by Kip Hartzell
The women were amazed as they slowly moved inside. Nanona was softly laid on a bed with her baby nursing. Anataka kept crawling on the floor like a worshipper until John had to raise his voice to make her stand up. The panther soon left, and he began making dinner.
Nanona and baby ate a little, and were soon asleep in the secure, climate controlled environment. Anataka was curious and tried to handle the technology. John moved with her, taking things away as if she were a small child.
“Why are you so tall?” she asked.
“Why are you so short?” he replied, keeping all of his answers vague.
“Where do you come from?”
“Far from here.”
“Why are you here?”
“I’m looking for something.”
“What?”
“A special item,” he said. He sat down at the table with fruits and vegetables. He waved his hand for her to join him.
She did so without any of the previous god worship in her eyes. She looked at him as if he were human, strange, but human. She ate sparingly, while studying him, like she knew him.
“I’m looking for this,” John pushed a paper-thin computer across the table with a picture of a crystal skull on it.
Her eyes widened, and she almost fell back. “You want my head.” She ran for the exit and pushed back a flap, only to see nothing but darkness.
“What? No, it’s not made of a person. It’s made of stone.”
She seemed to fear the darkness more than him. She slowly turned and relaxed, seeing John just sit there. “I’m not here to harm anyone.”
“How is the sun shining in here and not outside?”
“Glowing particles...” John found himself distracted. “Uh, it’s getting late, have you seen a stone skull?”
“No, but I have seen many real ones.”
“Oh, we’ll leave for your tribe as soon as Nanona is able. You can sleep there. I’ll sleep there.”
Anataka took a thermal blanket and curled up on the floor next to Nanona. John went to his bed whispering a word to shut off the lighting.
Jay could still not believe the detail of the mind blending computer. He could swear he could smell the dampness, and hear every bug. He was there, as the darkness blacked his vision, and then he heard rummaging. He opened his eyes, got up, and looked into the main room. The front flap was open to let in light, while Anataka tried to work the food dispenser.
“Lights,” John casually said.
They flicked on, giving Anataka a start as she spun around, and looked up at the giant. There it is again, that look, as if he had met this person before. The baby started crying. “Whatever you want, just tell the machine.”
She slightly relaxed and smiled through a dirt smudged face. John’s keen sense of smell couldn’t help notice the three resembled the smell of the jungle. Nanona sat up and began feeding the child. Anataka spoke to the machine, which took a few second to translate, then opened to reveal fruits and berries. Her eyes lit up, as she took the tray and knelt down in front of John, bowing her head, she began to worship him.
She made John feel like a God. He was feeling the intoxication of superiority, thinking he could do whatever he wanted, the power of life and death at his fingertips. She looked up at him. That look, did she recognize him.
He kneeled down and put a finger under her chin, so they were face to face. “The Great Creator is flawless,” he said, “and I am far from that. Anataka, I am not a God. I have better tools, that’s all. Now, eat. The shower, I mean, river wash water, is over there, just say, warm water, and you may bathe.”
She stood up in silence and moved to Nanona. She ate, while she, and her friend cooed over the baby. John watched for a moment, then went to get dressed.
When he returned, Anataka was experimenting with the shower. She jumped back when it sprayed. John couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked at him, and smiled. She put her hand in to make it start, then removed it to make it stop. Without a thought, she removed her animal skin dress, and let it drop to the floor. John tried to take his eyes away, but she was so beautiful. Like a miniature Atlantean. She disappeared into the steam.
He walked over and picked up her dress and put it in the garment cleaner. Nanona was reluctant to speak, but she built up her courage, and said, “Thank you for helping us.” She then quickly looked away.
“You’re welcome,” he said, and then sat next to her.
She seemed very uncomfortable by this move. They could here Anataka singing some ancient tribal song.
“She has always been the adventurous one, brave and smart. She can outperform most of the men in our tribe.”
“Yes, she is special. When do you think, you will be able to travel?”
“Would tomorrow be alright?”
“Of course,” John said, looking over at the suckling baby. The miracle of life, and the miracle to come, trying to preserve it.
Anataka stepped out of the shower. Her black frizzled hair and body were dry. She looked at her dried hands in amazement. John approached her with her clean animal skin dress, while he averted his eyes.
“You are a God, and this is heaven.”
John shook his head and went to his room to check in with Chrysalis.
For the rest of the day, the women mauled around, lost, because of not having to fend for their lives. Nanona moved around cautiously. They asked hundreds of questions that John wouldn’t answer, and if he did, they wouldn’t understand anyway.
The tent was folding in on itself as the two onlookers gasped. John put the box in his backpack and moved toward the women’s tribe. They marched through the jungle, avoiding snakes and other predators. John was impressed by Nanona’s perseverance of having just given birth, and then hiking several miles. The women looked at each other from time to time, wondering how this strange man-god knew where to go as he led them home.
It was afternoon, before they emerged into a clearing. Scores of humans moved about their daily chores of cooking, watching children, and being on guard. Lean-to’s dotted the area. John thought it clever to camp in the open, as to see any enemies, or predators coming.
When they cleared the edge of the jungle, a male guard called out, and a contingent came running forth. Six of them stood in front of John, and the women. Anataka, using more sign language than language, began explaining, or trying to explain, to them that the man-god was not there to hurt them. The fear in their eyes was obvious, as they held their wooden spears at John. He noticed right off, the spears were burnt on the pointy ends to add to rigidity. They haven’t invented stone spearheads yet, he thought, good.
John was now surrounded, and feared he may have to hurt one of the Cousins in order to protect himself. He slowly pulled out his pistol, setting it to burst, he aimed it at the top of a nearby tree. The thunder clap and explosion, as the top of the tree came crashing down, scared the guards to the prone position of worship.
Anataka and Nanona stood there with their mouths open. The baby began to cry as John was putting the weapon away.
“Huehueteotl, please forgive us. We did not recognize you in man form,” the lead guard said.
John wasn’t sure of the name, but it sounded, or translated into Fire God, or the old Fire God. He realized he might have made a big mistake. By now, the whole nomadic village was before him and bowing, except Anataka, who stood there in undecided fear. John raised his hands as not to appear aggressive. “Please, I’m not here to harm anyone. Stand up, It’s alright.” He made an uprising motion with his hands.
The lead guard looked up, noticed Anataka standing before a god with no respect. He took his spear, and swept her leg out from under her. She went down on one knee, giving the guard a killing look, there it is again, John thought, that look. I’ve seen it before. “Stop! No violence.” The guard jumped back to the prone position. “Now, everyone, up. It is a great day.”
“Yes,” the guard said, getting up. “We must rejoice and feast.” He waved another guard over. �
�Go find the Chief at the hunting grounds, and tell him to get back here.” The man nodded and took off. “Everyone, prepare for the coming.”
The tribes people got up and began scrambling around to prepare.
The sun was going down, when the tribal leader with his cohorts arrived. Food was cooked over an open flame, as children and adults slowly approached John carefully, wishing not to incur his wrath. It took a while, but the tribes people began to relax and sat to eat near the giant.
Chief Akanar knelt in front of John. He was tan, like the rest of his people, short, stout, with several animal bones stuck through his ear lobe. An animal tooth necklace hung down a scared chest that had seen many battles, either man or animal.
He had a headdress of feathers and a club with a large shiny piece of, what looked like gold, tied to the end of it. John asked to see it closer, the Chief handed it over, and backed away without making eye contact. He took out his scanner, and confirmed it was gold, someone had spent hours polishing it to a bright shine.
John tossed it back to the Chief with his approval. “Chief Akanar, sit and enjoy the feast, all of you.” He said louder, “eat, enjoy the feast.”
They complied happily, with smiles and cheers.
By late into the evening, they were still talking by the campfire. By now, the clan realized, John, the God, was not there to punish them, but rather, interact with mortals, something they knew they had done all through time. John decided to forgo the tent and technology, so he slept on the ground with animal furs as blankets. Anataka pulled up her animal skin bed near him, and looked as though she had a question.
“Okay, ask, before I go to sleep.”
“Why do you not use your magic shelter?”
“Remember how scared you were when you first saw it? Well, imagine fifty people scared like that at one time.”
She thought about it for a few seconds, then smiled in understanding.
There’s that familiar look again, what is it about her? “Now, go to sleep. I have a job for you tomorrow.”
She smiled wider, and wiggled closer toward him. He rolled over on his back and gazed at a night full of stars. He began identifying the star patterns as they rotated. He wasn’t tired, laying there for hours listening to the jungle sounds, and snoring. The more he stared up, the more homesick for space he became, especially, Atlantis.
John eventually dozed off to sleep. He hadn’t dreamed in centuries, unless one counted the Temporal Storage Device. He knew his night time dream, was a dream, but he allowed it to play out. He was running through single-file tunnels, something was chasing them, Athene-A in front of him, and Maya-A-Toltek behind him. The fiery torch he held would spray sparks when he accidentally hit the ceiling with it. They turned left, then right, straight, a seemingly endless dark tunnel. Why was Maya in his dream? He had not thought of her since the new discovery of her genetic mutations in the caverns below the wooden pyramid.
A loud growl came from behind him, he stopped and turned, only to see claws in the darkness grab Maya by the waist, and start to pull her back into the blackness.
She clawed the tunnel walls. “Help me, John,” she yelled, as she vanished.
John opened his eyes to the stars again. From there new position in the sky, he could calculate that he had only been asleep for two hours. He got up and began to walk the perimeter of the camp.
Everywhere he went, a guard would bow and then prostrate himself in front of him. He gave up trying to convince them otherwise, and moved on. Moving away from the light of the fires, he once again became awed at the clear starry night sky. The dream still bothered him as he contemplated how similar it felt compared to the TSD, as if there were some kind of telepathic connection. He sat there, contemplating, until the sun peeked over the horizon.
By the time, he walked back to the camp, it was almost time to leave. He was amazed at how efficient they were, very little wasted material, or energy. Anataka approached and bowed, lugging his equipment, along with hers. Maybe he would travel with them for a little while, study them, and search for the skull at the same time.
“I can carry my own things, Anataka.”
“I would be most honored to do so.”
He hesitated in recognition, then said, “No, that won’t be necessary.” He looked back at her as he followed the Chief into the jungle.
It was late in the evening, while John was monitoring his handheld, when the Chief cautiously approached and kneeled. John had noticed the Chief avoiding him, either out of fear, or rejection. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to come to him now.
“What can I do for you, Chief Akanar? Please stand, I don’t like talking to the tops of people’s heads.”
The Chief got up, moving his hand down his club-cane to reveal wood carved human skulls down the pummel. “We are approaching our campsite, are there any preparations you would like us to make?”
“No, just make sure everyone is fed. Chief, I am looking for something, something that eludes my power, have you seen, this-” John manipulated the handheld, making a 3-D picture of the crystalline skull floated near him.
The Chief fell to the ground again, and began mumbling some kind of prayer.
“Chief! Rise.” He slowly did so. “Have you seen this artifact?”
The Chief was unsure how to answer, which answer might kill him, or send his soul to the underworld. “No, Huehueteotl, please forgive us.”
“It’s alright Chief. If I can’t find it, what makes me think you could.”
The Chief relaxed at answering correctly, and got up. “Is it important?”
“Probably the most important thing on this planet.”
“We will be vigilant,” he confidently responded.
The new campsite was similar to the last, but near a mountain range. John spent the remainder of the day jumping into trees to gather fruits, to the amazement of the warriors. He was able to detect with his scanner, various edible roots and vegetables. They ate well while he was around. Anataka readied a lean-to for him, while he gathered food. The sky darkened and threatened rain.
After the late day meal, John stepped into his new abode and set his pack down. She didn’t enter, but moved her things around. Clashing stones together, trying to make a fire when the rain came. She gave up and pulled her fur blanket over her head. John had just reported in to Chrysalis, when he saw that she was the only one without shelter. She must’ve given him, hers.
“Anataka, come, out of the rain,” he said, holding out a large hand.
She did so gladly, even though she was already drenched. He looked at the pile of wood she had stored just inside the tent, and started arranging it. He could have used any number of gadgets to start a fire, but he had never tried to do it with his mind, he never had to. He put his hands around the pile of wood looked deeply into it, and concentrated. He saw in his mind, the molecules that made up the kindling. He made the molecules vibrate, faster and faster, until they began to generate friction heat. He pushed harder, like microwaves passing through them. Suddenly, the wood lit up and spread, until a well-defined campfire hissed and sparked.
Anataka’s eyes widened as she bowed to him. Outside, in the rain, the Chief and several guards had brought torches to light various fires. They stood there in the rain, stunned at what they saw, and then quickly snapped out of it. They kneeled and bowed in the mud, whispering Huehueteotl.
John rolled his eyes, and then said, “Chief, seek shelter.”
“Yes, your highness.” They left quickly.
Well, if that didn’t secure his place as the fire God, nothing would. “Anataka, warm yourself.”
She sat up and moved closer to the fire. John reached behind him for bigger sticks to put on the flames. When he turned back, she had removed her fur skin dress and was holding it near the fire to dry. John tried to look away, but he was no God, he was still human. He stirred the fire for something to do. He then removed his boots and laid back on his large leaf bed with stinky smelling fur
s, and sighed. No stars tonight, he thought. Well at least the pattering of rain was soothing to his troubled mind. How long could they hold on before Atlantis returned? He sighed again. He felt the fur blanket rustle and a warm body curled up beside him. He did nothing to discourage her, but felt less lonely than he had in a long time.
John was up, long before light, leaving Anataka tucked in. He made his rounds with the sensors, and by the time he got back, the hunter-gathers were ready to go, again. He wondered why they moved so much, they couldn’t possibly deplete an area’s resources in one day, even a group this large.
The winding trail took the group down into a river bed. The river was wide, but shallow. The tribes people, on cue from the Chief, began setting up defenses, and lean-tos as if preparing for an invasion. He just stood around, confused. While watching the spectacle, he saw Anataka up river, knee deep in water, with a thin wooden spear, preparing to strike.
When he approached, she thrust the spear into the water, and with one fluid motion, tossed the fish over to the bank. He had made several notes in his logs about how the tribeswomen were as good at hunting and fishing as the men. Anataka was exceptional. He admired her for a few minutes, and then interrupted her fishing.
“Why the defenses? I haven’t seen that before.”
She looked up. “This is a very dangerous area, it is the territory of Quetzalcoatl. He doesn’t like us to corrupt his domain. We must gather enough food to appease him in order to make it to our hunting ground. We must appease him before the rains raise the river too high for us to cross.”
“Why the defenses?”
“If he is not appeased, then we must fight for our right to cross.”
John studied this for a few moments. Wondering what could scare, or take on a group this large. “When will Quetzalcoatl arrive?”
“Sometimes, one, maybe two sunrises.”
His curiosity had peaked, and by now, there were dozens of men, women, and children wading the waters, some using just their hands to fish. It was getting late, and John knew they were not going to meet their quota. If Quetzalcoatl showed up in the morning.
