Chapter 12

What had come through with the dog was not one box but two.

John blinked, but reckoned they had accepted the request for more medical kits, and they had sent do with the pup as the best solution. That implied that other dogs may arrive with two boxes each time.

He ruffled the head of the pup before detaching the boxes, and it whined softly, still confused with what had happened to it just now. John picked up the boxes, on in each hand, and held them up so that Vickie would see they had received two.

He turned to the pup again, and encouraged it, “Come on, boy. Come with me. We have food!” The pup lolloped behind him. The words meant nothing, but he understood the welcoming tone and hoped for food from his pack leader. That was how he saw John.

John walked slowly up to the cave, the puppy trying to stay close to its leader. When they got there, John expected to have his burden taken from him, but instead, they all wanted to make a fuss of the puppy. Exasperated at this fuss over animals, he carried the medical boxes over to where the first box had been placed, and added the two new ones to the pile. He hoped there would be more.

John was next intercepted by Raka.

“John darling, I am proposing to get back to exploring the cave further back, but I need another team member to go with me. Gimla and Gimla have agreed to act as anchors for the safety line until we can find large enough boulders to tie the line round. I got enough lengths of hide strips tied together with one of your tight knots, that we can go a considerable distance if we have to. I left several of the girls to make the improved oil lamps yesterday, and they have them prepared for us to test.” “You are ready so soon? I thought it would take you several days!” John admitted.

“My husband, in this tribe we women don’t have to wait for men to make decisions for us. We got on with it, and so we are ready now. Are you willing to accompany me on this exploration?” John sighed as if he was putting up with insubordination, but smiled at Raka.

“Okay. I have been rested and fed, so I am up for it. I take it you have recovered from the trip?” Raka huffed, “That was no great trek, John. You are the one who is not used to such regular travels, I think.” John revealed, “I know that over all I am fit and healthy, Raka. I feel that Ihave made such trips in worse conditions than this, but not on a regular basis. Let’s see what we can find back there.” Raka fetched Gomla and Gimla, and instructed them on their responsibility. “You girls are our safety factor in this exploration. This end of the line must be secure at all times, so we cannot get lost.” Once she was happy that they knew how important they were, she and John set off into the dark, with Raka carrying a hefty pile of loops of rope over her shoulder. It was clearly heavy, but wheh John offered tom carry it, she declined.

“John, the weight will go down rapidly as I pay it out while we go further in. It wil only be very heavy for a short time.” John carried the lamps and the spare bags of oil, and made certain his survival knife was secure in his belt. They set off at a fast speed, for they knew the first stretch well by now, and before long they had reached the map on the wall.

John stopped to bring his lamp up close, to look for any changes in the map and its accessories. Everything looked identical to the previous time except for one thing. The map appeared to have grown. The edges were farther apart, showing more of the surrounding landscape. The river was more evident, and he was 90 per cent certain that more tribal campsites were shown. He peered closely and saw that the Farfarers camp was clearly indicated; in fact it was strongly indicated, as if there was some special significance to it.

Puzzled, John put these facts aside, and moved off with Raka to get more data on the cave’s limits.

They eased downhill for a while, Raka paying out the cord as they went. The walls continued to be rough, but far apart. Then Raka remarked on a noise.

“Listen, John! That sounds like a water drip, over in that direction.” “yes, I agree. It sounds like drips landing I water, so there may be a pool of water at that location. I think we should move slowly, in case the floor is slippery with slime.” Raka challenged that idea. “Slime in the darkness? Don’t be silly?” “My memory says otherwise, Raka. I don’t know why, but my mind says that some slimes and other life forms can exist in the dark, feeding off chemicals in the water. Be prepared for such a thing, even if it seems daft, Raka.” They made their way slowly towards the sound, in one side of the cavern they were exploring. John’s lamp, at a higher level than Raka’s started to show a reflection of water ahead. He warned Raka, and they edged slowly forward to where the water’s edge met the rock.

John got down on his knees and tested the water with his hand, to see how deep it was. His fingers told him it was only a couple of inches here, but the bottom was sloping rapidly downwards. He told Raka, “This seems to be a pool, and possibly quite deep farther on. Let’s move around the edge and see how wide it is at this side. You go to one side and I’ll go to the other. Keep your lamp high so we can see each other.” The pool proved to be fairly wide at this side, but it would be too risky to wade into it to gauge its depth. Raka volunteered, “We could come back with a long spear and check it for depth all the wau along. It might be deep at some places and shallow in others.” John mused, “How could we see what the other side is like? Best thing I can come up with is to get a piece of wood several hands wide in both directions, and fix an oil lamp into it. We could then push the lamp out into the water with a long spear. That would take the lamp nearer the other side, and we might be able to get an idea of what the other side was like. It doesn’t help with the depth question though.” “John, if we attached the floating wood with the lamp to another safety line, we could retrieve it when we had seen all we wanted to see.” “Good plan, Raka, “ John praised her. She had good ideas. Being stone age didn’t mean being stupid. He bent to cup his hand into the water for a taste. It was certainly potable, not stagnant, so most likely that at some part of the pool edge there was an exit for the water, as well as the dripping input. The taste had a slight iron hint to it.

“Right, we have found this water source, so we can move on. Which way should we go?” Raka raised her lamp and gazed around the cavern, looking for any openings further on. Her attention settled on a dark space on the opposite side from the pool of water.

“There. That looks like another passage, John. Can we go over and check it out? I think our safety line can swing across with us, so that we will still have some rope to feed out if there is a passage to look into.” The made their way carefully across the cavern to the black gap in the wall. Standing in its entrance, John was able to see that there was a narrower tunnel extending into the darkness. An apparent bend hid the end of the tunnel from view, and John decided that this was enough exploration for today.

“How much line do you have left, Raka?” “Only about six feet, John love. Sorry about that.” “No problem, Raka. I wanted to end here for now, so how about we lay the line down, and simply follow it back to the light. For our next venture, we can bring more line and knot it so the end of the first line. That saves carrying the first line back here again.” “Very sensible, John. I will lay the last few loops on the rock floor here.” John and Raka picked up the line and allowed it to run through their hands as they made their retreat outwards, and some minutes later they arrived back at the front cave, where they appreciated the better temperatures. The back cave had felt cold, especially in the cavern where the water was pooled. In many ways that was preferable to a much warmer cave which would have been conducive to harmful bacteria.

Sheila and Vickie were hovering anxiously near where they came out, and Sheila was quick to ask them, “What did you find? Is it save in there?” “Don’t panic, Sheila. We were fine. We found a pool of water, but how useful that will be depends on how deep it is, and where it comes from. There seems to be a slow inflow of water, so I am assuming a similar overflow somewhere, keeping the water from stagnating. Do you or Vickie have any knowledge of rocks? I want to know what we can expect from the geology ñ now there’s a word I have just remembered! By that I mean is this the type of rock that can have a spring coming up from below to fill the pool, or is this inflow simply moisture from above? A spring is usually consistent in flow, but water percolating from above is mainly influenced by the climate above. We haven’t seen much rain so far.” Sheila’s face fell. “Sorry, love. I don’t know much geology.” Vickie looked triumphant as she smirked, “I do, though, John. The rock could be in layers, if it is mostly sedimentary, but there could be volcanic sills intruding as well. These act as caps to water trapped below, and springs occur where there are breaks in that volcanic layer. If it is more an example of solid rock, then it could be just cracks allowing water to drip through. On the other hand, both effects may be happening: geology is seldom simple.” “I see. Thanks, Vickie. I didn’t know you had studied geology.” “John, there was a lot you didn’t know about me. I was ready to say yes if you asked me to marry yo, but you never did, back home. That is something I know, without having to remembering it!” “Well, I have now married you, love. We must do what we can to remain happy together.” Sheila intruded, “Happy with ALL of us together, Vickie!” Vickie stretched out a hand to pat Sheila on the arm. “All of us, Sheila; I have accepted that, my dear.” “And I apologise for everything I did that was nasty back then, Vickie. It was not the real me.” “I know that now, and I accept that apology. Life is somewhat different now, but we will do our best to be happy together. Okay?” “Okay. We will probably have his babies together, if our birth control is gone.” “Yes. We can bulge at the same time, and hope that he still wants us in that condition.” John was listening to he exchange, and commented, “I fancy making love to my wives when they have baby bulges. To me, that makes you even more attractive.” Sheila remarked, “You say the nicest things, John dear.” Vickie exclaimed, “Damn. You got in before me, Sheila. I was going to say the same.” John switched subject, to avoid embarrassment.

We found a side passage that we didn’t get a chance to explore, as we were running out of safety line. We need to have more with us next time, and see what is down that way. Are we okay for hides to cut into strips for rope? Or do I need to go hunting again?” “Gomla is the one you need to ask, John. She keeps track of our inventory, even though she has never heard of the word inventory. She seems good at it, resulting from her getting the hang of numbers and their use. These folk may be stone age, but they are as clever as folk from our period.” John told her, “Yes, I had noted that. Raka is sharp about many things, and as you say, Gomla is good about numbers. The warriors were excellent on the trip to the Wayfarers, and tougher than I expected. That reminds me, I must get Numa to give me a report on Gereda’s woman, and plan for a wedding for these two.” “John, Tarka is hovering. I think he wants to speak with you.£ John turned and found Tarka waiting patiently.

“Yes, Tarka? Something on your mind?” “Yes, Chief. I would like to do a trade tour around some of the other tribes within a reasonable distance. If I can have a travois to use, I can start off with a load of soap bars and liquid soap bags, plus a few samples of our moccasins. I can trade for what seems useful to us, and get back here when I feel I have done enough. My main enquiry is, can I send traders back here to trade with the tribe?” “Have you checked with Numa and the other women?” “They are all for it, but would not say yes without your approval, in case it might jeapordise our safety.” “Ah, I see their concern. It means giving away our location to traders, but that is inevitable, for traders cannot come to us without knowing where to go. Tarka, you should be able to give them the location in private; not to be passed on. You can warn them that if anyone but a trader turns up, his tribe would lose their trading privileges. That should work.” Tarka was happy to go with that proviso. “I’ll put together my trading pack and organise a travois. I expect to be away for a week or more, so you might find traders coming here before I return.” “We can live with that, Tarka. Let them know that they must tell us ëTarka sent me’, as proof they have come from a tribe you visited.” Tarka left the next morning, waved off by his wives and child. John then had to perform the wedding blessing of Gereda and his rescued spouse, for Numa was pleased with the girl’s answers to her questions.

Once that was over, Raka came back to John, to tell him she had the new length of rope prepared, and a long spear for prodding the pool for depth. She also showed him the chunk of wood she has scrounged form the folk who were gathering fuel for the second fire.

“I fixed the oil lamp on to it, too. It is securely wedged into a hole I gouged out of the top, so I think we have everything for the expedition.” “You don’t want to give me any excuse for not going, Raka!” She leered at him, saying, “I could suggest a good excuse but the other girls would complain!” John growled back, “Don’t tempt me, woman!” John asked Numa if there was anything he was needed for in the next hour, and when she said no, he told her that he and Raka were going back to explore the side passage in the water pool cavern. She let him go with just a kiss, but he folded her breasts just for the hell of it, causing her to giggle.

Raka led the way, but this time she allowed John to carry the rope, and he swiftly realised why: it was heavy. Either the leather used was thicker, or the rope was longer. Raka was carrying the lamps and the float. She passed to John one lit lamp for his own sight of what was ahead.

They soon passed the wall map, and John automatically gave it a glance over before they continued. It had not changed. They reached the water cavern, but this time went straight tot he pool edge, where Raka began poking the spear into the water at various positions. I seemed that the rock floor went steeply down as it fell away from the edge. John took the float with the lamp and lit it before pushing it out from the side. It didn’t move far, so he borrow the spear from Raka and used that to push the float further. She squealed in annoyance, and used the spear to retrieve the float.

“You forgot to attach the line, idiot!” John now realised why the line was so heavy: it was too lines, with one for affixing round the float, so it could be hauled back when they had seen enough. He soon tied the loose end round the float and made sure the knot was tight, before pushing the float out again.

With the extra impetus given by the long spear the float with its oil lamp drifted out into the dark, and shortly they could see the far wall coming into view. At one spot there was a small rivulet of water cascading down the rock, occasionally splashing into the pool. That was the dripping sound they had heard last time they were here.

Raka exclaimed, “Look, John! Over there is a small passage. That must be where the water leaves the pool. I will guess that it finds its way into the stream down from our cave.” “I reckon that is probably right, Raka, so that is good. The water will stay fresh because it is being slowly changed as the water flows back out.” “Good. That gives us, on the face of it, a reliable water supply in the cold season. Now, it is cold here, so can we go explore that passage on the other side of the cavern?” “Okay, let’s do that, love.” John slowly and steadily pulled the tiny raft back to the shore line. He pulled the float out of the water, and left it sitting, but removed the oil lamp to give them more light. He left the shorter rope line beside it, on the assumption it was not needed now.

They made their way over and picked up the last of the first rope. John found the end of their new rope and set about tying the two lengths together. That done, they picked up their lamps again and progressed inside the passage.

They walked another twenty yards or so, before coming up against a wooden wall completely cutting off the passage.

Raka commented, “Who and when built a wall of wood back here. It looks well made, so must have been here before we arrived, John.” As they came up to the wooden barrier, John noticed that a plaque had been nailed to it, and the plaque had a word engraved on its surface. The word was ëLibrary’.

At this, he peered around, looking for a door or a door handle, but nothing was sticking out. Instead, there was a recessed grip carved into the surface, and he decided this was the equivalent of a handle. Presumably there was a door, but in the poor light level, he couldn’t see it.

He reached out and placed his hand into the grip. Raka gave a gasp, and said urgently, “Take care, John. It may be a magic barrier, and not safe to touch.” He gave a short laugh, saying, “The sign on that flat piece of wood there, Raka, implies that there is a collection of knowledge inside, beyond this barrier. I believe we are intended to open it and have a look at the knowledge. It is almost a Pandora’s Box!” “A what?” “Damn. Forget it, Raka. It is just another phrase from my past that means nothing here. It means something like letting a whole lot of knowledge loose on the world.” “John, how do you propose to open the barrier?” “You see this hole that I can put my hand in? If I insert my fingers and pull, I am sure it will open up the barrier, but I want to keep you and the oil lamps well away. The reason for that is that I expect the air inside to be a special air that keeps things from deteriorating ñ from going off. Such special air prevents bacteria ñ tiny bugs ñ from growing on anything. That way the contents should be still like new, whatever they are.” “But what about you, John? You will be close to it, with your fingers in the hole.” “Whoever constructed this will have that in mind, so the special air should dissipate quickly, but it might go bang if a flame from the lamp touched it. That is my main worry.” Raka carefully moved back after accepting John’s oil lamp. She tried to be as afar away as possible while still getting the light to show John what he was doing. Once John was happy that she was safe, he pulled on the internal handle.

With a creaking sound, the door slowly opened. The handle had released a catch inside, and the slightly forward-angled door opened with the combination of John’s hand and gravity. He quickly ceased pulling and allowed the door to swing fully open by itself.

To John’s surprise, there was some light inside, on the ceiling. He guessed at a chemical reaction started by the door opening. Such light occurs by natural biological processes, so it must have been harnessed for this task. At this example of purely biological action, he assumed that the entire contents would be composed of biological material. His memory suddenly informed him that books were historically made entirely from natural materials, so that the ëlibrary’ was probably full of books.

He allowed his gaze to wander over the illuminated space behind the door. The passage behind the door was lined with shelves, and laid flat on the shelves were many books; he could not tell how many, but he hoped that most of them would be instructional works that would help them live here.

“John?” came Raka’s worried voice. “Are you all right? What have you found?” He took a breath and found the air breathable. His guess about a poisonous gas had proved unfounded, so it may be that the ëlibrary’ had been fumigated, or treated with ultra-violet rays, to sterilise the space.

This meant a great deal more than he had earlier assumed. It suggested that the entire cave system had been utilised as a time capsule. The caverns were probably entirely natural, and just adapted by the time travellers in their own period and transported as a unit, bringing the library and the wall panel where the map was. The water pool must have been a factor in choosing the site.

Now, of the cave had always been there, sending John, etc. to that spot must not have been a location factor of importance.

That made John even more puzzled as to why he had been sent here. His presence could not be considered to be important for this particular part of the world, if the cave site was determined by geology. What then was the object of placing him in this society? All he could think of, was that changing the society was the point of it all.

Presumably he had been given instruction on how to act in this stone age society to alter it in the way that the senders wanted. The loss of most of his memory in the transition to here put paid to that plan. He had found himself left to make his own decisions in that matter, and who knows what would be the result of his activity.

How would the senders know what he was up to? How would they determine whether his actions were what they wanted to happen? The time travel mechanism, whatever it was, seemed to be one way except for basic information that could be added to the map panel.

He came to a decision that what he added to the map panel would not give clues about his activity. He was not about to clue them in on actions which he felt were right and proper, if they had opposing views.

He made up his mind to think more on this when he had time, after he had found what was in this hidden treasure of a library. The choice of works selected for inclusion might give him some impression of their intentions.

He spoke to Raka, who was very anxiously awaiting his response.

“Sorry, Raka, I was thinking, and my mind got carried away from the present. Come up beside me and we can have a look at what we have in front of us.” She crept closer with trepidation, for she could see the subdued light inside. She wondered why and how it was lit up, and as she got close, she was even more amazed.

“What IS all that, John my love? There are things on ledges; things that I do not recognise. They look like shaped lumps of wood sitting on the ledges. AndÖ and the ledges seem to be made of wood as well!” “Raka, my dear, these ëshaped lumps of wood’ are not solid. They are made up of very thin slices of material called paper, and the paper has stories embedded in it. It is my guess that these stories will be able to be understood by people like me, from my time, but we should be able to teach you and other clever local people to also understand them. I will show you later. For now, I want to see the symbols on the outside of each, as that should tell me what is to be found inside.” John reached out and grasped the first volume he came to, on the top of a pile on the nearest shelf.

It’s cover read, “A child’s book of words.” John put it aside, and tried another. Its title was “Basic scientific concepts”. A third was “biology for beginners.” John got the idea that he was intended to be a teacher to people here; but a teacher of what? Basic science? That did not help him much, for every society needed to learn such material in order to advance. What was the intended purpose of such advancement, he wondered? For good or for evil? Either could start from the same foundational knowledge.

He grabbed a book for a shelf on the other side, and checked its title. It was “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler. The presence of this book unsettled John. It was not the kind of book he would ever envisage taking back here. The next one was “The Road to Serfdom”, which seemed to be an attack on socialist thought in a capitalist world.

John slammed these down and turned to face Raka.

“Raka, I think we should be back out. We can have a proper look at these another day.” Raka noticed his face, and tentatively asked, “Did something upset you, John?” “Not really, love. Just found something unexpected.” Unexpected was an understatement, thought John. You don’t try to ram down economic and social theories down the throats of stone age peoples. Such peoples did not need any kind of socio-political theories of any kind. What were these guys thinking of, back there? Was this the level of their thinking?