book the better,’ Harl said. ‘And perhaps this leader can be persuaded.’ He looked at Damen, ‘or assassinated?’

  Damen nodded.

  ‘Either way,’ Harl said, ‘we don’t need enemies at our back on our return.’

  ‘I don’t know how to thank you all,’ Argus said, looking round at his wife, who had regained her composure.

  ‘There’s no need,’ Harl said. ‘Just spread our message and we’ll meet Cheng in two days. But now we must go.’

  As Harl opened the door to leave, the world lit up as the lights above switched on. It illuminated fields, houses, and people heading out to work.

  Not good, Harl thought, not good at all.

  Chapter 63

  By tweaking the interior lighting I can achieve better plant growth. I’ve released my reports on this to the newly-formed hobbyist societies which have sprung up around the globe.

  ‘What do we do?’ Oscar asked as he peered around the doorframe at the people marching to the fields, and a stream of guards coming down the giant ramp, ready to start another day of whipping and torment.

  Harl had an idea.

  ‘Take their clothes off,’ he commanded Argus and Jo as they automatically readied themselves to join the others in the fields. They seemed to shake off the lifelong habit and obeyed, stripping the Callers’ clothes and then handing them up to him. He passed one set to Damen. ‘We need to put these on,’ he said.

  ‘What about me?’ Oscar asked.

  ‘You’re going to be a prisoner,’ Harl said.

  Oscar frowned at the mark of treachery, but Harl chuckled.

  ‘Our cover will be we are taking you to be executed,’ Harl said. He waved a hand out the window towards the crossroads at the base of the ramp. They would need to pass the front of the giant ramp if they were to rejoin the others at the camp.

  ‘If they follow us,’ Damen said, ‘we’ll lead them straight to the camp.’

  ‘We have to risk it,’ Harl said looking from the bodies to Argus. ‘You’ll be alright taking care of the bodies?’

  ‘We can bury them before more come around, and Jo will take care of the mess inside. She’s most grateful and I’m beholden to you,’ Argus said, smiling. ‘You’re welcome here any time, Harl, and all your friends. Especially if they’re as tough as those two,’ He looked from Oscar to Damen, who was now dressed in a tight-fitting, but serviceable, Caller uniform.

  ‘Be ready to leave with us Argus, if you’re both willing,’ Harl said. ‘Here, take this.’ He passed Argus a bag containing some food and a couple of small daggers Damen had slipped inside, not needing them because of Oscar’s gift.

  Jo seemed to have recovered from the shock and she handed Damen a short coil of rope. ‘For his bonds,’ she said and suddenly threw her arms around him and then Oscar. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘If you need to leave,’ Harl said, ‘then we’re camped over the hill on the far side.’ He pointed in the general direction and they both nodded.

  ‘Farewell,’ Harl said, feeling the uniform start to itch as he and Damen escorted a loosely-tied Oscar along the road. They had made sure to cover as much of his skin as possible and Damen went so far as to put a sack over Oscar’s head to disguise his appearance.

  It was a tense walk, but they were not hindered along the gravel path. As they passed the crossroads, a Caller patrol started up the ramp and, in a stroke of luck, the men had their backs to Harl’s group. Some of the passing slaves glanced towards Oscar in his role as prisoner, but no one stared. They just assumed a submissive stance when they walked by, and bowed their heads towards the ground as they struggled along under their burdens of baskets and sacks.

  ‘Seems to have worked,’ Damen said as they trudged along the road towards the hill at the edge of the tank.

  Harl nodded and then scurried up the hill when they reached it. Oscar almost tripped as they led him over the crest. They ducked down on the other side and looked at their camp. The men were sitting in a circle around their belongings while they ate.

  Oscar yanked off the sack and his eyes shot wide open as he looked along the ridge of the hill. Harl snapped his head round at the sound of a sword being drawn. One of Damen’s men was running at them with his blade held ready to strike.

  ‘Wait you fool!’ Damen hissed ‘It’s us.’

  The man skidded to a halt and stared hard at them before apologising.

  ‘It was the uniforms, sir,’ he said.

  Of course, Harl thought. They looked the same as all the guards over the hill.

  ‘Why did you not see us approaching?’ Damen asked.

  The man looked crestfallen. ‘Was eating lunch sir.’

  ‘You’re on double duty from now on until you learn how to keep an eye out,’ Damen said. ‘And make sure you use a bow next time.’

  ‘What took you so long?’ Kane asked, tucking away a small notepad. He stood as the three of them trotted down the hill into the natural gully. He squinted as he looked at their clothes, then sniffed. ‘Did you go shopping for clothes? They suit you.’

  ‘It’s a long story,’ Harl said. ‘But let us eat and rest first, then we’ll tell you what we found out. We’re in for a bit of a wait.’

  Harl outlined everything that had happened, from killing the two guards to meeting Cheng. Drew and his men had returned well before the light came on and had delivered all the books to houses they found on the way. They had learned that the ramp up to the city was closed during darkness.<
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  ‘We’ll meet the man and he’ll show us the way,’ Harl said. ‘Once we’re up there we can leave the rest of the books.’

  ‘What then?’ Kane asked. ‘I don’t think all these people will come with us. These Callers will try to stop them.’

  ‘Can we pass word around that anyone who wants to leave should meet at a certain time?’ Damen asked as he quietly scraped a sharpening stone up his sword. ‘Or we could just fight these Callers. Looks like they need teaching some manners.’

  ‘With an army of malnourished peasants?’ Kane asked.

  Damen stopped the stone and tested the blade with his thumb. ‘And what would you do instead, clever one?’

  ‘Sneak them out somehow,’ Kane said.

  ‘I don’t think there is a way we can get them out without trouble,’ Harl said. ‘If there’s to be fighting, then we must make sure the Callers and this One are dealt with before we continue.’

  ‘It’ll be a tough fight,’ Damen said and resumed scraping the stone. ‘But maybe we can use some proper weapons.’ He placed the sword down and picked up his battle rifle as an example.

  Harl realized they had a huge advantage over the Callers, even if the Callers had the numbers.

  ‘Send word back to Uman,’ Harl said, ‘and those we passed on our way here. Have them send as many as are willing to come. They must be ready to fight.’

  ‘It might take some time for them to reach us,’ Kane said. ‘Until then, we can spread more of the books. We can meet Cheng and scatter them in the city. Maybe find out more about this One they talk about.’

  Harl knew time was against them and he hated that they must wait for Cheng.

  ‘By now the Callers will know about the books,’ he said. ‘They may even try to find us before our forces arrive.’

  ‘What will we do?’ Kane asked.

  ‘Keep a good lookout and get some sleep,’ Harl said.

  No soldiers came marching up the hill during the next day and night, and they passed the time by guessing what they would find up in the city and the tanks to come. Harl was fascinated by some of the ideas the men came up with. One suggested a tank filled to the top with soil where the people lived like rodents in tunnels and warrens beneath the surface. Kane had hopes of finding a tank brimming with lost technology, where humans had transcended martial combat and lived in tranquillity and peace.

  But it was all dreams, really. Harl knew the reality of living inside the tanks in a way that most of the men could never understand. Only Drew, Oscar, and the people from their worlds shared that curse. It was something Damen and Kane would never see as clearly, because they had never lived through the pain and never woken each day to the walls and roof constricting their lives.

  And yet he envied them. They had known freedom. Yes, they had lived under the yoke of the Enlightened, but they had an endless world to explore and the ability to fight against the monsters that came to claim them. It was the freedom to roam, the freedom to face the risks life had to offer and know that you had a chance.

  Harl’s people had nothing.

  When the specified dark cycle came, Harl, Kane and Drew crept out beneath the shelf to meet Cheng. The shelf formed a low ceiling that seemed to press down on Harl. It was a reminder of the quarries, except, instead of dust, the air was heavy with humidity as moisture rising from the soil became trapped between the two layers.

  Cheng was waiting for them beside a small farm house nestled at the tall end of the ramp where the shelf began.

  As they approached, Harl noticed he was leaning on the wall for support. He looked drunk.

  ‘You’re ready to go into the city now?’ Cheng asked.

  ‘Yes’ Harl said. Something felt wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  ‘Follow me,’ Cheng said as he pushed off the wall and began to walk deeper into the darkness.

  ‘Cheng,’ Harl said and the man stopped. ‘Argus told me about the accident.’

  The pop of a bottle cork broke the dark silence around them.

  ‘So?’ Cheng said.

  ‘It wasn’t your fault,’ Harl said.

  Cheng looked startled even in half-light.

  ‘What do you care?’ he asked and took a long swig from the bottle.

  ‘My parents were taken,’ Harl said. ‘I’ve seen it happen too many times. No one can hide when they come to take you but, if we succeed in our plans, then no one need fear them again. Your help won’t be forgotten.’

  Cheng stopped mid-swallow. Maybe no one had spoken to him about the events before and he stayed silent, not moving.

  ‘Are your people willing to fight against the Callers?’ Harl asked.

  Cheng seemed put out by the question and shifted uncomfortably, looking around as if someone was waiting in the shadows beside them.

  ‘Most of us want to be free,’ Cheng said. ‘But it’s not possible. The One is too powerful.’

  ‘You’re wrong,’ Harl said, knowing how he felt. It had been the same with the Eldermen and the council at Delta. ‘We’ll put a stop to it.’

  ‘Come on,’ Drew said, ‘or we’ll be here when the light comes and be easy pickings.’

  Cheng hesitated, looking back into the darkness, then strode off.

  They followed his silhouette deep under the shelf towards the rear barrier of the tank. Darkness encompassed everything the further back they went. What if they lost Cheng? Or the shelf collapsed down on top of them? Harl tried to relax and stop hunching over like an old beggar. The shelf held the weight of a hundred towers and must have been there since the tank was made.

  Cheng stopped, finally. Only a thin sliver of light showed above them.

  ‘Up there,’ Cheng said, pointing at where the shelf joined the tank.

  Harl strained his eyes in the darkness, looking for whatever Cheng was showing him, then he spotted it. The light was coming from a gap near the base of the shelf where it met the back of the tank. It ran from a tiny crack at one side of the tank to where it widened out into a man-sized opening further along. Most of it had been bricked up, but there was a small section where the bricks had obviously crumbled and fallen away.

  ‘Fascinating,’ Kane said as he stared up at the faulty joint. ‘The Aylens must have made it out of alignment.’

  ‘That is what you call the gods?’ Cheng asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Kane said simply. ‘They are not gods, just large creatures who have captured humanity, as it says in the book.’

  Cheng hesitated. It was clear he hadn’t read the volume. He bent over and picked up a small stone and threw it up towards the widest point of the crack. It knocked against the corner and ricocheted off the wall, landing with a light thump in the damp soil.

  A small light flickered into the crack and a shadowy head peered down at them. Cheng pulled two small objects from his ragged black jerkin and struck them together twice. The pieces sparked and flickered. It must have been a signal. A knotted rope dropped down from the widest part of the opening and hung loose next to them.

  ‘I’ll go first,’ Cheng said, steadying the rope in his grip. ‘When I’m up, follow quickly, but be careful not to hit the wall and bounce off. Watch,’ he said as he grasped the rough fibres and heaved himself up. He placed his feet against the black barrier and, using them to balance himself, half-climbed and half-walked up the wall and rope.

  Harl followed next, heaving himself up, hand-over-hand, focusing on placing his feet in the correct place against the wall. When he reached the top he glanced up and saw several faces between the crack glaring down at him. None looked friendly.

  Uncertain, he looked back at the ground ready to slide down to safety, but two strong hands clasped his wrists and hauled him up. When he stood, he was not only facing a nervous Cheng but several men in the same uniform he had borrowed two days before.

  Callers.

  He cried out as a sword flashed up to his neck, but the sound had been enough; he could hear Kane and Drew’s distant footsteps as they ran.r />
  ‘Scum!’ a Caller holding a coil of rope shouted as he hit Harl in the stomach. The air rushed out of him and he doubled over, winded.

  ‘They got away,’ the Caller said, turning his fury on Cheng, who stepped back, fearful.

  ‘I tried,’ Cheng said, raising his hands to placate the man. ‘I couldn’t help it. I did as you asked.’

  ‘You get a third,’ the Caller said, indicating a lumpy sack at his feet.

  ‘I couldn’t help it’ Cheng said again. He looked at Harl, opened his mouth, and then snapped it shut again.

  ‘Just take it and get out of my sight,’ the Caller said, kicking the sack. A mud-covered carrot rolled out.

  Cheng grabbed the sack and swept it up over a shoulder, and then ran off into the city.

  ‘Hope this one’s enough,’ one of the men said, scrutinizing Harl. ‘Should’ve been all of em. How’d you get him to do it capt’n?’

  ‘Easy,’ the captain said, ‘The scum had been stealing food from the kitchens. Caught him last switch pinching a joint of meat ‘an he starts blabbing about foreigners. Didn’t believe a word until now.’ He eyed Harl, pointing his sword at Harl’s chest.

  ‘Bloody cattle,’ another said, ‘I’ll never understand them.’

  ‘You’ve some explaining to do,’ the captain said to Harl, ‘and you’ll do it in the dungeons.’

  Despair coursed through Harl for trusting Cheng as the guards took his weapons, tied his hands, and walked him into the city built for the gods.

  Chapter 64

  General Valrich came into the shop today. A general! He asked how easy it was to train them. I hadn’t a clue what to say. Training them for the military makes no sense. What use could something so small be?

  Harl finally saw the full splendour of the city as he was kicked and shoved along the street. The buildings were the biggest man made objects he had ever laid eyes on, dwarfing the homes and buildings from his own world. Even Delta seemed tiny by comparison. Each building was taller or wider than the next in a series that stretched to the back corner of the tank. It was as if each generation of builders had wanted to outdo the last.