Chapter 15

John stared at Maranga, astonished that she had just said he should become her husband.

“But Maranga, you don’t need me. You should have a husband that can be there for you all the time, not a part-timer.”

“John, I have looked around, and none of the men in my tribe come close to what I need in a husband. You may have observed that at my advanced age I still have no husband; it was because my standards are high.

You may already be much-married in your other tribe, but I would much prefer you as my husband and father of my children, than anyone else. Will you do me the honour of accepting?”

John was gazing at this woman who was already acting like a Chief: making decisions for her tribe’s future. She was difficult to resist.

“If that is what you want, Maranga, I shall accept your invitation.”

She smiled broadly.

“That is what I wanted to hear, John. Now, what are we to do about these children?”

This got a reaction from both girls.

“We are not children; we are women!” they both declared loudly.

“Oh ... Oh!” admitted Maranga in pretended shocked surprise. “So you are. No tits yet, but having monthlies is a start. I think that High Chief John should take you to his other tribe to learn how to be women in his tribes. You will find it very different to what you knew before.”

“How? Are we to be slaves? It was bad enough to be a woman in our tribe, already.”

“No, girl. It is worse: you have to be treated the same as men.”

“The same? How?”

“Having to learn how to be a good adult member of the tribe; learn a trade or occupation, such as a hunter or maker; be trained to act as a warrior to defend the tribe; things like that. Don’t think it will be easy. Being treated as equal is really hard work unless you are clever or strong, or both. A tough woman might even end up as Chief like me, even though I didn’t ask for it.”

“We were washed by the Chief of the tribe? In fact the Chiefs of two tribes? Wow!”

“Young lady, you were a woman being washed by another woman. That is all. I am not sure your sister would like it known she was being washed, naked, by a man, no matter what his status was.”

“I don’t know ... it might get her better known.”

“All the more reason for you to go with John to his other tribe, where his wives live. They will soon put you right about somehow being special.”

Both girls seemed worried, and the quieter came up with, “Another long journey? My feet are sore with all the walking we have been doing through the forest, even though we covered our feet with large leaves and tied them on with long grass leaves.”

John gave them a look of satisfaction and informed them, “My tribe makes moccasins for the feet. These are coverings made from animal hide and sewn so they will not slip off. The hide is much tougher and it takes a long time for it to wear through, so they are great for protecting your feet. The Farfarers Tribe have been purchasing moccasins for many people, but they may have a few that are not needed for specific persons. They might be made to fit you girls for your journey to my tribe.”

Maranga added, “We must have a look in the Chief’s hut, for some moccasins are no longer in use there. Some might fit you girls; we can try them out.”

John felt a little guilty at the possibility of using dead people’s footwear, so he told Maranga, “I will take care afterwards to have some replacements sent to your tribe as soon as I can, Chief Maranga.”

She responded not with words, but with a gentle and hesitant kiss. John accepted this for what it was, and patted her arm tenderly. This could go well, he thought.

They checked the Chief’s hut, and there in a pile, swept up by the cleaning ladies, were the family’s moccasins. John showed the girls how they were worn on the feet, and they tried on various sizes. Most were too small, but they each found a pair that would stay on their feet. Fortunately none had been stained with blood. The girls put them on and the group left the hut again.

Maranga said to John, “I don’t think I can use this as the Chief’s hut, John: too many bad memories. I’ll work from my own hut for the present, and decide on a new Chief’s hut later”

“That reminds me, Maranga. My tribe have devised a method of hut building using a wickerwork framework, then the mud daubed on and through the structure. That should make for stronger walls for the hut.”

“The hut builders here have tried that, but making the structure curved was the problem. How have you solved that?”

John laughed, “By being simple! What we did was weave the wickerwork as a less rigid frame. Instead of a flat rigid panel, we get a flexible panel that can be curved and continued round, so that only the entrance is not connected. I was surprised when I discovered that the hut walls were not reinforced like this.

Keeping the wickerwork supple and continuous makes it a stronger building framework for the daubing to go on afterwards. You can send some younger hut builders to us and we will train them in the procedure.”

“At what cost, John? I am sure you don’t do this for nothing.”

“All we ask is a bag of vegetable oil per man trained. We can always find a use for oil.”

“That seems reasonable. I’ll send some hut builders to learn from your people. Wait: don’t you all live in a cave?”

“True, but we are having to expand out of the cave, so we will be building huts; therefore we have been researching how we could build them. This new hut building technique is the outcome of that research.”

“Very well. Girls: Mula and Mola, you must go now with Chief John to his other tribe and get initiated into their way of doing things. John, I shall send the hut building trainees as soon as is practical. Farewell for now.”

With the two girls having practiced using the moccasins, they and John started off on the new journey. John made sure to pace the walk to a speed that the girls could cope with, so the trip took longer than usual. A couple of times John had to carry one or other of the girls on his back for a while, until she felt able to continue on her own.

Arriving at the clearing around evening meal time, John startled the youngsters by calling out his presence before they reached the forest edge. They understood when a female warrior appeared with a long spear and recognised John.

“What have you brought this time, John? A pair of waifs by the looks of them! It is just as well there is enough food to feed them tonight.”

“Two more from the tribe that was destroyed by the wanderers, Raka. We must find whether any of the people we took in recognise them. That can happen after the meal, as they need to be fed little and often until they get used to a decent feed again. They were on starvation rations in the forest.”

Raka looked the pair over, saying, “Oh, you poor girls! We will certainly feed you, and hopefully you will find people you know.”

“Thanks, Raka. Can you take charge of them for now? I have to report to Numa, to pass on some more news.”

“Of course, my darling. Off you go. Numa is busy with another trader who turned up this morning.”

John got to the cave, and Numa broke off from her negotiations to smother him with kisses, to emphasise to the trader that she was the High Chief’s first wife.

John explained about his young charges coming up the slope with Raka. Numa nodded, saying, “We must have them looked over by some of the women who joined us. But first, let me organise their feeding: small quantities, but often, you said?”

“That is it. They tried gorging at the Farfarers, but it didn’t stay down. They have learned, so won’t try that again.”

Numa called over to one of the cooks for attention, and made the explanations. She suggested a thin stew with plenty of vegetables; almost a soup. “That will be easier for them to digest, Chief Numa.”

“Fine. I’ll leave you to sort that out and decide on the amount in a bowl. Thanks, dear.” She turned back to John. “Not more wives for you, John?”

John grimaced. “Too young. They have only just become women. Let them start to enjoy life again, before they embark on family responsibilities. It is enough that I have agreed to marry the new Chief of the Farfarers.”

“Marry the Chief? But you are the new Chief of the Farfarers!”

“Not any more, Numa love. I have been elevated to the position of High Chief, with both tribes getting new Chiefs to replace me. You are the new Chief here, and Maranga, the Wise Woman, is to be Chief of the Farfarers.”

“Me? Me? You did ask me, earlier, but I was completely certain you meant it.

“I meant it. I don’t make such decisions lightly, Numa. You ARE the new Chief.”

Realisation hit her. It was not just a temporary appointment. She was to take on full responsibility for the tribe.

John emphasised, “You are the premier person in this tribe, so you are best suited to take over the post. You must see this for yourself.”

“My husband, what will you be doing as High Chief?”

“That has still to be sorted out, but basically I am in overall charge of the two tribes, helping you integrate your policies so that eventually you will all think of yourselves as one people, rather than two tribes. It will also help with intermarriage between the two tribes, so that the couple will both be familiar with the tribal policies, no matter where they decide to reside.”

“I am Chief then, John dear, provided you are available for advice and help.”

They were interrupted by a couple of squeals of delight, and turned to see what was happening. The two girls were being embraced by an older woman. John guessed it was their mother or aunt, as they had clearly found a relative. The older of the two girls glanced back, said something to the older woman, then raced back to John and Numa.

“Chief! We have found our mother! It is wonderful, and she says this tribe is very nice to be part of. Thank you, thank you, Chief John!”

John and Numa smiled at her delight, and fondly waved her back to her mother. In moments, Mola was also back in turn to say ‘thank you’ to John, then hurried back to her mother, so they could exchange stories of recent events.

Numa told John, Now we have that sorted satisfactorily, what about these book things that Vicki and Raka are talking about? What the heck are they, anyway? The story I am getting just confuses me.”

“Knowledge, Numa. Books contain knowledge, or at the least, information. The information is written in the books as symbols, so to use the books you have to know the symbols and what they mean.”

Numa looked even more puzzled. “Why would you want use symbols instead of pictures?”

“A picture tells you a lot, but only a lot about that one picture. Symbols put together as words give you more information when more words are added. A book contains many thousands of words, and can convey many different stories or give you many different facts.”

“How big are these ‘books’ John? They would have to be huge to hold such a lot of information as you imply.”

“Not really, darling Numa. The symbols are made very small and you can get hundreds of words on a page not much bigger than two or three open hands. A book has many many pages, all attached together along one edge, so that they can open out for reading the symbols.”

“I must see these things, so that I can understand what you are saying, love.”

“Raka and Vickie want to see them, too. Dammit, most of my women will want to see them. I’ll have to bring a few out to be looked at, but I warn you, Numa; you won’t be able to understand the symbols; only Vickie and Sheila will know the words.”

“If you tell me they are important, John, then I will learn to read the symbols. If Vickie and Sheila can know the symbols, then I should be able to learn them.”

“I must warn you, Numa: most people take several years to learn the words enough to read them in a book.”

“In the cold season, we do not get out and about much, so that will be perfect for learning your ‘words’, John my husband.”

John gave a short laugh. “Okay, my love. Do what you will.”

They were interrupted by Sheila, who came to talk with John.

“I have missed my period, John, so I think you have knocked me up. I hope you have maternity services arranged for us girls. Vickie thinks she is also in the same condition, as I think she may have mentioned. What are the chances of getting some gynaecological expertise in the next few months?”

“Ah, yes. There is that, Sheila. I don’t think the senders will be willing to send us a doctor or even a midwife, but my training in the military included a medic course. That included how to deliver a baby, so while I cannot help with advice during pregnancy, I should be able to deliver our children.”

“Good grief! You learned how to deliver a baby as a soldier?”

“Yes. In war situations you may have to help with civilians, so this was one part of the ‘assistance to the civil power’ education we got. I recall we practised on rubber or plastic dummies, then were taken to a maternity hospital to see the real thing in action. A couple of the guys fainted at the sight of the blood, but I managed to endure it. The docs said the first time is the worst, then you get used to it.”

“Well, when it is your own child, I hope you will not faint this time.” Sheila was adamant.

“Not to worry, pet. I have seen a lot of blood since then; sometimes my own.”

“Take care then. I don’t want to lose you as the nearest thing to a genuine midwife we have going for us.”

“I will. I intend to be here to see my children come into the world.”

Numa interposed, “Talking about coming in to the world, we haven’t had today’s arrival turn up yet. What are you expecting this time?” She was becoming quite blasé about the deliveries out of nowhere, John noticed. For a stone-age woman, that was remarkable.

“I am hoping for knives this time, Numa. We can make use of such good metal knives. Having just one is a nuisance.”

“We must hope that the animal will fall into the hole you made, and stay there until we can recover the knives.”

“Yeah. The pups we got before would have trouble getting out, but a full-grown dog would be able jump out, so we will play safe and be ready to dash to it as it arrives.”

“Have we time to go fetch a book from the store you found?”

“Possibly, but I had rather not embark on that, in case we get delayed and miss the next arrival.”

“All right then, but I still want to see a ‘book’ today.”

“We would have enough time for a quick fuck in the furs, Numa.”

“You want to fuck the tribe’s Chief, John? That is a special privilege.” she grinned at him, and grabbed his hand. “Let’s do it, before someone like Sheila gets the same idea.”

Sheila announced, “I do believe I will come along and supervise, and if John can stay hard for me afterwards, all the better.”

Numa commented, “That’s fancy words, Sheila, but I am better at loving our husband.”

The trio moved themselves to the Chief’s furs, and showed John that his attentions were still desired, even if both were now pregnant. They were disturbed later by Noma, who informed them that it was coming up time for the next arrival from the future – or wherever it came from. They scrambled to get dressed and be ready, John in particular making sure his crossbow was ready for anything unexpected.

That rush was followed by a wait, and nothing happened for some considerable time. John was just about to give up, assuming nothing was coming, when the transit happened.

An animal appeared from a few inches up, hit the layer of thin branches, and fell into the pit below. There was a quick rush by John and several of the women to get to the pit before the animal could jump out, but they got there to discover another large puppy whining at not being able to get out of the hole. It was also wrapped round with a set of knives which weighted it down and added to its mass, making jumping difficult.

John was delighted with the whole result. He turned to Numa and Sheila who had come with him, and said, “Another pup, loaded with knives, and the pit device worked perfectly.”

He knelt down by the pit edge and stretched out his hand until he could grasp the belt wrapped round the animal. Holding that, he was able to lift out the pup and stand it on the grass, while he retained his grip on the belt. The ladies used their hands to hold and pet the pup while John looked for the buckle. Finding it, he released it and the set of knives fell on the grass.

The pup, released from this burden, jumped up to lick the ladies who were petting it. John concentrated on the knives as more interesting to him.

He counted them, and found six survival knives, all in their protective sheaths. He beamed at this collection: it would enhance their tool set immensely. He gather up the knives, still attached to the belt, and carried them back to the cave. The women played with the small dog and encouraged it to come up to the cave for a feed and to meet the other pups that had been adopted by various families.

At the cave, John noted how the knives were attached to the belt, and carefully released them one by one, laying them out on the cave floor.

In moments, he was being watched by several of the women and a couple of the men, who could al see uses for sharp and pointy blades. They had seen or used John’s knife, and were looking forward to having one for more regular use. He looked up at his observers.

“I will give these to Numa to select how they will be used, and by whom. She is the new Chief of this tribe, so has this responsibility.”

There were a few gasps of surprise by those who had not heard this yet, than nods of acquiescence. One woman asked John, “Are you going away again, Chief John?”

“Not really. I have been asked to become High Chief for both tribes, so Numa will take over as Chief here.”

“You will still protect us, though?” there was a hint of worry there, so John was quick to solve her concerns.

“I will act as protector any time I am here, but my warriors among the tribe are becoming steadily more proficient with their spears and daggers, so I believe my presence is no long so vital.”

Another woman voiced another thought.

“Will the magic hole continue to give us presents if you are not around, Chief John?”

“The system does not depend on me. It happened yesterday while I was away, you may recall. It may cease tomorrow or some other day, but again, it has nothing to do with my being here.”

“What causes it then, Chief John?”

“I don’t know positively, but I believe it comes from the future, based on what comes through: these things are more advanced than what is known here. Other than that, I can only guess.”

“These metal boxes that kept arriving: are they for helping to cure people?”

“Not exactly. They are for treating injuries so that they will heal more easily. There is no guaranteed cure for any illness.”

“I was wondering, as I have not seen any illnesses at all in this camp. In the camp where I used to live, there were a number of illnesses affecting both adults and children, but here: nothing.”

“Nothing at all?” queried John.

“Nothing of note. A few sniffles and coughs, but they soon clear up. I thought you might have had something to do with it, with your magic boxes.”

“Beats me. I hadn’t noticed it before. I will speak with Chief Numa about it. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.”

John thought back, and indeed the tribe had not been afflicted by any real illnesses. Most of the medical troubles had been man-made, inflicted by other human beings.

Now why the heck was there no illness? He hadn’t done anything to help in that line. Was this another aspect of his presence that he was unaware of until now? He decided to ask Sheila and Vickie about it.

Sheila was still nearby, so he called to her, “Sheila, would you and Vickie come to me for a discussion about illnesses?”

“Hang on and I’ll get Vickie for you, dear.”

When both ladies got to him, John sat them down and asked them, “Give me some reason for why there is no illness in this tribe? Apparently other tribes get illnesses, but ours doesn’t. Does this have something to do with our presence; the three of us?”

Sheila looked puzzled. “News to me too. No-one has come to me, looking for potions to cure an ailment other than an injury.”

Vickie appeared more in tune with the idea.

“John, I recall reading about things called nano-machines; so tiny they could be injected into your body. One of the suppositions was that they might be used as a cure-all medicine, killing off bacteria and viruses within the bloodstream. I have never been told that such nanos had been deployed, but I can well imagine the military having made use of such technology for their own purposes. It would make sense if we were sent back here to do something and there was concern that either our bugs will kill the locals, or that theirs might kill us. That implies that the military were involved in sending us here.

Certainly if the there was a plan for us to have some sort of effect, such things would be a prerequisite to stop us or the locals dying off. Do you think it could be that we have nanos inside us to sort of ‘clear the decks’ as a preventive measure?”

John shrugged. “You are remembering more from back there than I am, Vickie, but it may simply be that no-one told me about it. Do you think you or Sheila was told?”

“Nothing so definite, love. It is just my best guess as to what is happening here. Certainly I know of nothing else that might explain these observations.”

“Could we be spreading these ‘nanos’ by our breath? It can’t be by semen, as I have not been fucking all the women, and I definitely have not fucked any man!”

“That is a possible vector, but it might be transmitted by touch, or by touching things that other people then touch. Any of these ways might pass on nanos, as they are so miniscule: the size of a virus.”

“Oh, well. There is nothing that we can do about it, nor should we want to, in my view, so we can just drop the subject. I can observe what happens in the other tribe.”

Vickie changed the subject.

“What about those books that you were going to show me? There is a queue building for viewing them!”

“Apart from you, me and Sheila, I don’t expect anyone will be able to read them, so it is just a touch of excitement for the others. Mind you, my Numa is threatening to learn to read, because she is guessing that they will give her information of value. She might be right on that.”

“So when do we get to see them? Do we have to go into he dark part of the cave, or will you bring them out?”

John was pensive.

“I wanted to examine the pattern within the collection of books to see what that might tell me, but after thinking about it, I doubt the people who stashed these books thought ahead very well. They don’t seem to have thought their plans through properly.

The volumes are probably placed in the most efficient way to get a lot of books into a small space. They would not concern themselves with the order of the tomes within the collection. I think we can take some of them outside to examine them.”

John led the other two from his time, plus Raka and Numa, to collect oil lamps and get back to the map as a starting point. Once there, He explained to those new to the dark that in the one direction there was a deep pool of water. They were going to the opposite side, where the side tunnel held the putative library.

They were there in a remarkably short time, most likely due to all the lamps in use. At the side tunnel, John led the way, followed by Raka, and then Numa. His idea was a line of people to pass each book back to the cavern behind them.

The stash of books seemed untouched, as one might expect, so John carefully shoved the Mien Kampf volume to one side, and concentrated on the other books. A quick look at each title allowed him to select what would be most interesting. He started with Encyclopaedia Britannica; all 20-odd volumes of it, followed by basic volumes on geology, physics, chemistry, biology and zoology. By that time he thought he had enough to be going on with, and was intrigued to discover what the books were made of.

The number of volumes allowed a fair share of six books each to carry. The books were all of a similar size and weight, surprisingly, so they could each hold the six books to their chest with one hand while carrying the oil lamp in the other.

Before they left, John pushed the barrier back into place, and they set off again. It was with relief that they walked slowly and carefully back to the lighted cavern and were able to lay down their burdens.

Numa was anxious to view a book, so John handed her the one on physics, to see what she would make of it. He explained the way it was opened, page by page, and she was entranced.

“Oh, look, John: a picture of something!”

He explained what pictures meant in a book. “These are meant to show you what the words tell you, in a way that is easy to follow. This picture shows that a force one way causes an equal and opposite reaction, so that when you throw a punch or a slap, you experience a force on to your hand while you are exerting a force on the other person.

Physics, which is what this book is about, is all about why things happen as they do: the principles which underlie everything that happens.”

“That sounds fun, John. I want to read this one.”

“I am not sure what language we are all using. I learned to speak a language back where I came from, but I seem to be using your language here, as if it was my language. I think this is all in my head, so that the books will be in the language I learned as a child, and not your language.

As you have never learned to read, it should not matter, as you will learn the written language as you learn the letters and words. Some people can pick up other languages more easily that others can manage.”

“Britannica!” exclaimed Sheila. That covers practically everything, but do you really want people here to learn about how terrible people back home have been to each other?”

“Your memory must be returning, Sheila, if you know things like that.”

“It is frustrating, John, for while I know that humans did nasty things to each other, I don’t remember any of the specifics; just the generalisation.”

“Ah. I have found that myself; knowing that I have had military training and experience, but no details of what army or what experience; just the term SAS.”

“That doesn’t answer the question about the knowledge in Britannica, John.”

“I have to agree with you. We don’t allow history articles to be read by people in this time, just material on facts of geography, geology, and such. We might be able to discover where on the planet this location actually is. I have concluded it must be fairly near the equator, but on which continent?”

Vickie commented,”I would go along with that assumption, based on the general temperature range and type of plants we find. Sheila might recognise some of the plants as being indigenous to a particular continent.”

Sheila retorted, “But I can’t recall the names of the continents, Vicki!”

“Oh. Now that I think about it, neither can I.” She peered at John’s face. “John?”

He shrugged. “Beats me, love.”

Numa demanded, “What is this book made of, John? It is so smooth.”

John and the other two uptimers felt their volumes, and saw what she meant.

John responded, “I can’t be certain, Numa, but it is not paper and board, as I expected. It must be some kind of plastic.”

Sheila added, “I recall reading somewhere about people making paper out of some fancy plastic where you could fix the text inside the page electronically so that it would last almost for ever. Could it be that?”

Numa asked, shyly, of the others, “What is plastic? It is a word that is new to me.”

Vickie gave her a hug. “It doesn’t exist here, Numa. It is an artificial material, made by mankind thousands of years from now. It has its uses, but also its drawbacks, such as how you get rid of it when it is no longer any use to you?”

“Don’t you just throw it away, Vickie?”

“That works with small quantities, but as it doesn’t ever disappear, and you throw away a large amount, it will cause many problems for the world. Like most things, it is good in small quantities, and bad in large quantities. The trick is to know when the good changes to bad, and do something about it.”

Numa responded, “I think I will let others judge such matters. I will concentrate on my own tribe. I hope you two are happy to stay as part of the tribe, with me being made Chief?”

Vickie told her, “As long as John remains with us, Numa, we will stay too, but I think he loves you too much to leave you. That should settle that question.”

Sheila added, “What Vickie said goes for me too.”

Numa grabbed John’s arm. “My love, may I show your other ladies this book, so that they understand it is a magic object they cannot use; then I bring it back to you?”