by Barry Alder
“Alas, no. The good soldiers, who rarely grace my establishment, have no information on that, and my other sources are equally baffled. Does this pose a problem for you?”
“No. I was merely curious. We have traveled from the north and this is the first stop where there have been such problems. Is this a recent development?”
“Yes. Once the Empire arrived, they ‘requisitioned’ most of the food in the town, especially all the meats. Their soldiers require solid sustenance in order to protect us from the savages that surround us.”
“I see,” said Mi’kol quietly.
“The merchants,” continued the proprietor, “who left this morning came from the south. They were hoping to find a source of beef to take back, but were not successful. They thought they could get some from farther north, but it was confiscated when they entered the city. They tried to sneak it in, but were caught and spent two days in confinement. Last night was their first night out and they left for their home town as soon as they awoke this morning.”
Louise thought for a few moments. Spies, she thought. They were spies.
“Interesting,” said Mi’kol. “I guess they had their fill of the ‘liberation.’”
The proprietor looked carefully at Mi’kol before speaking.
“Yes, perhaps they did.” he said cautiously.
Louise could see the owner was getting suspicious of them, and that was not good. He had already supplied them with a lot more information than he was aware of. It was time to gain his confidence back.
“Father!” she said loudly. “This fine gentleman isn’t interested in your speculations about something you know nothing about.”
She turned to the owner.
“My apologies, kind sir. My father sometimes speaks out of place. He has a long interest in trying to cause discomfort in others in order to create discussions. It really is a bad habit of his, and he does not mean any ill by it.”
The owner looked carefully at Louise, obviously trying to determine if what she said was true or not. No one said a word for the few moments he considered his options.
Louise was just about to give up hope that he would trust them when he smiled at her.
“Ah. I understand now. I have a cousin who delights in starting arguments just to harass people. Not well liked, but still family. There are days I wish we could get rid of him, but alas, he has not yet annoyed anyone enough to do anything about it.”
“Thank you sir. Not many people understand the vicious quirk my father has.”
The owner smiled. He and Louise now had an understanding that the others didn’t. He would trust them, or at least her now, and that was good. She felt immensely relieved.
She looked at Mi’kol and Lara. For reasons she could not explain, she knew they understood what she had done and were prepared to completely back her. That gave her great comfort and a feeling of trust in them that she hadn’t fully felt before.
“So, Father,” she continued cheerfully, “what will you show us today?”
Mi’kol paused for a moment, his face taking on the look of deep thought.
“I think our first stop should be the art gallery. It contains many pieces that I am sure you will find interesting.”
At the mention of the art gallery, the proprietor stopped. All three caught this and looked at him.
“Is there a problem with us visiting the art gallery?” asked Louise.
“I’m afraid there is,” he replied. “The administrative offices are located on the same block and that block is now restricted to authorized people only.”
“Oh my,” sighed Mi’kol. “And there were so many things in there I wanted you to see. Well, let me think.
“Ah. There are the gardens by the stream! So many beautiful plants, trees and flowers.”
He looked to the proprietor and saw a sad look on his face.
“Is that off limits as well?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Many of the Empire soldiers are camped there. They do not take kindly to people wandering around their tents.”
Mi’kol’s face took on a perplexed look. After a few moments of thought, he asked the proprietor, “How about the shopping district and the central fountain?”
“The fountain is off limits,” the proprietor slowly replied. “It is too near the main residences of the commanders. The shopping district is open, but there are few shops left that have much, and not many people are about there. Most go to get what they can to survive, but not much else.”
Mi’kol turned to Lara and Louise.
“I am sorry, daughters. I had hoped we could have a wonderful time exploring this fine city, but it seems that will not be possible.”
“Please do not feel bad Father,” Louise responded. “Let us see what the shopping district has and then, perhaps, we could just wander about. We have never been in a city this size and I want to see what it is like. At least, those areas we are allowed to go to.”
The proprietor hastily stepped up to them.
“Be very careful where you wander. Many of the areas that are under the soldiers’ control are not well marked and you could easily find yourselves in trouble. I suggest you watch the town’s inhabitants. If they appear stressed and worried, then you are probably near a restricted area.”
“Thank you for your guidance and concern,” Louise replied, smiling sincerely at him.
“Kind sir,” interjected Mi’kol. “Perhaps now would be a good time for us to eat?”
The proprietor’s face immediately lit up. It was easy to see he was much happier serving his customers a meal than discussing the changes that had beset his town. He scurried off to the kitchen.
“In his own way, he has told us much of what has happened here,” said Mi’kol. “And where we need to go.”
Louise was a bit taken aback by Mi’kol’s grasp of what the proprietor had said.
“Yes. He has given us a lot of information, and a means for determining the importance of those areas we will not be allowed in.”
“How so?” asked Lara.
“The areas that will be heavily guarded will be the ones we need to investigate closely. The other areas, such as the gardens, we can observe from afar and get a reasonably good idea of their function and the number of soldiers there.”
“I follow the second part,” Lara said, “but how can we investigate the areas that are heavily guarded. Surely they will be on the watch for anyone who shouldn’t be there.”
“You are quite correct, Lara. So we must find a way to be there legitimately.”
* * *
Jason watched as Peter and Sean headed toward the mountain path. They were doing a detailed survey of the area in order to develop a barricade against the coming invasion. Others were busy moving all the remaining supplies from the stasis center to the village, and determining what resources they would have for the upcoming battle. That left Jason with little to do. He wondered how Lara, Louise, and Mi’kol were doing and had asked Ka’tel what he thought the prospects of their trip would be. Ka’tel hadn’t been too helpful, but had conveyed that the trio were well and not in any immediate danger. When Jason had asked how he knew, Ka’tel had only replied, “I just know.” Jason had given up trying to pursue statements like that from Ka’tel.
He was on his way back to his hut when Mona and Zorine caught up with him.
“Good morning Jason!”
Jason stopped and turned to the voice.
“Good morning Mona. I trust all is well with you.”
“As it always is,” she replied with a smile.
“What can I do for you today?” asked Jason
“Nothing. But I may be able to help you.”
He looked quizzically at her.
“Help me? In what way?”
“You remember the papers I gave you when you first arrived?”
“Yes.”
“I have a few more. Perhaps they will tell you what happened to your world, or give you some information that may be of help.”
“Don’t you know?”
“No. They are written in the old tongue, your native tongue. I do not know how to read them.”
“Well. I don’t have anything to do right now. Yes, I am interested in reading them. But why did you wait so long before giving them to me?”
Mona looked a little sheepish as she replied.
“I thought I had given you everything. It was only while Zorine was doing some cleaning of my hut that we discovered them. They were behind another of my boxes. And I guess you were not meant to have them until now.”
“Would you mind explaining that?” asked Jason.
“One of our beliefs is that Spirit gives us the information we need at the most appropriate time. Sometimes it is when we feel it is right, and sometimes it is on another schedule. I believe that this information was only meant for you now.”
“That doesn’t make much sense to me,” replied Jason, “but I guess now’s as good a time as any.”
Mona chuckled and slowly shook her head, reminding Jason of a parent who had just tried to teach something to a child that was still beyond the child’s abilities to grasp, and realizing the futility of the attempt.
“Then have them with my hope that they bring you some understanding,” said Mona as she handed Jason a small envelope that held a few sheets of paper.
He was amazed that the paper and envelope were in such good condition. They had obviously been well looked after. Jason looked up to thank Mona for the papers, but saw she had already left and was too far away to thank. Later, he thought. The next time I see her.
He decided to read the papers at his spot by the ocean. The rocks were high enough that the normal wave surges didn’t splash him, yet he was close enough to the water to feel the ocean’s power and peace. He settled on one particular rock. Over the weeks, he’d found that this particular one seemed to fit his form perfectly and he could sit there for hours comfortably facing the ocean.
He opened the envelope and took out a small stack of papers. Although the paper itself was in good shape, the printing or writing on most of the sheets had faded to the point where it was unreadable. Jason sighed. He knew technology had once existed that would have been able to pull the information off the pages, but that was long gone. Of all the sheets that had been so carefully stored and cared for, only two were readable. He felt a sense of loss at answers that had been here, but were now gone. He’d hoped there would have been a complete history of everything that had gone on in the last three hundred years, something that would help him connect his time with the present, but it didn’t look like that would happen now.
He slowly replaced the almost blank sheets back into the envelope, and placed it on the rock beside him. Sighing almost reluctantly, he took the two sheets, resettled himself, and started reading.
June 23, 2067
I really don’t know where to begin. In fact, I don’t even know if any of you will ever read this, but I feel I must put something to paper just in case.
As you can see by the date, it’s about forty-five years since you were placed in stasis. In that time, the world as you knew it has changed completely. But I’m probably getting ahead of myself. You probably are wondering who I am and how I know about you.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Alexander Wilson. I am the son of John Wilson, who was the son of Marion McDermott. My grandmother was one of the group that was assigned to monitor your stasis and make adjustments to it if necessary. As you have probably guessed by now, adjustments were made.
I guess I should begin at the beginning. On this, I am going by the stories I have been told, as I was not yet born when you started your long sleep.
In the year after you went into stasis, the Mason Faction completely overran the Northern Alliance. By the fall of 2021, they had complete control of the whole country and had imprisoned or killed anyone who had actively supported the Alliance. Their methods were both effective and cruel in tracking them down, and my grandmother decided it was best to leave you where you were until the searches ended. She thought, after a year or two, things would settle down and it would be safe to wake you. Unfortunately, the police state that evolved in those years made it almost impossible for anyone to do anything without the right papers and passes. You would have been discovered very quickly, and probably killed. She felt a great need to protect you for something in the future that she never did put into words, so she made every effort to ensure you weren’t found. Fortunately, your location was far from any settlement, and no one was interested in doing much with the area around you.
To my grandmother, it began to look like the status quo was going to last a long time when Mother Nature decided to disrupt it. In 2025, a massive earthquake took out California. The casualties were in the millions, and massive refugee camps were set up in the surrounding states. The whole economy, which was still recovering from the war, nose-dived. The amount of resources needed to look after the refugees crippled the new government, and it started to collapse. There were frantic calls for help to the rest of the world, but they went largely unanswered. Unfortunately, that earthquake was not the only one in the world. There were multiple earthquakes on every continent, with tens of millions dying. Many of the earthquakes destroyed much of the world’s basic resource production and transport facilities. As a result, much of the world economy collapsed, and relief efforts were virtually non-existent. The world was left in a state where every country had to fend for itself.
Global communication remained relatively intact for a couple of years after that, so we were able to learn what was happening elsewhere. It was not good. Ongoing earthquakes caused further destruction of the world’s infrastructure. In addition, they caused much of the Antarctic ice fields to break loose. This resulted in the global sea level rising about ten feet. Most of the coastal areas that had not been affected by the earthquakes already were flooded by the rising sea. Within five years of the Mason Faction winning the war, there was no central government here. From the little information that came from outside the continent, it appeared the same situation existed everywhere. Isolated pockets of people created their own forms of government. Some were open and sharing, and some were cruel and dictatorial. No one challenged the bad ones, because there was no fear that they would spread. No one had the resources to create armies to conquer anyone.
Fortunately, the government that evolved in this area was a cooperative one. My grandmother and my father had allowed a few close friends to know of your existence, and the group made a commitment to protect you as best they could. There was some discussion about waking you, but there was a fear that you might take over our village. My grandmother and father argued that this was not likely, but the emotional scars of the occupation were still strong and it was decided it was safer to leave you where you were for the time being. My grandmother was furious about the decision, but had to go along with the others to maintain their support. She needed that because of the distance between the village and the stasis complex. You were sufficiently far away from the village that you would not be discovered and the group made periodic trips out to ensure that your site was kept well hidden. But these trips took a few days and the group took turns in order to avoid suspicion. Fortunately, the group was good at hiding their activities and has managed to keep the secret so far.
Unfortunately, the earth changes that so radically rocked our planet were ongoing. There were a few more earthquakes that resulted in the ocean coming to within one hundred miles of your site. This caused the group some concern, so the trips to check you happened more often. Unfortunately, two things happened about that time. Firstly, a number of people in the town began to notice the amount of trips our group was making and became suspicious that we were hiding something. Secondly, we noticed a shifting of the landscape in your area. Over the course of five years it became evident that a mountain was being created.
We realized that we would need to maintain a much closer watch of what was happening, and de
cided that the best way to solve both problems was to create a new village. Our group moved to a spot close to your center but far enough away that no one coming to the new village would find your complex. We have kept pretty much to ourselves and maintained a cover of being a private religious group, set on maintaining the purity of our beliefs. It has worked well so far. Few people come around and most are happy to leave rather quickly, which helps us a great deal.
As of this date, the earth changes are still continuing but appear to be starting to subside. I do not know how they will affect our new village, but, if you are reading this, then the changes did not continue.
One final note. I do not know when you were revived, but the group has decided to leave you in stasis until we either need your skills or we are ready to assist you in blending into our society. I know you are probably angry over our decision, but we all feel it is the best for all concerned.
I hope you understand.
Jason put the papers down. He had hoped they would fill in the missing details, and they did. Perhaps too much so. He was angry about being left for so long: angry that, because of the delay, a lot of his people had died - needlessly; angry that they could have been woken up in a more peaceful time, that they could have been able to live out their lives peacefully; angry that they were so far removed from their own time, that he couldn’t find out what happened to his family.
Feelings he thought he had buried came rushing back to the surface. Tears came to his eyes as he once more thought of the family he had lost, the chance he had lost in finding them, and the emptiness that was gnawing at his soul. He felt so alone, so cut off from everything. He needed someone to talk to, someone he could confide in. He couldn’t confide in any of his group. This was just too personal. The only person he felt he could confide in wasn’t here. He desperately needed Lara to talk to.
---- Continued in Book2 - Inner Voices: First Growth ----
Excerpt from Book 2 - Inner Voices: First Growth
Louise looked out the window, taking care not to disturb the curtains. There was a partial moon out tonight, but it hung low in the sky and was occasionally obscured by clouds. Not the best of nights to be out, she thought, but not the worst either.
She looked out the back of the inn, seeing if anyone else was about. At three o’clock in the morning, she was sure that no one was, and it certainly appeared so. Still, it made no sense to take any chances. The knot of concern in her stomach had not gone away, and now she found the hairs on the back of her head bristling. With extreme care, she slowly scanned the surrounding buildings. The feeling that she was being watched pervaded her senses, but she saw no evidence of it. Still, there were many places that could easily hide someone from her sight while, at the same time, giving them a clear view of her.
