Chapter 4

A note for those who did not read the author bio or the story info: this is not a story. It is a look behind the scenes as I work on a story that is in progress. Each chapter will be the same as the last, but with corrections, modifications, and additions. It may entertain, cause mental anguish, or madness. Read at your own peril!

Anything before this is now fairly well set, so I won’t be making any more changes for now.

I proceed with my explorations to learn more about the area we inhabit. I have yet to find any indication of other beings with a measure of intelligence superior to that of a non-sentient animal. So, for all intents and purposes, we are Adam and Eve here on New Eden.

Not finding others is both welcome and unwelcome. It is good to know we are not in conflict with others over resources and what not. On the flip side, that means that it is just the two of us, which is sure to become a problem over time. We are humans, and as such, we are social creatures. Two is not enough.

It has been a week since she was stranded here on NE with me and Joan has begun opening up. She’s still wary of me, but at least we’re talking, and she’s proven to be willing to listen and learn about this place and situation that we find ourselves in.

Upon her request, I’ve handed the invoice over to her to see what we have materials and supplies have been provided to us. Joan, it turns out, has experience as a farmer. That’s a bonus, as I have little practical knowledge of anything agricultural-centric.

Joan, it turns out, is also a skilled cook and seamstress; and she knows how to handle a bow, skin a carcass, spin yarn, and thread, and even how to use a loom, which is great because we have a loom, although it is not assembled. It’s almost unimaginable how much you can fit into a 12m long shipping container when you use all the space properly.

For the last two days, I have been assisting her, by placing stakes and line to mark the plots where our fields for the various crops will go. Before we began marking the individual plots, we discussed how much should be planted of each, and from that, she’s determined the amount of land needed to be turned and prepared for planting. The tubers, onions, and garlic will be some of the easiest to grow. They’re nearly seed and forget. I’ve been tasked to make a raised bed for the herbs and other more delicate seedlings and plants.

We’re into the middle of the third month, (we’ve agreed to measure months as 28 days). The weather is warmer, but not hot, and it rains often enough to encourage growth, but not enough to cause flooding where we are. It would be easy to believe that the weather is controlled and not entirely natural because it’s too perfect.

We have managed to get three furrows of corn planted and sugarbeets, five each of wheat, oats, and rye, for starters. We planted much more than what is listed, but I don’t consider such details important enough for inclusion in my personal records. What is important is that between the two of us, we have a good start and it all looks to be growing well.

It would seem that we’re going to have to build barriers around the fields. We’ve experienced a significant loss of crops to local herbivores. I may have to see about using Rex to take care of that. I’m not sure if it is male, female, or what. I just know that it is accepting food from my hand now and seems more amenable to both Jane and me.

I may be out of my gourd, but I took Rex off the run today and used the rope around its neck to walk it around the property we have claimed as our own. It’s almost as if Rex knows what I am thinking and acts upon it. It nearly terrified me when Rex’s feathers all suddenly went flat, it laid its body parallel to the ground and then sprinted off in a burst of speed I was barely able to follow. Soon after, Rex returned with one of the beasties that have been ravaging our crops.

I expected Rex to tear into it and eat it. Instead, Rex placed it at my feet and looked up at me as if expecting something. I thought about it for a moment and pulled out a cube of pemmican and fed it to Rex. The damned thing purred! Without thinking, I reached out and began stroking its head. It pushed back into my hand, and the purring got louder. I guess that Rex has decided it is part of our family. It has grown on me these last weeks, and I feel a connection to it that I didn’t notice before.

Joan isn’t so happy about Rex being off its run, but as I am telling her about what had happened earlier, she is showing interested. Pulling out a chunk of pemmican, she offers it to Rex, who trots over to her, opens its beak, and waits for her to toss the pemmican its way.

Joan tosses it to Rex who jumps up and snatched it from the air and then moved close to her and begins rubbing its beak against Joan’s thigh. Encouraged, Joan starts to carefully rub its head, which leads to the same purring I experienced earlier. I swear I can feel the contentment radiating off of Rex.

Now, we just need to find another one and so that we have a breeding pair. This isn’t something I would actively pursue, but it was on my mind.

Rex shows a surprising level of intelligence. It knows our property boundaries and, other than to grab a pest that it considers to be too close I haven’t seen it go outside our property.

I no longer bother keeping it on a leash of any kind. It follows either of as we go about our business each day, often rushing off and bringing back another of the pests that were ruining our crops, which are doing much better now. It seems that Rex is the reason behind that. We are both so glad to have Rex as part of our family.

Rex is acting as close to dog-like as one could hope. It actually seems to be (for lack of a better word) evolving. Many of the traits it is showing match my desires for a domesticated dog-like creature. It follows us everywhere and will zip off and return with fresh carcasses that it drops at our feet. I haven’t had to bother with any traps or snares for over a month now.

Joan has come to accept that we are here for the duration, however long that will be. She’s also admitted that I am as much a victim as she is and has warmed up to me. This is expected. We, humans, are social creature, after all.

Apparently, Joan feels a connection to Rex, too. It came up the other night while we were talking after darkness fell. I’ve built a doorway with a swinging panel, like a pet door back home, for Rex to enter the living space at will. It has made a bed in a corner where sleeps most nights. I haven’t seen it, but I know it is keeping watch and when disturbed it leaves in a rush only to come back later with a fresh kill. Thankfully, Rex drops such kills on a table outside, rather than bringing it into our home. I never thought ESP was real, but I’m beginning to believe it is possible to some degree.

I suppose a more detailed description of Rex (this species of raptor) is due. Imagine a Sun Conure that is close to a meter tall. Instead of wings, it has arms with feathers and hands with four claws each that can grasp, slice, and hold quite firmly. Strong legs that propel it faster than you can sprint and higher than you can jump. Its feet are larger versions of its “hands” with four talons (much like any parrot’s), and it can climb and hang upside down with them.

Additionally, it has a prehensile tail that is close to 1/3rd of the length of its body. Its plumage is such that it is capable of nearly disappearing in the brush and woods, though its head is covered in iridescent green feathers. As I have mentioned, it has a beak. I’ve seen it use that beak to shear through the carcasses that it brings back, bone and all.

Our crops are doing well, and Joan is teaching me everything she can about farming. She’s also teaching me how to sew and to be a better cook. I’m actually enjoying learning from her. She is an excellent teacher.

Rex is definitely part of the family, at times more like a toddler that tries to get into everything, and stays with us all the time. Its antics are, at times, hilarious, while at others, I just shake my head at it and tell it, “No.” I was amazed at first when Rex responded by stopping what it was doing. Now, it is just a normal part of how things are around here.

How is it that an animal that has never encountered humans before has so quickly become domesticated? Again, it seems that its behavior is evolving exactly the way I have imagined would be the best fit with us.

There still has not been any sign of other sentient life, let alone with intelligence equal to, or superior to, our own. I’m still not sure if it would be good or bad to find another like ourselves, or more intelligent. It could go either way. Memories of “To Serve Man,” from the old Twilight Zone show comes to mind at times. I have no desire to become cattle for another species.

We’ve covered the roof of the cabin with a layer of clay, which is covered by a layer of sod. We are growing our herbs up there instead of in the raised beds I made. It serves multiple purposes. It keeps the rain out, gives us a protected garden for the herbs, and it’s a pleasant place to rest and relax when the weather is nice (which is often). It also makes for a great lookout.

It’s now month five for me, and we have a new addition to the family. No, Joan didn’t give birth. Instead, we have a new raptor. It isn’t in any way amicable towards us, but it isn’t attempting to harm us either. It keeps its distance but doesn’t shy away from Rex. In fact, Rex has been taking it pemmican to feed it. In time, I expect it to become close to us the same way Rex did. I’m naming this one Regina. With my luck, they will be exactly the opposite sex of what I’ve named them! So what, this is a new world, new rules are needed.

Not sure why I hadn’t noticed it before, but there is a ukulele listed in the invoice. It was easy enough to find among the items not yet unpacked from the container. I’m rusty, but we have a little more free time now, and I am practicing to get back into the groove of playing.

Well, it seems that I arrived in early spring and Joan came just before summer. It’s now well into fall, and we’ve harvested our crops. We have a good, safe, and secure place to live and two very protective raptors that keep us and the property safe. Joan found the hand mill, which we will use as needed for fresh flour and such, once the packaged stuff runs out.

I have an announcement of great importance to make: Joan is pregnant. It should not be a surprise. You cannot put two people together in a situation like this and expect them to stay celibate. We’re both excited and a bit apprehensive. I really wish we had others here with us now. I cannot imagine being a solitary child with no friends, just parents. We’ll just have to do our best.

Fall has come and gone. Rex and Regina seem to have gained weight. It’s that, or they have grown more feathers for insulation for the cold season. They give no indication of wanting to migrate to warmer climates. Rex and Regina have expanded their nesting area in the cabin.

The weather has started to get cold enough that I’ve broken out the winter clothing, which just happens to be the right sizes for both of us. Even taking into account Joan’s pregnant state. I’ve covered the plants on the roof with canvass and dirt in hopes of it being enough to ensure new growth in the spring. We do not have a calendar as such, but we have been marking down the passage of days and taking note of what seems to be the Solstices and the Equinoxes when they happen, or close to it. It will probably take a couple of years (local) to figure out exactly when each of them occurs, but we are now confident that we have four seasons here. That’s good because it makes it easier to deal with the situation we find ourselves in. And that’s another thing when you’re in a strange place, the familiar is welcome.

I’ve left out a lot of information as I’ve written this journal. I haven’t mentioned digging our latrine, building a chicken coop for the egg-laying creatures that Rex and Regina captured alive for us. The eggs are an excellent addition to our diet. They aren’t birds. I’m not even sure they are reptilian. They have long front arm/legs and much shorter rear limbs (kind of reminds me of the way hyenas are built), and they have fur. There is also a membrane that stretches from the front limbs to the back like a flying squirrel, but they are gliders, not flyers. They have prey like eyes, made to see all around, unlike predators. Their mouths are small and filled with teeth more like a human’s, but definitely made to eat grasses and plant matter. I have not seen anything that resembles a teat.

The other evening, there was the massive beast we had to fight off. I thought it had killed Regina, but she was only wounded. It took multiple bolts and arrows, along with our two friends to bring that thing down. Its coat now adorns our living room floor. Its meat has been smoked and jerked for the Raptors. Neither Joan nor I found the meat to be worth eating. Our two darlings seem to love it, though. I am amazed at the healing factor of the Raptors. Injuries I thought would keep Regina down for days, if not weeks, have healed almost overnight.