“Mankind has been given another chance. Technology was getting so advanced that humans were becoming like robots. Human nature itself was becoming extinct. As the ancient saying goes, ‘man got too big for his britches.’ There are going to be those who will fight the changes.
“Joe, you will be okay. I really believe that. If there are any threats towards you, I think you will be brought back to the cave just like I have been every time I have tried to escape.
“Ashley, I think you will be all right too. Not many people know about you and you can remain here anyway.”
No one said anything and we were thinking our own thoughts. I either wanted Joe to stay here or I wanted to go back with him and I felt like he felt the same way. We looked at each other and although neither one of us had implants, I felt like we were communicating these thoughts to each other.
“What are your plans, Joe?” Irene asked.
“I need to go back and talk to my sister. I have much to tell her. She will have to decide for herself and for my niece what she wants to do. I should be back by tomorrow night. If I’m not then you will know the authorities have gotten me.”
He kissed Irene on the cheek and gave me a longer more passionate kiss and, without another word, was gone. I felt like a body part had been amputated. He was now part of me.
CHAPTER NINE
Irene and I stayed in our houses in the beautiful city for three days and Joe had not returned. I told Irene I wanted to go try to find him. She didn’t argue but told me to wear the cap she had given me.
I put on the cap and felt like I was dressed for a Halloween party. I left having no idea where I was going. I wandered around in between the buildings until I came upon a building that looked like what I remembered buildings looking like.
It had a sign in the front that said, “Museum of Curiosities.”
I walked into the building and noticed there were no guards or tour guides. It was free and it wasn’t until then that I began to wonder what kind of currency they used here. Everything seemed to be free.
It looked like any museum I had ever seen with marble walls and floors, but everything was going to ruin. There were large cracks in the floors and walls and I wondered why they didn’t move into one of the buildings that had grown.
There were small rooms with bars on the doors like jail cells and there were people in them who looked like they were from the time before implants.
Each was doing something different. One was eating, one was sleeping, one was doing floor exercises and one was reading. I wondered if they had been given these tasks to entertain the viewers. I felt sad for these people but I also felt angry and scared.
I saw a family walking along laughing as they viewed the prisoners. And then I saw Joe. He was lying on a cot and he was crying.
“Joe,” was all I said and he hurried over to the cell bars and took my hands in his.
“Irene was wrong, Ashley. I got picked up almost as soon as I got near my dwelling. I didn’t even get to speak to my sister and niece.
“The other thing is that, without the implants, I’m so lonely. Always before there were all the other voices like we were all interconnected.”
“I don’t see how you ever got any peace and quiet with all that going on. How did you communicate with just one person with so many other voices in your head?”
“You learn to filter out everything else but the voice you want to communicate with. I’m worried about my sister. When she can’t contact me, she’s going to think I’m dead. She knows I was dying.”
“Don’t worry, Joe, I’ll go by and see her and explain everything to her.”
A guard came by and yelled, “Hey! Get away from that cage. You’re not allowed to speak to the display people.”
He stood there staring at me with different expressions on his face and I realized he was trying to communicate via the implants. He walked closer to me and looked closely at my head and suddenly pulled the cap from my head.
My hair fell to my shoulders. He must have called to other guards because two more came almost immediately.
“Let’s put her in there with that male.” One of them said. “Then people can watch them mate.”
I was shoved in with Joe. I ran to him and we started kissing but then realized they were standing there watching so we pulled apart.
“You two go right ahead. Don’t let us stop you,” one of the guards said.
Joe and I stood and stared them down and they finally lost interest and left.
After they left, Joe and I sat side by side on the cot with our backs propped against the wall. I put my head on his shoulder and he put his arms around me and I instantly fell asleep.
When I woke up, Joe and I were on the purple sphere. Joe was still asleep and I kissed him. Before he even realized where we were, we were making love.
When it was over, Joe looked around and we both got the giggles.
“Well, it looks like I won’t ever have to worry about being alone again,” Joe said. “We’re obviously suppose to be together.”
“I wonder if it was because we were together that we escaped, or was it because of me? I wonder if I got arrested and locked up by myself, if I could escape.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re not going to test it out. Let’s go find Irene. She must be worried sick.”
“Welcome home, Joe,” she said when we came out of the house. She was working in a beautiful garden. I looked up and wondered where the source of light came from.
It looked like any other sky and if you didn’t know you were deep inside a cave, you would have thought you were outside.
The three of us picked vegetables and took them to Irene’s house and cooked them for our dinner. We had some more of the crusty bread and the good wine.
“Where does the bread and wine come from?” I asked Irene.
She shrugged, “The same place your bacon and eggs have been coming from.”
We all laughed and I had never felt so happy and at peace. Joe took my hand and kissed my finger tips. I looked at him and at the same time thought about helping Irene with the dishes.
But when I looked at the table, there was nothing there. I looked at Irene and she shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine.”
CHAPTER 10
One thing I loved about living here was that there was no hurry about anything. We let Joe rest for a few days while Irene and I talked.
“Ashley, how do you feel about both you and Joe going out and getting more people to join our community? I believe I was brought here to be the gate keeper, and that you and Joe are meant to spread the word together.
“Isn’t it clear to you that neither of you can go out alone?”
“I don’t want to go out alone and neither does Joe. As soon as he’s rested some more, we need to go let his sister know what’s happened. I’m sure she will want to be part of it.”
“I’ve rested enough,” Joe said from the entrance to the main part of the cave. He was rubbing his eyes.
We left immediately and headed for Joe’s sister’s house. “She’s going to be shocked, Joe. Is there any way we can soften the blow.”
“I can’t think of any, can you?”
I shook my head and looked up and saw their dwelling. It didn’t impress me as much as before, after seeing the city inside the cave.
Joe said, “Enter.” and the wall disappeared. His sister and niece were sitting on a sphere.
His sister looked up and said, “You look like my brother with hair.”
“I am your brother with hair and I am totally healed.”
She stared at him and made hand movements. She looked confused.
“The implants are gone.”
“How is that possible?”
“Oh, 42R, we have so much to tell you. And how are you, 63?” he asked as he swung his niece into the air.
She squealed and then said, “Oh, uncle, I want to be like you and Ashley. Do you have a pet name now too?”
; He laughed with her, “Yeah, you can call me Joe.”
His sister gasped and looked around like she expected someone to come and arrest them all.
“Don’t worry,” Joe said, “As long as Ashley and I are together and you’re with us, nothing can happen to you.
“Will you come with us? It’s easier to show you than to tell you.”
We hiked up the hillside and the little girl looked at me, “Can I have pretty hair like you?”
“Yes. As soon as the implants are removed, your hair will grow out.”
“Will it hurt to have them taken out? Will they give me some happy juice?”
“There is no happy juice where we’re going. There are no drugs of any kind. And it will hurt but only for a few seconds.”
The little girl ran to Irene as soon as she saw her and climbed onto her lap. They appeared to have an instant connection and I wondered if they had known each other in another life.
We let Irene do most of the talking and when she was finished, she led us all back down the dark passageway and to the entrance of the city.
The woman and girl stood looking inside with awe and I knew how they felt. I put my palm against the opening and there was no membrane. We entered and the little girl stopped and tried to pick some flowers. She giggled, “Look, Ashley. It won’t let me pick any.”
“I know, it won’t let you pick anything that you don’t need like fruit and vegetables.”
“Oh, I get it…” Before she could finish what she was saying, she fell to her knees and grabbed her head. She started screaming.
Her mother came over and knelt down and suddenly she grabbed her head and screamed. We could only watch until it was over. Liquid metal ran out of their eyes, noses, and mouths and poured onto the ground.
Just like Joe, they passed out and when they again opened their eyes they had hair.
The little girl pulled a handful in front of her face and exclaimed, “Look, Ashley. It’s red like yours and mama’s. We must be related.”
I looked at Joe, “I sure hope not.”
“Why?”
“Never mind, I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
“Oh, one of those things. I want to be named Pud. What do you want your name to be, mama?”
“I choose Ina.”
Now we all had names and it was less confusing for me. They chose a lavender house across form ours and next door to Irene’s.
Ina took me aside and asked, “Are you and my brother joined? Don’t be embarrassed. I only want to know so I can know if he really is healed.”
“We have made love,” I said to her, “and Irene thinks we have already started a baby.”
She hugged me, “It’s a miracle. You’ve made me so happy, Ashley. It’s like a miracle you have been sent to us.”
We were all happy to live there and enjoy the food and the gardens for a few days until Irene reminded us that we needed to get on with recruiting more people for our community.
CHAPTER 11
On the day we had planned to go down the hill and find more people, we set out early but left Irene in the cave entrance and Pud in the city. I would have never left my little girl, June from my other life, alone but knew she would be safe here. She said she wanted to explore.
We got half-way down the hill and noticed two teen aged girls and an old man coming up.
When they saw us they stopped walking and started silently talking to each other. We walked down to meet them, sensing they were frightened.
We let Joe do all the talking, “Hello, what is your designation?”
After hesitating one of the young girls pointed to herself, then the old man and then the other teen, “Q34S, Q66F, Q7N.”
Joe introduced us using his and Ina’s old designation and making up one for me.
“We saw the cave and thought we would stop and rest there. We didn’t know it was occupied.”
“You’re welcome to come in and rest and to stay as long as you like. Are you hungry? We have plenty of food.”
The man looked very old and shaky and the two girls helped him up the hill. Irene had been watching from the cave entrance and she had a table set with a feast. There were regular chairs around the table.
One of the girls ran her fingers over one of the chairs, “It’s like what’s in the museum back home.” The three ate like they were starving.
“What’s going on in sector Q?” Joe asked.
The old man got tears in his eyes, “It’s awful. I lost my daughter and son-in-law to the authorities in one of their experiments.”
The two girls put down their food and cried into their napkins. He looked at them, “Their parents.”
“What kind of experiments?” Joe asked.
“Some of the men and women volunteered to participate in some fertility experiments. It involved new implants and the removal of old ones. The volunteers all died and when no one else would volunteer, the authorities took who they wanted.
“My daughter and son-in-law were dragged out in the middle of the night and implanted against their will.
“There weren’t many women of child bearing age left so they were going to take the few teenage girls left. We don’t have that many because there have been no births in many years.”
Joe shook his head, “It’s worst than here.”
Pud came out of the back of the cave and I heard our three guests gasp.
“How old is she?” the old man asked.
Before anyone could answer Pud said, “I’m five and a half. Are you here to get unimplanted? It doesn’t hurt much and for just a little while.”
The teenage girls held on to each other. The old man’s eyes widened, “Who are you people? Why do you have hair? And what is this place? It’s not just a cave, is it?”
“It’s a wonderful place,” Pud said.
Joe motioned for her to be quiet, “She’s right. It’s a healing place. It heals what mankind has made sick.”
“I have so many questions. But why don’t you just continue on and tell us the whole story.”
Joe nodded, “I’ll be glad to tell you all I know from my own experience. Section P is heading in the same direction as your section Q but it hasn’t advanced as far yet. Or I should say it hasn’t deteriorated as much.
“I was one of the first volunteers for the fertility transplant. I was dying. My sister lost her husband last year from volunteering for the original version of the transplant. They were supposed to have fixed everything by now but they apparently didn’t.
“I’m going to ask my mate here to tell her part of the story.”
I could feel myself blush. No one had ever referred to me like that. But I took up the story, “In 1973 I went into the hospital for a simple appendectomy and had a heart attack and died. I woke up here.”
I saw their mouth fall open but I continued, “I didn’t reincarnate as a baby, probably because there are no babies being born in this time and I was apparently meant to come to this time…”
I continued to tell them my story and when I finished Irene told hers. Joe told them about meeting Irene and then me and about bringing me to the cave.
We were all silent for awhile, each hesitant to tell about the city.
“How did you get hair and get healed?” One of the teenage girls asked.
It was Irene who finally answered, “There’s a city within this cave.” She looked at the rest of us before continuing, “We will take you there if you feel you’re ready.”
The old man nodded and we all headed down the dark passageway. When we got to the entrance, the three gave a loud gasp.
“Those buildings are not like anything we’ve seen,” one of the girls said.
Joe looked at her, surprised, “Your dwellings in section Q don’t look like this?”
“Our buildings are very old and mostly falling down. They provide very little shelter. They were made of wood and a few rocks. What is that material?”
“Our buildings in section P are like thes
e and they weren’t built by us but grew out of the ground. They looked like mushrooms when they were small.
“As our buildings began to deteriorate we moved into the ones that grew. They are amazing.”
The old man spoke up, “If you have houses like this on the outside, why do you need to move here?”
“Even though the buildings in section P are better than yours in section Q, we still had to escape the authorities, just like you did,” Joe said.
None of us had thought to warn the newcomers and almost as soon as we entered the city the old man fell to his knees and grabbed his head.
Within seconds the two girls fell and once again I witnessed the liquid metal pouring out of every orifice of each one of them and then each one passed out just like Joe, Ina and Pud had.
When they came to, they had full heads of hair. But the amazing thing was that all of their hair was also red like all of ours. The girls were beautiful and had blue eyes. My eyes were green and Joe’s and his family were gray. I thought both went with the red hair but I liked the blue also.
“Now you can choose names that you like. Ashley, she pointed at me, was already named Ashley. She chose my uncle’s name, Joe for him. My new name is Pud and my mother’s name is Ina.”
The girls chose Zen and Zoe and the man chose Robert. I was glad everyone decided to choose real names. I could never get used to all those letters and numbers.
Now that the man had a full head of hair, he didn’t appear to be all that old. When I asked him, he said he was 57.
They chose a yellow house on the other side of Irene’s. We showed them how to use the sphere’s like furniture and they stretched out and went to sleep.
CHAPTER 12
We enjoyed the city and each other’s company for another few days. Zoe, Zen, and Pud went exploring every day and were gone all day. No one worried about them.
I think we would have all been happy to keep things the way they were but one day Irene called a meeting at the front of the cave. We left the youngsters in the city.
“I think it’s wise to have our meetings here each time. It’s too easy to stay in the city and be content. But we must think of our mission to help others who still have to deal with the authorities.”
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